Surviving the Beasts (II), Revelation Lesson 6

"Golly", a friend remarked, "what if, just what if, by some stroke of ignorance, christians end up being deceived and unwittingly receive the mark of the beast?? Will they then go to damnation?"

A noteworthy question. Let's look at what Scriptures say.

After having looked at the antichrists that culminate to the ultimate Antichrist in the previous post, we now turn to the second beast mentioned in Chapter 13. This is the beast from the earth, commonly known as the False Prophet. The Antichrist and False Prophet are cohorts of the dragon (Satan) in his last ditch attempt to inflict the earth before being cast into eternal destruction.

Observations
Chapter 13: 11 - 18




Notice that this beast (False Prophet) has the demeanour like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. Its outward appearance of harmlessness will lead many astray. Jesus spoke of wolves in sheep's clothing (Matt 7:15), and these false prophets are discerned through their fruits - which means not just their deeds but also their doctrines. A person speaking in the name of God is to be tested by the doctrines of Scripture.

This False Prophet exercises all the authority of the Antichrist, and makes others worship the Antichrist. It has the ability to perform great signs and wonders and poses a direct counterfeit to God's power, deceiving a great many people into believing the Antichrist.

Thought


Can you sanction every miracle as from God, just because it is done "in Jesus' name?" Consider Matt 7:22 - 23, when Jesus said: "not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"



The False Prophet will cause a global allegiance and worship of the Antichrist, and of course, not even one person is able to buy and sell without the infamous mark of the beast, termed here as also the number of a person, 666.

Now.


Obviously this would have made sense to the original reader. But for us modernists, this had posed to be an enigma for centuries. Various interpretations of 666 had surfaced since. Some say that 666 is merely the falling short of the perfect number 777. Some say it is Nero, Caesar, Napoleon, Martin Luther, Hitler, etc etc.

The basis for the latter is based on a play of the numerical-based Hebrew alphabet that was used in ancient times, called the gematria. Because every letter of the alphabet was tied with a numeral, names of individuals from Nero to Henry Kissinger had been associated with 666! Safe to say, Michelle MY Chan, depending on whichever variant one likes, ie, MC Chan, MY Chan or just Ms. Michelle C; if the letters are manipulated long enough, may even amount to 666!

So what am I saying?


Nobody knows. Even scholars are baffled over the mark of the beast.

However, we must reject any attempt to turn a symbolic piece of apocalyptic imagery into a literal translation of an event utterly remote from the intent of the writer John and his contemporaries. If in Chapter 14 John refers to the mark of the Lamb as those redeemed by Christ, are we to expect a literal mark on the foreheads of the people in the shape of a lamb? Of course not. That refers to those faithful in Christ. Their redemption is received by faith and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Similarly, the mark of the beast surely refers to unbelief, rejection of Christ and his gospel. (excerpt from The Lamb and The Lion by Grame Goldsworthy).


So, let us not be distracted by workings of financial intricacies, the implementation of a global fiscal system that will entrap Christians, ie, bar code systems, cashless society, etc. Of course we are to be vigilant, but the irrational fear of "accidentally procuring the mark of the beast without realising it" does not gel with New Testament epistles. "It is sad that many Christians are being led to think of their eternal security as depending not on the finished work of Christ for them, but upon the prophetic astuteness in discerning the supposed relationship of the beast to the development of a new global fiscal system. " (Goldsworthy)


Having said that, here are some characteristics of the false prophet:

1. The power of Satan expresses itself in false prophets in concrete historical deception


2. The false prophet serves antichrist who serves satan

3. False prophet is full of deceptive power

4. False prophet commands conformity



May we live in the Spirit, being enabled by Him to endure and persevere during these times where deception intensifies.





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