Even at the Doors blog

(March 1, 2010) In the wake of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, MSNBC has an article on the increase of earthquakes around the world. (Big quake question: Are they getting worse?) The author writes, “One scientist, however, says that relative to the time period from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, Earth has been more active over the past 15 years or so.” He quotes a geophysicist as saying, “We still do not know the reason for this yet. Could simply be the natural temporal variation of the stress field in the earth’s lithosphere.” (The lithosphere is the outer solid part of the Earth.)” Jesus gave signs to His disciples to look for when the end is near, “3 As He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age?’ 4 And Jesus answered them, ‘Take heed that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: 8 all this is but the beginning of the labor pains.” (Matthew 24:3-8) Leading into the End-Times Jesus said that false religious leaders, wars, famines, and earthquakes would increase in various places. He likened these events to labor pains which means they will become increasingly more painful and occur closer and closer together. The recent earthquake activity may be a precursor to what Jesus says will happen before the end.

Global Economy

The Prime Minister of England said that a global tax is near. (Global bank tax near, says Brown) The article states, “Gordon Brown said on Wednesday the world’s leading economies were close to agreeing a global bank tax, amid hopes in Downing Street that a deal can be concluded at the G20 summit in Canada in June.”  U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorses a global tax on stock trades and other financial transactions. (Pelosi Endorses ‘Global’ Tax on Stocks, Bonds, and other Financial Transactions)

In a related story the International Monetary Fund proposed a new global reserve currency. (Head of IMF Proposes New Reserve Currency) The article states, “the head of the International Monetary Fund, suggested Friday that the organization one day might be called upon to provide countries with a global reserve currency that would serve as an alternative to the U.S. dollar.”

The London Telegraph Newspaper economics commentator, Edmund Conway, recently wrote a column titled “I’m Dreaming of a Cashless Christmas” in which he said “This is a bold statement to make: currency has been an integral part of our world, in one way or another, since 3,000BC. But the simple fact is that we can survive without it. In fact, abolishing notes and coins could make the world and its economies far less dysfunctional.” (I’m Dreaming of a Cashless Christmas)  Some of the comments that followed his article brought up the issues of the “Mark of the Beast” and the “New World Order”. This caused Mr. Conway to write a followup article: (The New World Disorder) “A couple of weeks ago I wrote a column about the possibility that at some point in the future we may abandon cash in favour of electronic payments. I expected to receive a pretty healthy dose of criticism for what was a pretty radical suggestion; what I hadn’t expected was the direction in which that criticism would soon flow. Within a few comments, I was being accused of being part of a vast global conspiracy to create a New World Order (NWO, I gather one should shorten it to) in which the absence of cash would be a key factor. Well, to be more precise, the end of hard currency would also coincide with the introduction of a world government, a world currency and so on – you get the general idea.” He goes on to say he is not part of any conspiracy to “replace national governments with an international super-authority, though I’m flattered some of our readers believe I would ever be considered by the authorities to be worth involving in such an enterprise.”  However, Mr. Conway makes an observation about possible collusion amongst the world’s governments that I believe overlooks the bigger picture:

“And yet rumours of an NWO are still more pervasive than ever before. Why? In part, because members of governments around the world do talk to each other a lot, most often in open and usually well-reported fora (ie the IMF, UN, EC, Davos, the G7 and G20 etc). The whole premise of many of these multilateral meetings is precisely in order to forge a more internationalist style of politics where every country’s leadership thinks not merely of their own voters but also of the interests of overseas nations when they create policy. But this push is less an attempt to create an NWO than it is to avert the opposite – the threat of war. Remember – these institutions were set up in the wake of the Second World War, when politicians were trying to pull every lever they could to ensure there wouldn’t be a third war. So the conspiracy theorists are right: there is a push towards international government – but to suggest they could overreach each nation’s individual national interests is really endowing them with far more capability than they have…

Throughout my time covering economics and politics for a number of newspapers, I have come over time to the conclusion not that there is a carefully orchestrated global plan being masterminded by leading politicians (be it to create a NWO or, in some other way, to dupe people out of their liberty or prosperity) but that the politicians and policymakers have less of a clue about what to do than the rest of us. It’s been obvious every step of the way through this financial crisis – and that to me is actually rather scarier than the idea of a conspiracy. Are these people, who have stumbled their way from one disaster to another, really capable of engineering a global conspiracy, overturning peoples’ deep local tribalism? Not a chance.”

I agree with Mr. Conway that the politicians of the world are incapable of uniting the earth under one “flag”. However, the Bible declares that one man, unlike any other human who has ever lived, will by demonic power unify a large part of the earth’s governments under his administration:  “4 And they worshipped the dragon [the Devil] which gave power unto the beast [the Antichrist] and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:4-8)

Whether or not these economic policies take place, it is just another indicator of the technological state of the world which allows for the global monitoring of financial transactions and the unification of the global economy. The Bible declares in the last days that some type of global economic system will be in place and run by the Antichrist and his government. “16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 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. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” (Revelation 13:16-18)

Government Monitoring

There have been some recent news stories (just like the global economic  monitoring that is now technologically possible) about government monitoring in other areas of citizen’s lives. In Australia, the government has monitored Australian’s waste usage with microchips placed in their trash cans. (Spy chips hidden in 2.5 MILLION dustbins)  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency said they may use a software technology called Einstein to monitor Internet communications on private networks in order to combat cyber attacks. (Feds weigh expansion of Internet monitoring)  Neither of these stories necessarily impute a sinister motive on the part of these governments in using the technology available. The point is that the technology is available for the first time in history to closely monitor the habits and behaviors of human beings. One day an evil government will use this techonology for its own evil designs. 

Islamic Wrath

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi has called for Jihad against the country of Switzerland because of that country’s ban on the building of Islamic minarets. (Kadhafi calls for jihad against Switzerland over minaret ban) Kadhafi stated, “It is against unbelieving and apostate Switzerland that jihad ought to be proclaimed by all means…Jihad against Switzerland, against Zionism, against foreign aggression is not terrorism.” This is not the isolated rambling of a rogue dictator as Hamas, Hezbollah, Iranian Leaders, and Saudi Arabian Wahhabism have illustrated over and over again. The one world religious system spoken of in Revelation ch. 13 may refer to Islam’s attempt to convert the rest of the world to their faith and laws.

Doomsday Clock; Supernova

The Doomsday Clock, an invention of scientists originally used to illustrate how close the world is to nuclear devastation and now includes climate devastation, was set back recently because of the policies of President Obama. (Doomsday clock is moved one minute further AWAY from fateful midnight… thanks to Obama)   This article reports, “The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947, two years after the U.S dropped the first atomic bombs on Japan in World War II. It was originally set at seven minutes to midnight. It has been altered 19 times since then by the Bulletin’s scientific board. The latest recorded time was two minutes to midnight in 1953 as the Cold War heated up between the U.S and Soviet Union.” I find it ironic that this clock was created in 1947 because in November of that year the United Nations voted to create the nation of Israel. The next year on May 14, 1948 the nation of Israel was born. This event started the real Doomsday clock. God laid out a timeframe in the Book of Ezekiel:

“1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.” (Ezekiel 37:1-11)

In 1948 I believe that God raised the Jews from their “graves” and returned them to the land of Israel as a dry, secular nation. The next stage in the process involves putting sinews or muscles on the nation of Israel. This is mere speculation on my part but it may be that the powerful Israeli military may be a partial fulfillment of this part of Ezekiel’s prophecy. Muscles are an indicator of the strength of a body and the Israeli army has been an indicator of the strength of the Jews’ will to survive and live. 

The next phase of the dry bones vision stated that the nation of Israel would have flesh and skin put on it. The Bible does not speak highly of human flesh. It uses “flesh” as a metaphor for our sinful natures, which try to please God by good works or rebel against Him by evil works. I believe it is possible that when the Jews rebuild the third or Tribulation Temple, this will fulfill the flesh stage of their rebirth as a nation. They will believe they are honoring God with their new Temple and sacrifices yet the Antichrist will actually be using them for his purposes. 

This brings us to the final stage of the dry bones vision. God declared that He will put His breath or Spirit in the nation of Israel and they will be His people and He will be their God. This will take place at the second coming of Jesus Christ. The prophet Zechariah spoke of this event: 

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10) 

This passage is a reference to the second coming of Jesus Christ when the whole world will look on Him whom they pierced. God at that time will pour out His Spirit upon Israel and they will receive God’s Servant Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

The last part of this vision of Ezekiel’s declares that God’s Servant will be King over the Jews and the land of Israel. Again, this refers to the Messianic Kingdom over which Jesus will reign.

Thus, I believe the real Doomsday Clock began ticking with the creation of the modern state of Israel.