Jaydog1976

The real answer is this: We don't know. Everything we talk about what the mark of the beast is just pure speculation. Scripture doesn't give a description of what it actually looks like other than the location of where it will be and the number of man. How it all looks on a person isn't really described. The important question is not what the mark of the Beast is but what is your relationship to Jesus Christ?

Merry Christmas to you as well Annette.

I do everything right handed and write in a mixture of cursive and printing. Over the years I have just gotten lazy. I print very nicely but my cursive is a bit sloppy.

I drink alcohol from time to time but I sure as don't have any desire to get drunk. But I don't mind have a beer with a friend or whatever. It is all about controlling yourself and saying no. Same with the bottom picture. Temptation does come and it will always present itself but one has a choice whether to act on that temptation or simply ignore it and move on knowing it was a temptation. The picture almost makes it look like if you have one drink you become a drunkard or if you have that temptation of a inappropriate act that you will automatically indulge in it. Both these situation actually take time to develop and those that end up at the end of each picture chose to fall into the temptation of getting drunk or committing adultery.

I guess I never really paid much attention to it because I don't watch Hallmark movies. I have tried to watch a movie here or there and just can't stomach the cheesiness and the sappiness of their films.

Great response. And the correct one.

The other issue is where in scriptures does it tell us to pray to angels? There isn't one that I am aware of. When we pray we are to pray to the Father. Angels are messengers that do what God asks them to do and they are not to be worshipped. I find it sad that some so-called Christians feel that they need to focus on angels instead of God. And then they fall into the trap of the Ouija Board thing.

Christian tarot cards? What craziness! It is sad that many people fall for this stuff because the term "Christian" is applied to the subject. I mean if Christian Tarot Cards are ok can I then maybe call Christian Pornography ok since it has the word Christian? This is why I believe that Jesus said, "But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7:14)". The NAR and those that buy into this stuff are so blinded to the truth.

I have some friends that are SDA's as well. Now I do know that an SDA can be a Christian but how they can be a Christian and accept some of the teachings and doctrines is beyond my comprehension. The one I really have a hard time with is the fact that SDA's teach that our sins were placed on Satan not on Christ which is a clear contradiction to scripture. I Peter 2:24 teaches this doctrine, ""He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." He is referring to Christ not Satan. There is no where in scripture that teaches that our sin was placed upon Satan. The above doctrine as well as others mentioned make me question the salvation of any SDA because I don't think they clearly understand what salvation really is. And then there is, of course, the teachings that following the Law is required for salvation and also the prophecies that never came true. Personally I think Ellen G. White was a bit unstable mentally yet as with any cult, false religion or whatever, their followers will follow man's teaching over God's Word.

I like GQ.org. I may not always agree with them but they are a great resource. However people do need to get out of the online virtual church as Yowm said above and get out and get into a physical local body of believers. And I know that there are some in the forums that just need to get into the Bible. I find is sad that many times you'll have someone post something that sounds spiritual yet they don't know scripture to lean on. Just my 2 cents.

This discussion happens every single year and quite frankly it gets old pretty quick. My opinion is that observing or not observing Christmas is not required for salvation and it does not tear down the essential doctrines like the deity of Christ and others. Until it does I will observe Christmas. Yes I focus on Christ every day but one day a year to really focus on it is not a bad thing. Observe it or don't observe it. That choice is really up to each individual. There are valid arguments for both sides and this discussion really doesn't change anything nor does it really change anyone's opinion. But I guess you need a post like this so that those who oppose observing Christmas can have a sounding board to give their opinions.

Interesting. I never even thought about it. But I learn something new everyday. That I think is what makes God's word so fascinating once you think you think you got it straight God shows you something new that I quite honestly didn't know. Now I learned something new about the 1000 year reign.

Christianity is based upon a relationship with Christ very simply put. Most if not all religions require works or be done to gain favor with God or whatever god they feel they are trying to please.

The answer to your question is a very easy one. One has to get into the Word to know it. They have to study it and learn it and even memorize it. That is how I can tell a counterfeit from the truth. To be well versed in the Scriptures one has to read it and be in it on a daily basis. The issue is that many Christians leave their Bibles on their shelf at home and don't even crack it open except for church on Sunday morning.

Yeah I am not sure how accurate all this is. I'll stick to what God has to say. I guess I am trying to understand why it is so important to know these dates. I guess for me is that I know that Christ came because in Genesis 3 God promised that Christ would come. He did come and He gave His life for mine. And I have put my faith and trust in Him as my Savior. That is all I need. Dates can be skewed and fabricated but God's Word is not. So again I'll stick with God's Word and trust what it has to say not dates that man set or fabricated.

I have been on several forums and I think for the most part people are fine with just making their statements and then moving on. I don't think it shows or doesn't show brotherly love if I use there name in the initial greeting. As another poster stated I also just quote the person and then if I feel like addressing their name in the response I will. Forums are this way not just here but just about everywhere. It is common place. Now if a post is offensive or attacks someone then yes I would consider the brotherly love thing. But personally I don't use the usernames of people here just because I respond to the quotes. And I think for the most part people are fine with this type of forum etiquette. Just don't let it bother you if people in any forum don't greet you by your name or even your username. They are not being offensive nor does it mean that they are not being kind. This is really just how forums work and we as forum users have accepted this as the norm.

It just looks so tacky and it sure isn't a good thing. I can guarantee that my daughter will not wear her pajamas out in public as long as she lives under my roof.

I guess I'll just move on. I thought we were just having a great discussion but apparently I said something that felt that I needed to be warned about something. I never said that tattoos were a good thing and I never said that I would get the RFID chip. I was just giving a differing opinion from a completely different perspective. Personally I don't care if you feel that the RFID tech is the mark of the beast or not. It is your belief and that is fine. I don't believe it is. It really isn't that big of a deal because quite honestly as I said before you don't really know what the mark of the beast really is. I don't know what it really is or what it really looks like. We like to use our imaginations though and I have to admit that sometimes we let our imaginations run wild with all sorts of scenarios that may not actually be the truth. Anyway I don't want to ruffle any feathers and sorry if I did. That wasn't my point. I thought we were having a great discussion. Anyway take care. I am sure we will meet again in other posts .

So in that case are tattoos the mark of the beast? Of course they are not. My point is that too may Christians are so worried about the details and trying to figure them all out instead of just trusting in a God who knows what will happen and how it will happen. And that same God who is in control also will protect you and I (that again is dependent upon who our faith and trust is in) from obtaining that mark. Jesus in Matthew 24:24 said "For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." Again my thoughts which are probably more opinion. I don't spend a whole lot of time trying to figure revelation out. I just spend time learning about the God who has it all under control.

I don't believe that it is RFID tech. From history there were Christians who believed that credit cards were the mark of the beast. We know they are not. Remember bar codes? Again the same Christians believed that bar codes were a mark of the beast. Which we know they are not. I am very careful that I just don't assume that some type of technology is the mark of the beast. Now I am not saying that RFID tech is completely let off the hook. There are some very negative aspects of RFID tech but there are some very great things aspects of RFID tech. I would choose not to accept RFID tech because I don't trust the lack of security measures. But it doesn't mean that if I put an RFID chip in my hand that I am accepting the mark of the beast. I don't believe that you, me or any other Christian knows exactly how the mark will present itself or what it actually is. We don't even know what it looks like. God didn't give us that description. However we do know that as Christians the Holy Spirit will show us and we will know that it is not something that we are to partake in. And we also know that those that accept this mark (whatever it is) is doomed for destruction. I put my faith in the fact that God is in control and that I don't have to live in fear or worry of technology or anything of that sort. We will know and I believe that we will know without a shadow of a doubt. That is if we are saved and know Christ as our Savior and trust Him and His word.

My point wasn't to go into the whole passage but just demonstrate how simple it actually is to understand what the number means without using a numbering system. Now how it all will be implemented is not really known since John was the one who saw it and wrote what he saw. It's hard sometimes to really create a picture with just words but I also know that what John saw and wrote will be an absolutely terrifying day. I do also agree that yes, if you have the mark, then you are doomed. I am so thankful that I am a Christian and have fully put my faith and trust in a wonderful Savior who took my place on the cross so that I can love Him with all my heart and have that assurance that through Jesus Christ I have eternal life and will have the wonderful privilege of spending an eternity learning and loving my Savior.

I guess there is an obsession here to try and figure out that the numbers 666 mean in Revelation 13:18. The problem is that I don't think it takes some type of number counting type algorithm to figure out what it means. I do believe however that the Holy Spirit (who lives resides in the believer) will show us what that number means. The number 6 shows imperfection of man. The number 7 in scriptures has been used to show perfection (like the 7 days of creation, etc). The repetition just shows emphasis and how man falls extremely short of perfection. The number is a very simple way of showing where man stands before God. If anyone really wants to know, mystic Jews adopted Gematria in the Middle Ages. It is a made man system that is quite deceptive. There are several different variations of Gematria so the question I pose is how do you know which one is right if any of them are right? Another question I pose is if God wanted to use some numbering system to figure out His word why then do we need the Holy Spirit? What is His purpose since a numbering system and math can be used to understand scripture? I for one will avoid man made systems that try to figure out God's Word. I don't believe that God's Word is so complicated that we have to use man made numbering systems to figure out it's deepest meaning. I tend to lean toward the idea that God is a literal God and when he says something I believe He means what He says and says what He means. So I just interpret scripture literally where it is literal and understand when God is speaking in metaphors because it is pretty clear that it is a word picture or something similar. That's my two cents. I just caution against using outside sources that have somewhat of a sinister origin to interpret God's word.

I always wondered what was in fruitcake to make it taste like it does. Thanks for the recipe.

We are to be wise with how we live while we are here on this earth. There is nothing wrong with setting money aside for emergencies or even retirement. Scripture is full of wisdom on how to deal with money and how we should use it. Maybe Christ will come back in my lifetime but if He doesn't I still can be a good steward of what God has given me and I can make sure that my family is taken care of if for some reason I can't work or whatever.

I tell you what, if the salvation that I have in Christ, could be lost then woe is me because I would never be saved, neither would anyone else for that matter. I would hate to have to work for my salvation. I know I would never be good enough to be saved. And just when I thought I was close I would sin again and then have to do it all over again. No once saved always saved. Even when we sin our status as a Christian is not changed (that is if we are truly a Christian) but the fellowship that we have is tarnished. Thankfully we can mend that fellowship by confessing our sins and turning from them so that we can have that perfect fellowship with the Lord. Sin is a part of who we are and while we are on this earth we will sin no matter how mature we are in Christ. I am so looking forward to the day when I can have a perfect fellowship with the Lord without the effects of sin in my life. I am tired of sin and having to battle with it every single day and I praise the Lord that I am saved and that the Hope I have is secure.