The Number of The Beast 666 (Things to Come Part 3)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. We don't have time to get too in depth and explain everything here in just one message. But that should be enough context to show that the beast is referring to, or a beast refers to an empire, but also the man who personifies an empire.

The First Beast, the Second Beast, and the Whore of Babylon

And we believe the first beast in Revelation chapter 13, which we read about in the scripture reading, he will lead a political empire, ok, revived Rome. The second beast who does his bidding, the false prophet, he will lead a religious empire, again headquartered in Rome, Revelation 17 verse 9.

This false religion has a name, right, we don't have time to turn to Revelation 17, but what's the name of this false religion? The Whore of Babylon, and don't get offended, that's in the King James Version of the Bible, but that's what it's called, the Whore of Babylon.

Why is it called that, or the Great Harlot? Well, because this false religion is basically in bed with the kings of the earth, and they are using her to accomplish their purpose. And once the ten kings, here's another thing to look out for, the earth will probably be divided into ten regions, and one king per region.

But these ten kings, once they use this false religious system to get power, they will destroy this false church, or they will destroy the harlot of Babylon. And then, once they have their power, what do they do?

They give it all to this one man, the Antichrist, and he effectively becomes the one world dictator from hell. So, when the mark of the beast is instituted, expect to see the world's preeminent religious leader to be the one pushing the mark.

Revelation 13, verse 11, the second beast, or the false prophet, in the vision, if you look, John sees that he has two horns like a lamb. Well, a lamb is a very peaceful creature, right, nothing to worry about there.

Unfortunately, he does what? He speaks like a dragon. He seems like a man of peace, but his words, his doctrine is straight out of the pit. So, part number three, point number three, how is the mark of the beast implemented?

False Religion as the Means of Enforcing the Mark

How will this go down? Well, false religion will be used. False religion will be used. Look at verse 12 of Revelation 13. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. So, he's like the Antichrist right-hand man, or like something we would understand as a vice president.

And I'm not saying anything, okay, I'm not implying anything there, just to be clear. But verse 13, in this false religion, has its own miracles, right, supposed signs and wonders. Verse 14, he appears to violate the second commandment in God's law by establishing a statue or an idol, a graven image.

But let me just say this, this is in the future, this could be well into the future. It's not necessarily a stone statue. With technology, this image of the beast could be anything. We have really no idea.

But what happens to those who refuse to worship it? They will be what? Killed. So, when it comes to the mark of the beast, at any time in history, this is true, the theories will depend on where you are in history.

If you ask somebody 1 ,500 years ago, they'd tell you one thing. You ask somebody today, well, what's the mark of the beast going to be? Tell me what this is going to be. The theories will kind of line up with the technology of the day.

That's not how you rightly understand the scripture, okay. So, we don't really know. Verse 16, we do know this, that the false prophet, he will cause all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads.

There's nothing symbolic about this. There's no reason to think this is symbolic. But why, you ask, why the right hand or the forehead? Well, the right hand is just convenient, right? It's right there.

But not everybody has a right hand. Some people, they're missing their right hand. Everybody's got a forehead, okay. If you're alive, you've got a forehead. What's the purpose of this? Well, there may be more to it, but along with the order to worship the image, this is a sign of submission.

It's a sign of submission. And basically, pledging your loyalty to the beast and to his beast system. You're either loyal to the empire or you're not. And if you're not, these people need to be, we need to rid the earth of these people.

That's the way it's going to be. So, this is a sign of a type of religious loyalty. This is basically the biggest cult the world has ever seen. It is documented that Christians faced something in the first century that was similar to this.

The earliest Christian creed, if you want to call it that, was simply, Jesus is Lord. Amen. Jesus is Lord. Every Christian would say that and amen that. Jesus is Lord. Well, you know what? Caesar didn't like that very much.

Caesar didn't really care for that because he saw people pledging their allegiance to this King Jesus. So, Caesar demanded that people, and there's these accounts of Christians and everybody, was told that they had to take a pinch of incense and offer it on a Roman altar and say, Caesar is Lord.

And if you didn't say, Caesar is Lord, guess what Caesar would do to you? You realize why Jesus was crucified, don't you? I mean there's a lot of bad news. I know this is, some of you will never see it.

I know a lot of you say, I'm never going to see this. I have a guarantee. And I do believe that God will take his church out of the world before he pours out his wrath. But there could be false converts that end up in the tribulation.

There will be people who are saved during the tribulation. Someone can say, well, I know I'm not going to be here. I hope not. It's possible. So, there is a lot of bad news in a message like this. What's the good news?

What's the good news? That God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So, Jesus died on the cross for your sins.

And he was raised the third day. So, if you believe that, if you believe the gospel, you don't have to worry about death, really. Because if you died, you'd go to heaven. Amen. But why was Jesus crucified?

Remember, his crime was written above his head on the cross. Matthew 27, verse 37. And they put up over his head the accusation written against him. This is Jesus, king of the Jews. Because he claimed to be a king.

And there could be no other king but Caesar. Jesus had to die. Based on that beast system. So, what's the mark of the beast? It's a sign of submission, an act of loyalty, a test of loyalty. It's a mark.

Who do you belong to? God or the devil? God or this world? So, hopefully, you're getting an idea of what the mark of the beast is all about. A test of loyalty. Are you loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, how could all this come about?

Religious Freedom Before the Demand to Worship the Beast

I suspect that the Antichrist and the false prophet will allow the people of this world to worship as they wish. I really believe that. I believe that the Antichrist will allow you to wear your headscarf or to go to your temple or to offer your incense or to have your prayer rug or to take your bread and your wine.

I believe the Antichrist will allow all sorts of religious freedom as long as you do this one thing. You bow down and worship me. That's the way it was in the first century. You think Caesar cared about what the Christians believed in their doctrine?

He didn't care. He just cared that you were submissive to him. That's what this is all about. You know, there is a story in the book of Daniel. We didn't have time to look at it. But there were three young men in Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Remember the story? Nebuchadnezzar, the king, the beast, if you will. And he lived like a beast for a while, ironically. He had this image set up. And it was declared to everybody. He didn't care what they ate.

Hey, pray and have your dietary laws, whatever. As long as you bow down to this image. And they didn't bow, did they? And what was the consequence for not bowing? That they would be thrown into the fiery furnace.

They said, king, we respect you. They were good citizens. But we're not going to bow. We're not going to bow to your idol. And, of course, the Lord spared them. Look at verse 17 of Revelation 13. We're almost done.

It says that no one may buy or sell except the one who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. So, basically, you won't be allowed to participate in society. You won't be allowed to shop in the grocery store.

You won't be treated in the hospitals. You won't be allowed to run a business. You probably won't even be able to keep a job during this time period if you refuse the mark. 50 years ago, people might have said, this isn't even practical to implement something like this.

Or this could never happen. That's not the way the world works. Nobody's saying that anymore. Because we all know now how fast the world can change. Oh, this isn't going to happen. Life just continues on the way it is.

Really? Listen, just so nobody misunderstands, or somebody might think that I'm trying to imply something. Because, as I said, there are some fringe theories. There are some conspiracy theories going around.

So, just so you hear me say it, I do not believe the mark of the beast is being implemented here and now, right now. Okay? This is in the tribulation. It's not happening yet. You all heard me say that?

Okay, good. You know, just look at the pressure. I do. I want to use the vaccine as an illustration. So, nobody freak out. Okay? You know the social pressure. These people are not getting it. They're what's wrong with society.

Now, your friends might not feel that way, but it's on cable news. Politicians are talking like that. If you don't get it, you are the problem. Take that social pressure and multiply it by 1 ,000. And that will be something like this pressure that if you don't take the mark, you are horrible.

And we need to do away with people like that. I'll probably cut that out of the sermon again. Should I leave it in or take it out? Who says leave it in? Who says take it out? I won't be mad if you say that.

I don't see any hands. Okay. What is the mark of the beast going to be? Well, as I said, there are theories. Some people think it's going to be a special kind of tattoo. Not tattoos in general. That's not it.

But a special type of tattoo or a microchip. You've heard all of these theories. Here's the bottom line. We don't know. Somebody tells you they know what the mark of the beast is, just write it down. They don't know.

666. What's that all about? We don't know. But in the end times, people will know. Revelation 14, verse 11. So we see the consequences of what it means to refuse the mark. You can't buy or sell. You might be killed.

Well, Revelation 14, 11 gives the consequence for taking the mark. It says, and the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever. And they have no rest day or night who worship the beast and his image.

And whoever receives the mark of his name. So in conclusion, the mark of the beast is a test of loyalty. So the question I want to leave you with. Are you loyal to the Lord? Or are you a fair weather follower?

If we can't remain loyal to the Lord while things are relatively good. Do you really think those people will stand strong in the light of this? We are facing similar tests right now. Smaller, much smaller tests.

Christians and churches are facing many tests of loyalty. Are you going to obey God and pledge your loyalty to him? Or will you side? Or are you siding with the beast system? We need to remain loyal to the Lord.

Amen. Amen. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message. Or if you'd like more information about the ministry. Visit our website, MorrisCornickChurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, with the grace of God be with you.