The Mark of the Beast, Pt. 5

Announcer: It's time now for Bible Talk. Join our hosts, Gary Gibbs and John Bradshaw, speakers for the Amazing Facts Ministry, as they now open the Bible and discuss themes that affect your life today. Stay tuned because the next 15 minutes will deepen your understanding of God's word.

John Bradshaw: Hi, friend, and welcome again to Bible Talk, where we talk about the Bible and the Bible topics and subjects that affect you today right where you are. I'm John Bradshaw. With me is Gary Gibbs. Hey, Gary.

Gary Gibbs: Hey, John. We have been talking about a big topic coming right out of the Book of Revelation and a topic none other than the Mark of the Beast.

John: We're going to try to wrap it up today, not that you can ever really wrap up a subject like the Mark of the Beast, but we've looked at how the Mark of the Beast isn't 666, that's the number of the Beast, something rather different. Don't worry if your phone number ends with three sixes, your license plate, your Social Security number, whatever it is. You've heard about people who go to the supermarket, right?

Gary: Oh yes.

John: They go to the check-out, that'll be $6.66, thank you, so they grab a stick of gum, or a magazine or something else, they just don't want to pay $6.66.

Gary: I was in the store the other day and that happened to me, I said, just add a penny on it because I don't want to pay 666.

John: Come on, you didn't, did you?

Gary: I told her that, I ended up just paying it.

John: Alright. I'm glad about that. You know it's not a bad luck thing, it's not an omen, it's the number of the Beast, and not the Mark.

Gary: But you know, I do hope that people really are listening, because the Bible does not say that the Mark is 666. It says the number of the Beast's name is 666.

John: Let me pose you a question. So what? I mean, like so if it says 666, or if it doesn't say that, but I think the Mark is 666, let me ask you, I turn the tables a little bit, so what does it matter if I'm wrong?

Gary: Well, it matters a great deal, because the Bible says if you've got this wrong, and according to Revelation 14:9, 10 and 11, you're going to receive the plagues, you're going to burn in hellfire, you're going to be deceived by the Beast's power. You got to get this right, because it is going to be the main issue in the Last Days.

John: It's clear that anybody who receives the Mark of the Beast will ultimately be separated from Christ and cannot be saved by Jesus. Receiving the Mark of the Beast will represent a fracturing, a breaking in the relationship between the individual and Christ. Nobody wants that.

Gary: Definitely not.

John: So if you're looking in the wrong direction, you're going to end up deceived and confused and off base, right?

Gary: And off base so much that you're going to end up in the fires of hell.

John: That is seriously off base.

Gary: And you don't hear many people, John, in fact I was preaching the other day, and I said, if you go down this route of deception, we weren't talking about the Beast, talking about something else, I said, you're going to burn in hell. It got real quiet in church. And I almost put my hand over my mouth. I said, did I say that? Can you talk about hellfire anymore today? I haven't heard a preacher in years say, if you sin against God, and you're not converted, you're going to burn in hell.

John: But isn't that, even though it's hardly politically correct...although for some people, they really major in that, but generally speaking, the gospel message there tends to be very lovey-dovey, and all of that. And I'm not knocking that, I mean the love of Jesus is very important, but isn't the truth of the matter is that the wages of sin is death?

Gary: Right. But you know, in my church tradition, we don't say a whole lot about those things, so it kind of shocked me even as I said it. But it really is true, when you come to this thing on the Mark of the Beast, you're either going to walk the streets of gold, and sing God's praises in Paradise, or you're going to be in the other place.

John: You're going to burn in the lake of fire.

Gary: And that makes me think, John, about the topic we really want to delve into today. We've spent several programs talking about what the Mark of the Beast isn't, and what the Mark of the Beast is. But there is another mark that's mentioned in Revelation, isn't there?

John: True enough. God has a mark also. It's not called a mark. It's called a seal. While the Beast is looking to mark his followers, God wants to do the same thing. Mark his followers, and have them receive the Seal, it's called the Seal of the Living God.

Gary: So it's almost like a postmark, where your destiny is. Are you postmarked for heaven, or are you postmarked for the other place? Let's get into this the Mark of God, the Seal of God. And let's talk about it. Is it a literal seal, literal mark in the heard, or what? Where do we read about this?

John: Firstly, where do we find it? We find it in Revelation 7. After these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the Earth. Some symbolic language here, the earth isn't square, it doesn't have four corners, but you get the picture here. Holding the four winds of the earth, and in prophecy, winds represent strife, warfare, turmoil, that the wind shouldn't blow on the Earth, or the sea or any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the Seal of the Living God. Now don't forget that, it doesn't just say the Seal of God, it says the Seal of the Living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the Earth and the sea saying, don't hurt the Earth, the sea of the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Very, very important. Now, we'll go back, we'll recapitulate a bit here. In the forehead, represented in the mind. No tattooing on the head.

Gary: So it's not on the forehead, it's in the forehead.

John: In the forehead. And represented in the mind. You could look in Deuteronomy six around verse six there and get the very same picture. Revelation 14 the Seal is in the forehead. Revelation 22 actually says the name in the forehead. Revelation 22 the same thing, so God's Seal, God's Name, God's Law, all going to be impressed in the forehead, in the mind, in the mind of the person who loves and believes in Jesus Christ. So the Seal is affixed in the forehead. It's the Seal of the Living God.

Gary: And what is that seal? You mentioned Revelation 14 because there it talks about something that's in the forehead and we're talking, we need to kind of expand the context here. This is talking about the 144,000.

John: Sure enough.

Gary: And in Revelation 14, it's talking about the 144,000.

John: That's right.

Gary: And there it says in verse one that what they have is the Father's Name written in their forehead. Now who are the 144,000 and what is this Seal that's in their forehead?

John: Well it's pretty clear in the Bible that the 144,000 are a group of people who don't receive the Mark of the Beast.

Gary: OK, we got that.

John: So they're living through its final crisis, and they're on the Earth and they're ready to meet Jesus when He comes back. So there's saved people living on the Earth when Jesus comes.

Gary: But are they Jewish people, like what it says here? It says 144,000 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel.

John: Well, you take a look now. It could be that they're Jewish people. But let's look at this carefully and biblically. In Revelation 7, it mentions 12 tribes but they're not the original 12 tribes.

Gary: How do you know that?

John: Well, you take a look at where those 12 tribes are listed back in the Old Testament. Compare it here in Revelation 7. It is different tribes.

Gary: OK.

John: Different order. So if it was the literal Jewish people, the literal children of Israel, you expect it to be the original 12 tribes.

Gary: Right but you have some of the half tribes in here, the sons of Joseph.

John: And then you get over to Revelation 14. The Bible says of this group that they are virgins. Now, OK. So this celibate. It is either the place in the Bible where you get brownie points for celibacy.

Gary: [laughs] There is a whole church that hope so.

John: But does the Bible say that?

Gary: No, not all.

John: Now, if you wish to remain celibate, that is OK. It is probably true that more people should remain celibate than do. No doubt about it.

Gary: No doubt about that one.

John: But according to what the Bible says, you don't find any blessing bestowed upon you simply for that discipline, celibacy.

Gary: OK.

John: So he...We would expect that this is symbolically speaking as well. Father's name written in their foreheads. No one is going to have Yahweh tattooed against the skull, top of your face right there. That is a symbol as well. You find all these symbols here and it would appear that we are talking about a group of symbolic Jews. And I'm just going to do this very, very quickly. Are you ready for this?

Gary: Go ahead.

John: Quickly. In the Bible, you'll find in the New Testament, God says that those people who belong to Jesus Christ are the descendants of Abraham. You are ready for that? We could take many weeks of Bible Talk.

Gary: Oh, why don't we do that in the future program?

John: We'll do that.

Gary: We'll look at this.

John: We'll flesh it out. Let me mention it right now. You got it in Galatians 3. You got it in Romans two where God says that his true Jews, his spiritual Jews are people who belong to Jesus.

Gary: So why don't I read that in Romans 2:28.

John: OK.

Gary: Says, "He is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew which is one inwardly and circumcision is not of the heart in the spirit. Not on the latter whose praises not of men but of God."

John: And I want to read in Galatians 3:28. "As many of you" verse 27 "as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek." Did you get that?

Gary: Yes.

John: There is neither bond nor free male or female. You are all one in Christ Jesus if you be Christ. Then are you Abraham seed and is according to the promise.

Gary: OK. Back to the 144,000, we are talking about spiritual Israel.

John: Absolutely.

Gary: Those who have come to Christ.

John: Yes.

Gary: Just like you read there in Galatians and we read in Romans 2.

John: Yes, sir.

Gary: So the 144,000 represents God's covenant people in the last days whoever accepted no matter what their ethnicity is as long as they are in Christ.

John: 100 percent right and they received the Seal of God. These ones who are victorious in the end.

Gary: I find it interesting. It says in Revelations seven John that John hears the number of them which were sealed. Revelations 7:4.

John: That's right. That's significant.

Gary: And the number is 144,000. But then in verse nine, it says after this, I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number.

John: Absolute.

Gary: Nations and kindred and people and tongue. So he hears this but he never sees a 144,000. But when he looks, he sees a great multitude which he points out no man could number, which again plays up the idea that this number is symbolic. Otherwise, you are going to have a 144,000 celibate, Jewish men from all these different tribes. And those tribes don't even exist today.

John: A 100 percent agreement. That is very biblical, very solid. No question about that.

Gary: So how can we be a part of this group that is going to be postmarked or sealed with God's seal on the forehead for heaven so that we don't see the Mark of the Beast.

John: OK. Very quickly now because the time always goes by far too quickly. Number one, you are going to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Know him as your Lord and Savior. Give him your heart. Ask him to forgive your sins. Repent. We don't want to underscore in this prophetic subject. We cannot gloss over the importance of Jesus. He is central to all of these things. Revelation 14:12 talks about the saints. You got those who receive the mark and then the saints who would receive the seal. It is they keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Now, that is very important.

Gary: And I think it describes in there in Revelations 14, when the Father name the forehead. That is significant because names denote character. That means they have set their love on God. They have accepted his character. His form of government and they said. We believe in God. We are going to only follow only the true god and not the false god, the beast god. And therefore, that is why we are going to obey him. That is why we are going to have faith in Jesus. And they got it settled in their heart, settled in their lives. They are not doing anything other than following the true God.

John: You find in Ephesians 4:30 that people are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Now, that is different than saying the Holy Spirit is the Seal of the Living God.

Gary: Yes.

John: But when you come to Christ, he seals you with the Holy Spirit. So when you come to Jesus the spirit gets control of your life and then you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit according to Jesus in John 16 would guide the person into what?

Gary: All the truth.

John: All truth.

Gary: So we are on that time. We are living on the last days. We are either receiving the Mark of the Beast or the Seal of God, aren't we?

John: The decisions we make today, sitting us up. They are preparing us to be in one or the other of these two groups. Friends, today you are making decision for Jesus Christ. We hope you do that. And we hope you'll join us again for more here next time. I am John Bradshaw with Gary Gibbs. Thank you for joining us today. We look forward to seeing you next time here at Bible Talk.

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