I Don't Understand

[BorisNatasha]

I am admittedly a novice Christian. Very newly saved so a lot of this particular board is way over my head as far as understanding goes. But I like to follow it with much interest.

What I don't understand (one of the things I don't understand) is the talk of the mark of the beast. Why is a microchip used as a way of buying or selling in the marketplace going to be a sign of acceptance and worshipping of the beast? It isn't a spiritual thing... it is just a technological thing to replace a system already in place. How can accepting it in order to survive in the world take away our salvation?

Maybe this is a stupid question?

[wombat]

I am admittedly a novice Christian. Very newly saved so a lot of this particular board is way over my head as far as understanding goes. But I like to follow it with much interest.

What I don't understand (one of the things I don't understand) is the talk of the mark of the beast. Why is a microchip used as a way of buying or selling in the marketplace going to be a sign of acceptance and worshipping of the beast? It isn't a spiritual thing... it is just a technological thing to replace a system already in place. How can accepting it in order to survive in the world take away our salvation?

Maybe this is a stupid question?

Hi, BorisNatasha! There are no stupid questions around here, so ask away! I think the key to understanding this is that when the antiChrist comes to power, those who refuse to worship him will not be allowed to buy or sell. You will be asked to give your allegiance to him in order to obtain the privilege of buying food and the things you need in order to survive. So it basically comes down to whether a person at that time will indeed give their allegiance to the antiChrist or whether they will take up their cross and forsake the things of the world to follow Jesus. It would be a question of 1. gaining temporary things to fill your needs, but losing your soul as you follow the antiChrist, or 2. suffering for a little while if need be as you refuse to obey the antiChrist and choose to follow Christ, after which you will live eternally with Him.

[ananias]

I am admittedly a novice Christian. Very newly saved so a lot of this particular board is way over my head as far as understanding goes. But I like to follow it with much interest.

What I don't understand (one of the things I don't understand) is the talk of the mark of the beast. Why is a microchip used as a way of buying or selling in the marketplace going to be a sign of acceptance and worshipping of the beast? It isn't a spiritual thing... it is just a technological thing to replace a system already in place. How can accepting it in order to survive in the world take away our salvation?

Maybe this is a stupid question?

Hi, BorisNatasha. I agree with what Wombat said. If the antichrist and the antichrist system (government) is going to control everyone by not permitting them to buy or sell unless they receive his "mark", all they need to do is to pass a law which prevents anyone from obtaining that "mark" in order to buy and sell unless he/she swears his/her allegiance to the beast at the time of receiving the mark.

ananias

[ananias]

By the way, sorry it's taken so long for anyone to reply to you - but yesterdays 777 point fall in the stock exchange has a lot of us here at a very heightened level of attentiveness to certain topics.



ananias

[Literalist-Luke]

This very topic has been discussed in great detail in these two threads:

http://bibleforums.org/showthread.php?t=141059

http://bibleforums.org/showthread.php?t=139192

You might want to read through them. Feel free to jump into them anytime you wish.

[BorisNatasha]

Thank you all for replying to my question. Wombat... when you explain it that way, it makes more sense. But I am not sure if I totally agree. I do still believe the mark of the beast is somehow not connected to this chip and is something entirely different. And since there seems to be two differing trains of thought on the subject why won't God make it more clear to his children what they need to be doing when the time comes? It seems to be a problem of personal interpretation on this subject. I have another concern. Most of my family are non christian. They spend no time thinking about or reading the bible and are not receptive to it at all. So I am thinking that when it comes to this they would give no thought whatsoever as to whether or not to accept the biochip. They would accept it gladly just to be able to buy and sell, not even realizing the implications of their actions.
This would automatically be an eternally bad choice for them.

[Romulus]

Hi BorisNatasha,

There are actually many interpretations on what the mark of the beast is, and when it will occur/has occurred. Here are the scriptures:


Revelation 13:17
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.

Revelation 14:9
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand,

Revelation 14:11
And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."

Revelation 16:2
The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.

Revelation 19:20
But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Revelation 20:4
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Many will give the futurist point of view of this so I will simply limit myself to the past view of this. The interpretation I believe is to first understand that the scriptures above were written to a 1st century audience and the 21st century is not in view here. I believe the mark was first off not a physical one. We simply need to see the context of the mark in Revelation to the mark mentioned in the Old Testament(scripture interpreting scripture.)

Genesis 4

15 But the LORD said to him, "Not so ; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.


Ezekiel 9

4 and said to him, "Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it."


6 Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.John 6

27 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."


2 Corinthians 1

21 "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."


Ephesians 1

13 "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise."


Ephesians 4

30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."


2 Timothy 2

19 "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

This is what is known as the mark/seal of the Lord. If those marked for the Lord also have a mark, how could it be possibly a physical one? It can't unless if you are interpreting Revelation first, then if the mark of the beast is physical, then the mark of the Lord is also physical. This cannot be true since the old testament scriptures state clearly that those who were the Lord's were marked/sealed for him. A spiritual mark that He knew and saw who were his. If it was physical then we who are marked for the Lord would also have a microchip or something similiar. That is now interpreting Revelation to a 21st century audience which was not who Revelation was written to. The mark of the beast was also a spiritual mark that showed who were satan's. Here we now have what the mark of either the Lord or the beast was according to scripture. Since the mark or seal of God was spiritual, then the mark of the beast was also not physical. Now to see the mark in the context of who Revelation was written to.

Revelation 13

18This 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.

The number of the beast can be really confusing if we limit the calculation to the 21st century or beyond. If we simply limit Revelation to the audience who first heard it(1st century) then we can understand that those reading Revelation would be able to calculate the number and who it was referring to. Revelation was originally written in Greek but with Jews in mind as this was written. The scripture states "If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast". God is directly telling those that heard Revelation first(audience relevance) which goes hand in hand with the first few verses of Revelation:

Revelation 1

1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

To believe this is talking to the 21st century is to make this verse and others meaningless to those that originally heard it, because the time spoken of was 2000+ years later.

The Hebrew language has no numerical system, each letter in the Hebrew alphabet also corresponds to a number. This is known as Gematria. A Jewish reader would have understood this. Not many at the time knew ancient Hebrew(hence "those with insight") but rather Greek so it would take someone with knowledge of Hebrew to calculate the number. We simply take the greek spelling of Nero Caesar into Hebrew and through Gematria we arrive at Six hundred and Sixty Six or 666. Nero the emperor of Rome who lit Christians on fire to light up his diiner party's and tortured and killed many believers all on account of believing Jesus was Lord. It was also believed that Peter was crucified upside down, and Paul beheaded by Nero. The Beast was Rome in general, Nero specifically.

In context it was those that bowed down to Rome that received the Mark of the Beast and those that didn't were martyred for their faith.

Just a different perspective.

God Bless.