We reserve a few minutes Sunday morning to suggest news, or trends, that seem to be predicted by a literal, futurist reading of the Bible.
A futurist expects the remaining, unfulfilled End Times prophecies to be fulfilled in the future. They are not allegories, or merely ‘apocalyptic’ literature meant to inspire. The Book of the Revelation is mostly unfulfilled prophecy. There will be a seven-year Great Tribulation, featuring a global leader commonly called the antichrist.
We are careful to use recognized, reliable sources for news. There is a lot of sensationalism surrounding Bible prophecy, and we don’t want to add to it.
We’re not saying the things we report are the fulfillment of prophecy – only that they are the things you’d expect in light of the Bible’s unfulfilled prophecies.
Let’s say you are in Southern California, having your morning devotions. Because it promises you a special blessing, you are reading the Revelation of Jesus Christ. You read this infamous passage:
Rev 13:16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
Rev 13:17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Later that day, you stop in at Whole Foods. You’re checking out, and you see that they are using Amazon One. What is it? It is a contactless payment system that scans your palm. You simply wave your palm across the scanner and one second later, you’re done.
You want to know more about it. You go to one.amazon.com. You read, “Meet Amazon One, the fast, convenient, contactless identity service that uses your palm – just hover to enter, identify, and pay.”
“Our goal is to unlock your world by giving you the freedom to pay, enter, and identify with nothing but your palm.”
“Amazon One uses the information embedded in your palm to create a unique palm signature that it can read each and every time you use it.”
You can peruse the site to find many California locations where you can enroll & begin to shop with your palm, e.g. in Mission Viejo.
Is Amazon One the Mark of the Beast? No. The Mark of the Beast involves technology AND swearing absolute allegiance to the Antichrist.
But reading the Revelation as futurists, we expect technology that will allow everyone on Earth to conduct all business utilizing their hand or forehead.
It is becoming more popular among Christians to approach unfulfilled prophecies as either already fulfilled, or as allegories that mean different things to different people in history.
The world is trending exactly as futurists expect.
We believe the resurrection and rapture of the church is imminent. It could happen any moment; nothing needs to happen before it. It will definitely happen before the Tribulation.
Jesus will come, in the clouds, and raise the dead believers of the Church Age. He will transform the bodies of living believers to glorified, resurrection bodies. We will join Him in Heaven while the earth endures one final seven-year campaign of severe evangelism.
Are you ready for the rapture? If not, Get ready; Stay ready; Keep looking up.
Ready or not, Jesus is coming!