 The “mark of the beast” made it way into the news this week. Three Square Market, a Wisconsin firm that deals in cafeteria kiosks brought in a tattoo artist who helped them put microchips underneath the skin of 40 employees who volunteered to receive them. This event led to a front page article in USA Today on August 4th.
The article was aimed at dispelling fears that these individuals had received the mark of the beast - mentioned in Revelation 13. For this reason it was a valuable article because certain things have to be true for someone to be receiving the mark of the beast. First, let us look at some biblical facts about this time in future prophetic history. The person called, “the beast” has to have been revealed to the world. As of yet, this has not happened. There is not yet a world leader who is galvanizing the entire planet under his evil leadership. Neither is there a world leader who has been horribly injured in the head and has miraculously recovered. There is not this world leader who has the whole earth following him and worshipping him. Nor is there a second beast that has come to be a spokesman for the first one - performing great signs and wonders - even having fire fall from heaven. This second beast has yet to call the world to make an image of the first beast who had the wound in the head from which he recovered. And finally, this second spokesman, whom Bible scholars call the false prophet, has not made a worldwide cashless system of finance - a system that doesn’t allow anyone who does not have the “mark of the beast” to buy and sell anything. All these things are in plain sight for anyone who desires to read Revelation 13. So, since these things have not happened - and since this mark is voluntary - this is not it. There is a comment made in this USA Today article from a Wheaton College professor of New Testament, Chris Vlaschos, that is very instructive for us. “I think this is more of a fulfillment of end times novels and movies than the Book of Revelation itself.” That is instructive for us in that is reminds us to be fixed on the Scriptures rather than a really cool movie or novel. One of the things that saddens me is how the whole area of Bible Prophecy has been coopted by the novel and movie writers. Their focus is too often given to the fantastic and the attention getting minutia that surrounds what is actually written in Scripture - rather than the Scriptures themselves. Take for instance the recent hysteria over “blood moons” - and now currently the same kind of religious “freaking out” about the way the stars of the heavens will be configured on September 23rd of this year. For years I’ve read and watched one claim after another made that “this is the date” because of something that has rarely ever happened. Such things make for great book and video sales - but honestly - have had little if anything to do with what is actually given to us in the Word of God. As we can see from a basic reading of Revelation 13 - these events in Wisconsin are not the beginning of the rule and reign of the beast - or of the mark of the beast which will come in that time. If we are to get anything from this story it is that there are now technologies that can insert something as small as a grain of rice under our skin which can then be used to interact with computers and other devices. This device is called an RFID - which stands for Radio Frequency Identification. This is the use of radio waves to read and capture information stored on a tag attached to an object. Even Vlaschos says that though this may not be the opening volley of the apocalypse, it may be a slippery slope. Such technology had great opposition when it first came out - but now - as seen from the 40 who receive it voluntarily - it is becoming more and more accepted by our culture. Another comment made in the article caught my attention. Three Square Market, the company involved in the story, sees these RFID chips as a way for greater convenience - and then added - “ . . . would like to see payments go cashless.” Of all the statements in the article, this was the one that grabbed me. There will be a cashless society in those last days - one in which a device maybe very similar to this will be used to restrict all buying and selling. So what do we learn from all this? First of all - I would hope that we would learn the biblical exhortation to, “ . . . not go beyond what is written.” If I want to know whether something is a sign of the coming apocalypse, I’ll check it against what is written in the Bible. To blindly accept things simply because some “end-times guru” has written another book or made another movie - is to fall into the trap of which we are warned in 2 Thessalonians. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 NASB (emphasis mine) This is a vital lesson! We are warned again and again in the Scriptures that these last days will feature many who come with statements that are not based in the truth. The ONLY WAY we will know the difference is to “receive the love of the truth.” The other admonition given to us is that we should test the spirits to make sure that they are from God. It might also be a good reminder that the book is called, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” When people talk about it - their focus should be on Him being revealed. When the topic is some cockamamie theory that requires page after page of exegetical gymnastics (and honestly they usually have little to no exegetical content at all), we should simply turn our gaze onto the Word of God - and - the One we should be awaiting - our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
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 Last night was the final in the series of blood moons that have had the prophetic community on high alert. The whole “blood moon” movement, as I call it, has been at the forefront of those who study Bible prophecy. It has been almost all that they write about for a long time. Numerous books and thousands of articles have been written on this subject. But I would submit to you that we should be far more concerned about a “bloody earth” than blood moons. Just today I reread Jeremiah chapter 7 and trembled deep in my spirit. I fear that God is currently writing His, “mene, mene, teckel, upharsin” upon the walls of the United States. As I’ve watched the butchering and sale of babies in our “bloody earth” take a back seat to the furor over “blood moons” my heart has grieved over my own lack of brokenness and the lack of brokenness of the church about the horrific wickedness that has been perpetrated and defended in our land. I’ve also trembled as I’ve considered how the church in America thinks it will be spared the judgment of God because we’re in a Christian nation. Such a deception also existed in Judah too - and considering their end - I truly tremble when I think of the future of the United States in the days ahead.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, "Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house and proclaim there this word and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the LORD!'" Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. "Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, 'This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.' "For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. Jeremiah 7:1-7 God sent Jeremiah to prophesy at the gate of the temple in Jerusalem. There were still droves of people who attended the worship there in Judah, even though the morals of the nation were quickly deteriorating among the worshippers. This in many ways mirrors our current situation in the United States where church attendance, though declining, is still high among a populace that goes to services. But just like in Jeremiah’s day attendance is high - but godliness and our morals are low. Jeremiah’s word from the Lord was clear - “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” Here was what Jeremiah was addressing. Too many in Jerusalem thought themselves immune from God’s judgment and disaster because of their religious heritage - illustrated by the fact that the “temple of the Lord” was in their midst. The people had completely divorced the reality of God’s call to practical godliness from their weekly religious practices. They did the religious thing - religiously! What is all this talk of judgment in light of how they attended worship weekly - and did all the religious holidays! You talk of judgment - but what about our awesome religious temple - the temple of the Lord! God would never judge the nation that has such a wonderful religious heritage! Hey Jeremiah! We were founded as a godly nation - as God’s people - as the place where His religious building was built! We trust in that building - in that religious heritage - in our past as His people! That was the cry of the people - and they thought they could ignore and declare the words of the prophet null and void because of it! Jeremiah declared that God does not view things this way. God was calling them, through Jeremiah, to amend their ways. Trusting in your religious heritage and your religious buildings was trusting in “deceptive words” according to God’s prophet. Your previous religious heritage meant nothing if you were not treating each other with justice and righteousness. It meant nothing if innocent blood was being shed on the land. It meant nothing if false gods were being followed instead of the Lord. Let’s look at these issues one by one in this first installment on Jeremiah 7. Please understand that I do believe that we are guilty of injustice against the alien, orphan, and widow. But few things cause me to tremble as much as the tragic drama that is being played out about the butchery that has been occurring daily in our nation in the abortion industry. But even more terrifying is the general lack of response in brokenness and prayer to these horrors. Abortion on demand has led to the death of over 50 million unborn babies in our nation. The clarion call for absolute autonomy over our sexual decisions has led to abortion being elevated to a birth control choice. This has led to over 4000 abortions a day in our nation - many for no other reason than sex selection or a pregnancy being a hindrance to what we want at the time. But with the recent revelation of the house of horrors called, Planned Parenthood, where babies are being killed and then dismembered for sale and profit, our nation has faced a decision on a whole new level of the carving up of the unborn. The videos of this are almost too macabre to even discuss - because they involve carefully aborting babies and then slicing them up to sell organs. One video even reveals that babies are being beheaded so that their decapitated heads can be sold to the highest bidder. God is already furious over the shredding of babies or their being burned alive in the womb by abortion. The revelation of the callous butchery of babies by Planned Parenthood for profit may be the last straw in this matter, revealing just how far we’ve descended into the moral abyss of our own wickedness. The fact that we have a political party defending this organization - and another party without the moral fortitude to stand up until this butchery is stopped - reveals just how morally bankrupt our nation has become. There is no real hope that any kind of political solution is coming. The fact that there is even debate about this is shocking! We should not turn first to the political realm to address this. We should be turning to God - in repentance for allowing it to happen - then in extraordinary prayer as we cry out for it to stop immediately! But let me be clear - God is not interested in just stopping the carving up of these precious little ones - He demands that they stop being killed period. He demands that the sexual immorality that leads to these pregnancies be repented of and abandoned. He calls us to holiness - not just to trying to move the peg of sexual insanity back one step. This will NEVER happen by political action alone. If there is not a truly brokenhearted cry for our own sins first - and then the sins of our fathers and our nation second - there will not be revival, which I truly believe will be the FIRST step we must take to address these things. To turn to religion and high profile religious figures to stop this “bloody earth” event also will not work. I thank God for the few who have blown the trumpet to warn us of what is coming if we do not repent and turn from shedding innocent blood. But the church is not even issuing a clear call on this matter. The fact that a visit by the head of the Roman Catholic church, who have long championed the unborn, did NOT mention once this godless holocaust and harvest of the unborn, reveals just how void of God our religiousness has become. If we don't have the moral fortitude to stand up against this horrific harvesting of the unborn for profit - an act reminiscent of Nazi Germany under Hitler - why should God, for any reason, not bring His judgment without mercy to our nation? We bicker about whether we should shut down our government as a political ploy - when honestly - we should be flooding the altars of our land with our tears of repentance and brokenness. We should be gathering in our public squares due to a call of the Holy Spirit (not due to a political or religious movement calling for a day of prayer) to pray and weep over such horrors. We don’t need a day of prayer - which has become far more a day of speeches and political posturing - we need a day of public repentance, humiliation, and confession of our sins and rebellion against God. Let us issue THAT call - much like that issued by President Lincoln - and see how much public support we receive. I would fear that such a clear call would make even evangelical churches back away - squeamish over how the public might view the political correctness of such language. Where are the Elijahs of God, who hide themselves in prayer and then confront the Baal worship of our day? Where is the Moses of our land, who publicly rebukes the sin of the people, then goes before God for 40 days of prayer - pleading that God does not destroy them due to their sins? Where are the Ezras, who throw themselves before the steps of the church and government, literally tearing out their own hair as they weep for the sins of our nation - and the sins of the church? Oh that we would see men stand in the gap in these perilous times! Now the the “blood moon” event is over - let me propose a far more important event that should arrest our attention. Let me call it - “The Bloody-earth” event. This is an event without any promotion - except that graciously given by the Spirit of God as He bears witness in the hearts of God’s people. This is an event that starts this Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - at any church service in our land. It is a call to prayer for God’s people. The blood moon event spoke of a major change coming due to its arrival. The “bloody-earth” event is a call for us to wake up to the reality that, starting many years ago (at least 1973), we’ve been filling our land with innocent blood that cries out for God’s judgment on America. It affirms that God has upped the stakes by revealing the butchery that is taking place in our land by the hands of those at Planned Parenthood. It reveals that we are complicit with this if we do not cry out for God in repentance for our sins - and also beseech Him to move in such a way that revival comes to His church - and awakening to our land - and that due to His hand - this butchery ceases. (I want to make it perfectly clear that any kind of violent response to Planned Parenthood or any other abortion provider is wrong and is wickedness. We do not advance the agenda of our God by violence - but by prayer and by His changing of hearts.) This is a call to personal and corporate repentance, brokenness over sin, and prayer. It is NOT just a call for a day of prayer - but for a undefined season of prayer. The event has been successful if and only if a revival of prayer, broken hearted confession of sin and repentance, and turning to God with all our hearts happens - and continues. The success of this event is not defined by numbers - but by hearts wholly given to God. The “blood-moon” hysteria lasted and grew for almost a year and a half. It reached huge proportions as books and entire prophecy events popularized it. Dearest saints of God - it is not a blood-moon or series of blood-moons which should arrest our attention in this day. What should be deafening us - if we are awake to God’s call - is His call to respond to a “bloody-earth.” Oh that God would get our attention - and that Wednesday night would be a time where His people come together to respond, repent, return to Him. Oh that pastors would face saints who cry out for a prayer meeting so that we can corporately cry out for revival among us - and restoration in our land. Here in my parting question . . . we responded in droves to the information about the blood moon - will we respond to His call about the “bloody-earth?”  For the past couple of years I have been inundated by a tidal wave of information and articles dealing with the fact that we are about to experience the last in a tetrad of blood moons on September 28th of this year.
Let me explain a few things as I get started on this subject. First of all let me explain what a blood moon is. A blood moon occurs when there is a lunar eclipse. The moon during these events takes on a red hue - thus the name, “blood moon.” The next thing I need to explain is what a “tetrad” is. That is when in a period of 2 years a series of four blood moons take place. This is a very rare occurrence - made even more rare because these four blood moons that have been happening have all fallen on Jewish holidays since 2014. The final blood moon will happen on September 28, 2015, which also happens to be the date of Sukkoth for this year (The Feast of Booths). The other blood moons in this tetrad have taken place on Passover (April 15, 2014), Sukkoth (October 8, 2014), and on Passover (April 4, 2015). This is a very rare occurrence, happening only 9 times in the last 2000 years. But there is one more thing that is happening on the 28th of this month. On that day it will also be the day of the Shemitah. What is the Shemitah? In the Old Testament Israel was to forego planting of crops every 7 years (Leviticus 25). After 7 or these 7 year periods (49 years) there was to be a “Jubilee year” or a Shemitah of Shemitah’s. On that year every debt was cancelled - and the Jewish people would return to the land of their tribe to receive it as theirs once again. Now I know that all this may seem strange to you - but hopefully this will all make sense in just a few more sentences. What is happening on September 28th is that on the same day there will be the fourth in the tetrad of blood moons, a Jewish feast day (Sukkot), and the day when the Shemitah of Shemitah’s takes place. All this coincides on Monday, September 28th, 2015. This is the only time this will happen in the last 2000 years. Because of this strange coordination of days all falling on the same day - the world of prophecy teachers and followers has made predictions and prognostications at a fever pitch rate. Having recently read several of these sites recently I want to make a few comments about the whole “blood moon” craze that is happening among prophecy teachers and predictors. Some prophecy teachers have made some hefty predictions about what will or may happen on this coming Monday. Everything from nuclear war to the financial collapse of the United States to the invasion of Israel have been put out on the internet and in chat rooms and other venues. Now I will probably not win a prophecy guy popularity poll for saying this, but though I find all this interesting and even fascinating from a Bible scholar point of view, I am concerned that “blood moons” and the “shemitah” and “tetrads” are what are consuming us spiritually in the prophecy movement. Whether or not some spiritually significant event is going to happen on September 28th I do not know. What I DO know is that I don’t believe that God would have us focus on this kind of pseudo-biblical scholarship as a means of primary guidance for our lives. Over the years I’ve been a student of biblical prophecy, I’ve noticed that there is a sad tendency for this movement to latch on to the sensational rather than on solid exegetical study of the Scriptures. I’m not sure how many books have been released based on the latest, greatest prophecy sensationalized claim since I’ve become a believer. But I think I could probably fill an entire bookcase with them. What is sad is that all of them have fallen short of delivering on the date of the rapture - or the next big prophetic event happening on or near the date they have given. What is even sadder is that I’ve watched people get all fired up about “blood moons” or oil or the next middle east crisis, but not have a passion to study to show themselves workmen approved so that they could handle the gospel and the Word of God rightly. The usual end of all this is that fewer are interested in prophecy - not because it is a study unworthy of our attention - but far more because of the most recent crack-pot whose wild-eyed predictions went south in the end. Apart from the whole “blood moon” saga or recent days - there has been enough evidence to fill a whole room of bookshelves when it comes to what is happening in our world - and its relation to the 2nd coming of Christ. All we have to do is to study our Bibles to see that the events spoken of in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 and other places in prophecy are upon us. What I find most disturbing about our current focus is that it lacks a call to repentance and return that we desperately need in this hour of the church. All the time that we spend tracking down the history of Shemitah events, blood moon events, and tetrad events are historically interesting - but they don’t seem to be bringing the kind of deep conviction and repentance that always comes when true revival is coming from God. Where are our hearts when it comes to the sin in our own lives as well as the breath-taking sprint towards sin in our society? Where is the concern about the lack of God moving mightily to break hearts in His church in our day? Where is the call to desperate prayer that should be attached to claims that it all may be over in a matter of a few days? These are the things that concern me when I read through the most recent predictions of the prophecy experts. The prophets of the Old Testament made predictions to be sure. But their predictions were almost always side by side with a call to repentance and return to God. Their predictions (which by the way either came true - or are going to come true) were part of God calling His people to return to Him with all their hearts! OK - let’s say that we have until Monday the 28th before a world-changing event is about to take place. Don’t you think we should hear with that a call to extra-ordinary prayer, repentance, and an almost insane boldness in preaching the message of the gospel? I honestly don’t know if the 28th and the last of the tetrad of blood moons on the Shemitah of Shemitah’s is going to yield a world-changing event from God. What I do know is that my own heart needs to be revived - needs to be broken much deeper over my sin and my disobedience - needs to be much more deeply concerned about the lack of holiness, prayer, and Holy Spirit power in the church - needs to be far more concerned over the multiple millions who need to hear the gospel. And - whether the blood moon day materializes in a shocking event or not - those other things still remain. What am I going to do about them? That may be the more “life-changing” event that needs to happen! Would you join me in praying that it would? |
 What is the Prophecy/News Update?At Calvary Chapel of Jonesboro, we believe that history is moving toward fulfilling God's plans and purposes. In an effort to help us be prepared for His appearing - and also to chronicle news items you just won't see in the national media - this page is devoted to sharing those items and their possible significance to 
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