Hebraic Musing – What does “The Mark”
really mean?
How many times have you heard
Christians claim they do not want to receive “The Mark”? However… first mention of “The Mark” in
Genesis refers to those destined to be cut off from the Lord. But the
Lord said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance
seven times over." Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. NIV[1] Genesis
4:15-16
In another example “The Mark” or
seal identifies His people. In Exod. 28:36-38 the priest is marked "Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it
as on a seal: HOLY TO THE Lord. … It will be on Aaron's forehead, …. so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.” In Deut. 6:8 God tells the faithful ones to
remember His Words by tying symbols
on your hands and foreheads. “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and
minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.” Dt. 11:18
The prophet Ezekiel expected “The
Mark” to be on the faithful and righteous ones. Ezek. 9:3-4
Then the Lord called to the man
clothed in linen … "Go throughout
the city of Jerusalem and put a mark
on the foreheads of those who grieve
and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it."
In Rev. 7:3 servants of God will
receive a seal (“The Mark”) on their foreheads, "Do
not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of
the servants of our God."
And that seal becomes protection for the faithful in Rev. 9:4 “They
were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but (harm) only those people who did not have the seal of God
on their foreheads.”
So how should we interpret Rev.
13:11-17? “Then I saw (the beast) … he deceived … was given power … and cause all
who refused to worship the image to be killed.
He also forced everyone…, 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.” What
answer do we get by applying wisdom because the next verse says “This calls for wisdom….” This is definitely
not “The Mark” we faithful Christians want to receive because Rev. 14:9-10 says,
“A third angel followed them and said in
a loud voice: ‘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’.” Those not
having “The Mark of the beast” seem to be the Faithful
Ones in Rev. 20:4, “I saw thrones on
which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the
souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and
because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and
had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
In the end, will God’s servants be
those with “The Mark” of Ha Shem (The
Name) on their foreheads. Rev. 22:4 “They
will see his face, and his name will
be on their foreheads.”
Now consider the conclusion from
Jesus’ parable in Matt. 13:29-30. “…while
you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At
that time I will tell the harvesters: ‘First
collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat
and bring it into my barn.’” Might that imply that the weeds will be taken
up first, leaving us, the wheat?
Two points to ponder
Why are we told of two distinctly different marks?
Are the “Weeds” to be taken up first?
What think you?
Yosef a.k.a. Joe Brusherd January 13, 2015
Books author “Hebraic Insights” and “Biblical Marriage”Weekly e-mails “Hebraic Musings”
Yosef1@cox.net or www.InsightsByYosef.com
No comments:
Post a Comment