THE MARK OF THE BEAST
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead;
Rev 13:17 and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, even the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Since the consequences of taking the mark appear to be significant, serious, and for all of eternity, it is certainly in our best interest to attempt to figure out what it is, and then to determine in our hearts ahead of time NOT to receive it, no matter what the temporal consequences are going to be.
Rev 14:9 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,
Rev 14:10 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:
Rev 14:11 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.
There are several ways that we will be able to identify the “mark” of the Beast. First, it will be an actual MARK on your body.
MARK: G5480, charagma
Thayer Definition:
- a stamp, an imprinted mark
1a) of the mark stamped on the forehead or the right hand as the badge of the followers of the Antichrist
1b) the mark branded upon horses - thing carved, sculpture, graven work
2a) of idolatrous images
It is interesting that the Greek word “charagma” can mean a “mark”, or a “brand”, or something “graven”, similar to a graven image.
Lev 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
Cuts, brands, and tattoos have been used for thousands of years by pagan societies as identifiers, as marks of ownership, as magical protection, and simply as artwork. You can study nearly every ancient society before the advent of Christianity, and you will discover marking of the body in some form or other.
(M182) § 226. If a brander has cut out a mark on a slave, without the consent of his owner, that brander shall have his hands cut off. Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters by C. H. W. Johns, 1904.
The second way to identify the “mark” of the Beast, is the statement that it will be placed upon the right hand OR the forehead.
In the “slave” states of the early United States of America, runaway slaves were often branded with a large “R”, for “runaway”, on their foreheads.
It should be extremely interesting to students of the Bible that there has been an explosion of tattooing in the last twenty or thirty years all over the world. Could it be that humanity is being prepared for something that will occur in the not too distant future?
The most common reason people were branded or “marked” in ancient times was because they could not repay a debt, and therefore, they were required to “work” their debts off, either over a certain period of time, or for the rest of their life.
(M139) § 151. If a woman, who is living in a man's house, has persuaded her husband to bind himself, and grant her a deed to the effect that she shall not be held for debt by a creditor of her husband's; if that man had a debt upon him before he married that woman, his creditor shall not take his wife for it. Also, if that woman had a debt upon her before she entered that man's house, her creditor shall not take her husband for it. Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Letters by C. H. W. Johns, 1904.
Therefore, in ancient times, the following Biblical proverb was “literally true!”
Pro_22:7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. English Standard Version.
All through history, these types of marks were normally required only for members of society that had little or no power in the culture, in North America for example, slaves, prisoners, and some Native Americans on reservations, were often marked with brands, or tattoos. Nobody else was “required” to be marked by the government.
This brings us to the third method to identify the “mark” of the Beast. EVERYONE will be required to have it! The Book of Revelation says that everyone from the least to the greatest will either take the mark or they will DIE!
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead;
It will not matter how many billions of dollars you have. It will not matter how popular or famous you are. It will not matter how much political or economic power that you may have or control, you WILL be REQUIRED to take the mark.
This brings us to the fourth method to identify the “mark” of the Beast. You will be completely cut off from commerce and business if you do not have the “mark”.
Rev 13:17 and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, even the name of the beast or the number of his name.
Currently, it would be impossible to stop people from conducting business in private or even publically. Why? If you have cash, you can buy nearly anything you desire in modern society. It does not matter whether what you want is legal or illegal. Therefore, there are huge BLACK MARKETS in every country on earth.
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a market characterized by some form of noncompliant behavior with an institutional set of rules… The literature on the black market has not established a common terminology and has instead offered many synonyms including: subterranean; hidden; grey; shadow; informal; clandestine; illegal; unobserved; unreported; unrecorded; second; parallel and black. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_market.
However, there is a big push to eliminate cash money because governments cannot track cash transactions, and more importantly, governments cannot TAX cash transactions unless they are reported by one of the parties to the transaction.
Economic uncertainty around the globe has raised concerns that consumers could take cash out of banks – especially in negative interest rate envrionments — and hoard it. Eliminating cash is one way to reduce that risk. Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are already considering it, while the European Central Bank is considering getting rid of large-denomination bills. https://hbr.org/2016/05/the-countries-that-would-profit-most-from-a-cashless-world.
I believe an event will occur in the future that will make ALL CASH ON EARTH WORTHLESS! This event will set the stage for cashless commerce worldwide and it will pave the way for the implementation of the “mark” of the Beast. More about that in next week’s article. The final way to identify the “mark” of the Beast is the PENALTY for not accepting it.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
The Book of Revelation identifies the fifth method to identify the “mark” of the Beast. Apparently, the penalty for NOT taking the mark of the Beast is capital punishment, more specifically, BEHEADING. Also, it appears that witnessing about Jesus, or the Word of God, will also be punishable by beheading. Therefore, it should be fairly easy to identify the “mark” of the Beast because if you refuse to take it, the punishment will be DEATH.
Finally, the “mark” of the Beast is associated with WORSHIPPING A MAN AND HIS IMAGE.
Rev 14:9 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,
WORSHIP: G4352, proskuneō
pros-koo-neh'-o
From G4314 and probably a derivative of G2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his masters hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.
It is pretty clear in the Bible that WORSHIP is reserved ONLY to God:
Exo 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
In Christian countries, the practice of prostrating oneself in the presence of a man would be embarrassing to both parties. However, in the near future, a man will demand that you prostrate yourself, not only to him, but to his image.
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
If you believe it could never happen here, or it could never happen in modern times, then quite frankly, you are a FOOL, and you will be totally unprepared when this event takes place. Let’s summarize how to identify the “MARK OF THE BEAST”:
- It will be an actual MARK on the skin.
- It will be placed on the RIGHT HAND or FOREHEAD.
- EVERYONE ON EARTH will be required to have it.
- You will be EXCLUDED FROM COMMERCE if you do not receive it.
- The PENALTY IS DEATH if you refuse it.
- Taking the mark will be associated with the WORSHIP OF A MAN.
There has been much speculation over the last two thousand years about the mark of the beast, but I believe it will be very obvious to any Christian who is familiar with the Bible. If you claim to be a Christian, and do not know how to identify the mark of the beast, you should spend some quality time familiarizing yourself with these prophecies because all these things are rapidly coming to a conclusion, and what you know and do will determine whether you enjoy eternal life, or everlasting damnation.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.