I will post the following thoughts concerning what the mark of the beast is, and those who choose to receive it.
John Saw the Devil and His Demons Released
For centuries, people have speculated on the identity of the Antichrist. The Bible reveals who the Antichrist is, but the truth is almost unbelievable! The Antichrist is the devil. At the fifth trumpet, God will permit the devil and his demonic angels to appear physically all over Earth. John saw the physical appearing of the devil: “The fifth angel [one of the seven angels that stand before God,
Revelation 8:2] sounded his trumpet, and I [John] saw a star [a term used in the book of Revelation to describe angels (
Revelation 1:20), a brilliant being] that [had been cast out of Heaven, he] had fallen from the sky to the Earth. [At the appointed time] The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss [The ancients believed the Abyss (bottomless pit) was a mysterious region located beneath a flat Earth. The ancients believed a bottomless shaft (hole) went through the flat Earth to the Abyss which was a dwelling place for demons. Volcanoes served as chimneys for the fires that burned under the Earth. The star that had fallen from the sky is Lucifer whom God cast out of Heaven because of his rebellion. John saw the angel king of the Abyss (Lucifer), given a key so that he and his demons could escape. This language indicates that Jesus deliberately and precisely controls the timing when the devil and his demons can physically appear]. When he [the devil] opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it [a great cloud of angels appeared in the sky, the cloud was so dense that it looked] like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts [billions of angels with powerful wings, the number of them was so great that at a distance, John could only compare them to a giant swarm of locusts] came down upon the Earth and were given power [from God to hurt certain people, the torture they caused was] like that of scorpions of the Earth.
They [the demons] were told not to harm the grass of the Earth or any plant [crops] or tree [God does not permit them to physically destroy anything], but
only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. [The torture was so great that] During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
The locusts [the demons from the Abyss] looked like [well-armed] horses prepared for battle. On their heads they [the demons] wore something like crowns of gold [showing their authority over mankind], and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was [long] like women’s hair, and their teeth were [deadly, powerful] like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron [they were invincible beings, human beings could not stop, injure, or kill them], and the sound of their wings was [very loud, they had intimidating power] like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, [the star who received the key] whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon. [For the Jew and the Gentile, his title means the same: The Destroyer.] The first woe [first curse on the wicked] is past; two other woes [curses] are yet to come [upon them].” (
Revelation 9:1-12, insertions and italics mine)
The physical appearing of the devil with billions of demons at the fifth trumpet is a prophetic development that few people anticipate. Jesus revealed the appearing of the Antichrist to John using a caricature of Lucifer and his demons in the same way that He used the caricature of a seven-headed beast in
Revelation 13:1 to represent a crisis government. If you remember, the seven-headed beast
looked like a leopard, but it had feet like a bear and a mouth like a lion. These features are metaphors that describe Babylon’s swift and ferocious power. The idea is that Babylon will quickly destroy everyone who resists its laws. This is why people will lament when the time comes, “Who is like the [seven-headed] beast? Who can make war against him?” (
Revelation 13:4)
Lucifer and his demons will not physically look like the locusts having scorpion tails and riding on horses. These are also metaphors. The devil and his angels will be brilliant, glorious beings with a human-like appearance because angels were made in God’s image like mankind. (
Genesis 1:26;
Job 38:7 KJV) The demons from the Abyss will be physically larger and much more powerful than mankind, and they will be able to fly! Men will not be able to control, stop, or kill them. When the fifth trumpet sounds, Jesus will release the devil and his demons from the Abyss. They will be given power to rule over the whole world for about fourteen months.
Jesus is very patient. He only releases the devil and his demons from the spirit realm after the whole world has had time to thoughtfully consider the testimony of the 144,000. Remember, after a period of about two and a half years, three groups of people will exist. The first group consists of the saints who love and follow Jesus; the second group consists of the religious wicked who obey the laws of Babylon to avoid persecution; and finally, there is a third group that consists of non-religious wicked who refuse to obey either God’s laws or Babylon’s laws.
After the devil and his angels appear his demons will focus their attention on the third group, the nonreligious group. The demons will not attack those who are willing to worship the devil; and God does not allow the demons to attack the saints who have God’s seal. Therefore, the demons will search for people who refuse to worship the devil as Almighty God. When they find these people, they will torture them until they make a decision. If a person surrenders to the demons, agreeing to obey and worship the devil, his torture will end. If he chooses to worship Jesus and receive God’s seal, his torture will also end, but only temporarily.
Coercion is not God’s way. A God of love will not accept forced repentance or a forced conversion; albeit, many genuine conversions have happened in foxholes and other difficult circumstances. Sometimes people will make a genuine and lasting decision when they realize their desperate need for a Savior! (
Acts 16:30;
Luke 23:42) Because we are created as beings with free will, God only accepts the submission and worship of a person who freely chooses to love Him and obey His commandments. (
John 14:15) This will sound strange until you think it through: God allows the devil to torture “hard-headed and hard-hearted” people who have not firmly reached a decision about worshiping anyone so that, if possible, some will repent of their defiance and receive salvation!
The nonreligious group will choose between two options . . . obey and worship the devil to end the torment, OR, in faith, obey and worship Jesus the Creator by resting on His Sabbath day. Once a person makes his decision, his torment will end because demons are not permitted to harm anyone who has God’s seal! Of course, the demons will threaten those who choose to worship Jesus, telling them that while they can escape torture for the present, they will be dealt with later. Most of the people in the nonreligious group will acquiesce and worship the devil to avoid further torture. The sinful nature is eager to avoid the consequences for doing wrong. Salvific faith, on the other hand, is eager to do what is right in God’s sight, trusting that God will be glorified through the consequences.
Jesus will not permit the devil to put people to death during the fifth trumpet, but during the sixth trumpet this restriction is removed. Jesus will allow the devil to put many saints to death as martyrs. Most of the people who surrendered to Jesus during the torture of the fifth trumpet will be martyred during this time because they will refuse the mark of the beast! The demons will surely seek them out.
Monster Size Demons
When the devil appears, masquerading as Almighty God, each wicked person will be confronted with Lucifer’s “mighty power and sovereign authority.” Standing about fifteen feet tall (See *Note: below) and deceptively cloaked in brilliant light and charming benevolence, the devil will claim to be “Almighty God.” He will literally call fire down out of the sky to validate his many lies. (
Revelation 13:13) The devil will declare that he has come to establish God’s kingdom on Earth. He will “admonish” everyone to join him so that there can be a thousand years of peace and prosperity. Of course, everything he predicts about the future will be a lie, and this is why the book of Revelation calls the devil “the false prophet.”
*Note: I speculate the devil will be fifteen feet tall because there were giants before the flood (
Genesis 6:4) and centuries later, Goliath was over nine feet tall. (
1 Samuel 17:4) Since mankind was created as “smaller” or “shorter” beings than angels (
Psalm 8:3-5), it is reasonable to say that Lucifer and his angels will be taller. When the temple was built, God gave Solomon instructions to create two “life sized” angels for the Most Holy Place and they were fifteen feet tall. (
1 Kings 6:23-26.)
Paul described the appearing of the devil and his demons: “The coming of the lawless one [the devil is called “the lawless one” because he will not show any respect for any laws other than his own. His wishes and whims will immediately become law and even though he will appear to be a glorious being, he is a demon masquerading as Almighty God. His actions] will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They [the wicked] perish because
they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason
God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, insertions and italics mine)
Paul said, “For this reason God sends the wicked a powerful delusion.” The reason is “Because they
refused to love the truth and so be saved.” A person cannot refuse to love the truth and be saved until he has first heard the truth and had time to process its requirements! When a person refuses to obey God’s will after the clearest evidence of God’s will is put before him, God can do nothing further for such a person because God will not violate a person’s free will. Before Earth was created, God cast Lucifer and his followers out of Heaven because they refused to obey God’s commands. When Jesus releases the devil and his demons from the spirit realm (the Abyss), Lucifer’s demons will seek out and confront those people who refuse to worship any God. For five months Lucifer’s demons will torture anyone who refuses to worship the devil. The price for insubordination will be painful.
The 144,000 Will Proclaim a Third Message (continued next post)