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FurGodWurLivin -> RE: The mark of the beast (8/21/2008 4:51:47 AM)
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Wow....this leaves a real dilemma for a broad faction of Christendom if OSAS is not completely true doesn’t it? I have mixed emotions regarding the issue but I lean towards your position of being able to walk away and I’m sure not going to let my guard down. I’m not going to pursue this issue because it starts to get off track…on the other hand it is very relevant for so many who blindly feel that nothing can lead them astray. Why kick a Grizzly? If this is where we will leave it, there it will be left...quote:
This type of theological question has an eschatological bearing. If I am correct in placing the Rapture after the Great Tribulation, then Christians have to beware of taking the Mark. The Bible does not allow for the Elect to adopt the mark and live eternally. Indeed, the Elect die wholesale in the end times according to Jesus. Furthermore, Jesus warns us NOT to try to save our own lives, but to give that life up to get it eternally. Moreover again, three times we are told to endure patiently. Indeed, overcomers from the Church of Philadelphia endure patiently first before God watches (out) over them. **Ding!** +10 points, Sinner-Saint! It is specifically for this reason that the mark of the beast will require an excercise of the will. It has to be able to be refused. The elect will be dying right along the sinners in the end-times, though for very different reasons indeed.quote:
There are a lot of questions about the mark that we will likely only be able to answer in hind site Well, let's answer a couple right now, eh?quote:
is it a mark or is it a chip? Yes!quote:
is it physical or is it spiritual? Yes!quote:
etc..., but the one thing I am sure that we can answer today is that the mark is not something a Christian will take by accident. Worrying about accidentally taking the mark is something the elect need and should not do. Jackpot! Give the boy a cigar!quote:
The mark is specifically given (ostensibly by the government) at the midpoint of the one 'seven.' It is impressed. It is mandatory for buying and selling. True...quote:
It will completely replace plastic and paper. It is one of the two reasons the Great Tribulation is so great. In theory... true. Not necessarily, but in theory yes...quote:
Not taking the mark is one of the reasons the Elect are nearly exterminated by the time Jesus finally comes on the Day of the Lord at some nebulous point after the midpoint of the one 'seven.' Well... only slightly nebulous... there's a span of roughly 2-3 months after the technical "end" of the seven... so it will be somewhere in that timeframe, most likely.quote:
1) Aside from those holding to dispensational theology (something only couple of centuries old), most scholars reject the idea that the 70th week of Daniel was "held" over. They believe the 70th week concluded with Christ's first coming. Not really "most"... Some, yes and some no. It is very true that Premilleniaism is very young. As Stephanos said, that doesn't automatically disqualify it, it just means that it wasn't as mainline as it is right now.quote:
2) While the Greek word can mean impression, it is often translated to mean simply mark. 3) while the Scripture says that not having the mark will make it impossible to buy or sell, it does not define how that will happen. It could be that the mark is used to "pay" for items, but it is also possible that the mark is simply and identification of those who will be authorized to make purchases by other means, like with plastic or paper. Both points are very true and very valid. It will be impossible to conduct commerce... what form that takes is all conjecture.quote:
That is the most ridiculous eschatological position in my opinion because it is wholly unsupported. Not really... force fit, yes... wholly unsupportable? Not so much.quote:
By the way, this fact allows us to know the origin of the still-future anti-Christ as being Roman. Addendum... lends support to the idea... doesn't prove. Why? Specifically because there are six "empires" that have all been "Roman" in one form or another. Namely, the Roman Republic (precurser to the Empire of Jesus day), The Roman Empire, the Byzantines, the Western Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman empire covered a fourth of the known world at the time... so basically, anything from in that area can count as "Roman".quote:
It is interesting that those who view the mark of the beast as some sort of implant, that holds all banking info ect on it, also continue to use a SSN. Did you know that here in the states you can not get buy with OUT having a SSN? You cant get a job, you cant apply for loans, you cant get a US Passport. This is why Identity theft is so big, people steel OTHERS SSN's and use them as their own. So I have to ask, is this a type of "Mark". Is this a precurser to the evil mark of Satan? If so, does having this "mark" make me loose my salvation since I freely use my SSN. What is it that makes soemthing harmless one second and the next make it the evil "Mark of the Beast"? This is why I believe that the mark is not something tangible. I would argue that this is comparing Apples and Oranges. Being assigned a number in a database as a result of being an American Citizen is a far cry from bowing down to an idol, recieving some kind of implant/tatoo, and losing your soul. First, you don't HAVE to have an SSN number to buy and sell stuff in the USA (exhibit A: illegal aliens can make a reasonable living in the US without one). It makes things a heck of a lot easier, but cold hard cash has a way of greasing the gears if you are stuck in the machine. That is why many who believe in a physically applied mark believe that it will replace paper currency... because it's only really impossible to buy stuff if you have no cash. Its flimsy, biblically speaking, but it does make sense logically. You didn't have to bow down and worship the Statue of Liberty to get your SSN. Your SSN is (hopefully) not tattooed on your forehead... unless you had a really uber-creepy doctor attending your delivery. So, rather than apples and oranges, this is more like comparing apples and goiters.quote:
FYI. This may get some people rialled up and I just dare you to try to push me on this. But I personally would not be opposed to getting a microchip implanted that functions as my bank card/identity-medical chip (if I am in a horrible accident)/ect. So long as it is proven to be medically safe to do so, and not cost prohibitive, I would certianly entertain the idea of getting such a device. I'm not opposed to the idea in theory. However, I would need a couple assurances before signing up for it voluntarily. Namely, "is it medically safe?" And perhaps more importantly, "Does it have a GPS signal?" If the answers to those questions were "Yes" and "No" respectively, I would have no qualms about it. Just make sure that you aren't having to pose for the odd statue that seems alive, and you should be square. As for being able to hide out in modern America, it is possible. Avoid phones, credit cards, and most modern electronics manufactures after about 2001, and it is more than possible.quote:
Interim data collection schemes confront us in all aspects of our lives. For example… as I type this someone in control can locate my position. Being hidden in today’s world is a fantasy. The only thing that protects us today is the inability of government to organize all data in one central file. Privacy ain't what it used to be, yo... For once, Bureacracy (sp? dang I missed it) is a gift... Adam
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