Lesson 643

(Lesson 643)(05-22-13) Revelation 13:10-18, "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."

Today's lesson is one of the most studied in the entire bible. There have been many many guesses as to who this "beast" might be. I believe the identity of the anti Christ will remain unknown until such a time as God requires. I also believe the time is drawing very near, for the following reason, never before has the technology been in place to carry out the measures that are warned against in this text. However, that technology does exist today, as I write.

I believe that in the very near future, governments will enact laws that render money, as we know it, to be obsolete, unusable, transferring all buying and selling transactions to a bar code system that will be somehow placed as a permanent mark on the bodies of everyone who is willing to accept it. What better, or more accessible place for this mark (bar code) to be than in or on the hand or on the forehead where a scanning device could be simply aimed in that direction to determine ones financial status or make adjustments to it, either in a reduction with a purchase or an addition for wages earned.

It behooves us all to be aware of the things that are happening around us, ever watchful for the rise of the "beast" and to be positively motivated by the signs of that time.
Matthew 28:19-20, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, *baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.~

(*Immersing them into or placing them within the protection of, as in Mark 1:8, "I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost." )