Why another blog or site about the end times? Do we really need yet another voice crying the "the sky is falling"?

Well, perhaps not. But, a unique perspective on the topics could just be interesting, refresh the discussion and expand our horizons.

My goal is to open up the general topic of "end times" by discussing some of the broader concepts thrown around.

This site aims to be a loose collection of thoughts, articles and updates that answer some of the prevalent questions, and may even serve as a reference.

Here are some of the questions that may float around in your mind or come up in discussions:

• What about the rapture? What is the rapture?
• What about the tribulation, or even the great tribulation?
• Prophecy what?
• Why are some Christians always talking about Israel and the end times? What is the significance?
• How do we know with any certainty that Israel features in the "end times"?
• Where does the reference of Armageddon come into the picture?
• Who or what are Gog and Magog?
• …and many other similar questions

The Spanish poet Antonio Machado coined the phrase "Al andar se hace el camino" as part of his poem "Caminante, no hay camino".  It roughly translates to "the path is made by walking".

So, let's walk this path together and see what we discover!

Part of the Evangelical Christian church appears to be preoccupied with the "rapture", the "end times", the "tribulation" and the "great tribulation". 

Conversely, the rest of the Church in general attempts to stay away from "controversial" topics or from "knowing the unknown", many biblicaly well versed pastors plead the fifth when it comes to the book of Revelation, disavowing a very important book of the Bible.

Why the dichotomy? What causes these diverse viewpoints? Who is right?

For that matter, what causes one part of the Churches' call to interpret scripture literally, and another part to insist that large portions of the Bible are to be interpreted allegorically?

Reading and interpreting the Bible is a bit like weaving a tapestry or a carpet: when doing the weaver's work, there appear to be a loose or disjointed set of threads and ends, not amounting to anything. But when woven together and turned around, and intricate work of art can comes to live, threads weaving through the entirety of the Old and New Testament. That canvas, if you will, starts to reveal the story of mankind, our origin, our destination, and most of all shows a startling picture of the loving Creator of the universe who has reached into history and time to save us.

Well, there we go again, more questions!

• What does "save" mean in this context? 
• Why would I need to be saved?
• How is God qualified to save us?
• How does He or did He save us?
• Who is God?
• Was He created?
• Why do Christians and the Bible capitalize pronouns when talking about God anyway?
• If He was created, who created God's creator?
• Where did life come from?

I think even in this introduction, one thing becomes abundantly clear: Questions come up and beg to be answered. As we start contemplating the questions and look into possible answers, more questions come up.

Will it ever end? Who knows.

To stick with the metaphor of the carpet, we will attempt to grab one thread, but rather than unraveling it, we will follow it through the Bible and history to discover its essence, significance and place in the big picture.