Some time ago I found a site of great interest to me on the internet - sorry I can't recall the address. I didn't realize when I started reading it that it would prove to be the length of a novella or I might have given it a miss. Nevertheless I did persevere with it for it proved to contain some fascinating subject matter, albeit a very poorly written diatribe. The subject: the third kingdom of Daniel 7 and the end of the world. Good light reading then!
The writer is a Christian brother who has spent much time contemplating the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation and trying to make sense of them. He contends that because these parts of the Bible are difficult to understand we often ignore them and therefore miss much of our what the Lord has said about the final days. The argument revolves around an interesting premise, that humanity has always expected the final worldwide government headed by the anti-christ to be brought about by military means. But, he says, it is far more plausible that it will come about by economic means. Revelation does focus on the mark on the hand or forehead without which people will not be able to buy and sell and which is the sign of the beast. No income, no shopping - Christians will be in for a rough time. Of course if you’ve always meant to go on a diet then that’s the time to do it, it’s going to be a breeze.
It is a frightening scenario and one that strikes me as hitting the target smack in the middle. "The world is a small place," we say, and in this computerized age of telecommunications and international economic interdependence this is truer than ever before. Everywhere you look companies are buying up others or merging. They are global players shifting production around the world at whim and destroying communities without a second thought. The North American economy is now run by one independent central bank, Europe will all too soon have the same non-elected central banker in control and surely Asia is not far behind. It is a small step from three all-powerful people to one person. Let's face it, if you control the global money system then you control the world. In searching for ever-increasing cooperation to stop another world war and enhance economic advancement, humanity has been unwittingly creating the biggest Achilles' heel of the lot. Scary stuff indeed.
In Mark 13, Jesus talks of the end times and tells us to 'Watch!' He says we can read the weather signs and implies that we should likewise be able to read the signs of the end of the age. Now you may or may not agree with the scenario I've touched on above, but the writer of the article on the Internet is surely right to say that it is vital the church think about this - because we're commanded to do so - and talk about it rather than ignoring it. If the end really is nigh then it must bring a much greater urgency to our evangelism and that is all to the good.