Hello everyone,
First, please allow me to give a little background information about my own Christian walk -- I was raised WELS Lutheran, which sees the book of Revelation as an allegory and does not take it literally. My time here on CC has really been the first time I've met other Christians who take the book of Revelation as a literal teaching.
Lately, I have read and heard several Christians saying that a coin shortage and move towards a cashless society is an indication that the end times are near. I have also heard a lot of talk about the need for Christians to prepare for and take a stance against the things that will happen by stockpiling weapons and precious metals.
Please understand that I am coming from the perspective of someone who has studied the Bible since childhood (and therefore has some familiarity with the Bible as a whole), but yet is unfamiliar with teachings of The Rapture, The Great Tribulation, and The Mark of the Beast, because I was never taught extensively about those things. Needless to day, I have some questions.
Please note that I am NOT in any way, shape, or form, wanting to start an argument or debate over the different beliefs that people have, but rather, am trying to glean information.
My basic understanding is that the mark of the beast is something that the government will try to force onto people and that without it, you won't be able to buy food or necessities or anything else you might need to live daily life.
I currently live in the USA, and what I've observed is:
1. I have to carry (or rather, memorize) an identification number assigned to me by the government at the time of my birth (or rather, adoption,) and without it, I can't apply for a job, driver's license, passport, place to live, health care, voter's registration, or a myriad of other things we deem necessary to live.
2. I carry another card made of plastic that has my name, another number, a magnetic strip, and an electronic chip that I use to buy food and all other necessities.
I was watching a documentary in which a young woman from a very wealthy family volunteered to live on the streets as a homeless person for 3 nights to see what it was like. The very first thing she did was try to find a job at numerous places, but was turned down at every place because like many of the homeless, she didn't have a piece of identification that was assigned to her by the government (which was part of the experiment.)
The one place that did allow her to wash dishes in exchange for a meal on a one-time basis explained that they were not able to hire her due to government regulations regarding safety, etc., unless she had some form of legal ID. Without being able to hire her legally, it was too much of a legal risk to them of losing their own livelihood themselves.
And so, my questions are:
A. If we are already required to have government-assigned files and numbers in order to get jobs and function in society, how is this any different from the mark of the beast? Is it just that the mark of the beast will be something embedded into our physical body, whether through a chip or some kind of permanent marking?
B. I realize that debit and credit cards are supposedly not absolutely necessary, but it is becoming that way. At Walmart the other day, I noticed that out of 12 self-check stations, only 1 accepted cash, which was a stark change from just a few months ago. And when a friend and I tried to rent a car last year, I was standing there with 4 different forms of payment, but there was only one form that they would accept on the spot -- all the others, including cash, had stipulations or just simply weren't accepted. For myself, I have found that travel has become nearly impossible without a credit card (even debit cards are useless in many situations.)
* However, our society has been moving more towards digital purchasing for many years, not just this past year. When Adam and Eve started out in the garden, they didn't use cash. Even as the human population grew, wealth was measured in land, crops, and livestock, and I'm assuming that gold and silver wasn't added to roster until later on? If so, why are Christians so concerned about the conversion of something that that people initially lived without? Is it because digital currency is seen as being easier to steal, modify, or take away?
C. I have heard from many well-meaning Christians that we should be stockpiling cash, gold, and silver. But how would these things help us in a society that no longer accepts cash, and how would gold and silver be of use to anyone unless it could somehow be traded in for digital currency, if that's all that was being accepted?
* If you go to the store to pay for $30 worth of groceries with a piece of gold that's worth $100 (and only at that very second, since the value of gold and silver would change all the time), how would anyone be able to give you any change?
I realize these questions might sound naive, but it's something I've always wondered, especially as I seem to run into more and more Christians who are advising this. I'm not saying it's bad, I just don't understand how it would work. Even if I have $1 million in gold lying around, it's worthless if it can't be translated into the current accepted currency. Just like at Walmart -- if it gets to a point where their machines only accept cards, I can't buy food for my family, no matter how much cash, gold, or silver I might haul into the store.
Wouldn't gold and silver would be worthless to businesses unless they can turn have it converted into whatever form of currency allows them to make purchases themselves?
And again, Adam and Eve weren't worried about cash. So why do we see this as the beginning of the end of the world?
Thank you for taking the time to read and consider these inquiries. Again, I have no interest in debates or arguments, which is why I'm posting here in Miscellaneous -- I'm just simply hoping to learn from what others have to day.
May God keep you, your families, and your church fellowships safe during these very trying times.
First, please allow me to give a little background information about my own Christian walk -- I was raised WELS Lutheran, which sees the book of Revelation as an allegory and does not take it literally. My time here on CC has really been the first time I've met other Christians who take the book of Revelation as a literal teaching.
Lately, I have read and heard several Christians saying that a coin shortage and move towards a cashless society is an indication that the end times are near. I have also heard a lot of talk about the need for Christians to prepare for and take a stance against the things that will happen by stockpiling weapons and precious metals.
Please understand that I am coming from the perspective of someone who has studied the Bible since childhood (and therefore has some familiarity with the Bible as a whole), but yet is unfamiliar with teachings of The Rapture, The Great Tribulation, and The Mark of the Beast, because I was never taught extensively about those things. Needless to day, I have some questions.
Please note that I am NOT in any way, shape, or form, wanting to start an argument or debate over the different beliefs that people have, but rather, am trying to glean information.
My basic understanding is that the mark of the beast is something that the government will try to force onto people and that without it, you won't be able to buy food or necessities or anything else you might need to live daily life.
I currently live in the USA, and what I've observed is:
1. I have to carry (or rather, memorize) an identification number assigned to me by the government at the time of my birth (or rather, adoption,) and without it, I can't apply for a job, driver's license, passport, place to live, health care, voter's registration, or a myriad of other things we deem necessary to live.
2. I carry another card made of plastic that has my name, another number, a magnetic strip, and an electronic chip that I use to buy food and all other necessities.
I was watching a documentary in which a young woman from a very wealthy family volunteered to live on the streets as a homeless person for 3 nights to see what it was like. The very first thing she did was try to find a job at numerous places, but was turned down at every place because like many of the homeless, she didn't have a piece of identification that was assigned to her by the government (which was part of the experiment.)
The one place that did allow her to wash dishes in exchange for a meal on a one-time basis explained that they were not able to hire her due to government regulations regarding safety, etc., unless she had some form of legal ID. Without being able to hire her legally, it was too much of a legal risk to them of losing their own livelihood themselves.
And so, my questions are:
A. If we are already required to have government-assigned files and numbers in order to get jobs and function in society, how is this any different from the mark of the beast? Is it just that the mark of the beast will be something embedded into our physical body, whether through a chip or some kind of permanent marking?
B. I realize that debit and credit cards are supposedly not absolutely necessary, but it is becoming that way. At Walmart the other day, I noticed that out of 12 self-check stations, only 1 accepted cash, which was a stark change from just a few months ago. And when a friend and I tried to rent a car last year, I was standing there with 4 different forms of payment, but there was only one form that they would accept on the spot -- all the others, including cash, had stipulations or just simply weren't accepted. For myself, I have found that travel has become nearly impossible without a credit card (even debit cards are useless in many situations.)
* However, our society has been moving more towards digital purchasing for many years, not just this past year. When Adam and Eve started out in the garden, they didn't use cash. Even as the human population grew, wealth was measured in land, crops, and livestock, and I'm assuming that gold and silver wasn't added to roster until later on? If so, why are Christians so concerned about the conversion of something that that people initially lived without? Is it because digital currency is seen as being easier to steal, modify, or take away?
C. I have heard from many well-meaning Christians that we should be stockpiling cash, gold, and silver. But how would these things help us in a society that no longer accepts cash, and how would gold and silver be of use to anyone unless it could somehow be traded in for digital currency, if that's all that was being accepted?
* If you go to the store to pay for $30 worth of groceries with a piece of gold that's worth $100 (and only at that very second, since the value of gold and silver would change all the time), how would anyone be able to give you any change?
I realize these questions might sound naive, but it's something I've always wondered, especially as I seem to run into more and more Christians who are advising this. I'm not saying it's bad, I just don't understand how it would work. Even if I have $1 million in gold lying around, it's worthless if it can't be translated into the current accepted currency. Just like at Walmart -- if it gets to a point where their machines only accept cards, I can't buy food for my family, no matter how much cash, gold, or silver I might haul into the store.
Wouldn't gold and silver would be worthless to businesses unless they can turn have it converted into whatever form of currency allows them to make purchases themselves?
And again, Adam and Eve weren't worried about cash. So why do we see this as the beginning of the end of the world?
Thank you for taking the time to read and consider these inquiries. Again, I have no interest in debates or arguments, which is why I'm posting here in Miscellaneous -- I'm just simply hoping to learn from what others have to day.
May God keep you, your families, and your church fellowships safe during these very trying times.
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