The Mark of loyalty
*We will look through the following verses in an attempt to determine what the mark of the Beast is. We will try and determine if this mark is something hidden in a vaccine or perhaps buried in a microchip or is it something like a football jersey where a person sees you wearing it and knows which side you are on.
*The Lord marked Cain as a means of protection. It doesn’t speak about where the mark was located or what it looked like but makes it clear that those who see know exactly what it is.
Gen 4:13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear.
Gen 4:14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Gen 4:15 But the LORD said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.
Gen 4:16 So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
*Here the Lord has ordered the marking on the foreheads of those who are grieving over Jerusalem which are likely a group of people loyal to the Lord. Again, this is a mark of protection and loyalty.
Eze 9:3 Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side
Eze 9:4 and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
Eze 9:5 As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion.
Eze 9:6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple.
*The Anti-Christ and his false prophet know the Old Testament well and attempt to duplicate God’s system to identify those who are loyal to him. In the following verses we see the theme of, image, worship and mark. Again, it’s all about whose side you are on…
Rev 13:14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
Rev 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.
Rev 13:16 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,
Rev 13:17 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.
Rev 13:18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
*By contrast God puts his seal on a select group of 144,000 people. These people are said to be servants of God. God is protecting a group of his servants by placing a seal on their foreheads.
Rev 7:2 Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:
Rev 7:3 “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
Rev 7:4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
Rev 7:5 From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000,
Rev 7:6 from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
Rev 7:7 from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,
Rev 7:8 from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.
*Here “something” is released from the abyss. They are not permitted to harm those who have God’s seal on their foreheads.
Rev 9:1 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.
Rev 9:2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.
Rev 9:3 And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.
Rev 9:4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
Rev 9:5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes.
*Here God warns those who are not loyal to him but are loyal to the Anti-Christ and display this by receiving his mark and joining his team.
Rev 14:9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand,
Rev 14:10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
Rev 14:12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
*Here God deals with the opposing team, those who are loyal to the Beast.
Rev 16:2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
*Again the mark is associated with the worship of the Beast, or simple loyalty to it.
Rev 19:20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
*Here, Jesus rewards those loyal to him. This verse makes it very clear that they were not loyal to the beast, did not worship him or receive his mark.
Rev 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
*Here, those with the seal of God are protected.
Rev 9:1 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.
Rev 9:2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.
Rev 9:3 And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.
Rev 9:4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
Rev 9:5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes.
*Once again, God seals his loyal servants.
Rev 22:3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.
Rev 22:4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
*In the above New Testament verses there are 2 different Greek words that are used. One is translated as “seal” and the other as “mark” but their meanings appear to be the same. Their usage in the book of Revelation indicates that these seals or marks are imprinted on an individual and are visible to naked eye. The book of Revelation tends to indicate that these marks or seals will be something like a modern day tattoo or branding or scarification and that they are not removable. Branding and scaring have been used for thousands of years for everything from marking slaves to being used for religious purposes. Branding and scaring are not removable, tattoos can be removed. We were warned in the Old Testament.
Lev 19:28 “‘Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
*The following Greek word is translated as “seal” in the book of Revelation.
Strong’s word G4973 – Sphragis
1. a seal
2. the seal placed upon books
3. a signet ring (stamp)
4. the inscription or impression made by a seal
of the name of God and Christ stamped upon their foreheads
that by which anything is confirmed, proved, authenticated, as by a seal (a token or proof)
*The following Greek word is translated as “mark” in the book of Revelation.
Strong’s word G5480 – charagma
1. a stamp, an imprinted mark
2. of the mark stamped on the forehead or the right hand as the badge of the followers of the
Anit-Christ.
3. the mark branded upon horses
4. thing carved, sculpture, graven work
of idolatrous images
*The book of Revelation is mostly about visions, the visions that the apostle John had. In the following verses John says, “I saw”, “I looked” and “I watched”.
Rev 13:1 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.
Rev 13:11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.
Rev 6:2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse!
Rev 6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
Rev 6:12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal.
Rev 7:1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth,
Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
Rev 9:1 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.
*So I think we can safely assume that John saw the mark of the beast but was confused by what he saw. In verse 17 John tells us that what he saw appeared visually as a name and a number. We can also assume that in verse 18.
Rev 13:14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
Rev 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.
Rev 13:16 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,
Rev 13:17 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.
Rev 13:18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man [name]. That number is 666.
*The book of Revelation was written in Greek by the apostle John so John would have been familiar with Greek numbering. Below you can see side by side comparisons of the number 666 written in the Greek and the Bismallah, meaning “in the name of Allah” written in Arabic. The similarities are quite evident. This is the most plausible explanation as to John’s confusion in verse 17. It is likely that he saw and read the mark as a number but observed other things that indicated that it was the name of the Beast.
*If one looks closely that the headbands worn by various Muslim men they will see the name of Allah in Arabic as well as the crossed swords. These headbands are worn by many Muslim army and militant type groups.
*If this is correct and the mark of the Beast is simply the cross swords of Islam followed by “in the name of Allah” then it might very well explain why this mark is on either the forehead or hand. In some sects of the Islamic religion women traditionally have been required to cover their heads by way of a burqa or niqab. The Muslim women are not permitted to expose their face or head to non-family members. A Muslim woman would be unable to expose the mark of the Beast to buy or sell or to simply prove she has the mark if that mark was on her forehead. It would therefore require her to have the mark on the only area of her body which she can expose to a stranger and that area is her hand. The location of the mark is likely a matter of being male or female.
Rev 13:16 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,
Rev 13:17 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.
*Summary: There is much speculation and disinformation associated with the mark of the beast. Some believe that it is a microchip, some believe that it is a vaccine or numerous other “things” which they do not like or trust. I believe that using bible to interpret the bible we can reach the following conclusions regarding the marking and sealing of people in the New Testament:
1. God seals some of his servants for protection.
2. The Anti-Christ marks those who worship him.
3. The seals that God uses on his servants appear to be visible to other humans.
4. The mark that the Beast uses on his worshipers is also visible to other humans.
5. The seal and mark are placed on the forehead (face) as that is the most looked at place on a male.
6. The mark of the beast placed on the hand is likely for females only.
7. The mark and seal are much like a football jersey or a military uniform, they tell others which side you belong to and where your loyalties are.