The “Fuller” Understanding of the Mark of the Beast (Rev 13:14-18)

The (Passed) Historical vs. (Present) Eschatological Mark of the Beast

“Historical” Mark of the Beast

            That the Historical interpretation of the Mark of the Beast is, as taught by SDA’s: ‘Civilly Legislated and Enforced Sunday Sacredness and Worship’ is indeed Biblically founded and sound in itself, and this is readily concurred in this blog. That is indeed, in this limited Historical part, not at all disputed in this blog post, or this entire “Theologial Views” blog. However the operative word here is: “Historical”. And there will be much more on this later. What is being particularly address in the first part of this post on the Mark of the Beast, is the, either believed, or seriously considered/pondered view (see e.g., in this David Asscherick Prophecy sermon (#20) [mp3] [10:45-14:48ff]) that, effectively, the Mark of the Beast will be, and actually is (secretly and/or decidedly), knowingly being set up by Catholic/Jesuit “subversives” who are increasingly infiltrating democratic governments, particularly the government of the United States of America. 

             I have previously dealt with such a purported conspiracy scenario (see in this forum discussion, and also throughout this blog post), and, as indeed prophesied in the SOP, my “trumping card” in these discussions, has been: for the proponents of these indeed shallow conspiracy views, to show exactly (i.e., realistically) just how, even a government made up completely of Catholic “subversives” (i.e., people elected through calculated false pretenses and covered up real agenda), would ever make the general democratic population ever obey any religious law that these elected ones may pass, if this general population, if in a majority, itself does not want to. Even Law Enforcement, up to the full blown Military would not necessarily go along with these democratically opposed laws, even if ordered to through, in e.g., the U.S., Constitutional provisions such as the Posse Comitatus Act).[1] While this Law may indeed be only present and/or upheld in the United States, this in turn leads to a second level of practical impossibility to geo-politically enforce such a ‘“New World Order” under the leadership of the Vatican’ without the participation of the United States.

            In other words, even if all of the world’s countries joined this New World Order (NWO), but the USA refused to do so, -choosing to maintain a separation between Church and State, given the present, and for the foreseeable future, geo-militaristic realities, where the U.S. virtually (i.e., all armament capabilities considered) spends just as much money on its military as the rest of the world combined (i.e., U.S. $663B vs. rest of the World $904B) this ‘rest of the World’ would not be able to force the U.S. to participate in the NWO. Conversely, the U.S. may not be able to overturn this world stance, if, of course, solely conventional (i.e., non-nuclear) warfare is to be involved, and, indeed, given the current state of ‘guaranteed second strike’ and ‘mutually assured destruction’, it is highly unlikely that any nuclear armed country will dare resort to a nuclear option in such, or any conflict. So at best, the World would be in this NWO, but the U.S. would not. Keep in mind that this scenario is all stemming from the current virtual democratic/political realistic impossibility for e.g, the U.S., and also many other well-established democracies to force their population to follow Vatican-dictated directives through, even elected, Catholic subversives, though present, and that temporarily (i.e., until a scheduled next or forced election) in their State/National governments. Indeed, in most Federal Democracies, this ‘Catholic takeover’ would also be at the State/Provincial Level since these sovereignly empowered governments can overturn a National/Federal Government and/or any of its laws/decisions, if it deems it necessary.

            Interestingly enough, the only way in which such an extreme NWO vs. U.S. could potentially have any “teeth”, would be in the economic arena. I.e., if these other countries decided to shut the U.S. out of global economic activity. However given the current state of U.S. strongly impacted, and even “led”, global economic entrenchment, this would also become an (economic) “nuclear option”, because many of these countries would greatly, financially and variously tangibly, suffer if the U.S., was suddenly removed from its economic affairs. The U.S. itself would greatly suffer, however mainly in terms of its outsourcing of jobs and the linked, resulting importing of cheaper manufactured goods. However given the many other savings that would result with current, virtually one-way, U.S. expenditures/aid to foreign countries and affairs, this tax money, now entirely domestically spent, if then even collected, would surely offset these trade losses. Furthermore, the U.S. makes a significant amount of money from the sales of military equipment to foreign countries. So if these here became enemies of the U.S., such sales would surely be cut off, but the resulting, even if partial, armament vacuum, would become a significant, even strategic, military advantage to the U.S. if, again on the probable ‘conventional warfare only’ level, it should decide to take advantage of it and subdue, as it presently can through it great advantage in potent, global militaristic projection, these opposing countries. The likely turnout will surely be that these opposing countries will prefer to align themselves with the U.S. and its stance than follow a relatively “teethless”, religiously-based, civil freedom-curtailing, Vatican New World Order initiative.

            So all this to say that unless all democracies, including Western ones, and particularly the United States’, either ideologically and functionally completely collapse, where the populations in these countries, at the very least, do not even care to oppose this subversive Catholic takeover, then it will never come to pass through such “Catholics-election” means. And in many ways, given the current state of affairs it is highly unlikely that people (i.e., the current ca. 6 billion non-Catholics in the world), will freely decide to wholeheartedly convert to Catholicism, even in part (i.e., Sunday Observance) barring something supernatural. Indeed, even if Christians decided to enforce, at least, Sunday worship, it is unlikely that the rest of the world (e.g., Russia, China, the Muslim and Hindu World = ca. 4.2 billion people) will follow in step without a supernatural impetus to do so. Militaristically speaking, the “battle” here for a forced Religious NWO imposition would, at least, be fierce, and may ultimately be stalemated by the ever-present nuclear threat.

            So this does leave as the only valid impetus to produce such a New World Order scenario as the Supernatural one (GC 589-591ff[2]), and in that case, that cannot be done at all without the will, action and/or permission of God. I.e., ‘Satan cannot impersonate Christ and convince the world, through various supernatural feats, to, at least observe Sunday or give obedience to the Papacy,’ (GC 624ff) if God does not allow it. Rev 7:1-3 shows that God is in full control of such, ‘Earth overturning developments.’ Heck, demons cannot even say what they want to say if God does not permit it (e.g., Mark 1:34b; cf. Luke 9:1; 10:17; Acts 16:17, 18). So the real issue will be: ‘will God permit these supernatural events to take place, particularly in a wave of “Super”-natural disasters as prophesied in the SOP, to cause these people to believe that only a “return to God,” and that under the Papacy and its, historically proven, though spurious (Dan 7:25) “sign of authority” in religious matters in, at the very least, Sunday Sacredness, which most non-Catholic Christian currently already wholeheartedly and freely observe. If such “Super”-natural disasters were to occur, then surely, the Spiritualistic and the sealing ‘impersonation of Christ by Satan’ would occur and here cause the rest of the world to also follow this now supernaturally confirmed New World Order. In that light, any remaining countries/people who still would not want to go along would suffer economic sanctions, and then capital punishments. So indeed, as prophesied, the world, through this combination of Supernatural-led Religious, Economic and Temporal means would come to subject themselves, either by will, or by force, to this New World Order. However the indispensable key here is the Supernatural aspect. If God does not allow it to come to pass, this (EGW-SOP) End Time/Final Event scenario will not literally come to pass as such.

            So... will God allow these supernatural events to take place so that these EGW-SOP delineated Final Events will take place as so prophesied?? The succinct answer here, -succinct due to the copious reasons already priorly given throughout this blog, is: ‘given the “circumstances on the ground” where the Gospel Commission of Jesus Christ, which fully incorporates the Three Angel’s Message, has not been fully, nor properly, given, nor statistically advanced, also resulting in a variously opportune window to pass, God will not allow these “Four Winds” to blow on the Earth, and, as a consequence, time will be prolonged so that this absolutely crucial and necessary, Earth-cultivating and reaping work can properly be done, especially to naturally (i.e., without any supernatural compellation) properly and consciously deal with and counter the current, post-modern, and economy-over-religion/morals state-of-mind of the world today. So in short, SDA’s had, since the latter days of EGW, during ca. 1908- ca. 1996, a chance to make this “Historical” delineation of Prophetic Events come to pass, however they were not able to capitalize on this graceful opportunity. So, just as OT prophecy came to lose their literal fulfillment due to the shortcoming of Literal Israel, and also, most recently, with the first generation of SDA’s (up to ca. 1908), most, if not all, ‘literal Historical’ application of End Time prophecy will similarly have to be replaced by a, nonetheless, equally applicable, though now spiritual Eschatological, wave of applications; -applications which, through the prescient Prophetic Wisdom of God Almighty, will most fittingly deal with the current, natural, prominent and dominant world issues presently at hand, and due to continue to unfold, -indeed, especially as any supernatural element will deliberately not be injected into these affairs. (See a blog posts indexing of these Eschatological expositions here).

            So in summary of this first part here:

-The quasi-hysterical beliefs that ‘Catholics are seeking to subvert democracy and force the general population to obey the will of the Papacy’ will not happen as so envisioned (if that was their actual intentions), or fancifully speculated.

-The probability of the general population, namely non-Catholics to suddenly subject themselves to the Papacy and/or have imposed on them Religious dictates through Legislation is also not likely to “naturally” happen.

-Furthermore, given the fact that Protestants and Catholics foundationally stand at polar opposites in socio-economic matters, with (Conservative) Protestants being, for the most part, staunch Capitalists; while Catholics, for the most part, especially at the head of the Church, where it ultimately counts in that system, favoring Socialism (even Religiously as seen in their spiritualistic “Liberation Theology”), it is thus further unlikely that such (Conservative) Protestants would moreover abandon their democratic freedoms to be subject to a purely Socialistic Catholic Religious Authority.

-And also since the Gospel/Three Angels work is lethargically deficient, and literally, falling further and further behind daily, it is indeed not likely that God will allow such influential supernatural events, which would actually only serve to unfairly doom over 99% of the world to sure destruction as they would not have had intelligently known the Final Testing Truths in this GC.

           

            So in short, as stated throughout this blog, the Final Events that were revealed to EGW for the Historical Wave of Bible prophecy, (namely the book of Revelation), have, and will only, come to naught, and that, due now to the failings of the current SDA Church (i.e., the 1908-1996 Church). This “Historical Wave” of prophetic interpretations will however be replaced by the even greater Eschatological Wave of fulfillments. For those who unBiblically believe that God does not have the authority or power to do so intervene in prophetic history (e.g., through a false understanding that the future is set in stone, or is even exists, for that matter), and thus that He is helplessly bound to the literal pronouncement of the spoken prophecies that He Himself had previously related, -this will only seem to be outright heresy, or at best, greatly misunderstood. So like Ancient Israel who, on the borders of Canaan, could not accept the prolonged wilderness punishment for their faithlessness, thus still tried to conquer the “Promised Land” through their own power, as they effectively had previously also seen was the only way this would be done in their refusal to do what God had asked of them, which He then would have been able to supernaturally intervene to help them as the need was, similarly “presumptuous and rebellious SDA’s” will not only suffer utter defeat, through now actually blind and selfish act, no matter how religiously and sanctimoniously dressed up they may be, but will also put at great risk the cause of God. So, just for the sake of that latter GC threat, don’t expect God to even begin to spiritually awaken such indolent Laodiceans so that they can seek to, or continue to seek to do the work of God according to their spurious and variously Capitalistically-laden and spiritually-confused” ways, but rather let them sleep on, thus only putting themselves at risk. The answer for a Global Church is not a handful of missionaries and mere public proclamations of intellectual truths, but the entire and whole involvement of the Church and its various resources/institutions in the Full Gospel Mandate work. Producing brainwashed slaves in support of the self-over-inflated Capitalistic economy, so that they can return 10% is only a masterful, Sabbath opposing, delusion of Satan for the true Person of Christ. (= the spiritual/Eschatological fulfillment of GC 624ff). And as it was demonstrated in the Apostolic Church, the Holy Spirit (= the Latter Rain) is given to those who obey God. (Acts 5:32).

Eschatological “Mark of the Beast”

            Much has already been, interspersely, said in this blog on the Fuller/Eschatological Mark of the Beast. So here this view will be succinctly stated here:

           

-God’s Sabbath involves much more than observing the correct day in the correct way. It also, more extensively involves, more than just a “surface demonstration/profession” of legislative adherence or honouring of God and His Law.

-From the beginning, God intended His Sabbath and Law to have a most tangible practical application and demonstration in the lives of those who profess to adhere to it towards other people. Indeed it was to be made manifest in a tangible Love of God and of Others that, in the first case, wholly obeys all that God has said and in the second, derived case, treats others as one would want to be treated if, particularly, the needs tables were turned.

-As seen in e.g., Isa 58, the Sabbath was meant to provide a socio-economic rest to people in need, thus helping to socially restore this fallen world, as much as possible, to a perfect/righteous state of interpersonal affairs, to some extent as it was after God’s perfect creation. So, if that was achieved, people dying of preventable diseases and global problems would not be an issue, as also would the murder of infants through abortions, mainly for the sake of the Capitalistic economic system.

-As shown in this post, and this one, adherence to Capitalism comes to: (1) stand against this Sabbatical socio-economic desire and Gospel mandate of God, and (2) completely make void His Ten Commandments. So professed believers who claim to obey this Law but choose to, e.g., let people suffer and die of preventable and curable causes, that they could actually remedy, are themselves violators of God’s Law.

-As such Capitalism, is the root issue in the Eschatological Mark of the Beast, just like Sunday Sacredness is for the (now passed) Historical application.

-Capitalism, currently an unwritten law, will concretely become the Mark of the Beast, if/when it is imposed on people by formal law, which will be enforced by economic sanctions, indeed leading to, through such economic shunnings (i.e., buying and selling prohibitions), the deaths of anyone who does not go along with it.

-Such formal and strong arm approaches will come to pass, as e.g., hinted by the frenzied, emotionally surcharged, hysteria in the U.S. at a purported “Socialist takeover” by the Obama administration, and also past Democratic Socialist implementations (e.g., Social Security, Economic Regulations, Health Care), when a Shaking-surviving, Remnant Church group, established by the work of the 144,000 to then form the Church Triumphant and seek to uphold and tangibly implement these Biblical socio-economic Sabbatical principles and Laws of God, by seeking to do all that is possible to help those in need in the world, as it indeed can be done, including would-be aborted infants. They thus will be deliberately shunning the spuriously/artificially-limiting Capitalistic economic practices, particularly within themselves, as directed by God in the Bible.

-Here will be the “trial of faith” of those who want to here truly walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ vs. those, including the majority of SDA’s, who see nothing wrong with continuing to live by, and endeavoring to doing the work of God through, various Capitalistic means, and as, and only as, that god-like system allows for. (Luke 16:13)

-This “Enforced Capitalism” is the “image” that the Second Beast (the U.S. and/or Western Powers) makes to the First Beast (the Papacy) eschatologically fulfilling  Rev 13:14-18. Notice in vs. 15 that it is that “image of the Beast” made to “come alive” by that Second Beast that itself “speaks and causes” those who do not go along with it, whether rich or poor, to variously suffer harm. So it really is neither the First Beast nor the Second one who themselves do this, but that “Image” (i.e., enforced Capitalism) that does this of its own. (See more on this in this post).

            Much more can be said here to show exactly how this Fuller/Eschatological Mark of the Beast understanding does fully replace the now passed Historical one in terms of being now the main focus for Final Events, (indeed in many ways, as God knew, it being more interpretationally accurate than the passed, and at times incomplete fulfilled Historical understandings, cf. e.g., this post), however those specifications are deliberately withheld here, because there is a, supposed-to-be, independent, clearly present, and faith and love motivated, Gospel of Jesus Christ work to naturally accomplish for the truly “born from above” and ‘unmovably sealed’ disciple of Jesus Christ. (Matt 25:31-46).

Notes

[1] The recent regime overturn in Egypt is a perfect example of this. If the military had not sided with the people, the will of that regime would have triumphed over the will of most of the general population. Indeed as it began to forcefully be the case in Libya until a UN-mandated force intervened on the side of the people.

            Indeed as seen in urban riots (as the recent 2011 Vancouver riots) where, in most democratic countries, only riot police force is used, there is not much police can do during the actual “battle” to put down the opposing mob force. How much worse if that mob is armed with deadly weapons such a handguns. And with e.g., America being the “most armed country” with ca. 90 (various types of) firearms per 100 people, its civilian population can easily become a potent and bindingly overwhelming and overtaking militia force.

[2] Involved in this supernatural heightening are preceding super-natural disasters, and just judging by the way people on the Right Wing of the Political Spectrum in, e.g., the U.S., candidly, defaultly see even natural disasters as ‘judgements from God’ (see e.g. here), then it can be seen how a heightened ‘non-natural’ incidence of them will indeed impel these people to seek to ‘fully conform their life and ways according to God will, as they understand it’ and that thus would ultimately, if not straightly, involve them enforcing the obedience of the Ten Commandments, and thus also their Sunday Substitution for the 7^th Day Sabbath of the 4^th Commandment.