Dear Daisy,
Since early in my life, I was taught in church about the mark of the beast. I find it interesting that in these last days, few teach to beware to not take the mark in your hand or your forehead to buy and sell lest you be doomed for eternity in hell. I’m also curious; since the devil makes a counterfeit of everything God does, is there a mark of God? If so, how do we get the mark of God? ~ Signed, wanting God’s mark.
Dear wanting God’s mark,
That is an excellent question! Sadly the “Mark of God” has not been taught. Let’s dig deeper and find the truth.
_________________________
In our world today (2024), the mark of the beast has become a popular discussion topic. With news circulating about internal chips for humans to communicate with computers that will also be necessary to make purchases, many discussions are arising about what this mark of the beast might be and when it will arrive. The mark of the beast is mentioned in the Bible in Revelation 13:16-18 and throughout the book of Revelation.
“16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” Revelation 13:16-18
While the mark of the beast may not be merely the numbers “666”, it will be crystal clear that it is the referenced mark when you will need said mark on your hand or forehead to buy or sell.
What we were taught
For most people who grew up in church in the 70s and 80s, they were taught about the mark of the beast by their pastors. Primarily this message was taught to “scare you straight” to obey God and not sin in order to get into Heaven. It got to the point that many Believers in Jesus fell away from following Him because they felt they couldn’t live up to the rules the pastors told them they had to follow to get into Heaven. As an adult reflecting back, it is easy to see that they were man-made rules; which is why it was impossible to live up to them. Those were the days of “hell, fire, and brimstone” preaching and we all lived in fear of being left behind.
What we weren’t taught
When you do an in depth study of God’s Holy Word in the Holy Bible that God breathed (2Timothy 3:16-17) for us to follow throughout our lives, you will discover there is indeed a Mark of God! The original mark that the enemy made a counterfeit.
Why were we never taught about the Mark of God? Why were we only taught about the mark of the beast? Perhaps church leaders decided that putting the fear into church-goers about the mark of the beast would be more affective than teaching about what the God of love has for His children. Regardless, let’s learn the truth now while there is still time to prepare.
How can we know His truth
In scripture God teaches us early on in the Bible, that He has His Word written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34). So even if we aren’t taught the truth, the Holy Spirit has written it on our hearts. That’s how we instinctively know between good and evil.
When we aren’t taught truth from our parents or church leaders, peppered with discipline as instructed also in the early books of the Bible, then the enemy can cloud our thinking and our judgement causing us to find ourselves walking away from God.
In Ezekiel chapter 9, we learn and see what God tells His angels to do about marking His wholehearted followers before they destroy the non-believers. God sets His people apart, marks them as His and they are safe. They are safe while living in this evil world. Even if our lives end in death for our belief in Him, it’s a blessing because we are immediately with Him. He mentions this wrath in Ezekiel chapter 6 for those who aren’t marked as His.
Jesus even encourages us not to worry in the end-times what we will eat or drink, for those who are sealed are His.
“Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” John 6:27
What is the Mark of God?
In the books of Exodus chapters 13 and 39, and Deuteronomy chapters 6 and 11, God tells Moses how His people will be marked as His by indications on their hands and their forehead. They will be marked as set apart for Him. God has said this from the beginning. Not only that, He said His children would store His Word in their hearts.
In the Torah books, there were physical ways that His were marked. With the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34, they were spiritually marked, just like the Ten Commands were no longer only printed on stone but on our hearts. His wholehearted followers became known by walking in the Spirit as His, and by their fruits (Galatians 5:16-26).
“22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23
It’s no coincidence that God had David kill Goliath with one single stone to the forehead. His children are marked on the forehead as His, and He marked this giant as not His in that same spot of recognition as God killed him that day. (1 Samuel 17:49)
Scripture says in Psalms 37:37, “Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.”
The first time God shows us in His Word of marking those who are His is on the first Passover in Egypt. This is when He has them smear the blood of a spotless lamb over their doorposts so that the angel of death would see this mark over the door and pass over His children. (Exodus 12)
“36 You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the LORD.’ 37 And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban.” Exodus 28:36-37
“In this way they are to put my name on the people of Isra’el, so that I will bless them.” Numbers 6:27
Then in Ezekiel 9:3-4 God describes how He will send His angel to mark His people for protection from destruction when He says, “Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. And the LORD said to him, ‘Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.’ ”
His people are the ones that are groaning for what is to happen to the rest of the people. You can’t fake this, He knows your heart. He knows those ones who have His heart for helping Him save the lost. The ones who are humble and not self-serving, but serving God’s purposes.
“I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.” Job 16:12 (He shakes us and humbles us. Some repent, stay on their knees and are marked as His. Others rebel and run from Him.)
“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” Revelation 3:12
“Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.” Revelation 7:3-4
“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:10
“Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.” Hosea 14:9
Now that you know this truth, you can easily see that the enemy has copied it by also putting his mark on the forehead and hand as stated in the book of Revelation.
The Counterfeit!
It is true, satan counterfeits the things of God and twists them into his own version of truth? When you study the whole Bible you will see that scripture shows many things that originated with God that the enemy has made a counterfeit version. Time does not permit me to cover all of them here, there are too many; so we will focus on “the mark.“
Once you grasp the truth about the original “mark”, it will transform your world and your whole way of thinking. You will suddenly begin to see that things are not as they appear and that you were not taught the whole story. Choose today to no longer depend on others to tell you what the Bible says. Do your own research and find out the truth. The truth will set you free. (John 8:32)
Through this blog lesson today you will be able to get excited with the knowledge that you have a choice of which mark to take! Choose wisely, one comes with eternal life, one comes with eternal damnation. This is not to put fear in you, but to bring you hope that you are not alone in these crazy end-times waiting for the next bad thing to happen in this world. You will learn that God has had a plan to protect you and mark you as His all along. All you have to do is choose Him and follow His ways.
Counterfeit example
Good fear vs. evil fear
The world is motivated by fear. The enemy uses it to get humans to panic and turn away from God to get quick answers and temporary relief from the fear that they have allowed in their lives.
The enemy makes you think that God doesn’t care about your problems, that He causes them. Then the enemy slithers in and gives quick easy short-term fixes for your fears. The temporary fixes don’t last, then you become addicted to more temporary fixes.
On the other hand, God calls you to fear Him out of respect and to follow Him. The original fear. His fear is not debilitating; but peaceful.
The enemy counterfeited respectful healthy fear and uses it instead to draw you away from God and His truth. He uses fear to separate us from God.
How do I receive the Mark of God?
Throughout the First Testament God continually talks about His love for us. How He guides and protects us as He teaches and disciplines. Our God is a God of order and He gives us His commands to follow to bring us hope and peace through His love for us. He sees us and He knows our hearts. When we choose to wholeheartedly follow Him in all His ways, He knows if we are sincere. If we choose to obey Him and cling to His Word and His Ways, He “marks” us as righteous; He “marks” us as His!
His followers are not perfect sinless humans, on the contrary, they are humans that have chosen Him over the things of this world; the things of this world that cause them to sin and turn from God and His ways, the things that invite fear and unrest. Do His wholehearted followers still make mistakes and sin? Yes! But, the difference is, they immediately repent and continue to try to walk in His ways. He knows those who unintentionally sin, and those who intentionally sin. Scripture tells us repeatedly that He knows our hearts.
As children of God, He gives us His heart also. His heart is for all to be saved, and He needs us to help spread the truth to everyone before it’s too late.
Those who follow Him wholeheartedly are marked as His.
He knows your heart and your actions.
It is by your obedience and dedication to Him
that He has put His seal on you
and given you His Spirit in your heart as a guarantee.
(2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
Furthermore, if you have heard His message of truth, His Good News offering you deliverance, and you have chosen to put your trust in Jesus the Messiah, you have been sealed by Him. It is through His promised Holy Spirit, who is the one who guarantees your inheritance until you come into possession of it, that causes you to discover this peace, and as a result you bring God praise and glory for what He has done for you. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
With this knowledge and gift, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30
“God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” 2 Timothy 2:19
Turn from your sins and back to Him today. He is offering you the gift of being one of His “marked” ones for Him for all eternity.
To ensure you are marked with His seal, follow these simple steps:
Do the ABC’s and repent today.
- A: Admit that you are a sinner. (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8-9)
- B: Believe in your heart that Jesus is the son of God and that He died for your sins and rose from the dead for you. (John 3:16-18, 1Corinthians 15:1-4)
- C: Call on Jesus and repent of your sins and turn back to Him and ask Jesus to show you the way. (Romans 10:9-13, John 14:6)
What happens to those who don’t choose the mark of God?
Here is what God’s Word says He will do when He comes back to judge:
“5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity.
6 Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house.” Ezekiel 9:5-6
“2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,
3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” Revelation 7:2-3
He warns the angel of death to not touch anyone who has His mark. Then He has them begin with the elders in the sanctuary; the corrupt shepherds, the false prophets and teachers within the church. He is warning us that they are within the church; be wary, pray for discernment to see and know who they are. Allow the Holy Spirit to be your teacher: He is the one you can trust to teach you all truth (1 John 2:27, Jeremiah 33:3).
What is the purpose of the mark of the beast?
Primarily, it is about fear and control. Of course, for the enemy, it has been his whole mission to control us by fear. The enemy wants you to turn away from God and if he is successful, he will mark you and then you will be his; doomed to spend eternity in hell.
It is speculated that what the media is currently showing is that the mark of the beast will be in the form of a chip under your skin. They are obviously not calling it the mark of the beast, they are advertising it as an easy way for you to operate your computer and do business; to buy and sell. The whole premise is that it will make your life easier.
“16 Also it forces everyone—great and small, rich and poor, free and slave—to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead
17 preventing anyone from buying or selling unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.” Revelation 13:16-17
There is plenty of information on the mark of the beast in the book of Revelation, so I encourage you to research that for yourself. My goal today is to alert you to truth that no one is teaching, that God’s “mark” existed from the beginning and it is what we should be focused on to make sure we have it.
Can I go to Heaven if I accept the mark of the beast?
According to scripture, the mark of the beast will be mandated for everyone after the pre-tribulation Rapture. (Sadly, many are choosing to be “test dummies” now – receiving chips in their hand to purchase). Those already marked by God will be removed in the Rapture. Once the Rapture occurs and Jesus takes His Bride (those who are marked as His), those left behind will be forced to get the mark of the beast to buy and sell.
Only those who refuse the mark of the beast post-rapture
and fight for their faith in God unto death,
will experience their last chance to get into Heaven.
A mark is like a scar or a tattoo, once it’s on, it’s there to stay. So choose wisely and choose today who you will serve and which mark you want to be branded with for eternity. (Joshua 1:9) Once judgement comes, it’s too late. Nowhere in scripture does it state that you can repent and be forgiven once you have chosen to be marked by the beast. There are many “successful” (and once successful) people who claim they sold their soul to the devil for fame that have willingly chosen to turn from God and follow the devil and his wicked ways.
“They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.” Revelation 9:4
“9 Another angel, a third one, followed them and said in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives the mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will indeed drink the wine of God’s fury poured undiluted into the cup of his rage.
10 He will be tormented by fire and sulfur before the holy angels and before the Lamb, and the smoke from their tormenting goes up forever and ever.
11 They have no rest, day or night, those who worship the beast and its image and those who receive the mark of its name.” Revelation 14:9-11
Those marked will be destroyed. Receiving the mark of the beast in any form is the same as telling God you don’t trust Him to take care of you in this time of destruction and end-times.
Can I still get to Heaven after the rapture?
To choose to hedge your bets to wait and see if this is all true, will be the worst decision you have ever made. The Holy Bible tells you what to do and what to expect, but if you won’t study His Word to learn these things, you are choosing to test God. You will pay the consequences for testing God; that is considered intentional sin. Even though, there is one last chance to get to Heaven at this point:
DON’T TAKE THE MARK OF THE BEAST NO MATTER WHAT!
Be willing to die for your faith.
People who have taken the mark of the beast will want to die during the tribulation but won’t be able too, according to scripture. Those who don’t take the mark of the beast and die for their faith will be with Jesus. This is your last chance to be with Jesus, hold fast to your faith.
The enemy is very cunning and deceitful. He will be very persuasive. He will make you think that you can’t live without his mark. (Revelation 19:20) It’s better to die for your faith, than to get it. There’s no turning back once you take his mark.
To clarify: If you happen to be living during a time when it’s required to get the mark of the beast to survive and you choose not to get it, you will be gifted with facing death for your stance. Observe,
“It was allowed to put breath into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast could even speak; and it was allowed to cause anyone who would not worship the image of the beast to be put to death.” Revelation 13:15
Consider this: Not to be redundant but to make sure you understand… If you didn’t take the mark after the rapture and you were persecuted and killed, you would be in Heaven with Him. It’s your quick ticket to Heaven by resisting. See…
“Next I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write: ‘How blessed are the dead who die united with the Lord, from now on!’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘now they may rest from their efforts, for the things they have accomplished follow along with them.’ ” Revelation 14:13
What does God need me to do right now?
First He wants you to turn back to Him, repent, invite Jesus into your heart, and follow Him wholeheartedly. Then, according to His Word, He needs you to warn others before it’s too late. We are not to be concerned with only our salvation, but also the salvation of others. He is very clear in Ezekiel chapters 2, 3, and 33 that as a Believer and marked for eternity with Him, there is still work to do. While we cannot “save” others, we are responsible for warning and sharing His truth and love. It would behoove you to study Ezekiel and see what God says He needs for His marked children to do for Him.
I will give you a little spoiler: He says we are responsible for the lost souls that He guides us to help. If we choose not to help those He leads us to, and they go to hell, we will be judged for their damnation.
We don’t have to fear persecution for sharing the truth with others. If He is sending us, He will protect us, just like He protected Moses from the Pharaoh of Egypt when God delivered the Israelites.
There are also lost souls that are not our responsibility. Study Ezekiel 33 so that He can show you the difference.
We are in the final “hour”
“You too, be patient; keep up your courage; for the Lord’s return is near.” James 5:8
“Children, this is the Last Hour. You have heard that an Anti-Messiah is coming; and in fact, many anti-Messiahs have arisen now—which is how we know that this is the Last Hour.” 1 John 2:18
“Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever holds out till the end will be preserved from harm.” Matthew 10:22
Post-Rapture:
“Blessed and holy is anyone who has a part in the first resurrection; over him the second death has no power. On the contrary, they will be cohanim [priests] of God and of the Messiah, and they will rule with him for the thousand years.” Revelation 20:6
“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’ Let anyone who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let anyone who is thirsty come—let anyone who wishes, take the water of life free of charge.” Revelation 22:17
What is awaiting those who have the mark of God
“Next the angel showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Between the main street and the river was the Tree of Life producing twelve kinds of fruit, a different kind every month; and the leaves of the tree were for healing the nations—no longer will there be any curses. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” Revelation 22:1-4
Now that you know that the “original mark” is for those who belong to God, make sure you are right with Him. When you are right with God, you don’t have to worry about all the fear that comes with the threats of the mark of the beast.
In closing,
Always ask Jesus what you should do in every situation. The Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you. If it’s not okay with Him, He will check your spirit and you will have an uneasy feeling and doubt about going forward. Always follow Jesus; NOT your heart; our hearts are fickle and can’t be trusted. Listen to the Holy Spirit; He is trying to protect you. You have a choice to obey or ignore. Choose to obey and stay under His protection.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Jeremiah 17:9
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.“
Proverbs 3:5
“When you know you grow!”