Christian Home Bible Course Lesson 3

Q   What is the BIBLE?

A   The BIBLE is a unique book because

   One day Jesus was teaching His disciples while they were up on the Mount of Olives. The subject was prophecy. Jesus 'wrote the Book' on prophecy, therefore the disciples had the Expert in their presence. Realizing the tremendous opportunity they had before them, they asked the question of all questions:

   Mankind has been asking this question for thousands of years. Many have tried to guess when the world will end. Some have even set dates. These dates have all come and gone, yet the world continues. Perhaps the disciples wanted Jesus to set a date, but His answer simply was:

   No one but God knows when the world, as we know it, will end. Nevertheless, the BIBLE describes certain "signs" that should be noticeable in the very last days. These "signs" will show that the end is near. Now in all fairness, previous generations have seen many of these "signs" since the resurrection of Christ. In fact, each generation has thought that the end of the world would take place in their life time. However, many startling events have taken place in the last fifty years, and especially the last fifteen years, which may have great prophetic significance. The daily newspaper seems to read like certain portions of the BIBLE. Many things are taking place before our eyes that were foretold more than 2000 years ago. If we look at God's past track record of accurately predicting the future, then we are wise to consider the "signs" He gives us, in the BIBLE, about future events yet to happen.

   We will examine these "signs" and how they relate to current events . . .

THE SETTING - a hospital room where a man named John is recovering from a mild heart attack . . .

O.K., John, now remember, you have to take care of your heart. Don't do anything that might get you excited.
Sure Doc, I understand. Don't worry, I'm cool as a cucumber.
Good! I'll be back later. By the way, you have a visitor waiting outside. Remember--stay calm!

"And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 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. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." MATTHEW 24:3-7

   When asked about the end of the world, Jesus Christ gave His disciples some "signs" to look for. While few of these "signs" are new or unique to the last days, Jesus Christ says something interesting after He mentions them....

   The word sorrow is translated from the Greek word 'odin' (o- deen'). It means a pang or throe. It is used to describe the pangs or pains that a woman experiences while she travails in childbirth. Perhaps Jesus was implying that the "signs" he described would occur, much like birth pains, at GREATER FREQUENCY AND INTENSITY during the last days. When we look at history, we notice that there is truth to Jesus' analogy.

Earthquakes for example, have been occurring more frequently: From 526 A.D. to 1896 A.D. (1370 year period) 21 major earthquakes are recorded. From 1906 to 1983 (77-year period) 52 major earthquakes are recorded. From June 1983 to May 1984 (11-month period) 41 major earthquakes are recorded.

   On May 31, 1935, the most devastating earthquake in all of history up to that point took place in West Pakistan, but that record has been surpassed several times since. Also, reports of several earthquakes taking place SIMULTANEOUSLY in different locations all over the world have increased. More earthquakes have occurred in this century than any other. The millions who have died because of them could very well exceed all deaths in previous centuries COMBINED. Seismologists currently show a pattern of earthquakes increasing in INTENSITY AND FREQUENCY, especially since 1975. Each decade outdoes the previous decade.

   Just as birth pains occur at shorter and shorter intervals, earthquakes have been following a similar pattern. Fresh in everyone's minds are the recent devastating earthquakes in Japan, India, Mexico City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Earthquakes worldwide have especially increased in the past ten years.

   According to the BIBLE, the final earthquake will take place on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem when Jesus Christ returns:

Sidenote: A few years ago, a large hotel chain sent a crew of engineers, geologists and seismologists to Jerusalem. They were to explore the possibility of building a hotel atop the Mount of Olives. After conducting tests the crew concluded that they could not build a hotel due to a large geological fault running from east to west directly under the Mount of Olives.

   Famine has also been following a trend of greater intensity.

   As the world's deserts increase in size and the available top soil erodes, land on which to grow food decreases. Add to this the ever increasing population and you have a greater possibility of famine occurring in more places. Nearly 6 billion people are in the world (almost the sum of all people since the beginning of time combined). The Earth's population currently doubles every thirty-six years. In the next ten years it is possible that more than one billion people will starve to death. Much of this is due to drought, flooding or very unusual recent weather patterns worldwide

   Pestilence is another sign that Jesus mentioned to His disciples. Webster's Dictionary offers the following definition:

pes·ti·lence \'pes-te-len(t)s\ n   1: a contagious or infectious epi-
 demic disease that is virulent and devastating;

   The word virulent brings to mind the AIDS virus that in recent years has been the cause of many deaths. Mankind has always had to deal with viruses, but as time goes on he finds himself dealing with more of them.

'The AIDS epidemic will produce an enormous and frightening effect on world health that public health officials may be relatively powerless to contain.' -Dr. William Haseltine AIDS Research, Harvard Medical School 'The AIDS virus shows every sign of being just as deadly as the plague during the Middle Ages. We are on a crash course with reality ....The alarm must be sounded, loudly and persuasively. If it is not, the conclusion is inescapable: millions may die.' -Dr. J.I. Slaff The AIDS Epidemic 'Infection with the AIDS virus is potentially lethal to all men, women and children irrespective of lifestyle or sexual activity.' -Dr. John Seale Eminent British venereologist "This system is very potent in permitting viruses to reproduce at a ferocious rate. It's one reason this is such a devastating disease. It's one of the reasons this virus can be transmitted so easily from person to person." -Dr. William Haseltine, AIDS researcher The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Harvard University

AIDS Collecting of data began June, 1981. Reporting began on June 15, 1982. Basic data from Aids Weekly Surveillance Report--United States, Center for Disease Control.

Dr. James Curran of the Centers for Disease Control notes:

   '...in many areas, the number of persons infected with the AIDS virus is at least ONE HUNDRED TIMES GREATER than reported cases of AIDS.'

   Jesus also told His disciples:

   Wars have been on the increase. Before 1945 the world had suffered through thirteen years of war for each peaceful year. However, since 1945 more than three hundred wars have been fought. In fact, The War Atlas (a military study), records that since 1945 not one day has passed without some sort of war or conflict somewhere in the world....

   Currently the world (through U.N. effort) is doing everything possible to snuff out any semblance of war whenever it begins to flare up. According to God and the BIBLE, the 'navel of the earth' is the Middle East, and presently the buzzword there is "Peace[.]" Everything possible is being done to bring peace between the Jews and the Arab World (including the PLO), and it is beginning to look like progress is being made:

   The Rumors of War and the need for preparedness it produces has changed the monetary priorities of many nations. The words of President Eisenhower, reported in the New York Times on April 17, 1953, still challenge us over a quarter century later:

   'A life of perpetual fear and tension, a burden of arms draining the wealth and the labor of all peoples; a wasting of strength that defies the American system or the Soviet system or any happiness for the people of this earth. Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than eight thousand people... This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity, hanging from a cross of iron.'

   In the final surrender ceremonies of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur summed up the lessons of this horrendous war that claimed more than sixty million lives. His words still stand as a warning to our generation:

'We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, ARMAGEDDON WILL BE AT THE DOOR. The problem is basically theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.'

   The Battle of Armageddon will be the world's final war according to the BIBLE. For more about Armageddon see: Revelation 14:14-20; 16:16; 19:17-21.

   General MacArthur knew the importance of dealing with our earthly problems in a spiritual way. As things worsen, people try to seek out a spiritual solution, which makes them ripe for deception. Jesus warned that in the last days the number of...

   False spiritual leaders would increase.

   Many cults have sprung up since Jesus said those words. In fact, most have been started in this last century alone. Currently most countries have scores of obscure cultic groups carrying on various practices: shaving their heads; wearing white robes; playing with poisonous snakes; stockpiling weapons; selling flowers in airports; making nerve gas; etc. Among all the self-proclaimed gods, gurus, swamis, false prophets and phony TV evangelists, it is possible to join the 'Cult of the Month' club, and never exhaust the possibilities!

   A great surge in recent years of men claiming to be Jesus Christ, or a god, or God Himself has occurred. One such example of a church claiming to be Christian and having a leader claiming to be Christ is the Branch Davidians and their former leader David Koresh. Yet Jesus said:

   A stressful, hectic lifestyle will also be the norm in the last days. According to the BIBLE, the climate when Jesus Christ returns will be one of...

   Is the present trend in heart attacks a "sign" of the last days? Presently heart disease ranks as the number one killer, especially in MEN. Nothing else is even close. It is responsible for more than 42% of all deaths in America, and nearly twice as high as the number two killer, cancer. Nearly one fourth of all Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease, costing more than $137 billion in medical costs every year. This trend has increased noticeably since the 1970's and especially within the last 100 years.

   Psychologists claim that the number one problem they must deal with is FEAR, in one form or another. Stress and heart attacks go hand in hand, and are both indicators of the fast paced hectic days in which we live. The BIBLE says that in...

   This simply means that busy schedules will require people to be constantly 'on-the-go' (sound familiar?). Only a century ago, it was common for people to be born, live and die while never leaving the county. People would either walk or use a horse to get to their destination just one hundred years ago (in the peaceful days of 'Little House on the Prairie'). It had been that way for the five-thousand years before as well. Today zooming through the air at 500 MPH is common. It is now possible to eat

breakfast in New York, lunch in Denver and supper in Los Angeles. The six lane interstate highways and cloverleafs also bring real meaning to the Biblical expression "to and fro," not to mention our hectic lifestyles. This has all come about in only the past one hundred years, and has been due largely to the advancement in technology and inventions. The BIBLE also mentions that in...

   It is hard to believe that less than one hundred years ago we cooked with firewood and read by candlelight. It had been that way the previous five-thousand years. Have you noticed that every new invention is designed to make life easier, but consequently makes the pace of life much faster? The result of having conveniences that help us to accomplish more at a faster pace has caused us to try to 'cram more things' into our already busy schedules. Now you know where the stress comes from!

   The technological advances in even the past fifteen years have been staggering! The BIBLE says in the last days "knowledge shall be increased." We are currently living in what is called the 'information age.'

Side note: A study was done a few years ago to measure technological advancement since the beginning of time comparing it to height. For example, if you were to measure all the technological advancement (inventions) since the beginning of time until the year 1800, it would be one inch high. The measure of inventions and advancement of technology between the years of 1800 and 1900 would also be one inch high. But if you were to measure the 'increase of knowledge,' inventions and technological advancement since 1900 up to now... IT WOULD BE AS HIGH AS THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT (555 FEET)!!!

Part of that advancement has been satellite transmission (along with computers). Today watching live minute-by-minute news stories unfold from all around the world simultaneously is possible. This is interesting in light of what the BIBLE said about the last days nearly 2000 years ago. "And their dead bodies shall lie in the street [of Jerusalem]...And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations [people all over the world] shall see their dead bodies..." REVELATION 11:8-9

This prophecy speaks of two preachers who are killed during the last days; their bodies left to lie in the street. For years BIBLE scholars were baffled on how people from all over the world could simultaneously view their bodies, until the development of SATELLITE TRANSMISSION.

   Other prophecies baffled students of the BIBLE years ago concerning the last days. Perhaps the 'increase of knowledge' in nuclear potential may have something to do with these following last day prophecies:

   Currently enough nuclear warheads exist to either blow a hole clear through the Earth's seventy-five mile crust or destroy the world several times over. It is no wonder that as "knowledge shall be increased" (Daniel 12:4) 'men's hearts will fail them for fear' (Luke 21:26).

   Society is also experiencing 'birth pains' and, as time goes on, immorality and sinful behavior become the norm. Jesus indicated how bad it would get by equating the last days with those of Noah. In Noah's day, the sinful behavior that brought God's wrath and resulted in a worldwide flood was displayed by the entire population (except Noah and his family):

   It had gotten so bad that God had to virtually wipe out mankind and start all over with Noah.

One out of four Americans is a victim of crime annually.

Crime costs US citizens a total of $300 billion annually (nearly 30% of the whole US budget).

Between 1962 and 1993 the number of violent crimes increased 660 percent!

   The degree of crime and wickedness in a given society is an indication of what people are contemplating in their minds. It also reveals the condition of their hearts. In the days of Noah the result of all their evil thoughts was corruption and violence:

Federal Prosecutions of Public Corruption	Violent Crime: Number Of Offenses
Basic data from Statistical Abstracts of the United States.	* Groupings represent average rate per year over the two-year period. Basic data from Statistical Abstracts of the United States, and the Department of Commerce, Census Bureau.

   Today we see much corruption and violence around us. Political corruption only seems to worsen with time. Crime continues to increase with no end in sight. Society is desperately seeking a solution to all these problems. People are constantly wondering where it will all end.

The days of Noah were dangerous, hard to bear, troublesome, harsh, fierce, and even savage. All these descriptions can be summed up in one word - PERILOUS. Which is just what the BIBLE uses to describe the last days:

   Nineteen descriptions are used to portray the conditions during the last days. Read the following list and see if these descriptions sound familiar.

  1) "lovers of their own selves" - selfish; self-centered; unconcerned about others.
  2) "covetous" - desires material things; greedy; driven to possess more things.
  3) "boasters" - swaggerers; blow their own horns; talk about themselves.
  4) "proud" - considering themselves above others; haughty; refuse to admit when wrong.
  5) "blasphemers" - slanderous; swearing; reviling; foul-mouthed; dirty jokes.
  6) "disobedient to parents" - disrespectful toward elders; headstrong; hard to control.
  7) "unthankful" - ungrateful; take things for granted; think the 'world owes me a living'.
  8) "unholy" - no interest or desire to keep separated from sin.
  9) "Without natural affection" - showing more affection toward materialistic things, animals, etc.
10) "trucebreakers" - will promise anything but will not honor commitments; breaks promises.
11) "false accusers" - slanders; destroys the character of others.
12) "incontinent" - no self-control; no self-discipline; no self- restraint.
13) "fierce" - savage; cruel; wild; impetuous.
14) "despisers of those that are good" - those who mock or have contempt for good people.
15) "Traitors" - no convictions; changes sides for personal advantage or gain.
16) "heady" - reckless; headstrong; stubborn.
17) "highminded" - full of self; proud; puffed up; worship intellect.
18) "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God" - sensual; pleasure seeking; self-gratification is their god; not willing to submit to God; please themselves rather than God.
19) "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof" - being religious on weekends, but living like the devil the rest of the week; having an outward religious display but experiencing no real life-changing power from God. The BIBLE teaches no one to be religious, but to have a personal relationship with God.

   No doubt Noah saw many in his day displaying the previous nineteen attitudes, so many in fact that God had to end it all. Noah must have also felt alone among the enormous cold heartedness present then. The BIBLE clearly teaches that those conditions will repeat themselves during the last days:

   Jesus Christ said that in the last days sin would be so common and accepted that people would become callous. We see this today as people are becoming more selfish, insensitive and unloving toward one another. It only continues to worsen as sinful behavior becomes the norm.

   ANOTHER attitude of Noah's day was apathy. In spite of decades (Genesis 6:3) of Noah warning those around him of the judgment to come, no one else came on board with him and his family! Some, perhaps, thought he was crazy for claiming that a flood was on its way. The BIBLE predicts a similar attitude will be present during the last days:

   Many today ridicule the idea that Jesus is coming back and that the world will end in God's judgment. In Noah's day they did not take heed to the warning, but judgment came anyway:

Side note: Many scientists agree that the world was flooded by water 4500 years ago (the time of Noah). Native Armenians have reported many sightings of the ark atop Mt. Ararat over the centuries. In 1955 French mountain climber Fernard Navarra sighted a 'black wooden barge (ship)' entombed within an icy glacier. After climbing down a 35-foot crevasse within the ice, he came upon the huge object that he estimated to be at least 50 tons of timber. He brought back a piece of the rock hard wood (no trees are within 150 miles of Mt. Ararat) and had it tested for Carbon-14 dating. Incidently, Navarra did not reveal where the wood came from, yet the reports returned indicating the timber was possibly 4500 years old!

   How frustrating it must have been for Noah to have his warnings 'fall on deaf ears.' Those around him simply did not want to change their evil ways. The BIBLE predicts that in the last days a similar attitude will prevail:

   Many today have "itching ears" that are not willing to hear and apply what the BIBLE teaches. Many religious leaders have compromised Biblical truths and instead teach whatever is more appealing and less challenging. Some who claim they are teaching BIBLE truths are actually teaching manmade doctrine, traditions and anything else that will conform more to man's will and desires, than to God's.

   The result of all this compromising of God's Word has been an ever increasing amount of 'spiritual starvation.' This in turn, has caused more people to sense a spiritual emptiness in their lives. They seek for things to fill the void: drugs, alcohol, reveling, pornography, the pursuit of wealth and fame, and so on. In the mean time the world becomes a more confusing and fearful place in which to live. All this reaches a climax at the return of Jesus Christ Himself.

   The problems facing our world only seem to worsen with no relief in sight . . .

   AS the world spins out of control, mankind tries desperately to find a solution to all the madness. Peace is what man wants and he wants it - NOW! Many have tried to come up with a formula for world peace. One person in particular, philosopher Mortimer J. Adler of the Aspen Institute, wrote an article entitled 'World Peace in Truth.' In that article he stated that:

1) World Peace is impossible without World Government.
2) World Government is impossible without a sense of World Community.
3) World Community will be impossible to create without a unity of the truth.

According to Mr. Adler, 'a great epoch in the history of mankind lies ahead of us. It will not begin until there is a universal acknowledgment of the UNITY OF THE TRUTH IN ALL AREAS OF CULTURE...for only then will ALL MEN BE ABLE TO LIVE TOGETHER PEACEFULLY IN A WORLD COMMUNITY UNDER WORLD GOVERNMENT. Only then will world civilization and world history begin.'

   In essence Mr. Adler is saying that what mankind needs to obtain peace is...

   All three of these elements make up what many today are calling the NEW WORLD ORDER. This term has been used to prop up all sorts of conspiracy theories (that is not our intention here). However, it is hard to deny the fact that the world is moving toward a one world system, some feel this is exactly what the world needs:

'For all the contradictions of the present-day world, for all the diversity of social and political systems in it, and for all the different choices made by the nations in different times, THIS WORLD IS NEVERTHELESS ONE WHOLE. We are all passengers aboard one ship, the Earth, and we must not allow it to be wrecked. THERE WILL BE NO SECOND NOAH'S ARK... Today in the face of a still worse danger, states belonging to different social systems can and MUST COOPERATE WITH ONE ANOTHER IN THE NAME OF PEACE.'

Mikhail Gorbachev in Perestrokia

   Now, while the BIBLE does not mention the term 'New World Order'; it does suggest that a one world system will be in existence during the last days, right before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The BIBLE describes a world ruler who will be in control of the one world system. This person is known as the "beast." He is more commonly known as the ANTICHRIST.

   THE ANTICHRIST is described in the BIBLE as having the following traits:

 

           He will be a great orator.       REVELATION 13:4-5

           He will be a clever politician.  DANIEL 8:25

           He will be a military genius.    REVELATION 6:2; 13:2

           He will be a master of deceit.   II THESSALONIANS 2:9-10

   He will use his abilities to gain control of the future one world system. The BIBLE predicts that he will arrange a seven-year treaty between Israel and their enemies resulting in three and one half years of peace in the Middle East (Daniel 9:27).

   The Book of Revelation (the last book written in the BIBLE) specifically deals with how the world will end. In it, we find the description of what the ANTICHRIST will control:

He will control a one world government.

He will be worshipped by a one world religion.

He will control a one world economy.

Is the world presently looking for such a leader?

n In Belgium (the headquarters of the European Community Office), statesman P.H. Spaak stood up and said:
_____'The truth is, that the method of international committees has failed. WHAT WE NEED IS A PERSON, someone of the highest order, of great experience, of great authority, of wide influence, of great energy; either a civilian or a MILITARY MAN, no matter what his nationality.'

n Historian Arnold Toynbee claims that:
_____'By forcing on mankind more and more lethal weapons, and at the same time making the world more and more interdependent economically, technology has brought mankind to such a degree of distress that WE ARE RIPE FOR THE DEIFYING OF ANY NEW CAESAR who might succeed in giving the WORLD UNITY AND PEACE.'

n The onetime leader and founder of the Club of Rome, Aurelio Peccei claimed that:
_____"A charismatic LEADER... POLITICAL OR RELIGIOUS... (will) be THE WORLD'S only SALVATION from the social and economic upheavals that threaten to destroy the civilization."

n P.H. Spaak, who was also the former Secretary General of N.A.T.O. claimed as early as 1957:

'We do not want another committee; we have too many already. What we want is A MAN of sufficient stature TO HOLD THE ALLEGIANCE OF ALL PEOPLE and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are sinking. SEND US SUCH A MAN, AND BE HE GOD OR DEVIL, we will receive him.'

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   The BIBLE'S prediction of a one world system and its leader could be occurring right before our eyes. In the last few years, some very unusual and very unexpected events began occurring around the globe. In November 1989, the Berlin wall came crashing down, and the once mighty Soviet Empire collapsed. The world, as we know it, has begun to take a new form. Trade barriers are quickly being dissolved with the likes of NAFTA, GATT and other treaties. The information super highway makes it possible to exchange information between any two persons in the world instantly. The world is heading toward a one world system, and when it arrives the ANTICHRIST will be its leader:

"...and all the world wondered [followed] after the beast." REVELATION 13:3

"...and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." REVELATION 13:7

   SOME may wonder how all the major religions of the world could possibly worship the same man. However, several major religions are each anticipating the appearance of a godlike spiritual leader. For example:

The Buddhists are looking for the fifth Buddha.
The Moslems are looking for the Iman Mahdi.
The Hindus are looking for the incarnation of Krishna.
The New Agers are looking for the 'The Christ' Maitreya.

   Finally, the Jews are still looking for their long awaited Messiah. Jesus Christ predicted that they would reject Him as Messiah (Lesson 2) and accept someone else:

"I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall
come in his own name, him ye will receive." JOHN 5:43

The BIBLE predicts that the ANTICHRIST, who is described as a master deceiver...

"...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." II THESSALONIANS 2:4

"...whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders" II THESSALONIANS 2:9

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him" REVELATION 13:8

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AS previously mentioned the Antichrist will also preside over a one world economy. Certain world events are taking place that could make that a reality. In the Book of Revelation, John the Apostle describes the following verse:

"And I stood...and saw a beast 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." REVELATION 13:1

   This vision of a beast (The Antichrist) with ten horns puzzled John. However, later the vision's meaning is explained to him:

"And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet;
but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind,
and shall give their power and strength unto the beast." REVELATION 17:12-13

   This vision is prophetic. It reveals ten kings "which have received no kingdom as yet[,]" implying that their kingdoms will come in the future. These TEN KINGDOMS will eventually have "one mind," meaning that they will agree and act as one.

() The virtual elimination of the selling of illegal drugs.  Drug dealers 

   would have every transaction monitored by computers. 



() An elimination of tax evasion.  The IRS would monitor every transaction.  

   Cash payments "under the table" would no longer be possible. 



() A reduction in crime.  Money laundering and embezzling would be virtually 

   impossible.  The Mafia, Black Market and bank robberies would be a thing of 

   the past.  Fewer muggings would take place since no one would be carrying 

   cash.  The American Bar Magazine quoted Attorney T. Speiser as 

   saying, 'if cash became obsolete, crime would be virtually 

   eliminated.'

Would using a "mark" be a far- fetched idea?

   The European community does not think so. Standardization News, February 1990, reported that the European community is considering using an identification mark. Page 30 of the report reads:

'...one cannot market or sell a product unless it has the EC mark'

   In fact, the United States economy has already been using a "mark" to buy and sell for several years. While no one has had it tattooed on their hands or foreheads (YET!), it appears on all sorts of products. This "mark" is the familiar - UPC SYMBOL.

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666 is designed into the symbol!

   The UPC symbol stands for universal product code. It is a label commonly found on consumer products. Various designs are used for the UPC label. A common one is shown to the right. This design consists of several vertical lines of varied widths used to represent numbers. The lines are made to be read optically into a computer by a laser based scanning device. We have all seen these devices at supermarkets. The lines are broken into two halves with each half containing a 5-number code used to identify the product and its manufacturer. As the computer scans the label, it has to identify where the label starts, where the two halves divide and where the label ends. Therefore, this design has two longer thin lines at the beginning, the middle and the end of the label. THESE THREE SETS OF LINES DO NOT DIRECTLY REGISTER NUMBERS. However, they are the same two longer thin lines used to represent the number 6 in the second half of the label. Now we are NOT saying that the UPC label is the 'mark of the beast.' We are simply pointing out that the technology exists to fulfill Revelation 13:16-18. Each UPC label of this design can represent a distinct and individual number while also incorporating 666 as part of its design. With a UPC symbol laser-tattooed on a hand or forehead, a person could be scanned upon making a purchase. The prices of the items would be eletronically withdrawn from their account.

Therefore the person would be buying and selling using a "mark" containing 666.

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   To some people, it may seem far fetched that we could ever have a "mark" tattooed on our hand or forehead (for the double amputee). However, the technology is already available to make tattoos that appear only under ultraviolet light, or to implant a tiny computer chip under the skin that would contain all the information of a UPC symbol and much more.

PROPHETICALLY RIGHT ON! "mark" in forehead.
A very reputable company placed this ad in Advertising Age Tabloid, October 20, 1980.

Cats, dogs may get microchip IDs Associated Press Wheaton, Ill. The head of Du Page County's Ani- mal Control Department wants every dog or cat to have a chip in its shoulder. Daniel Boyle said he would ask the County Board to approve an ordi- nance requiring that microchip IDs be implanted in all animals that bite someone and all pets reclaimed or adopted from the county's animal

shelter. Boyle said he also would try to persuade pet owners and veteri- narians to voluntarily implant the chips in all dogs and cats to help identify them. If approved, the county would regis- ter the ID numbers of all the micro- chipped pets. The microchip, about the size of a grain of rice, is injected via a syringe into the shoulder or hip of a dog or cat. The number on the microchip can be read by a hand-held scanner. Boyle said a microchip injection would cost $20 to $25.

THROUGHOUT this lesson we have compared certain 'end times' prophecies with world events taking place around us. Are we in the last days? Global trends seem to suggest that we are, and fast approaching what Jesus described as...

"...great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world[.]" MATTHEW 24:21

   This period of tribulation WILL come. The BIBLE says as in the days of Noah, when God judged the whole world; the human race will again be judged and...

"...drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without
mixture into the cup of his indignation..." REVELATION 14:10

This world is following in the footsteps of Noah's wicked generation. If God were to forsake His judgment on a generation just as wicked, He would surely owe Noah an apology.

"...for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." MATTHEW 24:44

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Some information used in this lesson was derived from the following books)

Holy Bible King James Version.

********** A Sneak Preview ************

   Since the end of the world coincides with the return of Jesus Christ, it is only fitting that we study "The Son of man" Himself - Jesus Christ. Every one of the sixty-six books of the BIBLE refers to Jesus Christ in some way. He is the central theme of the entire BIBLE.
   In our next lesson we will take an in-depth look into the greatest life ever lived, by the greatest person ever to walk the earth. We will see if the BIBLE answers things concerning Jesus Christ such as:

* Was He actually virgin born?
* Did He appear in the Old Testament before His birth in Bethlehem?
* Was He really God in the flesh?
* Was He the Creator of the Universe?
* What did He look like?
* Was He all knowing and all powerful?
* Did He know that He was born to die?
* Did He always exist in eternity?

And more...

SO DON'T MISS THE NEXT LESSON AS YOU CONTINUE YOUR JOURNEY
THROUGH THE BIBLE

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