The coming oppression (it's HERE)

"Don't tase me, bro." You might remember that colorful and oft-repeated phrase. Wikipedia describes:

"On September 17, 2007, U.S. Senator John Kerry addressed a Constitution Day forum at the University of Florida in Gainesville, which was organized by the ACCENT Speakers Bureau, an agency of the university's student government. Initially allowed to ask questions after the close of the question period, Andrew Meyer, a 21-year-old fourth-year undergraduate mass communication student, was subsequently removed from the forum by university police. During the struggle to arrest Meyer, one of the officers drive stunned him with a Taser." Several videos of the episode were then posted on the Internet. The most viewed version of the video, shot by Kyle Mitchell of The Gainesville Sun, has more than 5.1 million views on YouTube as of October 2010.[1] The New Oxford American Dictionary listed "tase/taze" as one of the words of the year for 2007, popularized by the widespread use of the phrase "Don't tase me, bro!" The Yale Book of Quotations designated the same quote as the most memorable quote of 2007."

Though there are always sides to take in any one incident, Myers' arrest did spark a national debate, ignited because of the demonstrably increased use by police of tasers. Tasers are an elecro-shock device designed to override the normal control of muscles. They hurt. Recipients often scream. They immediately render the victim immobile. They are used by police to subdue fleeing, belligerent, or potentially dangerous subjects. Or in theory, at least. Unarmed citizens such as the 86-year-old bedridden grandmother have been tased. Or the 56-year-old mentally ill woman who was tasered for refusing to move. Or Michael Patrick Jacobs Jr., 24, who died after being jolted with a Taser by police when they responded to a call that he was causing a disturbance outside his family’s home on April 18. The first Taser shot was used to deliver 50,000 volts of electricity for 49 seconds, which is substantially longer than the standard five seconds. After the extended shock, Jacobs was shocked a second time for five more seconds.

After incidents like these (and many others) the nation has become increasingly upset at the police aggression, infringement on civil liberties, and brutality. (This is not an indictment of all police officers. Many are good and appropriately protective). A divide between regular citizenry and those in law authority having begun at Kent State...or Civil Rights marches, or at some point at the Revolutionary War...whenever it began, with the advent of tasers, the divide between those in authority with weapons and unarmed citizens widened.

Then came "Don't touch my junk."

A recent decision by the hired government agency Transportation Security Administration to fully pat-down all body areas of all fliers (who do not choose to endure a high-radiation naked body scanner, that is) has ignited the firestorm further.

John Tyner, on his way to So. Dakota to visit his father-in-law and do some pheasant hunting,  saw what was going on in the San Diego airport and turned on his cell phone video as he went through security. A supervisor is heard re-explaining the groin check process to Tyner then adding "If you're not comfortable with that, we can escort you back out and you don't have to fly today." Tyner responded "OK, I don't understand how a sexual assault can be made a condition of my flying." "This is not considered a sexual assault," replied the supervisor, calmly. "It would be if you were not the government," said Tyner. He said, ""You touch my junk and I'm going to have you arrested."

Full body pat-downs perpetrated by TSA at airports have occurred against a cancer survivor who was told to remove her prosthetic breast. Against a woman with two artificial knees. Against a screaming three-year old who yelled "STOP TOUCHING ME."

The government's intrusion on our lives has become intolerable. The government of the people, by the people, and for the people is now against the people. It dips its hands into private areas of our lives with such regularity that we have (almost) become inured to it. It touches our paychecks. It peeps into our streets with video, our workplaces. It spies on our civic lives, our computers, and our child rearing practices. Now it has its hands literally on our bodies. And on our children. The TSA agent responded to Tyner's conversation thus:

"By buying your ticket you gave up a lot of rights."

Flying is voluntary. It is not a necessity, it is a privilege and a convenience. I wrote about my own experience with pat-downs here. I opted out of the whole airport-security-government hands on my body thing in 2006. But the very idea that government has its hands ON our body in our private areas is revolting. It is something that many people are simply calling sexual assault.

But you ain't seen nothing yet.

If you think government is intrusive now, the coming antichrist will be much worse. His global totalitarian regime will strip you of all you need to survive and not only put government's hands on you, but IN you. On behalf of the antichrist, the False Prophet will "force 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." (Rev 13:16-17). At the hands of the government, at some center or rehabilitation camp, or 're-education facility', you will have to make the choice on whether to worship the beast (the antichrist) and in so choosing, will display that choice by an embedded mark on or in your body. Some have speculated that it will be a tattoo, or a bar code, or a chip like we actually have now that is embedded in the hand or the chest. In any case, you can take the mark. Or you can be beheaded. The False prophet will "cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed." (Rev 13:15b; Rev 20:4)

You will have a choice then, but so you have a choice today. You can accept Jesus today. In the case of choosing to accept Jesus as your Savior, the choice is infinitely better than the one in which the False Prophet forces you to worship the Beast. With Jesus you get an eternity of joy, peace, and good and fruitful work for Him. With the Beast you only receive death and an eternity apart from Jesus. But make the choice soon, because time is growing short.

Meanwhile, the government's oppression of the people is so intrusive, so palpable, so repugnant, that it seems that the Mark may not be far behind. In any case, the prophesied totalitarian regime of the antichrist will come. It will make the days of TSA pat-downs seem like a pleasant picnic.

Comments

  1. I wasn't in the know during the "Don't tase me bro" thing, but I am now. I have a love one getting ready to fly in a couple of weeks, I am interested in her take on what she goes through. I have warned her, but I don't think she is taking it seriously at this point.

    Good for you for taking a stand and refusing to fly.

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  2. Check this out, Elizabeth!

    http://www.stevequayle.com/News.alert/10_Global/101118.entering.pdf

    Kim

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  3. I liked his call for Christian men to protect their wives and children from immodesty. I liked that a LOT. Christians should en masse refuse these scans and pat-downs for religious reasons.

    I firmly believe this government intrusion on our external bodies is a precursor for the coming government intrusion INTO peoples' bodies (mark of beast). Praise God, we won't be here. Meanwhile, I'm still witnessing with all my strength in RL and online.

    However Quayle is doctrinally incorrect that believers will be judged. Nor will we be tested. Jesus already thinks we’re a new creation who’s as perfect as He is. (2 Cor. 5:17,21). He actually spends a lot of time protecting us. I agree with him that we will be going soon, though.

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  4. I am not as doctrinally wise as you are, Elizabeth, but I cannot help but wonder with regard to this scripture: 1 Peter 4:17,18

    It literally states that judgment begins with us.

    I know that when one believes and confesses that he or she is regenerated, and shall be saved on the day of redemption, but could the trying and testing of the church possibly be the deciding factor of who is raptured at what time? Have you ever read the book, the Case for 3 Raptures?

    Kim

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  5. Jesus’ death saved us from ALL our sins. They are no longer judged. We do not undergo judgment. 1 John 2:12 says that and Colossians 2 says it. I believe God when He says in the Bible, "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins" (Isaiah 43:25 Heb. 8:12; 10:17). I do not disbelieve any of those verses.

    I do not believe we are judged and punished nor are we appointed to wrath. (1 Thess 5:9). I believe the verses that tell me my sins are wiped clean. I believe the verses that tell me He forgets our sins and that He loves and protects us (the many Psalms) So what of the 1 Peter verse?

    The NIV has headings for each section of thought. The section before the verse of which you refer is noted “Suffering for Being a Christian”. In NASB it is headed “Share the Sufferings of Christ”. It was Peter encouraging his first believers in the face of coming persecution FROM OTHERS, not from God.

    Here is the whole section: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. 17For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER? 19Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.”

    Peter is making a distinction in v. 15 between sufferings of Christians and unbelievers who murder, steal, or do evil. THEY will be judged (will suffer) but Christians are not judged, though they do suffer at the hands of the world, just as Jesus did, a mention made in verse 13.

    John Macarthur preached on that verse here: http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/60-45_The-Fiery-Trial-Part-2
    Here is an excerpt of what he said on verse 17
    “And there's one more reason in verse 17. "For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" This is an interesting verse. He is saying if you suffer as a Christian then for the sake of the name Christian you ought to be happy to suffer and you ought to praise God for the privilege because you're sharing Christ's sufferings, because the Spirit of glory rests on you and strengthens you and you must rejoice in the strength of the Spirit and because you are adding to the weight of your eternal reward.”

    1 Peter 4:17 is of the judgment of others against the Apostles. It is a warning to stand ready for slander and reproach against them and their words of truth. It was to "begin" at the house of God, or be applied to the church first, in order that the nature and worth of our wonderful religion might be seen.

    Kim, there are no “3 raptures.” There is only one. (1 Thes 4:16-18 and Isaiah 26:19-20) And His mercy is SO GREAT that even those who are saved but disbelieve the rapture doctrine as plainly revealed will go in the rapture.

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  6. I agree with you Elizabeth, but I know where the confusion of many of these verses begins. The problem is the English language. For example the Greek has no less than eight different words to describe love. English only has one word. We can love God and we can make love and love ice cream. Same word, different meanings.

    The English word "believe" is another. You can believe in the existance of a chair but it is quite something else to believe in it(as to entrust) that it will support your weight.
    John 3:16 should be interpretated as entrusts not just believe that He exists.

    It is one thing to "submit" to a tyrant and quite another to "submit" yourself for approval.

    As for the question of "Judgment" it is the same problem. In many cases the word judgment may be replaced with "scrutinize".

    Romans 1:28: ‘And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over [or God gave them up] to a mind void of judgment." (discernment or wisdom)

    1 Corinthians 11:31 "But if we judged (scrutinized)ourselves rightly, we would not be judged."(condemned)

    1 Corinthians 11:32 "But when we are judged (convicted by the Holy Spirit)we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world."

    I have studied the Hebrew and Greek for many years and have found so many words like these. I have to believe satan did everything he could to corrupt the English language to create this confusion.

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  7. I made a mistake in my last comment.
    It should read:

    1 Corinthians 11:31 "But if we judged (scrutinized)ourselves rightly, we would not be judged."(convicted by the Holy Spirit)

    1 Corinthians 11:32 "But when we are judged (convicted by the Holy Spirit)we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world."

    It is so important to keep these things in proper context for correct interpretation.

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