There are many ways to communicate with one another with today’s technology. The internet has popular websites such as myspace and face book that allows us to communicate with each other; however, blogging has began to grow and has become popular through the world of communication.

Blogging has been a wonderful experience for me. For my English class, for the past ten weeks, I have been keeping an blog. The comments from fellow bloggers have been positive, and it’s been wonderful reading other insightful blogs. My experience with blogging has shown me, blogs can be used for many things. Blogs can be used to communicate your feelings, get news from all around the world, or blogs can be used as online journals to express your life experiences.

Since anyone can write blogs, blogging contains a vast variety of users, and a vast variety of topics. Whether you’re a Christian looking for a blog on Jesus, or if your just looking to check the news, there’s a blog for you. Sports blogs allows you to bash sports teams, or just get news on your favorite sports team. An example of a sports blog is Sox & Dawgs. Since there is a range of blog writers, there’s a range of blog readers. To help keep readers interested you have to keep your blog updated.

Blogs can be used to communicate important and non important messages. Me personally I use my blog to communicate the message we are living in the End Times. There are people who don’t believe we are living in the End times, and there are some people who don’t even believe in God. With my blog I’m trying to show them we are living in the End Times, and show them how important it is to have Jesus in our lives. A blog I have been following entitled “End Times” also communicates the message we are living in the end times, but the author of the blog focuses on other topics also. The comments feature allows people who you know, and don’t know to ask questions about the message or just post a comment about the message.

Blogging helps to better your writing. I considered myself an pretty okay writer, but with the various blogging assignments, and help from classmates and my professor, I was able to improve my writing. One assignment for the blog was to guest blog for another blogger; this assignment helped me to be more open-minded about what I write about and become a more well rounded writer.

Blogging has many positives, but blogging also has its negatives too. When doing research or searching for the news, it isn’t known if the information being provided is always true or not. Also some blogs have opinionated posts, and since anyone can post a comment, this can lead to someone leaving an negative comment, which can lead to an argument.

When I first entered my English class I didn’t expect to be blogging, but the experience has been wonderful for me. Blogging has helped me to communicate my message to others. Reading others blogs has been interesting, and has allowed me to get a better understanding of what they go through from week to week. My overall experience with blogging has been positive. With all the possibilities of blogging, it’s no wonder blogging is becoming a popular way to communicate on the internet.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading.

Works Cited
Shattered Paradigm, “End Times”, http://theendtimesblog.blogspot.com/, Mar.18.2009.
Ian, “Sox & Dawgs”, http://soxanddawgs.com/, Mar.18.2009.

Last week I had a guest blogger post stuff on my blog that I have had for 10 weeks, in return I was the guest blogger on someone else's blog. The question how does this experience make me feel was asked.

The question “does it feel as though your personal space was invaded” was also asked. While I have been writing the posts for the blog, I don't feel as though my personal space was invaded when someone else wrote this one post.

Writing another bloggers post allows you to step into the shoes of that blogger, and type as if you were them. You also get to step outside of your self, and step outside of your normal typing style. I, and a few others have more difficult topics to blog about, so I was amazed on how good the blog was that the guest blogger did.

Overall, the guest blogging experience was fun and different experience. We get to know each other better, and get a different view of personalities and writing styles.

The Guest Blogging Experiment

The Seven Bowl Judgments are what God will release before the battle of Armageddon’s set up and Jesus returns back to us for the second time. These last set of judgments are called the 7 Bowl Judgments.

This will be God's last and final attempt to try and get some of these toughened sinners to apologize and turn to Him for eternal salvation. Again, as with some of the last set of judgments, there are verses that once again state they will still refuse to repent and turn to God.

These judgments that God will be throwing at them will be so supernatural, that these people will know, without any doubt, that it really is God doing all of this, but some of these verses will tell you that these people are still insulting God and still refusing to ask for forgiveness. When it is all said and done, we will all realize that God did everything He possibly could to try and get these people saved and pulled in.

These judgments are severe and extreme. God is now releasing His anger and His wrath with full force on this world that has now become extremely wicked and evil.

Here are lists of events that will happen in each bowl.

First Bowl: In this first judgment, God releases a very foul and disgusting sore or boil to come upon all the people who have the mark of the Beast. Notice that this plague is not released on any of His saints that are still living at this time.

Second Bowl: In this next bowl judgment, God causes the entire sea to turn to blood and every living creature in the sea is killed as a result. I believe the word sea is referring to all of our oceans.

Third Bowl: God now comes after all the rivers and springs and also turns them into blood. Also notice that an angel then makes the statement that the reason God is doing this is to pay back with revenge those who have killed His prophets and saints. He says that God is now giving them blood to drink since these people spilled the blood of His saints and that this is now their just due.

Forth Bowl: In this next judgment, in an effort to really turn up the heat so to speak, God literally does exactly that. He allows the heat of the sun to scorch men with great heat.

Fifth Bowl: God goes directly after the Antichrist along with his kingdom. God causes total darkness to fall upon his kingdom. This verse also tells us that the people are still being plagued by the boils and sores from the first bowl judgment, and that they are in extreme pain because of all of this. Once again, even after this judgment falls, these people are still refusing to be sorry and turn to the Lord.

Sixth Bowl: two things will happen. The Euphrates River is allowed to dry up so as to prepare the way for the kings of the east to come for the last and final battle on planet earth - the battle of Armageddon. The kings of the east are China and several other Asian nations.

The second thing that occurs is that three demons, which proceed out of the mouths of the Devil, the Antichrist and False Prophet, are allowed by God to go out to all of the kings of the earth to bring them to the battle of Armageddon.

Seventh Bowl: This next judgment is the last and final judgment. Early on in this verse the words, “It is done”, are shouted out. And God saves what may be his biggest shot yet for this last judgment. In this judgment, the greatest and most severe earthquake that has ever hit our planet will strike. And then to top it all off, great hailstones weighing about 135 pounds apiece will be launched at this earth.

This earthquake is so massive, that every island flees away and the mountains are no longer found. It says that cities of the nations fell, but it doesn't specifically tell us which cities these are going to be. Be sufficient to say that this earthquake is going to literally wipe out entire cities.

This portion of the blog is going to focus on the actual events of the tribulation. As I stated in a previous blog, the rise of the Anti-Christ is one event. At the beginning of the tribulation, the Anti-Christ will sign the seven year peace treaty and covenant with Israel. This is the event that is believed to be the start of the tribulation. This will be a period of peace and false security. There will be an invasion on Israel, many believe that Russia , Iran, Germany, and Libya will invade Israel and God will supernaturally destroy the invading army (some speculate this will actually occur prior to the tribulation).

The next period is the “Great Tribulation” is described as a period of great distress. Daniel 9:27 tells us that in that in the middle of the covenant with Israel, the Anti-Christ will break the covenant and set up the “abomination of Desolation”. The Anti-Christ sets up an image of himself in the Temple and demands the worship of all people. During these last 3 1/2 years, the Jews that believe in Christ will flee into the mountains away from the Anti-Christ. The Anti-Christ has reign in the last years of the tribulation and God’s wrath is poured upon Earth. The events in the last 3 1/2 years are called the Seven Trumpets and the Seven Bowls found in the book of Revelation.

During the Seven Trumpet Judgments, fire rains upon the Earth and burns up one-third of the trees and grass. God also releases a huge mountain (meteor) into the sea and one-third of the sea turns to blood, and kills one-third of all living creatures in the sea, and destroying one-third of the ships on the sea. A huge abyss is opened releasing locusts that were given the power to sting like scorpions. The locusts were to attack all the people that did not have God’s seal on their foreheads, they did not kill these people, just tormented them, the people wanted to die, but could not. Next, 4 of satan’s angels are released from the Euphrates river to kill one third of the humans. They will lead an army of 200 million demonic spirits to carry out a mass slaughter of humans. The army was on horses that had the head of lions and spit fire and smoke from their mouth. Mankind was killed by their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and tails, their tails were like snakes having heads that inflicted injury. People still did not repent, they continued to worship false idols and gods, and they did not repent. The events of the latter part of the Tribulation are revealed in the Seven Bowl Judgments. That will be my next blog.

This post is a response to the “End Times” blog post “The dying wish of a six year old boy is Granted.” The blog post is about a six year old boy Billy, who suffers from leukemia. Billy wanted to be a Fireman when he grows up, so his mother arranged for him to experience the day of a fireman with the help of fireman Bob.

One day Billy started to take a turn for the worst, Billy’s mom called the fire department to get a fireman to come to the hospital to be there with Billy. 16 firemen came and hugged Billy. Billy asked the fire chief “am I really a fireman now?” The chief replied “Billy, you are, and The Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand.” Billy’s last words were “I know, He's been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been singing.”

This is an inspiring story. It shows God at work. It’s sad that Billy had leukemia and died, but Billy was given the chance to live his dream. It also shows that firemen should be held in high regard and really respected. They are really in the business of saving lives. They have to be a special kind of person to be in the business of risking their own lives to save others. This story shows that type of person, that these fireman went out of their way, above and beyond to make a little boy’s dreams come true. There is one good thing about this story and that when Billy died, he got to see his dream come true, there are many old men and women that die and never see their dream come true.

This portion of the blog will focus on some of the events that the bible says must occur before the tribulation will come about and some of the events that will happen during the first half of the tribulation.

1. It is believed that one of the events that must have happened before the tribulation is the rebirth of Israel. This has already happened. In 1948, Jewish people returned to Israel and re-established it as a state. Another event is that the Jewish would regain control of Jerusalem. This happened in 1967 after the Six Day War.
2. As I have said in a previous blog, some of the signs of the end times are false Christs and prophets will arise, wars and rumors of wars, and famines, pestilences and earthquakes, also nation will rise against nation.
   
3. The Bible tells us that some of the things that will occur during the seven-year tribulation. During the first half of the tribulation there will be war. Then, the bible tells us that the Antichrist will establish a peace treaty with Israel. This will be an agreement for false peace. There will also be famine. The Bible says that death will come to one fourth of the Earth’s people due to famine, war and wild animals. There will be a great earthquake, causing the moon to turn red and the sun to turn black. The two witnesses will appear on the scene. The Antichrist will require people to accept the mark of the beast in order to buy or sell. There will be a one-world government.
   

My first Presidential Election

The Bible talks about the second coming and reveals that no one knows the time or the hour that Jesus will come; however, the Bible gives signs that we are to watch out for. The Bible tells us that when we see these things happening, it is a sign that the end time is near.

Since Barack Obama became a candidate for the President of the United States, I am more convinced that we are living in the last days, because the Bible tells us the Anti-Christ will appear on the scene in the last days. My research tells me that we won’t know who the Anti-Christ is until the right time.

Some people believe that President Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ. This has me questioning, will the world as we know it be here in 2010, 2012, or 2015? Will Jesus come back by then, no one knows, but the fact that some people are even questioning whether President Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ convinces me that we are fast approaching the end of time. For this reason and others, the 2008 presidential election is one like America has never experienced.

The 2008 presidential election was the first time I got to vote for the president, because I turned 18 in December 2007. This was a great election to be a part of, it was a historic election. In one night, the United States forever changed. Its image has changed, its makeup has changed and the color of its leader has changed. The theme of Barack Obama’s campaign was “change” and with his presidential win, that theme has come true. With such an historic election, people couldn't help but vote, resulting in a record turnout. I have heard stories of people waiting for hours to vote. My whole family was excited and anxious to vote, but I was especially excited since I was voting for the first time, and in such an important election. It is a very exciting time to be alive.

My mom has always told me that we have to vote, because people have died for that right My mom, dad, and myself went to vote together. My underage brother also went, just so he could experience a part of history and see what it is like to vote, when he is old enough. We voted before election day, thinking that we wouldn’t have such a long line. My mom said that she has waited for two or three hours in recent elections, so she figured that the lines would be crazy. And she was right.

I took my mom to work on a Tuesday. My dad, brother and myself picked my mom up from work and went straight to Veteran’s Memorial to vote. We thought that we could go right after my mom got off work at 3:00 p.m. and avoid ridiculous, long lines. So we did the early absentee voting at the polls. But, we were surprised to see all the vehicles leaving and coming in the parking lot, we were lucky to find a half-way decent parking space.

We had to go a long way in Vets Memorial, we had to go up several flights of stairs and we saw a long zigzag line from the door from which we walked in to the door leading to the voting booths. It didn’t look good for us getting in and out quickly. I was very impatient, I was ready to leave already. My mom is also not very patient when waiting in line, so she was pacing and complaining. She kept looking ahead trying to figure out where the line was going. Every time we thought we were making head way, we found out that the line made another twist or turn. The lines seemed like they were moving so slowly, to help pass time we talked and goofed off amongst each other.

As we’re moving my mom notices one of her friends from work exiting the voting area, they began to socialize with one another for a minute or two. My brother and dad were horse playing with one another like they always do. I was hungry and thirsty. The pop in the soda machines were two dollars and fifty cents if I remember correctly, so that was out of the question.

Slowly, we were progressing in line. Finally we made it to the beginning of the line. We were almost ready to enter the voting booth. I was both excited and nervous, I thought to myself, what if I voted for the wrong person, what if I marked the wrong box. We get in the voting area and there’s another line but it’s moving faster than the line outside.

When we get inside we show our slips to the people coordinating the voting areas and they tell me I have to go to a different section than my family since it was my first time voting. The lady kept asking me questions. My mom kept looking over at me, I could tell she was wondering if something was wrong. Finally, she broke down and came over to hear what the lady was saying. After she finished asking me the questions, I could finally go vote. A man that worked the polls was talking to my mom and told her that we came on a good day because the weekend before, the lines were winding down the stairs and out the doors, and all the way down Broad Street, over the bridge.

So then, the moment of truth. I got in the booth, made my choices and turned in my ballot. I had just participated in the election that changed America. I don’t believe that President Barack Obama is the Anti-Christ, but is the 2008 presidential election another sign that we are living in the last days?

During the tribulation the world will have one government. It is predicted two world leaders will rule the world. The main leader will be the beast or the Antichrist, while the other will be the false prophet. Some say that the false prophet will have the power to perform miracles, similar to the ones performed by Jesus Christ. The false prophet will attempt to get people to worship the beast. The focus will be to get everyone to get a satanic mark on their right hand or forehead in order to buy or sell. This is called the Mark of the Beast. God warns us if we take the Mark of the Beast, we will be under the control of Satan and destined for hell.

The one world government will probably look like a good idea, probably because of some global crisis. The Antichrist and the false prophet will deceive people into thinking they are good. They are able to gain control, probably because the world is in desperate need of peace, which the Antichrist will pretend to give. They will get people to sign a treaty allowing them to reign for seven years. This is an agreement of false peace. This will happen at the start of the seven year tribulation. In the middle of the tribulation, 1260 days after the agreement was signed, the Beast will break the agreement, enter his temple, and claim to be God and begin blaspheming against God.

At the end of the tribulation the battle of Armageddon will occur. Jesus will battle the two Antichrists, defeat them, and then take them to Hell. Jesus will then restore his kingdom here on earth.

The anti-Christ is an important piece of end time prophecy. The bible does tell us of the anti-christ. The anti-christ is supposed to be a political and religious individual that comes in to power. This individual is opposed to God and mimics Christ. He claims to be anointed by God, but he is not, he is a false Christ. The anti-Christ is supposed to rise to power and save the world from its desperate economic and political problems with a seven year peace plan. Many people speculate who the Anti-Christ is. There are alot of people saying that Barack Obama is a anti-Christ. I do not believe this.

Some of the information spreading is that the anti-christ will be a man of Muslim/Arab descent. Another is that he will be a man in his 40s and rule for 42 months. Others believe that the anti-christ will have to be of Jewish descent in order to claim to be the Messiah. The bible attributes certain characteristics to the anti-christ such as he is very charismatic, intelligent and a very determined person. He has potential to be a great leader and has the ability to inspire millions. According to the bible, the anti-christ is going to be a leader of a one-world government that will deceive the entire world in the end times. The Bible tells us that the anti-christ comes to power in a time of peace and will rule in peace and prosperity, but then, the tribulation brings evil and devastation.

This part of the blog will focus on the actual event of the rapture and what the bible tells us will happen. The bible tells us that there will be seven years of tribulation on Earth. During this tribulation, God pours out his wrath upon the Earth. It will be a scary and awful time. Some people believe that Christ will return before the tribulation and some believe that He will come after the tribulation. During the tribulation, Satan will rule the Earth. At the end of the seven year tribulation, Christ will return to defeat Satan and set up his Kingdom in Jerusalem.

At the rapture of the church, All the Christians will gather in the sky to be with the Lord in Heaven, both the dead and the living. The living Christians will be instantly changed into a spiritual body and will not experience death. The bible tells us that the dead in Christ will be resurrected first and will be joined in the air with those living in Christ. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

During this time, God will also send two witnesses to preach. Their ministry will last 1260 days. After that time, they will be killed. They will lie in the street for three and one-half days. There have been many guesses of who the two witnesses are, some think it will be Elijah and Enoch or Moses. God will not allow these witnesses to be killed until 1260 1/2 days have past. Then, they will be killed and the whole world can see their bodies lying in the street, probably on TV or the internet. Then, these two men will come back to life and stand up, all this will happen for the world to see.

The Bible describes the end times as a time of great tribulation such that the world has ever seen and ever will see. Matthew 24:21. God tells us that no one knows the day or the hour this will happen and that it will come like a thief in the night. God tells us to watch and be prepared for these times. The bible gives us signs to watch for so that we know this time is nearing. These signs given by Jesus that helps us predict his coming and lets us know we are living in the end times.

The first sign is false prophets and christs. This means that people will claim to be Christ. Over the years, many such as, David Koresh have claimed to be the Messiah. But, Jesus tells us that he will not come back in some secret place. Jesus said he will come back from the Heavens and all eyes will see him. The second sign is wars and rumors of wars. Rumors of wars have become pretty common in today’s world. We all know of the war in Iraq, and because of terrorist threats from people like Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden there is always potential for another war. A third sign is famines and pestilence. Pestilence is disease. We have many new diseases that have appeared relatively recently, such as SARS disease, AIDS, Mad Cow disease, to name a few. A large portion of the worlds people suffer from food shortage, especially in Africa. A fourth sign is earthquakes. The number of earthquakes in this day and age is larger than any other number in history. The Earth has also seen tsunamis and hurricanes and other record breaking weather patterns. Another sign of the end times is that the gospel that will be preached throughout the world.

I am a college student that attends OSU. This Blog is about why I believe we are currently living in the last days or the end times. I am a Christian and I believe in the end times. The Bible tells us that God created the world and that sin entered the world. God sent Jesus Christ so that we may overcome sin and live eternally with God in Heaven. The Bible tells us that Jesus was born into the Earth a man and lived on Earth as other men. He started preaching the scripture and many did not accept his teachings. Jesus was crucified and he rose and ascended in the sky to Heaven on the third day and is alive in Heaven.

The end time prophecy tells us that Jesus is coming back to Earth for his church. This is called the second coming or the rapture. The Bible describes that Jesus will appear in the sky when he returns, just like he did when he ascended to Heaven. When Jesus returns, the Bible tells us that he is coming to get the believers and take them to Heaven. This is called the rapture of the Church. The Bible also tells us that no one knows the day or the hour of Jesus’ return, except God. But, Jesus and the Bible gives us signs of the end of age. This blog will explore those signs and tell why I believe that those signs tell us that this is the generation that is living in the end times.