The ‘Mark of the Beast’ is greatly misunderstood by Christians. Their confusion emanates from the error, the ‘buying and selling’ referred to in Revelation pertains to a bar-code, electronic chip, Block-chain, Bitcoin or other electronic solution of some sort. A money mark that allows us to buy bread, milk, petrol and the like. A ‘mark’ that allows us to live.
However, Scripture lists the items bought and sold in (Revelation 18) and these items mirror the materials used to build the Tabernacle of Witness, and to offer the things sacrificed under the Levitical Priesthood. As an example.
First – The Tabernacle
(Rev 18:11-12) And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble…
Compare this to the materials used to build the Tabernacle of Witness is Moses time.
(Exo 25:2-8) Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Next – The Blood of Bulls & Goats
In (Revelation 18) we also see many of the things bought and sold are the same as the offerings sacrificed under the Levitical Priesthood. Note, the trading of the souls of men…
(Revelation 18:13) And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Compare the Scripture above with the ram’s bulls, and things sacrificed to God in Moses day. As one example;
(Leviticus 6:15) And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the LORD.
So it is God tells us what is bought and sold in Revelation. The items traded are the exact same things used to build the first Tabernacle made with hands, and the sacrifices made under a Covenant of the blood of bulls and goats. Tenants of worship where there was no rest day or night and no salvation of our souls. That is, Jesus Christ had not yet come to them, just as these Merchants, (our church organisations) have not rested in the Gospel of Jesus Christ today. I elaborate on this statement further on. The Apostle Paul says this;
(Hebrews 10:1-4) For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
To Bow to The Beast
To understand what the image of the beast is, we have to understand ‘what the beast is.’ Look at this Scripture below. It is where people go wrong.
(Revelation 13:11-12) 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. And he exercises 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.
The False Prophet, the Antichrist, makes us to bow down and worship the first Beast that comes up out of the sea. So, who or what is this first beast? A ‘beast in scripture’ is a portion of God’s Word. Just as the ‘Lamb’ portrays a pure gospel without malice, the ‘Dragon’ in the Book of Revelation, symbolises the accusation bound in ‘Sinai’s Law.’
The Dragon, is Sinai’s Law cast down to the earth.
The ‘Beast of the Sea,’ looks very similar to the ‘Dragon.’ It is Sinai’s Law rising in the nations mixed with the traditions and creeds of men. This first Beast bows and worships the Dragon, the Covenant of the Old Testament Law.
(Revelation 13:1-4) And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy…. and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority…. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast:
The False Prophet does not make us bow to men’s technology, but to the tenants under the Old Testament. It does not place your life in Jesus hands, but in your own.
The Image of The Beast
Following on from the Scripture above, the False Prophet, the Antichrist, will make an image of the first beast, and will force us to bow to the image. In Revelation we read;
(Revelation 13:14-15) [the antichrist] deceives 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. 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.
The image of the beast is nothing new or something yet to come, but an image of the Law.
The beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
As an example. Seventh Day Adventists use the tenants of the Old Testament to say the Sabbath is a Saturday, and that to hold the Sabbath on any other day, is “the mark of the beast.” Their followers obey the doctrine and worship on the Saturday accordingly. Their belief is based on the Old Testament tenants of the Law and Adventists believe fervently, keeping the Saturday Sabbath, is key to their salvation. And that is how the antichrist leads us into captivity.
However, the Apostle Paul said; (Hebrews 4:1-3) Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest.
Another example of an image created by False Prophets is the name Jehovah’s Witnesses preach. Jehovah was never the name God gave to men to be saved. Jesus Christ is the name of God’s Salvation. Yet Jehovah’s Witnesses blindly bow to the image they created. Peter preached;
(Acts 4:10-12) Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
And so it is, the image brings us to the “Mark of the Beast.”
The Mark of The Beast – Men’s Creeds
The Mark of the Beast is the Image of the Beast.
Moses said concerning the commandments and statutes of Sinai; “Let them be fixed as a ¹sign on your hand and marked on your brow”. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
(¹Sign: Strongs H225) a distinguishing mark, remembrance (testimony) warning
Compare this to the the mark of the False Prophet in Revelation…
(Revelation 13:14-15) And he [the antichrist] causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
The LORD’s Commandments are a mark on the right hand and forehead of those that love Him (Deut 6:4-8) The clean hand
Men’s Creeds are a mark on the right hand and forehead of those that love their church. The leprous hand
The Mark of the Beast is;
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a creed that adds to or takes away from Law or Salvation of the LORD (Image of the beast)
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a creed or doctrine that judges and condemns our brother or neighbour (Mark of the beast)
As an example. The Adventists judge those who do not keep their Sabbath doctrine as having taken the ‘mark of the beast.’
To lead into Captivity; To kill with the Sword
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a creed that adds to or takes away from Law or Salvation of the LORD (Captivity/Bondage/Sold)
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a creed or doctrine that judges and condemns our brother or neighbour (Sword/Judge/Condemn/Kill)
Jesus Gospel set us free from the commandments and doctrines of men but men’s creeds bring us back into bondage.
666; Number of the Beast – No Rest
The Number of The Beast is the Number of Man;
666: UNBELIEF = WRATH = NO REST:
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Adam and the Beasts of the field were created on the 6th day;
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Those who came out of Egypt did not believe and did not enter into rest;
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Whosoever worships the beast has no rest day or night; flesh over faith.
(Gen 1:24-31) + (Heb 3:8-11) + (Rev 14:8-11) The Beast is Man.
The 7th Day: FAITH = SAVED = REST:
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The LORD rested on the seventh day and sanctified it;
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The Sabbath and Jubilee Laws spoke of the LORD’s release to come;
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To believe is to rest in the salvation of Jesus and to keep it Holy.
(Gen 2:1-4) + (Heb 4:3-4) + (Rev 14:12-13) Man is the Beast
The Name of the Beast – Church Creeds
The Mark of His Name is the name their creeds or denominations are known by.
The Mark of his Name: Judgmental doctrines associated with a specific church; Eg:
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Forbidding to marry and abstain from meats (Catholic)
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Sabbath mark of the beast doctrines (7th Day Adventists)
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Blood transfusions (Jehovah’s Witnesses)
The Number of His Name: Church doctrines that do not rest in the gospel of Jesus. The blasphemous names of their church creeds and denominations
The Merchants Buy & Sell
See the items brought and sold at the start of this article.
Jesus purchased our salvation according to the ordinances of redemption contained in the statutes of Sinai and then nailed those same ordinances to the cross.
Jesus then gave this life freely to us on the condition that we believe in Him and that we should be baptised in His name and love one another. (Acts 2:36-38)
The Merchants of the Earth are our denominational church organisations that have taken this free gift and turned it into something that must be earned through submission to their dogma & law (Romans 3:28)
The Churches preach Jesus. They look like a lamb but require that we also keep other carnal creeds & traditions. They speak as a dragon. (Revelation 13:11)
Jesus Salvation is made of no effect and is replaced by daily sacrifice. This is the mark of the beast and the abomination that makes desolate. (Deut 28:68 – Daniel)
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The Kings of the Earth forge state laws & church creeds from Sinai’s root
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These Laws give churches the authority to take their gospel to all nations
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Their Ships and ships company are their denominational dogma and congregations
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Sinai’s statutes contain the ordinances of buying & selling. This is her trade.
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To Sell is to reject the birthright and salvation Jesus redeemed on the cross
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To Buy is to believe another gospel; Redeemed by another other than Christ
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Sinai’s Merchandise is the items of worship under the old Levitical order
The Mark – The Seven Plagues
The 1st plague in Revelation speaks of the pouring out of God’s wrath upon those who have taken the Mark of the Beast. This wrath lays within the Gospel’s plagues. (Rev 14:9-11)
To Drink the Cup of God’s wrath is to partake of the sevenfold vengeance written in the law and the seven plagues outlined in Revelation.
The first three plagues tell of waters turning to blood and this sign confirms the rejection of the voices of the first & later signs as given to Moses (Exodus 4:6-9)
Waters turning to blood; drinking from the cup of God’s wrath and the vengeance of God’s seven plagues fall on those who have not believed. Cain’s mark; Israel’s unbelief in the wilderness and so on.
UNBELIEF is the root cause of the mark of the beast and 666 is the sum total of mans failure to rest in the promises of Jesus. Like Cain the churches have gone about to establish their own righteousness.