The mark of the beast is about
worship.
Revelation 13:4 So they
worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they
worshiped the beast, saying, “Who
is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”
Rev 13: 12 And he exercises all the
authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to
worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev 13:15 He was granted
power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not
worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave,
to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads 17 and
that no one may buy or sell except one who has [
g]the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
The mark which will be either in their right hand or forehead does not represent a literal mark. It's symbolic as to who we worship. The mark on the right hand represents our actions and the forehead our decisions. The mark will be received in two ways. In the forehead- those who knows what they are doing and does it anyway (like Adam) and by the hand- doesn't know they are being deceived, but is (like Eve).
It brings us to this.
Deut 6:5
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
Jesus taught us what false worship is and that is keeping our rules over the commandments of God and He quotes directly from the Ten Commandments saying when we keep our rules over obeying God's commandments- one worships in vain i.e. false worship Mat 15:3-14 Mark 7:7-13
We see this play out in end times...
False worship:
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever;
and they have no rest day or night,
who worship the beast and
his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
Next verse, the antidote- True Worship
Rev 14:12 Here is
the patience of the saints; here
are those who
keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
A beast is a kingdom as we see in Dan 7:23 and the mark is something this beast will enforce that is contrary to God's commandments. The mark is not literal it represents who we worship. Is our allegiance to the Authority of God and what He commands or by contrast the authority of the beast (Kingdom) that is contrary to God's law found in Exodus 20 that God personally spoke and personally wrote. Exo 32:16 Exo 31:18 Who we obey is the image we take on. God's character which is found through His law or the power that wants to exalt himself above God. Isa 14:14 this power works though the beast on earth (Kingdom). The way to avoid the mark of the beast is to have God's seal Isa 8:16 which is found in one of God's commandments- the only commandment that reveals the Author of His law and Creator of everything.
That said, I do think the beast will enforce his mark through buying and selling which could be used by a chip or something similar, the chip itself is not the mark of the beast, but can be used as a way to force people to take on the mark as it controlls buying and selling.
www.bbc.com
thehill.com
corepay.net
