Why do people believe in Bible prophecy? Well, there are a few points about Bible prophecy that are very hard to “explain away”, the way scientists love to explain away the miracles of the Bible or the miracle of creation, for that matter, by very shaky, but “scientific” explanations (like the theory of Evolution....).
For example, how come a book, which has been allegedly in existence for thousands of years (-and even if one would doubt that: a book which definitely & as a matter of fact has existed for at least centuries-), how can such a book describe events, situations & conditions which have only been possible & imaginable for the past 100 years? Take for example this astounding verse in the Book Of Revelation, written by Jesus’ own apostle John (also author of the gospel & the epistles of John), when he was 90 years old, living in Roman exile on the island of Patmos in what is now Turkey, in A.D. 97: In the 18th verse of the 11th chapter of that book we find this amazing statement:” And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that hey should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”
You see, 2000 years ago, or even 200 years ago, that statement did not make any sense. Because nobody was able to even begin to try to destroy the Earth. All the weapons of war invented until the beginning & even through most of the first half of the 20th century would have only been a joke, trying to inflict serious damage to our planet. This has radically changed since the invention of the atomic bomb. Not only that, but since then, man has increased his amount of pollution, emission of heat and the amount of deforestation and his exploitation of the Earth in general, to such an extent, that he is literally not only threatening to destroy the Earth, but actually doing so. And yet, only 100 years ago, this would have been utterly inconceivable.
There is another amazing section in the Book Of Revelation, which is talking about something which hasn’t happened yet, but which scientists, and entire companies of electronic experts are currently working on: In Revelation 13:16 & 17, this ancient book, the Bible, foretells a man who, “causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.....”. It’s this particular prediction I would like to zoom in on. We have here the prediction of what many visionaries have dreamed of since money exists: the cashless society - Buy or sell with nothing but a small, perhaps invisible mark in your right hand or forehead, not even a credit card needed. Isn’t that a common internet slogan: “NO CREDIT CARD NEEDED!” – No credit card, no cash, no cheque, only a number apparently, implanted into your right hand or forehead. Cool, huh!?
Well, not so cool in the light of the previous verse, stating that this same fellow will kill all those who refuse to worship some strange talking, “image of the Beast”... that sounds a bit suspicious to me, if you ask me. But let’s first expound on this cashless society. As a person who has personally experienced not only the comings & going of zeros behind the values of existing currencies, such a the Dinar of Yugoslavia in the seventies, but also the abolition & replacement of whole currencies within months, such as the Argentinean peso, first by new pesos & later by currencies with completely different names, like the “Austral”, I have experienced that money, when it comes down to it, is just paper with a few numbers & images on it, worth as much as people determine or claim or believe it to be worth. Here today, gone tomorrow. Not in any way comparable to currencies of former centuries, like silver & gold...(although someone might ask, who its to say which metal is worth more than another, just because one is more rare than the other... But still:) paper can be produced & replaced any old time, as long as there are still a few trees left in this world.
Then there are historic events, like the Global financial depression, beginning in October 1929 & stretching through the early 1930s, giving rise to great power to men like Adolph Hitler & a few of his contemporaries. I have actually not only seen, but had in possession money bills from that time, which had incredible numbers on them, like “1 Billion Reichsmark”. (That’s 1.000.000.000.000!) And yet, allegedly, people would need wheelbarrows full of those to buy a loaf of bread in those days. This may be slightly exaggerated, but is to show how fragile the value of paper money really is.
And those things still happen today, as in
Even the value of the US Dollar has changed incredibly during my 4 decades on this planet. In 1984, the US Dollar bought more than 3,50 Deutschmarks. Then, a year later, there appeared a gigantic, whole page ad in one of the leading financial newspapers of Frankfurt, the economical Mecca or “Wall Street” of Germany, stating something like this, “Gentlemen, this is it! Unless the US Dollar will be reduced to a maximum value of 1,58 Deutschmarks, the entire global economy will collapse...”. And believe it or not, less than a year later, the dollar was down to 1,58 DM. I may be slightly off on the exact dates & values here, but that's the way I remember it. And then the Yen took a nose-dive sometime in the late 80s, wreaking havoc in
The latest, interesting stunt performed with money on an international scale, was the introduction of the Euro in 2002, replacing the main gist of all former European currencies, including the Deutsch Mark & the French Franc, actually, pretty much all except for the British Pound.
The funny thing is, the Euro has a different value in each of its countries, as it buys more of certain things in
For some, this has meant greater gain, for most, greater loss. As one can observe on a global scale, the rich are getting richer all the time, while the poor are getting more numerous & poorer all the time, & there are plenty of statistics available on that statement I don't wanna bore you to death with.
What's all that have to do with the "cashless society" & the "mark of the Beast" anyway? Well, the technology to replace money by an electronic chip implant is already available. All that stands between us & it's implementation is another global economical crises of the kind the world experienced in the 1930s, giving rise, perhaps, to another friendly chap, like Hitler, who will this time not only "solve the problems" of a single nation with promises of another "golden millenium" (Hitler claimed he was ushering in an empire to last 1000 years, "das tausendjährige Reich"), but this time of the whole world, maybe even by abolishing cash (& a few other needless things, like religion, freedom, you name it), once & for all & introducing the wonderful, new, safe, cashless system! "Get marked today! & All your blues will melt away..." Sounds all very utopic & unreal to you right? After all, why should people accept this, as long as they can get down to the store on the corner & for a few bills buy whatever they want ?
Well, but what if the money doesn't buy ? What if "the stores are all closed"? Buy "a stairway to heaven"? what if people will get so hungry, so desperate, they 're willing to do ANYTHING for a loaf of bread? Wouldn't you receive a mark or a tattoo or a computer chip that enables you to buy food again? - Oh, but - don't forget to say "Thank You" to our wonderful new leader & pay respect to the "image" - whatever that is going to be.....
But as unfathomable as TVs, PCs & wireless phones were at the beginning of the 20th century, we've all got one now. So, I'm sure it will be only a matter of time until technology presents us the "most desirable object of all times in all the universe” (remember "Time Bandits" ?): Some kind of multimedia device, permanently linked to a new & improved internet, enabling us to purchase or sell with our handy new tattoos & even making obsolete the former scourge of mankind: RELIGION.
"As recently as 2003, fanatical Christian fundamentalist politicians, like the infamous last American president George W. Bush, used to threaten world peace..." A line from the history book of the New World Order?
“So, what's the big deal then? Why does the Bible say all that? Is the Mark good or bad? I don't dig it! And what's the alternative? Is there any?” Well, the alternative may be a little harder to accept than a tattoo for bread when you are starving. But the alternative once described itself as "the bread of life". Or "the light of the world", the "way, the truth & the life", "The Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep". "The Door to eternal life", "The Beginning & the End", "The Word of God", "which was made flesh & dwelt among us" as a carpenter's son, not a pompous politician. It says "He came unto his own, & his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: "Yeshua, the Messiah, aka Jesus the Christ.
He came, willing to look like a loser, someone who claimed that God was his REAL father, for which statement he was betrayed into the hands of the authorities by the religious establishment of his day, tortured & executed. But the Bible says that He died innocent to pay for your sins & if you accept that, He can even feed & protect you through the times to come without having to accept the Mark of the Beast (about which it also says that those who receive it are cursed, Rev. 14:9-11). He fed thousands from a few loafs & fishes in the wilderness & promised his followers of then & today, that they would do greater works than he did. All one has to do is to accept his sacrifice for their sins on the cross & ask him into your heart. Everyone is here to make a choice. A choice between the Beast, and the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev.13:8). God had shown throughout history, from Cain & Abel, through Abraham & Isaac, on to Moses & the first Passover lambs in
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