Highway to Tribulation - Endtime Prophecy
Part 2
"AND THE WORLD SHALL LIVE AS ONE"
That quote from the John Lennon song, "Imagine", sums up another major
hallmark of endtime prophetic fulfillment. Known variously as "The
New Age", "The New World Order" or "New Order of the Ages", there is
no question that on a global level, the world is becoming as one.
Various eclectic and esoteric groups are working furiously to achieve
this man-made paradise on earth. The European Union is a prime
example of the success of such thinking. Two World Wars were fought
between the major players in Europe, yet less than half a century
later, they've all kissed and made up and starting with the "Treaty of
Rome", have embarked on a path of "Unity in Diversity" which has
resulted in unprecedented economic and political cooperation.
Ultimately, the combined Military Might of the European Union members,
whose number is now approaching 35 nations, will be unmatched.
Between pressure from the United Nations and the EU, the United
States, though still a military and economic juggernaut, will have to
get on board or be left behind in the dust. In fact for all intents
and purposes we have; GATT (General agreements on tariffs and trade)
and the WTO (World Trade Organization) count the U.S among their many
members. Both the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation portray
an endtime10-fold kingdom which engulfs and devours the entire earth.
Under the leadership of the United Nations, the various economic blocs
of the World are divided into 10 groups; the EU, NAFTA, ASEAN, ANZAC,
and so on comprise these 10 groups. Additionally, leaving nothing to
chance, the United Nations several years ago divided the world into 10
regions based on Maritime activities in an effort to better regulate
trade and traffic and to combat piracy and terrorist acts carried out
at sea.
In order to keep us all "safe" and good law-abiding citizens, a
multiplicity of electronic, telephonic, photographic and acoustic
devices are already in place to monitor us.
This too is a major road-sign on the highway to Tribulation. From
"Digital Angel", a chip implanted in animals and now humans to keep
track of their whereabouts to the GPS in your cell-phone or car
(OnStar and LoJac), it is now possible to track you down to within 15
feet anywhere on Planet Earth. Couple that ability with the
cell-phone camera and audio and almost everyone on Earth is exposed to
being photographed and recorded. We see it everyday on the news. (I
personally know people who were so creeped out by OnStar, they had it
removed). Police departments are just now rolling out technology to
accurately pinpoint the location of gunfire. Using microphones placed
throughout high crime areas, computers can triangulate the position of
the shooters to within a few feet. The cloak and cover of darkness
are being lifted by this new high-tech system.
In England, the average citizen is photographed up to 100 times or
more per day, especially in cities or towns of any size. Since 9/11,
America has vowed to step up photo surveillance. Already, drivers are
being ticketed for traffic violations by remote cameras recording the
slightest infractions of the law. Computer savvy people can easily
find not only your private address and unlisted telephone number, but
can actually view your residence with the latest Satellite imaging.
That's comforting, isn't it?
Now these are just the technologies we are being told about. I am
assured from those in the know, that for all the things we're told
about, newer and more sophisticated invasive technologies are in
existence already, perhaps to be revealed at a later date, perhaps
not. For instance, it's my understanding that even a land-line
telephone still in its cradle is capable of sending out audio signals
and subject to being eavesdropped upon.
Facial recognition hardware and software are becoming so sophisticated
that not only the identity of those being observed can be ascertained,
but that the actual thoughts or moods of the person can be discerned.
Apparently, the face has thousands of different muscle positions which
suggest thoughts and intents and can be ferreted out by today's
high-speed super-computers based on mountains of data which until a
few years ago, would have been impossible to sort through. The book
of Revelation describes an image which can speak and move and cause as
many as who do not worship it to be put to death. Will this image be
on your cell-phone screen and able to observe you through it's camera
port and/or on your home computer's similar technology? The good news
is that those whose tickets are for the Rapture won't be on the bus
then.
Perhaps the most fascinating endtime road sign of all is that which
pertains to Religion. In the final analysis, the world must become
united religiously. True fundamentalist Christianity is a major
stumblingblock to this unity. However, recent polls show that as many
as 57% of self-identified Evangelical Christians believe that there
are multiple paths to Heaven. Ecumenism, the melding of religious
beliefs has to take place to usher in this glorious New Age which
mankind so desires. There is a persistent belief that Roman
Catholicism will be the chief agent for this amalgamation.
Historically, the Roman Church has pursued a path of embracing entire
other religions in an effort to bring people into her bosom. In
Mexico and Central and South America, the ancient pagan religions of
the native peoples are still practiced but in a curious admixture with
Catholicism. For instance the Virgin of Guadalupe, was a fertility
goddess, conveniently turned into the Virgin Mary and hence still
worshipped. That same paradigm was practiced in the Middle East and
Eastern Europe, as fertility goddess worship could never be
successfully stamped out, the concept was if we can't beat them, we'll
join them. In fact, Constantine, by turning Christianity into the
"State Religion", effectively neutered what had been a robust and
expanding flock of practicioners of the original tenets of
Christianity as left to us by the Apostles.
In his book "A Woman Rides the Beast", Dave Hunt exhaustively explores
the terrible perversion of the Gospel which has resulted in the
enslavement of untold billions of people throughout the ages, the
slaughter of untold millions of people unwilling to convert to
Catholicism and the aid and comfort given the Nazis in their quest for
the "Final Solution" to the Jewish question. We must remember that
the final world government will also be a religious system and in
control of commerce and trade. The
Vatican as head of the Catholic Church is also a sovereign state with
a seat in the UN. It is said that the Pope John Paul II had more to
do with the fall of Communism than anyone else or with any other
agency, military or political. There is no question that the
incalculable wealth of this system, the political clout and the
percieved power over the eternal destiny of men's and women's souls
gives the Roman Catholic Church a position without equal in the world.
Is it merely coincidence that Tony Blair, the last Prime Minister of
Britain and current spearhead of the EU's movement for peace in the
Middle East recently converted to Catholicism? Would you be stunned
to know that our President, George W. Bush may be considering
converting to the Catholic Faith? The following quotes are from news
sources of great reknown.
"President Bush received a particularly warm welcome from Pope
Benedict. The London Telegraph reported on June 14 that an unnamed
source said that Mr. Bush may be preparing to convert to Roman
Catholicism. The President's brother Jeb Bush previously converted
to Catholicism..." Philadelphia Enquirer, 17 June 2008
The Financial Times, June 15 edition adds this: Mr. Bush....who has
had more papal audiences than any other US President...Asked then by a
Catholic interviewer
what he saw when he looked into the pope's eyes, Mr. Bush, a
Methodist, answered simply: 'God'"
Historically, the Catholic Church has ruled much of Europe and has had
tremendous global influence on political developments. Not
surprisingly, the Vatican operates more foreign embassies than an
other country.
"and they worshipped the beast, saying , Who is like unto the beast?
Who is able to make war with him?" Revelation 13:4
This is not an attack on Catholics, but a close examination of the
institution of Roman Catholicism. Though I attended a Southern
Baptist Church for many years, I do not agree with many of their
political and social activities which I find are a complete waste of
money and time. For instance, for many years we were harangued to
give money and time to stop the Gambling business, starting with the
Lottery and then Casino gambling. Firstly, there is no scriptural
basis to impel Christians to implement these anti-gambling tactics,
secondly there is no scripture forbidding Gambling. Not in my Bible.
In the end, after untold billions of dollars and countless hours of
precious time spent trying to stop Gambling, my home state is awash in
Lotteries and Casinos. How many lives could have been impacted with
the money spent instead on getting out the Gospel, which we are
commanded to do, or in meeting material needs of the less fortunate?
We'll never know.
Additionally, the Southern Baptist Church hierarchy has gotten way too
cozy with politics in general, something we were never guided to do by
Jesus. Does that mean I hate Southern Baptists? No, but I am
extremely disturbed by the governance and bureaucracy of the Southern
Baptist Church; in the same way, I feel it is fair to assess and
criticise activities and behaviors of the world's largest
"Denomination", the Roman Catholic Church. The fact that it is a
mammoth political and economic entity which defies quantification and
has untold influence on decisions of grave Military significance and
in particular upon matters directly affecting Israel, I believe it is
incumbent on Christians to lovingly enlighten our Catholic friends
according to the light we have. Lastly, since the RCC could
ultimately be the endtime one world Religion makes it fair game for
those of us who study Eschatology to keep an eye on. Remember, Jesus
said to "Watch".
Does that mean other Religions do not warrant keeping tabs on? No, in
fact, as stated earlier, there really has to be an amalgamation of the
major World Religions to lay the groundwork for the Umbrella Church
under which they will all sit. It is fascinating to watch as one by
one, the differences between some of these Religions are being laid
aside in preparation for the "Uni-Church". Pope John Paul II held
several massive gatherings of Religious leaders and practictioners
from every Religion thinkable including Muslims, Hindus, Wiccans,
American Indian Shamans, Gurus, Voodun priests and others too numerous
to list, in an effort to bring them under the RCC umbrella. It's also
possible that having laid aside all beliefs that separate them, the
World Council of Churches will usher in a new era of Islamic
dominance. In fact, the punishment for not worshipping the
Anti-christ is beheading. That's a very Islamic thing to do. In any
event, watch for more and more "Religions" joining hands like in a
Coca-Cola commercial and singing "Imagine" with blissed-out smiles on
their faces.
"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"
Daniel 12:4
As we ease into the in-depth chapter by chapter, book by book study of
Daniel and Revelation, the above words ring like a warning bell as a
declaration of the times in which we live; "...the time of the end:
many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased" If that
is not an accurate description of our 21st century world, I don't know
what is. During the last 150 years, more knowledge has apparently
been gained than the knowledge acquired during all ages past combined.
Just think of the tremendous advances in communication, travel,
industry, science, medicine and agriculture. Satellite TV and
telephone, Fax and e-mail, next day domestic package delivery with
2-day overseas delivery are standards. Intercontinental travel is
commonplace, individuals and families and it seems entire nations are
migrating and emigrating in record numbers. As if that's not enough,
space travel for the common person is planned for the immediate
future. For a meager $100k, you too can experience what the
Cosmonauts and Astronauts of yesteryear experienced. Mars is on the
drawing board for manned visitation. Even this obscure passage from
Nahum seems to speak of conditions in our day. Think of the crowded
highways, of road rage, of high speed traffic, car and truck
headlights and taillights ablaze like luminous rivers; "The chariots
shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in
the broadways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like
lightnings. " Nahum 2:4
The average desktop PC owner has more computing power and access to
information than MIT scientists did just a few years ago. The human
genome project, the "Book of Life", DNA mapping, gene-splicing,
genetically altered crops, cloning, bionic replacement parts for
humans, organ transplants and stem-cell research place us on the
threshold of an age where man can accomplish virtually anything he
sets his mind to. Even the division of languages that God sent to
forestall the Tower of Babel and the New Age that it promised for
mankind, has finally been overcome. Computerized translators,
becoming smaller, faster and cheaper and more powerful will soon
render languages as a barrier of the past. Yes, as Daniel
prophesied, this major signpost of the "time of the end" is here.
"many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased"
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