The Mark of The beast

So that no one will have power to buy or sell unless he bears the stamp (mark, inscription), [that is] the name of the beast or the number of his name. Revelation 13:17

Then another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a mighty voice, Whoever pays homage to the beast and his statue and permits the [beast's] stamp (mark, inscription) to be put on his forehead or on his hand, He too shall [have to] drink of the wine of God's indignation and wrath, poured undiluted into the cup of His anger; 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

Now if you are anything like me, when I heard of the mark of the beast, 666, I was always a little bit freaked out about it. I knew that if I took the mark, I was doomed to hell, and if I didn’t take it, I was going to be unable to buy or sell anything. It won’t matter if I am super rich or poor during the Great Tribulation, because money will be useless without the mark of the beast. When I heard this preached, I would think that not only couldn’t I buy food, clothing, electricity, or gasoline, but I also couldn’t buy little things like toothpaste, paper towels, or q-tips. I would also think that in all likelihood I would be killed by the ant-christ’s forces for my disobedience. It just wasn’t something that I enjoyed hearing about. I mean I would put on a brave face and say that God will empower us, but inside I was very squeamish to say the least, when I thought about it.

But the Holy Spirit really has been sharing with me over these last few months the glory of the Tribulation period for the church. Yes, I did say the glory of it! “Rejoice (celebrate) over her, O heaven! O saints (people of God) and apostles and prophets, because God has executed vengeance for you upon her!” Revelation 18:20 According to our Father we should rejoice in the Truth that the evil of this world will be destroyed on our behalf. During the greatest time of tribulation that the world will ever see, we are to rejoice. I have to be honest, I never really felt like rejoicing over it. Sure evil would be destroyed, but this was one messed up time! But the Truth will set us free from false teaching, beliefs, and fears and here is what the Bible teaches us that the Truth is, regarding the mark of the beast.

“You also must be ready therefore, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him. Who then is the faithful, thoughtful, and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household to give to the others the food and supplies at the proper time? Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is that servant whom, when his master comes, he will find so doing.” Matthew 24:44-46

The Truth is that when Jesus returns to the earth, His blessed and faithful servants will be providing food and supplies to those in need, even though we are unable to buy or sell. Our Father will have put us in charge of this task! To have faith in this Truth, think for a moment of when Jesus was here 2000 years ago. Thousands were in the wilderness with Him, they were hungry and tired, and Jesus took a couple fish and a couple loaves of bread, blessed them, and fed each and every one of them until they were full. Not only were they full, they had basketfuls of food left over. Jesus didn’t have to buy or sell and yet God used Him to feed those in need. We are also shown that Jesus was at a party that ran out of wine, He didn’t buy or sell to miraculously provide more wine. When it was time for Jesus to pay His taxes, He didn’t have to buy or sell to provide His and Peters taxes, He simply told Peter to get the money they needed from a fishes mouth. The Truth is that Jesus wasn’t a big buy and sell guy!

I really don’t believe that we will be able to feed those in need during the tribulation because we have stored up huge amounts of food either. For one thing, if we had any supply at all, the anti-christ and false prophet’s forces would instantly seize them from us. Even if you had a gun, they would have more guns. So to fulfill Jesus’ Word, our Father will have to miraculously use us to supply food to those in need. Just as our Father miraculously used Jesus to supply food, wine, taxes, weather changes, and healing's.

The next Truth to remember is that all who take the mark of the beast are going to receive that wrath of our Father, and we have not been appointed unto our Fathers wrath. “For God has not appointed us to [incur His] wrath [He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)” 1 Thessalonians 5:9 So everything that we read about in Revelation, the plagues, the wars, the hunger, the demonic attacks, and the destruction, which are all our Father's wrath, is not for us. They will never touch us, just as the plagues, diseases, and destruction from our Father towards Pharaoh never touched the Israelites at the end of their captivity in Egypt.

Now the Truth is that many of us will be killed by the forces of the anti-christ and false prophet during the Great Tribulation. A great number of us will be killed! But that is alright, Stephen was killed for being used by God and the Holy Spirit caused Him to shine like the Sun as they were killing him. Jesus was killed for the Truth’s sake and He cried out for the forgiveness of those who were doing it. Paul was stoned, beaten, and imprisoned for the Truth and the Holy Spirit caused Him too count it as all glory! John and Peter were beaten and they were empowered by the Spirit to rejoice for the honor of it. The Body of Christ has always been killed for the Truth’s sake and we will be killed during the Great Tribulation as well. But we will not endure any of the wrath of our Father during this time, not one little bit. So the plagues, diseases, famines, wars, natural disasters, water shortages, and demonic attacks will never be felt by the true children of God during the Great Tribulation. “But the woman was supplied with the two wings of a giant eagle, so that she might fly from the presence of the serpent into the desert (wilderness), to the retreat where she is to be kept safe and fed for a time, and times, and half a time (three and one-half years, or 1,260 days).” Revelation 12:14

The Truth is that we are never asked or required by our Father to endure more than we have been anointed by Him to endure. Our Fathers strength is made perfect in our weakness and during this time of Great Tribulation our Fathers strength will be perfect within us, because we will have no part at all in the worlds system. Worldly speaking, we will be weak, weak as sheep being led to the slaughter; nay, we will be more than conquerors through Christ Who loves us! There will be no jobs for us, there will be no selling for us, no buying, and yet we will be miraculously being used by our Father to give food and supplies to those in need! We will be killed, but we will not suffer!

Now ask yourself this question, why would we be being killed by the forces of the anti-christ, if by not taking the mark of the beast was actually working to stop us from witnessing of the power and glory of our Father? The governments of the world will have said that we cannot buy or sell, the businesses of the world will be in full compliance and yet the Body of Christ will still be a threat. We will still be being used by our Father to give food to those in need, even when a measure of wheat will cost a whole day’s wages. Wages will have no meaning to us whatsoever. We will still be giving water, when a 1/3rd of the earth’s fresh water has been turned into wormwood. Just think of how much water will cost during these 3 ½ years. We will still be giving to those in need when all of the earths green grass has withered. A 1/3rd of the Sun will be darkened during these 3 ½ years, millions of people will have been killed or will have died. Wars will be raging, demonic attacks will be abounding, men will want to die but cannot, and we will be miraculously giving through the power of the Holy Spirit! Even though the best satan has to offer, the most powerful tool that satan will ever have, will boldly and arrogantly say that we cannot do it. We will still be used by our Father to miraculously give to those in need! Not taking the mark of the beast will actually allow us to have and give, when those who do take it will be starving and desiring death and not finding it!

Jesus teaches us in John 14:12 that we will be used by our Father to do greater works than He used Jesus to do. Yet we never read in the Bible of God using anyone to do greater works than Jesus. We don’t see anyone being used now and I have never even heard of anyone in History who has. But yet Jesus says that we will be used in such a powerful way. In Ephesians 5:27 the Holy Spirit teaches us that the end time church will be glorious, without spot, wrinkle, or blemish. And all throughout the Book of Revelation Jesus shows John that there will be mighty ministries who God uses to proclaim the Truth to the entire world: Revelation 18:1, Revelation 14:6, Revelation 14:9, Revelation 11:6, and Revelation 14:1. The time of the Great Tribulation will be when the body of Christ is at its most powerful. This is the time when the Gospel will be preached to the whole world, and then the end will come. “And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end.” Matthew 24:1 We will not have the mark and yet we will be stronger than those who have!

Finally, I always wondered about how would we know not to take the mark; and just how faithful that we would have to be to deny it. But here is what the Holy Spirit showed me, Jesus’ yoke is easy, it’s pleasant, it’s not harsh, Matthew 11:30. God clearly showed me that His Truth is His Truth, it never changes. Heaven and earth will pass away but our Fathers Truth will remain. Even during the Great Tribulation, God’s Word is His Word. Not taking the mark of the beast will be easy for us, and here is why. Before this all comes down, and it will happen fast, in a single hour, Revelation 18:19, the true body of Christ will have already been removed from participating in the worlds system. We will be here on the earth, but we will have already begun to deal in the miraculous power of living every day life without being part of the world’s system of business and government, what Jesus calls Babylon in the Book of Revelation! So the threat of denying the mark will be meaningless to us.

Look at Revelation 18:7, “To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled in her wantonness [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that measure impose on her torment and anguish and tears and mourning. Since in her heart she boasts, I am not a widow; as a queen [on a throne] I sit, and I shall never see suffering or experience sorrow.” The worlds system, greedy businesses and governments never have said that they will experience no sorrow or suffering. Just look at the Stock Markets of the world, there is suffering and there is a ton of sorrow. But at this time there is a false peace as never before amongst the world, why? What would cause the governments and businesses of the world to be lulled into an arrogant belief that they cannot suffer or experience sorrow? The world has had prosperity before, great prosperity, it has had times of great peace and yet there was always a since of it is only a matter of time until it all comes crashing down. But it won't be that way right before the beginning of the Great Tribulation. Right before the last 3 1/2 years of this period of our history governments and corrupt businesses will be arrogant about their belief that there will be no sorrow or suffering anymore, why?

I believe that it is because the Church, the Body of Christ will finally be mature, being fully used by our Father in the full power of His salvation. Just think of the peace and power that the world will be experiencing when millions of Christians at once, all around the world, are being fully empowered by or Father. Healings, prosperity, and peace will abound in the power of our Fathers glory. Right now there is no peace: Iran, radical Islam, disease, oil prices, and food prices, there is not a business or government in the world right now that is claiming to have no sorrow or suffering. The news media’s of the world only preach sorrow and suffering and they are owned by the governments and businesses. But when the hour of our Fathers wrath begins they will be saying no sorrow and no suffering. They will be saying peace, peace, and then sudden destruction will fall upon them, 1 Thessalonians 5:3. They will be saying these things because the body of Christ will be in full power and the world will be enjoying the fruits of our Father's glory and power flowing through us.

Look at the parable of the sower. Jesus teaches us that the cares of this world hinder us from being used to produce much fruit. So if the cares of this world are removed from us, then we will be used to produce abundant fruit. So if we are removed from the worlds system and everything in our lives is being miraculously provided for us by our Father, our every need being met by our Fathers riches and glory through Christ Jesus, we will never even take thought about taking the mark. The yoke will be easy and the burden light. Why take the mark, we already aren’t buying or selling. The evil institutions of this world will be taking full credit for the overwhelming peace of our Fathers fruit, glorying in themselves, arrogantly claiming that they have finally figured it out. They will be enjoying and taking credit for the fruit of our Father, but not giving Him the praise for it. It will not be difficult at all for us to not take the mark, it will be meaningless. Even though the false prophet will be performing signs of his own, the mark will not sneak up on us, we will clearly know that we have no need for it and we will clearly know that we have been the vessels of our Fathers grace that has lulled the world into a false since of security, and we will know that the wrath that is to come will not come nigh our dwelling place! We will have been empowered and the power of our Father will have already been proven in our lives. His Truth will have already set us free!

Now when the Holy Spirit leads me into the topic of the Tribulation I truly do get excited, because He has showed me the Truth of just how wonderfully we will be used. He has shown me that the mark is nothing to us and will be nothing to us. For 3 ½ years, during the greatest time of Tribulation the world has ever known, the church will be the greatest that it ever has been!