satanssnare

A study by Timothy Youngblood
Copyright © The Master's Table

Note: You can find this study in an audio sermon on the Master's Table.

Satan was an archangel named Lucifer, which means son of the morning and was one of the most beautiful created beings God designed, full of light and song that was more fantastic than we have ever seen or can imagine. Historically God has named things by what they are and as Lucifer means "Light bringer" he became Satan which means the "Great adversary, of God and man when he fell. This is the second name given to the prince of the "Devils", as another name is "Diabolos" or Devil meaning "slanderer" or false accuser. It also means one who casts either himself or someone else, between two in order to separate them, and one that sows discord. Another old name for Satan is the "serpent", or "Darkon meaning dragon. Serpent, or dragon worship is non other than devil worship, and the year 2000 was named as the year of the dragon by the Chinese and from that time we have seen the serpent become popular among our children wearing symbols of the dragon on tee-shirts, ornaments and jewelry. You might want to read our article about Harry Potter titled "God and Sorcery". As you can see the names of Satan are as stated above, who he is. Other titles by which Satan is identified in the New Testament include "the tempter" because he is the one that tempts man to sin. 1 Thes. 3:5; and "Beelzebub" Matt. 12:24 and "the wicked one" Matt. 13:19-38. Many people don't realize that Satan is the ruler of this world. John 12:31; He is also called "the god of this age" 2 Cor. 4:4; and the bible declares, "The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" 1 John 5:19. He is called "Belial" 2 Cor. 6:15, "the prince of the power of the air" because he can broadcast thoughts and moods through the air to our minds just like radio waves. Eph. 2:2; and he is called "the accuser of our brethren" because he points out to God how evil we are and that we should be destroyed. Rev. 12:10.

Many Christians forget that Satan has been working hard down through the ages to overthrow the Kingdom of God and his greatest desire is to be worshipped and to rule all the earth, even over God Himself. Although many Christians are in their comfort zone, thinking all is well, Satan is hard at work to accomplish his goals. Just as he tried to pervert the very lineage that Jesus the Messiah was to be born from, as we covered in chapter two of my book. We also read in Matthew 2:16 that Satan used Herod the Roman ruler to try and kill Jesus the Messiah as a child. When this failed he tried to get Jesus to sin knowing that if He did He would die forever thus mankind would not only be without a savior, but Satan could continue to rule this earth as he desired. Satan then incited the evil rulers to murder Jesus not fully realizing this act would give mankind a savior, and Satan would actually become the one that was dethroned at Jesus’ death. Remember what we covered about religion which is putting people to sleep, so they can't see what's coming. Keep in mind that Satan will not try to deceive Christians into worshipping him with the name "Satan" on the door, however, he will put the name "Jesus" on the door, so the half-asleep flock will come in and then when they are feeling very safe and warm, the doors will lock, and the false shepherds will take off their cloak and expose their butcher knives.

To Worship:
Let's take a good look at what is truly meant by the term "worship" so we can understand. The American heritage Dictionary renders Worship as…"The reverent love and allegiance accorded a deity, songs or prayers, or other forms by which this love is expressed." Now when we look at the Greek word for worship in Rev. 14:9 it is "proskuneo", and it means to fawn, crouch, or prostrate oneself in homage, or to reverence and adore. Please keep this meaning in mind as we go through this study because this is what those who worship the Beast will do in the very near future, and that's why their names are not written in the book of life. It was Satan's great vanity that caused him to fail and vanity is also his greatest tool to get people to follow him in rebellion. Let’s read what is recorded in Isa 14:12-14. "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' This is why Satan fell and it is why people will lose salvation if we take lightly Satan's resolve in his will to rule.

The point and reason of the "Mark of the Beast" is the system Satan sets up to capture those whose hearts are not right with God. This "great apostasy's snare" we see coming upon all churches can result in ones name not being written in the book of life, thus losing salvation. The person that receives the mark of the beast will be condemned forever and the way one can be lead into this condition is by not coming to the true God, but following the false god man has set up. If we just go along and believe what we are taught without checking it out we are trusting our very eternal life to someone else. Let's read what the angel shouted recorded in Rev 14:9-11. "Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, "he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

This is very serious brethren and although many don't want to believe it, accepting the mark of the Beast will result in eternal death! Read Rev. 14:9 again and notice the wording "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever;" This means their judgment and destruction is final. One of the false teachings of the misguided Catholic Church and her daughters is that the wicked will be punished forever in a hell fire. What's the truth? What does the Word of God say? The Greek word for hell is "geena" and is of Hebrew origin; valley of (the son of) Hinnom; Jer. 19:6. During the time of Jesus life, the Valley of Hinnom was used as the garbage dump of Jerusalem. They cast all the filth and garbage of the city into it, including the dead bodies of animals and executed criminals. The fires burned day and night as to completely burn all the garbage to ashes so Jesus used this scene as a symbol of hell. In effect He was saying, "Do you want to know what hell is like? "Look at the valley of Gehenna." (Or the valley of hell fire, they are turned to ashes).

There are many scriptures that teach not only the dead are dead, but that the wicked will be completely destroyed by becoming ashes. We find recorded in Mal 4:3 "You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this," says the LORD of hosts." Notice the wicked will become ashes. Sodom and Gomorrah was burned with fire and the fire is referred to as eternal fire in Jude 1:7 "as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Notice the words "the vengeance of eternal fire." Are Sodom and Gomorrah still burning in eternal fire today? No, - it means their destruction is eternal. The word "eternal" used in Jude 1:7 is "aionios" meaning everlasting, and "aion" means perpetuity, or without end. In the same way the wicked will be burned up and become ashes. Can ashes be tormented forever? Also the term ashes denote a complete and pure destruction.

We know that ashes cannot suffer forever, but the "consequences" of their sins will remain forever. It sounds like torment will be forever when misguided preachers use the scripture in Rev 14:11 to try and teach eternal torment, because they fail to read the words; "And the smoke of their torment shall ascend up forever." as these words show it is the smoke that ascends up forever meaning the "consequences" of their sin is forever; not that people are tormented forever. This verse with many others like Mal 4:3 shows the wicked will never exist again, but become ashes. (Their judgment is final) The reason we must understand that this teaching is false is because the teaching of eternal torment has those we love who are dead, being tormented now with fire. Most of us have been burned with fire to some degree or another, and can in some small way imagine what it must be like to have our bodies engulfed in fire forever. This LIE of eternal torment is from Satan who is trying to make our loving Father appear sadistic. Satan is the one who would do that to people, not a loving God who gave His only son for us. The Word of God teaches no such thing as eternal torment! If you do some research on this you will find that greedy men taught this concept in order to scare people into the church and out of their money, and because others did not check it out they too fell into error.

The fantastic truth of God is far greater than what many misguided preachers teach today, and that is a Kingdom is coming, and because of Jesus' sacrifice we can be part of it if we are willing to repent and accept Jesus as our savior, and be willing to change in character. This is the very Gospel message that Jesus brought from God our Father. Unfortunately there are those that are the children of Satan and they are those that God in mercy must destroy at His coming. I have taught for years that those whom accept the mark of the Beast will be condemned and I have had many people tell me that it can't be true, so I will take the time to lay out the points using the Word of God to bring out the truth. I feel strongly that true Christians should warn others of the dangers of rejecting Jesus through idolatry, as that is the way Satan will cause people to worship him and receive the mark of the beast. Satan is the one that wants people to think that God will not condemn those that receive the mark so he can continue to lead them into eternal death! Many people today do not want to believe that God is coming in judgment bringing death and destruction with Him, but He will bring judgment regardless if anyone believes it, and many will be condemned because they accepted the mark of the beast. Some believe that the mark has been in place from the time Cain murdered his brother Abel, and that sin is the acceptance of the mark. The truth is we all sin and the mark of the beast will not come into effect until the Beast power and false prophet are in power. Also some teach that all those who worship on Sunday have received the mark, but that is just not the case, as I will show. The first rule of bible study is to get ourselves out of the way and let the bible teach what the truth is. Too many times people believe things because of WHO taught it and not because they studied it for themselves in the bible or the history that is related to the subject. Let's do that now, let's let the bible speak for the facts.

Just what is the mark of the beast?
Is it important to know what the mark is or who this man called the Anti-Christ is, or is it more important to know who we worship? A good starting place for finding out would be to ask some questions like, how will a person receive the mark? Who gives it? Who get's it, What happens to the person who receives it? When will the mark go into effect? What does "MARK" mean in the Word of God? And why would Satan want to put a mark on people in the first place? Let's start with how a person gets this mark, and read in Rev 13:16-18. "He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on (Notice the word ON here in the New King James version. The Old King James version as well as the Interlinear states that the Greek word used here is IN their etc.) their right hand or on (In) their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the Beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom, let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666."

Let’s understand that I am not being dogmatic here but just laying out logic as the scripture states that we must use wisdom. I do not consider myself a prophet or anyone that God is revealing anything special to, but just working with the facts as they are presented from 40 years of research. Now let's understand that God's number is seven which is also His number of completion so the number six would be the number before completion. God created man on the sixth day of creation and then completed the creation by a seventh day which He named the Sabbath. I believe that it is important to note that at creation all other days were numbered, but the seventh was given a name. We find further evidence that the number seven is the number of completion in the book of Revelation where we find the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven vials that are poured out on the beast power. The opening of the sixth seal starts the sounding of the seven trumpets, and the sounding of the last (seventh) trumpet starts the seven vials that are poured out on the beast power as we find the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord as found in Rev. 16. Notice that after the seventh vial is poured out the statement is made; "And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done." Rev 16:17. This is the same statement we find in Rev 11:15. "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."

From our research we have found that it is more plausible that the wording in Rev. 13:18 which reads "It is the number of a man" is more likely to be "it is the number of man." Our research has found that the Greek word for Man in Rev. 13:18 is "Anthropos" and denotes a generic distinction of mankind or a human being (Or manfaced). The Greek word for a man in many other Greek texts is "Aner" and this word was not used in Vs.18 that describes the beast as a man. So if the word used here is not of a single man but "Anthropos" a generic distinction of mankind it is somewhat safe to conclude that the scripture could be referring to the system of man and that would be 666 and as we know man was created on the sixth day of the week. Also we find John Wycliffe's text of 1380 to state, Rev. 13:18 "Here is wisdom; he that hath vndurstonding, acounte the noumbre of the beeste; for it is the noumbre of man, and his noumbre is sixe hundrid sixti and sixe" Notice that Wycliffe did not write "A Man" but..."for it is the noumbre of man".

(See Wycliffe Commentary at the end of the "Bible research section in the Appendix for more on this.)

Let's notice also that the number six denotes a hexagon and the hexagon have always been used as a sign for destruction and witch craft. These symbols are covered in chapter four of my book The Great Apostasy and can also be found in the sub-article titled The Apostate system. The so-called Star of David is two hexagons pointed in opposite directions across each other and is a symbol of witchcraft. Contrary to common belief the so-called Star of David is the star, or seal, of Solomon and not of David. King Solomon adopted this symbol after he went against God and worshipped pagan gods. King David was known as the Psalmist and his symbol was more likely the harp. I can't go into this in detail here as that would deviate from the purpose of this book, however if you would like to do a more detailed study into the so- called star of David, read the book “The Six Pointed Star by: O. J. Graham. It is a very well researched book and he gives all the sources of his research at the bottom of the pages. Continuing on now, notice it states that a person will receive the mark. "To receive" denotes possession of the mark in a real way such as having it placed on the person. This is not just the thought or act of sin. Also notice that this power will cause all to receive it. Who is this all? Is this talking about all in the world? It can't be talking about all in the world, because we find in Rev 7:13-14 a great multitude that came out of the great tribulation during the reign of this Beast power. "Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."

The very name Beast in the Greek is "thera" and also figuratively denotes destruction or trap. Those who receive the mark will not be among this group as we will see that those who receive the mark will not have their names written in the book of life, so this "all" spoken of in Rev. 13 can't be all in the world so who is it? The term "all that dwell" in this verse means to cohabit by implication; in other words to be a part of the system like you can be a member of a Church but live in another country. This word "dwell" in the Greek is "Oikoumene" and is a feminine participle present passive of "Oikeo" which denotes land, i.e. a terrene or part of the globe; and in this case specifically, "the Roman Empire." Did you know that all people that are members of the Roman Catholic Church are also a citizen of Rome? The Vatican is a government with its own money, Secretary of State and ambassadors. It's a recognized nation, like Germany, and France, and a good Catholic's first loyalty is to the Vatican and not the country they live in. This "all" in Rev. 13 are those that are a part of the system by joining it, and rejecting the blood of the covenant of Jesus the Messiah. Remember that Satan is leading people into a religion "Called" Christian but are accepting pagan gods and symbols of Ray the sun god and the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of love and war, identified with the Phoenician Astarte, also called Mylitta and the queen of heaven.

The first beast spoken of here is Satan, the devil, and he will also have another with him as we see in Rev 13:11-16 "Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. (Like a lamb denotes the Lamb of God, and speaking like a dragon denotes that Satan will be the one speaking through him.) "And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship (Remember what worship means?) the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed." This word “breath” in the Greek is "pneuma" which is the same word as life, or spirit. This word can also mean a demon spirit. This denotes that the image that is made in the likeness of the first Beast will literally come alive. Notice it states “he was granted power” to do this. Because this world has rejected the true God of heaven, worshipping other god’s, God is opening the doors for Satan to do as he wills, and we are going to see some very evil powers unleashed on this world like we never dreamed possible. Even much of nature will become evil and torment mankind because mankind is worshipping "mother earth" in the same ways the Egyptians did. Our research denotes the plagues God sent on Egypt were the very things the Egyptians worshipped such as flies, frogs, and the Nile River which God turned to blood.

There are three mentioned here...the first Beast, the second Beast that had horns like a lamb, and the image of the Beast. The old pagan Trinitarian doctrine teaches there are three in the godhead. The false father, the false son, and the false spirit. The first Beast, (father, or Satan) the second Beast with the horns like a lamb, (son), and the image of the Beast, (spirit,) 6-6-6. We can read of the three demons that perform all these evil miracles for the Beast in Rev 16:13-14. "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." The mark will be received during the reign of the Beast, the three and one half years still future and not until, and we know the Beast is not in power at this time because he only has 42 months to reign. This time of 42 months or 3 1/2 years helps in understanding some events that will take place during the tribulation period. Rev. 11 tells of the two great witnesses and how they will prophesy for 42 months and Rev. 12:6 tells of how much of the true Church of God will be protected by being sent into a place of safety for times, time, and a half of a time, which is three and one half years...42 months. "Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days." (42 months)

We read in Matt 24:15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand) etc. and we can find out what this means by going to Daniel 12:7-13 “Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people ““has been completely shattered,”” all these things shall be finished. Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, "My lord, what shall be the end of these things?" And he said, go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. “”And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.”” Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days."

Notice that the daily sacrifice will be taken away right before the abomination of desolation is set up, and remember we covered the subject about the man of perdition in Chapter one of my book that the son of perdition will not come until Jesus is taken out of the way. We know these 42 months mentioned will happen at the same time because the events are interrelated. It appears to me that each event works with the other and they all are triggered at the same time by the same event which is the Beast power taking over the holy city and setting up the abomination of desolation. Notice when Satan goes after the Church, it is after he has been cast down having great wrath knowing he has a short time. The short time Satan will be given is 42 months. Also notice that when the two witnesses begin their preaching of the true gospel of the Christ, repentance and warnings to this world is when John was given a reed like a measuring rod to measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship in it. This goes along with Matt 24:14-17 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (This is referring to the two witnesses) "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house." And in Luke 21:20 we see a little more of this same Prophesy explained. "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near." This is a direct mention of what we read in Rev 11:2.

Also in Rev 13:4-5 "So they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months." We know as of this writing that the two witnesses have not begun prophesying, nor has the true Church of God been sent into her place of safety, and we know that the abomination of desolation has not been set up and the Beast is not ruling the earth as of this writing. Notice the second Beast who thinks of himself, as the one in God's place will give the mark, so he has to be in power before he can give it. The mark can not be in effect at this time because we do not see any of these events taking place. The term mark in the Old Testament when used to put a mark on the forehead was "Tav" and meant a signature. Ezek 9:4. The Hebrew word for sign is "owth" which means flag. This is where we get our word for "giving our owth" to do or not do something, or to say our promise to someone like when God promised that He would not destroy the earth by a flood again. The word “owth” was used as the Sabbath being a sign between God and His true followers, so the Sabbath is not a mark, but an owth. The Greek word used here in Rev. 13 for mark is "Charagma" which means a scratch or etching such as a stamp, as a badge of servitude, or sculptured figure (statue) graven image. So if the people receive it in their right hand or forehead as a stamp, a badge of servitude, and if it could be a graven image then why not a badge that shows the love the person has to this Beast system that the second Beast caused all to worship. We also find the Pentagram, Hexagram, and other like symbols on the police badges and the very definition of a police badge is..."A special or distinctive mark, or device worn as a sign of allegiance, and authority.

In all cases the Name of God is placed on the forehead of those who love Him, and the name of the beast will be placed on those who love the beast. These people will knowingly reject God and they will help the Beast murder the saints of God who try to come out of the great mother Church that is riding on the Beast. Notice that on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. Rev 17:4-5. Babylon was the system ruled by King Nebuchadnezzar, and is referred to by God as the place where all evil dwells. This is the system that took Israel into captivity and where the priests were corrupted to the point that they even mixed the Babylon Mystery religion with the old covenant God made through Moses. These priests and their religion became the apostasy that Jesus fought against, and to this day they worship according to what is called "The Babylonian Talmud" which is the collection of Jewish law and traditions consisting of the Mishnah and the Gemara produced in Babylonia A .D.c500. Most Jews have not read the collection of laws produced in Babylon and don't know that it has very little to do with the old covenant God made with them through Moses. They are like most Christians today who have never really studied the bible to see if it teaches what they believe, but just trust their teachers. Is it possible that the Christian religion (Catholic Church) will merge with the Islam religion which was founded in BABYLON THE GREAT?

A mark is not evil of and by itself as we find recorded in Exod 28:36-38 how God used a mark for servitude and worship. "You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. So it shall be on Aaron's forehead," This is talking about worship of God and the words HOLINESS TO THE LORD are very important because it shows a love and reverence to God and notice it was on his forehead. The mark of the beast very well could be HOLINESS TO...what ever his name is, but also placing him as God. Let's read what is recorded about the person in Dan 11:36-37 "Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all." To love and glorify this man or system as God would be very blasphemous, and to wear the mark that very well could state HOLINESS TO... out of worship to him, or it, would be in direct defiance of the true God of heaven who alone is Holy and who alone should be worshipped.

What did Jesus say would cause the wrath of God to come? John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." So we see here that to reject the Son of God has the same results from God as accepting the mark of the beast. Will those who receive the mark of the beast reject Jesus, the Son of God? That is what it is all about! Did you know that the Islam religion teaches that it is blasphemous to say that God has a son? What is Jesus going to do for those He loves, and who love and follow Him? Rev 3:11-12 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name." Where will He place His Name? Rev 22:3-4. "And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads."

Jesus is going to write on those He loves the Name of His God, the name of the city that is called the bride of the Lamb, and His own new name, and Satan my friend, will do it the same way because he always mirrors God. When a man takes a woman to be his wife he puts his name on her to show the covenant they have made in their love for each other. God does the same and Satan wants to take the bride of God for himself, and sit in the place of God. Satan will do all things as close to the way God would do it as he possibly can. This man who has the spirit of Satan himself will think of himself as God, and will not believe that anyone, or anything is above him. That’s why the mark must be a badge of reverence, love, and devotion to the beast power, as well as to the image of the beast. He must have his name or the name of the system on them to mark those who love him. Many people down through the years have used numerology to try and figure out the identity of the beast but, the most important thing to ask is "why" the mark of the beast, not "what" is the mark. Those who are condemned by the wrath of God are condemned because they turned from God to love, reverence, and pray to this man and his system as if it were God. The mark is the result, or the badge of their great sin, not the cause of it.

Here are the bottom line points…
All those who are described as receiving the mark of the beast are described as those whose names are NOT written in the book of life. Rev 13:8 "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." Those people whose names are not in the book of life are described as those who will be cast into the lake of fire! Rev 20:15 "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." Those who are described as receiving the mark of the beast are described as those who will be burned up and the smoke of their torment will ascend up FOREVER as we have read above in Rev. 14:9-11. This is the very scripture we go to for proof as stated above, the wicked that are not written in the book of life will never live again. They will become ashes under the soles of the Saints feet. Those who are described as NOT receiving the mark of the beast are described as those whose names ARE written in the book of life because they reign with Christ and the second death has no power over them. Rev 20:4 "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." Then in Vs. 6 it states "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years." So we see that those described as the ones that did not receive the mark of the Beast, who overcome the mark are described as those who will be with Jesus in His Kingdom forever. Remember Jesus stated that we should never fear death because He has overcome the grave and death, and as we read in chapter two of my book Jesus has the keys to hell (The grave) and death. Please remember these biblical points as we go through the rest of this study.

Now for the BIG question…Can those who receive the mark of the beast repent?
Brethren, why would there be a warning for people to not receive the mark? Why does it say that those that receive the mark will not have their names in the book of life? Can they repent? Will they repent? Let’s read what the Word of God states. Rev 9:20-21. "But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts." Rev 16:9. "And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory." Rev 16:11. "They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds." Four places it states that they would not repent. That is the record! The point here is that when someone turns from God and worships Satan the devil knowing what they are doing they most likely will not repent because their minds become seared. They believe the same way as Satan which is that they will win against God because they hate God and all He stands for, therefore they MUST win because they have staked all they have on it.

It's very possible and I do believe that they committed the unpardonable sin, so we are going to see how accepting the mark of the beast ties in with the unpardonable sin. Why is there a warning from Jesus about not speaking against the Holy Spirit? Let's read what Jesus stated…"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit “will not be forgiven men.” Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." What was spoken against the Holy Spirit when Jesus made this statement? Let's go back up a few scriptures to get the story flow.

Matt 12:22-26. "Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." "But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?" Also recorded in Mark 3:28-30. "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation"--because they said, "He has an unclean spirit." This statement was made because they said, "He has an unclean spirit." They were calling the Holy Spirit of God evil

Now concerning the point; can someone commit the unpardonable sin without ever being baptized or receiving the Holy Spirit? Notice a very important point here, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees whom didn’t have the Holy Spirit, and again, what did Jesus Himself say? "But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." He did not say, "whoever has been converted" speaks against the Holy Spirit or "whoever knows better", although those who have received the Holy Spirit can fall away also and never be renewed as we will read about in a few paragraphs of Heb. 10:27-31. Another point is that Judas never received the Holy Spirit and there's a great possibility that he committed the unpardonable sin. The reason I say that he most likely committed the unpardonable sin is because he was called the son of perdition. John 17:12 "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled." This is the same term used for the one that will be condemned called the antichrist in II Th 2:3. The very word "perdition" means ruin, or to be damned and it's always used in scripture as to be damned in a way that is final as we read in 2 Pet 3:7. "But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." And in Rev 17:8. we read "The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." The point is that to receive the mark of the beast can very well result in anyone's eternal death and if someone wants to argue with that then let them go, but please don't follow them.

The thing to understand here is that those who worship the Beast will "knowingly" turn against God and take the side of Satan just like the angels that followed Satan and sinned and as we will see in this next scripture which shows those who reject the blood of the covenant and insult the Holy Spirit. Heb 10:27-31. “but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine; I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Notice that the term fiery indignation refers to Rev 14:9-11.

Will the Beast and false prophet speak against the Holy Spirit? Rev 13:5-6 "And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth “in blasphemy against God”, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven." Would it indicate here that those who are worshipping (loving) the beast are also speaking against God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit if their attitude is "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" This is not people that just don't know what they are doing, and remember the two witnesses will be going throughout the earth preaching and performing great miracles in Jesus' name and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Will those who have the mark of the Beast speak against these two witnesses and the Holy Spirit? Rev 11:7 "Now when they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them." And in verse 10 of Rev. we read "And those who dwell on the earth "will rejoice" over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth." Will they say the two witnesses are doing these miracles by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons? Yes those who have the mark will hate these two prophets God sent to tell them to repent, and when they speak against them in the same way those in the past spoke against Jesus they will be speaking against the Holy Spirit which was the power of God that the two witnesses will use to perform the miracles thereby committing the unpardonable sin!

These people that receive the mark are going to be evil because they love Satan and hate God and even murder our brethren in the most sadistic ways, but the key is that they will know what they are doing. Again they will have made their choice like the angels that also rebelled so the thing we need to keep in mind is that the scriptures do not say they will be condemned because of a tattoo but they will be condemned because they love and worship the Beast! Please never forget that if anyone has a reverent love and allegiance for the Beast or the image of the Beast, or if anyone is involved in showing their love for the Beast with ceremonies, and prayers, and receives his mark on their forehead or on their hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God. Paul described this end time attitude in a letter to Timothy. "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" 2 Tim 3:1-5. Notice the very important thing here is the fact that they will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Brethren, God the Father is the righteous Judge and no one can know for sure if those who receive the mark of the Beast will repent, however, we have and should take God's warning very seriously because Satan wants us to commit the unpardonable sin and be lost forever. Let’s open our eyes and ears and hear God and fear His wrath and repent!

True warning to be preached.
Many preachers today claim that the return of Jesus the Messiah is very near, and they preach the signs of weather, earthquakes or wars and rumors of wars. Although these events are part of the signs and should be included, very few look at “the way” the coming Beast power is setting things in place as proof that the return of Christ is very near. If they dare to expose the ecumenical movement or what the bible calls "The Great Apostasy" and what has become known as the New World Order, then they would have to put themselves in danger of losing their job, and if they preached against the large and powerful Churches that deceive the masses they could not preach on TV or radio. Do they preach that the government is making laws that are contrary to the laws of God such as abortion, same sex marriage, paganism, and tolerance towards those that teach contrary to the word of God? No; most preach what is safe and as a result the people are not properly prepared for the great deception that's coming upon all Churches. I have tried to give a sermon like this study titled "Do you know the Devil?" but found that it will not be allowed by the minister and congregation alike. People got up and left and then complained to the main head quarters. I would like to ask these ministers who shout they are warning this world as a witness before Christ returns; what are they warning everyone about? Are they truly warning the world about the great deception of Satan the devil to cause the world to worship him instead of the true God of heaven? Are they pointing people back to the true savior Jesus the Messiah? Are they educating themselves and those under their charge about the ways Satan is bringing in the old pagan gods that causes people to turn away from the true creator God of heaven whom alone gives salvation?

If God sent you back in time a few weeks before the German army began murdering people, what would you be telling them? Would you talk about the weather changes or the earthquakes, and fires that are occurring in California? Would you preach about how it has not rained in Africa for the last two years? What would you say to those that shouted that you were just a conspiracy nut and should not be taken seriously? No, if you were to do what God sent you there to do, you would shout that the Germans would soon come and murder them in their homes. That they would be separated and sent to death camps where they would starve and be tortured in the most horrendous ways. You would explain that the sign of the hexagon or six sided star better known today as the so called "Star of David" on their doors are put there to mark them for extermination!

There's a great worldwide holocaust coming soon that will make what happened during WW II appear small in comparison and God will allow it because people are turning from the true God in heaven to accept and worship many pagan gods that He hates. Yes, there will be those who worship Satan knowing who he is, but Satan never could get them to accept the mark of the Beast unless he plays on the lust of the flesh and can convince them that he is better and will give them more than the God of heaven. Satan must use vanity and offer those that follow him a high position in his kingdom like he tried to get Jesus to accept during Jesus’ well known 40 day fast. Satan can be very convincing when he has a person's attention and that's what he's working on today in all areas of government, commerce, and religion. Remember Satan is the con man’s teacher and it’s easy to deceive even the very elect of God when an evil spirit is working to deceive unless we stay close to God and His truth. If our motives are for greed, power over others, money, or if we are proud, and a boaster, without self-control. If we are unthankful, disobedient, and unloving, unforgiving, and slanderers, as well as a traitor. If we are haughty, and love pleasure over our love of God and His ways, then we are open for deception, and very well could receive the mark of the beast and become condemned forever.

This coming system will not allow anything less and this is the way God will separate those who are His from those who are not. This will continue all the way up to Jesus’ return but the decision to remain faithful will continue to get harder as time goes on. That’s why we must work hard now to come to the true love of God. This “is not” the time for doing our own thing, or for playing Church! Remember the ten virgins? Matt 25:1-13 And notice vs. 6 "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Will you be ready to meet Him? Do you want to be ready? If so read Chapters six and seven of the Great Apostasy to understand more about what the true gospel is and how we should obey and worship God.