KING OF THE SOUTH !!
AS OF YESTERDAY - MARCH 29 2015 AS REPORTED ON BBC NEWS - IT WAS ANNOUNCED FROM EGYPT, THERE WOULD BE A UNION OF ARAB NATIONS TO FORM A MILITARY ALLIANCE, TO FIGHT WHAT IT CONSIDERS A SERIOUS ENEMY!
I HAVE BEEN SAYING SINCE 1980 THAT THIS MUST COME TO PASS, TO FULFIL THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 11:40-45 AND THEN SO INTO DANIEL 12.
IT IS ONE CONTINUOS PROPHECY. IT IS ABOUT THE END OF THIS AGE, AND THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST TO ESTABLISH THE KINGDOM ON GOD ON EARTH.
HOW LONG THE "KING OF THE SOUTH" CONTINUES UNTIL TO IT "PUSHES AT" THE "KING OF THE NORTH" - THE LAST RESURRECTED HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE IN EUROPE, IS NOT TOLD.
WE SIMPLY KEEP WATCHING AS JESUS SAID TO DO.
BUT THE START OF THE FORMATION OF THE KING OF THE SOUTH LED BY EGYPT, HAS BEGUN!
PROPHECY OF THE LAST DAYS IS MARCHING ON!
IT IS ONE OF THE GREAT PROOFS GOD DOES EXIST; GOD IS NOT DEAD; HE LIVES! AND HIS PROPHECIES OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO ARE BEING FULFILLED RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES!
HE THAT HAS AN EAR SHOULD HEAR!
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A Worldwide Third Jihad, Be Ready!
By Solomon Wright
This paper, I promise, will be slightly subjective in some issues, but in a majority, I will be very objective. We are dealing with a people that George W. Bush, after the 9/11/01 attack, so ignorantly said "Islam is a religion of peace." However, the numbers indicate otherwise.
The First Jihad was from 632 to 642 AD. In the Battle of Yarmuk in 636, Muslims defeated the Byzantine army, forcing the empire to withdraw from Syria. The Byzantines surrendered near Cairo in 641. The conquest of Alexandria, then capital of Egypt, took longer. Muslims faced little resistance from the locals as they had suffered under Byzantine rule. In the Battle of al-Qadisivva in 637 the Persian army was defeated. In 642, Muslims defeated the Persians at the Battle of Nahavan, opening up the plateau to Muslim conquest. Within 15 years Iran had been conquered. Muslims later pushed into central Asia
http://en.wikipedia.Org/wiki/Jihad#Earlv Muslim conquests
The Second Major Wave of Jihad: The Turks, 1071-1683 can be seen at: http://actforamerica.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/the-second-maior-wave-of-jihad-the-turks-1071 -1683/
These battles involved the Roman Catholic Church and the Crusaders. The first Crusade happened in 1096, but in 1071 is when the Islamic Ottoman forces attacked Turkey. So here is one very objective thing to note: all Jihads and Crusades were initiated by an Islamic attack.
In the general consensus, the Third Jihad began at the 9/11/2001 attacks. But when that is denied by whomever you are speaking with, I need to bring up the next item of knowledge regarding Islam: the three lies about Islam.
Islam is a religion. From Webster's Dictionary we see religion as: an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods. Then, from our western understanding, this system of beliefs is personal. Jesus said: "Pray in the closet." When a person is telling themselves what to do, it's a religion, but when someone else is telling you what to do, it's POLITICS. When the Imam tells his people when to pray, it's politics! When the Muslims in NYC plug the streets up while they pray, it's politics. No ifs ands or buts; the 'religion' of Islam is 80% politics.
Islam is only based on the Quran. What Muslims do, in the name of Allah, is found in three books: the Quran, the Sira, and the Hadith. The Quran is what the Jewish angel Gabriel told Muhammad, the Sira is the biography of Muhammad and the Hadith is what Muhammad said as recorded by his followers.
Islam is hard to understand. Why Muslims do what they do may be hard to understand, but WHAT they do is easy. When you talk with a terrorist Muslim, you have three options: convert to Islam, pay kafir (an unbeliever) taxes, or die. Their doctrine is pretty straightforward. And by the way, it doesn't appear religious, but a little political tyranny.
I highly recommend viewing a video by Bill Warner called "A Taste of Islam."
(https://www.voutube.com/ watch?v=YiBDDC4wVxk) Mr. Warner was my initial source of factual persuasion regarding Islam, and I like him because he stresses numbers, very objective numbers.
Political Correctness aside, I want to emphasize that Allah is only as smart as its creator: Muhammad. (By the way, Muslim's call it 'abrogation,' when Allah changes his mind, because what he first tried didn't work. At this address: http://www.1OOOmistakes.com/1000mistakes/index.php?Paqe=002 009 001_001 The author says it accurately: Allah is not clever enough to make the best rules without trying and failing sometimes, or he changes his mind - and forgets?)
I believe it blasphemous to call Allah the same as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I will show that by comparing them in some verses.
Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Obey Allah (Ta'ala) and His Beloved Prophet (Sallallahu 'alayhi wa Sallam) (3:132) (4:13) (4:59) (4:69) (4:80) (9:71) (24:52)(24:54) (24:56) (33:71) (49:14) (64:12) Follow the Commands of Allah (Sub'hanahu wa Ta'ala) and of His Beloved Prophet (Sallallahu 'alayhi wa Sallam} (33:36) The prophet was told in his journey isra and mi'raj to observe 5 prayers.
(http://islam.stackexchanqe.com/ques-tions/928/where-does-the-idea-of-praver-5-times-a-dav-come-from)
From: http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/miracle.html. 123 miracles are described in the Old and New Testaments.
For Muhammad, my web-search came up with one, he split the moon. From one web-page, I find this: The second issue which gives us evidence that Muhammad did not split the moon (with his index fingers) is that the Quran gives us clear evidence that Muhammad did not have any personal miracles. (http://www.quran-islam.org/faq/did
_muhammad_split_the_moon_(P1414).html)
Exodus 20:13 (KJV) 13 Thou shalt not kill.
It is the duty of a Muslim to kill kuffar (infidel): 9.5 Kill kuffar wherever you find them. (http://www.islam-watch.org/authors/53-ayes-ha/490-non-jihadi-muslims-are-kafirs-who-must-be-killed.html)
You must never have sexual relations with a close relative, for I am the Lord. (NLT) Lev. 18:6 That is from the New Living Translation and God's basic idea comes across: if your courtship is 1st or 2nd cousin or closer, forget it! Keep looking! It is suggested that one should trace any common bloodline so you don't have low IQ or medical problem children.
Prophet Muhammad himself married cousins, as he did with Zavnab bint Jahsh, who was not only the daughter of Umaimah bint Abd al-Muttalib, one of his father's sisters, but was also divorced from a marriage with Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd ibn Haritha. It was this last issue that caused the most controversy, with traditional Arab norms at the time being opposed, though not the Qur'an (Sura Al-Ahzab 33:37). http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Cousin_Marriage_in_ Islam
A woman's testimony counts half of a man's testimony. The Quran in Sura 2:282 says:
And let two men from among you bear witness to all such documents [contracts of loans without interest]. But if two men be not available, there should be one man and two women to bear witness so that if one of the women forgets (anything), the other may remind her. (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 205). (http://www.answerinq-islam.orq/Authors/Arlandson/women_top_ ten.htm)
Proverbs Chapter 31
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband [also], and he praiseth her. 29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 30 Favour [is] deceitful, and beauty [is] vain: [but] a woman [that] feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
So we've compared prayers, miracles, killing, marriage and women. As I read them, they are not of the same element or compound; it's comparing lead to gold, or DNA to hydrogen gas. I chuckle at the last comparison; in Saudi Arabia, women are not even allowed to drive cars!
Now, inasmuch as our USA politicians play right into the politics of Islam, we, as Christians, need to know what to say when the Muslim leaders break into your house. Depending on his commander, he will either kill as soon as he comes in, or stop to ask some questions. From a fundamentalist Muslim the questions will be: "Are you Muslim, do you want to convert? Will you pay jizya (taxes)? Do you want to die?
Quran 9:29 "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, even if they are of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued."
In the end of it all, remember what Jesus told us in John 11:25 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"
If Jesus is in your heart, bear witness to the thug that broke into your house that Jesus is your Messiah, and watch before he kills you, rapes your wife and enslaves your kids! Sorry to be so depressing, but after more news and Bible study: "That is the rest of the story!"
September/October 2014 ACTS - a publication of the Church of God, Seventh Day, Meridian, ID. USA
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SO WHAT IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO IS THAT JIHAD MUSLIMS ARE VIOLENT, AND WOULD WISH TO CONQUER THE WORLD, AND HAVE THEIR FORM OF RELIGION ENSLAVE ALL OF MANKIND.
WHEN YOU THINK THE THIRD JIHAD COMES IS UP FOR INTERPRETATION, BUT ONE THING WE CAN KNOW: DANIEL 11:40-45 AND INTO DANIEL 12, IS YET TO COME TO PASS!!
MAY TODAY ON YOUTUBE, AND IN BOOKS AND MAGAZINES, FROM FUNDAMENTAL CHRISTIAN "PROPHETS" AND JEWISH CHRISTIAN PROPHETS, HAVE ALL KINDS OF IDEAS THEY BRING TO YOU, AND THE MOST WELL KNOWN ONES, I HAVE NEVER YET SEEN REFER TO DANIEL 11:40-45. IT IS AS IF THAT SECTION OF SCRIPTURE DOES NOT EXIST.
BUT IT DOES AND IT RELATED TO THE VERY END TIME. THERE WILL YET COME A UNION OF ARAB NATIONS, LED BY EGYPT, THAT WILL YET FORM INTO THE "KING OF THE SOUTH."
THIS KING OF THE SOUTH SHALL "PUSH AT" [WHAT THAT PUSHING IS WE ARE NOT TOLD] THE "KING OF THE NORTH" [A COMING 7TH RESURRECTION OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. IT WILL FORM AS THE OTHER SIX DID, IN EUROPE]. THE KING OF THE NORTH SHALL COME AGAINST THIS ARAB KING OF THE SOUTH, AND DESOLATE IT.
THE END OF THIS AGE, OR THE LAST 42 MONTHS OF THIS AGE, WILL NOT COME UNTIL THIS PROPHECY OF THE KING OF THE NORTH AND KING OF THE SOUTH, FACE EACH OTHER IN BATTLE.
THE KING OF THE SOUTH HAS YET TO FORM, THEN TO HAVE MILITARY MIGHT, ENOUGH TO "PUSH AT" THE KING OF THE NORTH.
WE ARE A NUMBER OF YEARS AWAY FROM THIS POWERFUL KING OF THE SOUTH ARRIVING ON THE SCENE OF WORLD HISTORY. AND WE ARE A NUMBER OF YEARS AWAY FROM THE KING OF THE NORTH FORMING INTO A HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE.
BUT THESE ARE THE TWO HUGE EVENTS TO WATCH FOR, AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE HARDLY MENTIONED, SOME NOT MENTIONED AT ALL, IN THE BIBLE, THAT MANY ARE THROWING OUT, ARE NOT WORTH A NICKEL OR DIME.
Keith Hunt
The Prophecy of.... DANIEL 12
by Brooks Alden
From "Thy Kingdom Come" - February 2014 - a publication of the Association of Covenant People, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
The Apostle Paul describes the time of the end very concisely in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3. "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first" Very few of us will deny that the signs of the deepening apostasy are all around us and most Christians believe that very shortly we will be standing in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, when the year 2000 came and passed without event, huge numbers of lukewarm Christians fell by the wayside in their belief of His Coming, as if somehow God had let them down. Interesting isn't it, that we somehow think God should follow our interpretation of His Prophecy. It just proves that His Word is wrapped up in such an intricately woven veil that truly, only the seasons seem clear to us.
PEOPLE FALL AWAY FOR DIFFERENT REASONS, BUT ONE IS FROM LOOKING TO
THE "SETTING DATES" - A DAY OR YEAR. AND THERE SURE HAS BEEN LOTS OF THAT GOING ON FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS OR MORE - Keith Hunt
Still, one wonders! After all, He caused His Prophet Amos to declare "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3: 7). And Jesus Himself said, "Behold, I have told you before" (Matthew 24: 25). So perhaps it should be obvious that God wants us to read the signs and study the prophecies, to become familiar with His Magnificent Plan. The fact that it is interwoven amongst all the Books of the Bible makes it a most demanding task but through continual study, secrets will emerge.
IT IS NOT GIVEN BUT TO THE VERY FEW TO UNDERSTAND BIBLE PROPHECY; FOR IN EPH. 4 WE STILL FIND GOD HAS IN HIS CHURCH "PROPHETS" AS WELL AS OTHER FUNCTIONING OFFICES - Keith Hunt
Fortunately, today's students have the benefit of the tremendous studies of such scholars as Howard Rand, Ivan Panin, Bishop Usher, Frank Dowsett and many others.
JUST NOT SO AT ALL. THE ABOVE NAMED HAD NOT A CLUE ABOUT BIBLE PROPHECY, AND TODAY 99.9 PERCENT OF THOSE WRITING ON PROPHECY, HAVE NO CLUE EITHER - Keith Hunt
Daniel 12 is one of the most overwhelming prophecies in the entire Bible. Certainly, it should give hope to all those who endeavour to walk with Jesus Christ and pause to those who have yet to be drawn to Him. Of course, Daniel 12 ties in with numerous other prophecies throughout the Holy Scriptures but space permits mention of only a few. It is the last of Daniel's prophecies and relates to the time of great trouble for the descendants of Jacob Israel. In fact, Verse 1 foretells that at this time of unequalled trouble for true Israel, Jesus will return to deliver them......Then Daniel is told (Verse 4), "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." This is a very significant verse in that it refers to a period at the end of the age when travel and increasing knowledge will become very commonplace. A well-known scholar pointed out to me that the word knowledge used in this verse also has the inference of "knowledge of evil" (Strongs' Concordance #1847). Certainly, we recognize that we are in the "Time of the End" but the question begging an answer is "When did this period begin?" Some suggest the words tie Daniel to Revelation in that John is told in Revelation 1: 3 that "The time is at hand"; meaning that what was sealed with Daniel is now being revealed with John. It's hard to disagree with this line of thought but perhaps there is another connection that should be explored. .
DANIEL 12 ACTUALLY STANDS ON ITS OWN. IT DOES NOT NEED THE BOOK OF REVELATION. DANIEL 12 STANDS WITH DANIEL 11:40-45. FROM DANIEL 11:40 IT IS ONE CONTINUOUS PROPHECY - Keith Hunt
Verse 5 & 6, Daniel sees two persons standing on each side of a river. One said to the other, who was now upon the waters, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" So now we are faced with a second time reference, the first being a period known as the "time of the end" and then "the end of these wonders," that is, the pinnacle of the "Time of Trouble and the Resurrection." In reply, (Verse7) the man clothed in linen, believed by a growing number of Bible students as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, lifts both arms, presumably pointing to the past and future, and refers to a time, times and half of times. Perhaps the quickest way to place "time, times and half a time" into perspective is to refer to Revelation 12: 14 in relation to Revelation 12: 6. Verse 12: 14 gives the time factor as "time, times and half of time" whereas 12: 6 describes the exact same event as a thousand two hundred and threescore days, meaning of course that the two expressions relate to an equivalent time period, i.e. 1,260 days......
WHICH IN CONTEXT CAN MEAN 1,260 LITERAL DAYS, OR CAN MEAN 1,260 YEARS, USING A DAY FOR A YEAR, USING EZEKIEL 4:6 - Keith Hunt
In Verses 8 & 9, Daniel said he doesn't understand so again he asks what shall be the end of these things. And again he is told to go his way because the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. In Verse 10, the time of the end is described in the sense that many will be purified, that the wicked shall do wickedly, that the wicked won't understand, but the wise (Bible students) will understand.
THE BIBLE INTERPRETS ITSELF. THE WISE = PSALM 111:10. ALSO VERSES 7-9 IN CONTEXT. IF YOU ARE NOT OBSERVING THE 4TH COMMANDMENT OF THE GREAT TEN, AND THAT MEANS THE 7TH DAY OF THE WEEK, NOT THE 1ST, YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND BIBLE PROPHECY. AND THEN AS STATED BEFORE ONLY A FEW 7TH DAY OBSERVERS WILL BE "PROPHETS" IN GOD'S CHURCH - Keith Hunt
In Verse 13 Daniel is told to go and wait for the end, that he will rest (in the grave) and will be in the Resurrection. Verse 11 is exceptionally important, "And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days."
THE WORD "SACRIFICE" IS NOT IN THE HEBREW. AND SO MOST WHO TRY THEIR HAND AT PROPHECY, FALL HEAD-OVER-HEELS RIGHT HERE. I GIVE YOU THE ANSWER IN OTHER SECTIONS UNDER "PROPHECY" ON MY WEBSITE - Keith Hunt
I agree with many of those Bible students who interpret this as 30 days (prophetically 30 years) beyond the 1,260 years that ended in 1917/18, bringing us to 1947/48. The agreement for the Jews to return to Jerusalem was signed in 1947 and the modern Israeli nation was born in 1948.
THIS VERSE HAS NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH 1947/48....NOTHING AT ALL, HENCE MANY ARE OFF THE TRACKS AND INTO THE DITCH RIGHT HERE, ON UNDERSTANDING DANIEL 12 - Keith Hunt
We have to remember that not all Jews are Israelite. Also that they have brought a religion based on the tradition of the elders to the Holy Land rather than on the Laws of God and the foundation of Jesus Christ. Consequently, to many scholars, the year 1948 marks the establishment of the abomination of desolation.
ONCE MORE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE "ABOMINATION THAT MAKES DESOLATE" OR "ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION" HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH 1948. HENCE MORE ARE OFF THE TRACKS AND INTO THE DITCH. ALL FULLY EXPLAINED ON MY WEBSITE - Keith Hunt
I must confess that I am at a loss to understand Verse 12, "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." Perhaps one of you, dear readers, will be able to throw more light upon the verse. Please write us.......
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I HAVE AND I WILL, BUT I DOUBT THEY WILL TAKE ANY NOTICE OR SPEND THE TIME TO STUDY ALL THAT I HAVE WRITTEN ON BIBLE PROPHECY. IT WILL TAKE MANY MONTHS IF NOT A FEW YEARS, TO STUDY ALL I HAVE WRITTEN ON BIBLE PROPHECY. MOST WILL NOT HAVE THE FORTITUDE TO READ AND FOLLOW IN THEIR BIBLES ALL I HAVE WRITTEN ON PROPHECY, AND ALL THE REPLIES I HAVE GIVEN TO MANY SO-CALLED "PROPHETS" OF TODAY.
THIS AUTHOR GOES ON TO USE "LUNAR YEARS" "SOLAR YEARS" AND THE FALSE IDEA OF GENESIS ONE BEING ABOUT 6,000 YEARS AGO. HE FOLLOWS THE FAlSE IDEA OF GOD WORKING ON SOME KIND OF 6,000 YEAR PLAN. HE TIES THIS DATE WITH THAT DATE, AND PULLS OUT OF THE HAT, THE BUNNY OF HEZEKIAH'S 15 YEARS EXTRA LIFE GRANTED HIM, TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER AS 2001 PLUS 15 = 2016. HE DOES PUT A ? AFTER 2016. HE'S BRIGHT ENOUGH TO KNOW HE AND HIS GROUP AND ALL HIS DEAD "PROPHETS" OF HIS YESTERDAY ORGANIZATION, WERE WRONG ON THEIR PROPHETIC DATE SETTINGS FOR THE END OF THIS AGE, AND THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST.
OKAY I'LL GIVE YOU A PROPHECY: 2016 WILL COME AND GO, AND NOTHING WILL HAPPEN BY THEN TO BRING THE SIGNS OF THE END OF THIS AGE.
OH YES THERE ARE SIGNS TO WATCH FOR THAT WILL CLEARLY TELL YOU WE ARE CLOSER TO THE END OF THIS AGE.
I HAVE GIVEN YOU THOSE SIGNS AND HAVE ANSWERED ALL THE POPULAR PROPHETS IN CHRISTENDOM TODAY. I HAVE SHOWN YOU THEIR ERRORS, AND HAVE GIVEN YOU THE TRUTH OF DANIEL 12. IT'S ALL ON MY WEBSITE UNDER "PROPHECY."
Keith Hunt
MARK OF THE BEAST !!
From the "Bible Advocate" - a publication of the Seventh Day Church of God, Denver, CO. USA - Nov/Dec. 2014
Question
In Revelation 13:16-18, is John warning against taking microchips into our hand or body? Is that the mark of the beast?
The theme of worship is the background of Revelation 13. Worship is specifically mentioned five times and directed to both the dragon and the beast. The two-horned beast of verse 11ff uses different methods to enforce worship of the first beast: deceive people with impressive miracles, confer death upon the non-compliant, and limit buying and selling to those who would comply.
Many nations in history, including Babylon (Daniel 3), have issued decrees on worship. Financial pressure and the death penalty have often been used for leverage. Worship has not been part of modern talk about microchips for business transactions. If they are used, microchips will not likely be the only option. Business tries to increase the ways to pay a bill, not make it harder. Microchips fit the same category as Social Security cards and bar codes. Both had their turn to be suspects as mark of the beast.
— Elder John Lemley
Given the nature of Revelation, I tend to interpret this entire passage symbolically, rather than literally. The symbol was a powerful one for John's readers, who would likely think of phylacteries worn on Jewish hands and foreheads. These small boxes marked a people that belonged to the one true God and who were committed to worshipping and obeying Him alone. When John speaks of a mark on the forehead or hand that shows one's belonging to the beast, he is referring, not to a literal mark but to an allegiance, a loyalty, a belief system. He is referring to those who have not committed themselves exclusively to God and the Lamb.
Those who insist most strenuously that the "mark of the beast" be taken literally usually insist that "the beast" be interpreted as a smooth-talking, charismatic, human politician! But despite many claims to take the text of Revelation literally, everyone who interprets the book is compelled to interpret its symbols symbolically. As New Testament scholar Craig Koester says, "The question is not whether to read the text symbolically, but how to read its symbolism" (italics his).1
It is far more consistent to interpret the mark as symbolic along with the beast than it is to arbitrarily decide that the beast is a symbol but the mark is not.
(NOW THAT IS USING GOOD OLD HUMAN LOGIC; IF THE "MARK" IS LITERAL [IN SOME WAY] THEN THE "BEAST" IS A LITERL BEAST - Keith Hunt)
Thus, I think it wise to consider the mark of the beast symbolic of a socio-economic system in which false worship is connected to commerce. Such a situation was familiar to the first readers of Revelation. Koester explains:
Those who sought to advance themselves socially or economically would have wanted to participate in the local trade guilds, although the social life of these guilds often included rituals and meals in honor of a pagan deity. Business contracts typically went to those who were on good terms with Roman authorities, including those who were involved in the deaths of Christians ... As sales were made, people used coins that bore the images of Rome's gods and emperors. Thus each transaction ... was a reminder that people were advancing themselves economically by relying on political powers that did not recognize the true God.2
Such systems exist in modern cultures to varying degrees. However, a microchip in itself hardly qualifies as a link between religion and commerce. Those who desire to avoid the mark of the beast need not fret over technological advances. Rather, they should focus on what is explicitly emphasized in Revelation: unabashed worship and unwavering loyalty to God and the Lamb in the face of a sinful culture that pressures us to worship and serve at the altars of power, money, pleasure, and exploitation.
— Elder Israel Steinmetz
1. Craig R. Koester, Revelation and the End of All Things, 134.
2. Ibid., 131-32.
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AND THAT I MAINTAIN IS THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER, AS I'VE COMMENTED BEFORE ON THIS TOPIC, UNDER THIS PROPHECY SECTION.
IT IS NOT SIN TO HAVE A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER; A DEBT CARD; TO DO MONEY TRANSACTIONS ON YOUR COMPUTER. EVEN HAVING SOME LITTLE TAG ON YOUR WRIST THAT YOU FLASH AT A SCREEN; OR HAVE IM-PLANTED UNDER YOUR SKIN. IF THE GOVERNMENT GIVES YOU FREEDOM TO WORSHIP GOD ACCORDING TO YOUR FAITH, NONE OF THESE PHYSICAL THINGS TO DO COMMERCE WITH, ARE SIN. BUT IF THE GOVERNMENT TELLS YOU HOW TO THINK [FOREHEAD] AND HOW TO WORK [HAND], BY HAVING TO FOLLOW ITS LAWS [WHICH IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS WHOLE BEAST WORSHIP] AND DISOBEY GOD'S LAW; YOU BECOME AN ENEMY OF GOD AND A FRIEND OF A SYSTEM THAT OPPOSES GOD'S TRUTHS AND WAY OF LIFE.
Keith Hunt
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