Will You Be Ready to Reject the Mark of the Beast?
Where there is prophecy, there is plenty of speculation. People wonder: When will the "end time" be? Who will be the Beast prophesied in Revelation? What nations will comprise that final union the Beast will head, and when will that government arise?
by Rick Shabi
Perhaps no passage in the Bible has drawn more speculation than Revelation 13:16-17:
"He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the Beast" (emphasis added throughout).
The mark
of the Beast has long fascinated readers of Revelation. What will the mark be? Will it be a literal mark like the Jews had to wear during Hitler's Third Reich? Will it be a figurative mark, such as worshipping a false god on a false Sabbath day? Or as some modern theories suggest, will it be a computer chip that is implanted in each person, allowing him or her to "buy and sell" once he or she has "pledged allegiance" to the Beast power?
Speculation makes for interesting contemplation and conversation, but among the many questions we might ask about the mark of the Beast, there is one very important thing we should ask ourselves: Will I be ready to reject the mark of the Beast when that time comes?
The purpose of the mark
The society that inflicts the mark of the Beast differs significantly from the world we know today. In that future time, there will be no distinction between the "small and great, rich and poor, free and slave." No one will be able to "buy or sell" anything—that is, conduct any commerce—unless he or she publicly accepts the precepts, supremacy and ultimate authority of the government led by the Beast, thereby receiving its "mark" of approval.
