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The Mark of the Beast
“He
also forced everyone, small and great, rich and
poor, free and slave, to receive a mark [The
Greek word for “mark” is charagma.
It means an etching or an engraving, a tattoo] on
his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one
could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which
is the name of the beast or
the number of his name. This
calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him
calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s
number. His number is 666.” (Revelation
13:16-18, italics and insertions mine)
Comment:
The Bible says the mark of the beast will
consist of two different etchings (or
tattoos). One etching is the name of the
lamb-like beast and the other, the number
of his name. The first tattoo will be engraved on
the foreheads of Lucifer’s lieutenants. This
etching will be a show of rank. This tattoo will
be the name that Lucifer uses after he is
released from the Abyss. (Lucifer’s assumed
name is unknown at this time. Incidentally, Jesus
will assume a new name at the Second Coming that
is also unknown at this time. Revelation 19:12)
The second tattoo will be the number of the
lamb-like beast’s name, which is the number,
666. This tattoo will be etched on the right hand
of everyone who swears allegiance to “Almighty
God” (Lucifer).
For
2,000 years, Bible students have tried to
determine the identity of the Antichrist by
mathematically translating various names into the
number 666. For example, early Christians
translated the names of different Caesars using
Roman numerals. (Remember, the Roman Caesars
severely persecuted the Christians, and
therefore, they reasoned that one Caesar might be
the “Antichrist.”) The process of
translation is simple. Each letter in a name is
translated into a Roman numeral. The numerals are
added together, and any name whose sum is 666
could be the dreaded Antichrist! (The problem
with this process is that there are several
specifications in Revelation 13:11-18 that must
be fulfilled before the identity of the
Antichrist can be accurately determined.) During
the Dark Ages, Protestants used the Roman numeral
technique on various names and titles of popes.
After the fatal wound was inflicted in 1798,
Protestants began looking at other names, but I
believe these endeavors were totally misguided.
Here is why:
Before
the number 666 can be calculated, the identity of
the beast has to be determined. At this point in
our study, we know that the beast who
rises out of the bottomless pit in Revelation
13:11 is Lucifer in human form! The devil
himself is the Antichrist. He was the first
angel to take a position against Jesus before the
was created and he will be the last angel to die
when the world is cleansed by fire. When Lucifer
appears at the fifth trumpet, he will have power
and miracle working abilities that dwarfs human
beings. He will descend from the sky with
200,000,000 angels, and as needed, he will call
down fire from Heaven to prove his assumed
divinity. The Bible says he will deceive the
inhabitants of Earth. The mark of the devil, literally,
“the etching of Lucifer,” will
be a tattoo on the right hand or the forehead!”
Four
Prerequisites Are Necessary
A
proper understanding of the mark of the beast
requires four prerequisites. First, to understand
that at the sixth trumpet, three groups of people
will live on Earth. Second, to understand God’s
use of “thirds,” and fourth, to
understand the identity of the lamb-like beast.
With these four elements in mind, let us briefly
consider these four prerequisites. The first
prerequisite is understanding that three groups
of people will live on Earth when the mark of the
beast is implemented. They are:
- The saints: These
people have surrendered to the gospel of
Jesus and have been sealed.
- The religious wicked:
These people have a form of godliness,
but have refused the gospel of Jesus, and
rather than living by faith, they have
submitted to Babylon’s authority.
- The non-religious
wicked: These people have refused the
gospel of Jesus and the authority of
Babylon. They want nothing to do with
religion.
The Second
Prerequisite
The
second prerequisite for understanding the mark of
the beast is an understanding of the fifth and
sixth trumpets. Since we have examined the seven
trumpets in an earlier chapter, two short summary
statements about them should suffice:
- The fifth trumpet occurs
when two-thirds of the time allotted for
the Great Tribulation ends. At this point
in time, the advancement of the gospel of
Jesus will come to a standstill. Almost
everyone will have taken a position for
or against the gospel of Jesus. Jesus
releases Lucifer from the Abyss to apply
pressure on the wicked. The devil will
force people into making their final
decision. The devil’s demons will
inflict searing pain on those who refuse
to confess that the devil is God. (Note:
The devil’s angels are not allowed
to harm those who have the seal of God
during the fifth trumpet. Jesus hopes the
non-religious wicked will notice this
protection and turn from their rebellion
and embrace His gospel.)
- The sixth trumpet will be
a great war lasting approximately seven
months and the death toll will be 1.75
billion people (currently a third of
mankind). Lucifer will initiate this war
when he establishes his theocracy and
rules over Earth as Almighty God. The
devil will purge his kingdom of “unbelievers.”
Millions of saints and most, if not all,
of the 144,000 will die during this
purge. Hundreds of millions of
non-religious wicked will also perish
because Lucifer’s ultimate purpose
for the purge will be to eliminate
opposition. He intends to rule as lord of
lords and king of kings, and no one will
be able to resist him.
The Third
Prerequisite
The
third prerequisite for understanding the mark of
the beast involves God’s use of thirds. This
is a critical matter. In ancient times, when
total destruction was justified, a generous king
might spare a third of his enemies if he thought
there was redemptive value. Please consider the
following examples:
- “David also
defeated the Moabites. He made them lie
down on the ground and measured off with
a length of cord. Every two lengths of
them were put to death, and the
third length was allowed to
live. So the Moabites became subject to
David and brought tribute. (2 Samuel
8:2, italics mine) David generously
spared one-third of the Moabites because
he knew the survivors would gladly pay
their taxes, and as their nation grew, so
would the tax revenue. David spared a
third because he saw redemptive value.
- “Therefore as
surely as I live, declares the Sovereign
Lord, because you have defiled my
sanctuary with all your vile images and
detestable practices, I myself will
withdraw my favor; I will not look on you
with pity or spare you. A third of your
people will die of the plague or perish
by famine inside you; a third will fall
by the sword outside your walls; and a
third I will scatter to the winds and
pursue with drawn sword.” (Ezekiel
5:11,12) God destroyed two-thirds of
Israel and spared a third of His people
from Nebuchadnezzar because He saw
redemptive value!
- “’In the
whole land,’ declares the Lord,
‘two-thirds will be struck down and
perish; yet one-third will be left in it.
This third I will bring into the fire; I
will refine them like silver and test
them like gold. They will call upon my
name and I will answer them; I will say,
‘They are my people,’ and they
will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’’
” (Zechariah 13:8,9) Again, God
destroyed two-thirds and spared one-third
because He saw redemptive value!
- “His tail swept a
third of the stars out of the sky and
flung them to the earth. The dragon stood
in front of the woman who was about to
give birth, so that he might devour her
child the moment it was born.” (Revelation
12:4) This text refers to God’s
patience with Lucifer. God cast Lucifer
out of Heaven when his deception
corrupted one-third of Heaven’s
angels. God spared two-thirds of the
angels, but cast out a third.
- “… A third
of the earth was burned up, a third of
the trees were burned up, and all the
green grass was burned up… A third
of the sea turned to blood, a third of
the living creatures in the sea died, and
a third of the ships were destroyed….
A third of the waters turned bitter, and
many people died from the waters that had
become bitter.” (Revelation
8:7-9,11) There are twelve instances in
Revelation mentioning one-third being
destroyed and two-thirds being spared
during the seven trumpets. Did you notice
that instead of destroying two-thirds,
one-third is destroyed! The destruction
of one-third proves two things.
First, Jesus is a double generous
King! Jesus would have been justified if He
destroyed two-thirds. Second, Jesus is on a
mission to save souls even as God’s wrath is
being poured out. He sees a great deal of
redemptive value in mankind and He spares
two-thirds so that He might save as many people
as possible.
- “And the four
angels who have been kept ready for this
very hour and day and month and year were
released to kill a third of mankind.”
(Revelation 9:15) Jesus will permit
Lucifer to kill a third of mankind when
he sets up his theocracy. Jesus will not
let the devil go one step further.
Lucifer will be permitted to purge his
kingdom of his opposition. Of
course, he will not kill all of
the saints, but he will kill a definite
number. (Revelation 6:9-11)
Synthesis:
We have seen in the six passages that God’s
use of one-third and two-thirds is not random. God
is deliberate and purposeful in everything He
does. The number 666 is not a random number.
In fact, 666 is precisely two-thirds of 999.
Consider this: When the sixth trumpet occurs, I
believe Lucifer will divide the people of Earth
into groups of 1,000 for purposes of logistics,
rations, and administrative control. This is a
common technique used for crowd control in a
crisis. Moreover, there is a biblical precedent
for dividing people into groups of 1,000. Moses
divided the Israelites into groups of 1,000 while
in the wilderness: “Moses listened to his
father-in-law and did everything he said. He
chose capable men from all over Israel and made
them leaders of the people, officials over
thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They
served as judges for the people at all times. The
difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the
simple ones they decided themselves.” (Exodus
18:24-26)
There
are several references in the Bible showing that
people were commonly grouped into units of 1,000.
(See Numbers 31:48-54, Deuteronomy 1:15, 1 Samuel
22:7, and 1 Chronicles 27:1.) If
this arrangement worked well in ancient times, it
will work very well during primitive
circumstances of the Great Tribulation. There
will be no computers, telephones, or electronic
devices with which to manage the needs of the
people because electricity will not exist. The
first four trumpets will have destroyed the world’s
infrastructure. Dividing people into small groups
of 1,000 has proven to be simple and effective
way to manage people throughout history and it
will prove to be an effective tool when Lucifer
establishes his theocracy.
The Fourth
Prerequisite
We
know at this point in our study that the
lamb-like beast is Lucifer in human form. This
fact is crucial because the beast that
owns the mark is Lucifer. Remember, the Greek
word for “mark” is charagma and
it means an “etching” or “engraving.”
Lucifer will require a charagma on the
right hand of every wicked person and this charagma
must be visibly shown in order to buy and sell.
This etching will be non-removable,
non-transferable, and non-losable. It will be a
tattoo on the right hand. (Note: A tattoo
is a charagma. A story that runs parallel
to the mark of the beast is told in Ezekiel 9.
Although this story did not actually take place,
the concept of separating people according to a
mark (etching) was presented to Ezekiel in a
vision.)
Consider
this possible scenario: When Lucifer abolishes
the religious systems of the world; he will set
up ten kings. These kings will do whatever the
devil wants.
(Revelation
17:13) The devil will divide the people of Earth
into groups of 1,000 and one person from each
group of 1,000 will be the chosen as the leader.
He will report to his respective king. This will
leave 999 people in each group. The devil will
tell the world that 666 people in each group will
be permitted to live and participate in his
theocracy. Therefore, if a person wishes to avoid
death, he must come forward by a predetermined
date, swear allegiance and loyalty to the devil
and his government, and receive a tattoo on the
right hand showing the number 666. Only the first
666 people of each group of 1,000 who come
forward and voluntarily receive the mark will be
spared. This tattoo will separate Lucifer’s
opposition from those willing to serve as devoted
subjects. Most people will consider this the good
news (if there is any in this), because it means
that two-thirds of each group will be spared!
This decree will force the wicked to make their
final decision. Many will rush to receive the
tattoo because they know that each group will be
limited to 666 survivors. This process explains
why Lucifer’s theocracy is called “the
great whore” in Revelation 17. People will
knowingly and willfully worship the devil to
survive, and in doing so, will sell their soul to
the devil.
People
who refuse the mark of the beast will be come
targets for murder. Millions of saints will be
slaughtered. (Revelation 6:9-11, 16:6; 17:6)
Most, if not all, of the 144,000 will perish.
Millions in the non-religious group will also be
killed. The devil is a sociopath. He loves no
one. Only 666 people will be allowed to live, the
rest will be killed as quickly as they can be
found. Jesus said, “For whoever wants to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his
life for me will find it. What good will it be
for a man if he gains the whole world, yet
forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in
exchange for his soul?” (Matthew
16:25,26)
The
tattoo on the forehead is easy to understand. It
is a simple counterfeit. The Bible says the names
of Jesus and the Father will be engraved
on the foreheads of the 144,000! (See Revelation
14:1, 22:4) This glorious insignia on their
foreheads will indicate their high rank wherever
they travel throughout eternity. Lucifer will
counterfeit this insignia by putting his name, in
the form of an engraving (a tattoo), on the
forehead of his lieutenant in each group.
Lucifer’s assumed name
(unknown at this time) will not be numerically
equivalent to 666. The bible does not indicate or
require a Roman numeral translation. Rather, the
Bible indicates that the number 666 is the “number
[of people] belonging to the man [of sin].”
The Greek syntax puts this phrase in a genitive
of possession case, that is, 666 people
will belong to Lucifer. Look again at these
verses: “He [the lamb-like beast] also
forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor,
free and slave, to receive a mark [Greek: charagma
– an etching, an engraving, a tattoo] on
his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one
could buy or sell unless he had the [visible
tattoo] mark [to show everyone], which
is the [assumed] name of the beast [tattooed
on the forehead] or the number [of people
who belong to] of his name. This calls for
wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate [count]
the number of [people belonging to] the
beast, for it is [the] man’s number [that
is, the number belonging to the man of sin].
His number [of remaining people] is 666.”
(Revelation 13:16-18, italics and insertions
mine)
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