What Is The Mark Of The Beast

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It’s a question that gets more attention as time goes by and we draw closer to the days when it will be a real issue for living people.

First it’s a good idea to make sure there’s a solid Biblical foundation. In Revelation 13:16-18 the mark of the beast is defined:

Revelation 13
: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.

The word “mark” in these verses is translated from the Greek charagma {pronounced khar’-ag-mah} [strongs number 5480] which translates: a scratch, etching or stamp. an imprinted mark such as a badge of servitude.

Many have taken the position that the mark is a form of tattoo and while this is possible, there is something else to consider: The RFID chip. These tiny chips can now be injected under the skin and would be readable from a distance, making it easy to not only automate financial transactions but to track the location of the chip (and thus the person it’s injected into). It would also make identification of the “chipped” person a simple matter of scanning their chip and checking a national database for the identity that is associated with the chip’s globally unique identification number.

Add to this the current growing paranoia over terrorism, identity theft and a host of other crimes and it gets easier every year to convince people to surrender some of their privacy in order to prevent this or that heinous crime. Eventually when the anti-christ reigns openly in the last days, some “foolproof” method of identifying and tracking everyone and their business transactions will become mandatory.

People who do not accept this mark, this badge of servitude, will be denied the right to buy and sell because the electronic currency will be the only legal money system.

Christians, those who have accepted Jesus and follow His teachings will not accept that mark because doing so is to seal your fate forever. Revelation 14:9-12 shows that anyone who accepts the mark is subject to the wrath of God.

Revelation 14:9-12, “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. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

The word “patience” here doesn’t mean “to put up with” the way it’s used in modern English. Instead it means steadfastness, constancy, endurance. The steadfastness, constancy and endurance of the saints is that they will never accept the mark, enduring in spite of whatever the evil one tries to do to get them to take the mark. Holding out for the rewards that God has promised to those who endure.

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