Life Compass

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.” ( Matt. 24:32-33 ) Many students of prophecy identify the Lesson of the Fig Tree in Matt. 24 as a reference to Israel. While the fig tree is often used to symbolize Israel, this is not one of those times. The fig tree is one of the last trees to bud in the spring, so when it begins to get leaves people know that summer is right around the corner. There’ll be no more false starts, no more cold snaps. Summer is now certain and soon. Jesus used this analogy to tell people who’ll be on Earth at the time that when they see the things he described beginning in Matt. 24:15 , they’ll know that His coming is really near. Earlier in Matt. 24 He had told them that wars and rumors of war will be characteristic of the age ( Matt. 24:6 ), and that t...

Daniel’s Dreams and Visions I n dreams and visions, the prophet Daniel saw amazing scenes of the future of the world. In these videos on the prophecies of Daniel, I’ve tried to recreate visually what Daniel saw and to explain it in a way which has been broadly accepted by students of Bible prophecy for many centuries. ________________________________ Most recent : Daniel Chapter 9-a “The 69 Weeks” This is the first of two videos on Daniel chapter 9. It focuses on the parts of the “70 Weeks” prophecy, revealed by the angel Gabriel, which have already been fulfilled, concentrating mainly on verses 24 to 26. An incredibly specific 483 year length of time was revealed to Daniel that would pass between “ the commandment to restore Jerusalem ” and “ Messiah the Prince ” ...

Why the Bar Code Will Always Be the Mark of the Beast Joe Woodland invented the bar code — that collection of lines and numbers used to ring up your groceries every time you visit the supermarket — and after the longtime IBMer passed away earlier this month at the age of 91, the response from certain parts of the web was all too predictable. “It’s the mark of the beast!” wrote one regular Wired commenter in response to our Joe Woodland tribute, pointing readers to the 16th verse of the 13th chapter of the Book of Revelation. Revelation is the final book of the Bible’s New Testament, and among other things, it foretells an apocalypse in which a beast will rise from the earth, rain fire from the heavens, and lay his mark on all of humankind — a mark used to buy and sell. “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the nam...