Stop Asking "What is the Mark?"

People have been asking the wrong  question about the mark of the beast.   They keep asking “what is the mark of the  beast?” But I think the more important question   is “Which mark will you receive, the  mark of the beast or the mark of God?” The Bible tells us the false prophet  will cause everyone to receive a mark   on their hand or forehead if they want to interact   in society. You won’t be able to buy  or sell anything without this mark. “He causes all, both small and great, rich and  poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their   right hand or on 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.” – Revelation 13:16-18  People have wondered if the mark is physical  or spiritual. They have wondered what   666 means. They have tried to figure out  what the name of the beast is. All of   these attempts to understand are for the goal of  recognizing the mark so they won’t receive it. But instead of avoiding the mark of the beast,   wouldn’t it be better to find out  how we can receive the mark of God?   Because if we have the mark of God, we  won’t receive the mark of the beast. “Then I saw another angel ascending from the east,  having the seal of the living God. And he cried   with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it  was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying,   “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the  trees till we have sealed the servants of   our God on their foreheads.” And I heard  the number of those who were sealed. One   hundred and forty-four thousand of  all the tribes of the children of   Israel were sealed” – Revelation 7:2-4 The mark of God is a sign of protection   over God’s people, while the mark of  the beast is a symbol of destruction. “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.”   Here is the patience of the saints; here  are those who keep the commandments of God   and the faith of Jesus.” – Revelation 14:9-12 Notice there are two groups of people described   here. The first group is those who take the mark  of the beast and face the wrath of God. The second   group is the saints, who are described as those  who “keep the commandments of God and the faith   of Jesus.” Two groups, God’s people or those  who belong to the beast. I’m describing it   this way because of what the word mark means.  The Greek word translated “mark” is “charagma”,   and means a mark providing undeniable  identification, a symbol giving irrefutable   connection between parties. It’s an identification  marker and refers to an owner’s unique brand. The   mark is a sign of ownership, like a branding iron  used to mark cattle to signify who they belong   to. The Bible also says that God’s  people have a mark on their forehead. “Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing  on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and   forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name  written on their foreheads.” – Revelation 14:1 This mark identifies those who belong to God  because they have His name written on their   hand or forehead. Likewise, those who take  the mark of the beast have his name written   on their hand or forehead to identify who  they belong to. The mark of God is spoken   about in several places in the Bible, and  even explains how we receive the mark of God. “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and  on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the   Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days.  And no leavened bread shall be seen among you,   nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your  quarters. And you shall tell your son in that day,   saying, ‘This is done because of what the  Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.’   It shall be as a sign to you on your  hand and as a memorial between your eyes,   that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth; for  with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out   of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this ordinance  in its season from year to year.” – Exodus 13:6-10  Keeping Passover each year is said  to be a mark on our hand and forehead   that we belong to God. It’s a sign that we are  God’s people. This also means that people who   don’t keep the Passover are missing the mark  of God on their hand and forehead. Yeshua said,   “do this in remembrance of me“, indicating  that His body and blood are represented in   the unleavened bread and wine at Passover.  Paul also encourages us to keep the feast. “Therefore purge out the old leaven,  that you may be a new lump, since you   truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ,  our Passover, was sacrificed for us.   Therefore let us keep the feast, not  with old leaven, nor with the leaven   of malice and wickedness, but with the  unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”  – 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 The Bible also gives us   another description of what this mark of  God looks like on our hand and forehead. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is  one! You shall love the Lord your God with all   your heart, with all your soul, and with all your  strength. “And these words which I command you   today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them  diligently to your children, and shall talk of   them when you sit in your house, when you walk by  the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.   You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and  they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.   You shall write them on the doorposts of your  house and on your gates.” – Deuteronomy 6:4-9  We are told to “bind the commandments of God as a  sign on our hand and forehead.” The Commandments   function as a sign that we are the people of  God. We’re told to put them in our hearts,   to do them. We’re also told to teach them to our  children, to talk about them all day, from the   time when we rise until the time we lie down,  to talk about them when we are walking about,   and when we are sitting in our home. We do this  because the commandments of God are a sign that we   are the people of God. People who refuse to keep  God’s commandments are missing the mark of God   in their life. Yeshua actually quoted from this  passage and said this is the Greatest Commandment. “Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord  your God with all your heart, with all your soul,   and with all your mind.’ This is the first  and great commandment.” – Matthew 22:37-38  To love God is to obey His commandments.  the Bible tells us this numerous times in   both the Old and New Testaments, but this  quote from Yeshua makes it very clear. “if you love me,   keep my commandments.” – John 14:15 The prophet Ezekiel also spoke about   God placing a mark on the forehead of His  people to separate them from the wicked ones. “and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst  of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem,   and put a mark on the foreheads of the men  who sigh and cry over all the abominations   that are done within it.” – Ezekiel 9:4 Those who sigh and cry over the abominations   done in the world will receive the mark of  God. So, it makes sense that we should seek   to understand what the Bible calls an abomination.  Leviticus 11 describes eating unclean animals as   an abomination. And Leviticus chapters 18 and  20 as well as Deuteronomy 22 all describe the   gender confusion and alternative lifestyle issues  we see in the world today as being an abomination. “You shall not lie with a male as  with a woman. It is an ABOMINATION.”  – Leviticus 18:22 “If a man lies with a male as he lies  with a woman, both of them have committed   an ABOMINATION…” – Leviticus 20:13 “A woman shall not wear anything that  pertains to a man, nor shall a man put   on a woman’s garment, for all who do so  are an ABOMINATION to the Lord your God.”  – Deuteronomy 22:5 Do we sigh and cry about these abominations being   done in the world today? Idolatry is also called  an abomination to God, and we live in a world that   has created all sorts of idols. People idolize  actors, athletes, and singers. People idolize   wealth and covet such things. We might not pray to  bronze statues, but the world is clearly full of   idols. Child sacrifice is another abomination the  Bible describes, and we live in a world that has   legalized the killing of babies. Witchcraft,  fortune-telling, palm-reading, astrology,   horoscopes, speaking to the dead, and magic are  all called abominations, but we live in a world   that celebrates and encourages these things.  The world we live in is extremely perverse, in   language, in dress, and in relationships, and the  Bible says a perverse person is an abomination. “For the perverse person is an abomination to the   Lord…” – Proverbs 3:32 Does perverse language   offend you or entertain you? Does perverse  clothing make you weep or smile? Do perverse   relationships cause you to mourn or celebrate? Do  we sigh and cry over the perversity of the world?   The world is full of pride, lies, and all sorts  of evil things. Do we cry over such things? God’s Law gives us instructions about all of these  things. We are told what is right and wrong. We   are told to do what is good and right and to avoid  even the appearance of evil. What you might not   realize is the Bible says if we refuse to listen  to God’s Law, even our prayers are an abomination. “One who turns away his ear from  hearing the law, Even his prayer   is an abomination.” – Proverbs 28:9 This one is big, because we live in a   world where the church is refusing to listen  to God’s Law, and they are conforming to the   ways of the world. This means their  prayers are an abomination to God. We also need to recognize what an abomination is,   so we can recognize the abomination  of desolation when it happens. “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.” – Matthew 24:15-16 I fear there are many people who claim to   be Christians who will not receive the mark of  God on their foreheads. Messiah warned us that   there will be many in that day who will  be rejected by Him for their lawlessness. “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord,  Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,   cast out demons in Your  name, and done many wonders   in Your name?’ And then I will declare to  them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me,   you who practice lawlessness!'” – Matthew 7:22-23 He is describing people who identify as believers,   and they are even doing miraculous things in  the name of Jesus, but He rejects them because   they did not obey God’s commandments, and He calls  them lawless. These Christians will be rejected by   the LORD and cast out of the kingdom. They will  not receive the mark of God on their foreheads,   the sign of God’s ownership in their  life, because they did not obey Him. If you do the things God hates, and  refuse to obey His commandments,   you will receive the mark of  the beast, not the mark of God.