The Mark of the Beast (Prophecy's Crown Jewel) by Richie Cooley Jr. - HTML preview

THE MARK OF THE BEAST

(Prophecy’s Crown Jewel)

By Richie Cooley

Licensed by:

Richie Cooley (2015); Updated and Revised (2018)

Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International

Email: richieacooley@live.com

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. The Mark

III. The Meaning

IV. Conclusion

V. Works Cited

Before getting started, let’s review a few notes …

*This work mostly uses British spelling, except for the quoted material, which often employs U.S. spelling.

*New Testament Scripture is normally taken from the Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Third Edition (ALT3). Copyright © 2007 by Gary F. Zeolla of Darkness to Light ministry. Previously copyrighted © 1999, 2001, 2005 by Gary Zeolla.

*Old Testament Scripture is normally taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE® (NASB), copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

*The ALT3 distinguishes between singular and plural second-person pronouns by means of an asterisk (*).

*Divine pronouns are normally not capitalized, unless they appear that way in Bible versions or other quotes.

*As a general rule, words that appear in brackets within quotes are not found in the original texts, and were added by the translators or are my personal comments, etc.

I. Introduction

His mind slid away into the labyrinthine world of doublethink. To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully-constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them; to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy; to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again: and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself. That was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed.¹

A reoccurring theme in 1984 by George Orwell is the government’s (i.e., “Big Brother’s”) ability to manipulate truth—past and present—in order to make the citizenry forgetful of factual reality. History was literally rewritten and amended at will, and the people were powerless to rise above the deception. This process goes on in every culture to a greater or lesser extent. Truth is evolving; morality is evolving; even history is evolving! Yet when you know that evolution is a myth and really only entropy occurs, what does that say about the prospects for the future?

The history of Western culture has been largely tied to how it has viewed the unshakeable, unmovable, Holy Bible. Since it has now been almost completely undermined by “scholars” who have applied lying and brutish and illogical arguments to bring into question its veracity and relevance, it’s no wonder that the compass is spinning. If you applied the tactics employed while attacking the Bible to historical documents in general then there would be no ancient history left intact! Yet God has been kind and patient to an uncanny degree. Instead of allowing the world to destroy his Word and suffer the consequences, he has provided us with many infallible proofs to confirm our faith in this age of faithlessness. Chief among these proofs is Biblical prophecy. It makes wild, strange, risky predictions, yet these predictions always pan out to be precious gold.

I think perhaps the most well-known prophecy is the mark of the beast. People everywhere that have any amount of Biblical literacy are piqued by the number(s) 6-6-6. I have written on this topic in the past, but I thought it would be of practical benefit to gather such material, expand, expound, and also demonstrate contemporary foreshadowing. This mark, predicted by the Apostle John about 1900 years ago, may be just around the corner. On the one hand we should be encouraged, for fulfilled prophecy is as balm to the hearts blighted by materialistic philosophies; yet on the other hand we must be gravely concerned, for in a feat of strange arithmetic, the twenty-first century could quickly turn into 1984.

We will first review the prophecy of the mark and look at the modern scene for evidence of how close we may be to implementation. Afterwards we will consider the mark’s theological significance as seen throughout the Scriptures.

II. The Mark

A. The Right Season

The mark is very unlikely to surface without two things preceding it. First there will be a global crisis that will seemingly threaten any pretence of a peaceful social order. I believe this crisis will be the rapture of the church, when Jesus Christ takes believers to heaven before the final years of tribulation. Others surmise it will be a financial meltdown, terrorism, religious clashes, or a war, etc. Whatever the case, it will likely not be “life as normal” whenever the mark surfaces.

The second thing that should precede it is the rise of the Antichrist (I use this name throughout to refer to the first beast in Revelation 13). In the very end times there will rise a charismatic leader who will seem to be the saviour from the perilous problems. There are direct references to this character (as seen in the books of Revelation and Daniel, etc.) and there are allegorical allusions (like with Saul and Nebuchadnezzar, etc.). Now obviously the direct references must set the tone, and having understood what the Scripture says directly, then we can consider indirect allusions (and even then, this latter category will always be subject to friendly debate among prophecy students).

This coupling of direct truth with indirect speculation is what the contemporary writings of prophetic import are always filled with, and I think that’s a good thing. In other words, when writing about prophecy, authors will always make the clear-cut foundation known (i.e., such as the fact that the Bible calls for a coming Antichrist) while bringing in personal, sanctified speculation (such as musing about his nationality or the more specific tenor of his career). This, on the one hand, helps enlighten the general audience as to what the Bible says fundamentally; while, on the other hand, the speculations and errors prove that we are not following a script nor are we divinely inspired oracles.

Moving forward from this preface, the book of Revelation says that the beast (who is also tied-in directly to his entire Roman kingdom) will be lauded by the general public as an unconquerable saviour…

And one of its heads [was] as [if] having been slain to death [fig., mortally wounded], and its wound of death [fig., fatal wound] was healed. And the whole earth marveled after the beast. And they prostrated themselves in worship [or, reverence, and in all references to the beast or dragon] before the dragon, the one having given the authority to [the] beast; and they prostrated themselves in worship before the beast, saying, “Who [is] like the beast, and who [is] able to wage war with it?” -- 13:3-4

Because the Bible is big on federal headship (i.e., a king is sometimes synonymous with his kingdom and vice versa) from start to finish, many argue over what the first part of the above passage means. Some think that this rising from the dead is simply referring to the rise of the last empire, the revived Roman/European Empire. Well, that just seems far too mundane to fit the passage. For example, the only time Angela Merkel trended on the internet is when the poor woman had a beer poured down her back. Generally speaking, the whole world has not marvelled over the growth of the European Union, or any other kingdom.

I think the simple fact stated by the text makes most sense: a leader will actually rise from the dead. That will get people talking! But it is the next part of the passage that I really want to focus on: and they prostrated themselves in worship before the beast, saying, “Who [is] like the beast, and who [is] able to wage war with it?” The Antichrist will obviously seek to subject a world that the general public believes is unruly and therefore in need of such subjecting.

I believe that there will be two small careers of the beast in the tribulation period. One will be ostensibly positive and the other will be the epitome of negative. First he will deal with a tumultuous society after the cataclysm that I mentioned at the very onset of the section. During this period he will probably even appear somewhat religious, and I believe he will even claim to be largely representing Christianity (cf. Revelation 17). Yet then something happens. He changes very violently for the worse. Any appearance of decency and helpfulness will vanish and he will turn into a crazed, wild monster.

I think this can be seen in the small book of Habakkuk. This prophet is concerned with the Babylonian invasion of Judah, but prophecy students have often found hints and hues of the coming Antichrist scattered throughout his work…

Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith [Or faithfulness]. Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, so that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all nations and collects to himself all peoples. -- 2:4-5

A man whose appetite is as death and Sheol and who seeks a world government certainly makes one think of the Antichrist’s career. Now in the first chapter of Habakkuk there is a fascinating and oft overlooked verse which may refer to the beast. Partly the reason why scarcely no one considers it as relevant is because modern translations have rather hacked it to bits through over-indulging in formal equivalence philosophy. The older translations did a much better job with the complex Hebrew. The siege of the Babylonians is being described here, but there is also much that fits the future.

Here’s the passage from a few different, older translations…

Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a scorn unto him; he derideth every stronghold: for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it. Then will his mind change, and he will pass on, and become guilty: this his power is become his god (Darby).

And, he, over kings, will make merry, and, nobles, will be a scorn to him: he, at any fortress, will laugh, once he hath heaped up dust, he hath captured it! Then, hath he become arrogant in spirit, and hath committed excess, and so is guilty, -- this his violence, is due to his god (Rotherham).

And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it. Then shall [his] mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, [imputing] this his power unto his god (KJV).

And at kings it doth scoff, and princes [are] a laughter to it, at every fenced place it doth laugh, and it heapeth up dust, and captureth it. Then passed on hath the spirit, yea, he doth transgress, and doth ascribe this his power to his god (Robert Young).

It is when he turns from any perceived affiliation to popular religion that he becomes fully monstrous (and I think, fully demonic). This change can be seen directly in 2 Thessalonians 2:4-5.

There will be a coming apostasy where he will disparage all gods of any sort while setting himself up as God. I think it is around this point that the mark of the beast will begin to be implemented. I could be wrong and it could come earlier, but not much earlier, and it certainly seems unlikely to happen until at least the Antichrist rises and signs the famed seven-year covenant with Israel (cf. Daniel 9:24-27).

B. The Description

So here’s what the Bible says concerning the mark…

And it [i.e., the miracle-working false prophet(s) who will promote the Antichrist] makes all [people], the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the freemen and the slaves, that they shall give to them marks on their right hand or on their forehead, and that no one is able to buy or to sell, except the one having the mark: the name of the beast or the number of its name…it is the number of a person [or, of humanity]. And its number is six hundred sixty-six. -- Revelation 13:16-18

I’ve written it before but I’ll write it again: this is such an amazing prophecy! Don’t get me wrong, as we’ll see later, there of course have been kingdoms that have sought their citizenry to make some sort of blasphemous pledge. But there have always been at least three limitations that seemed insurmountable, and these limitations would have made John’s prophecy completely preposterous.

First, no matter how large the kingdom, no one’s reign has even come close to being truly global. Only in our days of modern transportation and communications has a truly global government even been a real possibility. Thus John’s prediction was very risky. Second, whenever a difficult decree was enacted that the people didn’t generally like, enforcement was extremely difficult and often not universally applied within the kingdom. There are records of some censuses dragging on for decades. Also, when Diocletian sought Roman-wide blasphemous homage it was brutally enforced in some places and neglected in others. How could any culture before the computer age really demand allegiance and carry it out on a quick, comprehensive scale? Again, John’s prophecy was very risky. Thirdly, any empire-wide compliance has never been anything more than the issuing of paper documents which could easily be forged. Seemingly the only thing you can’t forge would be something that you had to wear on your body at all times and which was difficult to duplicate, such as would be the case with a modern electronic tracking system. Again, John’s prophecy is very risky!

Yet before moving on, does the Bible calls for a visible mark or for a computer chip? Well certainly the prophecy calls for something that is a marker and that can be quickly implemented on a comprehensive, global scale, in order to efficiently control personal economies. I believe electronics is the only thing that could crack such a hard egg in industrialized nations.

A lot of commentators war over the preposition used in the book of Revelation; i.e., will the mark be “on” or “in” the hand/head. Certainly the preposition normally means “on,” yet I think any chip that could be scanned would still be described as “on.” Also, it must be remembered that many bucolic places don’t need electronic banking, but they will still have to get a mark. Even if the mark for them is an ink tattoo it is technically “in” the skin, yet would be described as “on.” You don’t say, “Look at that tattoo in that guy’s arm.” The mark of the beast is an identification marker meant to be seen, which seemingly could be “seen” optically or through a scanning device; thus either way “on” is the appropriate preposition.

C. Modern Scanning

It is important for those of us who have a heart for prophecy not to snatch at every new technology that comes down the pike, claiming it is “the” mark. This has been done in the past with bar codes. Now it’s wrong to say definitively what the mark will be, but there’s surely no harm in at least examining what technologies are out there today in order to surmise how close we could be to a global, fiscal tracking system.

I recently saw a flier for a veterinarian’s practice, and among one of the few services listed was “microchipping” pets. This has become common practice. The following comes from the petlog website, which boasts of being “the U.K.’s largest lost and found database for microchipped pets”…

Microchipping...can make all the difference in being reunited with your pet should they stray or go missing.

The microchip is the size of a grain of rice and the procedure, which is carried out by a vet or trained microchip implanter, takes only a few minutes and lasts a lifetime.

Once your pet is microchipped, you and your pet’s details are stored in a microchip database along with the microchip’s unique 15 digit code.

When a missing pet is found, an animal professional (for example a vet or dog warden) will scan the pet revealing the microchip’s unique 15 digit code, and contact the microchip database your pet is registered with. The customer care staff will perform some security checks before releasing your contact details to the animal professional -- so that your pet can be reunited with you.²

Again, I’m not saying this is the mark to come; we’re just reviewing where society is heading.

A key component of pet microchipping is radio-frequency identification, or RFID. There’s a very informative article³on the how stuff works website about this new system.

First it begins by stating…

Imagine going to the grocery store, filling up your cart and walking right out the door. No longer will you have to wait as someone rings up each item in your cart one at a time. Instead, these RFID tags will communicate with an electronic reader that will detect every item in the cart and ring each up almost instantly. The reader will be connected to a large network that will send information on your products to the retailer and product manufacturers. Your bank will then be notified and the amount of the bill will be deducted from your account. No lines, no waiting.

Having enlightened us as to this horrifically wonderful development the article then goes on to explain how various RFID devices work.

Active and semi-passive RFID tags use internal batteries to power their circuits. An active tag also uses its battery to broadcast radio waves to a reader, whereas a semi-passive tag relies on the reader to supply its power for broadcasting. Because these tags contain more hardware than passive RFID tags, they are more expensive. Active and semi-passive tags are reserved for costly items that are read over greater distances…

Passive RFID tags rely entirely on the reader as their power source. These tags are read up to 20 feet (six meters) away, and they have lower production costs, meaning that they can be applied to less expensive merchandise…

Now the exact details in the article will become obsolete as the technology improves, but at least the reader gets a sense of what these chips consist of. Because of the use of electronics and frequencies, perhaps there is the possibility of some sort of harmful reaction occurring one day…

And I heard a loud voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, “Be going away, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth!” And the first went away and poured out his bowl on the earth, and a foul and malignant ulcerated sore occurred on the people, the ones having the mark of the beast and the ones prostrating themselves in worship before its image. -- Revelation 16:1-2

After all, the article will go on to say concerning microchipping in general…

Even though the FDA approved the implantation of RFID microchips in animals and humans in 2004, research from as far back as 1996 shows that these implants can cause cancerous tumors in lab rats and mice [source: Washington Post]. Specifically, the implants caused sarcomas, which affect body tissue.

In the end, the implications are clear to anyone, as even the article states…

Human chipping has seemingly higher stakes than merchandise tagging, and RFID critics are concerned that human chipping may one day become mandatory…

Some believe that human chipping is foretelling a biblical prophecy from the Book of Revelation, interpreting the chip as the “Mark of the Beast.” To others concerned with civil liberties, the chip is bringing us one step closer to an Orwellian society, in which our every action and thought will be controlled by Big Brother.

Now I want to interject some updated material. First of all, over the past three years there has been a lot in the news about such technology. Recently a couple of major headlines rang out. One had to do with Sweden, where it was casually stated that many are using microchips to pay for everyday items…

Ask most people in Sweden how often they pay with cash and the answer is “almost never.” A fifth of Swedes, in a country of 10 million people, do not use automated teller machines anymore. More than 4,000 Swedes have implanted microchips in their hands, allowing them to pay for rail travel and food, or enter keyless offices, with a wave. Restaurants, buses, parking lots and even pay toilets depend on clicks rather than cash.⁴

Another came from the UK, where microchipping may be on the cusp of really exploding…

Britain’s biggest employer organisation and main trade union body have sounded the alarm over the prospect of British companies implanting staff with microchips to improve security.

UK firm BioTeq, which offers the implants to businesses and individuals, has already fitted 150 implants in the UK.

The tiny chips, implanted in the flesh between the thumb and forefinger, are similar to those for pets. They enable people to open their front door, access their office or start their car with a wave of their hand, and can also store medical data.

Another company, Biohax of Sweden, also provides human chip implants the size of a grain of rice. It told the Sunday Telegraph…that it is in discussions with several British legal and financial firms about fitting their employees with microchips, including one major company with hundreds of thousands of employees…

Steven Northam, the founder and owner of Hampshire-based BioTeq, told the Guardian that most of its 150 implants have been for individuals, while some financial and engineering firms have also had the chips implanted in their staff.

BioTeq has also implanted them in employees of a bank testing the technology, and has shipped them to Spain, France, Germany, Japan and China.⁵

The popularity of this technology just keeps growing and growing.

D. Going Cashless

There is a never-ending stream of minor examples attesting to a changing marketplace; for example, in 2015 the Download music festival was in the headlines for going cashless, as the system ended up being a complete hash. The really sad thing about the festival however was not its move towards the draconian nightmare but that the organizers almost seemed to understand and to be proud that they were promoting something ill-boding. The Daily Mail (UK) has a picture from the group (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3119945/Chaos-Download-Festival-useless-new-cashless-payment-crashes-leaving-music-fans-unable-pay-food-drink.html) where a hand making the signal for Satan (which is often popular at concerts for some reason) also has a bracelet with a dog tag. This dog tag, which contained the RFID payment point the revellers were supposed to wear, is surrounded by flames. This is altogether silly for sure, as rock bands and the occult—and even children’s books on witchcraft—have always intentionally thrown in allusions from the Bible’s bad guys (or Hell) to look more cutting edge. But it does go to highlight that some people—in their lust for defiance—will even go as far as to directly flout the Bible just for the sake of a rush. After all, the Bible is too much of a boring truism to ever bring notoriety and pleasure.

The bigger fried fish however are the major systems —which utilise a variety of technologies—that are slowly becoming cashless. We buy anything and everything online these days because of the mere convenience. I’m not saying at all that this is sinister, for I think you’re very wise if you buy your groceries online as opposed to pushing them around a busy supermarket, but we can’t deny where this all will end. Orwell envisioned a world back in the 1940s that was always plugged-in. He didn’t foresee smartphones or tablets, so instead he invented “telescreens,” Big Brother’s constant connection to the citizenry that “could be dimmed, but there was no way of shutting it off completely.” We all willingly carry our telescreens around in our trouser pockets. Right now companies are obsessed with our every thought in order to squeeze pennies out of us; what would happen if the government were to own more and more companies via neo-Socialism?

Moving on, probably the biggest news story recently in this genre was the Danish government’s announcement of the attempt to make their e