Armageddon For Beginners - Dave Mckay (10 best books of all time .TXT) 📗

not advanced from the clumsy system of bartering to the concept of a cashless society in a single step.

The Babylonian Empire (of which we will have more to say later) invented money, in the form of gold coins. This was as significant a step in its day as the introduction of the Mark will be for us in our day.

The prophetic image in the book of Daniel that represented all of the empires from the Babylonian Empire down to the present day (see page 77) was explained by Daniel. He said that the head of gold represented Babylon itself. It was the Babylonian Empire, remember, that invented gold coins.

The rest of the statue represented succeeding world empires. As Daniel moved down the statue, each metal became more and more worthless, until it finally ended in feet made of clay mixed with iron. We have already discussed how the ten toes made from iron mixed with clay represent the coming world order, which will be an alliance of nations controlled by the Beast.

Note how that, between gold coins and the Mark, money has progressed: first to coins made of lesser metals (as indicated by the statue), then paper currency, followed by cheques, and now just electronic impulses producing figures on a balance sheet. The money itself has become more and more worthless; but the system has become more and more efficient, enabling the very rich to make huge transactions in a matter of milliseconds.

Interestingly, the main ingredient in clay (symbol of the last empire) is silicon; and the breakthrough in computer technology that made the Mark possible has been the development of the silicon chip!

Another invention which has made implementation of the Mark possible is the international product code.

It is a series of lines of varying thicknesses, which can be used to identify millions of different products.

Checkout operators wave the "barcode" in front of a light to get an instant printout description of the item and its price. Look closely at the barcodes, and you'll see they all have three line patterns that are longer than the others. They are at each end, and in the middle of the other lines. If you study which lines are used for which numbers, you'll see that these three patterns that are repeated on all barcodes represent the number six, expressed three times: 666!

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told a story about a wise man and a foolish man. He said the wise man was someone who had listened to the Sermon and then obeyed it. He said that the wise man would be building on a rock that would survive all storms. The foolish man was someone who had also listened to the Sermon, but then had not obeyed it. All of his efforts to build a house would only end in ruin.

A statue with feet of clay is like a foolish man building on sand. He gets more and more wealth, but does not think about where it is all leading. In the end, he dies with nothing to show for his life in eternity. The stone that comes out of nowhere is the kingdom of heaven, the teachings of Christ, the rock that grows and grows until it fills the whole earth. Those who build on the teachings of Christ will be eternally rewarded. We will have treasures in heaven. The storms of life (and death itself) will not be able to shake us.

As Jesus, or the angel in The Revelation, would put it, let the person with understanding think about that for a bit…

One of the problems with the Mark, is that everyone wants to know how close they can get to it without actually being covered by the curse that has been pronounced against those who take it. Most people hope that the Mark will not come in their lifetime. In one way or another, they put off dealing seriously with it, and they are continuing to do this even as it is starting to become reality.

It's difficult to imagine many of these people actually making a sudden and dramatic change in their lifestyle when the Mark comes in, especially if the change could cost them their lives.

 

Please check this link for a short video on how people are reacting to the Mark today: http://www.dailymotion.com/docfilms

 

Jesus identified the enemy, not as the Devil, but as money or mammon. He said our choice is between serving (i.e. working for) God, and serving (i.e. working for) money. (Matthew 6:24) He said we would end up despising one or the other… God or money. Which one do you despise? He said your actions will show which one takes first claim on your life and which one gets the leftovers. Do you fit in time to work for money after you have finished serving God, or do you fit in service to God after you've finished working for money?

St. Paul said that love for money is the root of all evil. (I Timothy 6:10) There is no mention of the Mark of the Beast here, nor in any of the above references. You don't need implants and computer scans to be disobedient to Christ.

Religious double-talk won't undo the evil that has come from ignoring the teachings of Christ. St. Peter said Jesus is the Stone that the builders rejected. (I Peter 2:7) And Jesus said if we don't fall on this Rock and let him change us, then the Rock is one day going to fall on us (as the Stone out of nowhere did in Daniel's vision of the statue) and it will grind us to powder. (Luke 20:17-18)

For those of us who have tried to take the teachings of Jesus seriously, learning to live by faith when the Mark comes in will not be so traumatic. We are developing a relationship with Jesus right now where we can hear him speaking, and where we experience God's provision whenever we go where he tells us to go.

Jesus said to his followers, when they asked where Christians will go when the Great Tribulation starts, "The birds will go where the food is." (Luke 17:36-37)

Here is wisdom: Consider the birds. They sow not, neither do they reap, but they do know how to follow God's voice, if he tells them to leave one place and go to another. By the time famine hits, the birds have all left. And a wise person, with true understanding, will learn to listen to God right now (before disaster strikes) and to obey him, even if it means giving up everything that we now cling to… before the Mark comes into effect.

 

Appendix, Chapter 19

Matthew 24:15-16. When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place (Whoever reads this, let him understand), then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Daniel 9:27. He will confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the middle of the week, he will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations, he will make it desolate.

I Kings 10:1-2, 14. When the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. She came with a very great train… with very much gold and precious stones. The weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold.

Matthew 24:24. There will arise false Christs and false prophets. They will show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect.

I John 2:18. As you have heard that Antichrist will come, even now there are many antichrists…

II John 6-7. This is love, that we walk after his commandments… For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Matthew 7:24-27. Whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on a rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be likened to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.

I John 4:3. Every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. This is that spirit of antichrist, which you have heard should come. Even now already is it in the world.

Matthew 6:24. No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

I Timothy 6:10. The love of money is the root of all evil, which, while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

I Peter 2:7. To those who are disobedient, the stone that the builders disallowed is made the head of the corner.

Luke 20:17-18. Whoever will fall on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it will fall, it will grind them to powder.

Luke 17:36-37. "Two people will be in the field. One will be taken and the other left." They said to him, "Where, Lord?" and he said, "Wherever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together."

(Back to Table of Contents)

 

20. The Beast

Now we will back up and discuss the first half of the thirteenth chapter of The Revelation.

It describes a Beast with seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 13:1), which is a conglomerate of the same animals that Daniel had seen in one of his visions: the panther, bear, lion, and then the final Beast. (Daniel 7:4-7; Revelation 13:2) Notice that there is no reference to the eagle's wings in John's description, although the lion had eagle's wings in Daniel's prophecy. (We will have more to say on that later.)

Some say the beasts Daniel saw were succeeding world empires. Daniel had clearly said this about the statue in King Nebuchadnezzar's dream, which represented Babylonia, followed by Persia, Greece, Rome, and then one final world empire. Although he said the four beasts were also kingdoms, he was not so definite about them each existing in different ages. (Daniel 7:17-18)

There may be some truth in the traditional interpretation, i.e. that the four beasts represented Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome; but why would this have been significant in John's day, when the Babylonian, Persian, and Greek Empires were already history?

We would like to suggest that the bear, lion, and panther might also be references to three world powers (i.e. a First, Second, and Third World) that would exist at the same time, and each become part of the final world empire.

John's "Beast" had seven heads. Little is said about six of them. It is likely that these six heads (which hardly rate a mention) are the part of the vision that represented past world empires. The Revelation could have been saying that all those past empires will be spiritually present in the final empire as well. The drawing below suggests that the six past empires were the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires; with one world empire still to come.

Along with seven heads, the Beast John saw in Revelation 13:1-2 had ten horns. Each horn had a crown. Daniel's "fourth beast" or final world empire, was "dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong, and had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces and stamped the residue with its feet. It was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns." (Daniel 7:7)

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