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Biblical teachings on the mark of the beast, 666

By Prophet O. Azuka
19 April 2020   |   4:17 am
The mark of the beast, 666, has generated a lot of controversies in the social media, especially now that the whole world is in palpable fear and faced with a terrible deadly disease that has defied medical solution.

Prophet O. Azuka

The mark of the beast, 666, has generated a lot of controversies in the social media, especially now that the whole world is in palpable fear and faced with a terrible deadly disease that has defied medical solution. The controversy has worsened at this period that people are quarantined to their homes and are busy with their phones in search of information and facts about COVID-19. People type and post various misleading messages on the mark of the beast, 666.  

Surprisingly, people tend to be drawn away from God and concentrate on the number, rather than the mark. Many have forgotten that when they do anything that can damn their souls in hell, they have automatically identified and enlisted themselves with the mark of the beast. Ladies who wear trousers, attachment and paint their faces with different demonic colours have also taken the mark of the beast. People should see the mark of the beast beyond what the Bible says about the literal mark in the book of revelation: anybody who disobeys God and lives in sin with reckless abandon is a beast and has the mark of the beast, until such an individual repents and turns away from sin.

The fact is that we are in the church age, and nobody should expect the mark of the beast, 666 at this time. The church would have been taken away before the destruction that will come upon those that dwell upon the earth. After rapture, great tribulation will follow, according to the programme of God in the scriptures. During this period, the programme of anti-christ will unfold, which will culminate into the mark of the beast, 666. As long as the church is still here on earth, anti-christ cannot vent his wrath. The beast actually is a human government that will unite the whole world together into false peace with a rolled-out programme that will include identification mark with those who subscribe to the government. At that time, no one buys or sells without proper identification with the beast.

Rapture, which is the catching away of the saints, is what the church is waiting for and not the mark of the beast (1Thess. 4:13-18). Rapture does not make any special announcement than the preaching of the gospel that is ongoing today. Rapture will take the world by surprise because there won’t be any time for repentance, restitution, etc. The knowledge of this biblical fact is very important to help believers understand the time we are in, and to guard them against the heresies that are being peddled around.

As stated earlier, the activities of anti-christ and the revelation of that man of perdition cannot show up until the saints are taken away. The ‘saints’ here are not man-made saints, but those who have repented and are washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rom.1:7; 2Cor.13:13; Eph.3:18; Dan. 7:22; Psalm 50:5; 106:16;149:5). The saints, as contained in the above passages of the scriptures are the kind of people that will be raptured. It is only the blood of Jesus that washes away sins and qualifies one to be a saint and not a priest who ordains a dead man as a saint.

Armed with the above knowledge of the scriptures, a believer should not panic as a result of false stories and news flying across the social media. At a time like this, propaganda is one of the tools of the devil to mislead the feeble and contradict the Bible. Events and strange occurrences are bound to take place, but that does not mark the end of the world. These events are rather the fulfilment of the scriptures and preparation for the End of Time. Although the mystery of iniquity is very much at work, but the end of the world is not yet; it is rather the beginning of sorrow (Heb. 2:1; Matt. 24:4-8).

In the final analysis, the mark of the beast, 666, cannot take place now. What the church of Christ is waiting for is rapture; that is exactly the expectation of the saints. However, believers are called for readiness for rapture, as it has no time or date, while sinners should come to the Lord for repentance.

For further reading: Acts 1:8-9; 2:1-4,14-19,22-24,36-41; Isaiah 26:20; Rom.1: 7; 2Cor.13:13; Eph.3:18; Dan. 7:22; Psalm 50:5; 106:16;149:5; Phil. 4:21-22.
Worship with us at Kingdom Power International Christian Praying Center, 65, Oluwatedo Road, Off Isashi Bus Stop, Cell Road, Isashi, Ojo, Lagos. For more details visit us @www.kpicpc.org; Facebook@kpicpc.com, YouTube@kpicpc.com

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