Be Clear About The Mark of The Beast

http://billrandles.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/be-clear-about-the-mark-rev-14/ ^ | 12-06-13 | Bill Randles

[pastorbillrandles]

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.(2 Thess 2:11-12)

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.(Revelation 14:9-11)

A few days ago, in a blog article I commented upon the trend among many among Evangelicals and Pentecostals of succumbing to evil in so many current controversial issues. If these religious leaders can find ways to unite with Islam (Chrislam) and can seek to be reconciled with unrepentant and practicing Sodomites, (N.A.L.T.) in the face of the clear New Testament warnings, What else remains of the Christian faith is there to deny?

I then posited that the next thing we knew there would be those among us who would rise up to assure Christians that it would be alright to take the Mark of the Beast.

I am appalled to have to report to you that in the responses to my last article, I was informed that this is already happening, there are already prominent Christian teachers on record who do advise that it is possible to take the Mark of the Beast and yet to be saved after having done so!

Here is a Link to a discussion between Brannon Howse, Jimmy Deyoung, about a teaching Q/A by John MacArthur, in which all agree that it is possible to take the Mark of the Beast and still be saved! Outrage;John MacArthur

I have long respected MacArthur, and hope that he will soon retract his rash and irresponsible teaching on this point. It is shocking that a minister who is otherwise so well-known for his respectful treatment of scripture and his bold stand for Jesus would be teaching this!* MacArthur has long taught through scripture and his Grace to You program has been a source of feeding for hundreds of thousands of God’s sheep.

To be fair to MacArthur, he isn’t cavalier about taking the Mark. He merely denies that taking the Mark is an irrevocable and unforgivable action. Here is GTY’s official response to those who object to MacArthur’s teaching on the Mark,

Unforgivable? by Phil Johnson

Several years ago in a live Q&A session, someone asked John MacArthur if taking the mark of the Beast during the Great Tribulation would be an unpardonable sin. His answer, in short, was no. Though there is a stern warning against taking the mark of the Beast in Revelation 14, the sin is not categorically said to be unpardonable. (That would contradict Matthew 12:31.) The point of the severe language in Revelation 14 is to make clear what an utterly reprehensible sin it will be to swear an oath of willful loyalty to Antichrist… (click link for the rest of the statement).

What are we to make of this confusion about something so seemingly so clearly taught in scripture?

* We must be very near the time of the test warned of in Revelation 13, the imposition of the Religio/Political/Economic system which will impose on all, the Mark of the Beast.

This is what christians have been conditioned for in the countless accommodations by so many leaders to other things clearly rejected in scripture, such as union with false religion and accommodation by the church of sexual perversions, or they dare to lead congregations to reject things emphatically taught in scripture, such as Hell and final judgment..

But bold pseudo leaders leaders rise up and decide (for all of us) that the time for our (the church’s) ignorance, and prejudice is over, it is time to be responsible and for the church to get with the times, and accommodate what scripture clearly forbids.

Acceptance of the Mark of the Beast is just the last in a long line of this kind of leadership.

* We need to be clear about the Mark of the Beast, we can’t afford to allow any confusion about it.

God so wants us to be aware of the danger of accepting the Mark, He will commission Angels in the last days, to warn people of the eternal and irrevocable danger to all who would take the Mark of the Beast.

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.( Revelation 14:9-11)

How could God be any clearer? There will be astonishing pressures upon people; buying and selling in the conventional way will become impossible without the Mark, therefore people will look about for any kind of justification for violating this clear Word of scripture, just as some churches found ways to justify rejecting the Biblical teachings on Hell, Homosexuality, and prohibitions of interfaith unity.

Perhaps this is why the Lord resorts to such etra-ordinary means, Angelic Heralds flying through the sky , warning of the everlasting punishment on all those who took the Mark of the Beast.

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.(Revelation 20:4)

*The Mark of the Beast is something to Overcome…

And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.(Revelation 15:2)

Prepare now to reject the Mark with all of your being! There are some things worse than death, such as everlasting judgment.

The scripture talks about “receiving the Mark”, thus it is not imposed on anyone, all are given a clear choice to accept or reject it. The Mark of the Beast is the final watershed, man’s last chance to take God’s side or the devil’s. I hope and pray this encourages much conversation and prayer.

[RoosterRedux]

And the number 666 seen by John was written down as "chi xi stigma" (no, no sigma). Here is how it looks in Greek...

Notice the similarity to the Name of the Islamic Allah in Arabic...

Just saying...

[spacejunkie2001]

You make a good point that so many will be completely beholden to some sort of gov’t entity which really leads me to believe that the mark is not necessarily “agreement” with the gov’t as God makes clear that he puts all kings in place and removes all kings. It is tied directly to believing in Satan as your god than the one true God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

[Former Fetus]

The harvest can be a very broad term, including different crops at different times. If you can find the Church on earth anywhere in Revelation 4-19, please let me know.

[spacejunkie2001]

You are tricking yourself into believing that you will magically escape what’s coming and I am lovingly telling you beware. Do not be deceived. We are all here until His return and his return is only once (not a secret ‘psst, come here’ from the clouds) and all eyes will see and all ears will hear.

[MaxMax]

I don’t think the mark of the beast is what we think it is from the original translation. Man will know it but not in our lifetimes.

[Former Fetus]

I appreciate your warning. At the same time, He's promised to spare us from the wrath to come and I firmly believe His promise. Even if I had to go through the Tribulation I would do so knowing that I am in the palm of His hand. But, He's promised that I wouldn't have to go through it and His word is enough for me.

Someone asked me a good while back what would I do if I found out I was wrong (i.e. if I found myself living during the Tribulation). I answered that I would run to the closest tatoo parlor, and have "Jesus is Lord" tattooed on my right hand! That would take care of this Mark business. But, like I said, I don't expect to be here at the time, so it's just talking!

[spacejunkie2001]

Wouldn’t it be grand if we missed what he warns of by being removed? I would truly love to know we escape it that way but I actually believe the “wrath” is the destruction of the earth at Jesus’ return. All elements will melt with a fervent heat, etc.

We’ve had tribulation since the beginning of time and no one escaped it by leaving but we were protected from what God brought. Just like in Ezekiel how those of us that sighed and cried had our foreheads marked so we would be protected. Or the children of Israel in Egypt when the plagues were poured out, they were unscathed. Or the blood on the doorpost to protect the babies of Israel.

You get the picture. I believe we’re here and need to be ‘sober and vigilant’ and we may lose that edge and our sight will grow dim, if we think we get to miss it by being removed.

Anyhoo...I’m not picking on you ( and hopefully you don’t think I am) but I do think we can ALL succumb to deception if we’re not diligent and I think we’re being deceived when we believe we skirt the end times.

[spacejunkie2001]

By the way, I know alot of the pretrib people look to the scripture about meeting Jesus in the clouds but the word ‘meet’ in the Greek is the same word used in reference to going to meet an official or important person and then bring them back. It’s the same word for the prodigal son. His father ran to meet him and brought him back.

[Former Fetus]

Let's agree that we disagree on the interpretation of Scriptures. By the time it happens nobody will feel like going to the other person and say "I told you so", either because that person will be with Jesus or because will have more pressing problems. The important thing is to know that one day we'll be with Jesus for eternity. Even if we have 7 more years than planned, what would be that compared to eternity?

I'm not looking for the easy way out, but in years I have never changed the mind of a mid or post tribulation believer... and neither have they changed mine. What really matters is that all of us believe Jesus is coming back, and when He does, everything else will be just academic!

[Boowhoknew]

about 8 years ago, I saw a ad for Visa,touting the development work on a digital ID that would be using hand chip or eye recognition to verify you as the person who is the owner of you visa account. Brought the whole mark thing to mind. The ad stated the system was ready to implement in the near future.

[Mom MD]

No one will accidentally take the mark or have it imposed against their will. God is not capricious. Those who take the mark will have full knowledge of what they are doing, and will have been warned of the consequences before doing so.

[Star Traveler]

There’s lots of technology out there, which can be used. And I’m sure more technology will be invented for business and economic reasons. I don’t have a problem with the technology, actually. What I have a problem with is the worship of the beast, who is directly empowered by Satan himself - very literally so.

To go further ... we cannot identify what technology is going to be used by Satan, in order to provide the fulfillment of this prophecy that God has told us about.

That’s why I say we don’t know what the mark of the beast is - because Satan has not revealed the choice right now. It will be revealed what that choice of Satan is and what that mark consists of — WHEN Satan links some technology up with the worship of the beast - and this combination is then tied into whether that person can buy or sell, as a direct result of their choice (of worshipping the beast or not).

WHEN you see the angels announcing their message from God - around the world - THEN at that time it will be absolutely clear what that mark is and that the “choice” to worship the beast (or not) - has finally arrived.

Those angels, sent from God, with His message — is going to be your sign as to when this is happening.

[CynicalBear]

>>Keep in mind that this is the same language and the same word used for the Mark of God "in" the forehead of believers in Rev 7:3, Rev 9:4, and Rev 14:1.

According to Strong, Thayer, NASEC, and all others I could find the word used in all of those verses is epi (ἐπί) and means on, or upon. Of the 896 instances of the use of that word in scripture not once is it translated by them as in nor should it be.

[RoosterRedux]

For some reason, only the translators of the King James Version and the Vulgate (St Jerome) used the word "in" as opposed to "on" in the subject verses.

None of the other versions do.

That said, the Seal of God may not mean a visible seal on the skin but a Seal in the Mind...same for the Mark of the Beast.

[Georgia Girl 2]

RFID chip, permanent indelible ink or invisible bar code, brand or tatoo that you willingly accept. And there will be a lot of people that will willingly accept it to feed their children.

You take the mark and you are done. Don’t let anybody tell you different.

[CynicalBear]

>>I would truly love to know we escape it that way but I actually believe the “wrath” is the destruction of the earth at Jesus’ return.<<

The wrath of God already started with seals at the beginning of the tribulation.

Revelation 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

>>We’ve had tribulation since the beginning of time<<

Tribulation yes but never the wrath of God against faithful believers as will be the case during the last seven years. Never has any group had to suffer the wrath of God and He has promised to never subject them to it. In fact, we have been promised to be kept from or escape the wrath to come.

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape (ekpheugó) all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Ekpheugó - I flee out, away, I escape

In Revelation 3:10 we are told that those who are faithful will kept from. The Greek text actually says “out of the hour of the trial”.

Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth

See also Matthew 3:7, Matthew 24:21-22, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Matthew 24:13, Acts 2:21, 1 Thessalonians 5:9.

Scripture tells us that what is coming has never been before and will never be again after that.

Matthew 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Mark 13:19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

If you think this world has seen tribulation and that somehow says we will go through what is coming you haven’t seen anything yet and need to pray to be worthy to be taken “out of the hour of trial”. Faithful followers of Christ will be removed from this earth prior to what is coming on the unbelieving world.

[CynicalBear]

>>By the way, I know alot of the pretrib people look to the scripture about meeting Jesus in the clouds but the word ‘meet’ in the Greek is the same word used in reference to going to meet an official or important person and then bring them back. It’s the same word for the prodigal son. His father ran to meet him and brought him back.<<

You evidently missed the part about “so shall we ever be with the Lord”. The Greek text actually reads “and so always with the Lord we will be”.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

That “meeting” results in forever being with the Lord.

[CynicalBear]

>>That said, the Seal of God may not mean a visible seal on the skin but a Seal in the Mind...same for the Mark of the Beast.<<

I have often pondered that myself but keep coming back to the fact that it has to be something seen and verifiable or how do they keep people from buying and selling?

[Former Fetus]

Thanks for taking the time to write a great post. I should be ashamed that I said “I’ve never convinced a mid or post-trib believer” instead of trying! You did a great job of presenting the information and that’s all a person can do. Can’t wait to meet you on that day!

[RoosterRedux]

That's an excellent point.

I usually come back around to the concept that the Mark of the Beast is a symbol (visible or not) of one's commitment to Satan. And any actions that follow (like supporting Obama) would have benefits...just as a commitment to God (as evidenced by actions) would have consequences (like being investigated by the IRS).;-)