Stop any Christian on the street and ask them if they will accept the mark. Without exception, they will unequivocally deny any past, present or future tendency to receive the mark. But can it be that cut and dried? We all know that actions speak louder than words. After reading this article, you may discover that the actions being taken by many of today’s Christians are telling a completely different story.
What exactly, is the Mark of the Beast?
And (the beast) 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. Revelation 13:16-17.
What are the consequences of taking the mark?
… 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: Revelation 14:9-10.
“I would never even consider receiving the mark of the beast,” you may say. “Besides that, I plan to be long gone in the rapture before the mark becomes an issue.” Hopefully so, but are you sure without the slightest doubt that you will not have to make a decision regarding the mark?
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Revelation 20:4-5.
There will be a number of people who will be killed as a result of their decision to refuse the Mark. Those people will reign with Christ for a thousand years. Many, if not most Christians, believe they will be taken away before the Mark of the Beast is introduced. Are the people referred to in the above passage ones who missed the rapture? Maybe so, or maybe not—are you willing to risk your eternal spirit on the assumption that you won’t have to make a decision about taking the mark? Wouldn’t it be prudent to at least prepare yourself to resist the Mark just in case you will be faced with that decision? Hopefully there is going to be a Rapture of God’s saints before the Tribulation starts, and we will not have to worry about the Mark of the Beast. On the other hand, maybe the people referred to in the above passage are those who missed the rapture and are given a second chance at salvation. Those could be people who outright refused to accept Jesus in the first place, or they could be people who thought they were saved, but were not. It’s almost as if God may be saying to the ones who get saved after the Rapture – “You all had your chance to accept My salvation before the Rapture and turned it down. Now that the Rapture has taken place, you now know that My people were telling you the truth about My message of salvation. Now I will accept any and all who are willing to come to Me, but you will have to prove yourself to Me by being willing to die for your faith in Me by refusing to worship or receive the mark of the beast.”
Okay, we’ve established that the Mark of the Beast is a bad thing, and bad things will come to those who accept the mark. That is why you and every other Christian walking on the face of the earth will declare without hesitation that you will not take the mark. Oh, really? If you feel so confident in announcing that you won’t take the mark, why don’t you examine the precursors to the mark, and test yourself to see if you are indeed, a candidate for the mark? Here is your first clue: deceit. Satan is known as the deceiver. Yet, when it comes to considering the Mark of the Beast, we Christians often forget that Satan is a deceiver. The Anti-Christ is not going to walk up to mankind one day, place hand cuffs on them and force everyone to take the mark. Obviously, we’d be running in the opposite direction. Instead, the masses will willfully and gladly stand in line, anxious to receive the mark. The mark is a bad thing; everyone knows that. But the deceiver (Satan) is going to package the mark as a good thing. Satan has time on his side. What many of us fail to understand, is that the Mark of the Beast will not be suddenly introduced one day with an announcement that everyone needs to receive the mark on the next day. Instead, he will pre-market his agenda for years, slowly but surely convincing mankind that his “I.D.” system is coming to our aid. Even more deceitfully, it won’t be him that is telling you how advantageous it is. Instead, it will be your neighbor, your friend, your grocer and your school that will be asking you to get involved with something that will make your life better, protect you, and improve your health—and it won’t be marketed as a “mark.”
The Mark of the Beast is based on the importance of a number. Everything we do and everything we buy is tied to a number. From the food we purchase, to account numbers, to property taxes, to credit cards, to bank accounts, and to driver’s licenses, we are mired down with numbers. Call anyone you do business with. Chances are, they will ask for your account number before they ask for your name.
One of our earliest encounters with I.D. numbers involved the Social Security System. We are quick to call anyone an “extremist” who says that Social Security numbers are somehow connected to the Mark of the Beast. Before you dismiss this author as a conspiracy theorist or an extremist, let it be known right now that your Social Security number is not the Mark of the Beast. With that said, let’s examine this issue. Out of compassion for the retired and the elderly, our society implemented the Social Security System. Each working person is expected to chip in a little bit so that those who cannot help themselves can have food, clothing and shelter as they move through their golden years. What is wrong with that? “Nothing,” we say. “It’s a good thing.” So, in order to get Social Security implemented, every person desiring such a benefit was issued a Social Security number.
Is the Social Security system Satan’s doing? We’ve established that Social Security is not the Mark of the Beast. But does that mean that Satan is not in the background pulling the strings that eventually led up to Social Security? Remember one word: deceit. Satan is a master at putting his programs in pretty packages. He offers us ways to improve our lives, better our health, and increase our finances. Perhaps Social Security was an innocent-sounding program to get us accustomed to carrying a number around in our hip pocket. Perhaps Social Security was one of the first steps designed to keep us from being alarmed at the fact that we are a number in some government file cabinet. Social Security is not the program that Satan is interested in. Social Security was simply one of his useful vehicles of preparation to gradually guide us toward his ultimate goal of putting his number (mark) on our wrist.
After Social Security gained a foothold in society, it was determined that a monthly retirement check from the government was not enough support for our elderly citizens. They also needed medical care. So Medicare was incorporated into the Social Security System. Now, our parents and grandparents can obtain free or nearly free health care; that is if they can present their Medicare number to the health care provider. Without that number, they’re out of luck. Without having a certain number, the elderly cannot receive a monthly check in the mail, and they cannot receive any health care. If they have no money, they cannot buy food; they cannot pay property taxes; they cannot rent housing; they cannot buy clothes; and they cannot obtain health care. Oh boy, that doesn’t sound good. It’s just a wild stretch of the imagination, but just for the fun of it, why don’t we revise Revelation 13:16-17. Perhaps it will make those Christian extremists and conspiracy theorists happy. And the beast forced all elderly citizens to receive a social security number in order for them to obtain food, clothing, shelter and health care. Without that number, they could not buy anything, and they could not see a doctor. Obviously, this revision of verses 16 and 17 is written in fun, but the exaggeration was created to cause us think about the deceitfulness of Satan. Social Security, in and of itself is not evil and it is not the Mark of the Beast. It is however, a very effective tool designed to prepare mankind to freely accept the mark sometime in the future.
“Is that all you’ve got?” you may say. No, that’s just the jumping off point. Social Security is simply a government program designed for the good of the citizens. The real culprit is the “number.” Social Security got us accustomed to being a number, and it got us accustomed to everything around us being a number. There was a day when you obtained a Social Security number just before you entered the work force. Nowadays, Social Security numbers are assigned shortly after birth. We as a society have become so accustomed to being associated with a number, that without hesitation, we freely submit out new born babies to their own numbers.
Now, many years after Social Security was implemented, we as a society cannot function without being associated with numbers. Step number one on Satan’s agenda was to make mankind dependent on being associated with certain numbers. While step number one is not the Mark of the Beast, it is an important and very successful step toward the implementation of the Mark of the Beast. There are several steps involved in Satan’s agenda. They are not clear-cut steps however. That would be too obvious. That would be too straight forward. There is much overlapping and blending of the steps; so much blending that we cannot clearly discern one step from the next.
Broadly speaking, step number two is associated with the ease of buying and selling. Before the Mark of the Beast can be fully implemented, all buying and selling must be linked to numbers. This step was started in step number one, but it is being advanced even further in step number two. There was a time when all transactions were in the form of barter. Barter was difficult however. The fur trader may have wanted tools, but the tool maker may not have wanted any furs. So cash was eventually implemented. That way, the fur trader could sell his furs to the pottery maker for cash. Then, he could go to the tool maker and pay cash for the tools he needed. The cash system worked handsomely for many, many years.
There came a time however, when cash transactions became a bit burdensome. So banks and checking accounts came to the rescue. Modern society had evolved enough that writing a check to another person was as good as giving them cash. One unique thing about a checking account however, was that a number was absolutely essential. Each checking account had to have a number associated with the person who opened the account. Then further down the line, came the credit card and the debit card. These cards were a dramatic improvement over writing checks. Swiping a card is a great time-saver in our modern and hectic society. Go into any grocery store or home improvement store and observe the check-out lane. You’d be hard-pressed to find that no less than 95% of all transactions are being processed with one of these great little cards. The card is not the focus of the transaction, however. It’s the number associated with that card. Each card has an all-important number, and that number is linked to the person who is carrying the card.
Another modern trend is to eliminate paper billing. Every utility company and nearly every other vendor you buy from on a regular and consistent basis wants you to set up a paperless billing and payment program. Like clock-work, your checking account or your credit/debit card will be debited every month. You don’t have to do a thing other than apply for that all-important “number.” That number will process your purchases and automatically take the necessary funds from your personal account. We often hear of a coming cashless society, and it is almost here. There will be a day in the not-too-distant future when cash will only be known as an entry in a history book.
Step number three is tracking and surveillance. Tracking of the products we buy and sell is a very useful tool in our society. Barcodes are found on virtually everything we buy. These barcodes permit stores and manufacturers to keep track of inventory and sales. Barcodes are absolutely essential at the check-out lane. Try going to your grocery store and asking the clerk to just punch in the price of the product you are purchasing like they did thirty years ago. You’ll get nothing but a look of confusion from the clerk. Have you ever been in a store when the electricity went out? Even if you have cash in your hand, and even if you can take the clerk back to the shelf and show him the price of the product you want to purchase, you cannot buy the product. If the clerk cannot scan the barcode, he cannot sell you the product.
Take a look at your driver’s license and you will see a barcode. That barcode can tell authorities everything they want to know about you and your driving record. If you will remember, you probably had to submit to a fingerprint when you obtained your driver’s license. With that information, crime scene investigators can quickly associate a finger print with an individual even if that person has had no previous criminal record. “That’s a good thing,” we are told. “We are protecting our citizens when we require fingerprints.” Perhaps it’s a good thing, but it’s the ever-increasing requirement of utilizing a number that is leading society down the pathway to accepting the Mark of the Beast.
When was the last time you bought medicine without a barcode attached to the paperwork? “It’s a good thing,” says the pharmacist. Now we know every medicine you take, so we can quickly tell you if one medicine is incompatible with another.”
We see cameras at nearly every intersection, and we see cameras watching our every move in every store. “It’s a good thing,” we are told. “Cameras at intersections can solve disputes as to who was at fault in an accident and cameras in stores can help prevent crime, and keep costs down as a result.” Right now, cameras don’t necessarily identify a person, but facial recognition software is nearly ready to implement into the program. Do you remember having your picture taken when you got your driver’s license? When the facial recognition software is fully implemented, and when it is tied to the driver’s license data base, Big Brother will be able to track a person’s movements virtually everywhere he goes.
Toll roads have opened up another great way to track a person’s movements. Who wants to waste time at a toll booth fumbling for money? This little problem has been conveniently solved with electronic devices that you attach to your windshield. With one of these nifty little devices, you can freely zoom through the toll booth without stopping, while others wait in line to pay the toll booth attendant. While the pike pass device is useful and handy, it also allows authorities to monitor and track the usage of vehicles. “Well, it may monitor the location of my vehicle, but it doesn’t know who’s inside the vehicle,” you may say. Perhaps so for the time being, but do you remember the cameras? There are cameras at every toll booth. Right now, they are primarily dedicated to capturing an image of every vehicle that goes through the booth, but they are also capable of capturing an image of every person in the vehicle. When facial recognition software is fully implemented, surveillance and tracking will take a giant leap forward.
It used to be that new-born babies could be carried out of a hospital by a baby-snatcher. That crime is a virtual impossibility now. As soon as a baby is born, a band is placed on the baby. This band has a sensor that will alert hospital staff if the baby is taken into an unauthorized area. In addition to the sensor, there is a number associated with that band. With that number, authorities know who that baby is, and they know who its parents are.
Steps one through three are slowly but surely getting us accustomed to accepting I.D. numbers in virtually everything we do. It hasn’t taken long for us to realize that we can’t buy or sell without a number being utilized. Up to this point however, the “number” is on a card or on a statement, or on a band; not actually etched on or in our bodies. Take a moment and think about it. When the Mark of the Beast is implemented, buying and selling cannot occur without a person having the “mark.” Even though the Mark of the Beast is not in place right now, the spirit of the Mark of the Beast is preparing us for that eventual occurrence. Today, it is a rare occurrence to buy or sell without utilizing a number for the product we are buying or selling, and without utilizing our personal number for that transaction.
Step four goes one step further. Somehow or another, Satan must convince the masses to utilize one number that handles all transactions and all activities, and that one number must be permanently attached to, or implanted in or on the body of each person. Remember that Satan’s mode of action is deceit. He knows that even though Twenty-First Century society has become accustomed to being tied to a number, they will still balk if asked to have that number permanently attached on their bodies. Nevertheless, this last step is slowly but surely being set up.
Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID) emit a simple radio signal alert akin to a barcode. The use of RFID devices began in 1945 as an espionage tool for the Soviet government. In 1973, the first patent for a re-writeable memory on an RFID tag was issued. In 1991, Oklahoma was the first state to provide RFID tags for an open highway electronic tolling system. In 2004, the FDA approved the implantation of RFID tags the size of a grain of rice into humans. The usage of RFID tags is still in its infancy, but it is gaining in public approval. These electronic chips are capable of performing financial transactions, tracking presence or non-presence in buildings, storing medical records, and even monitoring and reporting ongoing health-related issues.
RFID tags are being utilized to come to the aid of real human needs. Some researchers are suggesting that the tags could help save lives in the aftermath of a major earthquake or other similar disasters. Anyone entering or leaving a building would be identified via an RFID tag. Then if a disaster happened to take place, authorities would know who, and how many people were still in the building. Continuously updated information on casualties and losses could be made available to disaster response managers in real time so that they could arrange and deploy relief supplies in an appropriate and timely manner. According to these caring and concerned people, once the majority of the world’s population has RFID tags, rescue authorities will be able to know how many people are in a building when a disaster takes place. “It’s a good thing,” they say. “We want to save lives.”
Some schools have suggested that RFID tags would improve the security and safety of our children. The tags could be useful in tracking library book borrowing, disciplinary records, cafeteria purchases, visits to the nurse’s office, punctuality, getting on and off of school buses, and best of all, protecting children from predators. These schools are calling for the usage of RFID tags as a safety issue. “It’s a good thing,” they say. “We’re only interested in the welfare of your child.”
Some people however, are apprehensive about RFID tags tracking their every movement. That concern has some genuine merit. Perhaps that area of usage is moving a bit too fast. At least one firm has announced that they are shifting gears and changing the focus of RFID tags. Now, they are suggesting that the chips should be used for medicinal reasons. Now that is worth a closer look. With this change in focus, the general population is not so up-in-arms. Who can argue with health monitoring? Medical applications don’t hold near the controversial aspects as tracking, surveillance and financial aspects of the devices. At the physician’s office, a scanner could easily access a patient’s medical history and recent health issues.
Hundreds of hospitals have already registered for microchip-based patient identification systems to more quickly identify patients admitted to their emergency rooms. Suppose that a patient is found unconscious by emergency personnel. RFID tags would allow physicians to easily identify the victim and become aware of all of the victim’s medical history and medications. These microchips would also be useful in monitoring elderly people who can be forgetful about taking their medications.
RFID tags can be made capable of monitoring blood glucose levels in diabetics. How many people do you know who do not monitor their own levels often enough? Lots of people; that’s how many. RFID tags can come to the rescue of the health of untold thousands of people. These chips will be able to detect glucose levels and report those levels to physicians. VeriChip Corporation has already been granted a license to provide RFID tags that will be capable of detecting and identify viruses, including the dreaded H1N1 virus. These chips will provide multiple levels of identification—first identifying the agent as virus or non-virus, secondly, classifying the virus and alerting the person of the presence of the virus, and thirdly, identifying the precise pathogen.
How can Satan’s final step be implemented? Answer: Much easier than you thought. With deceit as his best asset, Satan will convince mankind to accept his “mark” by coming to the rescue of mankind’s needs. It will (or did) start innocently enough. Through the advances of medical technology, we don’t think twice about having man-made products placed inside our bodies. Severely broken bones are often mended by placing a pin in the broken bone. Women’s bodies are enhanced by placing implants in their breasts. Heart patients are capable of living a much-longer life with the aid of Pace-Makers. Obese patients may have a ring strategically placed on their stomachs for the purpose of aiding in weight control. Without exception, every man-made object placed in a human body has a number stamped on it. That number can be useful in the event that something goes wrong with the procedure. “That number is for the benefit of the patient,” they say. Who in their right mind, would refuse a pace maker just because it has a number on it, and just because the doctor can communicate with that pacemaker without requiring additional surgery? Who in their right mind would refuse to have a broken bone repaired just because the pin has a number stamped on it? The answer: Almost no one.
RFID tags are small. The original tags were the size of a grain of rice. Later on, the Hitachi mu-chip was introduced, which was smaller than the diameter of a strand of hair. Since then, even smaller devices have been developed that are sixty times smaller than the mu-chip. They are more of the consistency of a grain of powder.
What’s so alarming, is that these chips don’t have to be legislated by the government to become universally used. If enough hospitals and insurance companies begin requiring them, or treating patients wearing them more expeditiously than nonusers, or providing discounts for usage of the chips, they could easily become the new norm. Then, not wearing a chip might be akin to not having an ATM card or a credit card.
Okay, this is referring to implanted devices. Maybe the Mark of the Beast will be some sort of invisible tattoo on the surface of the skin. Would people resist that? Have you ever been to an amusement park, and decided that you forgot something in the car? When you told the gate attendant that you needed to go out of the park for a few minutes, what did he do? He said, “No problem. Stick out your hand so I can “mark” your wrist.” Without thinking twice, you eagerly extended your arm and received a mark. Sometimes the marks are easily visible, and sometimes they are nearly invisible and need to be illuminated with a black light in order to be seen. In either case, you had a need, and the “mark” on your wrist solved that need. “Well, that’s not the Mark of the Beast,” you may say. True. It’s not the mark, but it is a mark nevertheless. Satan’s deceit is focused on getting us accustomed to being tied to numbers, and on getting us accustomed to man-made devices and markings placed in and on our bodies. Who knows whether the Mark of the Beast will be implanted in the body, or if it will be stamped or marked on the surface of a person’s skin? It doesn’t really matter. We as a society are becoming accustomed to the forerunners of Satan’s Mark.
“But,” you may say, “I’ll recognize that line, and I’ll never cross that line.” Well, that sounds good, but most likely; you’ll never see that line. You’ve demonstrated that you may never see that line by the fact that you’ve accepted one baby-step after tiny little baby-step of societal change. We need to realize that there may never be a detectable line in the sand that separates us from taking the mark or not taking the mark. The line, if there actually is one, will be so blurred that there will be few who will recognize it. For that reason, we should refrain from self-righteously saying that we won’t take the mark when it comes. What we should be doing is resisting the current societal drift toward that mark. Vigilance is the key to resisting the mark. It may come as a surprise to you, but it’s not the act of accepting the actual mark that is the problem. The problem has to do with accepting the deceitful spirit that is associated with the mark. Too many Christians are asleep. They think that Satan’s Anti-Christ is going to make an announcement some day saying, “I’m a really bad dude. And to prove how bad I am, I’m going to require you to take my mark on your wrist. If you don’t, I’ll have your head.” No, it won’t be that obvious. The majority of the world’s population will eagerly accept their “personal” number as an aid to good health, well being, and ease of buying and selling. Satan won’t be the one placing that mark on us. It will be our merchants, our utility companies, our doctors and our taxing authorities.
How then, are we to resist the mark if we are faced with that decision? The one who is most likely to refuse the mark when it is eventually presented, is the person who is actively involved in the direction our society is taking today. What a person is doing today is a clear indication of how that person will deal with the “mark” in the future. The person who is most likely to resist Satan’s “mark” is the person who is writing and calling his Senators and representatives and telling them what they are doing wrong and what they are doing right. The person who will most likely refuse the Mark of the Beast is the person who registers to vote; it is the person who actually studies the issues and candidates; it is the person who votes for issues and candidates that are fiscally, socially, and morally responsible; and it is the person who votes in every election that comes around, whether it be the President of the United States for the local dog catcher. Whoa, Nellie. What does voting have to do with taking the Mark of the Beast?
Socialism is one of Satan’s most important vehicles for gaining total control over the people of the world. Capitalism resists government control over the people. Socialism embraces government control. Anyone who votes for issues or candidates that are in favor of socialistic trends is a person who is a prime candidate for accepting the “mark.” The person who is most likely to resist the “mark” is more than just a Sunday-go-to-meetin’ person. The Bible instructs us to resist the wiles of the devil. RESIST: that is the key to avoiding the Mark of the Beast.
Will you resist the Mark of the Beast? The Anti-Christ may not be active today, but the spirit of Anti-Christ is alive and well in our society. The current trend to social programs and Socialism is being orchestrated by the spirit of Anti-Christ. Socialism is a government that provides for the needs of the people. On the flip side of the coin, Socialism is the people being dependent on the government. The person or entity that is doing the giving is the person or entity that has the greatest power and control. Before the Anti-Christ can take control of the entire world, the entire world must be ready to be taken over. The more power and control we give to the government, the more likely we are to come under subjection to that government. America is the only major hold-out against Socialism. Sadly though, we are embracing every socialistic trend that comes along.
Once America becomes a socialistic nation, Satan will be able to move into his final game. With the citizens of all the world’s nations depending on the government to care for their needs, the world will be ripe for embracing a one-world government. The Anti-Christ will become the head of that one-world government. This one-world government will not be capitalistic; it will be socialistic. The citizens of the world social system will already be utilizing their personal I.D. number for everything they do. The only thing left on Satan’s agenda, will be to permanently place that mark on our bodies.
Have you ever studied the parable of the ten virgins? Five of the virgins said they would be ready to perform their duties when the bridegroom showed up. But when he actually did show up, they weren’t ready. They claimed that they would be ready, but their actions said otherwise. The other five didn’t just “say” they would be ready; they constantly made themselves ready; taking care of business all along the way. Then when the bridegroom showed up, they were fully prepared to carry out their business. We Christians are the ten virgins who are waiting for the bridegroom. If we merely go to church and worship the Lord while “saying” that we will resist the mark when it shows up, we won’t have a chance to resist the mark. On the other hand, if we go church, worship the Lord and resist every wile of the devil’s agenda all along the way, we may have a chance to resist the mark.
How does one resist the spirit of the mark that is preparing mankind to accept the actual mark? Social programs and socialism in general must be deeply engrained in society before the actual mark can be administered. Resistance of the spirit of the mark is resistance against the socialistic vehicle that is bringing us the mark. Diligent voting and diligent oversight of the people and policies we have put in place is our fight against the spirit of the mark. If you are not making a great effort to put the right people in office, you are not resisting the spirit of the mark. If you are not regularly communicating your thoughts and desires to your leaders, you are not resisting the spirit of the mark. If you are not currently resisting the spirit of the mark, you won’t stand a chance to resist the actual mark. Not only will you take the mark; you’ll be the first in line to accept the mark.
Will you be able to resist the Mark of the Beast? The actions you are taking today speak more truth about how you will handle the “mark” than the simple statement, “Yes, I will resist the Mark.”
For a complete view of today’s slide toward the end times, read Shadow Truth: The Ultimate Deception. Go to http://bit.ly/bCKGlW for ordering information.
What exactly, is the Mark of the Beast?
And (the beast) 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. Revelation 13:16-17.
What are the consequences of taking the mark?
… 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: Revelation 14:9-10.
“I would never even consider receiving the mark of the beast,” you may say. “Besides that, I plan to be long gone in the rapture before the mark becomes an issue.” Hopefully so, but are you sure without the slightest doubt that you will not have to make a decision regarding the mark?
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Revelation 20:4-5.
There will be a number of people who will be killed as a result of their decision to refuse the Mark. Those people will reign with Christ for a thousand years. Many, if not most Christians, believe they will be taken away before the Mark of the Beast is introduced. Are the people referred to in the above passage ones who missed the rapture? Maybe so, or maybe not—are you willing to risk your eternal spirit on the assumption that you won’t have to make a decision about taking the mark? Wouldn’t it be prudent to at least prepare yourself to resist the Mark just in case you will be faced with that decision? Hopefully there is going to be a Rapture of God’s saints before the Tribulation starts, and we will not have to worry about the Mark of the Beast. On the other hand, maybe the people referred to in the above passage are those who missed the rapture and are given a second chance at salvation. Those could be people who outright refused to accept Jesus in the first place, or they could be people who thought they were saved, but were not. It’s almost as if God may be saying to the ones who get saved after the Rapture – “You all had your chance to accept My salvation before the Rapture and turned it down. Now that the Rapture has taken place, you now know that My people were telling you the truth about My message of salvation. Now I will accept any and all who are willing to come to Me, but you will have to prove yourself to Me by being willing to die for your faith in Me by refusing to worship or receive the mark of the beast.”
Okay, we’ve established that the Mark of the Beast is a bad thing, and bad things will come to those who accept the mark. That is why you and every other Christian walking on the face of the earth will declare without hesitation that you will not take the mark. Oh, really? If you feel so confident in announcing that you won’t take the mark, why don’t you examine the precursors to the mark, and test yourself to see if you are indeed, a candidate for the mark? Here is your first clue: deceit. Satan is known as the deceiver. Yet, when it comes to considering the Mark of the Beast, we Christians often forget that Satan is a deceiver. The Anti-Christ is not going to walk up to mankind one day, place hand cuffs on them and force everyone to take the mark. Obviously, we’d be running in the opposite direction. Instead, the masses will willfully and gladly stand in line, anxious to receive the mark. The mark is a bad thing; everyone knows that. But the deceiver (Satan) is going to package the mark as a good thing. Satan has time on his side. What many of us fail to understand, is that the Mark of the Beast will not be suddenly introduced one day with an announcement that everyone needs to receive the mark on the next day. Instead, he will pre-market his agenda for years, slowly but surely convincing mankind that his “I.D.” system is coming to our aid. Even more deceitfully, it won’t be him that is telling you how advantageous it is. Instead, it will be your neighbor, your friend, your grocer and your school that will be asking you to get involved with something that will make your life better, protect you, and improve your health—and it won’t be marketed as a “mark.”
The Mark of the Beast is based on the importance of a number. Everything we do and everything we buy is tied to a number. From the food we purchase, to account numbers, to property taxes, to credit cards, to bank accounts, and to driver’s licenses, we are mired down with numbers. Call anyone you do business with. Chances are, they will ask for your account number before they ask for your name.
One of our earliest encounters with I.D. numbers involved the Social Security System. We are quick to call anyone an “extremist” who says that Social Security numbers are somehow connected to the Mark of the Beast. Before you dismiss this author as a conspiracy theorist or an extremist, let it be known right now that your Social Security number is not the Mark of the Beast. With that said, let’s examine this issue. Out of compassion for the retired and the elderly, our society implemented the Social Security System. Each working person is expected to chip in a little bit so that those who cannot help themselves can have food, clothing and shelter as they move through their golden years. What is wrong with that? “Nothing,” we say. “It’s a good thing.” So, in order to get Social Security implemented, every person desiring such a benefit was issued a Social Security number.
Is the Social Security system Satan’s doing? We’ve established that Social Security is not the Mark of the Beast. But does that mean that Satan is not in the background pulling the strings that eventually led up to Social Security? Remember one word: deceit. Satan is a master at putting his programs in pretty packages. He offers us ways to improve our lives, better our health, and increase our finances. Perhaps Social Security was an innocent-sounding program to get us accustomed to carrying a number around in our hip pocket. Perhaps Social Security was one of the first steps designed to keep us from being alarmed at the fact that we are a number in some government file cabinet. Social Security is not the program that Satan is interested in. Social Security was simply one of his useful vehicles of preparation to gradually guide us toward his ultimate goal of putting his number (mark) on our wrist.
After Social Security gained a foothold in society, it was determined that a monthly retirement check from the government was not enough support for our elderly citizens. They also needed medical care. So Medicare was incorporated into the Social Security System. Now, our parents and grandparents can obtain free or nearly free health care; that is if they can present their Medicare number to the health care provider. Without that number, they’re out of luck. Without having a certain number, the elderly cannot receive a monthly check in the mail, and they cannot receive any health care. If they have no money, they cannot buy food; they cannot pay property taxes; they cannot rent housing; they cannot buy clothes; and they cannot obtain health care. Oh boy, that doesn’t sound good. It’s just a wild stretch of the imagination, but just for the fun of it, why don’t we revise Revelation 13:16-17. Perhaps it will make those Christian extremists and conspiracy theorists happy. And the beast forced all elderly citizens to receive a social security number in order for them to obtain food, clothing, shelter and health care. Without that number, they could not buy anything, and they could not see a doctor. Obviously, this revision of verses 16 and 17 is written in fun, but the exaggeration was created to cause us think about the deceitfulness of Satan. Social Security, in and of itself is not evil and it is not the Mark of the Beast. It is however, a very effective tool designed to prepare mankind to freely accept the mark sometime in the future.
“Is that all you’ve got?” you may say. No, that’s just the jumping off point. Social Security is simply a government program designed for the good of the citizens. The real culprit is the “number.” Social Security got us accustomed to being a number, and it got us accustomed to everything around us being a number. There was a day when you obtained a Social Security number just before you entered the work force. Nowadays, Social Security numbers are assigned shortly after birth. We as a society have become so accustomed to being associated with a number, that without hesitation, we freely submit out new born babies to their own numbers.
Now, many years after Social Security was implemented, we as a society cannot function without being associated with numbers. Step number one on Satan’s agenda was to make mankind dependent on being associated with certain numbers. While step number one is not the Mark of the Beast, it is an important and very successful step toward the implementation of the Mark of the Beast. There are several steps involved in Satan’s agenda. They are not clear-cut steps however. That would be too obvious. That would be too straight forward. There is much overlapping and blending of the steps; so much blending that we cannot clearly discern one step from the next.
Broadly speaking, step number two is associated with the ease of buying and selling. Before the Mark of the Beast can be fully implemented, all buying and selling must be linked to numbers. This step was started in step number one, but it is being advanced even further in step number two. There was a time when all transactions were in the form of barter. Barter was difficult however. The fur trader may have wanted tools, but the tool maker may not have wanted any furs. So cash was eventually implemented. That way, the fur trader could sell his furs to the pottery maker for cash. Then, he could go to the tool maker and pay cash for the tools he needed. The cash system worked handsomely for many, many years.
There came a time however, when cash transactions became a bit burdensome. So banks and checking accounts came to the rescue. Modern society had evolved enough that writing a check to another person was as good as giving them cash. One unique thing about a checking account however, was that a number was absolutely essential. Each checking account had to have a number associated with the person who opened the account. Then further down the line, came the credit card and the debit card. These cards were a dramatic improvement over writing checks. Swiping a card is a great time-saver in our modern and hectic society. Go into any grocery store or home improvement store and observe the check-out lane. You’d be hard-pressed to find that no less than 95% of all transactions are being processed with one of these great little cards. The card is not the focus of the transaction, however. It’s the number associated with that card. Each card has an all-important number, and that number is linked to the person who is carrying the card.
Another modern trend is to eliminate paper billing. Every utility company and nearly every other vendor you buy from on a regular and consistent basis wants you to set up a paperless billing and payment program. Like clock-work, your checking account or your credit/debit card will be debited every month. You don’t have to do a thing other than apply for that all-important “number.” That number will process your purchases and automatically take the necessary funds from your personal account. We often hear of a coming cashless society, and it is almost here. There will be a day in the not-too-distant future when cash will only be known as an entry in a history book.
Step number three is tracking and surveillance. Tracking of the products we buy and sell is a very useful tool in our society. Barcodes are found on virtually everything we buy. These barcodes permit stores and manufacturers to keep track of inventory and sales. Barcodes are absolutely essential at the check-out lane. Try going to your grocery store and asking the clerk to just punch in the price of the product you are purchasing like they did thirty years ago. You’ll get nothing but a look of confusion from the clerk. Have you ever been in a store when the electricity went out? Even if you have cash in your hand, and even if you can take the clerk back to the shelf and show him the price of the product you want to purchase, you cannot buy the product. If the clerk cannot scan the barcode, he cannot sell you the product.
Take a look at your driver’s license and you will see a barcode. That barcode can tell authorities everything they want to know about you and your driving record. If you will remember, you probably had to submit to a fingerprint when you obtained your driver’s license. With that information, crime scene investigators can quickly associate a finger print with an individual even if that person has had no previous criminal record. “That’s a good thing,” we are told. “We are protecting our citizens when we require fingerprints.” Perhaps it’s a good thing, but it’s the ever-increasing requirement of utilizing a number that is leading society down the pathway to accepting the Mark of the Beast.
When was the last time you bought medicine without a barcode attached to the paperwork? “It’s a good thing,” says the pharmacist. Now we know every medicine you take, so we can quickly tell you if one medicine is incompatible with another.”
We see cameras at nearly every intersection, and we see cameras watching our every move in every store. “It’s a good thing,” we are told. “Cameras at intersections can solve disputes as to who was at fault in an accident and cameras in stores can help prevent crime, and keep costs down as a result.” Right now, cameras don’t necessarily identify a person, but facial recognition software is nearly ready to implement into the program. Do you remember having your picture taken when you got your driver’s license? When the facial recognition software is fully implemented, and when it is tied to the driver’s license data base, Big Brother will be able to track a person’s movements virtually everywhere he goes.
Toll roads have opened up another great way to track a person’s movements. Who wants to waste time at a toll booth fumbling for money? This little problem has been conveniently solved with electronic devices that you attach to your windshield. With one of these nifty little devices, you can freely zoom through the toll booth without stopping, while others wait in line to pay the toll booth attendant. While the pike pass device is useful and handy, it also allows authorities to monitor and track the usage of vehicles. “Well, it may monitor the location of my vehicle, but it doesn’t know who’s inside the vehicle,” you may say. Perhaps so for the time being, but do you remember the cameras? There are cameras at every toll booth. Right now, they are primarily dedicated to capturing an image of every vehicle that goes through the booth, but they are also capable of capturing an image of every person in the vehicle. When facial recognition software is fully implemented, surveillance and tracking will take a giant leap forward.
It used to be that new-born babies could be carried out of a hospital by a baby-snatcher. That crime is a virtual impossibility now. As soon as a baby is born, a band is placed on the baby. This band has a sensor that will alert hospital staff if the baby is taken into an unauthorized area. In addition to the sensor, there is a number associated with that band. With that number, authorities know who that baby is, and they know who its parents are.
Steps one through three are slowly but surely getting us accustomed to accepting I.D. numbers in virtually everything we do. It hasn’t taken long for us to realize that we can’t buy or sell without a number being utilized. Up to this point however, the “number” is on a card or on a statement, or on a band; not actually etched on or in our bodies. Take a moment and think about it. When the Mark of the Beast is implemented, buying and selling cannot occur without a person having the “mark.” Even though the Mark of the Beast is not in place right now, the spirit of the Mark of the Beast is preparing us for that eventual occurrence. Today, it is a rare occurrence to buy or sell without utilizing a number for the product we are buying or selling, and without utilizing our personal number for that transaction.
Step four goes one step further. Somehow or another, Satan must convince the masses to utilize one number that handles all transactions and all activities, and that one number must be permanently attached to, or implanted in or on the body of each person. Remember that Satan’s mode of action is deceit. He knows that even though Twenty-First Century society has become accustomed to being tied to a number, they will still balk if asked to have that number permanently attached on their bodies. Nevertheless, this last step is slowly but surely being set up.
Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID) emit a simple radio signal alert akin to a barcode. The use of RFID devices began in 1945 as an espionage tool for the Soviet government. In 1973, the first patent for a re-writeable memory on an RFID tag was issued. In 1991, Oklahoma was the first state to provide RFID tags for an open highway electronic tolling system. In 2004, the FDA approved the implantation of RFID tags the size of a grain of rice into humans. The usage of RFID tags is still in its infancy, but it is gaining in public approval. These electronic chips are capable of performing financial transactions, tracking presence or non-presence in buildings, storing medical records, and even monitoring and reporting ongoing health-related issues.
RFID tags are being utilized to come to the aid of real human needs. Some researchers are suggesting that the tags could help save lives in the aftermath of a major earthquake or other similar disasters. Anyone entering or leaving a building would be identified via an RFID tag. Then if a disaster happened to take place, authorities would know who, and how many people were still in the building. Continuously updated information on casualties and losses could be made available to disaster response managers in real time so that they could arrange and deploy relief supplies in an appropriate and timely manner. According to these caring and concerned people, once the majority of the world’s population has RFID tags, rescue authorities will be able to know how many people are in a building when a disaster takes place. “It’s a good thing,” they say. “We want to save lives.”
Some schools have suggested that RFID tags would improve the security and safety of our children. The tags could be useful in tracking library book borrowing, disciplinary records, cafeteria purchases, visits to the nurse’s office, punctuality, getting on and off of school buses, and best of all, protecting children from predators. These schools are calling for the usage of RFID tags as a safety issue. “It’s a good thing,” they say. “We’re only interested in the welfare of your child.”
Some people however, are apprehensive about RFID tags tracking their every movement. That concern has some genuine merit. Perhaps that area of usage is moving a bit too fast. At least one firm has announced that they are shifting gears and changing the focus of RFID tags. Now, they are suggesting that the chips should be used for medicinal reasons. Now that is worth a closer look. With this change in focus, the general population is not so up-in-arms. Who can argue with health monitoring? Medical applications don’t hold near the controversial aspects as tracking, surveillance and financial aspects of the devices. At the physician’s office, a scanner could easily access a patient’s medical history and recent health issues.
Hundreds of hospitals have already registered for microchip-based patient identification systems to more quickly identify patients admitted to their emergency rooms. Suppose that a patient is found unconscious by emergency personnel. RFID tags would allow physicians to easily identify the victim and become aware of all of the victim’s medical history and medications. These microchips would also be useful in monitoring elderly people who can be forgetful about taking their medications.
RFID tags can be made capable of monitoring blood glucose levels in diabetics. How many people do you know who do not monitor their own levels often enough? Lots of people; that’s how many. RFID tags can come to the rescue of the health of untold thousands of people. These chips will be able to detect glucose levels and report those levels to physicians. VeriChip Corporation has already been granted a license to provide RFID tags that will be capable of detecting and identify viruses, including the dreaded H1N1 virus. These chips will provide multiple levels of identification—first identifying the agent as virus or non-virus, secondly, classifying the virus and alerting the person of the presence of the virus, and thirdly, identifying the precise pathogen.
How can Satan’s final step be implemented? Answer: Much easier than you thought. With deceit as his best asset, Satan will convince mankind to accept his “mark” by coming to the rescue of mankind’s needs. It will (or did) start innocently enough. Through the advances of medical technology, we don’t think twice about having man-made products placed inside our bodies. Severely broken bones are often mended by placing a pin in the broken bone. Women’s bodies are enhanced by placing implants in their breasts. Heart patients are capable of living a much-longer life with the aid of Pace-Makers. Obese patients may have a ring strategically placed on their stomachs for the purpose of aiding in weight control. Without exception, every man-made object placed in a human body has a number stamped on it. That number can be useful in the event that something goes wrong with the procedure. “That number is for the benefit of the patient,” they say. Who in their right mind, would refuse a pace maker just because it has a number on it, and just because the doctor can communicate with that pacemaker without requiring additional surgery? Who in their right mind would refuse to have a broken bone repaired just because the pin has a number stamped on it? The answer: Almost no one.
RFID tags are small. The original tags were the size of a grain of rice. Later on, the Hitachi mu-chip was introduced, which was smaller than the diameter of a strand of hair. Since then, even smaller devices have been developed that are sixty times smaller than the mu-chip. They are more of the consistency of a grain of powder.
What’s so alarming, is that these chips don’t have to be legislated by the government to become universally used. If enough hospitals and insurance companies begin requiring them, or treating patients wearing them more expeditiously than nonusers, or providing discounts for usage of the chips, they could easily become the new norm. Then, not wearing a chip might be akin to not having an ATM card or a credit card.
Okay, this is referring to implanted devices. Maybe the Mark of the Beast will be some sort of invisible tattoo on the surface of the skin. Would people resist that? Have you ever been to an amusement park, and decided that you forgot something in the car? When you told the gate attendant that you needed to go out of the park for a few minutes, what did he do? He said, “No problem. Stick out your hand so I can “mark” your wrist.” Without thinking twice, you eagerly extended your arm and received a mark. Sometimes the marks are easily visible, and sometimes they are nearly invisible and need to be illuminated with a black light in order to be seen. In either case, you had a need, and the “mark” on your wrist solved that need. “Well, that’s not the Mark of the Beast,” you may say. True. It’s not the mark, but it is a mark nevertheless. Satan’s deceit is focused on getting us accustomed to being tied to numbers, and on getting us accustomed to man-made devices and markings placed in and on our bodies. Who knows whether the Mark of the Beast will be implanted in the body, or if it will be stamped or marked on the surface of a person’s skin? It doesn’t really matter. We as a society are becoming accustomed to the forerunners of Satan’s Mark.
“But,” you may say, “I’ll recognize that line, and I’ll never cross that line.” Well, that sounds good, but most likely; you’ll never see that line. You’ve demonstrated that you may never see that line by the fact that you’ve accepted one baby-step after tiny little baby-step of societal change. We need to realize that there may never be a detectable line in the sand that separates us from taking the mark or not taking the mark. The line, if there actually is one, will be so blurred that there will be few who will recognize it. For that reason, we should refrain from self-righteously saying that we won’t take the mark when it comes. What we should be doing is resisting the current societal drift toward that mark. Vigilance is the key to resisting the mark. It may come as a surprise to you, but it’s not the act of accepting the actual mark that is the problem. The problem has to do with accepting the deceitful spirit that is associated with the mark. Too many Christians are asleep. They think that Satan’s Anti-Christ is going to make an announcement some day saying, “I’m a really bad dude. And to prove how bad I am, I’m going to require you to take my mark on your wrist. If you don’t, I’ll have your head.” No, it won’t be that obvious. The majority of the world’s population will eagerly accept their “personal” number as an aid to good health, well being, and ease of buying and selling. Satan won’t be the one placing that mark on us. It will be our merchants, our utility companies, our doctors and our taxing authorities.
How then, are we to resist the mark if we are faced with that decision? The one who is most likely to refuse the mark when it is eventually presented, is the person who is actively involved in the direction our society is taking today. What a person is doing today is a clear indication of how that person will deal with the “mark” in the future. The person who is most likely to resist Satan’s “mark” is the person who is writing and calling his Senators and representatives and telling them what they are doing wrong and what they are doing right. The person who will most likely refuse the Mark of the Beast is the person who registers to vote; it is the person who actually studies the issues and candidates; it is the person who votes for issues and candidates that are fiscally, socially, and morally responsible; and it is the person who votes in every election that comes around, whether it be the President of the United States for the local dog catcher. Whoa, Nellie. What does voting have to do with taking the Mark of the Beast?
Socialism is one of Satan’s most important vehicles for gaining total control over the people of the world. Capitalism resists government control over the people. Socialism embraces government control. Anyone who votes for issues or candidates that are in favor of socialistic trends is a person who is a prime candidate for accepting the “mark.” The person who is most likely to resist the “mark” is more than just a Sunday-go-to-meetin’ person. The Bible instructs us to resist the wiles of the devil. RESIST: that is the key to avoiding the Mark of the Beast.
Will you resist the Mark of the Beast? The Anti-Christ may not be active today, but the spirit of Anti-Christ is alive and well in our society. The current trend to social programs and Socialism is being orchestrated by the spirit of Anti-Christ. Socialism is a government that provides for the needs of the people. On the flip side of the coin, Socialism is the people being dependent on the government. The person or entity that is doing the giving is the person or entity that has the greatest power and control. Before the Anti-Christ can take control of the entire world, the entire world must be ready to be taken over. The more power and control we give to the government, the more likely we are to come under subjection to that government. America is the only major hold-out against Socialism. Sadly though, we are embracing every socialistic trend that comes along.
Once America becomes a socialistic nation, Satan will be able to move into his final game. With the citizens of all the world’s nations depending on the government to care for their needs, the world will be ripe for embracing a one-world government. The Anti-Christ will become the head of that one-world government. This one-world government will not be capitalistic; it will be socialistic. The citizens of the world social system will already be utilizing their personal I.D. number for everything they do. The only thing left on Satan’s agenda, will be to permanently place that mark on our bodies.
Have you ever studied the parable of the ten virgins? Five of the virgins said they would be ready to perform their duties when the bridegroom showed up. But when he actually did show up, they weren’t ready. They claimed that they would be ready, but their actions said otherwise. The other five didn’t just “say” they would be ready; they constantly made themselves ready; taking care of business all along the way. Then when the bridegroom showed up, they were fully prepared to carry out their business. We Christians are the ten virgins who are waiting for the bridegroom. If we merely go to church and worship the Lord while “saying” that we will resist the mark when it shows up, we won’t have a chance to resist the mark. On the other hand, if we go church, worship the Lord and resist every wile of the devil’s agenda all along the way, we may have a chance to resist the mark.
How does one resist the spirit of the mark that is preparing mankind to accept the actual mark? Social programs and socialism in general must be deeply engrained in society before the actual mark can be administered. Resistance of the spirit of the mark is resistance against the socialistic vehicle that is bringing us the mark. Diligent voting and diligent oversight of the people and policies we have put in place is our fight against the spirit of the mark. If you are not making a great effort to put the right people in office, you are not resisting the spirit of the mark. If you are not regularly communicating your thoughts and desires to your leaders, you are not resisting the spirit of the mark. If you are not currently resisting the spirit of the mark, you won’t stand a chance to resist the actual mark. Not only will you take the mark; you’ll be the first in line to accept the mark.
Will you be able to resist the Mark of the Beast? The actions you are taking today speak more truth about how you will handle the “mark” than the simple statement, “Yes, I will resist the Mark.”
For a complete view of today’s slide toward the end times, read Shadow Truth: The Ultimate Deception. Go to http://bit.ly/bCKGlW for ordering information.
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