MARK OF GOD OR MARK OF THE BEAST

By Betty Miller

Introduction

Much has been said on this subject of the mark of the beast, but little said about the mark of God. Will there be a literal mark tattooed on people's foreheads and/or their hands in these end times to make it possible to buy and sell in a one-world monetary system that is being set up by an antichrist?

We can certainly see the possibilities of this becoming a literal reality in our day with the technology of laser beam tattoos and our president speaking of a "new world order." Even now, pets can be tracked by tiny computer chips about the size of a grain of rice which have an identification number programmed into it that can be injected under the skin with a hypodermic needle. A special scanner generates a radio signal that reads the number through the skin of the animal when it is found.

This is not disputing the possibilities of a literal tattoo, but rather exposing the spiritual implications behind that plan of Satan. How will this come about? Will it be one of the above new technologies or something yet to come? We don't believe men are going to be tattooed or branded with a literal set of three sixes on their foreheads or hands, any more than we believe the letters J-E-S-U-S will be on the foreheads of God's servants as spoken of in Revelation 22: 3-4: "And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads."

How will the beast mark those who follow him, and what is the mark of God set upon those who follow Christ? Let us begin with the mark of the beast, then look at how we are to receive God's mark which protects us from destruction in these end times.

Throughout the Scriptures, the word beast refers to a system, and not to a man. The beast is a system that rules the world; it's an antichrist system. Daniel 7 speaks of beasts and identifies them as earthly kingdoms. So the beast in Revelation is a beastly system that's ruling the world (it's a dictator beast). This beast is not just one human being, rather it is a system that has infiltrated every area whether it be politics, medicine, art or science; the beastly system is everywhere. This system is typically overseen by a powerful government with those in power making decisions that perpetrate the worldly system throughout mankind. When Revelation 13:1 speaks of the beast rising up out of the sea, what is meant by the sea? The Scriptures speak of the sea as "masses of humanity." This beastly system is rising up out of humanity, out of all the people on the earth. When John, the author of Revelation, stood upon the sand of the sea, he was standing upon that which could not be numbered, among all the people of the earth.

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CHAPTER ONE

Scripture's Description of the Beast

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.

Decoding Revelation

Revelation is a coded book. It was written for Christians so that only they could understand it. Those who do not have the Holy Spirit are bewildered by the imagery in this book of the Bible. Even as Christians we have difficulty when approaching Revelation. How do we understand its code? The Bible interprets itself so we can understand Revelation by looking to other portions of the Bible for clues to its interpretation. When we study one portion of the Bible, we can find the same truth in another portion that sheds light on what we are studying. Since Revelation is a coded book, we won't understand it without the help of God's Spirit who inspired it, plus a child-like approach to His Word. We must have God's Spirit and an understanding of the Scriptures to comprehend Revelation. Revelation was written symbolically; a great deal of it is not literal. If we don't understand that Revelation is speaking of spiritual things, then we're going to misinterpret it. We'll end up looking for literal frogs and heads and horns and an actual beast.

To illustrate a portion of the code that almost all Christians are familiar with, consider the usage of the term "lamb." We know when the Scripture refers to "the Lamb," it is symbolically referring to Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross as He was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). It is not referring to a literal lamb, the offspring of a sheep. So for us to understand the symbolism of the "beast," we must go to the Scripture for that definition. A modern-day analogy is that we could not operate a computer unless we understood computer language. We must get a Bible definition of "beast" and the Bible definition of "mark" to understand the mark of the beast.

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast rise up and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy" (Revelation 13:1).

God wants us to understand the meaning of the terms in this verse, and throughout all of Revelation. He promises that if we wholeheartedly seek Him, He will hear and answer (Jeremiah 29: 12, 13). If we want to understand, we can. It may not come all at once, but as we seek Him, He will open our eyes. One of our shortcomings as Christians is that many of us have listened to end-time teachings but never have asked the Holy Spirit if the teaching is the truth. We've considered ourselves ignorant and assumed the teachers must have all the answers. But God wants each one of us to understand His Word, and He will give us understanding as we seek Him for it. He will confirm His true teachings if we seek Him by faith and with a pure heart. We have a responsibility to "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21).

Identifying the Beast

The beast spoken of in Revelation 13:1 is not the so-called Antichrist. In fact, the word "antichrist" is not even found in Revelation. When the Bible speaks of antichrist, it speaks of " the spirit of antichrist" and speaks in the plural rather than the singular. There are several such references in 1 and 2 John.

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that anti-christ shall come, even now are there many anti-christs; whereby we know that it is the last time" (I John 2: 18).

"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is anti-christ, that denieth the Father and the Son" (1 John 2: 22).

"And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world" (1 John 4: 3).

"For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an anti-christ" (2 John 1: 7).

Throughout the Scriptures, the word "beast" refers to a system, and not to a man. The beast is a system that rules the world; it's an antichrist system. Daniel 7 speaks of beasts and identifies them as earthly kingdoms. So the beast in Revelation is a beastly system that's ruling the world (it's a dictator beast). This beast is not just one human being, rather it is a system that has infiltrated every area whether it be politics, medicine, art or science; the beastly system is everywhere. This system is typically overseen by a powerful government with those in power making decisions that perpetrate the worldly system throughout mankind.

When Revelation 13:1 speaks of the beast rising up out of the sea, what is meant by the sea? The Scriptures speak of the sea as "masses of humanity." This beastly system is rising up out of humanity, out of all the people on the earth. When John, the author of Revelation, stood upon the sand of the sea, he was standing upon that which could not be numbered, among all the people of the earth.

Symbolism of Numbers in Scripture

This beast rising up out of the sea has seven heads (Revelation 13:1). Numbers are often symbolic in the Scriptures with the number seven standing for perfection, completion. For example, when Jesus told Peter to forgive "seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:21-22, "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."); He did not mean to forgive 490 times. He was telling Peter to forgive completely and perfectly. To the Jew, numbers were descriptions rather than mathematics as each number represented something. Since we will be dealing with several of these symbolic numbers in this chapter, listed below are the Jewish equivalents for each number (see glossary for detailed definitions):

1.) One symbolizes new beginnings and unity.

2.) Two symbolizes witness and division.

3.) Three symbolizes divinity, heaven and God.

4.) Four symbolizes earth and man.

5.) Five symbolizes grace and favor.

6.) Six symbolizes the world and is man's number; it falls short of seven; therefore, it is imperfection.

7.) Seven symbolizes perfection, completeness and abundance.

8.) Ten symbolizes obedience, completeness of order.

9.) Twelve symbolizes government, authority.

10.) Three and a half, being half of seven (perfection), is an indefinite period of time; it is a number of trouble and judgment.

When the beast is described as having seven heads, it speaks of completion or fullness of the wickedness and evil. Heads refer to leadership, to governments and to ruling. When we refer to the head of an organization or a group, we're speaking of the leadership. So seven heads would refer to fullness of governments. Seven heads mean the governments of the whole world (a New World order?). The headship of the governments is upon the beast. The ruling governments are right in the midst of the beastly system. In man's eyes, some governments are good and some evil. But in God's eyes they're all evil because they're not performing the will of God. No country is truly doing the will of God, even my own country which I do love and pray for. Of course, some governments are better than others because of the greater freedom they allow.

The beast in Revelation has ten horns. In the Bible, horns are symbolic of countries with world power and influence. A horn does not represent the whole beastly system that pervades the earth, but rather a country. A little horn would represent a little country. The countries have influence, but not as much as the whole power of the beast. So when the beast is seen with ten horns it speaks of influential countries in the world that are part of the system of the beast. One meaning of the number ten is completeness of order, so ten horns indicate how complete the involvement of smaller countries is with the beast, just as the seven heads of the beast show the involvement of major world powers.

Upon the horns are ten crowns. Crowns stand for authority and political influence. So we further see the beast system coming through the authority in the world, the governmental and political system.

The Name of Blasphemy

The name of blasphemy is seen upon the heads. There's not a country in the world that's doing the will of God. They're all part of the beast system. To blaspheme is to speak irreverently or profanely of God, or to attribute something to God that is not of Him. An example is Saddam Hussein stating that God was on their side in the Persian Gulf War (1991) and therefore they would win. Allah, Saddam's god, is a false god as the war proved. However, America's winning the war doesn't prove America to be a Christian nation. We are blaspheming God by calling ourselves a Christian nation when our greed, materialism, drunkenness, addiction, murder, abortion, pride, etc. prove otherwise. We won the war because of a holy nation within this nation, that is, God's true praying people who were interceding not only for all Americans and allies, but also for the Arabs because we desire to see all men come to the knowledge of the true and living God. The beast does things in the name of God, yet is blasphemous because the motives are wrong. Currently no nation or country is primarily concerned about the gospel going forth as its main focus. (We do see God's people -- His holy nation -- from every country with that concern.) We know the nations of the world won't do God's will until Christ returns and His millennial reign is established.

We're to be preparing for Christ's return when God will set up His authority on the earth. The earth will have a theocracy; being ruled by God will bring perfection into the earth. But until that day, none of the earthly authority is pleasing to God. All of it is blasphemy. Even in the better countries there's evil within the system. In our own country of America we're seeing much sin being uncovered that's within the system.

The Beastly System World-Wide

We see, then, that we're not looking for an antichrist; we're looking for a beastly system. And it's already here. In error, people have been naming specific individuals as the antichrist, such as Hitler or even Hussein. Such individuals are all part of the beast system, but it's not a single person we're looking for. The beast is everywhere and we've all been contaminated to varying degrees by that system. People don't even realize they're being contaminated as they give heed to the thinking of the world's political and social leaders. They're receiving the system into their minds, then doing the works of the devil because they've unknowingly picked up his thinking.

The devil has so deceived the world, even the church. For example, even the church is full of divorces because the government and society say it's acceptable. They also say abortions are acceptable, so we have abortions even in the church. The beastly system has crept into the church and we're being marked by it. Many have it in their minds that divorce and abortion are acceptable, then they've committed those deeds with their hands. They've been marked in their minds and on their hands without even knowing it. They're waiting for some tattoo, thinking they'll refuse it when it comes, yet they're already receiving the spiritual mark of the beast. Should they come to a literal mark, they'll not be able to refuse it because the beast system has already become such a part of them. If we're not getting our minds marked with the Word of God (reading and meditating in the Bible and obeying it's commands), when the hour comes for a literal mark we'll not be able to say no to the system.

The system has become such a part of us. The government takes care of us. It has become God to many. The government takes care of the sick; they perform many social works; they handle much of retirement through social security here in the U.S.A. Are we dependent upon the government, or are we dependent upon God Almighty to take care of us? When the whole system of this world fails (and it will because it is not based on the word of God), we'll fall with it if we're not grounded in the system of God's kingdom. It's not wrong for us to receive from the government now as long as we acknowledge God as our source and not the system. Should the system fail and we no longer have social security or other provisions from the government, those overcoming Christians who have been receiving it will simply turn to God as their source, and He will provide for them another way as their faith is in God and not the system.

Humanism Behind the Beastly System

"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" (Revelation 13:2).  Toward understanding this description, remember that Scripture interprets Scripture. In Daniel 7, four different beasts are described, beasts that represented different beastly systems. "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked" (Daniel 7:4a). In other words, that beastly system failed. "And it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it" (Daniel 7:4b). Men were behind this beastly system, men's ideas, humanism. Humanism is nothing new; it's been here from the beginning. Man has considered himself smarter than God, which is the essence of humanism.

The Beast Behind War

"And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it" (Daniel 7:5-7a). This breaking of everything into pieces indicates warring and division, everyone crushing one another which is the goal of the dragon, the devil.

These beasts are governments of the world and the devil is within them. "It had great iron teeth" - tools for devouring, for warring. "Dreadful and terrible" - when the devil gets a hold of governments, they are dreadful and terrible. Every government that exists today got its power and position by overcoming and crushing the previous government or people who existed on that land. They are all beastly.

In studying Daniel, most theologians teach that these were four different powers that each ruled for a time and then fell. These were the Babylonian empire, the Media-Persian empire, the Greek empire under Alexander the Great, and the Roman empire. I have no problem with that as many times in Scripture there is a literal application as well as a spiritual one. In fact, the writing of this book is to show the spiritual application to the mark of the beast, while not discarding the fact we can face a literal mark also. But long before we face the literal mark, many may already be marked spiritually. So deceived, they will be unable to refuse the literal mark.

Now let's consider these beasts from a spiritual perspective. A leopard, an extremely fast animal, represents speed of conquest. He takes his prey quickly. We're living in an hour when men can take their prey quickly through high tech weapons and nuclear warfare. The powerful bear has a crushing force. A bear can easily crush the life out of a man. This bear symbolizes governmental systems that can easily crush people through military force. The lion symbolizes pride, ruling with pompous power. He looks majestic in his rule, but he's not, for he also eats his prey. So it is with world governments ruling in pride and pomp, yet within they're full of evil and devouring. They devour their own. The dragon, of course, represents Satan. He's behind every one of these beastly powers.

The Beast's Head Is Wounded

"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. 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?" (Revelation 13:4).

One thing this verse speaks of is war. Jesus prophesied that before His return there would be wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24: 6). Concerning the wounding of one of the beast's heads, I believe that refers to an event that happened at Calvary. Some people try to fit all of Revelation into only the end times. But Revelation was not written just for us today; it was written for all of the church throughout history. Note how the wound came to this beast's head. Revelation 13:14 says the beast "had the wound by a sword, and did live." The dragon, which represents the devil, is part of the beast system. Who wounded the devil? Did not Jesus wound him with a crushing blow to the head? By His death on the cross, Jesus crushed Satan beneath his feet as was prophesied in Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

God's promise to Eve was that from her seed would come the one that would crush the enemy who deceived her. When Jesus died on the cross, he stripped Satan of all power. Satan was given a deadly blow. However, from there the church didn't take advantage of the truth that the enemy was stripped of his power. Because the church didn't take her authority over the defeated foe and hasn't throughout the centuries, the deadly wound was healed and the beast again raised his head.

The deadly wound came by a sword, which represents the Word of God (Ephesians 6: 17). God's Word wounded Satan and those believers who have received the truth of Satan's defeat have walked in victory. Throughout history, individuals who've recognized Satan's defeat have been victorious Christians. But the corporate church body as a whole never received the revelation of Satan's defeat. Therefore the beast's wound was healed, and Satan yet rules this earth through his beastly system. People still look at the devil and think he's going to continue ruling. But God is telling the church that we're to rise up in Jesus' name and take our authority over Satan. We're to take back control over this earth for Jesus Christ. We're to rise up and take authority over Satan in our personal lives, in our families, in our communities, in this whole world. The beast, Satan, should not be ruling anywhere; rather it's Jesus that ought to be ruling all of this earth. ("The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein" - Psalm 24:1.)

In the next few years this revelation is going to go forth through the church and we who are in Jesus Christ are going to take authority over Satan so that he no longer will rule upon this earth. Jesus is coming again to take the rule unto Himself; He's going to rule and reign in the millennium. Christ's rule on the earth will not be completely accomplished until His return, but in the meantime we're going to work toward that goal by using our authority over Satan. That's what God has called the church to do.

"Who is able to make war with him?" (Revelation 13:4b). Throughout history this has been the defeated attitude of the church. Can we overcome the enemy? Yes, we can! We've been given the authority. We haven't been using that authority, but there's coming a change in the church as God is giving us revelation of who we are in Him or who He is in us. We are overcomers!

Ruling In God's Kingdom

We are not talking about a political ruling here as the political systems of this world are going to fail. We are to rule and reign in the spirit which brings about the second coming of the Lord and the establishment of His kingdom. The tribulation period on the earth is the rooting out of those things which offend, the falling of this world's systems to make ready for the establishment of God's kingdom in the earth, and the ushering in of the millennium at Christ's return. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah was commissioned by God to do the same thing. Jeremiah 1:10 says, "See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant."

The Lord desires us, His church, to root out and pull down through our prayers those things that are hindering the kingdom of God. A good recent example of this is the coming down of the Berlin Wall and the falling of the spirit of communism that was behind it. The church's prayers can affect the political kingdoms of the world to make ready for the planting of the kingdom of God. Our prayers and obedience will hasten the coming of the Lord. "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3: 10-13).

"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" (Revelation 13:5). This 3 1/2- year period is not meant as a literal number, but rather as a spiritual one. To the Jews, 3 1/2 stood for an unknown period of troublesome times. The number also represents judgment. Since 3 1/2 is half of perfect 7, it's half of perfection - a number of trouble and judgment.

Great trouble is coming upon the earth, trouble and tribulation such as the world has never before witnessed. "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book" (Daniel 12: 1). It's not going to merely strike areas here and there as in times past, but it's going to hit on a world-wide scale. Revelation 13:5 tells us the devil will have "power...to continue" during this troublesome time. This will be so because it's going to take time before the church realizes her authority and uses it against the enemy, and it's going to take time for the church to fight her smaller battles against Satan. The enemy doesn't like it so he is trying to keep the church from pressing into that place of authority and taking this earth from him.

Legally the earth belongs to us. Jesus gave it to us. When Christ died on Calvary he gained back the earth that Adam had lost. The first Adam lost it when he sinned; the second Adam got it back. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein" (Psalm 24:1).

War On The Saints

"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God" (Revelation 13:6a).  Who's speaking in blasphemy against God? It is those who are influenced by the beastly system. It's not just one person opening his mouth. There are people blaspheming God all over this world from different segments of society and spheres of influence. Already they are blaspheming and doing blasphemous things against the church. "In blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" (Revelation 13:6b). Through those who belong to the beastly system, the devil is cursing God; he is also cursing us since we're the tabernacle spiritually, and he is cursing those who dwell in heaven.

"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" (Revelation 13:7). During the Dark Ages, the saints as a whole were not making an impact in the world. The light of Christ; Christianity, burned very low during that historical period. The devil didn't overcome every saint, but the corporate body of Christ; the church as a whole, was overcome in its public witness. But the spirit of Christ in His people can never be totally overcome; there's always a remnant that carries His light.

Satan overcoming the saints is also futuristic as I believe at some point the church's public witness will be stopped in these end times. Matthew 24: 9 says, "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." In this verse it says all nations shall hate us; that includes our so-called Christian nation, the United States. Look at the antichrist things we are doing in our nation, such as divorce, drugs, abortion, pornography, greed, materialism, etc. Already we see a segment in our society rising up against Christians for taking a stand against abortion, homosexuality, etc. The hatred against Christians has grown in the past decade in our nation in all spheres of our society.

We should not be against our nation, but love and pray for her. God instructs us as Christians to submit to the government authorities over us as long as they are not requiring us to go against the Word of God. We are to pray for these earthly organizations so we might live quiet and peaceable lives in godliness and honesty. "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty" (1 Timothy 2: 1-2). All nations will come against the public witness of Christians to kill the witness of the church. However, nothing can kill or destroy the church; she may be attacked by political power, apostate religion, temptation from the world, and disruption within from false prophets and false brethren -- in spite of all this, the church shall be victorious!

Overcoming Evil With Good

"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" (Revelation 13:8). The majority of the earth has worshipped and is worshipping the beast. The only ones who have not worshipped the beast are those whose names are written in the book of life, only those who haven't followed after the beastly system because they realize what it is. They have discernment to see it's the devil. "If any man have an ear, let him hear" (Revelation 13:9).  Whenever this phrase appears in Scripture it means we're going to have to listen with spiritual ears. What's being taught is not something literal, so we won't understand it unless our spiritual ears are open.

"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword" (Revelation 13:10a). This tells us that those who do battle with the flesh are going to lose. We cannot fight a spiritual enemy with fleshly tools. If we take the sword, we'll be killed with the sword. If we try to deal with the devil in the flesh, it will simply cause us more problems. We reap what we sow (Galatians 6: 7). "Here is the patience and the faith of the saints" (Revelation 13: 10b). We overcome the problems in our lives through faith and perseverance, not through fleshly means, not through the sword, not through taking things into our own hands, not through using the world's system. We overcome through faith and perseverance. Romans 12: 21 says, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."

The False Prophet Beast

"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" (Revelation 13:11). What beast is this? This refers to the false church, the counterfeit (the false prophet beast). This beast had two horns like a lamb meaning he looked like the church; he looked like Jesus, but he spoke as a dragon. Today in the church the dragon is speaking through many so-called pastors and church leaders (false prophets). It looks like the lamb; they've got "church" written on the outside and they perform religious ceremonies. But they're speaking like the dragon, not like the Lord.

This false church is leading millions to hell because the church members think they're on the right track and heading for heaven, yet they're being deceived. "And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast" (Revelation 13: 12a). In many countries there is a religious system that has much authority, even politically. This church power is ruling along with the government power. There are people within this church who are born-again Christians, but the church system itself is a beastly one. Many have taught that this particular religion is the beast, but it's false teachings are only a part of the beast. All false teachings and deceiving practices that have infiltrated any religious group make up the beast.

The Beast Versus the Lord

The beast is everywhere, in everything that is not of God. That's why Christians have had difficulty in trying to identify the antichrist and the beast. They've tried to label one portion of the beast as being the whole beast, when the beast is bigger than that. The beast is Satan and his influence in the world system; his control has infiltrated the whole world. However, from the leadership in this last generation of this beast system, the devil will choose one human to have more influence than others. His choice could fit the picture of the so-called end- time antichrist. He could even be inhabited by Satan himself as he arrays his last battle against God and the church; however, he will not prevail as the Lord will win the final battle.

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Revelation. 19: 11-20).

Here we see Satan's corporate body making war against God's corporate body -- the beast system with its various leaders and Satan at the head, against Christ and his full body of believers at His return. The King of kings and Lord of lords shall win! Hallelujah! Satan will not win nor will any antichrist rule this world.

Kingdom Against Kingdom

Daniel 7: 15-28 says, "I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation  of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.

I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against   them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all   kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and  he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and  shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.  But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart."

In spite of  the four kinds of beastly world systems that have attempted to rule the earth through their kings or leaders, verse 18 says, "But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever." Even though, in verse 21, Satan makes war with the saints and prevails against them for a season, Jesus, the Ancient of Days, comes in judgment with His saints and possesses the kingdom. No beast or antichrist system shall take and rule all of this earth in the end. "But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."  God's people will never be ruled by the beast or any antichrist.  Satan can rule only those marked by him, but not the whole world. God's true people will remain faithful to Christ as they are marked by God and Satan will not rule over them.

The False Church

This beast "...causeth the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed" (Revelation 13:12b). The false church, the false system, is causing millions of people to worship the devil without even realizing it. Millions think they're serving the Lord and going to heaven when in reality they're heading for hell because of the beastly system being preached throughout false churches, groups and movements. "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men" (Revelation 13:13).

How many of us realize that not all miracles are from the Lord Jesus Christ? There are counterfeit miracles caused by the devil. Satan counterfeits all the things of God. For example, if someone prays for an individual's healing and healing occurs; if that healing was not done in Jesus' name, it's a false healing. Unless healing is done in Jesus' name, it's false. These "great wonders" and "fire coming down from heaven" represent false anointing. We refer to the power of the Holy Spirit as fire, as the anointing of God. In contrast, the false anointing has fallen on the false church.

There are supernatural things happening in the false church, but God is not the source of these supernatural occurrences. The Holy Spirit will always glorify Jesus and draw attention to Him not to a man. Many present day "miracles" are not causing men to repent and turn to Jesus but rather men are seeking these "power anointings" for the excitement of a new experience. Some of these so-called "miracles from heaven" are even creeping into the true church. Deception and delusion are so strong today and many of God's people do not have the discernment they should have to recognize the source of these miracles. Many times this is because of a lack of commitment and obedience on their part. Many are being deceived because holiness and purity are not being preached. The false churches are preaching a false gospel that is ensnaring many into its web of deceit. They represent the earnest attempt of millions of people to fulfill deep and legitimate needs of the human spirit.

Image of the Beast

"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" (Revelation 13:14).  This image is not like a television image, rather it is "a likeness thereof," or "to look or become like." If we are conformed to the image of Jesus, we become like Him. "But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18). "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Colossians 3:10).

We're to take on the image of Christ. When we speak of an image, then, we're speaking about being conformed into the nature or character of another person. "That they should make an image to the beast" refers to taking on the beast's nature. There are people in the world taking on the beast's characteristics. One cannot tell them apart from Satan himself. They're acting like the devil, they're talking like the devil, they're doing the works of the devil. They've taken on the image of the beast. They look like his image, rather than the image of Christ.

In this end time, we're going to see the corporate body of Christ, His bride, coming into the image of Jesus Christ, being wholly purified and bringing God's standard into the earth. In contrast, we're going to see the corporate body of the devil coming into the devil's image. There's going to be war between these two. Individually we're already in that war which is escalating to a corporate scale.

"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak" (Revelation 13:15). This speaking forth by the beast's image is speaking that's done under the influence of Satan. There are people anointed by the devil to speak the devil's word. On the positive side, there are God's anointed apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers who are speaking His true word. On the negative, there are going to be apostles of wickedness speaking by Satan's power; "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works" (2 Corinthians 11: 13-15).

They'll be so subtle and powerful that millions will fall to this beast system. They already have, which is why people are following cults. Satan is speaking through false leaders and he's so subtle people don't realize it's 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" (Revelation 13:15b). Isn't that the work of the devil? He came to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus spoke about this in John 10:10: "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Jesus comes to give us life while the devil comes to destroy. He's out to kill all who don't serve him. But he won't succeed because God is in control of His people and the devil will not prevail against them. Luke 21:17-18 says, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish."

The Mark of the Beast

"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: 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. 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" (Revelation 13:16-18).

We cannot interpret this number (666) literally; we have to have the wisdom of God - "Here is wisdom" (Revelation 13:18a). 2 Thessalonians 2:3 speaks of "that man of sin." That word "man" in Greek is "anthropos," which can mean "mankind," a corporate body of men. It's not talking about a particular individual. "Anthropos" is the word used in 2 Timothy 3:17: "That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." "Man of God" is not referring to a man or one man, but rather to every man of God. Likewise, the number of the beast is not referring to one man; it's every man under the devil's influence and part of the beast's system.

In the Scriptures, "six" is the number representing man, so 666 stands for man at his highest level apart from God. That 666 is marked on the right hands and the foreheads representing conformity to the image of the beast, thinking Satan's thoughts and with the hands doing his evil works. Hands are symbolic of strength. The Bible tells us we're to love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our strength, and all of our mind (Luke 10: 27). The strength of my hands should be used to glorify God, but those marked by the beast will use the strength of their hands to do evil works. This describes the beastly system's infiltration into mankind. Men are being marked by the beast without even realizing it because they're expecting one individual antichrist and a literal tattoo while spiritually they are already marked by the world.  

The Number 666

Six is man's number. Symbolically, 666 is man trying to be like God, but he falls short of perfection (the number seven).  Only through Christ are we perfect, and symbolically we could be marked by His spiritual number of 777 (that is, if He were to have a number). Humanism epotimizes the pride of man, as he tries to asume the role of  God. 2 Thessalonians 2: 3-4 gives a perfect definition of humanism:

"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; 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, showing himself that he is God."

Those who allow Satan in their temple, declaring humanistic wisdom, are exalting themselves above God and opposing God.  In the following list of common humanistic teachings, we can easily see the mark of the beast.  

Humanism:

a.) Denies the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; it teaches man is God and mankind has the answers.
b.) Denies the validity of the Bible and the existence of the soul.
c.) Denies salvation, heaven and hell.
d.) Believes in no absolutes and no right or wrong (just whatever you think is right for you at the moment).
e.) Believes moral values are self-determined and you can do whatever you want (free to do your own thing, not realizing freedom requires responsibility).
f.) Wants removal of disinctive roles of male and female.
g.) Promotes all the sins of Sodom and much more -- adultery, homosexuality, bisexuality, bestiality, pornography, oral sex, etc.
h.) Believes in sexual freedom without restraints.
i.) Believes in abortion.
j.) Believes in mercy killing (euthanasia); believes in suicide as a valid option to escape pain.
k.) Believes in equal distribution of wealth to bring about equality (sowing and reaping, rewards and blessings, are eliminated.)

From this definition, we see the number of the beast that is called a "man" is a corporate man or set of men and not one man we are to look for. This "man" is already here and has always been here because he represents all those who are marked with the beastly system of Satan. In these end times he will manifest himself as "666," man at his zenith of evil in the world. Unparalleled wickedness shall be seen in the earth resulting in great tribulation as our Lord spoke about in 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." 

Yes, there will be wicked leaders who are antichrist in this wicked beast system, leaders who are marked and causing others to be marked. There will even be one especially vile man standing out above the others that could be called an antichrist. However, he will be only the tip of the iceberg since the real mark of the beast is everywhere -- those without Christ bear it. While the church is looking for "the antichrist" to come, many are being marked spiritually every day. If our eyes are not opened to see the spiritual marking, Satan will have no problem marking them with a literal mark when that day comes. 

The Mark of the Beast Linked With Mammon

"No man might buy or sell save he that had the mark" (Revelation 13:17). What's the buying and selling system of the world? Isn't it the money system, the love of money, controlled by the spirit of mammon?  The goal of many people is to become a millionaire. Those who love money will not endure. People will be sold out to the greed of this world and the love of money unless they've instead been marked by God. Some people are able to make large sums of money because they've taken the beast's mark; they'll not be able to operate in the world's system without his mark. His mark insures receiving those things this world has to offer. Those who receive the beast's mark receive his goods because he will buy and sell with them; even the poor are marked since greed is a heart attitude. Even those with nothing can be greedy since lust is in the heart of man. 

Satan's system is run by buying and selling, whereas God's kingdom is operated by giving and receiving. Using the money system of the world is not evil in itself since money is an amoral object that the spirit of mammon tries to control. Money is part of the world system with the spirit of mammon being the entity behind that system. 

As Christians we should use money only as an exchange or purchase system, not for power as do Satan's followers. Revelation 13:16 says the beast system causes all to receive his mark. (That is, all but Christians, since verse 8 states the whole world worships the beast except those whose names are written in the book of life). Verse 17 says that no man might buy or sell except he had the mark, or the name or the number of the beast. To do business with the devil you must have his mark (be conformed to his image), or have his name (become an heir of Satan by becoming his child), or have his number (that spiritual number of 666 which denotes the whole beast system of mankind). I think we will have  choice to take the mark or refuse it.  

I don't believe men are going to  be forced to take a literal number to buy or sell, but rather the world and the beast system will in all probability refuse to sell or do business with Christians. Evil men will try to destroy Christians by denying us the use of the system. They will try to starve us or keep us from prospering. The true end-time church will be walking in God's power and anointing which brings conviction on evil men who hate Christians; therefore, the wrath of evil men will try to top the church. Christians can choose to take the mark by adhering to the evil world system, but I don't believe it will be forced on them.

We already see the lines being drawn between good and evil. Those who love God certainly would refuse anything that would cause them to sin against Him. Using credit cards or legal banking systems is not sinful (as long as we repay according to the credit terms). Only dishonest or worldly demands that would cause us to deny Christ or break His commandments would mark us with the beast system. When these worldly systems progress to that point, we must refuse to use them as that would be sin. Perhaps this is why God is speaking to the church to get out of debt and owe no man anything except the debt of love (Romans 13: 8). Then we are in bondage to no one, but we're free to serve God as He leads us. 

Those Marked by the Beast Destroyed

Destruction and God's wrath come upon all who are marked with the beast system.

"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).

"And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image" (Revelation 16: 2).

"And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Revelation 19: 20).

"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" (Revelation 20: 4).

God's true church shall prevail over the mark of the beast as through Jesus they get the victory over the beast and his mark.

"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).

Let us pray we not be marked by the beast, but rather have the mark of God, which is the word of God in our hearts and minds and doing His works with our hands. 

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CHAPTER TWO

The Deception of the Beasts

Two Kinds of Beasts

The beasts of Revelation 13 are of two kinds. The first beast is a world government superpower, a dictator beast over a world empire. Spiritually, it's a system controlled by Satan that rules the world. The second beast is the false prophet beast over false religion. The false prophet beast does everything the first beast does and through deception causes people to worship the evil system of the world. "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. 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" (Revelation 13: 11-12). This beast has two horns. Horns are symbolic of power, dominion and authority. Two is the number of witness so this beast has power to witness. Also, he looks like a lamb, but speaks as a dragon. Jesus warned us of such false prophets in Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." This beast is representative of all false religions. He has false anointing (spiritual fire) and causes people to worship the beastly system.

Jesus warned us in Matthew 24: 3-5 that deception would be a major influence right before His second coming. "And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."  He said there even would be many coming in His name saying "I am Christ." There are those insane enough to make that claim today; however, I believe this has another meaning as well. Christ in the Greek means "the anointed one." I believe this means many shall be claiming they are anointed of Christ and shall deceive many.

In this chapter, I want to look again at Revelation 13 at the description of the "dictator" beast and the "prophet" beast. Verse by verse we'll see how the world and many in the church are being deceived and marked spiritually by the beast.  

Although I've covered some of this in the first chapter, I want to expand on these verses so we can get a clearer picture of the beast system. The book of Revelation is written in this same manner in that we are given different views of the same happenings. We sometimes get a view of what's going on in heaven, then the scene shifts and we see what's going on in the earth. Sometimes we're given an overview of a happening, then another chapter gives us a close-up of that same event. Remember John saw these events similar to a movie. He viewed a scene, then the scene changed. At times he saw a close-up or another view of the same thing.

Lying Wonders of Satan

"And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 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" (Revelation 13: 14). An image is a mirror of a reality. It reflects or looks like something else. Making an image to the beast is talking about, I believe, people who have so taken on the beastly system that they end up looking like Satan. They'll look like him because they do the things he does. They'll be like him. In contrast, we're to be like Jesus, following in His footsteps, acting like and reflecting Him. 

Satan will even perform lying wonders. 2 Thessalonians 2: 9 says, "Whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders." Not all healing and miracles done in the name of Jesus are from God. In parts of the world there are healers who espouse the Bible, yet their work is done by satanic power. They supposedly perform surgery with their bare hands as they pull out bloody growths without making any incision. There are also other witchcraft activities that use the Bible. Many signs and wonders are occurring out there, but every miracle doesn't come from God. If it doesn't glorify Jesus, it isn't coming from Him. Also, there are supposed occurrences of religious paintings or statues weeping, so people start worshipping such objects. Such activities certainly are not of God; in fact we are forbidden to worship any images. (Exodus 20:3-5). We are to worship God in spirit and in truth. John 4:24: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

"So that he (Satan) maketh fire come down from heaven" (Revelation 13: 13b). That could be literal fire from heaven caused by Satan or a flashy display of  Satan's power. God caused fire to fall from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah. The fire of the Holy Spirit fell on the 120 on Pentecost. Fire displays power. Satan loves to counterfeit the things of God. So false fire from heaven indicates displays of power coming from Satan's camp, from the Beast system.

A Literal Mark of the Beast?

"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. 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" (Revelation 13:15-16). The government could cause this literal mark; however, Satan is already spiritually marking many people with his thoughts and causing them to do his works with their hands. Many are already spiritually marked and they do not even realize it.  If there is going to be a literal mark, the government could cause that through computer technology. But long before people receive a literal mark in their right hand or forehead they are going to be spiritually marked with the beastly system. 

One of the deceptions the devil is using, is that of convincing Christians they can resist and not take a physical mark when it comes, when all the while, many are being marked with Satan's beastly thinking in their minds. They're being marked every day as they absorb ungodly television programming and other worldly influences. They are reading ungodly literature that is marking their minds. Ask anyone addicted to pornography if they do not feel their minds are marked with an evil that they are unable to shake. The only hope for millions of porn users is to be freed by the saving grace of Christ and have their minds cleansed by His power.  People that are indulging in worldly things to the neglect of reading the Bible and their service to God in prayer will find their minds marked by the ways of Satan and the world.  So many people are being marked daily without even realizing it.  

"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast..." (Revelation 13:15a). Satan will give power to his followers to do certain things. They will speak and cause "...as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed" (Revelation 13:15b). Jesus said there would be those who would even try to kill Christians. They would even  think they were doing God a service (John 16:2).  There are those who try to make life difficult for us, when they find out we are Christians. The persecution of Christians will only get worse as we approach the coming of the Lord.  In this last hour, some will hate godly people so much that they'll try to kill us (Luke 21:6-19). They will say, "Don't have anything to do with those Christian people. Don't sell to them, don't do anything for them." They're so wicked themselves that the holiness of God's people will convict them. They won't be able to stand the presence of anyone walking in holiness and purity since they will not want to line up with God's Word themselves.  

"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" (Revelation 13:16). Notice the preposition, "in," not "on" -- in their mind, in their hand. "He causeth all" -- who is the "all"? It is all who are not Christians. True Christians will not receive the mark because they have the power of Christ protecting them. They are in God. But the devil will cause everyone else that is not in God, to be marked by him.  They will become like Satan; they will become his children.

The right hand is symbolic of authority and power. Ephesians 1:20 says Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. This is a position of authority and power, so taking the mark in the right hand is also symbolic of using Satan's power, authority and influence for evil and selfish works.  

We must read the Word of God and put His word in our minds so that we mark our minds with the mark of God. We must then do the works of God in His power and authority which will mark our hands as instruments of God.  Using His authority and power that He has invested in us, we will be able to change the world for good. Will you be marked with the "mark of the beast or the "mark of God?"  The choice is yours.

Parable of the Tares and Wheat

Matthew 13:24b-30, 37b-38

"The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn...He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one."

We see from this parable that the devil has children, the tares, and they're marked for destruction. Symbolically Satan's children are marked with the number six, six, six, which represents men (mankind) in the world system under the devil's control. 666 is the number of mankind under the devil's influence.  Revelation 13:18: "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."

God, too, has children marked. Spiritually if God's children would have a number or mark from God it could be 777, which represents perfection. Although the Bible does not speak of this, using symbolism, God's children could be said to be marked with His mark of seven, seven, seven, which stands for perfection in God. In other words, we're His children. Since God is perfect and the symbolic number for perfection and completion is the number seven, we can be numbered with His perfection and completion because we are perfect and complete in Jesus.  We operate under God's heavenly system, the kingdom of God. So a number description of God's mark could be 777, if He had a number.

"The enemy that sowed them (the tares) is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels" (Matthew 13:39). "The end of the world" is better translated "the end of the age."  We're approaching the end of the age. Before Jesus returns the tares are gathered and burned in the fire. Who is dealt with first? The tares. God destroys the wicked. The wicked are destroyed while those with the mark of God are kept safe. They're not touched because they're marked with God. They have God, they have purity, they have victory; so they're not touched. But the destruction through wars, famines, and pestilence will destroy the tares.

"The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity" (Matthew 13:41).

God's going to purge his own kingdom as He deals with everything that offends. Judgment begins in the house of God (1 Peter 4:17-18: "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?").

There are people within the body of Christ who are tares. As the pressure mounts we're going to find out who is truly with us. Those born of God will continue on; those who fall away were never truly of us, or were of us, but will deny the faith. There are distinctly two classes: some who will deny the faith and some who were never with us. I John 2:18-19 says, "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." As the church matures, the tribulation and pressure that is coming will reveal who is really a Christian and who is not.

Those in the kingdom who offend God shall not only be exposed but shall suffer in anguish. "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:41-42). This represents the purging of the church. "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43a). After the purging, we're going to see the church come forth in her glory. She's going to shine forth as the sun. How beautiful this will be and how God's heart will rejoice when He sees His bride in her white garments. 

Revelation 21:2-3:  "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."

"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" (Revelation 13:17).

That could refer to a computerized system, but let us look at it in a spiritual vein. The buying and selling system is becoming more and more wicked. As Christians, we cannot partake of the spirit of mammon and the ways of the world. Incidentally, if the marking system becomes manifest in the natural realm, logically a card system would not be used. A card showing our entire financial worth would be a powerful instrument that could too easily be stolen. If we do go to a marking system, it will have to be through implantation in the human body as that cannot be stolen.

"No man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast" (Revelation 13:17). Note that his mark, or his name, or the number of his name is required. That is why I do not feel this is a literal mark, but rather is a spiritual picture. What is the name of the beast? Satan, of course, for he is behind  it all. Well, the world is not going to run around with "S-A-T-A-N" printed on their bodies. I doubt that people would be that foolish. Instead, Satan has to deceive the world into hell.  People are going to hell because they are deceived into it. They do not realize that is where they are heading. They think somehow   they are going to escape that. They do not really believe a literal hell exists. If people could see the reality of Satan and hell, they would not follow the devil. They're following him  because they are blinded. When they follow him long enough, they become like him. They become marked with "six, six, six."

Remember, "six" is man's number. Men have always looked for that "man" (the Antichrist) throughout history.  Some have thought this man was a religious leader or a political figure such as Nero, Hitler or Mussolini.  While some named other world figures such as Mikhail Gorbachov, a former Russian president because of the birth mark on his head.

Yes, all ungodly world leaders are part of the system, but they are not "the man." Rather, it is a corporate structure with Satan using many avenues. That word "man" in Greek is "anthropos," which can mean "mankind," a corporate body of men. It's not talking about a particular individual. "Anthropos" is the word used in 2 Timothy 3:17: "That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." "Man of God" is not referring to a man or one man, but rather to every man of God. Likewise, the number of the beast is not referring to one man; rather it is referring to every man under the devil's influence and part of the beast's system. The beast is not just one man, it is the corporate body of Satan, a corporate "man." We find the "beast system" is in our medicine, our politics, our schools, our music -- the beast system is everywhere. Satan is using many avenues to put his mark on people. Whether he can get them through music or entertainment or politics or money, it does not matter. He will mark them anyway he can. It is a spiritual mark.   

The number 666 is that of man. This man is every man in the satanic world system. The man who has deceived these men is Satan, the son of perdition. He is represented by the number 666 and all who follow him get his number. So I do not believe we are going to see a world leader running around with three sixes on his head. I do believe, though, that Satan will use a very wicked leader in the last days. Satan has to enter into some human body to do his work. So he will use one extremely evil man. The devil has entered into men throughout history to do his dirty work, such as Judas Iscariot. It would not surprise me if he had entered into Hitler and some other wicked rulers in times past. As an invisible spirit he does not have to stay in one man's body. He will pick out the person he can get the most benefit from at a particular time. He can enter into a religious leader, or he can enter into a political leader. 

Satan can not accomplish all of his evil by himself. He has leagues of demonic powers in all areas already doing his work. So while people are waiting for one man to rise on the scene, Satan is already busy trapping unaware men on a daily basis. They do not realize they are being marked.

Satan, the Ultimate Beast  

All in all, Satan is the one behind the beast system. The name of the beast is Satan. He is the true or ultimate beast. What happens to those who take his mark? Revelation 14: 9-11 answers that: "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."

In the next chapter we shall see how we can avoid such a fate. We will see how we can be marked with God's mark which will prevent the beast from marking us.

(Continued)

Excerpt taken from the book The Mark of God or The Mark of the Beast; Click here to order from the CHAPEL BOOKSTORE                                       

(This is Chapter One and and Chapter Two taken from the book The Mark of God or The Mark of the Beast.  The complete book covers the following subjects:

Chapter 2: The Deception of the Beasts* Two Kinds of Beasts* The Beast in Worldly Governments* Satan Overcomes Some Saints* Today's Warfare Against Deception* The Apostate Church* Lying Wonders of Satan* A Literal Mark?* Parable of the Tares and Wheat* The Mark and Finances* The Corporate Body of Satan* Satan, the Ultimate Beast

Chapter 3: The Mark of God* The Protection of God's Mark* The Destroying Weapon* Judgment at God's House* The Departure of God's Glory* God Marks the Intercessors* Judgment Falls* Judgment Begins With Leadership* Marked by God's Word* Judgment Falls on Iniquity and Perverseness* Sowing and Reaping* God's Mark Equals His Character* Conformed to Christ's Image* God's Name on the Saint's Foreheads* Dressed in God's Garments* Marked With the Mind of Christ* God's Holiness, Our Protection

Chapter 4: Mystery Babylon and the Beast* The 144,000 Overcomers* The Song of the Lord* The Virgins, Christ's Bride* The Love of Money, a Snare to the Church* Babylon's Wine Deludes* The False Prophet Beast* The Mother of Harlots* The Beast on the Mountains of the World* Warning to Come Out of Babylon* The Fall of Babylon* $300,000 Miracle Testimony* Curses or Blessings* Judgment on Sin* Fear of God, Our Protection* Little Sins Lead to Big Ones* Prophecy to the Church

Chapter 5: The Bride and the Beast* End-Time Interpretations* Preparation Needed by the Bride* The Compromising Church* Holiness and Heart Cleansing Needed* Forgiveness Needed in the Church* Parable of the Ten Virgins* The Midnight Hour Approaches* The Cost of Oil* God Looks On the Heart* The Beast in Homes* The Beast in the Church* Parallel Increase of Wickedness and God's Glory* The Overcomer's Test* Our Progression in Christ

Click here to order Mark of God or Mark of the Beast from the CHAPEL BOOKSTORE