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Those who worship or receive the mark of the Beast will be put on the the Blacklist:
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name (Revelation 14:9-11 NIV)
Whereas those who had not received the mark of the Beast and those who had not worshipped the Beast:
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4 NIV)
Paul goes so far as to require a woman to have a symbol of authority on her head:
9 Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. 10 For this reason a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. (1 Corinthians 11:9-10 NRSV)
This, however, is but one step removed from carrying the mark of the Beast:
16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17 NIV)
It is nothing less than the precursor of an evil which is certain to get one Blacklisted:
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." (Revelation 14:9-11 NIV)
Paul enforces his evil through the enslavement of women:
[33] For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the congregations of the saints, [34] women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. [35] If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. (1 Corinthians 14:33-35 NIV)
See also the enslavement of women.
QR codes (quick response condes) and barcodes are widely used across industry, manufacturing, logistics ... and even on mobile phones and tablets.
The technology is suffiently advanced as to allow or deny access to a restricted area.
Currently, QR codes or barcodes could be tattooed on people. However, with advances in technology, use could be made of other types of marking - for example, fingerprints, retinal scans, micro-chipping, or perhaps DNA.
Revelation would suggest tha QR codes or barcodes are a distinct possibility:
[16] Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, [17] so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. (Revelation 13:16-17 NRSV)
[Dissertation: Feasability of population control based on GR codes or barcodes.]
By this is meant being visibly marked/sealed as belonging to the Lord.
[1] After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on earth or sea or against any tree. [2] I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, [3] saying, "Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads." (Revelation 7:1-3 NRSV)
[1] And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit; [2] he opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. [3] Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given authority like the authority of scorpions of the earth. [4] They were told not to damage the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. (Revelation 9:1-4 NRSV)
Paul et al tend to take 'visible seal' less literally. Paul, for example, speaks of being sealed by the Spirit:
[30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30 NIV)
Such a claim is a very powerful one, since such claimants (eg, Paul) use it as a trump-card against criticism or doubt. People tend to accept such claims as 'truth', perhaps not wishing to diss the Lord Spirit and get Blacklisted. Acceptance and submission will be even more likely if there are a handful of miracles to go along with such a claim. One can understand how 'uneducated' Peter was sucked into the Pharisee Paul's false doctrine. Peter endorses Peter's false doctrine as being 'true':
[15] Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. [16] He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:15-16 NIV)
Yet for all Paul's claims, his doctrine is never endorsed by the Lord. Compare with Moses, whose knowledge and writings were endorsed by the Lord:
[45] "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. [46] If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. [47] But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" (John 5:45-47 NIV)
Not only did Moses write the truth, but he will also be the accuser of Israel on the Day of Judgement.
Miracles within the the church are not a sign, as can be seen here:
[21] "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
[22] Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'
[23] Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matthew 7:21-23 NIV)
[Assignment: Compare the contexts of Jesus' miracles with those of Paul.]
'Marking' can be a grey area. After all, are not those who hold the Lord's commission equally 'marked' - especially when backed up by miracles? Isn't this Paul's claim to expertise and authority?
The mark of the Beast is indelible. This is true at the Physical Level - though, like tattoos, some may try to remove the mark surgically or by other means. Nevertheless, when a person receives the mark of the Beast or just worships the Beast, then an entry is made in the Books of Record and in the Blacklist. When a name is entered in the Blacklist, then that person can never find forgiveness either in this life or the next: in that sense they are indelibly marked, since deletions from the Blacklist are disallowed.
The mark made by God on the foreheads of His servants is equally indelible:
[1] After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on earth or sea or against any tree. [2] I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, [3] saying, "Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads." (Revelation 7:1-3 NRSV)
Being marked by God's angels ensures that the marking is secure and not subject to fraud or false claims in a world racing headlong into self-destruction.
Paul describes the commission he received from Jesus on the approach road to Damascus:
[1] Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest [2] and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. [3] Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. [4] He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" [5] He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. [6] But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." (Acts 9:1-6 et seq NRSV)
Paul goes on to claim that he is marked by 'being under the control' of the Lord Spirit:
[13] In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; [14] this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14 NRSV)
[30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30 NRSV)
[20] When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. (Romans 6:20 NIV)
[5] For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. (Romans 7:5 NIV)
[6] The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; [7] the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. [8] Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. [9] You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. [10] But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. [11] And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:6-11 NIV)
If proof were required that the Lord Spirit does not micro-manage believers, one need look no further than Peter's lapse:
[21] From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
[22] Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
[23] Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (Matthew 16:21-23 NIV)
Jesus refers to Peter as 'Satan' - with all that that entails. Jesus doesn't mince his words!
