Revelation 13:18
NKJV - 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
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The simple answer is that if you get the mark of the beast then you are able to buy and sell things. Without the mark of the beast you are not able to buy and sell things. Rev 13:16-17 That might make life rather difficult because it cuts you off from all commerce and interaction in society and you may not be able to sustain yourself or your family in those circumstances. Such people will be faced with a choice then, either to accept the mark and take part in commerce or reject the mark and accept all that may mean. Regards Phil
I would answer this, by bringing in another question, who are the people that are on earth at the time of the beast to have to receive or not, the mark? I believe that only people who have not been taken in the rapture of the Church will be here, thus complicating there decision will be the fact, they were not born again, and were left behind to deal with the beast or antichrist and the economical system, put in place to survive after the catastrophes that occur in the tribulation. Revelation 3:10, Revelation 20:2-5 So to me, the answer is: Do not be here to have to experience the what happens to someone who receives the mark, but be born again now and avoid the the beast and the mark that will be demanded for commerce.
Before addressing the consequences of receiving the mark of the beast, it would make sense to explain what the beast’s mark is. Revelation 7:2-4 and Revelation 14:12 talks about God’s saints, people who will receive His seal. These people keep the commandments of God and the faith in Jesus (Rev 14:12) and are sealed by God, Those who received the mark of the beast are people who willfully are disobeying God with their thought and actions. The sign, or mark, for either God or the beast; it’s an invisible mark and has to do with who or what we worship and obey - the true God or a false religion. Though invisible to men, God will know who has which mark (2 Tim 2:19). Revelation 15 describes 7 angels with 7 bowls filled with God's wrath which are poured out just prior to Christ Second Coming. The saints who refused the mark of the beast are protected from the 7 last plagues. These plagues mirror the plagues poured out upon Egypt (Ex 7-11). In Exodus were 10 plagues: the first 3 affected everyone – the last 7 affected only the Egyptians, while God’s people (the Israelites) were protected. In the same way, God’s people will be protected during the Revelation last 7 plagues (Ps 91:3-10). The plagues on Egypt hardened Pharaoh’s heart and showed how their gods were unable to protect them. Similarly, the last plagues will harden the hearts of those having mark of the beast. The first plague inflicts painful sores exclusively on the worshipers of the beast. The second and third plagues affect the sea and the rivers and the springs of water, which turn into blood. Without water, humans cannot survive. The fourth plague affects the sun so that it scorches people, causing unbearable pain. Instead of repentance, they curse and blaspheme God. In Revelation 16:10-11 (Ex 10:21-23), the fifth plague will will bring darkness, pains and sores, and strikes the throne of the beast. The sixth plague will cause Euphrates River to dry up - this reflects the capture of ancient Babylon by Cyrus the Persian (Daniel 5) – when the Persians diverted the Euphrates and entered Babylon along the riverbed, taking the city by surprise. The symbolic drying up of the Euphrates (Rev 16:12) results in the collapse of Babylon. Euphrates in Revelation represents the world’s civil, secular, and political powers giving their support to Babylon, the drying up of the Euphrates symbolizes the withdrawal of their support and their subsequent attack against Babylon, causing its downfall. The seventh plague consists of great natural disasters, lightning and thunder and catastrophic earthquake (Rev 16:18). Babylon, the false religion, will fall and there will be devastating hailstones weighing up to a talent - approximately 100 pounds - (Rev 16:19-21).
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