Revelation 13 mentions "mark of the Beast" What is this mark? Is it the microchip implants? Is it the Roman church "baptism" on the forehead? Rev 17
Mark of the Beast
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FHII
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Good heavens! You would think such a prominant topic would yield some answers! I have some ideas, thoughts and Bible verses that can answer that (sort of), but it'd take a long time to explain not only my answer, but the support for it. Almost everyone knows that there is a best, there is the number 666, it's going to be on the forehead or hand and so forth. But these things come from the book of Revelation. This book was written by John and uses symbolism to a high degree. I don't think anyone would argue against that point. When you deal with symbolism, there's going to be disagreements. Hot ones!
To cloud things up, the Book also says if you have wisdom and understanding you can count the number of the beast. And the angel who was John's "tour guide" even told him "ok.... This is what all these symbols mean". And they still confuse us!
So with that in mind, I do have answers, perhaps they are just theories. The problem is, it will take a long time to prove my point. Revelation is the last book in the Bible and it relies on language and events from the previous chapters. You've got to know the former events to understand the symbolism. But, for now I'll give you my answer to the best of my ability... Even the answers are hard to explain with brevity.
First, you have to understand who the beast is. It's government. All governments. Communism, Feudalism, Democracy, Fascism, Barak Obama, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, George Washington, Congress, Senate and Supreme Court. Human Government is not of God. It may be true we have had God fearing people as leaders in Government, but that doesn't make it of God.
Next, understand what a mark is. Sure, a tattoo is a mark. A microchip is a mark. The ashes on your head or whatever that Catholic Church does during their baptism is a mark. But it's a mark on the flesh. In other words, meaningless. None of those things are a mark on your spiritual being. But by definition, a "mark" is identification.
Knowing who the beast is, do you identify with it? When you identify with something you accept it and follow it's guidelines. I have to cut to the chase and get to my point: When you follow goverments and society ABOVE God, you've taken the mark of the beast.
Understand that when Revelation was written, the year was 100 AD. If you do a study of the Roman Empire, you can see why this was an immediate problem. And it got worse with the Holy Roman Empire and Catholic Reign (that's just history, Catholics! Deal with it! And yes.... The Protestant backlash was bad too). However, it's still true today, and even more of a problem. Christians today must follow God, live with God and not forsake him. There are brethren in the Middle East that live by the name of Christ and fear for their lives because they live in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc. But it's even worse in the USA where the attack on Christians is more subtile. Again, remember the warfare is also spritual.
God must be first. Above duty to wife, husband, child, dad, Mother or friend or country. Even your own self. 666? Well, that's the number of a man. "6" always represents "man" in the Bible.
To conclude.... Government can't rule your life. You nor society can rule your life. You must submit to God and let him rule your life. Not religion, not denominations, not a church under government authority (pay close attention to THAT). Society and culture is shaped by Government. Christians aren't and that's why the Bible calls us a strange and peculiar people.
It also says we will be persecuted, hated and oppressed. So cheer up! Paul and Silas sang praises to God in prison! And the other prisoners heard him! I believe this is the type of warriors God's looking for.
To cloud things up, the Book also says if you have wisdom and understanding you can count the number of the beast. And the angel who was John's "tour guide" even told him "ok.... This is what all these symbols mean". And they still confuse us!
So with that in mind, I do have answers, perhaps they are just theories. The problem is, it will take a long time to prove my point. Revelation is the last book in the Bible and it relies on language and events from the previous chapters. You've got to know the former events to understand the symbolism. But, for now I'll give you my answer to the best of my ability... Even the answers are hard to explain with brevity.
First, you have to understand who the beast is. It's government. All governments. Communism, Feudalism, Democracy, Fascism, Barak Obama, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, George Washington, Congress, Senate and Supreme Court. Human Government is not of God. It may be true we have had God fearing people as leaders in Government, but that doesn't make it of God.
Next, understand what a mark is. Sure, a tattoo is a mark. A microchip is a mark. The ashes on your head or whatever that Catholic Church does during their baptism is a mark. But it's a mark on the flesh. In other words, meaningless. None of those things are a mark on your spiritual being. But by definition, a "mark" is identification.
Knowing who the beast is, do you identify with it? When you identify with something you accept it and follow it's guidelines. I have to cut to the chase and get to my point: When you follow goverments and society ABOVE God, you've taken the mark of the beast.
Understand that when Revelation was written, the year was 100 AD. If you do a study of the Roman Empire, you can see why this was an immediate problem. And it got worse with the Holy Roman Empire and Catholic Reign (that's just history, Catholics! Deal with it! And yes.... The Protestant backlash was bad too). However, it's still true today, and even more of a problem. Christians today must follow God, live with God and not forsake him. There are brethren in the Middle East that live by the name of Christ and fear for their lives because they live in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc. But it's even worse in the USA where the attack on Christians is more subtile. Again, remember the warfare is also spritual.
God must be first. Above duty to wife, husband, child, dad, Mother or friend or country. Even your own self. 666? Well, that's the number of a man. "6" always represents "man" in the Bible.
To conclude.... Government can't rule your life. You nor society can rule your life. You must submit to God and let him rule your life. Not religion, not denominations, not a church under government authority (pay close attention to THAT). Society and culture is shaped by Government. Christians aren't and that's why the Bible calls us a strange and peculiar people.
It also says we will be persecuted, hated and oppressed. So cheer up! Paul and Silas sang praises to God in prison! And the other prisoners heard him! I believe this is the type of warriors God's looking for.
aspen
“"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few
aspen
“"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few
Well, if you recieved your mark from the Holy Ghost, then you don't need me or anyone else trying to tell you what is written in 1 John 2:27; "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."
After all if you didn't then you might consider what is written about the those who are marked by the beast become infected by that noisome and grievous sore that falls upon them. Thus, in Revelations 14:9-10, the angel follows the beast, saying in a loud voicethat if any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand that the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.
While the angel reminds me of the parable of the Word in Luke 8:11-12; yet as written in 2 Cor 11:14 "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." As I noticed in in John 10:28-29 "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." Which according to Job 2:6, those who are not marked by the LORD are placed in the hand of Satan.
And in Rom 16:17, Paul writes, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." And then again in Phil 3:15, "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you."
Yet, in my opinion, only those who don't have the 10 Commandments of the eternal God, as written in Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. It might be because they seek them not by faith by the law as noted in Deut 6:6-wherefore, verse 8 ends with "And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes." As written in Hebrews 8:10-11, For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
But in conclusion, if you are walking in the Spirit of Truth then you have no need to fear since as written in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
After all if you didn't then you might consider what is written about the those who are marked by the beast become infected by that noisome and grievous sore that falls upon them. Thus, in Revelations 14:9-10, the angel follows the beast, saying in a loud voicethat if any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand that the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.
While the angel reminds me of the parable of the Word in Luke 8:11-12; yet as written in 2 Cor 11:14 "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." As I noticed in in John 10:28-29 "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." Which according to Job 2:6, those who are not marked by the LORD are placed in the hand of Satan.
And in Rom 16:17, Paul writes, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." And then again in Phil 3:15, "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you."
Yet, in my opinion, only those who don't have the 10 Commandments of the eternal God, as written in Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. It might be because they seek them not by faith by the law as noted in Deut 6:6-wherefore, verse 8 ends with "And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes." As written in Hebrews 8:10-11, For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
But in conclusion, if you are walking in the Spirit of Truth then you have no need to fear since as written in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
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Is the mark of the beast literal or spiritual? I think it is spiritual, notice how the same reference is used concerning the commandments. Did the Jews tie scrolls of the torah around their heads and strap them to their wrist? The command in Deut. 6:8 must have been symbolic.
Revelation 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."
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 "4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
So if the mark is symbolic, what is it symbolic of? The hands symbolize our deeds, and the forehead thought.
Revelation 13:17-18 "17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666."
From this we also see the mark is a name, so it is both symbolic and a name? I am entertaining the thought that the mark is lawless deeds and thoughts. Done in the spirit of the man of lawlessness.
Revelation 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."
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 "4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
So if the mark is symbolic, what is it symbolic of? The hands symbolize our deeds, and the forehead thought.
Revelation 13:17-18 "17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666."
From this we also see the mark is a name, so it is both symbolic and a name? I am entertaining the thought that the mark is lawless deeds and thoughts. Done in the spirit of the man of lawlessness.
bbyrd009
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Helen
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Iforrest said - I am entertaining the thought that the mark is lawless deeds and thoughts. Done in the spirit of the man of lawlessness.
Yep...I believe the beast is within as much as without...
My husband swears that it is the internet.
nice
Yep...I believe the beast is within as much as without...
My husband swears that it is the internet.
aspen
“"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few
I am starting to think that the mark of the beast, which is the sign of man is the false self / old man / ego. Unredeemed humanity is still in slavery, which is conveyed in the illustration of the mark - the mark of a roman slave was put on the forehead and hand
Helen
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bbyrd009
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scapegoats serve a purpose, and are needed; until they are not.My husband swears that it is the internet.
"WWW" is 666 in Hebrew, otoh, lol.
the mark of the beast as already stated is spiritual but rejected spirituality by a mass and is within the spiritual forehead viz 'I will not serve or accept' as originally stated by the beast of beasts and as 666 is found at Jn 6:66 as explained by 67 - twinc
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bbyrd009
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ah, the scapegoat, yes
obliquely, yes, but there are more direct passages i guess
bbyrd009
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"I have received several e-mails pointing out that the numerical value of Vav (often transliterated as W) is 6, and therefore WWW has the numerical value of 666! The Internet, they say, is the number of the beast! It's an amusing notion, but Hebrew numbers just don't work that way. In Hebrew numerals, the position of the letter/digit is irrelevant; the letters are simply added up to determine the value. To say that Vav-Vav-Vav is six hundred and sixty-six would be like saying that the Roman numeral III is one hundred and eleven. The numerical value of Vav-Vav-Vav in Hebrew would be 6+6+6=18, so WWW is equivalent to life! (It is also worth noting that the significance of the number 666 is a part of Christian numerology, and has no basis that I know of in Jewish thought)." http://www.jewfaq.org/alephbet.htm
skypair
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One thing for sure .. it is a copycat mark. Rev 7:4-8, 14:1 tells us that God is going to "seal," mark in their foreheads, the 144,000 saved of Israel. At the time of the mark of the beast (which is after God has sealed His faithful unto life), AntiChrist will be wanting to mark is unto "life" .. to let them keep living!
skypair
skypair
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