As we continued our study about the Beast and his number, we considered the idea that the book finds a partial fulfillment in the church at the time John wrote the book and in the waves of Roman persecution that continued on until the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313.
We considered Polycarp who refused to offer incense to the Roman emperor. Before he was burned alive, he said: "For eighty-six years I have served [Christ], and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me?"
We also realized that what is in the book continues to happen throughout history, but these things will intensify near the return of Christ.
There are several keys to understanding the mark of the Beast.
Were we to continue on and read Revelation 14:1 instead of stopping at Revelation 13:18, we would see that the mark of the Beast is a Satanic counterfeit of the mark God puts on the foreheads of those who belong to his Son.
Just as we find a counterfeit trinity in the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet, so we have a counterfeit sealing.
God seals his own in Revelation 7:1-4. If we analyze the 144,000, we understand that they do not exclude the tribe of Dan (Revelation 7:5-8), nor are women excluded, nor people who have lost their virginity (Revelation 14:4). The number, with its multiples of 12 and 10, represents the fullness of the Jewish people, accompanied by an innumerable multitude of saved gentiles (Revelation 7:9).
Then we looked at Revelation 13:8, and concluded that no believer will be able to take the mark. Revelation 17:8; Revelation 20:12; Revelation 20:15; and Revelation 21:27 conclusively teach this.
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After serving Grace Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, Bob was honorably retired on Sunday, September 27, 2015, and given the title "Pastor Emeritus." This was forty years to the day after he became their pastor.
He now works for the Presbytery of the Gulf South as...
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