Welcome to the Digital Age! Are You Ready to Receive Your Mark?

 

Perhaps the hardest question any Christian has been asked is "Why does God allow bad things to happen?" While we rest in the knowledge knowing that nothing that happens in this world passes without God's knowledge, we understand that this is now a sin-filled world ruled by Satan for a limited period of time and his purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. So while it may feel fine to blame God, the real person or created being is Satan for why bad things happen in the world. We need to remember that Satan is alive and is real and the blame needs to be placed on him. The biggest lie we fall for is that he doesn't exist and that God is somehow responsible for what is happening. We buy into his deception when we believe that.

The Bible is the only book that promises that all that it contains, all the promises and prophecies will come true in 100% certainty and detail. God has promised that one day evil will have run its course and He will place judgment upon those who have followed in the ways of Satan and rejected Christ, along with the Antichrist, Satan and all his demonic followers. The Bible promises that in the last days in Revelation 13 beginning in verse 11, those who are left on the earth will need to pledge an alliegance to the European Ruler through the taking of a mark on his right hand or forehead. Notice it doesn't say left hand? If the mark is unable to placed on the right hand, it will be placed on the forehead and it will be the same prefix for everyone, even though their numbers will vary. That prefix will be 666. Its like those of us that live in a certain area, all of us have the same area code that identify those of us that live in specific places.

Did you know that in Hebrew the number 6, is represented as man and that 666 is man declaring himself to be god. Just like in Hebrew the number 777 is the complete rule and reign of God of Heaven. 666 is the attempt of man to become like God. The book of Revelation warns us about this. Did you know that in Mexico under the leadership of Vincente Fox, because his key cabinet members are often used to gain access into secure facilities, he wanted to ensure that they were able to be tracked by receiving a mark in the right hand painlessly. This is the brain child of a company called Digital Applied Solutions which has been marketing this product under the name "Digital Angel" and is using the issues of medical illnesses and the premise for making this a product it believes consumers will use. It is the same "Verichip" technology that is being used by vets to scan all those run away pets but as of right now does not have government approval for use in the US at this time. They also lack the tools needed to track location of people must like GPS does but they are working on incorporating the use of RFID to help in the process.

It's amazing when you consider how the Bible is thousands of years old and yet predicts this type of technology would be available to be used in the future and we are watching it unfold before our very eyes. If you are a skeptic, what more do you need? The Lord is coming back. Jesus is coming back and if He said it, you'd better believe it. Jesus must come back unless He is the wrong one.

Matthew 6:9-10 ~ " This, then is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. "

You ever prayed that prayer before? You know what you are asking for? For God to establish His kingdom on earth. When you pray that prayer you are asking for the return of Jesus Christ to take place. Next time you pray it, pray it and mean it.

Isaiah 9:6-7 ~ "For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

Where is the throne of David? It's in Jerusalem but it hasn't been established yet. It will be when Jesus comes. If Jesus does not sit for 1000 years on the throne of David in Jerusalem in a literal sense, He is not the Christ. The Bible teaches that He must come back.

Psalm 93:1-2 ~ "The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity."

How long will the LORD reign? Forever and ever! When we say Praise the Lord, we ought to really mean it. We should be thanking God in all things. Jesus is coming one day soon and we need to be thanking Him both now and forever. We know however at this time, that Satan is in control of the earth and what happens here only through God however, and we know that the current state of our world is growing darker wouldn't you agree? Why is that true?

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ~ "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

Put blame where blame is due. It is Satan who has blinded the minds of those living in this world who does not believe. Don't blame God when people are starving around the world, God is not sending the earthquakes that destroy people lives or sending horrific storms that are killing people. God is not sending those things. This is a world that is repeatedly sold into the hands of Satan. 

John 12:31 ~ "Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the price of this world will be driven out."

John 14:30 ~ "I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me."

John 16:11 ~ "and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stand condemned."

Matthew 12:25-26 ~ "Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?" Satan is behind the destructive forces that kill and destroy. Not God.

In the end, it will be the Lord who is worshiped. He is worshiped because He alone is the Savoir.

Revelation 11:16-17 ~ "And the twenty four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign."

This makes sense when you read it backward. Because you have begun to reign and have taken your great power, (this is something that the world has longed for), the fact that You are the One who is, who was and is to come, You have absolute authority and there is no doubt about it. You are the One and we give thanks to You because you are the Lord God Almighty. The twenty four elders and seated and secure in heaven. We know in prior studies that then 24 elders are none other than a representation of the church age believers from the day of Pentecost to the day of rapture. They are introduced to us in Revelation 4 and are never seen again on earth. In Revelation 19, we see Christ coming back in the Second Coming with His church. How did they get there? Revelation 4:1.

Why the number 24? Study previously what we have gone through but quickly, there were 24 order of priests dedicated and commanded by God in the Old Testament. They were to live before the Lord, doing the work of the Lord. What does the Bible say we are as Christians? We are a kingdom of priests. These 24 elders represent the entire body of church believers from the Day of Pentecost to the Day of the Rapture. The only way you get to heaven, is through faith in Jesus Christ alone not a religious affiliation. It is the same for anyone who calls on the name of Jesus. It is hell without Him literally. Remember this is a future event.

It is the Lord who is worshiped because He alone is Almighty. Who is this in verse 17? He is the Lord, Almighty.

Revelation 1:8 ~ " I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

Revelation 1:17 ~ "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last."

Revelation 1:18 ~ "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

Revelation 4:8 ~ "Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stopped saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is and is to come."

Revelation 2:8 ~ "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the word of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again."

Titus 2:13 ~ "while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,"

Titus 2:10 ~ "and not steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive."

Isaiah 42:8 ~ "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols."

Hosea 13:4 ~ "But I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You shall have no other God but me, no Savior except me."

Phil 3:20 ~ "For our citizenship is in heaven, for which we also eagerly await the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."

 It is a great time to really know who Jesus is! If you are not a Christian, what in the world are you doing? Why don't you know Jesus? What is keeping you from being a Christian because Jesus is everything! There are no second changes when your life ends. There are no do overs. No mulligans. If you are really smart, you will give your life to Jesus today!

How Does Your Worship Measure Up?

For nearly two decades now there is a group in Israel known as the Temple Mount Faithful that run the Temple Mount Institute who have been making preparations to get ready for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. They have rebuilt many of the tools to be used in the Temple as well as the menorah, and have been researching the red heifer, which they have now discovered as well as those who fall in the lineage of the Levitical priests, from the gowns the priest will wear, this group is taking this extraordinarily serious. The have it all down to the finest minute details from the exact color dye for the priests gown derived from a sea snail. We know that at this time, there is no Temple Mount in Jerusalem but in our study today we are learning that there will be. God says that one day there will be.

There are those who refuse to believe in the New Testament but through their actions, they are working on efforts that one day they believe it will be built again. This is just another indicator of last days events. God's Word is always true. You can even use Google Earth to check this area out where the Temple will one day be built again. It is just to the left and north of the Dome of the Rock. It is a vacant lot where it will one day be rebuilt and prophecy to be fulfilled.

Remember in our study yesterday, we concluded that God is issuing a warning throughout the Book of Revelation and even during the Tribulation Period when it comes, that He loves us so much, He doesn't want us to have to go through these things we are reading about and studying today. Don't lose sight of that.

As we continue our study this morning, we know that the warning God is providing of a very specific event comes a temple to the city of Jerusalem. One day in the last days, the Bible is assuming that a Temple will be rebuilt in the city of Jerusalem. There is not a temple there today, but the Bible clearly states that one day one will come. Scholars will argue that this is not what this portion of scripture is referring to and it must be something else because a temple will never be rebuilt there. Israel as we know is making serious preparations for this to happen even though they refuse to read the New Testament portions of the Bible. The priestly gowns have already been made right down to the most minute detail. The menorah for the holy of holies is already made. The altar has already been created. They are teaching those of the Levite lineage how to perform the priestly duties. Israel is planning on building a Temple.

They can't build it at this time because of the Muslim/Palestinian world would go crazy. It would be the catalyst for the next world war. It won't happen today, but Israel is moving in that direction. We know that there is a coming Temple because Jesus said so.

Matthew 24:14-15 ~ "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. So when you see standing in the holy place, 'the abomination that cause desolation,' spoken through the prophet Daniel - let the reader understand - "

There will be a rebuilding of the Temple in what looks to be the area just north of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. I believe that the Dome of the Rock will still be there because Scripture talks about a wall being built that will separate this holy place away from a defiled area. Why would the Bible mention this Temple Mount area as being defiled? God says in the last days, a Temple will come to Jerusalem. However a lot of political things have to happen before that could ever be true. There are motions and work taking place to brings these things about when that day comes. There is a flat area just north of the Dome of the Rock that can easily allow for the Temple to be rebuilt right behind the Golden Gate, that the Tribulation Temple will be built.

When John was given this vision in 90 A.D., the Temple did not exist either. In 70 A.D. it was destroyed by Titus in the invading Roman Empire to sequester an uprising in Jerusalem during that time. Jesus predicted this would happen when He said not one stone would be left unturned when the Temple was destroyed. The Bible says a day is coming when a man, the Son of Perdition, some scholars refer to him as a Prince or a Western Prince, will arise out of the ancient borders of a once great Roman Empire.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 ~ "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God."

Even though we have a conglomeration of nations within the Europe Union right now, the Bible says that 10 nations will rise out of the 25 nations that are within that group right now. Within that 10, there will be a predominate group of 4 leaders that will be the spokespersons for these nations. Out of the 4, the Bible says that 1 will rise up and that will be the "western prince" or Son of Perdition or Antichrist and he will speak convincing words to the world that the world will believe. He will turn around the world's economy so that it will be the most prosperous time that the world has ever known. This time period will last for about 3 1/2 years. He will cause the environment to be rejuvenated to some degree but he will not convince all the world. It appears that China and parts of the Asian world will come to war against him, and we will study more about that in greater detail in chapter 13. This man will be the greatest politician the world has ever seen.

In the United States right now, our own independence is an affront to the entire global community. Did you know that? It is not liked and is jealously disdained in Europe. The independent spirit in Americans is not well received in the world. We are labeled as "free thinkers," "independents,"  and are marked as renegades in the global community. Ronald Reagan even received flack for being labeled as a "rogue cowboy." The world is getting a mind set of globalism. The United States is an affront to that and it doesn't easily bow to the whims of the United Nations. But something greater than the U.N. is coming. The European Union is gaining strength, even their dollar is worth more than our currency now. There will a continued decrease in the dollar and the yen, and you'll see more countries embracing the Euro as the European Union continues to grow in power and influence in the world.

The European Union is taking its cue from the United States and is following suit. There is one huge difference, God is being left out of their constitution, their flags, and their currency whereas the United States at this time has God in the midst of it all when He founded this nation. He is in the middle of our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, our Declaration of Independence. What comes out of Europe must have a vacancy of God for this man to rise to power. The Bible says that he will stand in the Temple of God during the Tribulation Period and declare himself to be God. The Bible says that the people of the world will fall under the deception and believe him. He will sign a 7-year peace treaty with Israel and its warring neighbors in Daniel 9.

They will vote with their pocketbooks because they want prosperity in their lives and they want the environment to be restored, all the environmental groups will love him. Don't mistake the belief that Christians should be the greatest custodians of God's creations. But look around you and you can see the extremes people are taking these activities now. The difference is we don't worship creation, they do. The world is being groomed for this time to come.

Revelation 11:1 ~ "I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there."

I can understand measuring the Temple of God, the altar but counting the worshipers? We know that Jesus Christ is our High Priest, Jesus Christ died on the cross once and for all, and Jesus ascended to heaven to present His blood upon the altar in heaven. The temple was destroyed because it wasn't needed anymore. God is not into earthly temples. God is no longer into earthly altars. Jesus is now resurrected and is now enthroned in heaven. When we pray do we face a temple? We don't do this because as Christians, we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and our God is enthroned in heaven. We can pray any way we want to, any time we want to, any where we want to. Our salvation is not connected to an earthly temple.

When John is asked to measure the temple, this is the temple the Antichrist will use. Even though it says it is the Temple of God, that is how the Jewish people reference it. God has not declared it to be His temple. The Bible says that won't happen until Jesus returns to earth and He establishes His own temple in Jerusalem. This is the temple to be commandeered or stolen by the Antichrist. It's a false temple and needless altar.

Now it comes to measuring the worshipers and in the Greek it is metreo which means: to measure, to ascertain in size, to make note of detail. To determine size, scope and influence. The word here is both figuratively and actual it just depends on the application. How do you measure people? John is told to measure their hearts. Who are they? What do they know? In what form are they worshiping? Where are they with God? God measures the worshiper right now! God is always measuring our desire or passion for worship.

If you read your Bible carefully, Christians are prone to worship! If you want to find a Christian who is worth anything to hang around with, find one who is a worshiper! Christians should be worshiping and praising God! It's what we are going to be doing in Heaven! It's good practice. God might not count the physical number of people worshiping in church but He measures each one of us. Do you ever notice that sometimes when you are singing worship songs, you might be mouthing the words, but your mind is someplace else. Sometimes if you are like me, you have to close your eyes to get rid of all distractions. When you worship alone, do you do that? We should understand that when we worship corporately in church, what a blessing that is. The music in church has nothing to do with us. As a Christian, we need to make worship a priority, not something you show up just after its almost over or leave just as it begins at the conclusion of service and you head out so you don't have to be stuck trying to get out of the parking lot. God measures His worshipers.

Distraction is an easy thing, especially in worship. Every Christian has experienced this. It is attacked with distractions. Anytime we try to do something for God or spend time with God, our minds have a tendency to wander. While we are involved in a spiritual devotion with God, it is foreign to this world. It is foreign to our nature. It is foreign to our life in this world. It is all about us worshiping the Lord and that is why it is so difficult. When we worship God, there is a beautiful death that takes place to us, our self, our demands, our wants, and we lose track of us, which is always a good thing. Worship causes us to see God bigger.

If you remember in the movie, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lucy tells Aslan that every year he gets bigger. Aslan is the picture of Jesus in C.S. Lewis' classic novel. He doesn't get any bigger, its that Lucy worships him more. When we worship God, He gets bigger to us and that is why we need to do that. We lose ourselves in His presence. In the worship of God.