There are so many frightening things going on in the world. It caused me to do some more research about the anti-christ and the rapture. I know some people believe all of this is crazy, and we are alone on the planet, but I've experienced God's love, and I didn't just invent that feelings of undying, unchanging, extraordinary love that God has provided me... So here is a bit of information about the end times... I got all this information from http://www.countdown.org/.
The Antichrist
The Antichrist!--also described in the Bible as the "son of perdition" & the "beast"!
Like Hitler, who was one of history's Antichrist archetypes, he will have great charisma & speaking ability, "a mouth speaking great things".
The Antichrist will rise to power on a wave of world euphoria, as he temporarily saves the world from its desperate economic, military & political problems with a brilliant 7-year plan for world peace, economic stability & religious freedom.
The Antichrist could well rise out of the current chaos in the former Soviet Union. The prophet Ezekiel names him as the ruler of "Magog", a name that Biblical scholars agree denotes a country or region of peoples to the north of Israel. Many have interpreted this to mean modern day Russia. His power base will include the leading nations of Europe, whose leaders, the Bible says, will "give their power & strength unto the beast."
The Bible even gives some clues about his personal characteristics. The prophet Daniel wrote that the Antichrist "does not regard the desire of women." This could imply that he is either celibate or a homosexual. Daniel also tells us that he will have a "fierce countenance" or stern look, and will be "more stout than his fellows"--more proud and boastful.
The 7-year peace-pact (or covenant) that is engineered by the Antichrist is spoken of a number of times in the Bible, & may even have already been signed in secret. The historic peace agreement signed between Israel & the PLO at the White House on September 13, 1993, vividly illustrates how dramatically events in the Middle East are presently moving in this direction.
Under the final terms of the Covenant, Jerusalem will likely be declared an international city to which Judaism, Islam & Christianity will have equal rights. Scripture indicates that the Jews will be permitted to rebuild their Temple on Mt. Moriah, where they revive their ancient rituals of animal sacrifice.
According to prophecy the Antichrist will not only be a master of political intrigue, but also a military genius. Daniel describes several major wars that he fights during his 7-year reign, apparently against the U.S. & Israel, who will oppose him during the second half of his reign.
For awhile, most of the world is going to think the Antichrist is wonderful, as he will seem to have solved so many of the world's problems. But , three-and-a-half years into his seven year reign he will break the covenant & invade Israel from the North.
At this time he will make Jerusalem his world capitol & outlaw all religions, except the worship of himself & his image. The Bible says that the Antichrist will sit in the Jewish Temple exalting himself as God & demanding to be worshipped.
It is at this time that the Antichrist imposes his infamous "666" one-world credit system...
Mark of the Beast
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...and his number is Six hundred & sixty-six. (Rev.13:15-18)
666! The Mark of the Beast! Almost everybody has heard something about this prophecy which says that in the last days no one will be able to buy or sell anything unless they get the "Devil's mark".
Today we are the first generation with the technology available to fulfil such a prophecy of a "cashless" society.
At present, in this supermarket there are a number of ways I can pay for this shopping--I can use cash, or I can write a check, or pay by credit card.
...or another way that is being promoted so much today is using a debit card. When you give your debit card to the cashier the card is run through a scanner which is electronically linked to your bank & the money is immediately taken out of your bank account and placed in the store's account.--All in a split second.
Debit cards have already been introduced in many parts of the world & are extremely popular with stores, banks & customers.
Then there's the "IC Card" or the "Smart Card", which actually has a little computer chip embedded in the card. You've probably read about these electronic marvels that not only give you access to your bank account, but also contains your passport, medical record, driver's license, photographs, welfare eligibility and all kinds of other data. These are already being tested in various parts of the world.
... So you can see we are fast on the way to eliminating cash--and there are many compelling reasons why. Cash is the very mother's milk of drug smugglers, who often deal in cash a suitcase full at a time. With no cash the sale of illegal drugs would cease. In fact to eliminate cash would eliminate almost every kind of criminal activity, from theft to terrorism, and be an instant cure-all for many of the World's most desperate social & economic ills. No wonder governments are pushing towards the cashless society with unrestrained enthusiasm.
However, before cash, cheques & credit cards can be phased out completely, they have to develop an identification system that is absolutely foolproof & will ensure that a person presenting a card for a transaction is actually the owner of that card.
Various foolproof ID systems have already been developed, like this fingerprint reader. However the only problem with these machines is that they are extremely expensive. For a completely cashless society to work, there would have to be one at every little shop & retail outlet where anything is bought & sold.
Whereas these identification terminals cost many thousands of dollars each, the actual micro-chips encased in the plastic "smart cards" cost only a few dollars each So what if you took the chip out of the card & placed it under the skin?
Once the chip has been implanted it can be read by an inexpensive scanner, much like the one in your local grocery store. So, you now become your own smart card!--And the very expensive problem of making sure that the owner of the card is who he says he is, has been solved.
Today the technology for just such an implant not only exists, but is being tested in pilot programs all over the world. A tiny microchip which can be read by a scanner is inserted into a spot below the animal's skin. "Infopet" in California boast the ability to keep track of 4 billion cats & dogs worldwide. This technology has proven that keeping track of large populations through implants & centralized computer data banks is completely feasible.
So as we can see the technology & the public acceptance to make the Mark of the Beast system work is rapidly falling into place...Already we are constantly hearing about the "New World Order", or "global community", & these buzz slogans are slowly sinking in as the world heads towards an international financial and political system, a cashless society controlled by a computer data base that covers the entire globe, keeping track of every man, woman & child, where they cross borders & when they buy & sell--exactly like the one predicted in Revelation chapter 13 nearly 2,000 years ago!
"If any man worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture...And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever..." (Revelation 14:9,10)
That may seem like pretty stiff punishment for simply accepting a Mark that allows you to buy groceries. However, this prophecy indicates that receiving the "Mark of the Beast" is not merely an economic decision, but also implies acceptance and worship of the Satan-possessed Anti-Christ, and a pledge of allegiance to his anti-God global regime.
Great Tribulation
"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast that the image of the beast should both speak & cause that as many as would not worship the beast to be killed" (Rev. 13:15)
This "Image of the Beast", also described in Bible prophecy as the "Abomination of Desolation", is likely to be some kind of incredibly high-tech supercomputer, linked to the New World Order's telecommunications network.
Scripture says it will speak and somehow "cause those who refuse to worship it to be killed." Jesus said that when you see this image standing "in the holy place...then shall be Great Tribulation such as the world has never known." (Mat. 24:15-21)
A good part of the Book of Revelation describes in horrific detail the terrible pestilences, plagues & nightmarish monsters that God lets loose to tribulate the Antichrist forces, who are trying to wipe out all who refuse to take the Mark of the Beast.
The Bible spells it out in years, months & days exactly how long this period of Great Tribulation will be...3-1/2 years, or 42 months, or 1260 days (Rev. 12:6,14).
So on the day that the Antichrist breaks the covenant & sets up his image in Jerusalem the countdown of the exact number of days until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will begin!
Rapture & Armageddon
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: 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. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his chosen from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31)
The world's darkest period of tribulation and horror under the Antichrist will abruptly end with the dawning of the brightest dawn as Jesus Christ Himself returns to gather His children to be with Him!
Lights, trumpets, thunder, earthquakes and gigantic meteor showers will all herald this climactic event! God's children who have died throughout the ages will be resurrected in new miraculous bodies, and will burst forth from their graves and ascend to meet Jesus in the air.
Live Christians will be transformed and will rise from the earth, floating right up through ceilings & buildings & cars & right up into the clouds to meet the Lord! Such is the scenario depicted in the Bible of the Second Coming of Christ as He snatches His children out of reach of their evil Antichrist persecutors & whisks them away to the grandest, most glorious & thrilling victory celebration that's ever been held--the great "Marriage Supper of the Lamb" in Heaven!
Meanwhile, down on Earth, the horrible Wrath of God is being poured out upon the Antichrist forces left behind, a time so terrible that the Bible says men will "seek death but be unable to find it"!
Armageddon
Then shortly after Jesus' 2nd Coming, down from the sky will come the great hosts of Heaven with Jesus in the lead to destroy the Antichrist and his one-world empire in the awesome Battle of Armageddon.
This great slaughter of the Antichrist and his armies will take place in and around the valley of Megiddo near Haifa in Israel. It will mark the end of man's cruel rule on earth, as Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and His Heavenly forces forcibly take over the World to rule and reign and run it the way it should have been run if man had not disobeyed God and gone his own selfish way!
And so begins a period known as the Millennium, a thousand years of peace and plenty and paradise on Earth.
How to Prepare
Well to say the least, we are living in very exciting times & there are soon going to be some great global changes made! The curtains have been drawn aside on the last scene of Earth's great drama, the act has begun & it cannot stop now! Like it or not, each one of our lives will be caught up in these great events. The countdown to Armageddon has begun.
The interpretation of these Bible prophecies which we have examined are not unique, but are shared by millions of Christians worldwide, both Catholic and Protestant. Many Muslims believe that passages of the Quran and other Islamic writings foretell a number of these same apocalyptic events.
One of the purposes of Endtime Bible prophecy is to let you know what's going to happen in the future so that you won't be taken by surprise by these great events, so you can rest assured that it is all a part of God's pre-ordained plan.
The best way to be prepared for the future is to receive Jesus as your Savior, as He has promised to be with His children to protect & provide for them and be their Guide through perilous times. Jesus will give you the strength and courage to bravely face these future troubles and help you survive until the End of this world, after which He will reward you beyond your wildest dreams in the Heavenly world to come!
If you don't yet know Jesus then we'd like to invite you right now to receive his free gift of everlasting life by praying this simple prayer:
Dear Jesus, Please come into my heart. I believe that You died for me. Forgive me for my past mistakes & sins and give me Your free gift of everlasting life. Help me to love You and help me to share Your love & truth with others...Amen.
"There's only one life, it will soon be past! Only what's done for Christ will last! Jesus said that we "must work the works of Him that has sent us while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work." Please work with us & help us in any way that you can to tell the world of God's love, and to help others through these difficult times, and show them what a wonderful world its going to be!
