5 666, The Rapture, The Tribulation, Armageddon
Song: Let Thy Mantle Fall On Me #288

Bible: 2 Kings 2:9
2 Kings 2:9 (King James Version)
And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

Purpose: To show that meeting Christ in the sky is an old idea mentioned throughout the Bible and that the tribulation and a great battle have been predicted for thousands of years. It is now possible for man to fulfill many of the prophecies in the Bible. How did those ancient prophets know that all of these things would be possible in the future?
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“mark” Here is an explanation of the word “mark” found in Revelation 13:16. This comes from the NIV Study Bible published by Zondervan Bible Publishers:

“mark. Whatever its origins - possibly the branding of slaves or enemy soldiers, the sealing and stamping of official documents, or the sign of the cross on the forehead of a new Christian - the mark of the beast apparently symbolizes allegiance to the commands of the imperial cult In the final days of the antiChrist it will be the ultimate test of loyalty (cf. v. 17; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4). It imitates the sealing of the servants of God in ch. 7.”

The Mark of the Beast is received only after "worship" of the beast or his image.
"If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark. . . " Rev. 14:9

". . . who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark. . . " Rev. 14:11

" . . .which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image." Rev. 16:2

" . . . them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. . ." Rev. 19:20

" . . . which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark . . ." Rev. 20:4


To find an excellent page with a lot of information about “666, the number of the man” and “the mark of the beast,” go to:

http://www.av1611.org/666/opinion.html

If all of the entries on that page were printed out, they would take about 16 sheets of paper.
Here are some samples of the entries on that page.
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by Terry Watkins

Copyright © 1999 Dial-the-Truth Ministries

Please also read our article "What is 666 The Mark of the Beast?"

Richard Abanes, End-Time Visions, 1998
. . . nothing in the Bible, either linguistically or grammatically, indicates that the mark of the beast in Revelation 13 is a literal mark on, or in, the skin." (Richard Abanes, End Time Visions, p. 127, 1998)

M.J. Agee, Revelations 2000, 1998
The mark may even be used as it appears in the Greek, Chi, Xi, Sigma . The middle letter even resembles a serpent, as Seiss pointed out in his book, The Apocalypse. . .

It could be like the Chinese chop, a mark that represents a person's name made into a stamp similar to our rubber stamps. My niece had her chop made on her trip to Taiwan and Hong Kong. She used her initials. The mark of the beast is also made up of three letters. It is possible that the initials of the False Prophet could be used. (M.J. Agee, Revelations 2000, 1998, p. 325)

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, 1996
Mark of the Beast
This mark is equivalent to the beast's name or number (13:17; cf. 14:11). This enigmatic number is announced in 13:18 as 666.

Interpretations:

1. Preterists understand the book of Revelation in terms of its first century, claiming that most of its events have already taken place.

2. Historicists take it as describing the long chain of events from Patmos to the end of history.

3. Futurists place the book primarily in the end times.

4. Idealists view it as symbolic pictures of such timeless truths as the victory of good over evil.

God’s Purpose is Reconciliation:
Revelation 22:3 - 5
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
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The Rapture

http://www.raptureready.com/

What is the "rapture" and when will it happen?

The rapture is an event that will take place sometime in the near future. Jesus will come in the air, catch up the Church from the earth, and then return to Heaven with the Church. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, we are given a clear description of the rapture: "the dead in Christ will rise, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord."

Search Google: Alien abduction rapture

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The Tribulation\\ DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 4 (KJV)

23 "Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. 24 For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. 25 When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger: 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. 27 And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you. 28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him,
if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
30 When thou art in tribulation,
and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days,
if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;)
He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee,
nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them."

http://www.parentalguide.com/Documents/Bible_Prophecy/Tribulation_part1.htm


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Armageddon

16And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

17And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

18And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

19And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

20And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

21And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.




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