No, noticing that even secular publications are mentioning the Mark is not "silly tin hat nonsense".
Actually it is...
The nonsense spewed by the Rapturenauts is indeed the fodder for well deserved ridicule.
Posted on 08/12/2011 5:23:02 PM PDT by GiovannaNicoletta
Sorry, but I can’t resist...
what’s 7 + 11? 18
18 = 6 x 3 or...
6 + 6 + 6!
Eek!
The number of the Beast, doing a handstand!
(clear, irrefutable evidence that the end is near!)
668 - the next door neighbor to the Beast
66.6 - one tenth of the Beast
Actually, there's a Freeper by that name!
Ha! Great name
No, noticing that even secular publications are mentioning the Mark is not "silly tin hat nonsense". No one is saying that the market ending up or down a certain percentage is the Mark and you and I both know that. What we're saying is that it's pretty indicative of the situation that even secular publications, which usually don't even mention Scripture, is not only making mention of it but linking the current market problems to the Anti-Christ's system.
Oh look, another wise-cracking scoffer who didn't even bother trying to comprehend what Gio was getting at. I honestly don't think it's worth much to try to deal with you, but I'll give it one try for the sake of completeness.
The Mark, as you well know, isn't a UPC bar code, market futures, tattooed body parts or anything else like that. Furthermore, GiovannaNicoletta didn't say that it was, he (I'm assuming Gio is a man, I could be wrong here though) simply was pointing out that the current problems are so bad that they're even getting linked to the Anti-Christ's system by people and publications which normally wouldn't even think about that sort of subject.
Now, if you'd rather sit around and mock other Christians for noticing that trend, be my guest, but I feel it's pretty safe to say that Gio and I, as well as most other Dispensationalists that I know, are going to be using this to preach the Gospel to people in the hope that some might wake up before it's too late. After all, what better way to drive home the point that this world is temporary and full of trouble and sorrow than to illustrate it by comparing the promise of the Gospel to the promise of this World?
Now, do you still want to keep up the snide remarks?
No argument here that people are falling away from God, but the Great Falling away is yet to come. Bluntly put, you ain't seen nothing yet and it's going to get much worse before it begins to get better but that's okay. We were told it would happen and, what's more, we were told that it wouldn't last. Yes, it's going to get rough for a time but we win this one. Trust me on this one, I skipped a few pages ahead and read the back of the Book. ;)
Ever notice how anytime a Dispensationalist mentions a literal belief in the Mark and a literal belief in the events of the Book of Revelation coming to pass, we’re attacked by those who claim to be Christians? Whatever happened to “In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas”? Did I miss a memo or was the whole “Brotherly, Christian Love” thing only for those with the funny hats?
>> “Ever notice how anytime a Dispensationalist mentions a literal belief in the Mark and a literal belief in the events of the Book of Revelation coming to pass, we’re attacked by those who claim to be Christians?” <<
.
Yes, but their ‘claim’ is rather weak.
Don’t sweat it, just remember who so that you’re never fooled by any of them.
Being a Christian doesn't mean I am gullible enough to buy into every far fetched story that comes along.
666.79???? On March 6th, 2009??? You are trying way too hard - it makes you look silly and a bit desperate.
Or maybe, just maybe, you could try reading comprehension. The only one looking like a fool here are those who are taking Gio’s words out of context.
Unbeliever alert!
Why don’t you read the article before making yourself look foolish?
As for comprehension, I've read enough to comprehend when something has merit (attacks on Israel, Christianity, individual liberty) and when it doesn't ( an intraday low of 666.79 on March 6, 2009).
Oh look, another wise-cracking scoffer who didn't even bother trying to comprehend what Gio was getting at.
Is slander your only way to discuss a topic?
The Mark, as you well know, isn't a UPC bar code, market futures, tattooed body parts or anything else like that.
OK, so we add lies to that list of discussion skills. Hal Lindsey, who has sold millions of books on his speculation of all things "prophetic" has long asserted, and the modern Futurist community has long agreed with the assertion that the "mark" is a physical tattoo on the forehead or arm. A couple decades ago, with the advances made in RFID technology, the idea of "chipping" a person has been in vogue. I fondly remember Rapturenauts gushing about how how the calibration marks on the common UPC code were sixes and since the UPC is used in commerce, surely the "666" was a sign of barcodes being the "mark" that would be stamped on those doomed to the "Tribulation"
simply was pointing out that the current problems are so bad that they're even getting linked to the Anti-Christ's system by people and publications which normally wouldn't even think about that sort of subject.
That is a rather naive statement. Ridiculing Futurists warped and demented brand of biblical hermeneutic and resulting demonic eschatology is a time honored tradition that has been going on for generations now. With the internet becoming most people's primary source of information, the relentless barrage of reckless Futurist "predictions" only a blog away, the world is inundated with every troop movement, every social event, every weather phenomena as somehow being "prophesized in Scripture". Congratulations, your ilk has contributed greatly to the ridicule and mocking of Christianity because of the never ending train of failed "prophesies" such as the much heralded 1988 Rapture Event that never was, and most recently Harold Camping's failed May Rapture Event that left thousands dead because they believed your garbage and suffered persecution from their government.
Things are bad in the West because Christianity has been completely co-opted by the heretical and profane American vanity Religion and we now are suffering in a post-Christian era where our culture is returning to the violent barbarism and corruption that has marked all cultures since expulsion from The Garden.
Nevertheless, despite what your narcissistic leanings guide you to believe, history did not start the day you were born and only involve the things that you have influence or contact with. Things have been a lot worse, at every level, and in comparison to days past, we are living in the best of times.
There has never been a time in all of human history where endless leisure was available to so many people - entire generations of people never having to know what it is like to put in an honest day's work. The world is awash in wealth and creature comforts so common now that we forget that there ever was a time without air-conditioning and ATMs.
Diseases and pestilences that routinely killed hundreds of thousands have been eradicated. Where is anything like the Spanish Flu that killed millions in the early 1900s, or the Black Plague that wiped out a third of Europe? The billions spent now globally is mainly wasted on mitigating symptoms of venereal diseases like AIDS, syphilis and gonorrhea.
There are no wars of the WWI/2 Korean, Vietnam type. What globally significant nation has military-only conscription other than Israel? Israel's occasional reception of terrorist attacks, rocket hits and other assorted nuisances is absolutely nothing compare to the October 1973 fighting. The US could easily pull out of the Middle East and let it return to the tribal warring state that defined that region since Nebuchadnezzar.
People bitch and moan about Muslim uprising, but are completely ignorant of the fact that Islam once dominated the Mediterranean area for a thousand years. What do you think the Marine Hymn came from? "...the shores of Tripoli...". Do you think our ersatz Libya engagement is unique and new?
Where are the famines that wiped out tens of millions and forced us to endure repeated exposure to Sally Struthers shoving Snickers bars down the throats of starving African children? Obesity is now a global problem that requires billions of Federal expenditures to change people's eating habits over the entire planet. If anyone is hungry, its probably because the microwave is broken or they are on a self-imposed calorie restriction diet to drop fifty pounds before the Holidays.
I simply point out that we are living in the best of times, that none of the "markers" Futurist claim as signs of the Last Day are present - and yet in your profound arrogance and ignorance you dare call me a "scoffer"?
I submit that the primary reason why so many people think that things "are so bad" is because they are historically illiterate, have an unprecedented sense of entitlement and firmly believe in the narcissistic and vain notion that this Earth, right now, ought to be Heaven and they are robed and anointed royalty. Because life is not perfect, it must be because its The Last Day. The secondary reason is that the enemedia has decided to use the Progressive tactic to keep the masses constantly agitated, in fear and in panic so that Big Government can ride in to the rescue. We are upset because we are constantly pounded with people demanding that we live in a constant state of terror and fear.
I mock the insipid and profoundly insane ideas that come from today's Futurists because while you folks claim to be the epitome of Christianity, you folks don't even know the Gospel, and your reckless claims and decadent and profane lifestyles are offensive to all of us who know and have taken on the name of our LORD.
Before you go about condemning two thousand years of orthodoxy to be replaced by this profane and blasphemous circus called Dispensationalism, I strongly recommend that you at least look at what the Great Theologians of the past believed. I understand that they write in Latin, Greek and Hebrew and modern "evangelicals" can't be bothered with anything less convenient and and more mentally taxing than a comic book, but at least try. You never know, being exposed to Truth might lead you to someday getting saved.
No, noticing that even secular publications are mentioning the Mark is not "silly tin hat nonsense".
Actually it is...
The nonsense spewed by the Rapturenauts is indeed the fodder for well deserved ridicule.
A well thought out and reasoned response!
Excellent!
(To: Avalon Hussar - "What he said!")
It's a very short trip from denying Scripture to denying reality and once one has determined that Scripture isn't entirely true, then it's no problem at all to deny the fact that the Scriptures which tell us us the events surrounding the return of Christ are going to happen are happening right in front of us. If one has a belief system that requires that Scripture be denied to make it work, imagine the psychological trauma that occurs when he or she sees an article which reports that the Godless, secular world is calling for the same economic system that God told us 2500 years ago would be in place in the time of Jesus' return to earth. It must be extremely jarring and shocking.
The response doesn't surprise me in the least.
And, btw, I'm a woman. :)
The "religion" of many people depends completely on the alleorizing of Scripture, which, of course, makes the Bible completely meaningless and open to mean whatever anyone wants it to mean. These people have their little cocoons that they live in, confident that their version of the Bible is the correct one and that this prophecy stuff is nothing to get worked up over.
It's extremely threatening and upsetting to those who have discarded huge amounts of Scripture to read that no, the Bible means what God says it means, not what each individual man or woman wants it to mean. When someone posts anything which not only suggests that the Author's version of His book is the correct one, but then actually proves that that book, as it was written by God, is true and inerrant and will come to pass, it is an enormous blow to the false comfort zone many people have put themselves in.
So, instead of accepting the word of God as He wrote it, and thereby finding truth and life and assurance, they will fight to the bitter end to deny the Scriptures and, if they have to to keep their "security" that they've created for themselves, they will deny reality itself.
It's quite a peculiar way of thinking and believing, and has nothing to do with Christianity.
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