Originally Posted by Angoid
Biblical prophecy is often fulfilled at multiple levels - you see a small fulfillment followed by a much bigger one later in history.
When you read Matthew 24 and 25, you see that Jesus does not give a date and time of His Second Coming; however he clearly states that nobody knows the day or hour.
However, He does give some very clear signs, many of which are being fulfilled right here and now in our lifetimes. For example:
"Nations will rise against nations" - sure, there have always been wars, but the wars of the 20th Century have been more bloody than ever before, thanks to the advances of technology. Just look at both worlsd wars, including the Holocaust and what went on at such places as Auschwitz.
"Many will come in My Name" - again, there have always been false prophets and the like, but over the last century of so we've really seen an explosion in cults and Jesuses that beg to differ from the one in the Bible.
I don't think we'll ever fully understand Biblical prophecy as it pertains to events yet to come, and this is probably one reason why there are so many different eschatological viewpoints.
It was only 20 years ago that Reactor 4 at Chernobyl in the then USSR melted down, releasing radioactivity for thousands of miles. It has also been pointed out to me that the name "Chernobyl" means "bitter" in Ukrainian. If this is true, then what about the star in Revelation (8:13?) called called "wormwood" which fell to earth and turned 1/3 of the waters to wormwood (bitterness)?
As for the Bible code book referenced near the top of this thread, well, I read it some time ago and I do remain sceptical on that score for the same reason given up there.