(Re: The *Mark of the beast)
The "mark of the beast" (Revelation 13:16-17, Revelation 16:2) will be a literal, physical mark which will be visible to people so that they can easily tell in every situation whether or not someone should be permitted to buy or sell (Revelation 13:17). It will be visible also because the original Greek of Revelation 13:16 shows that the mark will be placed only "on" (epi: G1909), not inside, people's right hands or foreheads. Also, it will be placed on people probably by scarification. For in Revelation 13:16, one of the definitions of the original Greek word (charagma: G5480) translated as the "mark" is "a scratch or etching" (Strong's Greek Dictionary), and scarification is the scratching or etching (that is, the cutting) of the skin to leave a permanent mark. The reason that people will be given the mark in Revelation 13:16, in the context of what was shown previously in Revelation 13:4,8,15, will be to serve as a visible indicator to other people that they are loyal worshippers of Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9) and of the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) and his image (Revelation 13:4,8,15), just as some Satanists today put a mark on themselves by scarification.
The mark will consist of only the Antichrist's name "or" some representation of the gematrial number of his name (666) (Revelation 13:17-18), meaning that the mark will be the Antichrist's name for some people and a representation of the gematrial number of his name for other people. And the mark will be placed only on the right hand (probably on the palm) "or" on the forehead (Revelation 13:16), meaning that it will be placed on the right hands of some people and on the foreheads of other people.
Those who refuse to receive the Antichrist's mark will not be allowed to buy or sell anything (Revelation 13:17). And they will be executed by being beheaded if they refuse to worship the Antichrist and his image (Revelation 13:15, Revelation 20:4). Christians must be willing to suffer this fate rather than agree to receive the Antichrist's mark or worship him or his image. For those people who agree to do these things, even if they are Christians, will suffer God's wrath in fire and brimstone forever (Revelation 14:9-13), while those Christians who refuse to do these things, even though they will be beheaded by the Antichrist, will be physically resurrected into immortality (along with the rest of the obedient Church of all times) at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Revelation 20:4-6; 1 Corinthians 15:21-23,52-58), which will occur immediately after the future Tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31). And even before their resurrection, at the moment of their death their still-conscious souls will be brought into the presence of Jesus in heaven (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:21,23, Revelation 6:9-10, Luke 23:43,46).
In the future, when the world begins to worship the Antichrist as God (Revelation 13:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36), some people could gladly be willing to have his name placed by scarification on their right palm, just as lovers in the past were sometimes known to have their loved ones' initials placed by scarification on their palms (compare also Isaiah 49:16, Jeremiah 48:37, Leviticus 19:28, and Leviticus 21:5). Other of the Antichrist's worshippers could gladly be willing to have his name placed by scarification on their foreheads, thinking (mistakenly) that they are fulfilling the Christian idea of Revelation 22:4, which refers to the future point in time when Jesus will put God's name visibly on the forehead of obedient Christians (Revelation 3:12). The Antichrist's miracle-working False Prophet, who will be the one who will cause everyone to be marked with the Antichrist's mark (Revelation 13:16-18), could even convince people that he (the False Prophet) is Jesus himself returned (via "reincarnation"). But he will not say that he is Christ. For he and the Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ, and will deny that Christ is in the flesh (1 John 2:22; 2 John 1:7).
(See also Revelation 13:4 above)
Instead of having the Antichrist's name engraved on their right hand or forehead, some of his worshippers will have the gematrial number of his name (666) (Revelation 13:17c-18) engraved on their right hand or forehead. But because some people could refuse to have "666" placed on their body, in order to make a mark of 666 acceptable to all people it could be disguised to look like something else in those cases where people demand something other than "666". For example, it could be disguised in some cases to look like "777", or "111", or "WWW", or "VVV", or "|| || ||", or "FFF". For the sixth letter of the ancient Hebrew alphabet (Vav) represents the number 6, but it looks like a "7", or a "1", and it is transliterated into English as either a "W" or a "V". Also, two thin vertical lines "||" represent the number 6 on many UPC codes. And the letter "F" has a numerical value of 6 in English gematria.
(See also Revelation 13:18 below)
In an awful coincidence (or maybe it is not just a coincidence), "FFF" also stands for an extremely powerful type of nuclear bomb: Fission-Fusion-Fission. Could this be the type of bomb which the ten kings of the future Antichrist's empire will employ to burn up the cities of the nations at the end of the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24 (Revelation 17:12,16-17a, Revelation 16:19, Revelation 19:2,11)?
The "WWW" which has been placed on many internet addresses, and the "|| || ||" which has been placed across many UPC codes on products (that is, they have a "||" at the beginning, middle, and end of their UPC codes), are harbingers of when Satan will give the Antichrist ownership of everything on the earth (Revelation 13:2b; cf. Luke 4:7), and of the Antichrist's placing of his "brand" on everything, like how a rancher places his brand on all of his cattle. For both "WWW" and "|| || ||" are disguised representations of the gematrial number of the Antichrist's name: 666 (Revelation 13:17c-18). But Revelation 13:16 is not fulfilled by many internet addresses having a "WWW", nor by many products having "|| || ||" on their UPC codes. For Revelation 13:16 refers only to when people will be given the Antichrist's mark, on either their right hand or forehead.
Those assigned to have the mark placed on their forehead (instead of on their right hand) (Revelation 13:16) could be an elite, illumined, cognoscenti class of Gnostic Luciferians who alone will have been given knowledge of the ultimate secrets of the Antichrist's Gnostic Luciferianism, also called Satanism. The Antichrist will be both a Satanist, a worshipper of Satan the dragon (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9), and a Gnostic, someone who denies that Christ is in the flesh (1 John 4:3), and forbids marriage and the eating of meat (1 Timothy 4:1-3). The cream of his cognoscenti could be a faux 144,000, consisting of male virgins (as a counterfeit of Revelation 14:4) who have never eaten meat. If they receive on their forehead the mark of the Antichrist's name (instead of a representation of the number of his name) (Revelation 13:17), this will be as a counterfeit of YHWH's 144,000 in Revelation 14:1. But the Antichrist will not pretend that he is YHWH, just as he will not pretend that he is Christ. Instead, as a Gnostic, he will utterly revile YHWH (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36). And his Gnostic denial that Christ is in the flesh (1 John 4:3) will disqualify him (under his Gnostic doctrine) from being Christ.
~
(Re: Did the mark already happen under Nero, or Hitler, or x?)
No, it has never happened. But any mistaken teaching which claims that the mark of the beast did already happen at some point in history could be employed by the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") to fool some Christians into thinking that his mark is the true mark of God which was prophesied to come (Revelation 22:4, Revelation 3:12) sometime after the mark of the beast (of Revelation 13:16-18).
~
(Re: Is the mark only an inward state like the circumcision of the heart, and not something outward like physical circumcision?)
Just as Abraham received outward circumcision as a sign of his inward righteousness by faith in YHWH God (Romans 4:11), so the future mark of the beast will serve as an outward sign that someone is a conscious worshipper of Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) and of the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) and his speaking image (Revelation 13:4-18).
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(Re: Can someone tying me to a chair and putting the mark on my hand take away my salvation?)
Our salvation will be taken away if we worship the Antichrist and his image, and by our own volition receive his mark on our right hand or forehead (Revelation 14:9-12). In the original Greek, "receive" in Revelation 14:9 is in the active voice, not the passive voice. If the mark is forced on us against our will, such as through scarification while we are under restraints, or while we are passed out on forcibly administered drugs or after a beating or torture session, then after we are released or regain our consciousness, as soon as it is possible for us to do so we should formally renounce and reject the mark verbally to God, and also completely deface the mark physically, such as with further scarification (by our own hand) in the sign of the Cross of Jesus Christ, placed over the mark of the Antichrist. And we could also write "YHWH" over the mark with a permanent marker, to make our true loyalty clear to all.
~
(Re: Since 666 = six hundred and sixty-six, would it not actually be represented by "WWW", which is only 6 - 6 - 6?)
It is true that the 666 in Revelation 13:18 is six hundred and sixty-six. But the mark of that number (Revelation 13:17) could in some cases be a disguised representation of it, involving three letters or symbols which each represent a 6. As an analogy, imagine that someone owned a dry cleaning business with one location at the address 123 Main Street, where the 123 is one hundred and twenty-three. And the owner wanted the name of his business to represent that address, but without making people think that his business had one hundred and twenty-three locations. So instead of naming his business "123 Cleaners", he named it "ABC Cleaners", with the "A" representing the "1" part of the 123, the "B" the "2", and the "C" the "3". He could do this even though he knew that while A, B, and C, do represent 1, 2, and 3 in English gematria, "ABC" does not actually represent one hundred and twenty-three, but only 1 - 2 - 3. Or, the owner could represent the address by naming the business "1-2-3 Cleaners", with the advertising slogan: "As easy as 1-2-3!", even though he knew that "1-2-3" and the easiness of counting from 1 to 2 to 3 are not the same as one hundred and twenty-three.
~
(Re: A *Microchip / *Chip)
The future Antichrist could require that everyone receive an injected RFID microchip between their right thumb and forefinger, which could be used as an identification device, a debit/credit card, and a repository of emergency healthcare information (that is, it could alert emergency healthcare workers to any medicinal allergies or conditions which an individual may have). But any such microchip would be separate from the "mark of the beast" (Revelation 16:2, Revelation 13:16-18). For the latter will be visible to people so that they can easily tell in every situation, even one without electricity, ...
(See "whether or not" under section 1 of Revelation 13:16 above)
~
(Re: So should Christians receive a microchip implant because it is not the mark?)
No, for even though a microchip implant will not be the mark, and even though a microchip implant could be instituted in some countries years before the world becomes Luciferian (Satanist) during the future Antichrist's literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (of Revelation 13:4-18), Christians should still reject a microchip implant, whenever it appears, so that it cannot be used to track them, and so that they will not become like a cyborg, a walking debit/credit card, a mere cog/chip fitted into the technological/economic system of the already-existing harlot of "Babylon" (Revelation chapters 17-18), whom such Christians will then not be able to "come out of" (Revelation 18:4). For their very bodies will have become an integral part of her.
~
(Re: Isn't that inconsistent?)
No, just as, for example, it is not inconsistent to say that even though the future Antichrist's religion will not be Islam in its past and current form, people should still not follow Islam.
(See the "Islam" section of Galatians 1:8 above)
~
(Re: Could some people take a mark-chip because they were told that the mark is not a chip?)
Note that that question can be turned around: If the future Antichrist says that people without implanted microchips can still use their cash or debit/credit cards to buy things under his reign, so long as they simply receive (by scarification) a mark representing his name or gematrial name-number (666) on their right hand or forehead, will many Christians agree to receive this mark because they were mistakenly taught that the only thing that the mark can be is an implanted microchip?
~
(Re: A *club-member cards analogy)
A scarification mark would not replace microchip implants, which could be used to electronically perform buy/sell transactions like debit/credit cards do today. Instead, a scarification mark would be in addition to microchip implants, just as today the club-member cards of members-only stores are in addition to debit/credit cards. That is, just as without a club-member card, people today are not permitted to buy anything at a members-only store, even if they have a debit/credit card, so without the future Antichrist's mark, people during his literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (Revelation 13:4-18) will not be allowed to buy anything (Revelation 13:17), even if they have a debit/credit microchip implant.
(See the "reason that people will be given the mark" under section 1 of Revelation 13:16 above)
~
(Re: Is the mark all about buying and selling itself, money itself?)
No, for Revelation 13:17 does not say that the mark itself will perform buy/sell transactions, like debit/credit cards do today. It only says that without the mark, people will not be permitted to buy or sell. A present-day analogy of this distinction would be how club-member cards do not perform buy/sell transactions at members-only stores, like debit/credit cards do, yet without a club-member card, people are not permitted to buy anything at those stores, even if they have a debit/credit card.
God does not ask us to choose between Him on the one hand and buying and selling on the other. For buying and selling can be done virtuously (Proverbs 31:10,16,24, Luke 22:36, Matthew 19:21, Matthew 13:44). But God does ask us to choose between Him and money regarding what we serve (as opposed to what we merely use). For we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). But when the future Antichrist's literal 3.5-year worldwide reign comes (Revelation 13:4-18), if we remain in the cities instead of fleeing into prepared, God-protected wilderness places (Revelation 12:6,12-14), the most basic choice which we will have to make will not be between serving God or money, but between, on the one hand, serving God and getting beheaded (Revelation 20:4), or, on the other hand, serving Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9) and not getting beheaded. And if we choose the latter, we may gain a few more years of life, but only in exchange for an eternity in hell (Revelation 14:9-11).
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(Re: Does the prophecy itself make the distinction that buying/selling can be done virtuously?)
No. Neither does it contradict that. For the prophecy is about the world's future, conscious, and open worship of Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) and of the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) and his image (Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 12:9), not about the mistaken idea that buying and selling are somehow evil in themselves.
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(Re: Why is it important for you to separate from the mark the spiritual significance of trusting money over God?)
Note that nothing in the Bible says or requires that the spiritual significance of the mark will be trusting money over God, rather than trusting Lucifer (Satan) and the Antichrist and his image (Revelation 13:4,8,15-18) over God.
~
(Re: You fear not being able to buy/sell because you fear starvation/death)
Note that Christians need not fear starvation and death (Romans 8:35-39, Hebrews 2:15). And there is also no need to starve to death, just as there is no need to be beheaded, due to staying loyal to YHWH God/Jesus Christ (Revelation 20:4-6). For Christians can flee into God-protected wilderness places which they will have already prepared with supplies of food (Revelation 12:6,14-16).
(See also Isaiah 26:19 and Matthew 24:16 above)
~
(Re: If it is just a visible mark, then how does that stop *online buying?)
Smartphones and computers have cameras. And mark-recognition software could be developed which can automatically detect through these cameras the visible mark on a person's forehead or right hand (which the person could be required to hold up in front of a camera before any online purchase can be made). Software has already been deployed which can detect through a camera even the minute, unique patterns in the iris of an individual-human's eye, and can use these patterns to identify individuals with even greater accuracy than fingerprints. So it would be easy to develop software which can detect through a camera a scarification mark representing the future Antichrist's name or gematrial name-number (666) on the forehead or right hand (Revelation 13:16-17).
~
(Re: Could implanted microchips have the Antichrist's number and name on them, as advertising?)
They could, just as the Antichrist's number and name could be placed on everything for sale. But that still would not make the implanted chips or the things for sale the actual mark, which will be placed only "on" (epi: G1909) people (Revelation 13:16). Also, there would be no advertising purpose in placing the Antichrist's number and name on chips implanted inside people, where those things will not be seen.
~
(Re: Is Sunday-worship the mark of the beast?)
No, for Revelation 13:17 shows that if someone refuses to receive the mark, he will not be able to buy or sell. So having or not having the mark will be something which will have application to every day of the week. For people buy and sell every day of the week.
(See also the "Sabbath" section of Ephesians 2:15 above)
~
(Re: The mark being *on the hand or forehead)
In Revelation 13:16 the original Greek word (epi: G1909) translated as "in" actually means "on" (Revelation 14:1a) or "upon" (Revelation 14:14), not inside, like how our "epi"-dermis (our skin) is on our body, not inside it.
~
(Re: Why bother with the *Greek?)
The New Testament was originally written in Greek. And only this original Greek is necessarily God-inspired and infallible (2 Timothy 3:16), as opposed to any of its man-made translations. So if there is ever a question regarding what something in God's Word the New Testament means, we must go to its original Greek to make sure that we are understanding it correctly. We must not reject the sound meaning of any of the New Testament's original Greek to follow any man-made ideas, for that would be a recipe for disaster (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Also, Strong's Concordance and Greek Dictionary make it very easy for us to look up the original Greek words of the New Testament and read their definitions. For Strong's Concordance includes every English word in the KJV and indicates the original Greek word from which it was translated. And you do not even have to know how to read Greek words. For Strong's Concordance assigns a Greek-word number to each word in the KJV New Testament, and Strong's Greek Dictionary then lists these words by their numbers.
~
(Re: Should we be focusing on the spirit rather than the letter of what is written?)
Note that the spirit of what is being communicated in Revelation 13:16 is expressed through the meanings of the original Greek words which God's Holy Spirit chose for Revelation 13:16, not in meanings which those words do not include. So we should be careful to not ignore the sound meaning of the original Greek of Revelation 13:16, and make up whatever other meaning we want (2 Timothy 4:3-4) and claim that it is the "spirit" of Revelation 13:16.
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(Re: What about our referring to someone having a plate "on" his forehead, when in fact we mean that it is under the skin?)
If it is not visible, then we should say that it is "in" his forehead (between the skin and bone), not "on" (epi) it.
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(Re: Am I "on" the bus or "in" the bus?)
If you are riding inside it, then in the New Testament's original Greek you are "in" (en: G1722) the bus, not "on" (epi: G1909) the bus, because epi does not include the meaning of one thing being inside another.
~
(Re: What about laying "on" a bed, under a blanket?)
If the blanket of a bed is considered part of the bed, just as the skin of the forehead is part of the forehead, then someone lying under the blanket is "in" the bed, just as something placed under the skin of the forehead is "in" the forehead.
~
(Re: What about a microchip glued or stitched onto the skin?)
That is unlikely, for would the microchip be able to stay very long on the skin instead of getting knocked off, for example, while someone is scrubbing his skin in the shower with a wash cloth?
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Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Nov 7, 2018
The "mark of the beast" (Revelation 13:16-17, Revelation 16:2) will be a literal, physical mark which will be visible to people so that they can easily tell in every situation whether or not someone should be permitted to buy or sell (Revelation 13:17). It will be visible also because the original Greek of Revelation 13:16 shows that the mark will be placed only "on" (epi: G1909), not inside, people's right hands or foreheads. Also, it will be placed on people probably by scarification. For in Revelation 13:16, one of the definitions of the original Greek word (charagma: G5480) translated as the "mark" is "a scratch or etching" (Strong's Greek Dictionary), and scarification is the scratching or etching (that is, the cutting) of the skin to leave a permanent mark. The reason that people will be given the mark in Revelation 13:16, in the context of what was shown previously in Revelation 13:4,8,15, will be to serve as a visible indicator to other people that they are loyal worshippers of Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9) and of the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) and his image (Revelation 13:4,8,15), just as some Satanists today put a mark on themselves by scarification.
The mark will consist of only the Antichrist's name "or" some representation of the gematrial number of his name (666) (Revelation 13:17-18), meaning that the mark will be the Antichrist's name for some people and a representation of the gematrial number of his name for other people. And the mark will be placed only on the right hand (probably on the palm) "or" on the forehead (Revelation 13:16), meaning that it will be placed on the right hands of some people and on the foreheads of other people.
Those who refuse to receive the Antichrist's mark will not be allowed to buy or sell anything (Revelation 13:17). And they will be executed by being beheaded if they refuse to worship the Antichrist and his image (Revelation 13:15, Revelation 20:4). Christians must be willing to suffer this fate rather than agree to receive the Antichrist's mark or worship him or his image. For those people who agree to do these things, even if they are Christians, will suffer God's wrath in fire and brimstone forever (Revelation 14:9-13), while those Christians who refuse to do these things, even though they will be beheaded by the Antichrist, will be physically resurrected into immortality (along with the rest of the obedient Church of all times) at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Revelation 20:4-6; 1 Corinthians 15:21-23,52-58), which will occur immediately after the future Tribulation (Matthew 24:29-31). And even before their resurrection, at the moment of their death their still-conscious souls will be brought into the presence of Jesus in heaven (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:21,23, Revelation 6:9-10, Luke 23:43,46).
In the future, when the world begins to worship the Antichrist as God (Revelation 13:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36), some people could gladly be willing to have his name placed by scarification on their right palm, just as lovers in the past were sometimes known to have their loved ones' initials placed by scarification on their palms (compare also Isaiah 49:16, Jeremiah 48:37, Leviticus 19:28, and Leviticus 21:5). Other of the Antichrist's worshippers could gladly be willing to have his name placed by scarification on their foreheads, thinking (mistakenly) that they are fulfilling the Christian idea of Revelation 22:4, which refers to the future point in time when Jesus will put God's name visibly on the forehead of obedient Christians (Revelation 3:12). The Antichrist's miracle-working False Prophet, who will be the one who will cause everyone to be marked with the Antichrist's mark (Revelation 13:16-18), could even convince people that he (the False Prophet) is Jesus himself returned (via "reincarnation"). But he will not say that he is Christ. For he and the Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ, and will deny that Christ is in the flesh (1 John 2:22; 2 John 1:7).
(See also Revelation 13:4 above)
Instead of having the Antichrist's name engraved on their right hand or forehead, some of his worshippers will have the gematrial number of his name (666) (Revelation 13:17c-18) engraved on their right hand or forehead. But because some people could refuse to have "666" placed on their body, in order to make a mark of 666 acceptable to all people it could be disguised to look like something else in those cases where people demand something other than "666". For example, it could be disguised in some cases to look like "777", or "111", or "WWW", or "VVV", or "|| || ||", or "FFF". For the sixth letter of the ancient Hebrew alphabet (Vav) represents the number 6, but it looks like a "7", or a "1", and it is transliterated into English as either a "W" or a "V". Also, two thin vertical lines "||" represent the number 6 on many UPC codes. And the letter "F" has a numerical value of 6 in English gematria.
(See also Revelation 13:18 below)
In an awful coincidence (or maybe it is not just a coincidence), "FFF" also stands for an extremely powerful type of nuclear bomb: Fission-Fusion-Fission. Could this be the type of bomb which the ten kings of the future Antichrist's empire will employ to burn up the cities of the nations at the end of the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24 (Revelation 17:12,16-17a, Revelation 16:19, Revelation 19:2,11)?
The "WWW" which has been placed on many internet addresses, and the "|| || ||" which has been placed across many UPC codes on products (that is, they have a "||" at the beginning, middle, and end of their UPC codes), are harbingers of when Satan will give the Antichrist ownership of everything on the earth (Revelation 13:2b; cf. Luke 4:7), and of the Antichrist's placing of his "brand" on everything, like how a rancher places his brand on all of his cattle. For both "WWW" and "|| || ||" are disguised representations of the gematrial number of the Antichrist's name: 666 (Revelation 13:17c-18). But Revelation 13:16 is not fulfilled by many internet addresses having a "WWW", nor by many products having "|| || ||" on their UPC codes. For Revelation 13:16 refers only to when people will be given the Antichrist's mark, on either their right hand or forehead.
Those assigned to have the mark placed on their forehead (instead of on their right hand) (Revelation 13:16) could be an elite, illumined, cognoscenti class of Gnostic Luciferians who alone will have been given knowledge of the ultimate secrets of the Antichrist's Gnostic Luciferianism, also called Satanism. The Antichrist will be both a Satanist, a worshipper of Satan the dragon (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9), and a Gnostic, someone who denies that Christ is in the flesh (1 John 4:3), and forbids marriage and the eating of meat (1 Timothy 4:1-3). The cream of his cognoscenti could be a faux 144,000, consisting of male virgins (as a counterfeit of Revelation 14:4) who have never eaten meat. If they receive on their forehead the mark of the Antichrist's name (instead of a representation of the number of his name) (Revelation 13:17), this will be as a counterfeit of YHWH's 144,000 in Revelation 14:1. But the Antichrist will not pretend that he is YHWH, just as he will not pretend that he is Christ. Instead, as a Gnostic, he will utterly revile YHWH (Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36). And his Gnostic denial that Christ is in the flesh (1 John 4:3) will disqualify him (under his Gnostic doctrine) from being Christ.
~
(Re: Did the mark already happen under Nero, or Hitler, or x?)
No, it has never happened. But any mistaken teaching which claims that the mark of the beast did already happen at some point in history could be employed by the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") to fool some Christians into thinking that his mark is the true mark of God which was prophesied to come (Revelation 22:4, Revelation 3:12) sometime after the mark of the beast (of Revelation 13:16-18).
~
(Re: Is the mark only an inward state like the circumcision of the heart, and not something outward like physical circumcision?)
Just as Abraham received outward circumcision as a sign of his inward righteousness by faith in YHWH God (Romans 4:11), so the future mark of the beast will serve as an outward sign that someone is a conscious worshipper of Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) and of the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) and his speaking image (Revelation 13:4-18).
~
(Re: Can someone tying me to a chair and putting the mark on my hand take away my salvation?)
Our salvation will be taken away if we worship the Antichrist and his image, and by our own volition receive his mark on our right hand or forehead (Revelation 14:9-12). In the original Greek, "receive" in Revelation 14:9 is in the active voice, not the passive voice. If the mark is forced on us against our will, such as through scarification while we are under restraints, or while we are passed out on forcibly administered drugs or after a beating or torture session, then after we are released or regain our consciousness, as soon as it is possible for us to do so we should formally renounce and reject the mark verbally to God, and also completely deface the mark physically, such as with further scarification (by our own hand) in the sign of the Cross of Jesus Christ, placed over the mark of the Antichrist. And we could also write "YHWH" over the mark with a permanent marker, to make our true loyalty clear to all.
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(Re: Since 666 = six hundred and sixty-six, would it not actually be represented by "WWW", which is only 6 - 6 - 6?)
It is true that the 666 in Revelation 13:18 is six hundred and sixty-six. But the mark of that number (Revelation 13:17) could in some cases be a disguised representation of it, involving three letters or symbols which each represent a 6. As an analogy, imagine that someone owned a dry cleaning business with one location at the address 123 Main Street, where the 123 is one hundred and twenty-three. And the owner wanted the name of his business to represent that address, but without making people think that his business had one hundred and twenty-three locations. So instead of naming his business "123 Cleaners", he named it "ABC Cleaners", with the "A" representing the "1" part of the 123, the "B" the "2", and the "C" the "3". He could do this even though he knew that while A, B, and C, do represent 1, 2, and 3 in English gematria, "ABC" does not actually represent one hundred and twenty-three, but only 1 - 2 - 3. Or, the owner could represent the address by naming the business "1-2-3 Cleaners", with the advertising slogan: "As easy as 1-2-3!", even though he knew that "1-2-3" and the easiness of counting from 1 to 2 to 3 are not the same as one hundred and twenty-three.
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(Re: A *Microchip / *Chip)
The future Antichrist could require that everyone receive an injected RFID microchip between their right thumb and forefinger, which could be used as an identification device, a debit/credit card, and a repository of emergency healthcare information (that is, it could alert emergency healthcare workers to any medicinal allergies or conditions which an individual may have). But any such microchip would be separate from the "mark of the beast" (Revelation 16:2, Revelation 13:16-18). For the latter will be visible to people so that they can easily tell in every situation, even one without electricity, ...
(See "whether or not" under section 1 of Revelation 13:16 above)
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(Re: So should Christians receive a microchip implant because it is not the mark?)
No, for even though a microchip implant will not be the mark, and even though a microchip implant could be instituted in some countries years before the world becomes Luciferian (Satanist) during the future Antichrist's literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (of Revelation 13:4-18), Christians should still reject a microchip implant, whenever it appears, so that it cannot be used to track them, and so that they will not become like a cyborg, a walking debit/credit card, a mere cog/chip fitted into the technological/economic system of the already-existing harlot of "Babylon" (Revelation chapters 17-18), whom such Christians will then not be able to "come out of" (Revelation 18:4). For their very bodies will have become an integral part of her.
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(Re: Isn't that inconsistent?)
No, just as, for example, it is not inconsistent to say that even though the future Antichrist's religion will not be Islam in its past and current form, people should still not follow Islam.
(See the "Islam" section of Galatians 1:8 above)
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(Re: Could some people take a mark-chip because they were told that the mark is not a chip?)
Note that that question can be turned around: If the future Antichrist says that people without implanted microchips can still use their cash or debit/credit cards to buy things under his reign, so long as they simply receive (by scarification) a mark representing his name or gematrial name-number (666) on their right hand or forehead, will many Christians agree to receive this mark because they were mistakenly taught that the only thing that the mark can be is an implanted microchip?
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(Re: A *club-member cards analogy)
A scarification mark would not replace microchip implants, which could be used to electronically perform buy/sell transactions like debit/credit cards do today. Instead, a scarification mark would be in addition to microchip implants, just as today the club-member cards of members-only stores are in addition to debit/credit cards. That is, just as without a club-member card, people today are not permitted to buy anything at a members-only store, even if they have a debit/credit card, so without the future Antichrist's mark, people during his literal 3.5-year worldwide reign (Revelation 13:4-18) will not be allowed to buy anything (Revelation 13:17), even if they have a debit/credit microchip implant.
(See the "reason that people will be given the mark" under section 1 of Revelation 13:16 above)
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(Re: Is the mark all about buying and selling itself, money itself?)
No, for Revelation 13:17 does not say that the mark itself will perform buy/sell transactions, like debit/credit cards do today. It only says that without the mark, people will not be permitted to buy or sell. A present-day analogy of this distinction would be how club-member cards do not perform buy/sell transactions at members-only stores, like debit/credit cards do, yet without a club-member card, people are not permitted to buy anything at those stores, even if they have a debit/credit card.
God does not ask us to choose between Him on the one hand and buying and selling on the other. For buying and selling can be done virtuously (Proverbs 31:10,16,24, Luke 22:36, Matthew 19:21, Matthew 13:44). But God does ask us to choose between Him and money regarding what we serve (as opposed to what we merely use). For we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). But when the future Antichrist's literal 3.5-year worldwide reign comes (Revelation 13:4-18), if we remain in the cities instead of fleeing into prepared, God-protected wilderness places (Revelation 12:6,12-14), the most basic choice which we will have to make will not be between serving God or money, but between, on the one hand, serving God and getting beheaded (Revelation 20:4), or, on the other hand, serving Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) (Revelation 13:4, Revelation 12:9) and not getting beheaded. And if we choose the latter, we may gain a few more years of life, but only in exchange for an eternity in hell (Revelation 14:9-11).
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(Re: Does the prophecy itself make the distinction that buying/selling can be done virtuously?)
No. Neither does it contradict that. For the prophecy is about the world's future, conscious, and open worship of Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) and of the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the beast) and his image (Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 12:9), not about the mistaken idea that buying and selling are somehow evil in themselves.
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(Re: Why is it important for you to separate from the mark the spiritual significance of trusting money over God?)
Note that nothing in the Bible says or requires that the spiritual significance of the mark will be trusting money over God, rather than trusting Lucifer (Satan) and the Antichrist and his image (Revelation 13:4,8,15-18) over God.
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(Re: You fear not being able to buy/sell because you fear starvation/death)
Note that Christians need not fear starvation and death (Romans 8:35-39, Hebrews 2:15). And there is also no need to starve to death, just as there is no need to be beheaded, due to staying loyal to YHWH God/Jesus Christ (Revelation 20:4-6). For Christians can flee into God-protected wilderness places which they will have already prepared with supplies of food (Revelation 12:6,14-16).
(See also Isaiah 26:19 and Matthew 24:16 above)
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(Re: If it is just a visible mark, then how does that stop *online buying?)
Smartphones and computers have cameras. And mark-recognition software could be developed which can automatically detect through these cameras the visible mark on a person's forehead or right hand (which the person could be required to hold up in front of a camera before any online purchase can be made). Software has already been deployed which can detect through a camera even the minute, unique patterns in the iris of an individual-human's eye, and can use these patterns to identify individuals with even greater accuracy than fingerprints. So it would be easy to develop software which can detect through a camera a scarification mark representing the future Antichrist's name or gematrial name-number (666) on the forehead or right hand (Revelation 13:16-17).
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(Re: Could implanted microchips have the Antichrist's number and name on them, as advertising?)
They could, just as the Antichrist's number and name could be placed on everything for sale. But that still would not make the implanted chips or the things for sale the actual mark, which will be placed only "on" (epi: G1909) people (Revelation 13:16). Also, there would be no advertising purpose in placing the Antichrist's number and name on chips implanted inside people, where those things will not be seen.
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(Re: Is Sunday-worship the mark of the beast?)
No, for Revelation 13:17 shows that if someone refuses to receive the mark, he will not be able to buy or sell. So having or not having the mark will be something which will have application to every day of the week. For people buy and sell every day of the week.
(See also the "Sabbath" section of Ephesians 2:15 above)
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(Re: The mark being *on the hand or forehead)
In Revelation 13:16 the original Greek word (epi: G1909) translated as "in" actually means "on" (Revelation 14:1a) or "upon" (Revelation 14:14), not inside, like how our "epi"-dermis (our skin) is on our body, not inside it.
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(Re: Why bother with the *Greek?)
The New Testament was originally written in Greek. And only this original Greek is necessarily God-inspired and infallible (2 Timothy 3:16), as opposed to any of its man-made translations. So if there is ever a question regarding what something in God's Word the New Testament means, we must go to its original Greek to make sure that we are understanding it correctly. We must not reject the sound meaning of any of the New Testament's original Greek to follow any man-made ideas, for that would be a recipe for disaster (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Also, Strong's Concordance and Greek Dictionary make it very easy for us to look up the original Greek words of the New Testament and read their definitions. For Strong's Concordance includes every English word in the KJV and indicates the original Greek word from which it was translated. And you do not even have to know how to read Greek words. For Strong's Concordance assigns a Greek-word number to each word in the KJV New Testament, and Strong's Greek Dictionary then lists these words by their numbers.
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(Re: Should we be focusing on the spirit rather than the letter of what is written?)
Note that the spirit of what is being communicated in Revelation 13:16 is expressed through the meanings of the original Greek words which God's Holy Spirit chose for Revelation 13:16, not in meanings which those words do not include. So we should be careful to not ignore the sound meaning of the original Greek of Revelation 13:16, and make up whatever other meaning we want (2 Timothy 4:3-4) and claim that it is the "spirit" of Revelation 13:16.
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(Re: What about our referring to someone having a plate "on" his forehead, when in fact we mean that it is under the skin?)
If it is not visible, then we should say that it is "in" his forehead (between the skin and bone), not "on" (epi) it.
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(Re: Am I "on" the bus or "in" the bus?)
If you are riding inside it, then in the New Testament's original Greek you are "in" (en: G1722) the bus, not "on" (epi: G1909) the bus, because epi does not include the meaning of one thing being inside another.
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(Re: What about laying "on" a bed, under a blanket?)
If the blanket of a bed is considered part of the bed, just as the skin of the forehead is part of the forehead, then someone lying under the blanket is "in" the bed, just as something placed under the skin of the forehead is "in" the forehead.
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(Re: What about a microchip glued or stitched onto the skin?)
That is unlikely, for would the microchip be able to stay very long on the skin instead of getting knocked off, for example, while someone is scrubbing his skin in the shower with a wash cloth?
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