The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Mark Hitchcock on the Mark of the Beast

Mark Hitchcock

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Will technology be involved in the Mark of the Beast?

Dr. David Reagan and I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Mark Hitchcock on the show Christ in Prophecy. Mark is a leading Bible prophecy expert, prolific author who has penned over 20 books on the end times, senior pastor of Faith Bible Church located in Oklahoma, and adjunct faculty member of the Dallas Theological Seminary. He is also a much in demand speaker at Bible prophecy conferences all over the nation.

Dr. Hitchcock was invited to answer questions based his book Cashless: Bible Prophecy, Economic Chaos, and the Future Financial Order. It concerns the world presently teetering on financial chaos, global interdependency, and modern technology all converging in such a way that a cashless society and one-world economy are not only possible, but inevitable.

Technology and the Mark of the Beast

“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, 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

Dr. Hitchcock: I believe the Bible makes it clear the Mark of the Beast will be very simple. The Mark the Bible says will be upon the right hand or the forehead. That it is “upon” is especially clear in the Greek.

People generally have failed to understand the two main purposes of the Mark of the Beast.

Revelation 13:18 tells us the Mark will be the numerical value of the name of the Antichrist. When people take that mark they are taking his name on themselves. And so, first and foremost, the Mark of the Beast will be a global pledge of allegiance or an oath of loyalty that one is accepting the Antichrist as God. This is a spiritual issue, as people will either choose Antichrist or they will choose Christ.

The secondary purpose of the Mark of the Beast will be to serve as a commercial passport used in business transactions.

Barcode as Mark of the Beast

Taking the Mark will be the one time in history when choosing sides will be a clear cut decision. A person will choose whether they are on the Antichrist’s side when they take his mark, or by rejecting that mark are telling the world that they are instead aligning themselves with Jesus Christ.

To reject the Mark, though, means one will of course have to pay the consequences. As Revelation 14:9-11 tells us:

“If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 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. 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.”

These verses say that once a person takes the Mark they are doomed. There is no going back and no hope for salvation.

One thing that is important everyone remembers today and that we need to be clear on is that nothing today is the mark of the beast. People can get so afraid that their social security card or this and that is the Mark of the Beast. The Mark of the Beast will be given out after the Rapture. It will be something that people will know they are taking. Those left behind will be making a conscious choice, and we know this because God is going to hold them eternally accountable for what they decide. People don’t need to worry that they are going to somehow take the Mark accidentally.

A lot of the technology today may be leading towards controlling what people buy and sell, but nothing today is the Mark of the Beast. People today do not need to be afraid of the Mark, and we don’t need to be afraid of technology. Technology ultimately is a tool. If it is used rightly it is a good thing. Ultimately, all technology will fall into the hands of the Antichrist — the man who declares himself to be God — and He will use it for evil purposes.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

16 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • Nathan

    I have been musing this over with a friend. The Church is said to be the Temple made up of ‘living stones’. In history there have never been two ‘God accepting’ Temples operational at the same time.

    People are excited the Temple is ready to be rebuilt, and as it will one day be desecrated by the Abomination of Desolation, this fact means it must be accepted by God as His genuine Temple in order for it to be said to be ‘desecrated’?

    I realise the Samaritans had a Temple, yet it cannot have been acceptable to God because it was not according to the instructions given to Moses. So it was a fake.

    Herod’s Temple was still standing when the Church became ‘The Temple’ but God had torn the veil from heaven to earth in Herod’s Temple, rendering it finished with.

    Is this further evidence that the Church, as The Temple, must be removed before there can ever be another acceptable functioning Temple?
    E.I.

  • I think you make a good point, E.I. 1 Cor. 16:9 indeed tells us that the believers' bodies are "a temple of the Holy Spirit." Those Temples will be removed before the Third Temple in Israel is built.

    On a side note, the Third Temple won't be acceptable to God, for it will continue to operate without the Messiah. When Jesus returns, He'll build a proper new Millennial Temple (Ezek. 40-48).

  • Thanks Nathan,

    I am feeling so excited about this because the Trib Temple seems so near to being built. Although the Rapture is imminent, it feels that time is running out very quickly, so it cannot be too much longer?

    I was also thinking of 1Peter2 concerning Jesus being the cornerstone of the ‘spiritual house’ and the Church in Vs.5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

    There is something about 2Chron.5 as well. Before Solomon’s temple went into service, the priests took the tabernacle and its artefacts into the new Temple. As well as the ark being placed into the Holy Place, it appears the whole Tabernacle was also taken into the Temple? In vs.12 it says there were 120 priests gathered vs. 14 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

    This is just like the day of Pentecost as there were 120 disciples gathered in prayer and supplication, when the Holy Spirit came upon them as fire (Shekinah?) Acts 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty),

    Just as when Solomon’s Temple was dedicated to God, so was the Church similarly dedicated to be the new Temple. At the Rapture, the Church being taken into heaven may be akin to taking the former place of worship, the tabernacle, into the Temple for safe keeping?

    It can’t be much longer to wait can it? This thought helps to make 'thing's' more bearable!
    Maranatha!
    E.I.

  • I've heard all my life that we, our bodies, are the temple…Must take care of the temple…etc. This is so very exciting to think on how it fits with end time prophecy.
    Another interesting point with this revelation is that we the church(temple) will be removed before the consecration of the re-built temple in Jerusalem, or even before being built.

  • forgive me for continuing on the temple but a question that begs to be answered is: if its an apostate temple (which i think it is) why is it referred to as the temple of God twice and the most holy place? and why would the desecration be considered an abomination?

  • and not to "spiritualize" the mark, but i think some people have it in their heart before its even in place. (2 thess ch 2) just a thought. (perhaps a silly one)

  • hart… I'm with you on that one — "a question that begs to be answered"!

    I think the short answer is cuz God said so in Daniel. 9:27 and in Matthew 24:15.

    The devout Jews are very meticulous in trying to get everything back in proper order so they can get their God back. The Temple will be built & dedicated to Him and by His wording He obviously claims it for Himself.

    You have to remember that even though the Glory departed back in Ezekiel's day, the Temple still belonged to God until it was destroyed in 70 AD. Even Jesus on earth referred to it as "my Father's house" John 2:16, and "My house" Matthew 21:13…

    When they put the Ark of the Covenant back into the inner sanctuary, it will be "the most holy place" again, even though His Shekinah will not be present there and when ol' A/C enters it in defiance of God they will know that this is the abomination that they have been warned to watch for.

  • hartdawg said…
    "forgive me for continuing on the temple but a question that begs to be answered is: if its an apostate temple (which i think it is) why is it referred to as the temple of God twice and the most holy place? and why would the desecration be considered an abomination?"

    Hartdawg I have the same question! It seems to me that with the Church gone, God will still be being praised ‘in error or in truth’ in the Temple.

    The Shekinah sp? had left Solomon’s Temple because of idolatry; Herods Temple did not hold the Ark of His presence, yet Jesus still called it ‘My Father’s house’. In both instances God seemed grieved but not ‘quenched’, as can happen to us, but God seemed to acknowledge the building was there to worship Him as an outward, physical witness to the world at large?

    Although Jesus was rejected by Israel, I think the same may apply to the Tribulation Temple as the others did? Which may be why it can be 'desecrated'???
    E.I.

  • E.I. said… "The Shekinah sp? had left Solomon’s Temple because of idolatry…"

    Musta fallen asleep during that lesson…
    So when did it come back cuz Ezekiel sees the Glory departing past the east gate in Ezekiel 11:23?

    If they haven't already done so, this would be a great topic for Dr. David & Nathan to cover in an article following this series.

    [Meanwhile, the crowd starts clamoring for more:
    David! David! David! ]
    ;-D

  • DrNofog
    I'm not too clear on what you are saying about 'when did the Shekinah 'come back'?

    It didn't as far as I am aware, neither was it in Herod's Temple UNTIL Jesus came in person!
    I consider it was the Shekinah that appeared on the heads of the disciples at the birth of the Church in Acts 2 and each person is part of The Temple of the Holy Spirit.

    I'm not sure if that is a help or not, please ask again if I can help or need to correct myself.
    Thanks
    E.I.

  • E.I. said… "The Shekinah sp? had left Solomon’s Temple because of idolatry…"

    Where is that, cuz I only find the Glory 1st departing in Ezekiel 9, 10, 11?

    See Nathan's post/link above.

  • DrNofog

    Oh I S-E-E! Because of IDOLATRY!

    I may be wrong then, I shall have a gander and check it out. Something about God telling Ezekiel to dig under the wall of the Temple (vision I think)- priests with hidden idols, all sorts of mucky stuff going on.

    As it is has gone 2.00am, I must get to bed, I shall check it out tomorrow. God willing!
    E.I.

  • DrNofog

    I hope this may explain?

    Brief breakdown of Ezekiel 8-11

    In vision God takes Ezekiel to the north gate of the court and sees there an idol that promotes to jealousy, possibly Asherah set up by Mannaesah ?

    God shows Ezekiel a hole in the wall (neglect) to dig under the wall into the Temple court and shows him various secret idolatries and greater and greater abominations being practiced in the Temple.

    Worshiping the creatures not their Creator. Israel did the same in Egypt 9 plagues were against these gods, flies, lice, frogs … (Evolution and the curse upon the nations for doing this see Romans 1:20 – .Result = God gives them over to their homosexuality)

    70 elders say that God has departed the land so He cannot see them.

    Woman worshiping Tammuz (Adonis) with their bodies.

    Priests turning their backs on God’s altar to worship the sun in the east.

    Many idols of Israel hidden there.

    God wants those in Babylon to know they are there at His displeasure because of the Temple defilement with idololotry.

    Reason for the GRADUAL departure of the Shekinah, begun at the time of Josiah until the glory finally leaves the Temple and Israel in Ezekiel 11. Ichabod.

    After re-reading Ezekiel, I checked my facts by taking advantage of Chuck Misslers message ‘Ezekiel: The Four Oracles of Doom; Ezekiels Vision of the People’s Sins.’

    http://www.khouse.org/6640/CD008-3/

    o.k. or not?
    E.I.

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