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For our Jewish brethren who refuse to believe that Messiah has already come: On Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - many Jews hope that their sins of the previous year will be "covered" or "forgiven" and their names will be written in the "Book of Life." The fact is that without the shedding of blood there is neither "covering" nor "forgiveness" of sins; nor is there inscription in the "Book of Life" apart from being redeemed by the LORD Himself. As the scriptures say: Ezekiel 18:4 - "... the soul that sins shall die." Leviticus 17:11, 14: "For, the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." Since there has not been a national Temple in Israel, nor a Levitical priesthood nor sacrifices since 70 AD, your sins remain "unatoned-for" regardless of all the charitable works and reflection that you may do during these "days of awe", because as the great prophet Isaiah said: Isaiah 64:6 - "Our righteousnesses are filthy rags to Him." For Jews and Gentiles who think the Bible is a bunch of fairy tales: The Bible, God's Word, is not only a historical document, but it is also the ONLY document that has accurately foretold world events. Hundreds of Bible prophecies have already come true, and some are actually unfolding before our very eyes right now, as evidenced by the Middle East situation. (Some examples: Ten Bible Prophecies Fulfilled Recently; Ten Prophecies Being Fulfilled Today; Isaiah 53 Foretells Yeshua!; and Isaac and Ishmael. This being the case, what makes you think the prophesied "end times" stuff won't happen? Let's examine exactly what IS GOING to happen in the very near future, perhaps in our lifetime:
Not convinced yet? Read on.... You say that there have always been "doom sayers" and that they were all wrong because the world is still here? Well, perhaps that is because they obviously didn't realize that certain things had to happen before "the end" comes! For instance, Israel had to become a nation once more, which happened in 1948. Because the world briefly felt sorry for the Jews after the Holocaust, the UN decided to return Israel to its rightful heirs - God's Chosen People. (See Genesis 12:3; Genesis 15:18; Jeremiah 30:11; Ezekiel 36:8-10; Matthew 24:9; Joel 3:2; Isaiah 60:15) The "end time" scenario could NOT happen before this event took place! The Bible also tells us that in the end times, every nation would go to war against Israel. (Isaiah 60:15; Joel 3:2; Ezekiel 36:8-10; Matthew 24:9) Although EVERY nation hasn't gone up against Israel yet, if you have kept up with the news you know that things are certainly being moved into place! The Middle East has been a hotbed on many fronts, the US is one of the ONLY countries in the world to stand by Israel to date, and world antisemitism is steadily on the rise.... Whether anyone chooses to believe it or not, the Bible IS God's Word; it HAS accurately documented the history of creation, the fall of man, the birth of our Redeemer, Yeshua haMaschiach, and it DOES foretell our future. God gave us the choice to believe in Him, or not. For those who choose NOT to believe, He provides the following warning: Zephaniah 1:18 - Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath; and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth." The good news is, there IS a way to avoid that terrible day of the Lord's wrath. Man has dubbed this miraculous "catching up" of God's people as the "Rapture": 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 - 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 - For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 - For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. According to the Scriptures, the "Mark of the Beast" will be received on the right hand or forehead. Revelation 13:16-18 - "He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666." Although some believe that this "mark" may be directly linked to the microchip implant that is already on the market and in use, we at The Refiner's Fire are of the firm opinion that the "mark" is Islam. Why? Because, from the ever-increasing Muslim terrorist attacks throughout the world and the fact that they are the ONLY people in the world who still behead (Rev. 20:4), it would seem that God is using the Spirit of Islam to usher in His end-time scenario. Islam seems to be slowly taking over the world. Lately, there have been all kinds of articles showing how the Bank of Islam (which recently changed its name to the more "Western" sounding Arcapita) has taken over several U.S. companies/corporations, - one at a time - including Church's Chicken, Loehmann's Department Store, and the Caribou Coffee chain. The Bank of Islam (Arcapita) has made it clear that they will NOT be doing business with people who refuse to adhere to Sha'ria Law/the Koran - That could be where the "no one will be able to buy or sell" (Rev 13:17) comes in. If Islam owns all or most of the businesses and we can't be hired because we refuse to bow down to Allah, they can make it VERY rough on those who refuse to "take the mark". Believers need to be vigilant!.... The bottom line is, that day will come where, unless you convert to Islam and bowing down to Allah and his Koran (thus, taking the "Mark of the Beast"), you may end up beheaded. Scripture goes on to say: Revelation 14:9-12 - "A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: 'If ANYONE worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name. This calls for patient endurance on the part of THE SAINTS who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus'." The Bible clearly tells us that the mark will definitely be issued one day, and that the fate of ANYONE who takes it is certain death! (That certain death is "separation from God forever".) According to Scripture, if you are a believer, you MUST NOT take this mark or you, too, will miss the kingdom of God and suffer eternal torment over this single act of disobedience! Believers, MUST endure to the end to be saved from eternal damnation (Matthew 10:22; Hebrews 3:14; Revelation 2:10,11). Those who make the mistake of receiving the "mark" and worshiping the beast and/or his image will be deceived by accompanying miraculous signs and wonders: Revelation 19:20 - "But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur." Revelation 13:13-15 - "And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed." 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 - "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness." People who refuse to receive the Mark of the Beast and worship his image, and who obey God's commandments are referred to in the following passage: Revelation 20:4-6 - "I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years." Please understand, the "first resurrection" will not occur until the Mark of the Beast is made available! The first resurrection is for those who have done good and will rise to live, as opposed to those who have done evil and will rise to be condemned (John 5:29). YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE A PERSONAL DECISION REGARDING THE MARK OF THE BEAST THROUGH A PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE! 2 Thessalonians 2:3 - "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction." The Bible says that many who remain faithful to Messiah Yeshua and refuse the Mark of the Beast will be beheaded as a result: Rev. 13:7-10 - "He was given power to make war against THE SAINTS and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast -- all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. He who has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of THE SAINTS." If you die as a believer in Christ as a consequence of refusing the Mark of the Beast, please realize that you will immediately be in the presence of the Lord in "Paradise". (Luke 23:43) There will be many who will accept the mark during the "Tribulation" period. Great pressure will be on everyone to conform to "the ways of the world". Hunger, pain, and miracles from satanic power will deceive many into taking the Mark, but YOU MUST REMAIN TRUE TO GOD, EVEN IF YOU ARE BEHEADED OR GO INTO CAPTIVITY AS A CONSEQUENCE! Your eternal destiny depends on it. Revelation 12:11 - "They overcame him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." Matthew 10:28 - "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." If ours is truly the generation which is to experience "end times" scenario, which do YOU want to experience - God's inevitable wrath, or the "rapture" which can happen ONLY through repentance and acceptance of our Messiah and Savior, Yeshua! By the way, if, after having read the above, you STILL believe that God and the Bible are a myth - well, when the end comes and you stand before Him on Judgment Day, at least you won't be able to say "I didn't know!".... In the meantime, feel free to check out The Jeremiah Project for some eye-opening information!
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