II. Who Cares? Why Bother Challenging an Accepted Teaching?

I wish it were that simple, that I really didn’t care, and that I could say, “what difference does it make as to what is being taught in today’s Church?” Just one reason should be enough to justify my making this presentation, but many other reasons will be given on the following pages. That one reason would be that I believe, over many years, deception has crept into the teaching the church has been given, and we accept as truth a doctrine that cannot be substantiated with scripture. I am very confidant that none of this misleading teaching is intentional, but present it is. We have cast aside the teaching of Jesus, where He describes in detail all the events that are to happen before and after the rapture, in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and in Revelation, and have accepted man’s interpretation, twisting, and re-inventing translation details of scripture. Pre-tribulation proponents use some proof passages where a questionable meaning has been massaged and the interpretation of Greek tenses has been totally exasperated to prove their position. The teachers of pre-tribulation can then convince 98% of their listeners, almost all of whom do not know enough Greek to even question what they are talking about, including myself, that the scriptures they are discussing, to prove their point, proves their teaching has legitimacy. We will address all of the above thoughts under subsequent headings.

Everything you read here will be backed up with scripture, and almost every part of the following study will be referring to, or quoting Jesus in, His teaching and prophesying on the Mount of Olives, or God the Father, revealing prophesies to Jesus, and Jesus giving them to an Angel, and from the Angel to the apostle John, the writer of Revelation.

There are additional overriding desires to make this presentation, and I am therefore putting this explanation of “why” near the beginning of this project for you to judge its worthiness. If this reasoning has any legitimacy at all, you will then have a desire to read and evaluate all of what follows. When you finish reading this entire presentation, you can choose whether you wish to reject the teaching of Jesus, or accept it as coming from God the Father to you.

The writing of this paper was started in early 2001, and after writing several pages, the project remained mostly dormant throughout the summer. Then, the priorities of the whole world changed on 9/11/01, including my own. I had been well aware of just where I thought the Church seemed to be on God’s prophetic calendar, but my priorities, as to sending out an alarm as to what Jesus taught about His soon coming to “gather together His elect,” also made an about face on that date. I had a renewed passion to make my views available to today’s generation, and am now perfectly happy to let God either bless the spread of Jesus’ teaching as presented on the following pages, or seal it up and let the church live with today’s teaching. Either way, my desire is to see the name of our Savior glorified.

We are told in Matthew 24:34 that there will be one generation in all of history that will live through Daniel’s 70th week and see all these things take place that Mathew, Mark, and Luke had written about. (Matthew 24:34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place, Mark 13:30 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place, and Luke 21:32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.) I would not say without reservations that this generation referred to in the above three verses is ours of today, but I will say there is a possibility that this generation may be alive today. One of my reasons for believing today’s generation could be that one is the deep, deep desire of every Jew living in Israel, and the world, to see peace and safety in their homeland. This seems to be their overriding passion, and with good reason, to see peace. The terrorism America and the world has experienced in recent years has been almost a daily concern and cause for fear in Israel since their nation was founded in 1948. They are tired of living this way 24 hours a day. They would give almost anything in exchange for peace.

This anxiety for peace fits well with the prophecy we find in Daniel 9:27, where we read the Antichrist is going to confirm, or cause to prevail, a covenant or peace treaty with Israel and he will guarantee it for seven years. (Daniel 9:27 “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”) Most Bible scholars believe the Antichrist will emerge out of the European Union. This European Union group of nations is bent on one ideal, a one-world government, and when the joining nations grow to one to two billion people under one umbrella, which could take place in 10-20 years (it is presently, 3/02, about 350,000,000, and 5/04, 450,000,000), they will be the dominant force in the world. Many members of this European Union are already passing laws outlawing the existence of all denominations teaching Christianity, and soon it will become effective in the entire European Union. It is my understanding the Catholic Church will be the only one exempt from this proclamation. Starting very recently, most of the present member nations now have one currency, the euro, which could very possibly at some point, perhaps under the Antichrist, become the world’s currency.

The European Union is daily showing more and more interest in the affairs of Israel. Perhaps the United States or the European Union will eventually negotiate a peace agreement between Israel and its many surrounding nations. Efforts are being made daily to accomplish this. A peace could falter and come close to falling apart, and the Antichrist, the slickest salesman the world will have ever seen (my description), could step in and guarantee a treaty for seven years, and the Israelites would “jump for joy” at the opportunity. Or, perhaps the Antichrist will make this treaty come to fruition sometime in the future all by himself. But in either case, God prophesied the Antichrist would accomplish making and/or confirming this peace, and we see evidence daily that the world and Israel are ready for it. This is written to make you aware of the possibility that this could happen very soon, or it could still be sometime in the near or distant future. However, God is still sovereign, and even though a case could be made, based on the teaching of Jesus, where the timing of this peace agreement being accomplished could be a few or many years away, we desire to see His will be done. And thank God it will be done. (See XVIII. TIMELINE STUDY)

For the sake of discussion, let us say this entire presentation that follows is correct, and the teaching of Jesus can be believed as more authentic than the pre-tribulation teaching of man today. Again, they both cannot be correct. The Church, the Elect, will have slipped unknowingly into the 70th week of Daniel, and these Christians will be totally unprepared for what they will soon be enduring. They will not be able to believe what is happening to them after being convinced this could never happen. They would be standing on the hope of all the promises made to them of being Raptured before the time of the Antichrist, and their hopes will be shattered. The description of this time will be spelled out in detail in the pages to follow. In Revelation 13:16-17 we are told no one on earth, during this period, will be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast on their right hand or on their forehead, which will be totally enforceable at some point in the seven-year period. (Revelation 13:16-17, 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name) In chapter 14:9-11 we read of the horrible details of God’s punishment for those who take this mark. (Revelation 14:9-11, 9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the Holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”) It is gruesome.

Let’s say you have children, grandchildren, loved ones, or perhaps even yourself and were never told this, that the elect, the family of God, would have to endure much of this seven-year period of testing. The Antichrist, as I described above, will be slick, and by now will have control of the banking system worldwide. Everything you desire to buy or sell, like food, gasoline, heating fuel, clothing, or making purchases by credit card or check, you must first show this mark on your forehead or your right hand to prove you have been approved to purchase or sell, and then, perhaps, be scanned and recorded, before you can make a transaction, period. Just think, God the Father, in His divine wisdom, prophesied this almost two thousand years ago, and chose these two body positions over all the others for some reason, perhaps because they would be the most available for scanning. This Antichrist will not come to you in the beginning stages of this marking operation and say I am the Antichrist, and I demand that you do this. He will subtly sell everyone on earth that this mark will be to his or her advantage, and your future life will be so much better for you if you just accept it, and become a part of this new worldwide system. At this very moment Dear Friend, you, your children, your relatives, or friends will have to make this most crucial decision of your lives as to whether or not you are going to take a stand for Jesus’ name, refuse the mark, and accept what God the Father has planned for your life. At that very moment your decision will determine if your future is Heaven, if Christ is your savior, or hell. How are you going to react, and are you, your family and friends, ready to make this stand for Jesus?

Does the preceding paragraph infer then that if we are truly one of the elect, and know Jesus as our Savior, that we could lose our salvation by making the wrong choice at this critical moment? I believe the answer is no, because God will, through His encouragement and the leading of the Holy Spirit, make us “overcomers” at this critical decision point in our lives. This is what we are told in Matthew 7:13-14. (Matthew 7:13-14, 13 Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.) We are certainly a small minority, but we know Him as our Father, and He knows us as His children. If we have the knowledge of the truth received by grace alone, live a submitted life to Christ as Lord, have a willingness to obey His will and Word, and have a love affair with and live lives that glorify Jesus and God the Father and the Holy Spirit, we will have no problem saying no to the Antichrist at this time of decision. I know we cannot judge, and only God the Father knows if our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, but the point I was making in the above paragraph, is that there are many millions in our fundamental churches today, and perhaps they could even be our children or close friends or relatives, who speak of knowing Jesus, but their lives and fruits tell us they really do not have a believing, love relationship with our Heavenly Father, and do not know Him as their very own personal Savior. Therefore they must be warned, because once they take the mark of the beast, you and I will never, ever, have another opportunity to lead them to Christ as their own personal Savior while there is still time before the gathering together.

Some seventy years ago when I first heard the mark of the beast described, and that no one could buy or sell without it, I thought it would be utterly impossible that this would ever be a remote possibility. However, the technology is now available to implant chips under the skin and, with global positioning satellites, together with computers that can record tens of thousands of transactions for every person on earth daily, everyone on earth can be traced every moment of every day. Chip manufacturers could turn them out by the hundreds of millions, and when the beast, or the Antichrist, is ready, this marking project could subtly start very innocently, even before, or in the early part, of the seven years, and no one would ever know Satan is behind it all—but now you have been warned. It will not take too long to mark everyone on earth. This would be a clever and diabolical scheme devised by Satan and prophesied by God the Father. In researching some 20 translations of Revelation 13:16, all translate this verse as a mark being received, given, tattooed, placed, marked, branded, etc., “on” the right hand, or “on” their foreheads. (Revelation 13:16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,) Altogether, there are eight references to this “mark” in Revelation, and in the NKJV all say “on”. So the preponderance of evidence that we have today says it will be a mark put “on” the right hand or “on” the forehead, not “in,” as a chip. If the past few sentences above prove to be what will end up taking place, then the mark likely will be a barcode of some type.

Some forty years ago when the barcode was first presented, everyone was sold on the idea that transaction handling would eventually be utopia because of it, and this has proved to be the case. You go to the grocery store, get the items you want, give them to the cashier, they are all scanned and in a fraction of a second, the item, quantity, description and price are displayed and printed. You swipe your credit card, and in seconds your bill is prepared with your name and number on it and approved for you to sign. I am not saying it was Satan’s handiwork, but every barcode had, and still has, two thin lines on each end, and two thin lines in the center. Check this out for yourself. These thin lines resemble the number six in computer language (1-0-1), or line, space, line, and no other number has this particular combination. The number six actually also has four additional spaces (1-0-1-0-0-0-0). However, these three two-line markers could represent the number 6, or 666, the number of the beast. (Revelation 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.) Coincidence? —Perhaps, but I think not. To the left and right of the center six, there are five numbers in code. This allows one short of ten billion products and/or people for registration. With six numbers on each side of the middle six, it will accommodate 999+ billion, and with seven numbers on each side of the middle, it will accommodate 99+ trillion registrations. (NEWS RELEASE—After 25 years, this volume problem is now resolved since beginning January 1, 2005, the United States and all of North America has agreed to begin changing over to the European Union and the world code system and use 13 or 14 code numbers.) With any of these three scenarios, and the last two for certain, every person on the face of the earth and every saleable product on the world market can be registered. Or perhaps our sovereign God has some entirely different method we are not even aware of yet that He will allow Satan to use. But for the first time in the history of the world, technology is available to accomplish the task, and allow the 70th week of Daniel to begin at any time.

Believe it or not, the point I made in the last two paragraphs is being made for me in a television ad campaign now running in our area (April ’02), sponsored by one of the largest banking corporations in America. The object is to impress viewers that other banks have far too many requirements and obstacles to make banking business pleasurable, whereas our bank treats you civilly, and makes your banking easy and enjoyable. The ad goes like this. A gentleman finally gets to the teller window at a competing bank, and he tells the teller he wants to make a transaction. Then the teller asks him for identification. He has none. So she asks him to put his forehead forward, and she pulls out something similar to a radar gun, puts it up to his forehead, pulls the trigger, and BAMB! a 2” x 3” (approx) white adhesive sticker of some kind is attached to his forehead with a barcode on it. She says he now has identification, and to go to the end of the line at the next teller. This line is long, and everyone in it has this white sticker on, and they look so unhappy. Our gentleman finally gets to the teller counter again and is told to put his head, face down, over a scanning glass. The teller grabs his head like a piece of meat, and pushes it back and forth over the scanning glass until it reads the bar code for his identification, like it was at a grocery store. Funny? Yes. They likely are just making fun of “crazies” like me who would dare to believe every word Jesus our Lord ever prophesied, but I believe it is a subliminal message that already at this time, in the board-rooms of America’s banks, this idea is already being discussed. Of course this future scanning will be very sophisticated. You can just walk through a doorway, or past a machine, or from a distance a hidden camera will read your hardly noticeable barcode in a tenth of a second, perhaps. Either you can do business with the barcode, or without it you can do none.

Once again, let me impress upon you that nearly two thousand years ago Jesus revealed to the apostle John, for recording in the book of Revelation, this mark of the beast was in His plans. This means that an imminent return of Christ before recent days was absolutely impossible because the technology was not available before now to fulfill this prophecy of marking and controlling and ruling some six billion people and all their transactions daily. There will be a terrible price to pay for those who take the mark, and you can read about the loathsome sores, from God’s first bowl judgment, that came upon everyone who took the mark of the beast. (Revelation 16:2,11, 2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.)

Dear Friends, and especially Pastors and teachers, please take this to heart, study this presentation carefully for yourself, and advise your family, friends and listeners to be prepared for this eventuality which is certain to come. Remember to never accept any mark or identification on your forehead or on your right hand. Warn them that they could live to see this take place sometime in the not-too-distant future, and to be prepared to take their stand for Jesus; but first they must know Him as their Lord and Savior. Now you know of my great concern and why I am compelled to write this presentation for you to consider.

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