The Amish Voice 8
Revelation 15:2
“
And I saw as it were a sea of glass min-
gled 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.”
John, in this vision, sees the righteous in
heaven standing on the sea of glass after the
Second Coming. They had gotten the victory
over the beast, and had been delivered from
his laws of death. That is why in verse 3
they can sing the “song of Moses,” which the
Israelites sang after their deliverance from
Pharaoh at the Red Sea. To further show this
correlation, the first five plagues in Revela-
tion are patterned after the plagues in Egypt
that God sent upon them in order for them to
finally free God’s people to go to the Prom-
ised Land. Nowhere in this picture do you
see those who have received the mark of the
beast participating in these heavenly exercis-
es.
Revelation 16:2
“
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
had worshipped his image.”
The seven last plagues are poured out
ONLY upon those who have followed the
beast and “received” his mark. This is simi-
lar to what happened in Egypt. The plagues
fell on the Egyptians and their cattle and
land, but the Israelites were protected from
their effects.
Revelation 19:20
“
And the beast was taken, and with him
the false prophet that wrought miracles be-
fore 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.”
This verse is a summary of what happens
to the two animals or beasts of Rev. 13,
which we have been studying. They both
“
deceived” the world into accepting the
“
mark,” mostly by doing Satan-inspired mir-
acles that they “claimed” were from God.
Think about that for a moment. “Deception”
in the spiritual world describes something
that is so close to the truth that most people
will find it hard to distinguish it from the
truth, but only because they have not both-
ered to read and understand God’s truth.
They have willingly followed the beast and
his interpretation of worship. “Miracles,”
like fire coming down from the sky, are
things that most people believe can ONLY
come from God; but it comes as a deception,
which means it is coming from Satan instead.
Rev. 16:13-14 makes this very clear:
“
And I
saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out
of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the
mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of
the false prophet. For they are the spirits of
devils, working miracles, which go forth unto
the kings of the earth, and of the whole
world, to gather them to the battle of that
great day of God Almighty”
(
Armageddon).
Matthew 24:24 makes the same point:
“
For
there shall arise false Christs, and false
prophets, and shall shew great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible,
they shall deceive the very elect.”
These two powers who enforce the “mark
of the beast,” and all those who follow them
and their laws, will be destroyed by fire
when Christ the Lamb comes down and
gains the final victory. Rev. 17:14 states,
“
These shall make war with the Lamb, and
the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is
Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they
that are with Him are called, and chosen,
and faithful.”
What most people thought
was truth turns out to be a lie. BEWARE:
only by studying and understanding what the
Bible
really
teaches will you be able to see
and understand the counterfeit!
Revelation 20:4
“
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon
them, and judgment was given unto them:
and I saw the souls of them that were be-
headed for the witness of Jesus, and for the
word of God, and which had not worshipped
the beast, neither his image, neither had re-
ceived his mark upon their foreheads, or in
their hands; and they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.”
Those who reject the “mark of the beast”
and who suffer persecution because of that,
are pictured as reigning with Christ in the
New Jerusalem (read John 14:1-3) in heaven,
before it comes back down to this earth
(
pictured in Rev. 21:2). Those who follow
the beast and who are deceived into receiv-
ing the “mark” are NOT pictured here in the
New Jerusalem, but are said to be raised
from the dead at the end of the 1,000 years,
to be led by Satan himself in an attempt to
overthrow God and all His people who are in
the New Jerusalem (see Rev. 20:9). Their
judgment is shown in Rev. 20:11-14, where
they are found guilty before God, and sen-
tenced to the
Second Death
,
which is for
eternity.
Final Remarks:
So much has been written
about the “mark of the beast,” and much of it
silly and ridiculous. Here in Revelation is
pictured a battle for worship between God
and Satan. Everything in this battle has to do
with
whom
we worship and
how
we wor-
ship. This battle (spiritual, but with literal
consequences) will lead to worldwide reli-
gious laws of worship which the beast will
put forth to prove his power. Through the
miracles done by those following the second
power of Rev. 13, Satan will deceive most
of the world into thinking that the beast is
correct and truthful; they think they are fol-
lowing God, when in reality they are follow-
ing Satan. Pretty heavy stuff, when you stop
to think about it! It really WILL be a matter
of life or death, not only physically, but also
spiritually.
Mark of the Beast
Continued From Page 7
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