| OPINION
| OCTOBER 25, 2005
Letters
Understanding end of world through
a biblical approach
RE: “Haven’t Got a Prayer?” Tuesday, Oct. 18
The answer given usually depends on the question asked, and the
folks Casey Crane was dealing with didn’t handle things to
his satisfaction, if “satisfaction” is the word. Maybe
with enough time, they’d have given him the biblical version
of how the world is going to end and an approximate time frame (not
much more than another thousand years).
But before that, just as a reality check, there is the leading up
to Armageddon, which is when the nations of the world come up to
war against Jerusalem, apparently because the U.N. will come up
with some demand that the Israelis will consider either more outrageous
than usual or non-negotiable.
After about a third of the world’s population dies as a result
of a conflict that originates in the Euphrates River area (Iraqi
neighborhood), the government that cobbles together the scraps will
get around to instituting a system in which no one can buy or sell
(function economically) unless they accept what is referred to in
biblical prophecy as a “mark,” a Greek word indicating
a puncture. It would show up in the form of the VeriChip, which
is an internalized ID that will make identity theft impossible as
well as eliminate autonomy, “Big Brother” style.
The benefits of the VeriChip are obvious; however, the God of the
Bible thinks it’s a poor idea because he sees it as the declaration
of where the individual’s loyalty lies, or to whom that person
“belongs.” And anyone who accepts the chip will essentially
be declaring allegiance to the world system.
Right now, we’re in the “benefits” stage, which
parallels Satan’s promises to Adam and Eve when he tricked
them into disobedience by emphasizing the more appealing elements.
But he wasn’t totally lying; he just didn’t tell them
everything, until afterward.
I’m kind of dissatisfied with this letter. It’s not
all that smooth, etc., and no answer to Crane and those who respond
to “Bible beaters” as he did. In fact, after reading
his well-written column, I thought: “There’s no sense
in trying to come up with a persuasive answer because nothing I
might concoct would be good enough, even if it is the truth. So,
Lord, how would you answer him?”
The first thought that came to my mind was Jeremiah 5:5 and I went
off to look it up, to see if it was an appropriate response.
— Deveny Means is a Physical Plant building attendant
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