The Mark of
the Beast
page l 1 l 2 l
-1-
“He also
forced everyone, small and great,
rich and poor, free and slave, to
receive a mark [The Greek word
for “mark” is charagma.
It means an etching or an engraving,
a tattoo] on his right hand or on
his forehead, so that no one could
buy or sell unless he had the mark,
which is the name
of the beast or the number
of his name. This calls for wisdom.
If anyone has insight, let him
calculate the number of the beast,
for it is man’s number. His
number is 666.” (Revelation
13:16-18, italics and insertions
mine)
Comment:
The Bible says the mark of the
beast will consist of two different etchings
(or tattoos). One etching is the name
of the lamb-like beast and the other,
the number of his name. The
first tattoo will be engraved on the
foreheads of Lucifer’s
lieutenants. This etching will be a
show of rank. This tattoo will be the
name that Lucifer uses after he is
released from the Abyss.
(Lucifer’s assumed name is
unknown at this time. Incidentally,
Jesus will assume a new name at the
Second Coming that is also unknown at
this time. Revelation 19:12) The
second tattoo will be the number of
the lamb-like beast’s name,
which is the number, 666. This tattoo
will be etched on the right hand of
everyone who swears allegiance to
“Almighty God” (Lucifer).
For 2,000 years, Bible
students have tried to determine the
identity of the Antichrist by
mathematically translating various
names into the number 666. For
example, early Christians translated
the names of different Caesars using
Roman numerals. (Remember, the Roman
Caesars severely persecuted the
Christians, and therefore, they
reasoned that one Caesar might be the
“Antichrist.”) The process
of translation is simple. Each letter
in a name is translated into a Roman
numeral. The numerals are added
together, and any name whose sum is
666 could be the dreaded Antichrist!
(The problem with this process is
that there are several specifications
in Revelation 13:11-18 that must be
fulfilled before the identity of the
Antichrist can be accurately
determined.) During the Dark Ages,
Protestants used the Roman numeral
technique on various names and titles
of popes. After the fatal wound was
inflicted in 1798, Protestants began
looking at other names, but I believe
these endeavors were totally
misguided. Here is why:
Before the number 666
can be calculated, the identity of
the beast has to be determined. At
this point in our study, we know that
the beast who rises out of the
bottomless pit in Revelation 13:11 is
Lucifer in human form! The devil
himself is the Antichrist. He was
the first angel to take a position
against Jesus before the was created
and he will be the last angel to die
when the world is cleansed by fire. When
Lucifer appears at the fifth trumpet,
he will have power and miracle
working abilities that dwarfs human
beings. He will descend from the sky
with 200,000,000 angels, and as
needed, he will call down fire from
Heaven to prove his assumed divinity.
The Bible says he will deceive the
inhabitants of Earth. The mark of the
devil, literally, “the etching
of Lucifer,” will be a tattoo on
the right hand or the forehead!”
Four Prerequisites
Are Necessary
A proper understanding
of the mark of the beast requires
four prerequisites. First, to
understand that at the sixth trumpet,
three groups of people will live on
Earth. Second, to understand
God’s use of “thirds,”
and fourth, to understand the
identity of the lamb-like beast. With
these four elements in mind, let us
briefly consider these four
prerequisites. The first prerequisite
is understanding that three groups of
people will live on Earth when the
mark of the beast is implemented.
They are:
- The saints:
These people have surrendered
to the gospel of Jesus and
have been sealed.
- The
religious wicked: These
people have a form of
godliness, but have refused
the gospel of Jesus, and
rather than living by faith,
they have submitted to
Babylon’s authority.
- The
non-religious wicked:
These people have refused the
gospel of Jesus and the
authority of Babylon. They
want nothing to do with
religion.
The Second
Prerequisite
The second
prerequisite for understanding the
mark of the beast is an understanding
of the fifth and sixth trumpets.
Since we have examined the seven
trumpets in an earlier chapter, two
short summary statements about them
should suffice:
- The fifth
trumpet occurs when
two-thirds of the time
allotted for the Great
Tribulation ends. At this
point in time, the
advancement of the gospel of
Jesus will come to a
standstill. Almost everyone
will have taken a position
for or against the gospel of
Jesus. Jesus releases Lucifer
from the Abyss to apply
pressure on the wicked. The
devil will force people into
making their final decision.
The devil’s demons will
inflict searing pain on those
who refuse to confess that
the devil is God. (Note:
The devil’s angels are
not allowed to harm those who
have the seal of God during
the fifth trumpet. Jesus
hopes the non-religious
wicked will notice this
protection and turn from
their rebellion and embrace
His gospel.)
- The sixth
trumpet will be a great war
lasting approximately seven
months and the death toll
will be 1.75 billion people
(currently a third of
mankind). Lucifer will
initiate this war when he
establishes his theocracy and
rules over Earth as Almighty
God. The devil will purge his
kingdom of
“unbelievers.”
Millions of saints and most,
if not all, of the 144,000
will die during this purge.
Hundreds of millions of
non-religious wicked will
also perish because
Lucifer’s ultimate
purpose for the purge will be
to eliminate opposition. He
intends to rule as lord of
lords and king of kings, and
no one will be able to resist
him.
The Third Prerequisite
The third prerequisite
for understanding the mark of the
beast involves God’s use of
thirds. This is a critical matter. In
ancient times, when total destruction
was justified, a generous king might
spare a third of his enemies if he
thought there was redemptive value.
Please consider the following
examples:
- “David
also defeated the Moabites.
He made them lie down on the
ground and measured off with
a length of cord. Every two
lengths of them were put to
death, and the
third length was
allowed to live. So the
Moabites became subject to
David and brought tribute. (2
Samuel 8:2, italics mine)
David generously spared
one-third of the Moabites
because he knew the survivors
would gladly pay their taxes,
and as their nation grew, so
would the tax revenue. David
spared a third because he saw
redemptive value.
- “Therefore
as surely as I live, declares
the Sovereign Lord, because
you have defiled my sanctuary
with all your vile images and
detestable practices, I
myself will withdraw my
favor; I will not look on you
with pity or spare you. A
third of your people will die
of the plague or perish by
famine inside you; a third
will fall by the sword
outside your walls; and a
third I will scatter to the
winds and pursue with drawn
sword.” (Ezekiel
5:11,12) God destroyed
two-thirds of Israel and
spared a third of His people
from Nebuchadnezzar because
He saw redemptive value!
- “’In
the whole land,’
declares the Lord,
‘two-thirds will be
struck down and perish; yet
one-third will be left in it.
This third I will bring into
the fire; I will refine them
like silver and test them
like gold. They will call
upon my name and I will
answer them; I will say,
‘They are my
people,’ and they will
say, ‘The Lord is our
God.’’ ” (Zechariah
13:8,9) Again, God destroyed
two-thirds and spared
one-third because He saw
redemptive value!
- “His
tail swept a third of the
stars out of the sky and
flung them to the earth. The
dragon stood in front of the
woman who was about to give
birth, so that he might
devour her child the moment
it was born.” (Revelation
12:4) This text refers to
God’s patience with
Lucifer. God cast Lucifer out
of Heaven when his deception
corrupted one-third of
Heaven’s angels. God
spared two-thirds of the
angels, but cast out a third.
- “…
A third of the earth was
burned up, a third of the
trees were burned up, and all
the green grass was burned
up… A third of the sea
turned to blood, a third of
the living creatures in the
sea died, and a third of the
ships were destroyed…. A
third of the waters turned
bitter, and many people died
from the waters that had
become bitter.” (Revelation
8:7-9,11) There are twelve
instances in Revelation
mentioning one-third being
destroyed and two-thirds
being spared during the seven
trumpets. Did you notice that
instead of destroying
two-thirds, one-third is
destroyed! The destruction of
one-third proves two things.
First, Jesus is a
double generous King! Jesus would
have been justified if He destroyed
two-thirds. Second, Jesus is on a
mission to save souls even as
God’s wrath is being poured out.
He sees a great deal of redemptive
value in mankind and He spares
two-thirds so that He might save as
many people as possible.
- “And
the four angels who have been
kept ready for this very hour
and day and month and year
were released to kill a third
of mankind.” (Revelation
9:15) Jesus will permit
Lucifer to kill a third of
mankind when he sets up his
theocracy. Jesus will not let
the devil go one step
further. Lucifer will be
permitted to purge his
kingdom of his opposition.
Of course, he will not kill all
of the saints, but he
will kill a definite number.
(Revelation 6:9-11)
Synthesis:
We have seen in the six passages
that God’s use of one-third and
two-thirds is not random. God is
deliberate and purposeful in
everything He does. The number
666 is not a random number. In fact,
666 is precisely two-thirds of 999.
Consider this: When the sixth trumpet
occurs, I believe Lucifer will divide
the people of Earth into groups of
1,000 for purposes of logistics,
rations, and administrative control.
This is a common technique used for
crowd control in a crisis. Moreover,
there is a biblical precedent for
dividing people into groups of 1,000.
Moses divided the Israelites into
groups of 1,000 while in the
wilderness: “Moses listened
to his father-in-law and did
everything he said. He chose capable
men from all over Israel and made
them leaders of the people, officials
over thousands, hundreds, fifties and
tens. They served as judges for the
people at all times. The difficult
cases they brought to Moses, but the
simple ones they decided
themselves.” (Exodus
18:24-26)
There are several
references in the Bible showing that
people were commonly grouped into
units of 1,000. (See Numbers
31:48-54, Deuteronomy 1:15, 1 Samuel
22:7, and 1 Chronicles 27:1.) If
this arrangement worked well in
ancient times, it will work very well
during primitive circumstances of the
Great Tribulation. There will be no
computers, telephones, or electronic
devices with which to manage the
needs of the people because
electricity will not exist. The first
four trumpets will have destroyed the
world’s infrastructure. Dividing
people into small groups of 1,000 has
proven to be simple and effective way
to manage people throughout history
and it will prove to be an effective
tool when Lucifer establishes his
theocracy.
page l 1 l 2 l
-1-
