Now many people use Matthew 24:36 to support the idea that no one can know the time of the Lord's return. However, it is one scripture, taken out of context:
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
However, just a few seconds before saying this, and followed by a lengthy description of the events leading up to the coming of the Son of Man, the Lord said:
Mat 24:32-34 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: (33) So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. (34) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Here He is saying that we will be able to identify the timing or season (since He mentions "summer") by looking for these signs.
Even before that in describing the signs with which we will be able to identify the nearness of His return, He clearly states:
Mat 24:29-31 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: (30) And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (31) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Notice that? "Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days..."
Then He describes the very same events as described throughout the Bible as the Day of the Lord.
You can read a more indepth earlier study of the Day of the Lord and another study on how the events Jesus describes in Mat 24:29 are also part of the 6th, 7th trumpet and 7th vial in Three Descriptions But One Event
Earlier today I read something on the Free Patriot website about the RFID chip and whether it was the Mark of the Beast:
At the beginning of the year I posed the question to a large FaceBook audience, asking for their interpretation of Revelation’s descriptions of the “mark of the beast”. I am not here to spark religious debate with anyone, but am sharing the comment that received the most votes that night. I found this comment rather well spoken, but as you know, many interpret the bible differently, and will take from it what it means to them, not necessarily what you want to make them believe; thankfully.
“666 is a time marker….There are 7 trumpets, 7 vials of wrath, and 7 seals….The antichrist makes his return at the 6th of each…It’s true that you won’t be able to buy or sell…but that’s because there will be a global currency…The “mark” is in the forehead and the right hand…This means that they are indoctrinated (forehead) and doing the works (right hand) of the beast that looks like the lamb, but speaks as a dragon…..This is the exact opposite from the seal of God in the foreheads of the people who are protected from the things to come….by their knowledge of the word….If you take the Greek word for “seal” back to it’s root…it means “protection by understanding”….Those with the mark have the opposite…They are going to be in favor of the new world system”
Here's my response:
The antichrist comes three times? Where is that in the Bible?
First, in Daniel and Revelation the "beast" is a government or ideologue (capitalism, communism, nazism, islam ... which is probably the actual descriptions of the the lion, bear, leopard and beast unlike any other, as well as the white, the red, the black and the pale/or green horses). So it will be a government that initiates the MOB.
Second, Revelation says that without the MOB one won't be able to buy or sell; today we would say that without it one cannot work or shop.
Too many people intellectualize the Bible, and fail to realize that when God inspired the Bible to be written, God made it simple so that one did not have to have a degree in Hebrew or Greek to understand it.
So when the Bible say "He causes all, small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hands or in their foreheads." So that says all people are forced to receive...have a mark put on their body in very specific places.
You can't intellectualize it to the point that you say that it is a spiritual mark that's invisible, that comes from being "indoctrinated" and from "doing the work" of the beast. That isn't even CLOSE to what the Bible says!
Now if you look at the Greek for "mark" it is described as khar'-ag-mah From the same as G5482; a "scratch or etching". Now that actually sounds more like a tattoo of some kind.
A year or so ago, I saw an article about a new "temporary" tattoo that once on the skin allowed doctors to monitor their patients long distance. It would not take anything to make that tattoo (scratch or etching) permanent, thus allowing anyone who had it to be monitored.
This could also tie in with the huge upswing and popularity of tattoos in recent years. When I was growing up, only former military personnel had tattoos, and usually it was just one or two marking their military service. Other than that, maybe bikers and others on the edge of society. But now? Oh my goodness! People in every level of society have tattoos, including preachers, doctors, lawyers, entertainers, politicians...tattoos have become mainstream.
So it is possible that the MOB will be somekind of high tech tattoo? Does that mean I would accept an RFID chip? Absolutely not!
From the SurvivalHomestead Yahoo Group:
"Over the past 2 hours I have been sitting here thinking. This was not a "server issue" folks, this was a test. A test to see how the big dumb monkey would respond when his banana was taken away. Would he just jump up and down and howl and fling poo, or would he attack his care take and destroy his habitat?
There is no better time to run a test like this than when the system is already crumbling. We citizens are nothing more than a giant lab experiment for those in power. To test new theories on and see just how much more they can force us to take.
And after being witness yesterday to a rather large African American woman going full blown whitey hater and threatening to "burn that mutha fu**a down" over her EBT card being denied while she was trying to buy a candy bar and soda. I have come to the conclusion it is going to take WAY less than I ever imagined to break the camels back, not even a straw will be needed.
Our Nation is crumbling and masses are blind to it , brain washed by special interest programs and reality TV. We are spied on by our Government, lied to by our Government and more or less sodomized by them on a daily basis. Yet we are powerless because the masses just do not care.
This battle for America to be saved is lost, and has been for a long time. Now all we can do is pray and hope we survive the collapse."
Of course, he's absolutely right, but most people have their heads buried in the sand (or elsewhere), or say "God's gonna take care of me" which for most is just a cop out and a way for them to just keep on living like no change is coming.
Yes, for most...many...some God will take care of, but most forget that the Bible also says "the prudent man sees trouble coming and prepares." They also forget that the Bible says "if a man doesn't provide for his family he's worse than an infidel."
They also forget that Jesus said in Matt 24, "as it was in the days of Noah..." when describing the time of suffering just before His return. Then later in one of the epistles, we read, "and Noah prepared for the saving of his household." Since there are no mistakes in God Word, do ya think He might be trying to get folks who actually read the Bible to see that it is their duty to prepare.?
Nah, go back to sleep folks. Go to church today and suck up that happy, happy, Jesus is coming soon pre-trib rapture lalaland pablum. God'll take care of you. Of course, "My way is not your way," says the Lord.
