isJustMe said in post #46:
The mark means nothing until after the Rapture and
the beginning of the Tribulation, and then only
halfway through.
Note that the Bible nowhere teaches that the Rapture
will be before the Tribulation. Unless we die, we
will all still be here to face the mark, which, as
you correctly pointed out, will not be instituted
until halfway through the Tribulation, for it will
not be instituted until the reign of the Antichrist
during the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation:
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him
to continue forty and two months" (Revelation 13:5);
during which time his False Prophet "causeth all,
both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,
to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their
foreheads: 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. 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" (Revelation 13:16-18).
Note that this could mean that people could choose
whether to receive the mark in their right hand or in
their forehead, and that they could choose whether to
receive a symbol of the Antichrist, or his actual
name, or the gematrial number of his name: 666. So
the mark won't be any technology per se, but
something which will specifically indicate one's
allegiance to the Antichrist.
It could also be a brand mark, like shepherds brand
their sheep to show their ownership of them. After
declaring himself as "God" in a rebuilt Jewish temple
(2 Thessalonians 2:4), the Antichrist could brand all
of mankind with his symbol, name, or the gematrial
number of his name, to show his purported ownership
of mankind. Compare: "we are his people, and the
sheep of his pasture" (Psalms 100:3).
Just as brand marks can be crudely burned into the
flesh of the sheep, so could the Antichrist's brand
mark be something quite crude, which could be
performed anywhere at any anytime, instead of some
high technology which would be hard to implement in
less developed countries.
The mark could be cut into the hand or forehead with
a knife-point, deep enough so that it leaves an
indelible scar. The original Greek word for the
"mark" can refer to the scratching or etching of a
surface, just as scarification is the scratching or
etching of the surface of the skin.
The original Greek word for the "mark" can also refer
to a visible mark of servitude, which was placed on
ancient slaves. After declaring himself as "God"
(2 Thessalonians 2:4), the Antichrist could place his
symbol, name, or the gematrial number of his name on
all of mankind, to show that all of mankind are his
servants. Compare: "Praise our God, all ye his
servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great"
(Revelation 19:5).
The Antichrist could say that the true God placing
His name on people's foreheads was foretold in the
Bible: "having his Father's name written in their
foreheads" (Revelation 14:1); "his name shall be in
their foreheads" (Revelation 22:4). So he could say
that there is nothing evil about his mark, which he
could say is the prophesied mark of the true God.
The Antichrist could say that the true Christ writing
His name on people was foretold in the Bible: "I will
write upon him my new name" (Revelation 3:12). He
could say that his, the Antichrist's, name is "the
new name" of Christ.
The Antichrist will deny that Jesus himself is the
Christ, or that the Christ himself ever became flesh:
"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the
Christ? He is antichrist" (1 John 2:22); "And every
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit
of antichrist" (1 John 4:3).
The Antichrist could claim that Jesus was just an
ordinary man who was only temporarily filled with
the Divine Spirit of Christ, like a glass being
temporarily filled with wine. The Antichrist could
claim that now the Divine Spirit of Christ has
returned from heaven to fill and empower him, the
Antichrist, and to be worshipped and served through
him.
The Antichrist could go even further and claim that
the Divine Spirit of Christ is none other than
Lucifer himself, for Lucifer is the morning star just
as Christ is the morning star (Revelation 22:16). So
instead of referring to "Jesus" Christ, the Antichrist
could say that "the new name" of Christ, "the real
name", is Lucifer Christ.
The whole world will be deceived into worshipping the
dragon Lucifer: "and all the world wondered after the
beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave
power unto the beast" (Revelation 13:3-4); "Even him,
whose coming is after the working of Satan with all
power and signs and lying wonders" (2 Thessalonians
2:9).
Even Christians will have to be careful not to be
deceived by what is coming: "then if any man shall
say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there;
believe him not: For false Christs and false prophets
shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to
seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take
ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things"
(Mark 13:21-23).
This is one reason why the false idea of a rapture
before the tribulation is so dangerous: it causes the
church to think that it doesn't have to be prepared
to face all the deceptions that are coming. It could
even cause many in the Church to be deceived by the
Antichrist, for they could reason: "Look, God
promised us a rapture before the Antichrist, so this
guy can't be the Antichrist because we haven't been
raptured. Also, this guy is warning us to beware of
the Antichrist that is coming, and he's saying that
Lucifer isn't Satan, but just another name for
Christ, and that we need to beware of Satan's coming
deceptions; so this guy very well could be inspired
by the true Christ. And look at these miracles his
prophet can do in the name of Christ; they're simply
amazing. I'm telling you this guy must be from God.
And like he says, taking the mark of God is foretold
in the Bible, so I for one am going to take it, no
problem. And, anyway, I'm starving and my babies are
starving, and the only way I can buy something to
eat is by taking the mark. I know God wouldn't want
me and my babies to starve to death, so I for one am
going to take the mark of God, no problem."
To convince any wavering Christians, the Antichrist
could say: "Look, why are you still hesitating? You
don't have to take '666' on you. To convince you that
I represent the real Christ, you can take my optional
mark of '777' on you instead. Okay?" This, along with
deceptive teachings, could be enough to convince many
Christians that the mark can't be evil.
The truth is that Lucifer fell from his position of
morning star and became Satan: "How art thou fallen
from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!" (Isaiah
14:12); "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from
heaven" (Luke 10:18). The man Jesus has taken over
the office of morning star: "I Jesus have sent mine
angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David,
and the bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16).
And even a mark which looks like "777" can still be
a deceptive version of "666", for the sixth letter
of the ancient Hebrew alphabet looks like a "7", and
in ancient times it stood for the number 6. So
cutting three of these Hebrew letters in a row into
one's hand could look like "7-7-7", but actually be
a disguised form of "6-6-6".
Also, one's own starvation or the starvation of one's
little ones will be no excuse for taking the mark,
for we must be willing to die before taking the mark,
and we cannot let our love for our little ones ever
blind us to our even greater love for God: "he that
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of
me" (Matthew 10:37); "If any man come to me, and hate
not his father, and mother, and wife, and children,
and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life
also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26); "He
that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that
hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto
life eternal" (John 12:25).
So Christians will be able to overcome the Antichrist
and Satan during the tribulation by being willing to
die faithfully before taking the mark: "And they
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the
word of their testimony; and they loved not their
lives unto the death" (Revelation 12:11). "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. And I
heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write,
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from
henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit" (Revelation
14:9-13).
So the whole purpose of the Bible telling us all
about the mark is so that we can begin to prepare
ourselves to be willing to die before we accept it.
The false idea of a pre-tribulation rapture can
completely undercut this purpose, this preparation,
and instead leave Christians with a shallow faith
which they could forsake during the coming
tribulation:
"... he that received the seed into stony places, the
same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy
receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but
dureth for a while: for when tribulation or
persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he
is offended" (Matthew 13:20-21); "Then shall they
deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you:
and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's
sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall
betray one another, and shall hate one another. And
many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive
many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of
many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto
the end, the same shall be saved" (Matthew 24:9-13).
Many Christians could be so "offended" at finding
themselves in the tribulation, that they could even
curse God Himself "for lying to us that He would
rapture us before we entered the tribulation. He must
be pretty evil if he expects us and our little ones
to starve to death for Him while he doesn't even
lift a finger to help us!"
"And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and
hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they
shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and
curse their king and their God, and look upward. And
they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble
and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be
driven to darkness" (Isaiah 8:21-22).
Many Christians could be driven into the arms of the
Antichrist by their hunger and their anger at God.
The Antichrist could tell them: "Look, you were
deceived by that evil YHWH; he is a cruel, petty
tyrant who is now laughing at your suffering and the
suffering of your little ones, just as he himself
admits in his own word: 'I also will laugh at your
calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh'
(Proverbs 1:26); 'he will laugh at the trial of the
innocent' (Job 9:23). The suffering of you poor
innocent souls, and your poor innocent little ones,
is amusing to him! Yes, he is that evil, my friends.
But come, come, I have food for you and your little
ones. I will take care of you. Just take this little
mark on yourselves, '777' if you like, and together
we will make a stand against the evil one. How cruel
it was for him to set you up with that false hope of
a rapture before this tribulation, just so he could
pull the run out from under you at the last moment!
That is the way of the deceiver Satan, my friends,
for YHWH is Satan. But our Lord Lucifer Christ has
now returned from heaven to free us once and for all
from the deceptions of that vile imposter YHWH Satan".
The Antichrist could really say horrible things like
this against God, for "the king shall do according to
his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify
himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous
things against the God of gods" (Daniel 11:36); "And
there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him
to continue forty and two months. And he opened his
mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his
name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in
heaven" (Revelation 13:5-6).
(continued)