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Chariot February 2011 - Norm Wakefield Battling the Beast of Self - Part
10
The
ideas about the mark of the beast have changed since the 1970's when some
thought that a one world government would tattoo its mark on the foreheads
and hands of everyone except believers in Christ, who would refuse the
mark. As time moved on and technology developed, a computer chip under the
skin might possibly be the "mark of the beast." What have you thought?
In the Chariot
of Fire series I have suggested in Revelation 12-13 the apostle John
described the battle being waged by Satan against mankind throughout all
of history. Satan doesn't fight this battle alone. He has an ally within
man that rose up when Adam sinned against God, whom I've referred to as
the beast of self, also known as indwelling sin, flesh, pride, or original
sin. Teaching about the believer's struggle against indwelling sin was a
theme in every writing in the New Testament, and it was strongly
emphasized by the apostle Paul and his companion in Ephesus, John, the
author of The Revelation. Why wouldn't the Holy Spirit be
consistent in explaining the spiritual battle faced in this tremendous
letter to the seven churches of Asia Minor?
In
last month's article, a second beast was described, the beast of false
religion. This beast was primarily addressed throughout the history of
Israel and the church as idolatry. We learn from the historical context
that the worship of idols was integrated with the economy through trade
guilds or unions (see last month's article at www.spiritofelijah.com/chariot). To be a member of the guilds one had to participate
in the worship of various idols. Believers were confronted with a very
serious challenge: Without being a member of a trade guild, one couldn't
buy or sell. There was an economic price to pay for not joining a trade
guild. What would you do if your trade required joining a union that
participated in wickedness and funded evil activity? Who wouldn't join the
trade unions if it meant financial ruin to refuse membership? What would
be the motive for those who associated with them? 1.
The beast of self is the primary mark of identification
in false religion.
And he [the second beast of idolatry] causes all, the small and the
great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be
given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides
that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the
mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Rev.
13:16-17
First
we notice the extent of the influence of false religion or idolatry–it
is no respecter of persons, rank, or status. The implications of "causes
all" isn't everyone without exception, but a reference to all kinds or
categories of people. That interpretation is affirmed in the list which
follows of various categories of people. This accurately described the
situation facing the members of the seven churches. Since the believers
were experiencing such persecution, isn't it reasonable, wise, and perhaps
even compelling for the first readers to have understood John to be
talking about their situation, of which they knew John was familiar,
rather than a one-world government marking everyone with a tattoo sometime
in the distant future?
Second, we might
ask what the first readers would have understood John to mean when he
wrote of a "mark" or "sign". Any mark signifies identity or connection to
a group or organization. It communicates belonging. Why would false
religion have an identifier? Because the real worship of Jesus Christ has
a mark of identity–the Holy Spirit, who influences all of the believer's
thinking and behavior. That's precisely the significance of the location
of the mark.
Why did the second
beast cause a mark to be put on the right hand or forehead? Do those two
locations ring a bell? They should if you are familiar with the Old
Testament. The hand signifies our actions. When God gave Moses the Law to
give to His people, He told fathers to teach His Word to their sons and "you
shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on
your forehead" (Deut. 6:6-8).
The men of Israel
took God literally and bound the words of Deut. 6:4 to their hands and
foreheads. However, they missed the point. God meant for His Word to
impact all of their actions and their thinking. Their worship was to be
integrated into everything they thought and did. Then God warned them not
to be like the nations surrounding them who worshiped idols. People
reading Revelation 13:16 can make the same mistake as the first generation
of exiles by focusing on the literal message and miss the spiritual
message.
False religion or
idolatry, regardless of the era in history, always does the same
thing–it influences the thinking (represented by the forehead) and
behavior (represented by the right hand) of its worshipers. Furthermore,
the right hand was significant as the hand of power and blessing in
worship. Here are a couple of examples. Moses "also had Aaron's sons come
near; and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, and
on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right
foot. Moses then sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the
altar" (Lev. 8:24). "The Lord said to my Lord, ‘sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies beneath your feet'" (Matt. 22:44).
The corollaries
are unmistakable. The false Christ, self, is the object of worship in all
false religion. False religions have always caused people to identify with
selfish worship. Who, in these seven cities would join the trade guilds
and worship their idols? Only those whose thinking and action were marked
with selfishness. For power, significance, and wealth they would identify
themselves with the trade associations and thereby worship their idols
which had been made for selfish gain and gratification.
What about
believers in Jesus Christ who were identified with Christ by their heart
devotion and behavior? Every class of people in society had no problem
with being identified with selfish gain and gratification, especially when
it meant a place at the trading table and economic success. However, the
members of the seven churches could not participate because they were
marked on their right hand and foreheads by Jesus Christ, the Lamb. In
fact, Jesus had already promised the overcomers in Philadelphia, "‘He
who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he
will not go out from it anymore; 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 My new name" (Rev. 3:12).
I think the
meaning is clear when we take into consideration the whole context of this
book and the historical context. The beast of self is the primary mark of
identification in all false religion. John's explanation of the spiritual
battle being waged by self and false religion against Jesus Christ would
have strengthened their resolve to overcome their selfish desires and
embrace their suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ. They were suffering
for the right reasons! The apostle Peter wrote to such righteous
sufferers, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you,
which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were
happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of
Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you
may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ,
you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you" (1
Pet. 4:12-14).
So what is the
significance of being marked either by the name of the beast or the number
of his name? 2.
The beast of self can only sin and fall short of God's
glory (666 not 777).
Here is wisdom.
Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the
number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. Rev.
13:18
Almost every
commentary I have read notes that the article "a" isn't in the original
text. It is most accurate to read, "for the number is that of man..."
Perhaps the NASB translators were influenced by their time in history.
Check out other translations and see what you find.
Although we can
understand how the number six might be associated with man since man was
created on the sixth day. But is there significance in six hundred and
sixty six or is the significant meaning in the number 6 used three times?
Do you think John had been shown by the Holy Spirit that a world
government would cause everyone to literally have a mark of 666 placed
upon them? I think there is a more plausible, biblical explanation.
I don't think it
requires a great leap of thought to think John was simply declaring that
man in his pride, self-righteousness, and efforts to create a god he can
worship will always fall short of God's glory. The significance is in its
contrast to God's perfection and glory represented by the number 7 used
three times. We might wonder if John used it three times because Satan has
tried to usurp the Holy Trinity. Any antichrist figure would certainly
mimic all three persons of the Godhead. From the beginning of chapter 13,
John showed how self is deluded about its power, perfection, and
omniscience. It blasphemed God–declaring himself to be God, was slain,
but resurrected, and performs false signs trying to imitate the Holy
Spirit.
John has used
seven to refer to God's perfect will 29 times (by my count) prior to
Revelation 13. So when he described the dragon and the beast as having
seven heads and diadems, surely he was magnifying the truth that in Satan's
war against God, he thinks more highly of himself than he ought! He thinks
he is equal with God. So when John used a number that falls short of
seven, the truth is exposed. Man in his greatest attempts at trying to be
equal with God falls short of God's glory.
I am inclined to
embrace this interpretation because it was taught by the apostle Paul when
he wrote to the Romans, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God" (Rom. 3:23). In chapter 8, Paul wrote, "For the mind set on the
flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because
the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject
itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so" (Rom.
8:6-7). Jesus also taught of man's fallen state when he said, "For from
within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications,
thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as
well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All
these evil things proceed from within and defile the man" (Mark 7:21-23).
The important
doctrine declared in verse 18 is the doctrine of original sin or the
depravity of man. Because of Adam's sin, we have all been marked by the
beast of self, and fall short of the glory of God. It is the universal
identifying mark of man-made worship. God cannot be replaced or equaled by
any effort of man or self-righteousness.
Do you see how
this teaching would have been important to the seven churches? Do you see
how John could have felt that this teaching was vital to their standing
strong against Satan's schemes? If John were writing about an antichrist
figure and world government during a post-rapture era, what meaning would
it have had to the seven churches at the time of his writing?
Do you see the
importance of this teaching in your life in this time in history?
If Revelation 13
only applies after the rapture and during the seven years of tribulation
as some think, what is that to you now? You're probably watching and
listening to TV preachers and anticipating when the United Nations is
going to establish world-wide sovereignty. I think Satan would love to
have the church focused fearfully on some political figure in the future
who is going to make believers in Christ poor and destitute rather than
intentionally, corporately fighting the battle against selfishness and
idolatry in any form in its thinking, behaving, and worship.
How important is
it to you to teach your children about their battle against self? How
often do you encounter that beast in your children? How relevant is it to
you that you get your heart free from idolizing standards, music styles,
dress styles, educational preferences, church philosophies, pastors,
elders, wives, husbands, children, work, wealth, significance, power, and
a thousand other idols of self's creation so you can love Jesus Christ
with your whole heart?
In my book Equipped
to Love I have stated a powerful love principle: You can't love if
idolatry is present in your heart. Why? Because love comes from God, and
He only gives it to those who look to Him as the source of all of life.
That's what it means to love God. Therefore false religion, that glorifies
self and idolizes anything other than Jesus Christ, is the antichrist and
threatens true worship. You can be marked by the beast and not even know
it! You won't avoid eternal damnation simply because you refuse to take a
mark administrated by a world government. If that's what saves you, then
the cross is useless.
The mark that
makes a difference is the mark of the Holy Spirit–Jesus-filled thinking
and loving. John taught in his first epistle that those who have received of
His Spirit (meaning love) are those who know God and love God. That's
why this teaching is important to you. Without it, you could easily be
deceived by false religion and selfish living and think you know God and
have eternal life–when you don't. So could all, the small and the
great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves. For
this reason, I suggest you go back over all of the previous articles in
this series and teach your family how to recognize the counterfeit god and
man-made religion. It was important enough to the Holy Spirit and John to
dedicate what we know as two chapters in The Revelation. I hope
this series has caused you to open the book with renewed interest. God
wrote it and gave it to us with a promise. "Blessed is he who reads and
those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are
written in it; for the time is near" (Rev. 1:3). So take heed to these
things!
If you are interested in further studying the Book of Revelation, Norm has
a 39 part MP3 audio study available here: http://www.spiritofelijah.com/resources/revelationstudy/ Would
you like to be on the Elijah Ministries Prayer Team? The backbone of Elijah Ministries is the prayer team who pray diligently for God to turn the hearts of men to Himself, their wives, and their children. Before I leave to speak, I send out a prayer team invitation to those who will intercede for God to work for His glory in us as a team for the Kingdom. Not only is it a blessing to those whom I speak and myself; but it is also a reminder to the team about the direction of their own hearts. If you would like to enter into the labor together with me, you may go to my website and click on "Prayer Team". Has Norm's Chariot or other resources been an encouragement to you? As a nonprofit organization, Elijah Ministries needs support from people like you in order to function. If God has ministered to you through Elijah Ministries and Norm Wakefield, would you consider supporting the work? You can do so here. (Elijah Ministries is a tax-deductible 501c3 and is financially accountable to an overseeing board of 8 non-paid members from around the country.) The Chariot is also available as a podcast. You can automatically receive the Chariot each month in iTunes by subscribing here. (An RSS capable browser such as Internet Explorer 7 or Safari is required.)
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haven't visited our website, www.spiritofelijah.com,
please stop by sometime. You'll find: * Resources to equip you and your family * Previous Chariot articles * Norm's speaking schedule *
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I invite you to be a part of the
moving of the Spirit of Elijah in your church, community, and the world.
How?
1.
Send this article to other men or families that you know would
benefit from it. You might inform them of the previous articles
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2.
Share resources from the Spirit of Elijah Ministries with others.
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4.
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Norm
Wakefield 02.11 To unsubscribe, click here.
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