(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:
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.
(May 13, 2010) A grey whale was spotted off the coast of Israel. (Scientists stunned as grey whale sighted off Israel ) According to this article, “The whale, which was first sighted off Herzliya in central Israel on Saturday, is believed to have travelled thousands of miles from the north Pacific after losing its way in search of food. ‘It’s an unbelievable event which has been described as one of the most important whale sightings ever,’ said Dr Aviad Scheinin, chairman of the Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center which identified the creature. A population of grey whales once inhabited the north Atlantic but became extinct in the 17th or 18th centuries and has not been seen there since. The remaining colonies live in the western and eastern sectors of the north Pacific.”
