|
|
|
|
SEE COMPLETE LIST OF ARTICLES ON HOME PAGE
Can America Avoid
The Mark of the Beast? Do we have a scriptural reason to oppose National ID? By Ken Raggio (This article was written in early 2006. Its premises are still worth careful consideration.) KR God’s word says that there will be a dreadful beast of world government in the last days just before Jesus Christ returns at Armageddon. That beast will be led by one called the Antichrist, who will attempt to make everyone in the world to take the Mark of the Beast described in Revelation 13. The Bible effectively names the specific countries this beast-government will be comprised of. These amazing ancient prophecies describe powerful symbols that enable us to accurately identify exactly which modern nations will play prominent roles in that world-government beast. The prophetic symbols clearly point to easily recognizable nations, and demonstrate just how very near we are to the second coming of Jesus. Take, for instance, the prophecies in Daniel 7. The symbols are hauntingly precise. Look carefully: 1. Daniel saw a lion. The symbol of Great Britain has been a lion since the days of King Henry I, (1100-1135 AD). 2. The lion had eagle’s wings which were plucked. Today, the most powerful nation on earth is symbolized by an eagle: the United States. The eagle was incorporated into the first Great Seal of the United States in 1782 and has been the national emblem ever since. This prophecy describes the United States growing out of the lion, Great Britain – a notable historical event. The U.S. eagle’s wings were plucked from Great Britain when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 – fulfilling a 2,300 year old prophecy. 3. The bear is universally recognizable as modern Russia. 4. And the four-headed leopard depicts the four Reichs (or subsequent kingdoms) of Germany. No other nation in history is more clearly identified with a leopard than Germany – its famous leopard tanks have fought in wars around the world throughout the twentieth century. Its four heads (four kingdoms, or “Reichs”) span almost the entire period since the fall of the Roman Empire in the fourth century - the iron legs of Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel 2. In comparison, John, in Revelation, saw one dreadful beast composed of several of the same symbols Daniel had seen. It looked like the leopard (Germany). It had the mouth of the lion (Great Britain) and the feet of the bear (Russia) . The Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast will be introduced by this powerful world government three and one-half years before Jesus Christ returns for the battle of Armageddon. Only one of the most prominent beast-symbols found in Daniel 7 did not appear among the beast-symbols of Revelation 13: the eagle’s wings (the United States). The eagle’s wings are mentioned in one other place in the book of Revelation. “And to the woman were given
two wings of
a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place,
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the
face of the serpent,” (Revelation 12:14).
According to this prophecy, a seven-headed, ten-horned beast will threaten Israel. This beast appears to be the seven heads of Rome and ten kings of a revived Holy Roman Empire, (also depicted as the fourth head of a leopard - the fourth Reich): perhaps the present-day European Union or a similar, newly-formed European political entity. Two wings of a great eagle are shown rescuing the people of Israel in Revelation 12:14. This picture suggests a possible American rescue operation for Jews living in the West Bank when the world government comes to threaten them prior to Armageddon. They will be taken “into her place” – clearly within the borders of Israel (from their West Bank settlements which were abandoned, presumably to the new State of Palestine). All of this also takes place 3 ½ years prior to Armageddon. Two great eagle’s wings rescue Israelis, to take her to her place during the last 42 months before Jesus returns. Is this a prophecy of an American rescue of abandoned settlers in the West Bank after a Palestinian state has been declared? If the American eagle’s wings are not a part of the endtime world-government beast, what does this imply? The U.S. does not appear to be a part of the Revelation 13 beast. That beast looks like the German leopard, it has Russian feet, and speaks with the English mouth of Great Britain - but there are no eagle wings here. What are some of the possible scenarios here? Perhaps America will cease to be a superpower. Perhaps the U.S. will pull out of the United Nations. Will the United States be weakened on the world scene? Here are some things to consider. 1. IDEOLOGICALLY - Anti-Americanism is epidemic around the world. Radical Islam has declared a global terror war on “The Great Satan” of the United States. Its leaders daily declare their desire to destroy America. From Al-Qaeda to Al-Jazeera; from Syria, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and even Shi’a Islam powers within Iraq; believers in Allah swear to wipe both Israel and the American Zionists off the map. Islam is the pale green horse of death seen in Revelation 6:8. The prophecy there foretells Islam’s patrolling fully one-fourth of the earth, now 1.5 billion people. Due to Islam’s threats in other Western nations, such as France and Spain, anti-Americanism is flourishing in many new places. Other adversaries, including China, pose additional threats to America’s future. 2. MILITARILY - American militancy is being opposed on a global scale. In Asia, non-Muslim powers such as China and Russia have strong political, military and economic ties to Muslim strongholds like Pakistan and Iran. The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has determined that China, Russia and Pakistan have furnished nuclear weapons technology to Iran. Ominously, Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers have played primary roles among Hezbollah fighters in Southern Lebanon, directly confronting Israeli forces there. Iranian troops will almost certainly confront American soldiers eventually. 3. ECONOMICALLY - The American national debt now approaches $9 trillion, costing $1 million every 47 seconds to make the interest payments ($28,000 annually, per citizen). Foreign trade deficits are at record highs, oil prices are exploding, and the value of the dollar plummets on world markets. Major industries are moving out of the country and energy supplies are dwindling. Many financial observers already say that America is facing inevitable bankruptcy. China, India, and Europe can be seen as major contenders for global economic leadership versus the U.S. 4. POLITICALLY – U.S. politics appear to have caved in to the globalist agenda on both the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle. As the host of the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and member of the World Trade Organization, NAFTA, GATT, and other international treaties, the U.S. is continually subjected to supranational governance, steadily abdicating its own sovereignty. The Bush administration has carried out numerous anti-American actions. 1.
Signing into the “Security and Prosperity Plan”
with Mexico and Canada, thereby creating a North America Union, and
redefining our security borders to include Mexico and Canada while
dissolving our own borders.
2. Signing the REAL ID ACT of May 11, 2005, requiring a national ID card for all American citizens by May 2008. The implementation of such a card will easily become the platform for a cashless society under tight government surveillance, even likely to lead to an implanted computer chip fulfilling the Mark of the Beast, and replacing physical, geographical borders with e-borders (electronic borders). 3. International highways are now being planned from Mexico to Canada, at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars, and financed and owned by foreign governments outside the control of the federal government. Americans will soon see a brand new network of highways running from Mexico to Canada (through points like Kansas City and Denver) that are not controlled by the United States, with checkpoints managed by non-Americans. 5. SPIRITUALLY – One of the gravest indicators to a diminished U.S. is its spiritual climate. Only a national revival can preserve and protect America from a fate worse than any other. Numerous groups around the country, including Katheryn Albrecht's www.CASPIAN.org is leading the charge to force Congress to revoke the Real ID Act. Bible prophecy is clear that there WILL be a Mark of the Beast. Daniel 11 clearly lists several countries that will escape out of the hand of Antichrist. Other verses reveal that Antichrist will engage in warfare with certain other nations that trouble him. John’s prophecies in Revelation 14 warn everyone NOT to take the Mark of the Beast, and pronounce the wrath of God’s judgment upon all those who do take the Mark. We can easily conclude from these verses that God requires all men to resist the Mark of the Beast when it comes. This gives us reason, even now, to declare our objections to an IMPENDING system that is very likely to become that very Mark of the Beast system. I had speculated earlier that the U.S. Congress might be able to block the development of a National I.D. program, and thereby opt out of the Mark of the Beast system. But now, the Real ID laws are firmly in place, and every state is being forced into compliance. Like it or not, America is headed into the Mark of the Beast system. Prepare yourself NOW to resist and refuse the Mark of the Beast, and teach your children to do the same. Be sure to read these companion articles: The Four Beasts Of Daniel 7 The Beast and the False Prophet I am continually writing new content for this site. Please return often for more material, and tell your friends about www.kenraggio.com , too! THANKS! And God bless you! Ken Raggio 
Click here for BOOKS and VIDEOS by Ken Raggio ALL ARTICLES WRITTEN BY KEN RAGGIO, Copyright 1988-2010 Articles may not be republished on the Internet without express permission. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Thanks for coming by! E-mail This Article To A Friend
Please Help Support This Ministry |