END TIMES

Antichrist: His Mark

OWNERSHIP IDENTIFICATION CONSEQUENCES LINKS

Nero Most people are very familiar with “666,” the mark, or number, of the beast. Fewer are aware of the details behind the mark, the Christian teaching on the verses in Revelation that describe the mark.

OWNERSHIP
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First and foremost, the mark can be considered a mark of ownership. When you have the mark, you belong to the Antichrist. In context, the mark appears to be coupled with alligence to the Antichrist and worship of the Antichrist. The Bible suggests it will be compulsory —

Rev 13:16-17 : 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

When I first became a Christian in the early 1970's, the mark was most often thought to be a tatoo of some sort that gave the bearer permission to “buy or sell,” to make purchases at their local grocery store, or anyplace else. It was most often compared with the numeric tatoos that inmates received in German concentration camps during World War II.

But midway through the 1970's, something new appeared at the local grocery store: the Universal Product Code, or UPC. As a result, Christian end-time books soon had followers of the Antichrist discard their tatoos for a UPC label placed squarely on their forehead or hand. Since that time, with the continuing advances in nanotechnology, the mark has disappeared altogther and is now just under the skin, a microchip, smaller than a grain of rice, waiting to be scanned.

Something else has also appeared since the 1970's: vast computer systems that are coming closer and closer to being linked together. The ultimate tool for total population control is now just around the corner.

IDENTIFICATION
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The classic image of the mark, the number 666 emblazoned on the forehead or hand of the Antichrist worshiper, could still come to pass, maybe as the default mark in an area where no computers or electronics are available. But there is more to 666 than just the mark —

Rev 13:18 : Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

“Six hundred threescore and six” is old English for “666.” It is apparent that the number is more than a mark, it is the “number of his name” (Rev 13:17). The Antichrist will be identified because his “name” will equal 666.

Knowing this, some Antichrist enthusiasts have been quick to nominate this or that individual as the beast based on odd combinations of letters and numbers in their names. For example, current Antichrist favorite Obama has 18 letters in his name. And 18, of course, is equal to 6+6+6. Some do that calculation one better and actually spell “Barack Hussein Obama” as “Barack Hussei Nobama.” There, that looks better: 3 names, 6 letters each, 6+6+6. With logic like that of course, after a bit of mashing and mangling, just about anybody could be the Antichrist.

If God is going to point to a name for Antichrist identification, he's going to use a decoding system that is generally accepted and is readily apparent to his people, the people he most wants to warn about the Antichrist. And who are God's people? They have always been the children of Jacob.

Hebrew is a language with a feature called “gematria” where each letter is assigned a numeric value. Greek is a similar language with an equivalent feature called “isopsephy.” Latin also has a letter/number system, but it is partial with most letters not having an assigned number. English has no such system. In my opinion, it is most likely that the number of the Antichrist's name will be seen through the Hebrew language.

Here is the Hebrew alphabet with the number assigned to each letter —

Alef	Bet	Gimel	Dalet	He	Vav	Zayin	Het	Tet
א	ב	ג	ד	ה	ו	ז	ח	ט
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Yod	Kaf	Lamed	Mem	Nun	Samekh	Ayin	Pe	Tsadi
י	כ	ל	מ	נ	ס	ע	פ	צ
10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90
Qof	Resh	Shin	Tav	Final Kaf	Final Mem	Final Nun	Final Pe	Final Tsadi
ק	ר	ש	ת	ך	ם	ן	ף	ץ
100	200	300	400	500	600	700	800	900

So how does this letter/number system work? Very simple. No mashing or mangling needed. For example, take the Hebrew word for “life” (known in English as “Chai”) —

חי

The Hebrew word for “Chai” has a numeric calculation that looks like —

(10 + 8) = 18

Because of this calculation, 18 is considered a positive, spiritual number in Judaism. Lucky number 18? Isn't 18 the number of letters in Obama's full name, the base calculation used to assign the number 666 to him? Maybe he isn't going to do so badly after all.

And what does Hebrew gematria actually say about Obama being the beast? According to Google Translate, “Barack Hussein Obama” translated into Hebrew is —

ברק חוסיין אובמה

If I'm not mistaken, the number of that name would be —

(5 + 40 + 2 + 6 + 1) + (700 + 10 + 10 + 60 + 6 + 8) + (100 + 200 + 2) = 1150

Not even close. I think we can safely say that Obama is not the Antichrist. But someone is coming soon whose name, when translated into Hebrew, will have a numeric calculation of 666.

CONSEQUENCES
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It may seem like fun and games now, trying to guess who the Antichrist might be, but when he finally does make his appearance, worshipping him and receiving his mark will have serious consequences —

Rev 14:9-11 : 9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

One of the ways the saints of God will be identified during the Great Tribulation will be not worshipping the Antichrist and not receiving his mark —

Rev 15:2 : And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

Special torments will be reserved for those who do have his mark —

Rev 16:2 : And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

And finally, at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation at Christ's return, only those dead who did not worship the Antichrist and did not receive his mark will be included in the first resurrection —

Rev 20:4-5 : 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

In the Gospels, Christ mentions that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgiveable —

Luk 12:10 : And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.

This blasphemey has come to be called “the unpardonable sin,” and Christians have speculated for years as to what the sin might be. To me, it looks like receiving the mark may be the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Eveything points to it being unforgiveable.

LINKS
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Antichrist — An introduction to the Antichrist and some guesses as to who he might be.

Antichrist: His Career — A look at the career of the Antichrist according to scripture.

Back to — Antichrist: His Names — A look at the names for the Antichrist found in scripture.

The Mark — A poem about the mark of the beast.

Chai (symbol) — Wikipedia article on the Hebrew word for “life.”

Hebrew Numbers — The I18nGuy's web page on Hebrew numbering and counting.