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In the past I told you about the possibility of using the Internet to wage war upon an unsuspecting nation. I told you how the Antichrist will use the Internet to take over the world and make the people of the world subject to his whims. Well, this past week the Indonesian Government is being blamed for a highly-organized attack on Computers in Ireland which brought down the East Timor virtual country domain.1 The BBC reported this incident in great detail which lead to a large discussion on Slashdot 2 which is the news for ``nerds''. Also recently there has been reported in the BBC 3 an article about the US governments defense against just such an attack. We are definitely living in very interesting times!
This type of electronic warfare could cripple and destroy an any world power. This ability to launch an attack on a countries top level Internet servers shows that the third world countries have the ability and power to cripple any country in the world. Almost everything that we do is connected to a computer of some sort. Take for instance driving your car down the street. You have digital clocks, mechanisms that tell the car when a tune up is required, and a host of other things. Your coffee pot has a processor in it to automatically make the coffee at a certain time each day. There are ``smart'' rooms that automatically turn on and adjust the lighting in the room when you enter. Also, when you go to the bank and either withdraw or deposit money, that transaction is done on a ``secure'' Internet connection to a master host computer. For instance the bank that I use, has all of their terminals connected to a computer in Florida! That connection means that every transaction that is done at the teller window is sent over the Internet! And now there is reported an actual assault by one country against another.
2 Timothy 3:1-13
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent,
fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn
away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly
women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the
truth.
8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the
truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto
all men, as theirs also was.
10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith,
longsuffering, charity, patience,
11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at
Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered
me.
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution.
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being
deceived.
Now with the day that we are living in, can you see how a ``third world'' country can attack any country no matter how big and strong they are. For instance, the US militaries reliance on Windows NT® left an aircraft carrier dead in the water this past summer as reported by Slashdot4 which pointed to this GOVERNMENT NEWS article, 5 ``Software glitches leave Navy Smart Ship dead in the water.'' Imagine the consequences of being caught dead in the water and there is an attack on said ship! Imagine a situation where everything is halted due to a software malfunction. How vulnerable are we? We are living in a day where we are becoming more and more dependent on computer technology, and there is the possibility of someone attacking the root servers of the entire world and making all of the nations of the world subservient to the whims and desires of one who has taken over the worlds Internet backbone servers. This is not something that can be thought as ``science fiction'' any longer since there has already been a government attack against Ireland. This escalates the possibility of a war fought solely by electronic means via the Internet!
Revelation 13:1-18
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the
sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon
his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the
feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him
his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly
wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they
worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make
war with him?
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies;
and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name,
and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth
with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the
faith of the saints.
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two
horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth
the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly
wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven
on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles
which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell
on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound
by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image
of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the
image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name
of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the
beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore
and six.
Notice the day and the hour that we are living in. Electronic warfare is a real threat. Everything including your personal privacy is no longer. Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Micro Systems, told a group of reporters, ``You have zero privacy anyway, get Over It.''6 Also the day that we are living in comes equipped with a lot of smart devices and items that you don't even know that are there. A very excellent article in the Linux Journal, ``A look at wearable computers and personal privacy issues,''7 describes real security issues concerning everything from traffic lights to bathrooms. These items now monitor everything including when you are done using the toilet and it flushes itself. But there are other aspects of the sensing device that you don't realize that you are being watched. The article is not on line so you have to buy the magazine to read this article.
How close are we to the time that the Antichrist shows himself? There is not a single person on the earth that can tell you when the rapture will be, or when the rise of the antichrist will be. But we do know the signs of the times, and everything points to the prophesied events happening very soon. Are you ready for the rapture? Have you been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb? Jesus has prepared for himself a bride whose clothes are white by the his precious blood. If Jesus called his church home today, are you ready to rise and meet him in the air? Are you ready to meet you Saviour if the trumpet of the Lord sounds today? Now is the time to be prepared for the soon coming of the Lord Jesus.
3014 E Street Philadelphia, PA 19134 Church Office Phone: (215) 634-3637 Published by: Rev. LeRoy D. Cressy (215) 535-4037
Services:
Sunday School . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10:30 AM
Sunday Morning Worship . . . . . . . . . . 12 NOON
Sunday Evening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:30 PM
Wednesday Evening . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:30 PM