Mark of The Beast
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There is a fable that is told about boiling a frog in water
The point of this fable is that when you boil a frog in water you can’t stick the frog into water that is boiling already
When the frog hits the water it will immediately jump out
But if you place the frog in cold water and slowly turn up the temperature before you know it the frog is being boiled in water
Today we are going to examine the question is the vaccine the Mark of the Beast
Now the focus of this will not be the vaccine
I personally believe there is a lot of false misinformation being given concerning this vaccine
Many people have sent me many videos and things written that bring many questions to mind
I have told people from the beginning concerning the vaccine that it is important to seek the leading of the Lord and not be driven by fear
In every decision we make in life seeking the Lord is of the utmost importance
I personally have made the decision not to get the vaccine
Based on my age, health, and previously having covid I believe that the way God designed my immune system that it will protect me from future encounters with Covid
But what I want to examine today is what is the Mark of the Beast
A wrong understanding of scripture and especially bible prophecy can lead to confusion which can cause a person to walk in fear
But I believe when we have a right understanding of God’s word, we will walk in truth, be filled with the peace and love of God, and be able to be a light in a great time of darkness
In Revelation 13:16-17
And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,
and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
If we are truly to understand what the Mark of the Beast is which is described in Revelation 13:16-17 then we need to understand the context of what we are reading
Often if a person takes a scripture verse out of the bible without understanding the context, they can come to a wrong conclusion and misunderstanding concerning what God’s word says
The first thing we have to look at is the he mentioned in verse 16
It says in Revelation 13:16
And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,
The he mentioned here is referring to the false prophet
To fully understand who the false prophet is we need to go to the beginning of Revelation chapter 13
And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.
I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”
There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.
It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.
All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.
If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.
The beginning of Revelation 13 speaks about the coming of the Anti-Christ.
Some interpret the beast mentioned here as a governmental system
But when we examine other passages concerning the anti-Christ we know that it speaks of an individual who will arise on the earth to power and will be worshipped by those on the earth
Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4
Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,
that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
Paul speaks of a man of lawlessness
He will exalt himself above God
Daniel writes in Daniel 7:8
“While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.
This individual who rises as the Anti-Christ upon the earth will be empowered by Satan
In Revelation 13:4
they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?”
In Revelation 12:3
Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.
This description of the dragon which is Satan is almost the same description of the beast that comes out of the sea
This individual known as the Anti-Christ will not arise until the tribulation period
Again in 2 Thessalonians Paul states that the one who is known as the man of lawlessness will not arise until the great falling away happens
The Thessalonian believers throught they were living through the day of the Lord
They lived under the rule of the Roman Emperor
They experienced incredible persecution and suffering
But Paul writes these words in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Paul wrote these words to comfort the believers because they believed they were living through the tribulation period
For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Paul says that we were not destined for wrath
Because of the sacrifice of Jesus and coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ we have been saved from the wrath of God
The tribulation period upon the earth will be a time of God’s wrath poured out upon the earth
The individual known as the anti-Christ will come initial and be received by the world as a man of peace
He will be seen as the savior of humanity
He will even establish a seven year peace agreement with the nation of Israel
I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;
This antiChrist individual will seem as if he has a mortal wound
What we have is the Unholy Trinity of the dragon, the anti-Christ, and the false prophet
The dragon is what God the Father is in the trinity
The anti-Christ is the opposite of Jesus
Just as Jesus conquered death through the resurrection
The anti-Christ will deceive the world into believing he has overcome death
For it says he will have a mortal wound and it was healed
The false prophet is like the Holy Spirit
The role of the false prophet is to cause the world to worship the anti-Christ
It even says in Revelation 13:7 that he will make war with the saints and to overcome them
For a period of time it will seem like the anti-Christ is an unstoppable force upon the earth
He will be empowered by Satan himself and Satan will believe he has finally gained what he has always wanted: to be worshipped
But it is God who allows this to happen
We see her it mentions 42 months
42 months is the last half of the seven year tribulation period
It is known as the great tribulation
For it is during the great tribulation that the anti-Christ moves from seeming like a man of peace to a satanically enpowered individual who requires the worship of the world
In Revelation 13:11-15
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon.
He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.
He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.
And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.
And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
The second beast spoken of in Revelation is the false prophet of the tribulation period
It states he will have two horns like a lamb but will speak as a dragon
He will be satanically empowered
He will deceive the world to worship the beast
He will even be able to perform great signs and wonders
It even says he will make fire come down from heaven
This reminds us of the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel
It was upon Mount Carmel that Elijah faced off against the 450 prophets of Baal
On the mountain the true God would answer by fire
Elijah called fire down from heaven and on that day Israel turned their heart back to the Lord
But during the great tribulation these signs and wonders will be used to deceive the world into worshipping the beast
An image of the beast will be made and the false prophet will be given power and authority to give breath to the image to not only speak but to kill those who will not worship
Examining all of this we see that the he of verse 16 is the false prophet
In verse 16 it says the small and the great, the rich and the power, and the freemen and slaves will be given a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads
This mark will be required by all
The mark signifies ownership and allegiance
Earlier in Revelation 7:3 it speaks of the 144000 witnesses from the twelve tribes of Israel who were sealed on their foreheads
They were sealed because they belong to the Living God
But here in Revelation 13:16 we see the Mark of the Beast is given to all those who give their allegiance to the Beast
and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
If a person doesn’t take the mark of the Beast they will not be able to buy or to sell without the Mark
In Revelation 13:18
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.
Many have tried to figure out and calculate the meaning of the Mark based on the numbers 666.
I believe this is not the reason God has given us this number
To spend countless hours trying to determine who the anti-Christ is is foolishness
I believe the reason the Lord gave us the number 666 is because the number for perfection or completion in the bible is 7
7 points to the fullness of who God is
But the number 6 is the day on which man was created
It is man’s number
This 666 represents the unholy trinity
What is important is for us to understand when the mark of the Beast will come
It will not come until the anti-Christ rises to power on the earth
It will not come until the second half of the tribulation period or the last 42 months
Is the vaccine the Mark of the beast?
The answer is no
But what I believe is happening in the world is that the world is being conditioned to someday receive the mark of the beast
Every day we move closer and closer to a one world governement
All that is happening on the earth now is for the purpose of destabilizing governments and nations which creates a dynamic for an individual to arise who would seem like he is the savior of the world
As Christians we are not called to look to the coming of the Anti-Christ
We are called to look to the return of Jesus Christ
I believe in all of my heart that the bride of Christ will be raptured before the tribulation period begins
Some would disagree with me
I have heard many of their arguments and their interpretations from scriptures
Today I do not have the time to share my defense of the rapture of the church
But I truly believe in all my heart if we are walking with Christ daily, growing in deep intimacy with Him, abiding in the truth, that we will be protected from the great deceptions that exist now upon the earth