5 November 2017
Dear Phyllis,
Last
week I had an amazing time with Sangha. At the moment the Lord has not
given me a public ministry of proclaiming Jesus; but in the absence of a
public ministry the Lord has given me one special brother that I speak
with for an hour every morning.
Last week Sangha asked me about the mark of the beast
in Revelation 13. I told him that is a hotly discussed subject in
Christian circles and hundreds of books have been written.. I'm sure
there are many theories, but I told him about four that have been
banished about in recent years.
For generations the basic theory of the 666,
mark of the beast, was a tattoo that would be placed on the forehead or
right hand of everyone in the world. Without that tattoo no one would
be allowed to buy, sell, or engage in any financial transaction (Rev.
13:16-18). When I was saved 60 years ago that was the only position I
heard.
But
40 years ago, when the bar code took over the financial world, someone
noticed that the basis of the bar code was 6-6-6. That made sense that
without the bar code financial transactions looked impossible.
Then
more recently microchips made their appearance. It is possible to
record all personal data on a tiny microchips that could be implanted in
a persons right hand or forehead that could be used in place of a
credit card. We were told that the day would come when, not only would
paper money disappear, but plastic money (credit cards) would no loner
be used for buying and selling. All financial data would be recorded on
these implanted microchips and read at check out counters. It was
suggested that the microchip would be the compulsory mark of the beast.
The
latest suggestion has been made by Walid Shoebad. Walid Shoebad is a
converted Muslim who was born in Bethlehem of Muslim parents. After his
dramatic conversion to Christianity he has become a well known Bible
scholar/speaker. Shoebad has come up with a very interesting argument
based on his observation of the Codex Vaticanus. The Codex Vaticanus is
the oldest known manuscript of the Bible dating back to the 4th
century. It is written in Greek. Greek numbers, as is true also of
Hebrew, are not expressed in our Roman numerals but in Greek letters of
the alphabet. But in Rev. 13:18 the numbers written are not the Greek
chi, xi, sigma but in Arabic. Shoebad said, “When I saw the 666 in the
Codex Vatanicus I could read it. It was Arabic.” Shoebad tells us that
what those Arabic symbols actually say is “In the name of Allah”. Well
known Christian speakers ranging from Chuck Missler to Sid Roth have
endorsed Walid Shoebad as a reliable authority and have come down
heavily that the mark of the beast is actually the headband worn by all
Islamic warriors written “In the name of Allah”. This gives credence to
the argument that the anti-Christ will be Islamic and Islam must be
embraced by everyone in the world or you are gone.
I
don't know where I got this. I don't know if I heard it from some
source or it is actually my own thoughts, but there is one other
possibility to understand the mark of the beast. I told Sangha that
sometimes to understand the spiritual teaching in the Bible we must identify the verb that goes with the noun.
To illustrate this I asked Sangha, “What is the verb that goes with
feet?” He immediately responded, “Walking”. “What goes with legs?”. -
“Stand.” “Teeth?” - “Eating” “Tongue?” - “Talking”. Then I asked, “What
goes with forehead?” He thought for a minute and responded, “Brain”.
Brain is close – it is a noun - but I believe the verb that goes with
forehead is our thoughts. When I said “thoughts”, suddenly Sangha
exclaimed, “Uuuuuh, my body is tingling all over”. Sangha is the most
infallible sign of the Holy Spirit I have ever met. In our times of
fellowship when there is something of the Holy Spirit, he suddenly
breaks out with goose bumps on his arm. Time and again he will say,
“Look at my arm:. In every time I agree with him. He is truly amazing. He is the most infallible physical sign of the Holy Spirit I have ever seen.
In our talk about the mark of the beast I had previously shown Sangha the mark on the forehead of the 144, 000 in Rev. 7:3,4; 14:1, and the marking on the forehead of the righteous before the destruction of Jerusalem in Ezek. 9:4. The forehead mark in Ezekiel and the 144, 000 are clearly a spiritual sign
– not a physical tattoo. I have thought for some time that the forehead
sign is actually our thoughts or attitude. The forehead and hand speak
of our thoughts, attitude, and the things we do (hand). This is the distinguishing difference between a Christian and a non-Christian; what we think – our attitude – and the things we do – our activities.
As
I was taking Sangha through the noun-verb teaching and came to the
forehead and hand possibility of the mark of he beast, suddenly he broke
out in cold chills and goose bumps all over. He rolled up his sleeves
and said, “Look at my arms”. That was something like I had never seen
before. Suddenly he became tremendously energized and said, “I am
totally different than everyone else”. His wife, Lec, is not saved yet.
He said, “My wife and I are totally different. I think one thing and she
thinks the dead opposite”. I asked, “What was it like six years ago?”
“Oh, then we were the same, but now that I am saved I am totally
different”.
What
is the mark of the beast? I don't know. I seriously doubt that it will
be a tattoo. I really don't think it is the bar code. We have moved past
that. I question that it will be a microchip. Walid Shoebad has a good
argument. The Codex Vatanicus is interesting. It certainly looks like
the world is moving in a Islamic direction at a very high speed. I have
seen several You Tubes that demonstrate that Europe and England are
irreversibly moving towards becoming Islamic states in the near future.
And the mark of the beast could be a spiritual mark that is our mind set
and activities. I really hadn't taken my own theory seriously until I
saw Sangha's reaction. I wonder if that discussion hadn't been more for
me than for him.
Paul
has told me about the time he was working with the FBI in counter
terrorist intelligence. He told me that he was monitoring Islamics that
had stashed away a huge arsenal of military weaponry in remote houses in
upstate New York. He said the only possible explanation for such
arsenals was plans for war; and added, “If they are doing that in remote
places in upstate New York they must have similar places all over the
US”.
Whatever
the scenario, the Lord is giving us ample warning and this is a good
time to look up. Praise God we know the last chapter and it won't be
long before Jesus is here to receive the full reward of his sufferings.
And it is a pretty good time to settle whose side we are on. May God put
a seal on our hearts and a mark on our foreheads that, not only angels
can see, but all the world can see that we belong to Jesus.
bill
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