Anti Federalist
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Doing a thread split to save the mods some work.
[MENTION=849]jmdrake[/MENTION]
I asked:
jmdrake replied:
[MENTION=849]jmdrake[/MENTION]
I asked:
Question: In your mind, what form will the "Mark of the Beast" take?
Not a "gotcha", this is, one of many, points of bitter contention between Mrs. AF and myself.
Just curious what you thought.
jmdrake replied:
Good question! In Revelation you have the mark of the beast and the seal of God. Both have to do with worship. The mark is described in Revelation 13.
15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[e] That number is 666.
Verse 15 makes it clear that the beast wants to force everyone to worship it. The mark, therefore, is a sign of who is and is not worshipping the beast.
Revelation 7:3 mentions that the last plagues are supposed to be held back until God's sevants are sealed in their foreheads.
Revelation 14:1 mentions the 144,000 have the seal of God in their forheads.
Then you get to the three angels messages. Revelation 14:6-7 commands to fear God and worship Him as creator because the hour of His judgment is come. Revelation 14:8 declares Babylon is fallen. (Later in chapter 18 God's people ar called to come out of Babylon). Revelation 14:9-11 says that if you receive the mark of the beast in your forehead or hand, you are damned. Note that Revelation 14:12 says that the saints are those who have the faith of Jesus and keep the commandments of God.
You can only have the seal of God in your forehead, which is a sign that your mind is dedicated to God. You can have the mark of the beast in your forehead, which is a sign that you actually buy satan's crap and follow him, or you can have it in your hand. The hand is a sign of works. Meaning you can work your way into hell. You can do the works of satan even if you don't believe his crap. You might do that to be able to "buy or sell" or to avoid being killed. Think of WW 2 where you had nazis that were true believers and nazis that were just following orders.
We know from Daniel 7 that beasts represent world powers. So two great world powers will force everyone to worship as they see fit. I don't think what's happened with COVID is the mark of the beast per se, but it certainly sets things up for it. Note that in Kentucky last year, state troopers were writing down license plates to see who was violating the church shut down order. That's a clear violation of first amendment freedom to worship.
This is what Ellen White wrote over 100 years ago.
By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation [the United States] will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.
Can anybody deny that this is coming true? At the very least, the part in bold is coming true.
Anyway, that's a long answer to a short question. What form will the enforcement of the mark of the beast take? Of that I'm not sure. But I am sure that satan seeks to use the power of the state to pevert and control religion. There will be some mechanism (chip? card? cell phone?) to make sure that only the religion that fits his approval is allowed to be practiced. Already in some countries it is difficult for pastors to preach from Romans 1 for example. (Though when you take Romans 1 in conjunction with Romans 2 it's clear that while Romans 1 condemns the perversion of the heathens, it turns around and calls out the believers to not judge because they are just as bad.) Health freedom is under attack worldwide. And religious exemptions to vaccine mandates are being attacked. Things are wrapping up. At least it looks that way. Then again, things looked this bad in Hitler's Germany. There may be another reprieve.
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