Revelation 13:14. And he seduced them that dwell on the earth to erect an image to the beast of prey who had the wound from a sword and recovered. 15. And it was given him to put life into the image of the beast of prey; and to cause that all they who would not worship the image of the beast of prey, should be slain: 16. and to cause that all, great and small, rich and poor, bond and free, should receive a mark on their right hands, or upon their foreheads; 17. so that no one might be able to buy or to sell, except those who had the mark of the name of the beast of prey, or the number of his name. 18. Here is wisdom: let him that has intelligence compute the number of the beast of prey; for it is the number of a man: and its number is six hundred and sixty and six.
My response:
Great
question, and I'm guessing the answer is "spiritual drought" where
people are dying for good, godly leadership. There simply isn't any. We've
been getting less than qualified, less than stellar leaders for decades now
because, bottom line: America couldn't
care less about YHWH/Y’shua/Torah.
America,
in many ways, is pretty much where Germany was before WWII. They were dying for
a leader to get them out of the depression, and accepted the first guy who came
along with a great-sounding message that included the blaming of the Jews for
the downfall of Germany because Jews have been successful wherever they've
gone:
Germans
jumped on the idea that they were all poor and their country was in dire straits
because of those "dirty Jews" who were, among other things, taking
their jobs. (Sound familiar? According
to some of our politicians, OUR jobs are being stolen by those "criminal Mexicans"....)
Hmmmm....I
guess it's never dawned on many Americans that perhaps if THEY were willing to
get off their lazy duffs and WORK for a living instead of feeling entitled to
collect welfare or demand outrageous minimum wages - driving some
businesses to fold, they could HAVE those same jobs that “those Mexicans” are
supposedly "stealing" from them.
Truth
is, we're at a point where people are desperately seeking SOMEONE who will
rescue them from what America has become - never mind that the "people"
as a whole, are a large part of the problem. We're not unified in much of
anything anymore. We kicked God out of America a long time ago and now we're to the point where we’re becoming desperate and being forced to decide which of
the "lesser of two evils" to vote for!
This verse says it
all:
Amos 8:11 "The time is coming," says Adonai ELOHIM,
"when I will send famine over the land, not a famine of bread or a thirst
for water, but of hearing the words of ADONAI. 12 People will stagger from sea
to sea and from north to east, running back and forth, seeking the word of
ADONAI; but they will not find it.
Shali, do you feel, think or believe that modern-day technology is also a foretaste of "The Image," especially when people are controlled by it?
ReplyDeleteGood question Kevin...extremely hard to answer. Not sure I will be responding to what you intended, but no, modern technology is not a "foretaste" of "The image", rather modern technology is only a needed mechanism. Think about it. Revelation 13:14 reveals that people are compelled to erect an image of the beast. The next verse tells us that those who don't worship the image of the beast will be executed.
ReplyDeleteNow, once the "image of the beast" is erected, how do all peoples of the earth "see" the image since not all people can be physically present in the location of the physical image erected by the people? Clearly, people will "see" the image via modern technology. No only can they see it while commuting to and from work since trains, buses, and airplanes have flat screen TVs these days, everyone who has a smart phone or tablet has a tiny screen right there with them almost all the time. Evidently, the situation will be such that when the "image" is seen, some act indicating "worship" will be required or the individual will be seized and sent off to be killed.
But you seem to be saying that modern technology is "sort of" an image of the beast already since it seems people are controlled by it. While I agree with you that many - those of weak mind - are controlled by their technology, we are not seeing too many actually "worship" that technology. We are also not seeing any legislation that certain technology must be used "or else" (which would be a form of mandated "worship") - at the moment technology is a choice. Therefore tech is not a "foretaste" of "the image", because "worship" is not required.
But let me address your statement that people are controlled by technology.
I don't necessarily agree with that. People are *allowing* their "tech" to dominate and control their lives. If tech actually controlled people, then ALL people would be controlled. Using myself as an example, I am not controlled by tech, therefore the statement "people are controlled by technology" is a false thesis because I am a counterexample. (This is similar to the phrase I heard often in my life: "All people have tried marijuana." The thesis is wrong because I am a counterexample.) (Shali and I saw a story in the news today about how little kids become angry if their "tech" is taken from them. Okay, a child has a weak mind and has no idea what is happening by their consumption of tech. But the problem lies with the parent. If the parent handles tech access and use properly, the child grows up NOT dependent on the tech, and their minds grow and mature properly.)
Similarly, if adults would spend time in scripture, learning who YHWH is and what He wants of them, they would mature and they would not be vulnerable to "the image" of the beast! But technology can be used for both being misled by the beast, or being educated by YHWH - it's the person's individual choice - and responsibility.
Sadly, I admit we are seeing the predominance of tech being used for a false education, so there are a very many out there who are well on their way to being "controlled" by technology and ending up as those who will willingly worship the beast. Go look at Matthew 7:13-14 paying attention to the part which says "MANY will travel" (the road to destruction). Then look again at Amos 8:11-12, above. I'm reminded that Pogo said "We have met the enemy, and he is us."
YHWH has provided all we need to reach Him. But we are seeing a famine as Amos prophesied. Technology is not the culprit, it is only a mechanism.