First Meeting of 2009

KFB Study January 8,09

The first Koinonia Fellowship Bible Study of 2009 met in the home of Myron and Ruth Hostetter on Thursday evening, January 8th.
Myron was the moderator for this session. He gave a brief monologue covering the purpose of why we were meeting. The goal, he said, was to make our Christianity practical in helpful ways to the community around us. He opened with Esther 4:14, … “for such a time as this”, challenging us with the fact that we have been chosen by God to serve in these chaotic times.
How are we to respond to a society in chaos? With fear? Instead he gave us Luke 21:28 as the antidote to fear mongering.
A copy of the following sheet was then given to everyone.

A World In Crisis – Chaos
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Lu 21:28)
Some Topics to be considered for Discussed in the Coming Weeks
• Cash withdrawal from your bank unavailable or severely regulated
• Food shortages
• Housing shortage
• Lawlessness on the rise
• Medications cost skyrocketing, or not available
• National I. D. Cards / tracking chip inserted at birth / personal I.D. number
• Oil prices of $5.00+ per gallon
• Religious freedom, Erosion of personal freedoms / marshal law
Christian and home-schooling choice severely regulated or illegal
• Suicides: increase in Anger, Depression, Hopelessness
• Technology … how will it change our lifestyle? Cell phones, ipod, etc.
• Other …Fill in YOUR topic of interest.

Discussion:
John Strickler opened with a relevant question. How specific should our preparation be?
Can we be specific? Should we not rather focus upon our relationship with Christ?
John gave the example of Daniel and the three Hebrew lads not knowing what their
challenge would be but nevertheless being able to respond to the lions den and
the fiery furnace.

This lead to a lively discussion. Trust John to be a catalyst!
Responses to John’s questions:
Rick / Kathy … salvation must come first, our relationship with Christ is all important, faith/works
go together … specifics come out of our relationship with Christ
Donald … Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
We should have an ability to plan, then adjust to our plan.
Dan … the ant prepares for winter, Noah built an ark for the coming flood, God gave us
Matthew 5,6,7, specific instructions for the end times, last day’s scenario,
Jesus said the laborers are few.
Myron ..What are laborers to do?
Jake … we need to help others when we see a need.

Donald then shifted the focus of the evening by zeroing in on the matter of a National I.D. card
or an implanted chip.
Ric gave information and examples of how National security or tracking technology is already
available and in some cases being used. Explained the difference between the Internet
and the Intranet. He explained it in the following way. The public uses Internet; Intranet is a governmental system that is closed and secret, used only by authorized personnel with a “need to know.”

Both Ric and Donald pointed out that information chips have already been implanted and are
being used for various purposes. Used for marketing purposes and inventory tracking.
Also used to track children as a security method.
Donald asserted that it’s already ‘global’.

Question? What is the mark of the beast?
If a chip is implanted in a baby at birth, is this the, ‘Mark’?
Must there be specific intent on the part of the implanter stating that this implant
is a sign that we have rejected our Christian faith?

Kathy … I.D. cards and implanted tracking chips o.k. However, if they’re specific reason is to
indicate we reject our Christian faith we cannot receive them.

Group consensus on global I.D. cards and chip implantation:

People must know and be able to chose or reject; card, implantation or mark, that is
issued by a controlling, anti God movement for the specific purpose of causing us to rejecting our belief In Christ. The avowed purpose for the I.D. chip or mark must be to receive the “mark of the beast.”
A believer must be able to say ‘no’ to card or chip. Thus a baby receiving one at birth
Cannot make a spiritual decision and is not accountable for having one implanted. Since this is true, a chip implanted at birth cannot be the ‘Mark’.

Though a global I.D. card or chip implantation may be invasive of our privacy, and may
be used for tracking purposes of some kind, this is not necessarily the mark of the beast
and as law-abiding citizens, we must obey the law.

Myron offers this dissenting viewpoint:
Since the Bible talks about being unable to ‘buy or sell’ without this ‘mark’, be it I.D. card
or chip implantation, does it not make any such device The Mark of the Beast by its very
nature?
Re 13:17* 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.
Perhaps more prayer and study need to be done before a decision is made about what the ‘Mark’ consists of.
It was certainly a very interesting evening with lively discussion of various viewpoints.

Discussion topic for week 2. / Myron handed out a sheet on the topic, “the Sovereignty of God”
Next meeting will be in the home of Myron and Ruth on January 15th, Lord willing.

Those attending this meeting were:
Ric and Kathy Fogie, David Fry, Dan Moyer, Esther Shirk, John Strickler, Donald Sauder, Jacob Dietz and Myron and Ruth Hostetter