A few of you wanted a study on the Mark. here it is. Satan"s master plan " a strategy birthed in the abyss eons ago - for the implementation of the "FINAL SOLUTION". The final solution is the annihilation of every single Jew and Christian who refuses to assimilate into Satan"s system
the duration of which is three and a half years. He rules primarily through the agency of the beast and the false prophet and for born again Christians and Jews alike; this is going to be a time of unparalleled persecution " the slaughter is going to be horrific!
Martyrs "I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes and peoples, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb"" ""these are they that have come out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb"" If any man worships the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of 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 ascends up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beasts and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name." This is a warning of the severest nature! A warning which has eternal consequences! Under no circumstances are Christians to take the mark " even unto death! This is a specific encouragement to the saints who are living during this period to persevere at all costs - even if it means enduring hardship of the highest order
Blessed Are They Who Die In The Lord This is a time of immense persecution and subsequent martyrdom. This will also be a time of unparalleled preaching of the "Everlasting Gospel". The saints who preach are ultimately martyred and hence their works follow them" Saints be warned! The mark is literal! We reiterate literal and not spiritual. This is a visible mark that will be placed upon the recipients forehead or right hand. No other alternatives are offered! The forehead or right hand!!
Summary Bible prophecy foretells of a day when Satan will establish a demonic government whose duration shall be three and half years. A revived Roman Empire stretching from the Atlantic in the West, to the Urals in the East, from the Adriatic Sea in the South, to the Baltic Sea in the North; the Middle East, and the whole of Mediterranean North Africa. Taken together with the European Union FTA (Free Trade Area) agreements it will be the world"s largest GeoCommercial trading block. The primary area of control over humanity will be economic " a cashless society! Satan has been working stealthily to bring about his electronic system of control. He has been so successful that most of humanity is totally unaware of the deadly trap that has been sprung. Sadly, millions of professing Christians are completely unaware of the lateness of the hour - and worse still, they have no understanding of the "Mark of the Beast" or it"s horrendous implications! "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee"" (Hosea 4:6). Victory Over The Beast 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. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest." (Rev.15:2-4). These are the saints who did not succumb to Satan and refused to accept his mark. Because of this refusal they were beheaded for their testimony! They were martyred for their faith. Saints, the suffering during this time is going to be horrendous and must not be underestimated! This is a period of unparalleled persecution and was referred to by our beloved Saviour as the "Great Tribulation"! Be Strong Beloved, Love not the world even unto death, Your Brother Chuck
PS Every study which I read from very old to new had one thing in common. They believe the Anti-Christ will be the pope.
But Chuck when this all starts, isn't this the time of tribulation? This brings up my questions about rature and its time with tribulation. By the way, everytime I hop on my hog, I will be sure to add Matt to my list of riders, that I pray God will ride with.
The long history of failed attempts to identify the so-called "Antichrist" would be humorous if it were not so tragic. Candidates for this personage have included Nero, Napoleon, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Kruschev, and Saddam Hussein. The "mark of the beast" that the Antichrist allegedly causes people to receive has been associated with social security numbers, UPC barcodes, WWW"the World Wide Web, and even the IRS (a much more tempting postulation, to be sure). These endless shenanigans could be avoided if the Bible were taken seriously and impure motives were replaced by an honest pursuit of truth.
As a matter of fact, the term "antichrist" occurs only five times in Scripture, only in the writing of John, and only in two of his five books: 1 John 2:18,22; 4:3; 2 John 7. The implications are significant. Dispensationalists do not go to 1 and 2 John when they discuss the Antichrist. They go to Revelation, or 2 Thessalonians, or Daniel. They go to passages that do not even use the word Antichrist!
Contrary to current claims, John applied the term "antichrist" to more than one individual, and to individuals who were living then"in the first century! For example, 1 John 2:18 states that numerous antichrists had arisen in John"s day, and he therefore contended that "it is the last hour" (i.e., the final period of religious history commonly referred to as "the last days," as in Acts 2:16-17). He then described their behavior as "not of God" (1 John 4:3). "Antichrists" were simply anyone who denied Christ (1 John 2:22). John, therefore, labeled any such deluded soul as "the deceiver" and "the antichrist" (2 John 7). Notice the use of the article. John was saying that people living in his own day who denied the incarnation of Jesus were to be regarded as the antichrist! Not just an antichrist"but the antichrist! The idea that the term "antichrist" is to be applied to some "future fuehrer" (Lindsey, 1970, pp. 87ff.) who will draw the world into a global holocaust is totally out of harmony with John"s inspired use of the term.
The primary passage that is used to support the notion of an antichrist is Revelation 13:1-10. Several points regarding the context of the book of Revelation and its proper interpretation lead to the understanding that the seven-headed sea beast was a symbol for the then monstrous emperor of Rome who was responsible for unleashing horrible atrocities upon Christians of Asia Minor in the latter years of the first century A.D. (Summers, 1951, pp. 174-175; Swete, 1911, pp. 161ff.). The two-horned land beast (Revelation 13:11-18), who enforced worship of the sea beast, referred to the official governmental organization known as the Roman Concilia that was responsible for supporting and regulating all details relative to emperor worship (Summers, pp. 178-179; Swete, pp. 168ff.). This evil legal entity was authorized to instigate economic sanctions against those who refused to appropriate the "mark" of the beast, "mark" being a symbol for the proof of their submission to Caesar worship (vs. 17). With this understanding of Revelation 13, it is unscriptural and unbiblical to identify the sea beast in Revelation 13 with some future revived Roman dictator known as the "Antichrist."
A second passage that some say predicts an Antichrist is Daniel 9:24-27. Notice carefully the content of this marvelous prophecy. During the prophetic period that Daniel identified in terms of seventy symbolic weeks (vs. 24), transgression, sin, and iniquity would be "finished," "ended," and "reconciliation provided for." This terminology clearly refers to Christ"s sacrifice upon the cross (Hebrews 9:26). The effect of Christ"s atoning work was that "everlasting righteousness" was ushered in. As Paul stated: "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21; cf. Jeremiah 23:5-6). Because of what Jesus did, individuals may now stand before God completely righteous through obedient faith. Likewise, "vision" and "prophecy" would be "sealed up." This refers to the inevitable termination of Old Testament prophecy and its fulfillment in Christ"s appearance in human history: "Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days" (Acts 3:24; Hebrews 1:1-2). Finally, the phrase in Daniel 9:24 that speaks of the "anointing" of the "most holy" refers to the public ministry and official crowning of Jesus as He took His place upon His throne to rule in His kingdom. Isaiah said: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor" (61:1). On the day of Pentecost, Peter said: "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God" (Acts 2:33). Notice that Daniel summarized the entire seventy-week period by including all of these six factors in the seventy weeks.
Next, Daniel broke the seventy-week period into three segments: seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, and one week. Verse 25 pertains to the first two sections of the seventy-week period. During these two periods, that is during sixty-nine of the seventy prophetic weeks, a decree would go forth calling for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the reconstruction of the temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonians (cf. Nehemiah 2:7-8; Ezra 1:1-3). Daniel made clear that these sixty-nine weeks of the prophetic period, during which the temple would be rebuilt and national Israel reestablished, would take one up to the appearance of the Messiah.
Verse 26 speaks of the final week of the seventy week prophetic period, for he said "after the sixty-two weeks." "After" puts one into the final or seventieth week of Daniel"s remarks. Two significant events were to occur during this final week. First, the Messiah would be "cut off." This definitely refers to Jesus" death upon the cross: "He was cut off from the land of the living" (Isaiah 53:8). Second, a "prince" and his people would come and destroy the city and the sanctuary"an obvious allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple edifice in A.D. 70 by Titus and his Roman army.
Verse 27 alludes to the activation of the new covenant between the Messiah and "many," that is, between Christ and those who are responsive to the demands of the new covenant. As the Hebrews writer said: "Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (8:8; cf. Acts 3:25). The New Testament teaches that the cutting off of the Messiah, the crucifixion, was the act that confirmed the covenant (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:15-29), and brought an immediate end to the validity of the Old Testament practices of sacrifice and oblation (Colossians 2:14; Luke 23:45; Hebrews 10:18-20). Then Daniel alluded to the ruthless invasion of Jerusalem in the phrase "abomination of desolation." Jesus quoted this phrase in Matthew 24:15 and Luke 21:20, and applied it to the Roman desecration and destruction of the Jerusalem temple in A.D. 70.
Thus, the fundamental purpose of Daniel"s seventy-weeks prophecy was to show God"s final and complete decree concerning the Israelite commonwealth. All of the events described in the prophecy were literally fulfilled over 1,900 years ago. As far as God is concerned, the logical end of the Old Testament and Judaism has occurred. Now He deals only with the spiritual children of Abraham, whether Jew or Gentile (Romans 4:11-12,16; 9:8). Daniel 9 gives no credence to the notion of a future Antichrist.
A third passage used to foster belief in an Antichrist is 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. Whatever interpretation is placed upon this passage, its use to refer to a future personage is doomed to failure since Paul explicitly stated that he was referring to a person who would be the product of the circumstances of his own day, i.e., "already at work" (vs. 7). How could Paul have had in mind a future dictator that still has not arisen, though 2,000 years have transpired? One need go no further to know that 2 Thessalonians 2 does not refer to a future Antichrist.
History is replete with a variety of interpretations of this passage, the most prominent one likely being the view that the papacy is under consideration (see Workman, 1988, pp. 428-434; Eadie, 1877, pp. 340ff.). Another possibility is that the "falling away" (vs. 3), or apostasy, referred to the Jewish rejection of the "new and living way" of approach to God (Hebrews 10:20). The Jews were the single most adamant opponents to Christ and the infant church (John 8:37-44; Acts 7:51-53; 13:45-50; Romans 10:20-21; 11:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16). This rebellion, or falling away, would not reach its "full" (Matthew 23:32) climax until the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and the resulting dispersal of the Jewish people. Paul had already alluded to this Jewish apostasy in 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16. The pouring out of God"s wrath was the logical consequence of the first century Israelite failure to make the change to Christianity.
The "man of sin" or "son of perdition" (vs. 3) would have referred to the personification of Roman imperialism, and would have been equated with "the abomination of desolation" that Jesus, quoting Daniel 9, alluded to in Matthew 24:15 and Luke 21:20. Verse 4 would refer to the Roman general who introduced his idolatrous insignia into the Holy of Holies in A.D. 70.
That which was "withholding" (vs. 6), or restraining, this man of sin, at the time Paul was writing 2 Thessalonians in approximately A.D. 53, would have been the presence of the Jewish state. The ingenious design of God was that Christianity would appear to the hostile Roman government to be nothing more than another sect of the Jews. Thus Christianity was shielded for the moment (i.e., A.D. 30-70) from the fury of the persecuting forces of Rome, while it developed, spread, and gave the Jews ample opportunity to be incorporated into the elect remnant"the church of Christ (cf. Romans 11:26). Thus the nation of Israel was rendered totally without excuse in its rejection of Christianity, while at the same time serving as a restraining force by preventing Christianity from being perceived by the Romans as a separate, and therefore illegal, religion (religio illicita). Once the Jewish apostasy was complete, and God"s wrath was poured out upon Jerusalem, Christianity came to be seen as a distinct religion from Judaism. Increasingly, Christians found themselves brought into conflict with the persecution from "the wicked" or "lawless one" (vs. 8). In fact, after A.D. 70 (when the withholding effect of Judaism was removed), Roman opposition to Christianity gradually grew greater, culminating in the fierce and formidable persecution imposed by Caesar Domitian in the final decade of the first century.
Once the shield of Judaism was "taken out of the way" (vs. 7), and Christianity increasingly found itself subject to the indignities of governmental disfavor, the Lord was to come and "consume with the breath of His mouth" (vs. 8) the one who was responsible. This terminology is not an allusion to Christ"s SecondComing. Rather this verse refers to Christ"s coming in judgment on the Roman power. Such a use of the word "coming" to describe the display of God"s wrath upon people in history is not unusual (cf. Isaiah 19:1; Micah 1:3). Paul alluded to the government"s use of counterfeit miracles (vs. 9), and thus deceit (vs. 10)"reminiscent of the Roman Concilia"s employment of trickery and illusion to deceive people into worshipping the emperor in Revelation 13:13-15 during the last decade of the first century A.D. (see Barclay, 1960, 2:127-128; Hailey, 1979, pp. 294-295; Summers, 1951, pp. 178-179). Sufficient textual indicators exist in this passage to exclude the premillennial interpretation of a future "Antichrist."
When studied in context, the passages that are used to bolster the dispensational scheme provide no such support. Those over the centuries who have applied these passages to papal authority, Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler, Saddam Hussein, et al., have been shown to be wrong. Amazingly, the pattern continues among those who have not learned from the sad mistakes of the past.
Thanks Chuck, good study and reminder. God prophesied about the first coming of Jesus Christ and it came to pass exactly as foretold. And all prophecy concerning His second coming will come to pass precisely just as foretold, including everything written about that which will happen globally, economically, politically, etc... which you mentioned.
You know, when you talked with an unbeliever, say, 30 years ago and mentioned how the Bible predicts an eventual cashless society, a gradual move to a centrally global governing body, etc... before the second coming of Christ, you were quickly dismissed as being naive. To them, these things were just rantings of duped fundamentalists. There was no way these things would ever happen or take place.
But to many non-christians today, and much of the world, an eventual move toward a cashless society, national borders slowly eroding while the idea of a global community continues to grow, it's not such a far-fetched idea anymore. It's really almost logical.
This is exactly why it will be such a seducing deception. The move to having no more cash, etc... will be a very slow gradual progression. It will be such that to everyone who does not trust and believe in what God foretold will happen will buy into it hook line and sinker because "it will just make so much sense". This transition will just simply be the next "logical" step in societal evolution (no, not macro ).
Anyway, good stuff Chuck.
"But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!" 2 Peter 3:8-12
"Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." -2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Thanks Brother
Big Country,
There are 3 views....Pre Rapture.that God will take up His church before this happens
Mid trip....Obviously we can see that Christians are here. They are warned and are willing to die.I believe this
Post trip that we will go through the entire ordeal. Jesus said" unless the days be shortened that none of the elect would be saved.
The main thing is I believe with all my heart this will happen. If you believe this will happen it makes you very sober minded and less materialistic. Because I think materealistic Christians will have a hard time. It will take true lovers of God and they who know how to walk in His Spirit to survive. I believe we are in basic training now. Now is the time to practice loving the unlovable, fasting at times even if it's as little as one meal , learning to make do with less. Stop racking up bills on the credit card. Keep your effections on things above not here. Sorry for rattling on. This is very close to my heart. As the wise men were preparing for the Christ child we are preparing for tough times.....REAL TOUGH TIMES.
Brother Chuck
Aman Gman,
Thanks for the response. This is one doctrine that will change the way a man lives. If he really believes that he knows it would take quite a man to allow yourself to be beheaded. I 'm not sure I could pass the test. So here in 2005 it is a good practice to bless them that curse you and pray fore those who dispitefully use you ; do good to them that hate you . And as Paul said "Godliness with contentment is great gain." Folks I believe He is coming soon. I don't know the day or the hour but there is a check in my spirit to keep my vessel full of oil.
Maranatha,
Brother Chuck
Amen Chuck! I believe the same thing. We live from one second to the next. Being ready, and prepared. We must create a sense of urgengy within ourselves to reveal this truth to as many as we can, before it's too late!
I, according to the word of God as i understand it will not be here at the time of the Tribulation as i and the rest of the born again believers will be caught up in the air to be with my Saviour for all eternity..so my concern is to give the gospel to the lost that they might be saved..
__________________
wayne
"There's room at the cross for you."
Motor....my brother than who are the countless souls under the alters that were killed because they refuse to take the Mark? Also in the same chapter 13 of Revelations it says this goes on for 3 1/2 years. Than the angel with his sickel reaps the harvest. Just something to think about. Not a real salvation doctrine. However , if what I am saying is true it is a wake up call.
Your brother,
Chuck
The Mark of The Beast BEWARE!!!!
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