By John Roberts, October 20, 2004

What is the significance and relevance of this story to last days prophecy?

The Mark of the Beast is mentioned many times in last days prophecy, specifically in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 13:16-18

  16     And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
  17     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.
  18     Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Revelation 14:9-11

  9     And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
  10     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:
  11     And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Revelation 15:2-3

  2     And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
  3     And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

Revelation 16:2

  2     And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

Revelation 19:20-21

  20     And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.   These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
  21     And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Revelation 20:4-5

  4     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.
  5     But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.  This is the first resurrection.

Physically placing a mark upon people as a form of identification goes all the way back to the book of Genesis.   There we find that "the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him."

In Ezekiel we have an example where the LORD commanded that a writer's inkhorn be used to set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that were remorseful over the abominations going on in Jerusalem and the LORD's sanctuary.   Those without the LORD's mark were slain.

In Revelation, chapter seven, an angel uses "the seal of the living God" to seal His servants, One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel, on their foreheads.   In chapter twenty-two, verse four, we are told that the seal puts the name of God on the servants' foreheads.

In the secular world we also find marks used to differentiate people.   In ancient times it was very common for many cultures to brand or tattoo servants, soldiers, and citizens to clearly show at a glance who they serve and to whom they belonged.  

Knowing someone's true identity is power that is why in ancient times people would give a false name when asked.  Personal privacy issues are still a concern today and for many of the same reasons.  But typically those most concerned with protecting their true identity have something to hide, like a long police record.  The average criminal uses 18 aliases and moves from one state to the next during crime sprees to stay one step ahead of computer systems tracking them down.  FBI fingerprint recognition systems are available to solve this problem but most states don't want to pay the $40 dollar fee for an electronic fingerprint check that only takes a few minutes. When caught mass murderers will still try to hide their true nature from the jury by changing their appearance and putting on a suite and tie for court.

But you can't fool God.  In the seventeenth chapter of Revelation we find a great harlot that sits on many waters (people), and she is carried by a scarlet beast (the same red dragon identified as Satan in chapter 12).   "With whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication."

The woman is arrayed in the royal attire of purple and scarlet, all decked out with gold, pearls and precious stones.   She holds in her hand a cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.   The woman is also drunk with the wine, which we are told is "the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, holding a cup full of abominations."

The nature of this woman is clear as a bell because she has MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH, pasted across her forehead.

The woman represents Satan's false mystery religious system, reinstituted after the Great Flood by Semiramis, the first queen of Babylon. Semiramis was Nimrod's wife.   After Nimrod's death she didn't waist time mourning, but instead concocted a plan to remain in power.   Semiramis created a mythology around an illegitimate child she was carrying (probably from prostituting herself in a temple, a practice she instituted, which became a common form of 'worship' practiced by all Babylonian women).   She claimed the child was Nimrod reborn as a god.   Through this "mystery" Semiramis sold herself, not as a harlot or widow of a dead king, but as the mother and wife of a god, which implied she herself was a goddess.   And by this means she gained the title queen of heaven by her cult followers.

If all that sounds familiar it should.   The Mystery religion started in Babylon was slightly changed and exported to every kingdom in the Mediterranean from Egypt to Rome.   That is why Babylon is identified as the mother of harlots.   Catholicism is the final incarnation of Mystery Babylon.   But her power to control kings and nations will come to an end during the rise of the Antichrist.   The Beast will not want to share power with anyone least of all Mystery Babylon dressed up in Popery and peddled to the masses as Christianity.   During the rule of the antichrist the Beast and False Prophet will feel no need to hide their true intentions and abominations in mystery and mythology.

The Antichrist will take control of the European Union, the EU member states will burn the Vatican to the ground to end thirteen centuries of Roman Catholicism intervention in European affairs, and Beast Worship and the Mark of the Beast will become the law of the land during the seven years tribulation rule of the Antichrist following the Rapture.

Anyone that receives the Mark will be identified with the Beast, siding with Satan instead of God, and therefore will lose their life and soul when the Lord returns.

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