This is a much debated issue in Christianity. Today we will look at what the Bible says about it.
Nature shows there is a God
Romans 1:
18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:“
God says here that everyone is without excuse because nature clearly shows that God exists.
Those who do not believe in Jesus are already condemned to Hell
John 3:18 “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
God Promises that those who diligently seek Him will find Him
Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.“
God promises here that if a person diligently seeks God then God will make sure they hear the gospel and have an opportunity to get saved.
I have heard about people in secluded tribes realizing from nature that the true God could not be their idols, but a single all powerful God who created everything. They then began to ask God to reveal Himself to them. Then after many years a missionary came to them and told them the Gospel and they got saved.
God gives everyone a chance to get saved, no one has an excuse. He reveals Himself through nature, and then He makes sure that anyone seeking Him does hear a clear presentation of the Gospel and has an opportunity to get saved.
Every time you turn around someone is saying this or that is the Mark of the Beast.
When I was a small child they were saying it was credit cards or bar codes.
When I was a teenager they were saying it was the tracking chip some rich people were putting in their kids to protect them from getting kidnapped.
About 10 years ago they were saying it was the chip in the credit cards.
Now they are saying it is the Covid-19 vaccine, and that if you take the vaccine you are condemned to Hell!
I have news for you:
It is none of those things!
Today we look at the truth concerning the Mark of the Beast according to the Bible.
Both the Beast and the False Prophet must be in power, fully revealed, and the image of the Beast must be set up, before the Mark is instituted!
The Bible says in Revelation 13:11-18:
11 “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 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. 18 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.”
So before the Mark of the Beast can be instituted a well known world leader will suffer a deadly head wound and he will be healed by Satan.
Then another Beast, a false preacher, will show up doing all sorts of miracles including calling down fire from heaven, and will deceive people into worshiping the first Beast.
Then not the Beast himself nor the False Prophet, but the people under orders of the False Prophet, will build an image of the first Beast.
Remember Nebuchadnezer and his image. Whoever did not worship his image was killed, or at least thrown into a fiery furnace. Nebuchadnezer and his image was a small prelude to the Beast and his image. And just like Nebuchadnezer got saved in Daniel 4, the Beast can get saved too.
After the people build the image, the False Prophet gives life to it. Literally the Devil possess the image and causes it to speak and order the deaths of people who refuse to worship it.
Therefore, until these things happen, the Mark of the Beast has not been instituted yet.
It is impossible to accidently take the Mark of the Beast.
The Bible makes it vey clear that you must knowingly worship the Beast in order to take his Mark!
Revelation 13:12 “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.“
Revelation 13:15 “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 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.“
Therefore, if you must question whether or not something is the Mark of the beast, it is NOT the Mark of the Beast!
A person can still repent and be saved after taking the Mark!
The Bible says:
Revelation 14:9-10 “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 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:”
People will go to hell for worshiping the Beast just like they go to hell for worshiping any other false God, but nowhere does the Bible say that they cannot repent and be saved.
The Bible also says All liars will go to hell. Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Does that mean if you ever tell a lie you are condemned to hell and can never repent? If that were true no one could be saved!
The Bible says some people Overcome the Mark!
Revelation 15:2-3 “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”
These people had worshipped the Beast and taken the Mark and then got saved, probably through the ministry of the 144,000. There is no other way someone could get victory over the Mark, but to get saved and publicly renounce it! These people will then be martyred for forsaking the Beast.
The Bible says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
God has never refused to save anyone, and God will never refuse to save anyone. As long as a person is still alive they can repent and be saved, no matter what sins they have committed!
Even during the Millennial Reign Jesus is still saying “Whosoever will let him come!”
Revelation 22:16 “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. 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
In closing, the Mark of the Beast will not be instituted until the Beast and the False Prophet are both fully revealed and the image of the Beast is publicly made and set up by the people.
Furthermore, the Bible says people can gain victory over the Mark! Therefore, those who take the Mark can repent and be saved!
We all know about Thomas not believing the other disciples when they told him that Jesus had risen.
John 20:24-25 “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Thomas had deeper understanding of the redemptive work of the Messiah, than many Christians do today.
Many Christians today think that Jesus has scars.
However, Thomas understood that if Jesus was God then He would not have scars. That is why he said he would have to thrust his hand into Jesus’ side and put his finger into the print of the nails.
Thomas understood that if Jesus was God and had just died to save us then He would have eternal wounds like the Bible says in Revelation 5:6 “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain…”
Jesus would not have any blood in His body to produce scars, because He would have put his blood on the Mercy Seat in heaven to atone for our sins. Like the Bible says in
Hebrews 9:11-12 “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Thomas understood these deep doctrines of redemption before they were ever written down for us. That is why Thomas had the reaction of “My Lord and my God” when he finally did see Jesus.
John 20:26-29 “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
If you have never made Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, please read my page “How To Get To Heaven.”
I like math and I was playing around with a calculator the other day and put in the square root of 10. Rounded to 2 decimal places the square root of 10 is 3.16.
10 is the Biblical number for law
There are 10 commandments.
3.16 points to John 3:16
John 3:16 is often referred to as the Gospel in a nutshell.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The law points us to Jesus
Galatians 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
Just like the the number 10 points us to its root of 3.16. The law points us to Jesus.
Jesus is the end of the law
Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
Galatians 3:24-25 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”
Matthew 12:8 “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.”
Galatians 5:18 “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”
This does not mean that we can go sin all we want too and still go to heaven!
It says if we are led by the Spirit we are not under the law.
If someone is led by the Spirit then they will fulfil the whole law by loving God and loving others.
Matthew 22:37-40 ” Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
1 Corinthians 6:10 “Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
Romans 1:20 “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”
God’s hand is clearly seen through all His creation. From the complex biological components of the human eye to the various mathematical functions and scientific laws that governs the universe.
Even the word universe means “a single spoken sentence. And God said “Let there be…”
How a person can study the complex and orderly laws of math and science and believe that the sprang from disorder and chance, is beyond me.
The Bible says Atheists are willingly ignorant.
2 Peter 3:3-7 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
They know better, they just don’t want to admit it, because then they would have to submit to God.
John 3:19-20 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
