Rev. 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ , which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John:
Strong's Concordance: REVELATION
disclosure:--appearing, coming, lighten, manifestation, be revealed, revelation.
1) laying bear, making naked
2) a disclosure of truth, instruction
2a) concerning things before unknown
2b) used of events by which things or states or persons hitherto withdrawn from view are made visible to all
3) manifestation, appearance
The thing about God's revelation of future events is that they don't make sense until they are unfolding. Who could have foreseen the establishment of modern united Israel on May 14, 1948 after two thousand years of dispersal and persecution? Yet this was foretold in the Old Testament. Here are just three prophetic utterances regarding the reestablishment of Israel, there are more:
Isaiah 66:7-8
“Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son. Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.”
Ezekiel 37:21-22
... and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.
Jeremiah 16:14-15
“However, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when men will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers.
God says it and it is as good as done. So when God warns us about the End Times, you can rest assured that something is cooking.
I am saying this in reflection of recent technological innovations and other developments where it is apparent that the fulfillment of biblical revelations can be easily anticipated. As in The Book of Revelations, Chapter Nine, verses 3 through 6:
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
What follows is a mini-drone that looks like a small mosquito. Known as "nano-biomimicry MAV designs", these drones are patterned after insects and are capable of conducting video surveillance and can also be equipped with lethal delivery systems. The Air Force and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) has been working on these designs for years.
While there may be literal beasts that emerge from Hell to torment mankind, we can also see that mankind is perfectly capable of tormenting himself. It is
reported that military drones have already killed more than 4700 people since their first use in 2002. It is
estimated that the US armed forces now have somewhere between 7,000 to 11,000 drones and other agencies are buying them for civilian applications. By 2020 there may be over
30,000 drones in use just within the US.
What follows does not need extensive technological development.
Rev:13-15-18
The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
Rev. 14:9-11
“If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
This technology has been around for some time. Bar codes, microchips and RFID technology can easily be adapted for subcutaneous applications to force any nation into a "cashless society" mode. It is already being utilized in pets.
Ostensibly this measure would be justified to the public through the ruse of reducing crime. But it would also eliminate the possibility of any economic activity that could occur outside the government's purview. Every stick of gum, every cigarette, every loaf of bread, every pair of shoes, every book, every aspirin, every DVD, every round of ammunition, everything and anything you buy will be a transaction recorded and possibly controlled by the government.
All it takes is for an anonymous bureaucrat to make a computer entry, just a few key strokes with your social security number and - presto - you are no longer able to buy certain commodities. The prohibited purchase is out of your reach until the restriction is lifted. The government now has complete and utter control over your life. And given who is in control of our government right now, this is not a good thing.
But for Christians, this is not worrisome. As a premillennialist, I believe that God's Church will be removed from the earth before these events come to pass - the Rapture. We are not the object of God's wrath.
I'm cutting this short for now but there are other developments that lend credence to the belief that we are fast approaching the end of days. So, be of good cheer and tighten your lug nuts friends, this is gonna be a bumpy ride. But our final destination makes it all worth while. Praise God.