Go to THE BOOK OF REVELATION
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- Go to THAT SETTLES IT -- 666 HASN'T A DAMN THING TO DO WITH TODAY
Jesus did say that, but He does expect us to Study His Word - 2 Tim 2:15
I hope I didn't come across to harshly, but I have my Diploma in Minstry and must let you know about the various symbolisms used in Revelation. The time of the Beast on the earth is also spoken about in the 70th week of Daniel (found in the book of Daniel) so you can't read Revelation and not see how it fulfills much earlier prophecies about the end of the Grace Age we now find ourselves living in.
Time has been split into various ages: The Age of Innocence, The Age of Conscious, The Age of Promise, The Age of the Law, The Age of Grace, I may be missing a few ages, but the one I need to concentrate on is the Age of Grace. This age begins with the cross and ends in the rapture - or catching away of the church. The disciples ask Jesus, about His coming again in Matthew 24:3 - they ask, "What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the AGE?" That's quite important!! As the age that is next to end; is the Age of Grace, so if you will, we have been living "in the last days" since Jesus died on the cross.
Some symbolism found in the Book of Revelation: The churches - these churches were literal churches, you can still visit their 'ruins' today. (I think it's in modern day Turkey) These churches are also symbolic of seven different church ages, that occur throughout the ages. The first church age - The loveless church, the 2nd = the persecuted church, 3rd = the compromising church, 4th = the corrupt church, 5th = the dead church, 6th = the faithful church, 7th = the lukewarm church. Stars are symbolic of angels, seas are symbolic of masses of people (This has to be in context though!And sometimes, not all the time.)
The church will be caught away before the Beast rules on the earth, or at least before the persecutions begin - the Beast's time on the earth is broken up into a 7 year period (I'm not sure if it is a definite 7 year period or if the years are symbolic of times or seasons - each meaning something if you study scripture), 3 and a half years of "somewhat peacful reign"and 3 and a half years of tribulation - you'll have to check out the 70th week of Daniel for this (Watch "Left Behind" movie series, if you are in the dark on this subject of End Time Prophesy. Jack Van Impe Mistries (www.jvim.com) is a really brilliant source of information on End Time Study [Eschatology] check out their work and movies too!!)
Basically, when the earth moves toward a One World Govenrment system and wants to be ruled by one man - you'll know the Book of Revelation's prophecy will be coming to pass. This man is known as the Beast, the number of his name will be 666. (This is using a Hebrew alphabet, I'm not really sure how it works) The Bible discribes him (in various places) as being a man that many people will love and respect and will solve many of the world's problems, like world hunger and the desire to have world peace, after he brings an end to these problems, and achieves world peace, the earth will hand over it's government to him and place him in power. But then suddenly things will begin to change. The church is caught up with Jesus in the clouds, before the Beast's persecutions begin, and are taken off the earth to celebrate the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven. This marks the end of the Grace period and the beginning of the tribulations on earth. The Left Behind series of movies, and the Tribulation, Revelation and Appocalpse movies by Jack van Impe Ministries illustrates this nicely and puts it into perspective. These movies are all based on scripture and show how people that are"left behind' after this catching away of the church begin to realise that their family members and friends were right all along and that God is real and what is written in the Bible is true. They then begin to go underground and try and spread the word about Jesus and that the Bible is true! The only thing is that at this time, people who want to worship God and serve Him will have to 'pay' for their own salvation through their death. "For the wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23 - that will never change. The Beast will then begin to persecute those who try to worship God (kind of like the way Hilter persecuted the Jews)
We've seen the world moving toward a one world government system slowly but surely, eg. Euro currency. And another scary but interesting fact is the mark of the Beast 666. Did you know that a Barcode's main numbers are 666? This is symbolised by the three longest lines on a barcode. Did you know that a Smart Card is being introduced into society? This is a 'barcode' that holds all your information in digital format, like your ID book, driver's license and credit cards, all rolled into one, that can be placed neatly under the skin in either your forehead or hand? In the future this will be used as an identification code, and a new way to pay for goods and services - don't swipe your Visa through a machine, let the shop clerk just scan your head or hand and viola! The payment will be digitally transfered - you become your own credit card - imagine that! Isn't this what is spoken about in Revelation? People will not be able to buy or sell without the mark of the Beast? (Rev 13:16-17) People who have undergone this 'experiment' have had terrible sores develop - also spoken about in Revelation, (Rev 16:2) mmm, hardly anything like this ever occured at the time of Caesar.
Remember never to use one book or verse as an 'exclusive' way to explain something, you have to make sure of what other verses in other books of the Bible teach on the subject before you make assumptions and remember to consult Bible scholars teachings on the subject and never to translate out of context!
posted by
Ingi
on June 10, 2006 at 6:00 AM
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INGI -- LOOK AGAIN!!!!
read the scriptures provided -- and the commentary, particularly regarding the number 666.
what i reeally need for you to do is show me where it is said that The Book of Revelation is a prophecy for a time way beyond that of the writer, such as today.
You cannot.
It should be obvious to anhyone who reads this -- the passages from I John that state that he is writing in the "end time" and the verse in Revelation that states that these are things that shall "shortly come to pass".
Can you, from these statements, tell me that these things in the Book of Revelation are supposed to happen 2,000 or more years after it was written? Can you produce something that demonstrates this? I cannot find anything of the sort.
Jesus said, "take care of today; don't get obsessed with the future."
posted by
Xeno-x
on June 7, 2006 at 2:46 PM
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Huh?
What types of studies and certificates do you have behind your name to make claims such as these? You clearly have no idea of the bigger picture spoken of in the Book of Revelation and have based all your 'findings' on your own ideas and interpretations of scripture. Which should never be done. It's exactly what Paul and John and the early apostles warned the churches against. You can't just make things up and expect people to smile and say, "That's nice."
posted by
Ingi
on June 7, 2006 at 11:07 AM
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