Revelation 13: 16-17 it also forced all people Great and Small rich and poor free and slave to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark which is the name of the Beast or the number of its name five things you need to know about the mark of the beast number one Allegiance when the Antichrist is revealed to the world he will enforce a system a law where you need to take some type of Mark in order to participate in society
there is one school of thought that suggests the following in order for us to really understand what the Mark is and what it means there is a need to look back in history it is thought that at one time Rome ordered all its citizens to pledge their allegiance to it and this would be their political allegiance and also religious Allegiance as you pledged Allegiance this meant you accepted and submitted to Roman law including the religious laws of that time for you to pledge allegiance it meant you were pledging your loyalty to Rome now with this
thought the mark of the beast will be a case of people pledging allegiance to the Antichrist people will take the mark of the beast because at that time it will most likely be enforced by law although the message will be that you need the mark to buy or sell you will in fact be pledging Your Allegiance to the Antichrist and here's the proof Revelation 14:9 to10 says a third Angel followed them and said in a loud voice if anyone worships the Beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand
they too will drink the wine of God's Fury which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath they will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the Holy Angels and of the Lamb those who have the mark have submitted to the anti Christ and therefore rejected God which in turn results in those individuals feeling the full force of God's Wrath number two the mark no one knows exactly what form the mark of the beast will be however many speculate that it could come in the form of a small digital chip
or something called an RFID radio frequency identification tag both of these options can quite easily be planted Under the Skin revelation 13: 16-17 says he required everyone small and great rich and poor free and slave to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead and no one could buy or sell anything without that Mark which was either the name of the Beast or the number representing his name this scripture indicates that the Antichrist will establish some kind of world economic system and when you look at the advancing of Technology digital currencies
artificial intell intelligence and the increasing globalization of the world's markets a one world monetary system or currency is the most likely way that we will see the Antichrist and force his Reign because after all he cannot control the buying and selling of the entire world until there is a universal mechanism number three the persecution Christians are warned that difficult times will come when the Antichrist comes into Power he will give you two choices worship him or lose your life Revelation 13:15 says 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 if you do not worship the Beast according to the Bible you will lose your life so effectively Christianity will be outlawed any believer or anyone who refuses to bow to the Antichrist will face persecution Revelation 2:1 says do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer indeed the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested and you will have tribulation 10 days
be faithful until death and I will give you the Crown of Life the pressure to bow down to the Antichrist will be intense families will be torn apart as loved ones choose to take the mark and turn away from God and think about it if you take take the mark you lose your soul you essentially reject God but if you don't take the mark you will be persecuted you will be unable to buy or sell just imagine the difficult position that some Believers will be in for some this will mean you can't put food on
the table for your family so now you have to contend with hunger and starvation for others you cannot work you cannot receive an income and therefore unable to pay for your home and mortgage and perhaps this forces you into hiding these are just hypothetical scenarios but I just want to paint a picture that shows just how difficult things will be for believers during the time of the Antichrist number four great evil in those days the world will see a great evil like never before here are some of the things you will see during the reign
of the Antichrist Matthew 24:1 15-16 says 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 an Abomination is something that causes disgust or hatred it's a great sin commonly worthy of death and desolation is a state of complete emptiness or destruction now when Jesus said this he was in fact warning us that someone or perhaps some event that people detested would stand in the temple someday when that horror occurred residents
of Judea should seek cover without delay furthermore there will be widespread idolatry on the earth there will be people in this world who will worship and idolize the Antichrist because he will suffer what the Bible calls a fatal wound but miraculously recover in addition to this the Antichrist will openly blaspheme against God he will openly speak against Jesus Christ and seek to exult the name of the Lord and when it comes to the hearts of people 2 Timothy 3 tells us that people will be corrupt and fall away from God people that have a form
of godliness but they won't have the power of God working in their lives when you read 2 Timothy 3 and go through the list of how people in society will be the Bible tells you that people will be lovers of self meaning that people will be narcissistic and self-focused and so from this you can see that there will be great evil in the last days especially once the Antichrist is in power the fifth and final thing you need to know is that when the Antichrist is revealed the end is near and the Glorious second coming
of Jesus Christ is closer than ever the Antichrist will be revealed as the tribulation period Begins the tribulation period will be the final s years of human history this period in time will be split into two the tribulation period which lasts 3 and 1/2 years and then and the Great Tribulation period which lasts 3 and 1/2 years as well this 7-year period will be the reign of the Antichrist however it all ends in the battle of Armageddon the Bible tells us demonic spirits will gather all the rulers and their armies to a place with the
Hebrew name Armageddon John then tells us the scenes he saw in Revelation 19 then I saw heaven opened and a white horse was standing there its rider was named faithful and true for he judges Fair and wages a righteous War his eyes were like flames of fire and on his head were many crowns a name was written on him that no one understood except himself he wore a robe dipped in Blood and his title was the word of God the armies of Heaven dressed in the finest of pure white linen followed him on white horses
from his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the Nations he will rule them with an iron Rod he will release the fierce wrath of God the almighty like juice flowing from a wine press on his robe and his thigh was written this title king of all kings and Lord of all Lords this will be the triumphant return of Jesus Christ and when he returns he will bring judgment against all of the wickedness in the world the White Horse that Jesus rides on symbolically depicts the holy and pure power that Jesus has to overcome
evil with good when Jesus returns he will not be alone he will have the armies of heaven with him and this will be made up of angels led by Archangel Michael and the Saints he first came to Earth as the Lamb of God and sacrificed himself on the cross so that we would be saved but when he returns he will return as the king of kings and Lord of lords when Jesus returns he will crush the Antichrist and all of his followers he will crush every demonic spirit and thing that stands in opposition to him
the Bible tells us in Revelation 19: 19-21 then I saw the Beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his Army and the Beast was captured and with him the false prophet who did Mighty miracles on behalf of the Beast Miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue both the Beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery Lake of burning sulfur their entire Army was killed by the sharp sword that
came from the mouth of the one riding the White Horse and the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies therefore keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come this call to vigilance and watchfulness is as relevant for us today as it was for the disciples when Jesus spoke these words just as a Vigilant Watchman remains attentive to potential threats we must stay alert and watchful for the signs of Christ's imminent return the fascinating thing about a Watchman is that a Watchman has many different roles which are all just
as vitally important in the olden days a Watchman was responsible for protecting towns and Army Camps from Surprise enemy attacks as well as any other potential dangers Watchmen on the walls would look out for approaching Messengers danger armies or envoys in 2 Samuel 18 we're told that David was sitting between the two gates and the Watchman went up to the roof over the gate to the wall lifted his eyes and looked and there was a man running alone then the Watchman cried out and told the king and the King said if he is alone there
is news in his mouth and he the messenger came rapidly and Drew near it's a watchman's job to always be on the lookout to peer into the distance to observe to await and certainly to be alert the Watchman stands as a sentinel guarding against any dangers and in our own spiritual lives every Christian has this role of acting as a Watchman we are to observe evaluate and examine Our Lives against the word of God we are to guard the gates of our eyes ears and heart from the threat of sin the threat of evil and
the threat of the devil we are to be Watchmen over our heart's desires and affections now as children of God who live in a period of time where there is great uncertainty one thing we have to guard against is the spirit of fear people out there are fearful of so many things the threat of emerging pandemics for some there is uncertainty when it comes to the current state of international Affairs the Bible warns us of wars and rumors of wars and when we finally see Bible prophecy unfolding right before our eyes it can leave us
seeking Clarity and you can end up asking questions like how will this affect the country I live in how will this affect the world and so there is uncertainty there for someone else the fight they face is economic uncertainty either personal finances or The Wider economy of their country for other people in certain parts of the world Christians who face persecution for their faith in Christ they're may be some uncertainty as they think how long can I Endure this or how much more should I Endure Lord and I personally believe that in these last days
in these days where we see Bible prophecy unfolding before our eyes I believe the Bible gives us five commands that will help us all in these times the first of these five commands is to keep watch because Christ is coming soon Matthew 24:42 the Bible say says therefore keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come when you are living in uncertain times when you are living in fearful times in times where biblical prophecy is happening and we are seeing an increase in the number of conflicts all around the world
we are seeing pestilences we're seeing the love of many growing cold when you are living in such times it's important to keep watch for you don't know what day your lord is coming we may not have the answers to everything there may not be a detailed road map telling you what to do and how to do it whenever you see troubling things happening but all in all we must remember that ultimately our focus should be in one place and that is on Jesus Christ if you focus on the world you will be worried you will
be burdened and anxious but when you focus on Jesus you will see the trouble in the world but you will not be troubled in your heart the second command is to watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation Matthew 26:41 says Watch and Pray so that you will not fall into temptation the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak we are encouraged to watch and pray so that we won't give in to Temptation and a lot of times people associate temptation to only be of a sexual nature however people can be
tempted by sin in various ways some are tempted to lie and steal all for their personal and selfish gain some are tempted to get drunk others are tempted to gossip but most of all watch out against being tempted to follow a gospel that tickles your ears in the last days there will be deception and this deception will be tempting to many because you will be told a gospel that simply makes you feel good instead of leading you to repentance be careful not to be tempted the third command is to watch and pray so that you
can escape Luke 21:36 says watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the son of man when Jesus said this to his disciples he was talking about the future and he was warning them of the terrible things to come on on the earth as we Edge closer to the End of the Age those who would be counted worthy to escape God's Wrath on this Earth are those who have put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ but you can
only do this if you watch and pray always in other words Jesus is telling us to be focused on him the fourth command to Believers in this day and age is to be Earnest and disciplined in your prayers the Bible in first p Peter 4:7 says the end of all things is near therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray in this context sober means serious in other words as Believers we should be careful about how we live our choices impact our ability to think clearly it is better to be self-controlled
so that we can pray earnestly I believe here that Peter is also speaking to those who suffer for Jesus's sake the Believers who are persecuted and Peter gives us a word of warning that is also encouraging as he says it's almost over the end of all things is near and don't we see that today more so than ever the fifth and final command to Believers is to be clear in your mission 2 Timothy 4:5 gives us great advice when it comes to dealing with all that we hear and see in the world today the Bible
says but you should keep a clear mind in every situation don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord work at telling others the good news and fully carry out the ministry God has given you the world has many different voices some Godly some ungodly and these voices will tell you so many different things things that will confuse you things that will leave you perplexed things that will pollute your mind and all of this leads you to live in a fearful state but God's word is calling us to have a clear mind in every situation and
I believe that you can achieve this by doing one thing focusing on Christ and doing everything for his glory as more and more people ask questions like are we living in the last days is this the end I want to encourage you to do something rather than look at each and every event that is currently happening in the world my message to you is that you should make sure that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ yes it's good for us to take note of the events happening in this world but the focus for
our lives should be to make sure that our individual relationships with God are in good standing whether these are the last days or not whether this is the 11th hour or not you and I as Believers need to make sure that our focus is only on Jesus Christ we should focus on the one who is the way the truth and the life and that is Jesus Christ who explicitly said no one comes to the father except through me
