Revelation 18:13 - Cloning, slavery, or both?

While watching the O'Reilly Factor tonight, I was stunned when someone referred to cloned embryos as a "commodity". Not that embryos were referred to in such a fashion, but it reminded me of a verse in Revelation (in a lament about the things that Babylon had sold after it had fallen):

and cinnamon, and incenses, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

In the NKJV it refers to bodies and souls of men being sold.

Anyway, I guess they're cloning monkeys over in Oregon right now and some people were worried that they might start cloning human embryos next. What really made me think of this verse is how this whole cloned embryo thing could perhaps take off at some point. I believe that a baby is a baby in the zygote stage, so whether you are talking about an embryo, fetus, or even a blastocyst, it's still a baby, and if it is a human baby, creating it to experiment on or harvest stem cells from (forgive me if I get my terminology wrong I don't feel it's worth the time investment to research) is morally wrong.

But let's say at some point in the future scientists do start cloning humans and start experimenting on their cells (at whatever stage). I could really see a trade of sorts developing... people would be buying and selling the bodies and souls of men as this Bible verse is referring to.

Now I know that slavery does exist today in the traditional sense that we learn about in history books. Back in the days when I had more money I did donate money to a modern abolitionist group through the Combined Federal Campaign. For more information about slavery today you can visit www.antislavery.org. Up until today, I thought that Revelation 18 referred to the modern slave trade. And it probably does, to some extent. But perhaps this verse is also referring to the buying and selling of cloned embryos as well.

Another thought on the subject of cloning... if you cross a human with a mouse, what do you get? Scientists have already created these chimera-like creatures, and I'm wondering what they are. I believe that there is a divide between animals and humans and humans are not animals, and vice-versa. So what is a chimera? Is it a human or an animal? Does it have a soul? Does it need to get saved? Will it automatically go to hell? At the end, will God just destroy it and it will cease to exist? To me it's a scary thought... that God is allowing us to create these... whatevers... and who other than God knows whether these creatures need salvation or not? Or can get saved?

Putin Dissolves Parliament... Get Ready To Rapture?

Vladmir Putin dissolved the Russian parliament (story here)! My husband called me this afternoon to ask me if I knew anything about Russia, but I hadn't had the TV on anything but PBS Kids and Tivo'd O'Reilly Factor from yesterday, so I had no clue. Then I discovered that the Russian parliament had dissolved and a new Prime Minister was in power.

Ever since Putin was installed as President, I always thought that he would be there for the end times. He just seemed to have the background for it. Now I'm even more sure that I'm probably right. Especially considering that Russia has planted their flag and claimed the North Pole as their own, and they seem to be getting a little imperialistic.

For those of you that do not know what Russia has to do with the end times, a little info. Russia is supposed to invade Israel in the future, but they will get their butts kicked supernaturally. That's how I understand it supernaturally. If you've ever heard of Gog/Magog... that's Russia. We know that Russia is Gog for several reasons. Moscow is north of Israel, for one. Rosh is also mentioned by name, and Tubal is also a place in Russia. I'm just going off the top of my head on this one, if you want more info on why Russia is Gog, you can google it.

Anyway, for prophecy watchers, this is a MAJOR development. Things are moving quickly! Or at least they seem to. There is nothing that stands in the way between history and the rapture... it could happen at any time. Gog/Magog is something that is to happen in the tribulation, so that means if things really are moving in that direction, the Christians will be out of here soon. Very soon.

Are you saved? Are you sure? Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive you of your sins. If you haven't realized that you are a sinner, repented of your sins and asked Jesus to save you and forgive you of your sins, you probably are not saved. Please do so! The rapture could happen at any time and you don't want to be left behind!

Think you're a good person? Take the good person test here! If you pass the good person test and have never sinned, you have nothing to fear. Unfortunately, the Bible says that there is none righteous, so you probably won't pass.

Stock Market Turmoil: Could This Lead To Something Big?

I've been watching with interest the volatile stock market for the past week or so. Some people are getting a little nervous. Some are selling off their stock and losing money, others are picking up bargains and may or may not end up making money long term. This is all on top of a housing market that is quickly losing steam, banks making it harder to borrow money for a house, and people stuck in adjustable rate mortgages with rising payments.

For those without God, this could be a scary time. I suppose that I might be a little worried too, if I didn't know that God was in control. My husband starts his new job on Monday. Starting a new job in a time with an uncertain economy has it's natural risks... although we didn't really have a choice since he lost his last one due to cutbacks.

I personally don't think that America is mentioned in Revelation or any of the prophetic passages of the Bible. There is a passage somewhere about an eagle getting it's wings clipped or something along those lines, but that's the only one that I can think of, and that's not pretty. I know that some people think that America and Babylon are one and the same, but my opinion is that Babylon is actually Babylon... that city in Iraq. I don't think that God would use the name of an actual city if he really meant something else. Feel free to disagree with me, it's not a matter of salvation or anything else of vital importance.

America itself seems to be in a perilous time. There are so many countries in the world that hate us for one reason or another. That wouldn't bother me so much, if our country wasn't in such moral decay. Sometimes it's difficult to even discern right and wrong, even with reading your Bible and going to church on a regular basis. There are games and books out there that aren't the most wholesome, it's so easy to steal songs over the internet, even just going to the mall for tennis shoes leaves you bombarded with images that it's better not to see. Earlier this year, I was reading through Leviticus, I noted with particular interest chapter 18, which lists all these sins, saying that the land will vomit one out for these sins. The whole chapter easily described our country. Could America be in trouble for its sins?

Me and my husband have discussed moving to Australia. It's a nice enough country, that doesn't seem to be like the Roman Empire in its state of decline. I spent 5 weeks there in 1997 and it seemed like a second home to me... I have been fond of it ever since. It's quite expensive to just pack up and move to another country, so for financial reasons, God has told us we can't go right now. Perhaps we will not ever go.

I do not wish ill on my country, but I try to prepare in case we do see a downfall. I stock up on nonperishable food, a little at a time. You never know when you might have to be quarantined to your house during a bird flu epidemic, or the economy goes haywire and food becomes an expensive luxury.

But most of all, I try to prepare mentally for the possibility of the tide of prosperity turning in America. I try to keep in mind that God is in control, and no matter what happens in this life, it is only temporary and better things await for those that love God. I try to realize how fortunate I am right now... to have enough to eat, a place to stay, a nice computer, great kids. I try to enjoy the blessings now, and not take them for granted. I try to think of all the Christians around the world today, and throughout history, who were killed or forced into hiding for their faith. God helped them through the worst circumstances we can imagine... if we are ever put in a situation like that, I try to trust (and pray) that God would give me the strength to deal with it.

So I watch the stock market with interest. I don't wish for it to drop (especially since I have an inheritance that is bound up in Microsoft stock), but I realize that God has a plan for this country, for good or for bad, and he is in control.

On The Front Page of Revela... Errr... Yesterday's Newspaper

I'm not much of a newspaper reader, but I do pick up the Sunday paper for the coupons. Normally I'll glance at the front page and maybe read a couple articles if they sound interesting. Yesterday, in the lower half of the front page, I saw a headline that could have read straight from the book of Revelations:

Microchips implanted in workers

Two employees from Citywatcher.com, a surveillance equipment company, had the chips implanted last year. Yikes. The chief executive compared it to fingerprinting or retina scans.

Uh... no.

I have personally been following this whole chip thing since 1995 or so. Back then I learned about how they were starting to put microchips in pets... a revolutionary concept at the time... and I remember writing a paper for my college composition class about how it could eventually lead to its use in humans.

I ended up getting a C. Not sure why, perhaps the TA grading my paper thought that it was a stretch to think that microchipping pets could lead to microchipping humans. Or maybe it was a C quality paper. Not really important... but I guess I was right.

12 years later, of course, microchipping pets is common, and in some places is required. It was required in the military housing complex that I lived in when I was in Italy, but I partook in my own little silent disobedience by keeping my cat microchip-free. Even the Amish are being forced to get into the whole RFID/microchipping bandwagon. I just have an ethical problem with a technology that so obviously could fulfill the prophecy in Revelation 13 (regarding the Antichrist):

And it causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark on their right hand, or in their foreheads, even that not any might buy or sell except those having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of its name.

~ Revelation 13:16-17

Similarly, I had some friends that invested in Applied Digital (the guys who make the most popular chipping product) but I couldn't in good conscience invest in such a technology, even though anybody who knows anything about end times prophecy can recognize that it would be a pretty good investment. But there's more to life than finances. The Antichrist will end up killing a lot of Christians. Anybody who takes the mark of the beast will be damned to hell for all eternity with no hope of salvation. Ouch.

I don't think that any microchip product on the market is the mark of the beast. Some of my friends made comments when I told them that I refused to microchip my cats... "what, do you think you'd be sending them to hell or something?" No. For one, I don't think that animals go to hell... for another thing, if animals did go to hell, I don't think God would send them there for my actions, and for another thing, it's not the mark of the beast... yet. However, they don't hand out these things for free, and I don't want either my money or my tacit approval going towards this product by accepting this.

It's like Harry Potter and witchcraft, or pornographic drawings... you just don't mess with it. Neither of them might be real, but both are inherently wrong. I suppose that there are some people that don't feel that getting a microchip now is wrong, but it's not for me. It's too close to playing around the edges of damnation. My philosophy towards my soul is: I don't want to take any chances. The stakes are just too high.

But back to the article and the chipping being done today. Even if there was no moral dilemma surrounding this chip, is this really something that someone would want? There are so many drawbacks:

• Once you get implanted with a microchip, it's pretty much in there. There's no going back. You could technically have it removed, but not easily. The microchip can shift around under the skin, and scar tissue develops around it.
  
• The long-term effects of the microchip is not known. The shelf-life of this microchip is only considered to be 10-15 years. So if you live to be 100 or so, you could end up with an arm full of these things.
  
• Microchip implants can be "spoofed". Someone can get next to you with a card reader in their pocket, read your number, and technically steal your identity. People cite security as an advantage to getting this microchip, but don't believe them. Sure, you can't lose your identification, but people can still steal your identity. Do you really want your identity stolen when it's embedded in your hand? No thanks.
  
• You lose your anonymity if you get the microchip. Anyone with one of these card readers can find out the number in your hand... card readers start at only $300. Sure, they might have to have some way to get into the database, but do you really think that this database is and will remain hackerproof? Hardly. I've read enough history to know that life (and even governments) can turn upside down literally overnight. I'm glad that we live in a country that is relatively benign, but can I say with 100% certainty that I will feel that way 10, 20 years down the road? Do you think the Jews could have told you in 1920 that a Holocaust was on its way? If there were some that did, they probably found some way to hightail it out of Europe before Hitler took over.
  
• You have to pay an ongoing fee of $20 a year for the privilege of staying in the database once you get this microchip... no thanks.
  

I don't mean to be a Luddite, but this is one technology that I can't get behind.

I received my Honorable Discharge papers from the Navy Reserve a couple of weeks ago. Now, I have nothing against the government or the military, but in some ways, it was good to get. Especially when I read about this microchip and how I always seem to be rumors about how great it would be to implant this chip into soldiers so they could be identified on the battlefield. I've also heard how they might want to use this technology on the mentally ill, alzheimer's patients, children in case they get kidnapped, prisoners, illegal aliens...

It may sound far fetched to some. But then again, it sounded far fetched in 1995 when I wrote a paper for Comp class on microchipping pets.