Why the False Prophet is the Antichrist and Why it Matters (Part 5/6)
The Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast
Many spiritual realities are hidden from our visible world. One of these biblical realities is how people are “sealed” either by God or by Satan. The Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul both speak of being sealed by God in the Holy Spirit. In Revelation 7:3 John tells of a moment when 144,000 are given a seal, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” God uses a seal to declare in heaven and earth to whom an individual belongs. There is a mystery to this reality that I do not fully understand. But it is clear from Scripture, God identifies those who are His with a distinguishing mark.
In the Bible a spiritual mark boils down to belonging; a belonging either to God or to Satan.
“[The False Prophet] causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead” v.16
Whenever a mention of the Mark of the Beast is made, immediately we race to what the fulfillment of this prophecy might be. But let's examine the theological reality underlying it just for a moment. The mark isn’t primarily about the technology and the global system required to ultimately make it possible. It is about belonging; belonging to Satan.
What does it mean to belong to Satan? There are a number of identifying characteristics to consider. The first is the total rejection of the Creator. The Mark of the Beast is the inevitable result of an absolute denial of God. To say “no” to God at some point becomes saying “yes” to Satan. The second characteristic of belonging to Satan is a devotion to Satan’s vision for the world. Those who belong to Satan desire the world he is working to establish. Thirdly, to belong to Satan means being murderous. Satan has a murderous nature and all those who belong to him are murderers too. Finally, those belonging to Satan also share the same fate, eternal fire. There is much more to be said about what it means to belong to Satan but let this brief treatment suffice for now.
The False Prophet is identified as the impetus of this evil campaign to seal the fate of doomed humanity. The criminal act of deploying the Mark of the Beast lays at the feet of the False Prophet. This is a Judas Iscariot style betrayal of the human race. Adam 2.0 betrays the race he is supposed to represent. The False Prophet hands the entire human race over to the complete control of the Dragon embodied Beast.
The Sons of God and Slaves of Satan
During Jesus’ ministry the Good News was preached to all Israel. When the Apostle Paul came along and the invitation went out to every tribe, tongue, and nation. There is no disqualifying precondition to becoming a Christian. Repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ has been made available to all. The human response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ appeals to the will. The human must freely choose to follow Jesus from the heart. Through the finished work of Christ, God is creating sons.
“So that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark” v.17
Revelation 13 illustrates how the False Prophet has no qualms with creating a global system of manipulation and control to force his desired outcome. From verse 17 it is clear that the mark of the beast is a requirement of the world’s economic system in the last days. Without the mark, buying and selling are impossible. Or to use another word: leverage. The False Prophet intends to use the full force of worldly control to create an army of slaves sold into the hands of Satan.
Jesus proclaims and demonstrates love to beckon the world to follow. The False Prophet uses economic coercion. God is creating a family. Satan is creating slaves. God send Jesus into the world as His living word to make the way for His lost creation to return to Him. To turn from the darkness of sin and to believe in Jesus Christ is all that is necessary for a soul to live on forever in a love relationship with the Creator. It is a relationship built on love.
Inversely, Satan uses the False Prophet to force the nations through every available worldly system of control to coerce them to their knees. Satan doesn’t concern himself with creating a family, he is perfectly content molding slaves with force. Forging an eternal bond between master and slave.
The Name of the Beast
The great promise and hope of the Bible is recorded in Revelation 21 and 22. What a fitting end to God’s story. No more sin. No more death. No more Satan. All of the trials and tribulations of this current age will be a memory as heaven will have arrived on earth. Jesus will reign without opposition for eternity.
In the midst of these glorious chapters we have the sweet promise in Revelation 22:4 that “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” The saints will live forever marked by God’s name written in their foreheads. The name of God is the nature of God. When we see Him will be like Him. This is a glorious eternal promise.
Revelation 13 reveals Satan too has a plan to mark his followers.
“The name of the beast or the number of its name.” v.17
When the False Prophet schemes to mark the nations with the name of Satan he works through deception and coercion. But it is very important to understand that being marked with name of Satan is synonymous with being marked with the nature of Satan. We get it wrong if we think that the mark of the beast is just a tattoo or purely a microchip. To be marked by Satan means to be altered by his nature. The mark of the beast is not just a technological device, it is the physical symbol of a spiritual reality. To take the mark of the beast is to be fundamentally and unalterably changed with the very nature of Satan.
We should take a moment to briefly understanding the nature of the beast’s mark. John says the mark of the beast is “the name of the beast or the number of its name.” In the Revelation vision, John sees a day on earth when all of Adam’s fallen race will be marked with the name of the beast. When God reveals the name of something He reveals the nature of that thing. So when God says that the name of the beast is a number it follows that the nature of the thing is numerical. From this we can say that all who are marked by the beast take on its name. The fallen human race ultimately becomes digitized under the leadership of the False Prophet. All who follow Satan will ultimately become a number.
When God created the first human He named him Adam meaning “earth” and “blood.” God names man from that which man is made; dirt and blood. When John sees the beast in Revelation 13 he says its name is a number. The name and nature of the first beast is numerical.
Satan shares his nature with humanity through a number. The mark of the beast is the name and nature of the beast. The numerical name and nature of the beast is shared with Adam’s fallen race in the end times. Satan will reduce the human race to digits. Why is this important? Because Satan plan is the full digitization of the human race; quite literally to establish a digital form of being directly interconnected to his nature.
Once marked with this numerical nature of the Beast, there is no chance for God’s redemption. The Bible is totally clear, to receive the mark of the beast is the mark of eternal death. The mark of the beast is the definitive symbol for those who have chosen to reject the Creator in favor of an eternity with Satan. There is no way to escape the lake of fire for those marked with the numerical name and nature of Satan.