Posts Tagged ‘Revelation 13’

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The Revived Islamic Caliphate

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

(May 15, 2010) Three months ago I wrote an article for my website titled Islam and End-Times Prophecy and also posted it to this blog. The article is a synopsis of Walid Shoebat’s 2008 book God’s War on Terror: Islam, Prophecy and the Bible. In this book Mr. Shoebat shows how Islam could fulfill many of the prophetic descriptions the Bible reveals of End-Times events. I believe he makes many compelling points to support his position on Islam’s possible role in fulfilling God’s apocalyptic plans. Today I read a headline on the Drudge Report that illustrates precisely what Mr. Shoebat wrote in his book two years ago.

In his book God’s War on Terror Mr. Shoebat compares the Islamic messiah called the Mahdi with the description of the biblical Antichrist. He points out that both the Antichrist and the Mahdi will seek to change God’s laws (Daniel 7:25). In this case the Mahdi will institute Shari’a Law as much as he can. In another parallel, according to Islamic scholars, the Mahdi will occupy the Temple Mount and reign from there (Matthew 24:15; II Thessalonians 2:4). Mr. Shoebat makes forty-three comparisons overall between the Antichrist and Islam’s future ruler, the Mahdi.

One of the most interesting insights he offers concerns the revival of the Islamic Ottoman Empire in the End-Times. This Turkish Empire began in 1299 A.D. and was ruled by a sultan. In the early 1500s the Ottoman Empire’s sultan also assumed the title of Caliph of Islam. The Empire eventually spread over three continents. On March 3, 1924 the Turkish government formally abolished the Islamic Caliphate. Concerning this event Mr. Shoebat states in his book:

“Biblically, the Empire of the Antichrist will not be a new empire; rather it will be the revival of a previously great empire that will have suffered what the Bible calls a ‘fatal head wound’. (Revelation 13:3) But the wound will be healed and the empire will be revived from the dead as it were: ‘And the beast [Antichrist Empire] which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain and his fatal wound healed. And the whole world was amazed and followed after the beast.” (Revelation 13:2-3)

“Today the Caliphate exists only in the desires of hundreds of millions of Muslims worldwide who want to revive this beast that was slain March 3, 1924. The last Caliphate–the Ottoman Caliphate–was officially abolished by the first President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The abolition of the Caliphate is profoundly significant for our study. For it was on this day that the Islamic Empire, led by a sitting Caliph for over fourteen hundred years suffered a fatal head wound. The position of “head of state” of the Islamic Empire was severed.” ["God's War on Terror: Islam, Prophecy and the Bible, by Walid Shoebat, p. 81; Top Executive Media, 2008]

Thus, Mr. Shoebat believes that the Islamic Empire will rise again and be governed under Shari’a Law in the form of a Caliphate. The ruling sultan and caliph of this revived empire will be the Islamic messianic figure called the Mahdi. That is why this headline on the Drudge Report caught my attention: “Iranian cleric urges creation of ‘Greater Iran’; caliphate would rule Middle East, central Asia…” The link led to an AP news story (Iranian cleric wants creation of ‘Greater Iran’) which reports:

“A radical cleric called Saturday for the creation of a “Greater Iran” that would rule over the entire Middle East and Central Asia, in an event that he said would herald the coming of Islam’s expected messiah…He also said its formation would be a prelude to the reappearance of the Mahdi, a revered ninth-century saint known as the Hidden Imam, whom Muslims believe will reappear before judgment day to end tyranny and promote justice in the world. ‘The Islamic United States will be an introduction to the formation of the global village of the oppressed and that will be a prelude to the single global rule of the Mahdi,’ the Hezbollah newspaper quoted him as saying.”

I would strongly recommend that any student of Bible End-Times prophecy read Mr. Shoebat’s book for a perspective that many Western prophecy commentators may have missed.

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Posted in Archives 2010, Revelation 13 Antichrist | 3 Comments »

Technology, Government Monitoring, Economic Crisis

Friday, May 7th, 2010

(May 6th, 2010) There have been several news stories recently that may be prophetically related to the global government and economic devastation John saw in the Book of Revelation:

“1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast [i.e. the Antichrist] rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon [i.e. the Devil] gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: 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. 9 If any man have an ear, let him hear…11 And I beheld another beast [i.e. the False Prophet] coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 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 13:1-9,11-18)

God revealed the End-Times to His servant John and told him to write down the things he saw occurring on the earth (Revelation 1:11). In chapter 13 of Revelation John wrote that he saw a man ascend to power out of the sea (of humanity). This man channels the full authority and might of the Devil to mesmerize the world to follow after him. He will use the forces of Hell to gain dominion over a large part of the earth. He will be so powerful that the world will ask “Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” A religious leader will rise at the same time and cause the world to worship the Antichrist. This False Prophet will develop a global economic system where no business transactions can take place unless the participants have pledged their allegiance to this evil leader and received his mark of identification. Of course, a military and economic system of of this magnitude would require the constant monitoring of the people who will make up his empire. Modern technology has made this scenario that John witnessed feasible for the first time in human history. Recent headlines demonstrate that the technology needed to carry out such an endeavor either has been or will be developed in the near future to allow this man to fulfill the prophetic vision that John saw.

One other event which God showed to John was the circumstances under which the world would unquestionably follow the Antichrist and allow him to take on the mantle of global savior or false messiah as Jesus called him in chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew. John wrote:

“5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:5-6)

John saw a series of events that took place on the earth during the End-Times. The first part of this series included the opening of seven seals which begin the seven-year Tribulation Period or time of trouble that is coming upon the whole earth. The opening of the Third Seal speaks of an economic crisis that occurs on a global scale. He sees that people have to spend the equivalent of a day’s wages just to purchase food. In the End-Times teaching of Jesus he declared that there would be famines in the earth (Matthew ch. 24). The Antichrist will seemingly have the answer to this economic devastation and all he will require of the world to solve the problem will be allegiance to himself and his empire. It is worth noting that Adolph Hitler rose to power when Germany experienced terrible economic distress immediately following their defeat in World War I. The German people were so desperate (There is a famous photo of a German taking a wheelbarrow full of money to buy food) that they swore allegiance to Hitler and looked to him as the savior of Germany. Instead he led them to worse destruction and ruin than they had experienced after the first World War. Likewise, the people of the world will look to the Antichrist as the savior of the world and this time it will lead to the destruction and ruin of the earth. Some Western Bible scholars believe that he will come out of Europe while others like Walid Shoebat think he will come out of Turkey. Either way for him to rise to power and fulfill biblical prophecy the technology has to be in place for him to control his earthly empire.

Financial Times – US prepares to push for global capital rules – This article illustrates the interconnectedness of the economies of the various countries of the world and the desire for international regulations governing these economies.

Washington Times – Bank bill could help feds snoop, GOP warns - This concerns a congressional financial regulations bill. This article states, “The consumer protection bureau, to be part of the Federal Reserve, and the financial research office, proposed within the Treasury Department, could gather information on financial transactions right down to consumers’ loans, according to critics, who said this is the first time the government would cast such a wide net. “They both have sweeping authority to collect information about financial transactions, and there’s little to ensure they aren’t going to collect detailed information, personal financial transactions,” said Jim Harper, director of information-policy studies at the Cato Institute.“ The point is that the technology is available to keep track of private citizens financial transactions.

Reuters – Many possible triggers for wider euro debt crisis - This article discusses the dire economic straits of the European Union. One day economic chaos will lead to the rise of the Antichrist.

London Daily Telegraph – New speed cameras trap motorists from space – A new type of speed cameras use satellites to measure average speed over long distances are being tested in Britain. The article reports, “The company said in its evidence that the cameras enabled number plate capture in all weather conditions.” This technology would allow governments to track individual’s movements.

Philly.com – Lower Merion report: Web cams snapped 56,000 images- Philadelphia school district uses free laptops with active webcams to take photos inside students’ homes. Government uses technology to intrude into citizens’ personal lives.

British Technology website The Register – Google Street View logs WiFi networks, Mac addresses - This story relates, “Google’s roving Street View spycam may blur your face, but it’s got your number. The Street View service is under fire in Germany for scanning private WLAN networks, and recording users’ unique Mac (Media Access Control) addresses, as the car trundles along. Germany’s Federal Commissioner for Data Protection Peter Schaar says he’s “horrified” by the discovery. “I am appalled… I call upon Google to delete previously unlawfully collected personal data on the wireless network immediately and stop the rides for Street View,” according to German broadcaster ARD. Spooks have long desired the ability to cross reference the Mac address of a user’s connection with their real identity and virtual identity, such as their Gmail or Facebook account.”

Agence France-Presse (AFP) - Police cameras to flood Manhattan to prevent attacks - The article states, “The high-tech system, modeled on the “ring of steel” in London’s financial district, is already in service in lower Manhattan, where Wall Street and the World Trade Center reconstruction site are located. Headquartered at 55 Broadway, the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative goes far beyond the traditional hodgepodge of police cameras, such as the 82 devices installed around Times Square. Instead, an integrated system maintains an unblinking eye, not just watching, but constantly collecting license plate numbers and video of pedestrians and drivers, as well as detecting explosives and other weapons. An important component of the program is coordination between the police network and private businesses’ cameras, something that has not been established in Times Square, causing detectives significant extra work.”

The Washington Examiner - New recycling bins with tracking chips coming to Alexandria - “That cash — roughly $180,000 collected from 19,000 residents– will pay for new larger recycling carts equipped with computer microchips, which will allow the city to keep tabs on its bins and track resident participation in the city’s recycling program. “If you know who’s participating in the programs, you can focus your education and outreach to those who are not participating,” said Stacy Herring, Alexandria’s recycling coordinator.” Notice the phrase about keeping track of those who are not participating. The Antichrist and his government will also track those who have not sworn their allegiance to him and participate in his global society.

The Pennsylvania Department of Taxation put out an interesting video in order to recoup lost tax revenue:

YouTube Preview Image

Though this is just an advertisement one day such governmental monitoring may be used during the Tribulation Period. As you can see by the headlines above and many others like them, technology is available to implement the global economic and religious systems John saw in Revelation. All that is needed is for the Antichrist to rise on the world scene and exploit the technology to achieve global dominance.

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“Christian” Militia vs. the Antichrist and Christianity

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

(March 30, 2010) Over the last few days the FBI has conducted raids against a Michigan-based militia group over a three-state area. The headline on the London Daily Mail website read, FBI launches raids on Christian militia group which is ‘preparing for battle against an Anti-Christ’ The article reports, “FBI agents arrested at least three suspected members of a Christian militia group during raids across three states over the weekend. The raids took place in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio and were targeted at the Hutaree group which claims to be preparing for a battle against ‘an Anti-Christ’. A law enforcement official said the people arrested, believed to include the leader of the militia, face gun charges.” It goes on to quote the militia’s website, “We believe that one day, as prophecy says, there will be an Anti-Christ. Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment.”

The leader of this militia group called the Hutaree was David Brian Stone. According to a different article (Christian militia accused of plotting to kill cops) his ex-wife said, “It started out as a Christian thing. You go to church. You pray. You take care of your family. I think David started to take it a little too far.” The article goes on to report, “Prosecutors said Stone had identified certain law enforcement officers near his home as potential targets. He and other members discussed setting off bombs at a police funeral, using a fake 911 call to lure an officer to his death, killing an officer after a traffic stop, or attacking the family of an officer, according to the indictment. After such attacks, the group allegedly planned to retreat to “rally points” protected by trip-wired explosives for a violent standoff with the law. ‘It is believed by the Hutaree that this engagement would then serve as a catalyst for a more widespread uprising against the government,’ the indictment said.”

vs. Christianity

I have a problem with this story on several levels. The first is with the term Christian Militia.The online Random House Dictionary gives the following definitions for the word militia:

1. a body of citizens enrolled for military service, and called out periodically for drill but serving full time only in emergencies.

2. a body of citizen soldiers as distinguished from professional soldiers.

3. all able-bodied males considered by law eligible for military service.

4. a body of citizens organized in a paramilitary group and typically regarding themselves as defenders of individual rights against the presumed interference of the government

The militia in question would fall under the fourth definition. From a biblical point of view (and the only one that ultimately matters) Christians are called to obey governments and their ruling leaders as long as their laws don’t contradict the laws of God:

“1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.” (Romans 13:1-7)

The exception to obeying governing authorities is when rulers tell you to do something that is contrary to God’s word:

“26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought [the disciples], but without violence, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, ‘We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’ 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’” (Acts 5:26-29)

For example, I believe abortion does contradict God’s law but unlike China, America does not force its citizens to have abortions. I do believe Christians should use all the spiritual, political, legal, and civil means at our disposal to overturn the abortion laws in America. But God is the One who declares, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

Concerning the issue at hand, this militia group is not Christian by its actions nor their belief system when it comes to fighting and disobeying the government. Pastor John McArthur of Grace Communnity Church gives the following definition of a Christian:

  • You have been delivered from error into truth – That is you believe and understand the full truth of the Gospel and what it declares about Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:13)
  • You have been delivered from sin into the righteousness of Jesus Christ and the good fruit that bears (Romans 3:21-26)
  • You have been delivered from this present age into the eternal kingdom (Galatians 1:4)

    • Conversely then a non-Christian would reject the truth of God’s word. I know that God says we should not sin yet I do sin. However, I acknowledge that God’s truth declares sin is wrong even though I struggle with it. If I say that sin is okay then I would be rejecting the truth of God’s word and would not be a Christian. To say that everyone who calls themselves a Christian is in fact a Christian is not true. Jesus Himself declared:

    “15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”  (Matthew 7:15-27)

    vs. Antichrist

    Another problem I have with this story is the belief of this militia that they will fight militarily against the Antichrist. When the Antichrist arises to power and enters into the Third Temple in Jerusalem he will lead an army against God’s people:

    “1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed the beast with wonder. 4 Men worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” 5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months; 6 it opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and tongue and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, every one whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain. 9 If any one has an ear, let him hear: 10 If any one is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if any one slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.” (Revelation 13:1-10)

    Whether this is an Islamic army or European army is open to prophetic interpretation. The Antichrist will use these armies “to make war on the saints and to conquer them”. However, the Lord Jesus Christ will lead His glorified army and defeat the Antichrist and his forces:

    “3 I have commanded My sanctified ones, I have also called My mighty ones for Mine anger, even them that rejoice in My highness. 4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. 5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of His indignation, to destroy the whole land. 6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: 8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. 9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. 11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.” (Isaiah 13:3-11)

    “1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 11 And the LORD shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong that executeth His word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” (Joel 2:1-11)

    “11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name inscribed which no one knows but Himself. 13 He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On His robe and on His thigh He has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, ‘Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.’ 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against Him who sits upon the horse and against His army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword of Him who sits upon the horse, the sword that issues from His mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.” (Revelation 19:11-21)

    “3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (II Thessalonians 2:3-10)

    These passages speak of the Lord leading His army in the last days. It is not the militias who will defeat the Antichrist and his armies but rather the Lord Jesus Christ who will destroy them.

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    Earthquakes; Global Tax & Money; Government Monitoring; Islamic Ire; Doomsday Clock

    Monday, March 1st, 2010

    (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.

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    Posted in Archives 2010, Global monitoring, Governmental monitoring, Israel and Ezekiel, Revelation, Revelation 13 666, Revelation 13 Antichrist | No Comments »

    Is technology leading to a one-world economy under the Antichrist?

    Sunday, March 15th, 2009
    Euro Coin

    Euro Coin

    (March 15, 2009)  Over two thousand years ago God showed to His servant John the future of the world at the end of the current age. He told John to write down the things he saw and heard. This resulted in the Book of Revelation. One of the things John observed was the rise of an evil global leader he called the beast and whom Christians call the Antichrist. He described this person in chapter 13 of Revelation:  “2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”  The Antichrist will be a phenominal orator with the full backing of the Devil who will give him great authority to rule on earth (Revelation 12:9 confirms that the dragon is the Devil and Paul makes it clear that the Devil or “the god of this world” as he calls him has some authority over the earth – 2 Corinthians 4:4). John sees an assassination attempt made on this leader although its not clear whether the Antichrist is killed and raised from dead or just wounded: “3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: 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.” It appears that because of his miraculous recovery from the assassination attempt and because of his great oratory the world will worship him (and through him the Devil). His power seems to be all-encompassing as the people ask who is able to make war against him. The Antichrist will persecute the followers of God: “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.” From this last verse we can see that there is going to be a worldwide religious cult worshipping him. He is going to have a religious leader called the False Prophet (Revelation 19:20) head up this cult: “11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” The followers of the Antichrist will be identified by a mark they will receive in order to become members of his cult: “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.” This is probably the most well known concept in the Bible to non-believers in the world. John describes a future economic system whereby in order to participate a person is going to have to become a follower of the Antichrist. He does this by receiving some kind of identifying mark in right hand or forehead. Some believe this mark may be a computer chip that is implanted in a person which will allow them to participate in the economy. The implication is that the economy will have to become a cashless society and that all transactions will have to be able to be monitored by this global government. Remember, John is describing things that he saw in at least the 21st Century with a First Century experience. Since he wrote this over two thousand years ago it has not been technologically possible to track all the financial transactions in the whole world until the last decade or so. The following headlines illustrate that we are headed toward the global monitoring of our finances and a one-world system to implement the fulfillment of this prophecy:

    Nobel-prize winner backs world currency:  The article states “KAZAKH President Nursultan Nazarbayev has won backing for his plan for a single world currency from an intellectual architect of the euro currency, Nobel-prize winner Professor Robert Mundell. Nazarbayev, speaking at an economic forum in the glitzy new capital he has built on the Kazakh steppe, defended his proposal for the ‘acmetal’ world currency saying it might ‘look kind of funny’ but was not. And he received intellectual support from the Canadian economist Prof Mundell, who helped lay the intellectual groundwork for Europe’s single currency.” Russia is also calling for a common currency:  At G20, Kremlin to Pitch New Currency - “The Kremlin published its priorities Monday for an upcoming meeting of the G20, calling for the creation of a supranational reserve currency to be issued by international institutions as part of a reform of the global financial system. The International Monetary Fund should investigate the possible creation of a new reserve currency, widening the list of reserve currencies or using its already existing Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, as a ‘superreserve currency accepted by the whole of the international community,’ the Kremlin said in a statement issued on its web site.”  In Luxembourg a United Nations panel also is supporting the call for a common currency:  U.N. panel says world should ditch dollar  - “LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar.” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is calling for a single Islamic currency: Iran says capitalism on verge of collapse - The article reports, “Ahmadinejad made a series of recommendations, including currency cooperation.’The process of obtaining one single currency in the trade and exchanges among members, and in the next stages with other countries and neighbors, should be designed,’ he said.” China also has joined in the call for a new reserve currency:  China calls for new reserve currency - “China’s central bank on Monday proposed replacing the US dollar as the international reserve currency with a new global system controlled by the International Monetary Fund. In an essay posted on the People’s Bank of China’s website, Zhou Xiaochuan, the central bank’s governor, said the goal would be to create a reserve currency ‘that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run, thus removing the inherent deficiencies caused by using credit-based national currencies’.”  If the whole world eventually resorts to a single currency it would then be  easier to switch to a digital-only basis for a global system of finance.

    45 percent of world’s wealth destroyed says Blackstone CEO: This article declares, “Private equity company Blackstone Group LP CEO Stephen Schwarzman said on Tuesday that up to 45 percent of the world’s wealth has been destroyed by the global credit crisis. ‘Between 40 and 45 percent of the world’s wealth has been destroyed in little less than a year and a half,’ Schwarzman told an audience at the Japan Society. ’ This is absolutely unprecedented in our lifetime.’ But the U.S. government is committed to the preservation of financial institutions, he said, and will do whatever it takes to restart the economy.” This last sentence is very revealing in that it states that governments are willing to “do whatever it takes to restart the economy”. This will be the same reasoning that is used to implement the Antichrist’s global economic system.

    Web founder warns against website snooping: This Reuters article talks about the World Wide Web founder Tim Berners-Lee’s concerns about governmental and corporate monitoring of individual’s use of the Internet and their activities. The article states, “Technology now being developed will make it easier to decide who can see material one posts on the Web, and in what circumstances. For instance people may not want prospective employers to see an album of holiday photos, he said. Berners-Lee, a British software engineer who is now a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said innovation on the World Wide Web was speeding up. ‘ The Web is not all done, it’s just the tip of the iceberg,’ Berners-Lee said. ‘ I am convinced that the new changes are going to rock the world even more.’” The technology will only get more intrusive as time goes on.

    Advertisers get a trove of clues in smartphones: No technology is safe from either corporate or governmental intrusion as this article points out, “The millions of people who use their cellphones daily to play games, download applications and browse the Web may not realize that they have an unseen companion: advertisers that can track their interests, their habits and even their location. Smartphones, like the iPhone and BlackBerry Curve, are the latest and potentially most extensive way for advertisers to aim ads at certain consumers. Advertisers already tailor ads for small groups of consumers on the Web based on personal information. But cellphones have a much higher potential for personalized advertising, especially when they use applications like user-review sites like Yelp or Urbanspoon with GPS to identify a person’s location, right down to the street corner where they are standing.” What used to be personal is now open to scrutiny by government and corporate entities, even to the point that they can know our exact location at any given time.

    There have been hundreds if not thousands of news stories similar to these. It is not hard to see how all this information that is becoming available to governments could one day be centralized under the leadership of one man. The power he could then exert over the world would be unprecedented in human history. John said that he saw such an individual come to power at the end of this age. The technology is here for him once he attains power. The only question left is, “Are the current world crises the forerunner to his ascension or will it take similar events in the future that will lead to rise of the Antichrist?”

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    Denver archbishop warns against ‘spirit of adulation’ surrounding Obama

    Thursday, February 26th, 2009

    (February 25, 2009) Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput warned Catholics to be on guard against “a spirit of adulation bordering on servility” that exists towards the Obama administration. (Denver archbishop warns against ‘spirit of adulation’ surrounding Obama) The context for this speech centered around President Obama’s social policies. The article states, “According to the archbishop, the political situation for Catholics is difficult to discern because a ‘spirit of adulation bordering on servility already exists among some of the same Democratic-friendly Catholic writers, scholars, editors and activists who once accused pro-lifers of being too cozy with Republicans. It turns out that Caesar is an equal opportunity employer.’” It goes on to say, “In a reference to the messianic treatment the Barack Obama received from some Americans during the presidential primaries, Archbishop Chaput delivered his second point: ‘in democracies, we elect public servants, not messiahs.’” Noting that Obama actually trailed in the weeks just before the election, the Denver archbishop said that this places some of today’s talk about a “new American mandate” in perspective. Americans, including many Catholics, elected a gifted man to fix an economic crisis. That’s the mandate. They gave nobody a mandate to retool American culture on the issues of marriage and the family, sexuality, bioethics, religion in public life and abortion. That retooling could easily happen, and it clearly will happen — but only if Catholics and other religious believers allow it.’”

    In February of 2008 I wrote a post before the election titled, “Humans are seeking a messiah to step onto the world stage”. I wrote in that article, “The 2008 U.S. Presidential election campaign is revealing some interesting insights into human behavior. Several news outlets have likened the attitude of people supporting the candidacy of Barack Obama as one of bordering on messianic fever. Slate.com even has a page titled ‘The Obama Messiah Watch’.” My purpose was not to say that Obama thought he was the messiah but rather that people were looking for a charismatic leader to help solve their problems. This illustrated to me that when President Obama shows that he is not a messianic figure the world will still be willing to look for another messianic person to solve the world’s problems. One day there will be such a figure who arises on the global scene. The Book of Revelation refers to him as the beast and Christians call him the Antichrist. He will deceive the world through a message of peace as the prophet Daniel declared, “23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.” (Daniel 8:23-25) The apostle Paul alluded to this when he wrote, “1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3) But the world will follow him as the Book of Revelation declares, “3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: 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.” (Revelation 13:3-5) The fact that people have looked to President Obama as a messianic figure illustrates that they are willing to accept a global leader as their messiah. Especially one who might be the greatest orator in the history of the world and who brings a message of world peace and prosperity.

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    Government and technology continue to merge

    Thursday, February 26th, 2009

    (February 15, 2009) Recent news stories illustrate how technology continues to erode citizens’ privacy. The first involves the much publicized story of New York Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez’s steroid use. An article in the New York Times details the revelation of Mr. Rodriguez’s drug use: (As Data Collecting Grows, Privacy Erodes)   “The way Mr. Rodriguez’s positive steroid test result became public followed a path increasingly common in the computer age: third-party data collection.”   The article states, “The digital format makes it easy to cling to material that normally would be disposed of or would disintegrate. Storage is cheap and practically limitless. And Ms. Cohn [Cindy Cohn, the legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation] says of the people who dominate the Internet, ‘the people who design software, in my experience, tend to be pack rats.’”   The gist of this story seems to be that once information is stored on a computer it is open to public revelation at some point. It is interesting to note that J. Edgar Hoover, founder of the FBI, acquired personal information for use as political leverage against those who were in power. With technology dominating global economies and citizens’ private information it is easy to see how that one day a government could exert great power over its citizens.

    On a related front the city of Chicago is proposing to put a surveillance camera on every street corner: (Surveillance cams help fight crime, city says)  “Mayor Daley has argued that security and terrorism won’t be an issue if his Olympic dreams come true because, by 2016, there will be a surveillance camera on every street corner in Chicago. But even before that blanket coverage begins, the “Big Brother’’ network is being put to better use. Call takers and dispatchers now see real-time video if there is a surveillance cameras within 150 feet of a 911 call, thanks to a $6 million upgrade to the city’s “computer-aided dispatch” system.”  Of course the reason for this seems to make sense. These cameras can be used in the fight against crime. The problem is that like all technology, if the power of it is in the wrong hands it can be used against citizens whether or not they are doing anything wrong. Governments could follow people wherever they go visually or electronically through financial transactions or GPS.

    In Britain The Telegraph is reporting that the British government may use spy drones to “help police gather evidence and track criminals.”  (Remote-controlled planes could spy on British homes)  The article declares that there are those opposed to such government intervention, “However, their use is likely to provoke opposition from people sceptical of Britain’s increasing use of surveillance equipment, who fear they represent yet another example of the expansion of a Big Brother state.”  Again, this would be an effective tool in the fight against criminals and save policemens’ lives. Conversely, an evil government could wield immense power over its people.

    According to the Drudge Report:  Media baron Rupert Murdoch issued an urgent internal communication late Monday, warning his staff: “We are in the midst of a phase of history in which nations will be redefined and their futures fundamentally altered.”  It is not clear to me what types of change Mr. Murdoch is referring to but I can agree that prophetically he is correct that our world is going to change.

    The Book of Revelation declares that in the future an evil global government will exist. It will use all the tools available to control its citizens,  “3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast [i.e. the Antichrist]. 4 And they worshipped the dragon [i.e. the Devil] which gave power unto the beast: 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. 9 If any man have an ear, let him hear. 10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 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 13:3-18) To control the world’s financial transactions was not possible until the advent of the computer age and digital transactions. As technology continues to dominate every area of society one day it will lead to domination by a global government.

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    European leaders call for a United Nations global economic body

    Thursday, January 8th, 2009

    (January 8, 2009)  At a European economic conference, France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair declared that the current global financial crisis needs a global solution. (Sarkozy, Merkel, Blair call for new capitalism) The article reports various points the leaders are making, “the crisis has shown that no country can go it alone on economic policy”; “In the 21st century, there it is no longer a single nation who can say what we should do or what we should think”; “the system cannot continue as it is and called for better-regulated financial markets”. However, there was one very interesting and revealing statement in the article, “Merkel said the International Monetary Fund has not managed to regulate global capitalism, and she called for the creation of an economy body at the United Nations, similar to the Security Council, to judge government policy.” This of course relates to what biblical prophecy students have declared would happen in the End-Times: There will be a one world government overseeing and controlling a global economy. Whether or not this call for the United Nations to create such a institution will take place remains to be see. What it does reveal is that when global financial crises occur as the bible declares they will near the end, the world will readily accept a governmental entity that will take control of the world’s problems even if that means giving up nationalistic ideals.

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    Posted in Archives 2009, Economic watch, Revelation 13 666 | No Comments »

    Oregon proposes satellite/GPS technology to track mileage used by its citizens

    Saturday, December 27th, 2008

    (December 27, 2008)  The governor of Oregon is looking for ways to increase tax revenue for the state’s transportation system. He wants to initiate this new source of funding during the 2009 Oregon legislative session. (Kulongoski to pursue mileage tax) It seems that Oregonians like the rest of America has been traveling less and consequently using less gas. This results in lower fuel tax revenues for the state. The governor’s solution is to use satellites to track the mileage each citizen uses and tax them based on each mile they drive. The article points out there are some critics of this proposal who are afraid the government would use the technology to track the travel locations of drivers. As with all other technology, its use by benign governments would not seem to be a problem. However, one day the governments of the world will come under the control of a malignant force who will use technology to impose its will on the citizens of the world. (see Revelation ch.13)

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    Posted in Archives 2008, Governmental monitoring, Revelation 13 Antichrist | No Comments »

    Leaders want to restructure world’s economic system

    Saturday, November 15th, 2008

    (November 15, 2008)  According to the Washington Post the Group of 20 nations (G20) agreed today to restructure the economic systems of the world over the next year. (World Leaders Agree to Sweeping Economic Plan) This agreement “would reshape international financial institutions and overhaul worldwide regulatory and accounting rules.” The article goes on to state,“The communique said that over time the International Monetary Fund and other global institutions ‘must be comprehensively reformed so that they can more adequately reflect changing economic weights in the world economy.’” The German chancellor Angela Merkel wants to establish a “world risk map” that would allow “global financial institutions to allow financial authorities to quickly identify future trouble spots.” (Germany to advocate ‘world risk map’)

    The Book of Revelation indicates that in the last days a unified world economic system will be in place under the reign of the Antichrist: “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) The beast or Antichrist will control this system and will allow only those who swear allegiance to him to participate in the buying and selling of commodities and services. With the digital age such a program is possible. It could be that this current financial agreement will consolidate the economies of the world and lay the groundwork for such a global financial system declared in Revelation 13. It is noteworthy that Adolph Hitler rose to power out of the horrible postwar economic chaos of the 1920s. He was a great orator and he used the Jews as a scapegoat for all of Germany’s problems. The Germans readily accepted him as their leader and some treated him as a messianic figure.

    Along a similar vein the Washington Post had an article on the Great Depression. (The Great Depression, Not So Far Away) This article explores the possibility of parallels between that time and the current economic crisis of the world. The Bible indicates that in the last days there will be severe economic times that leads to widespread famines. Jesus said “6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:6-8) Economic hard times are also indicated in the Book of Revelation when it costs a day’s wages to buy food: “5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:5-6)

    If nothing else the speed with which the world’s financial crisis suggests that even if the End-Times are still a ways off it would take no time at all to repeat this scenario.

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    Posted in America, Archives 2008, Economic watch, Revelation 13 666 | No Comments »

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