Mark of the Beast

Revelation Series #30
Fred R. Coulter—August 28, 2004

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Let's take a look at where we are in prophecy. In 2-Tim. 3 Paul explains about the days in which we are living; some of the things that we are facing. These are general overall things, but as Jesus said we are to watch! That gives us understanding as we watch. In the last days God has promised to give us understanding. I'm sure that is step-by-step-by-step as we go.

2-Timothy 3:1: "Know this also, that in the last days perilous times shall come; for men will be lovers of self…" (vs 1-2). Exactly what we have today; what is called self-esteem! It's destroying everybody who practices self-esteem. It has everything backwards. First, you are to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and being and then you're to 'love your neighbor as yourself.' So, if you have love to God and love to neighbor—and we could add in there what Christ also added: love of the brethren—then we can love ourselves. This is where all selfishness comes from: you love yourself, everything revolves around you.

"…lovers of money…" (v 2). We can sure see that today, especially with the gambling that's going on. Gambling everywhere!

"…braggarts, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection…" (vs 2-3). Not only does that refer to things like homosexuality, but it refers to hardness of heart, mother's throwing babies into garbage bins.

"…implacable…" (v 3). You can't reach them; it's like trying to take a water-hose to a flintstone, nothing's going to happen.

"…slanderers, without self-control, savage, despisers of those who are good" (vs 2-3). So, if you try to love God and try to be decent and try to be nice, you're going to be pushed over in a corner.

Verse 4: "Betrayers, reckless, egotistical, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God… [but, here is the 'kicker']: …having an outward appearance of Godliness…" (vs 4-5). They still profess God, but most of the 'godliness' is all pagan and satanic anyway.

"…but denying the power oftrue Godliness…." (v 5). They have their 'religions' and they pick Scriptures out of the Bible, but they are not willing to live by it.

"…But as for you, turn away from all these. For from men such as these come those who are worming their way into houses, and are gaining control over empty-headed gullible women given over to various sins, being driven by all kinds of lust. They are always learning but are never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth" (vs 5-7).

Isn't that true! What's the most touted thing that people want to do? Education! The more they study, the more they learn, the more they can't solve the problems of the things that they find out. They think they solve one problem, which creates another problem.

Verse 8: "Now just as Jannes and Jambres stood against Moses, in the same manner also these are brazenly standing against the Truth; they are men of depraved minds, reprobate in respect to the faith. But they will proceed no further, because their folly will become clearly evident to everyone, just as theirs also was…. [then it shows what we need to do]: …But you have closely followed my doctrine, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance" (vs 8-10). That's what we need to look to today.

Jesus said, 'When the Son of man comes will He find faith on the earth?' That's why the true Churches of God are small. There are very, very few people willing to live by every Word of God as Jesus said. They want some of the words. Just think of it this way: I'm going to have to give a sermon on gambling, because it's really a problem. It's rooted in lust and covetousness, trying to get something for nothing. It is really appealing to Satan the devil directly.

I remember one time, years ago, when we were in Salt Lake City. We had one of our minister friends come over from Kansas and we were all going to the Feast in Tahoe. We left and we were driving on the highway going, straight as a stick, out of Salt Lake City over to the Nevada border. He was barreling along. There wasn't much of a speed limit and, of course, the Utah salt flats are there. That's where they have all these high-speed vehicles and motorcycles race. We got over to Elko and he pulled over to the first place, we got out of the car and he went in there and started working the 'one-armed bandit' just as fast as he could. Delores and I were standing there just shocked!

Luke 17:26: "Now, as it was in the days of Noah, so also shall it be in the days of the Son of man." I was thinking of that the other day as I was driving: Why is there so much crime? Why is there so much sin and crime everywhere? We'll take a look at it when we get back to Gen. 6. On the surface, it looks normal.

Verse 27: "They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage…"; and we might add: male and male, female and female.

"…until the day that Noah went into the ark…" (v 27). If we understand what's going on today—and Christ said it would be like it was in the days of Noah—what are we dealing with? That's what they were doing back there before the Flood! Plus whatever other thing that they wanted to do.

"…and the Flood came and destroyed them all. And it was the same way in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building" (vs 27-28). This means good economic activity!

Verse 29: "But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed them all. This is how it shall be in the day that the Son of man is revealed" (vs 29-30). He's going to be revealed!

Let's see what the Bible describes. It doesn't give us all the details, but Christ gives us the information to know that if we want to know the details then all we have to do is look at it as it is today.

Genesis 6:5: "And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." We can magnify that a great deal—can't we? Television, video games, magazines, books, casinos, nightclubs, schools, business, high corporate executives—absconding with billions! Where did the money go? "…was only evil continually."

It was so bad, v 6: "And the LORD repented that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart." To see how absolutely evil that men would go. God has given free moral agency, then He's told us to choose.

Look where it will end, v 7: "And the LORD said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the crawling thing, and the fowl of the air; for I repent that I have made them.'"

• How big was the Church?
• How many people were keeping the Sabbath?
• How many people were worshipping God?

Remember, tie that in with what Jesus said, 'When the Son of man comes will He find faith in the earth?' How many people? Eight—Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives! That was it! And the sons and their wives were covered by the grace that God gave to Noah. They only escaped so that there would be a population on the other side of the Flood. It doesn't tell us how righteous they were.

Verse 8: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man and perfect in his generations, for Noah walked with God" (vs 8-9).

If you're going to walk with God—the way of the Truth—that's all the commandments of God: Sabbath, Holy Days in whatever form there was then. Remember, at creation God set the sun, moon and stars for signs and seasons, and seasons has to do with Holy Days. Notice, it doesn't say his three sons and wives were righteous. It's just Noah!

Verse 10: "And Noah begat three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence" (vs 10-11). Do we see that today? It's everywhere! People get all upset at war, but they fail to realize that there are more murders in the United States every day than there are casualties in Iraq or any war.

Verse 12: "And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt—for all flesh had corrupted its way… [God's way and their own personal ways] …upon the earth." When it says 'all flesh' it means all human beings plus the animals.

We do not know what they were doing with animals, but just look at the experiments that they are trying to do today. Look at the genetic engineering that they have done today and how it involves animals and plants and so forth. I can tell you that if there was a way to take a leaping jumping gene from a kangaroo and insert that into a human gene so that the parents could have the greatest leaping basketball player there ever was, you know that they would line up and have it done!

Example: Under the guise of goodness, there's a man who had terrible cancer in his jaw, so what they did they took his own stem cells from right below his shoulder blade, and they grew a new jawbone. They have to cut off his jaw so they can replace it with this new jawbone. I imagine they're going to have to form it and everything like that to do it.

But, 'every imagination of man is only evil continually'—continually! Everything that man does is sin. The only ones that are willing to follow God are those who believe God, those that have His Spirit, those who know His Word.

Verse 13: "And God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them. And, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." That's exactly what God did, and there's evidence everywhere that there was a Flood!

Gen. 11 is also in the days of Noah, but after the Flood. The reason I'm going through these things is because we need to understand the prophecies that are taking place and what we are looking at intimately in the way of our own personal lives. We're going to have to, as Jesus said, remember Noah.

Genesis 11:1: "And the whole earth was of one language and one speech." We're almost there again, with computers!

So, what did they do? Verse 4: "And they said, 'Come, let us build us a city and a tower, with its top reaching into the heavens. And let us establish a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered upon the face of the whole earth.' And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men had built" (vs 4-5).

God comes down and checks up on the earth every once in a while. Did He do that with Sodom and Gomorrah? Yes, indeed! He said if there were ten men—remember how Abraham bargained with Him: 50 down to 10. He said, 'For ten I'll spare it.' So, it's very important for the few who are righteous—know God, love God and keep His commandments—stay that way in spite of the world around. But the problem is, as related in the Laodicean Church, lukewarmness sets in. So, you need to think on that! God is going to come down and check up and see what's going on.

Verse 6: "And the LORD said, 'Behold, the people are one and they all have one language. And this is only the beginning of what they will do—now nothing which they have imagined to do will be restrained from them." Are we not living in that age today? With all of the technology, with all of the things? Yes, indeed!

Verse 7: "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they cannot understand one another's speech.' So the LORD scattered them abroad…" (vs 7-8).

Verse 9: "Therefore, the name of it is called Babel…"—the beginning of Babylon. This time, God is going to come in person!

We'll just look at one verse here in the New Testament, because what I want to show everybody—which we should already know, but for those who don't—this Lord God that's speaking here in the Old Testament—the One Who created all things, the One Who created the Sabbath, the One Who created mankind—was the One Who became Jesus Christ. That's why Christ was God manifested in the flesh.

Colossians 1:16: "Because by Him were all things created, the things in heaven and the things on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether they be thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all, and by Him all things subsist" (vs 16-17). He made all things. So, when people say that Jesus was 'not God before He came to the earth, and say that He was only born at that particular time' and that's 'when His existence began; then He was not before all things.' Some people just cannot understand that.

I want us to understand what's going on here. Revelation 13:1: "And I stood on the sand of the sea…"—which is types of multitudes of people, and sea has to do with nations, languages and tongues, and so forth.

"…and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy" (v 1). This is Satan's last system. This system looks like it is a grassroots or sand of the sea movement by people.

I thought it was interesting that one of the recent advertisements in the latest Presidential election was this: I think it went back to the beginning of the modern era of Olympic Games—1890-something—that there were two democracies on earth. Now there are a 120 democracies. The two latest are Afghanistan and Iraq. This tells us when we look at these prophecies, things may have begun long before we have ever suspected they have begun. So, it's going to develop into this system, which will eventually worship the beast and Satan the devil. He will be the false messiah.

There are a lot of people out there thinking that 'if we will all repent' we're going to stop it. We won't have to give into the beast. Okay, well, if you're a true Christian you're waiting for the Kingdom of God—right? As I mention in the sermon for Trumpets, a lot of people know about the conspiracy theories, the conspiracies that Satan is using to seduce men and women and set up his great and grand kingdom. But, I tell you what, it doesn't matter one bit if you know about it but you don't believe and obey God. You're not going to stop it!

The die has already been cast, everything has been set in motion and God is only going to reach down and save individuals. He has promised that He will save us! Some may have to give their lives in martyrdom, because that's the cost that it will take, and some may be spared. As we've also seen, many will grow old and die and be put in the grave. This is not to put fear in you, but to help you understand that you must have faith in God in order to live in these days,otherwise you will not be able to keep from getting involved in this world! It is coming!

All you need to do is this: If you don't believe that the Word of God is true, all we have to do is go back in history and you will see that, yes, because of the sins of the people of God He destroyed the temple twice. And He sent the Jews off—scattered them—into the whole world, because they didn't believe God and they didn't believe Jesus Christ. It really doesn't matter what any Jew may complain about, that's a fact of judgment from their own lips.

Jeremiah 25:13: "And I will bring on that land all My words which I have spoken against it…" All you have to do is study all the words in prophecy in Matt. 24; Luke 13, 21; 2-Thess. 2, the whole book of Rev. Every Word of God is going to happen and be fulfilled because God spoke it. 'Heaven and earth will pass away but not one word of Jesus Christ will pass away.' It's going to happen! We are going to see it!

"'…all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall make them slaves also. And I will repay them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.' For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to me, 'Take the wine cup of this wrath at My hand, and cause all the nations to whom I shall send you to drink it'" (vs 13-15). That's ALL the nations! Then he lists all of them and the modern ancestors of those apply today.

Verse 26: "And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the face of the earth…" We're going to see

• there will be a one-world government
• there will be a one-world religion
• there will be the one-world mark of the beast economic system.

It is going to happen! It's going to take place! "…all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the face of the earth…"

• Is that all inclusive?
• Do we believe the words of God?
• Is it going to happen as God says?

Of course! If it doesn't, then God is not God!

Let's look at another aspect of it. We can say that Jer. 25 has to do with a world government. That's why some people have said that the United Nations 'amounts to nothing' and what I've said about Iraq and the other countries is not going to happen. Yes, it's going to happen, because God says right here they're all going to drink of it. No way around it.

Let's look at the economic aspect of it. What is the central thing of the economics today? World trade! That's what it's talking about. I'll let you read through the whole thing, but here it is typified by Tyre. Then it lists everything that they have.

Ezekiel 27:

• v 5—their ships; cedars from Lebanon
• v 6—"oaks of Bashan… decks inlaid with ivory"
• v 7—"fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt…" You go to Target and you're going to find fine cotton towel made of Egyptian cotton.

Then it list all of the nations that are involved. Many of the same nations that you read of back there in Jer. 25. So, along with this wheel trading organization, there's going to come world government.

Verse 13: "Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They traded the persons of men and vessels of bronze for your goods." Do we have slave-trade today? Yes! It's called 'illegal immigration!' They've even found hundreds in shipping containers sent from China and other places in the Far East full of illegal immigrants. They get here and they work as slaves. Are they buying and selling children? Yes, indeed! What happens to all the children that are missing around the world? You figure it out!

Verse 14: "From the house of Togarmah they gave horses and war-horses and mules in your fairs." We have today: cars, trucks, motorcycles, vans, four-wheelers to say nothing of airplanes and everything like that.

Verse 15: "The sons of Dedan were your merchants; many isles were the traffic of your hand. They brought you as tribute tusks of ivory and ebony. Syria was your merchant because of the multitude of your works; with emeralds, purple, and embroidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies they gave you for your wares" (vs 15-16).

I mean, you can even become a dealer in pearls today. I saw a little brochure about it; it was showing black pearls. I hadn't seen black pearls before so I was looking at it. They had black pearls, brass colored pearls, yellow pearls, pink pearls, white pearls—amazing! I was reading that this morning and I said 'hello!'

Verse 17: "Judah and the land of Israel were your merchants with wheat from Minnith and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm, they traded for your goods." You can read the rest of it.

Verse 32: "And in their wailing they shall lift up a lamentation for you… [remember that when get to Rev. 18] …and lament over you saying, 'Who was like Tyre, who was fortified in the midst of the sea? When your goods went out by the seas, you filled many people. With the multitude of your riches and your merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth" (vs 32-33).

What I want you to do is think economically of the great corporations in the world. They control world trade! They buy and they sell and they're in it for making money! Whatever it may be: cars, clothes, goods, food. Most of it comes from corporations. Once in while out in areas like this, you might have a farmer's market. But it's all for exploit! It's all for gain! It's all for greed! God is going to destroy it!

Verse 33: "When your goods went out by the seas, you filled many people…." That's what we have, trade from overseas! You go look in your house and find what's made in the USA. Virtually nada! In spite of the propaganda, everything is made overseas.

"…With the multitude of your riches and your merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth. Now that you are broken by the seas, in the depths of the waters, your merchandise and all your company in your midst have fallen. All the inhabitants of the isles are astonished at you, and their kings are horribly terrified; their faces tremble. The merchants among the people shall hiss at you; you have become terrors. And you will be no more forever" (vs 33-36).

What follows on the heals of that? The chapter showing about how Satan fell! Satan is behind all of this merchandising. Satan is behind all of these major corporations of the world. You need to understand that. They will say, 'Oh we're not, we've got honest people.'

• Are you?
• Whom do you serve?
• Do you worship God?
• Do you tithe to Him of your profits?

I've never seen a penny of it! I doubt if any other Church of God has ever seen a penny of it! Who does Warren Buffet tithe to? Think about it! If you don't believe that is true, let's come over here to Matt. 4. This is why God has called the poor of the earth.

Matthew 4:8: "After that, the devil took Him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and said to Him, 'All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me.'…. [and the meaning there in the Greek is as God!] …Then Jesus said to him, 'Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve"'" (vs 8-10). Satan won't worship God. That's talking about the duty of man.

Luke 4:5: "Then the devil led Him up into a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time…. [that means clear down to our day] …And the devil said to Him, 'I will give You all this authority, and the glory of them all… [all the wealth, all the riches, all the lands, all of that sort of thing] …for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I desire. Therefore, if You will worship me in my presence, all things shall be Yours'" (vs 5-7). So, the wealthy of the world are not serving God! And look how they're corrupting minds and bodies and lives, children, and you can just go on.

Ezekiel 28:16 is talking about Satan and his sin: "By the multitude of your merchandise they have filled your midst with violence, and you have sinned." Whatever Satan did in the counterpart, that's what he did.

Verse 18: "By the multitude of your iniquities, by the unrighteousness of your trade…" Satan is behind this buying and selling as it is. We're going to see because we're going to focus in on the mark of the beast. We're going to see that this is of Satan the devil.

It's very interesting, it gets down to this: If you will not obey God and keep His commandments, then Satan is going to enforce his laws upon you! That's what we see in this society. They kick God out and they say:

• we don't want Your Bible
• we don't want Your Word
• we don't want You to teach the Ten Commandments

—which would be the best way to cut down on all crime and all sin to bring it down to a very, very low level. But no, Satan's way is 'you go ahead and sin but I'm going to have police that are going to arrest you and control you. That's Satan's way! That's what we see coming in the world today. More and more police, more and more law, more and more control. Why? Because people do not control themselves by the Word of God!

In the situation with the terrorists, what do we have? We now must be suspicious of everybody! You wait, terrorism is going to be used to save the economics—that is the fight against terrorism—and you don't know how close that the United States came to a total, financial collapse on the days following 9/11. Remember, the Stock Market was closed for a week! That's how close we came to a total financial disaster.

Remember what it was that we saw there in Rev. 13:1: "…the sand of the sea…"

Revelation 17:15: "Then he said to me, 'The waters that you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.'"

Verse 17: "For God has put it into their hearts to do His will…" It's God's will, since people want evil and they want Satan the devil, He's going to give it to them BIG TIME! It's not going to be some little thing done in a corner.

It is His will, just like He raised up Nebuchadnezzar to invade and carry away captive the Jews in 585B.C. and God told the Jews, 'If you fight you're going to die, because Nebuchadnezzar is My servant and My hand to punish you for your sins! If you go into captivity, I'll let you survive and I'll bring some of you back.' It's God's will to let Satan raise up this system! Remember this: Jesus said if His Kingdom were of this world then 'would My servants fight'—which means that we are not to fight!

"…to do His will, and to act with one accord, and to give their kingdom to the beast… [that's all the kingdoms of the world] …until the words of God have been fulfilled" (v 17).

Jesus said, 'I came not to destroy the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill. For verily I say to you, not one jot or one title of the Law shall not fail until all have been fulfilled.' And this is part of what needs to be fulfilled—right? Yes, indeed!

Verse 18: "And the woman whom you saw is the great city that has royal power over the kings of the earth." That will be Rome. Rome will enhance its power. Rome will be very clever and will enhance her power by lowering her power. What do I mean by that? She will let all the other religions come back until there is a 'working plate' and then the noose is going to be pulled all around them and they're all going to be set there under the power of the pope with total control! That's how it will happen!

Revelation 18:1: "And after these things I saw an angel descending from heaven, having great authority; and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried out mightily with a loud voice, saying, 'Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen… [it's going to go down] …and has become a habitation of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hated bird; because all nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication…'" (vs 1-3).

Babylon is responsible for all the religions of the world, all the economics of the world and the government systems of the world that we have today. The only variation from that is the United States of America, when some of the founders followed many of the principles in the Bible. But, let me tell you something about the Constitution of the United States. Too many people accept it as a bible. It may read good and it may sound good and it may work better than other governments, but let me tell you, it has its fatal flaws because look at what it is today. The reason is, while they took some principles from the Bible, and they used some things relating to Christianity, it was not based upon the entire Word of God. That's the problem of picking and choosing.

Verse 3: "Because all nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of [#1]her fornication, and the [#2]kings of the earth have committed fornication with her…" We're going to see three things here:

1. "…kings of the earth…" represents government!
2. she or "…her…" represents religion!

"…and the [#3]merchants of the earth have become rich through the power of her luxury" (v 3)—economics!

Let's look at this a little bit more and let's see if we can make a little more sense out of it, even though we've gone over this many, many times.

Revelation 13:2: "And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and his feet like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne and great authority." What did we read back there in Matt. 4 and Luke 4? If you worship Satan, you'll get it!He'll give you power!

Verse 3: "And I saw one of his heads as ifit were slain to death, but his deadly wound was healed; and the whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon…" (vs 3-4). At that point, there going to be two classes of people:

1. those who worship the true God and have the true Jesus Christ as Savior
2. those who worship Satan the devil, which is the dragon

Revelation 12:9: "And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, who is deceiving the whole world…" That's what's happening in the end-time. And he's deceiving them how? With

• government
• religion
• economics

Revelation 13:4: "And they worshiped the dragon who gave his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? Who has the power to make war against him?'"

That day is going to come. There's going to be a shifting of power and you wait and see. I've said this before so I'll say it again: I fully expect the UN to move out of the United States back to Switzerland, in Geneva where the League of Nations originally was. I fully expect at that time greater and more power will be given to the United Nations. They are again talking about two major things to make the UN a powerful entity.

1. taxes—

• on oil and their products
• travel—land, sea and air

And once they get their foot in the door, what's the story? Once you start taxing you get more.

2. a powerful army

That will come! How far down the road, we don't know. But then it will be "Who has the power to make war against him?"

Out of this is going to come the false messiah, v 5: "And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to him; and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months…. [after his deadly wound is healed] …And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven" (vs 5-6). Tie that right back in with Gen. 11.

Here's what's going to happen, v 7: "And he was given power to make war against the saints…" I know a lot of people don't like to talk about martyrdom, but it's going to come.

I saw on the History Channel, they were talking about the implements of torture that were used during the Spanish Inquisition by the Catholics, supposed Christians, which they are not because Jesus said, 'love your enemies. If he's hungry, feed him.' And they had some of the most ghastly things that you could ever imagine. And it's coming again! Do you believe God all the time unto death? That's the problem with too many people today.

That's why you must prove everything, hold fast that which is good! Because if things are good and comfortable for you, and:

• you come to church because there are a lot of people
• you come because they have a nice looking college
• you come because it looks like the thing to do and you're attracted to the institution rather than repenting to God

you are in trouble! You will turn your back in the day of trouble, just like it says with the Parable of the Sower of the Seed. That's what we have to have because it's going to come.

• How soon? We don't know!
• How far down the road? We don't know!

But, it is going to come!

"…to make war against the saints, and to overcome them…" (v 7). Notice the authority he's given here. Again, I want you to see the worldwide encompassing thing here. The last kind of government that man has never had has been a one-world government. That's what they want and that's what they're going to produce, and that's what they are working for. It is going to happen, and God is going to let it happen to show and to prove that only God is capable of running a one-world government with the resurrected saints. What you're seeing is a duality of what happened back there in Gen. 11.

Verse 8: "And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world…." That's all encompassing authority—isn't it? And we're getting to a time worldwide where that can be done, and that can be enforced.

Verse 9: "If anyone has an ear, let him hear…. [then here's a judgment]: …If anyone gathers into captivity, he shall go into captivity. If anyone kills with the sword, he must be killed with the sword. Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints" (vs 9-10)—which is they do not do those things!

Let's look at the mark of the beast, because not only is it here, but it's coming and growing, v 11: "And I saw another beast rising out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon; and he exercises all the authority of the first beast before him; and he causes the earth and those who dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed" (vs 11-12). He's going to certify that this truly is the 'Messiah.' It's going to be a human being possessed of Satan the devil—it's what it's going to be! If they worship the dragon and they worship the first beast that means the first beast is possessed of Satan the devil.

Verse 13: "And he… [the second beast] …performs great wonders, so that he even causes fire to come down to the earth from heaven in the sight of men." And the way people are today, they will be so convinced that this is from God; they will be so convinced that this is right. After all, do we not have a whole generation that is all enamored with Harry Potter and with magic and witchcraft? Yes!

Verse 14: "And he deceives those who dwell on the earth… [a worldwide deception] …by means of the wonders that were given to him to perform in the sight of the beast, saying to those who dwell on the earth that they should make an image for the beast, which had the wound by the sword, yet was alive." I can see it now, they're going to manufacture these by the millions. They will have tee-shirts. They will have hats. They will have pictures. They will have an idol, an image. It's interesting that it's an image—isn't it?

Verse 15: "And he was given power to give life to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast also could speak…" What is the old saying? Seeing is believing!

Why does God do this? Let's see that it becomes very profound when you understand it. It's talking about the lawless one, the man of sin, the son of perdition (2-Thess. 2:8).

2-Thessalonians 2:9: "Even the one whose coming is according to the inner working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in those who are perishing because they did not receive the love of the Truth, so that they might be saved…. [they reject the Truth] …And for this cause…" (vs 9-11). When you reject the Truth, God intervenes in your life and does something!

"…God will send upon them a powerful deception that will cause them to believe the lie, so that all may be judged who did not believe the Truth, but who took pleasure in unrighteousness" (vs 11-12).

You can start with any part of the Truth of the Bible you want. But you have to have the whole Bible and believe all of it, otherwise you're going to be given over to various degrees of deception. That's just a spiritual fact of life.

If you won't commit idolatry, here's the test to receive the mark of the beast, Revelation 13:15: "…and he causes everyone who will not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all…" (vs 15-16). This goes back to the first beast, because the pope will reinforce it, but he's not going to cause it. It's going to be the government that's going to cause it. It's going to the be merchants that initiate it.

"…he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, to receive a mark in their right hands, or in their foreheads" (v 16).

I think we will be able to distinguish the difference between it. In the right hand I believe will be for the ordinary citizen. In the forehead will be for the chosen government bureaucracies—all those who work for the government will be on the inside. Isn't it interesting that a lot of these things have been telegraphed through a very popular Sci-Fi series called Star Trek?

There is a movie out right now called The Manchurian Candidate. It's a story about a President of the United States that is controlled by a chip put into his brain. I want you to understand that we're entering into very dangerous times with this mark of the beast. When I first said that—note sermon: The Mark of the Beast is Coming!—people got all excited and they wrote me and they were sure going to get their act together. Well, let me tell you, it's coming! What was a trickle when I gave the sermon several years ago developed into a river, which is going to develop into a flood, which will become an ocean, unlike anything we have ever understood!

Verse 17: "So that no one may have the ability to buy and sell unless he has the mark, or the name of the Beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let the one who has understanding count the number of the beast; for it is a man's number, and his number is 666" (vs 17-18). I believe:

• the first 6 stands for the false perfected religion of man under Satan
• second 6 stands for the false governments of this world,led by Satan the devil
• third 6 stand for the economics of this world

They're all going to be involved in this. It is going to be something!

Now let's talk about how it's all going to come about and how it's going to happen. Several years ago I said that it's going to become so common and so good, that those who don't take it will be thought of as nuts! I also said that at first it's going to be voluntary.

Human Chips more than skin-deep by Michael Kanellos Staff Writer, CNETNews.com August 23, 2004

Advocates of technology like radio frequency identification tags say that potentially life-saving benefits far outweigh any Orwellian concerns about privacy.

Every sin that Satan puts forth and every method that he uses is to be a benefit! Isn't that what he told Adam and Eve? Yes! 'You're going to benefit from it!'

RFID tags sewn in the clothing…

It's going to be everywhere. It's going to be in all clothing, and when they do it, I'm going to have a hammer. They say if you put it in a microwave that you'll blow it. I'm going to microwave everything I buy. I'm going to blow that chip! It's going to be in every product you buy. This is going to be universal in all products, everywhere in the whole world, and that's just the first step!

…or even embedded under people's skin could curb…
Oh, don't we need this!

…identity theft, help identify disaster victims…
Even though they're blown apart!

…and improve medical care…
Oh yes, we must have medical care!

Critics, however, say such technology will make it easier for government agencies to track a person's every movement…

Yes, indeed! And that's what they will do. This is not for buying and selling!This is for control!

Let me just add right here before we go any further. The old doctrine that the mark of the beast is Sunday-keeping is a weak interpretation if not erroneous interpretation of Rev. 13. All you have to do is sit down and think about it. It's very simple. If the mark of the beast was Sunday-keeping and the holidays of the world, since you keep the Sabbath—and if they had blue laws to close everything down on Sunday—could you still buy and sell? You wouldn't buy and sell on the Sabbath because you keep the Sabbath.? You wouldn't buy and sell on Sunday because they close everything down. But you could buy on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday—unless you live in a Muslim country where they keep Friday—so you can still buy and sell. But here Rev. 13 says 'you cannot'—'ou dunamis'—you have no power—buy and sell. And that's where we are at right now. This is Satan's way of controlling everybody! That's what it's down to! It's not Sunday-keeping or holiday-keeping. No! This is economics! It has to do with buying and selling.

Abuse can take countless forms, including corporations surreptitiously identifying shoppers for relentless sales pitches.

You walk in the store and they know exactly who you are, what you are, what you purchased in the past, where you live, what your social security number is, what your telephone number is, how much your income is. They know everything! All of this started with the convenience of credit cards. I use credit cards. But credit cards do not control me. Credit cards cannot affect my mind. But a chip in your right hand or your forehead with low frequency RF wavelengths and it can send out messages and control people. That's Satan's goal: to control all people! You take away the free choice. You choose Satan, you give up God and Satan takes away your choice.

• Is that total enslavement?
• Are you in bondage to iniquity?

Without a doubt!

There's a whole lot more to this, but they are making many, many more of these RFID chips, and isn't it wonderful that people who have medical problems have it; you know who they are and what they need immediately. If they just happen to fall down we can find them anywhere. It was mentioned that they already have it available and they show advertisements. If you watch the advertisements to promote this, a man falls down, they're able to track where he is, helicopter comes and rescues him, they pass the scan over the chip. They're putting it in the shoulder right now for a beginning; that's so they can say it's not in the right hand. They'll soon find out that the shoulder is inconvenient. They'll move it to the right hand; you wait and see. As he's on his way to the hospital in the helicopter what happens? They'll know who he is, what his medication is, what they need to do for him, and they'll save his life! Isn't that wonderful?

The problem, detractors say, is that the vast quantities of accumulated data would be vulnerable to theft and abuse. They cite historical practices of retail establishments, which for years have listened in on customer conversations and viewed consumer behavior on remote cameras to improve sales. Supermarkets routinely collect data about individual shoppers' purchases and buying habits through
"loyalty programs," along with credit card and electronic banking transactions.

Even random individuals could spy on those with tags, because today's RFID technologies do not yet have the processing power to encrypt information.

So, they could drive down the street and they can tell this guy has bought all this stuff and he has this. Look, he's got food stored up for a long time, we'd better watch this guy; he looks dangerous. Would be very simple to do.

Still, implanting RFID chips could vastly increase the potential for police surveillance of ordinary citizens. Conceivably, every wall socket could become an RFID reader that feeds into a government database.

Critics contend that if tagging gets out of control, the day will eventually come when the cops will be able to trace junk thrown in a public trash can back to the person who tossed it.

'Oh, if the Hasting's girl had only had a chip in her body we could find her body in this maze of garbage.' Do you want people in power to have that much power? An infrastructure problem has to be overcome: it is called electricity and the Internet.

ID by Arm—How it Works.

1. A person gets a radio tag and plant it in the arm or a bracelet. Most are tags technologically "passive," meaning they cannot send a signal until activated by a nearby scanner.

Oh isn't that wonderful? You know they're lying to you.

2. Antennas in a scanner or on a wall intercept the signals from the tag and relay the information back to a database. Generally, this signal will identify the wearer.

3. The database matches the signal from the tag with one on file and allows the person to pass or triggers a warning if it detects a discrepancy.

4. Although some tags encrypt with signals, many don't…

Selling Point for Implanting Biochips: by Jack Duggan May 19, 2004 (NewsWithViews.com)

The selling point for implanting biochips begins to expand because they cannot be stolen.

You can cut off the hand or the arm, but you have to have a warm body for the electricity from the body to make it work.

They can be used to activate ATMs, pay bills, sign contracts, verify your identity—all without your wallet and locate lost or kidnapped children. Should you yourself become lost or disabled a global array of satellites will locate you or any person who has been implanted with a SIB (Subdermally Implanted Biochip) anywhere on the planet.

An SIB can contain complete, valuable medical data about its wearer, saving lives in trauma. It can also index the wearer's criminal record, voting record, party affiliation, and level of access to government facilities and benefits, all without the wearer knowing exactly what's in there….
You watch how all the commercials would be pushing this as a good thing! A benefit! 'We'll find your child! We'll find your car!' They can connect this with the cell phone relays anywhere in the world besides the satellites. This thing is all set up! The thing that we need to understand and most people have accepted it: If you have a cell phone they know who you are, where you are and who you're calling at all times. If you try and erase messages it's still embedded in another chip in there. It's not erased, which means you have no choice; you have no privacy. They're taking away a God-given choice that God has given to you.

Eventually, governments will insist that all citizens have SIBs. You will not be able to use your bank, office and home utility accounts or sign contracts unless fitted with an ISB for 'security purposes.'

Citizens will have to take the government's word that everything is kosher.

One day, you car won't start, you won't be able to get a tow truck or money to repair it, because SIB chip is not working. The bank's ATM won't accept your SIB's code, yet, you see it accepting SIB codes of other customers.

Your spouse will call from the grocery store, saying her chip isn't working and you can't buy food for the kids. Once, stores accepted both cash and SIBs, but by edict of the Federal Reserve System no one may use cash or credit cards anymore. All for reasons of 'national security', of course.

After hours of begging a government agency for an answer, it will turn out that a 20-year-old clerk in Scumpond, Mass… [or you might say, in offshore calling in India or Pakistan] …put a hold on your whole family's chips because of an unpaid parking ticket attributed to your vehicle's license plate number.

You shout that you have never even been to Scumpond, Mass., but it falls on deaf ears. You are told that you will have to take the matter up with Ms. Dumklerk in person. You telephone the Scumpond City Hall Department of Revenue from your neighbor's home, as your own phone was just shut off because of your "criminal status." They tell you that Ms. Dumklerk is on a leave of absence, so you'll just have to be patient until she returns. No one else can help you, because Ms. Dumklerk encrypted access to all her files with her SIB code, which is against procedure, but they never had time to train her properly because they are under-funded and overworked.

You are told to call back in a four weeks, when Ms. Dumclerk might be back from the rain forest. Sorry.

Unable to buy or sell, you turn to family, friends and neighbors for aid. You need a car to get to work, food, diapers, milk, a kerosene heater for your house and candles, since the electric is shut off.

Your parents try to help, but they are immediately warned at the cash-less register in the store that they are not allowed to exceed their "fair share" in purchasing food and hardware for an elderly couple, which has already been calculated by the U.S. Department of Earth First. Sadly, they give you what little excess they had in their pantry, but it will only help your family for a few days. Ditto for your few friends and neighbors. After surrendering their small hordes, most give excuses, because they know what it means to fall under the scrutiny of the government for exceeding their "fair share" of the planet's resources, as scientifically defined by U.C. Berkeley.

Now, this is written in a satire and very cynical, but it certainly is true.

After two weeks, the baby is whining for milk, the children are begging for food and your wife can't stop crying. You no longer can use a phone to call Scumpond. Your neighbor just told you that his telephone is off limits, since you caused it to exceed the time allotment authorized by the U.S. Department of Communications Conservation. He is now himself under resource scrutiny.

Desperate, with no options left, you remember the old unregistered pistol buried beneath your bedroom floorboards. Never in your life did you think you would stoop this low, but the baby is now screaming non-stop.

If you don't think this is for real, I'll just read you the headlines. You can go online and get this at Yahoo News:

Mexico Attorney General has Microchip fitted in his arm as did Vicente Fox the president of Mexico.

Chip implanted in Mexico's Judicial Workers
Tiny chip takes on Big Job in Mexico

This ought to make you sit up and think:

The ID SNIPERTM rifle designed by Empire North (stuffucanuse.com)

Few people realize how technology could be used in law enforcement.

It shows here a picture of a gun among new weapons that they have.

It is used to implant GPS microchips in the body of human being. Using a high-powered sniper rifle as a long-distance injector, the chip will enter the body and stay there causing no internal damage and only a very small amount of physical pain to the target…. [That is the one who is hit by it] …It will feel like a mosquito bite lasting a fraction of a second. At the same time a digital camcorder, fitted within the scope will take a high-resolution picture of the target. This picture will be stored on a memory card for later image-analysis.

As the urban battlefield grows more complex and intense, new ways of managing and controlling crowds are needed.

And, of course, what's going to happen at the Republican Convention, they're going to start screaming for this.

The attention of the media changes the rules of the game. Sometimes it's difficult to engage the enemy in the street without causing damage to the all important image of the state. Instead, 'Empire North' suggests to mark and identify a suspicious subject at a safe distance… [by using this to inject them with one of the chips] …enabling the national law enforcement agency to keep track of the target through a satellite in the weeks to come.

Then it shows a picture of it.

It is here! It is working! It is going to become a flood! That's why it's very important that

• we stay close to God
• we believe God
• we believe His Word
• we live by it
• we learn to love each other and get rid of our problems and difficulties between each other

Between Jesus Christ and God the Father and the brethren that's all you have! That's just the way it is! We live in these times. We pray, 'Oh, Your kingdom come.' Yes, indeed! But you need to understand what's going to happen between the time you're praying that and the actual coming of the kingdom by Jesus Christ.

So, the mark of the beastis here and growing and it is going to be something! How long it will take, we don't know. But it will continue!

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter

Scriptural References:

1. 2 Timothy 3:1-10
2. Luke 17:26-30
3. Genesis 6:5-13
4. Genesis 11:1, 4-9
5. Colossians 1:16-17
6. Revelation 13:1
7. Jeremiah 25:13-15, 26
8. Ezekiel 27:5-7, 13-17, 32-36
9. Matthew 4:8-10
10. Luke 4:5-7
11. Ezekiel 28:16, 18
12. Revelation 13:1
13. Revelation 17:15, 17-18
14. Revelation 18:1-3
15. Revelation 13:2-4
16. Revelation 12:9
17. Revelation 13:4-15
18. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
19. Revelation 13:15-18

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Matthew 24
• Luke 13, 21
• 2 Thessalonians 2:8

Also referenced:

Sermon: The Mark of the Beast is Coming!
Articles:

• Human Chips more than skin-deep by Michael Kanellos Staff Writer, August 23, 2004 (cnetnews.com)
• Selling Point for Implanting Biochips: by Jack Duggan May 19, 2004 (NewsWithViews.com)
• The ID SNIPERTM Rifle Designed by Empire North (stuffucanuse.com)

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8-8-10
Reformatted/Corrected: 6/2014