We’ve written previously about the Mark of the Beast. If you don’t know, it’s a prophecy found in Revelation 13:16-18, which predicts a time where people won’t be able to buy or sell without a mark in their hand or head. You can watch a short video about the Mark of the Beast here:
There are few prophecies about the end times more relevant than the one about the Mark. And that is because we can see the prophecy literally taking shape before our eyes. In many ways, you need not even be a ‘believer’ to see it. The prophecy predicts a cashless, biometric economy; Stevie Wonder could probably see that’s where the world is heading.
More than just predicting what’s coming on the earth, however, the prophecy comes with a serious warning: anyone who accepts the Mark will receive the unmitigated wrath of God. (Revelation 14:9-10) The Mark seems to crystallize the ultimate choice between God and money; between the Creator of the universe, and a tool created by man for trade. And remember: according to Jesus, when it comes to God vs money, you can only choose one. (Matthew 6:24)
So, if the Mark of the Beast is right around the corner, and God has promised stiff punishments for any who accept it, what is the solution to live without it? For us, the solution is described in a phrase: live by faith.
Living by faith is a concept taught explicitly in Scripture in a few different places. (Romans 1:17, Hebrews 10:38, Galatians 3:11) And, while He didn’t name it as such, Jesus also taught the concept. (Matthew 6:25-33) But sadly, it’s something we don’t see practiced much today. There simply aren’t many modern samples of the theory for people to model. No wonder Jesus asked if, when He returns, He would find faith on the earth. (Luke 18:8)
So what does it mean to live by faith? Well, it starts by dropping out of “the system”. And by the system, we’re referring to the structure of this present world, especially as relates to the economy; but which reaches into all things political and (at least superficially) religious too. Jesus taught for people to literally drop out – to forsake all – as a prerequisite for being His follower. (Luke 14:33) And while many believers may like the comforts and material benefits allegiance to “Egypt” brings, God is calling for us to “come out of her, my people”, in allegiance to a better, heavenly kingdom. (Revelation 18:4)
Jesus described the contrast in His Sermon on the Mount. In the middle of that sermon, He described the difference between atheists and believers – between people who trusted in God, and those who trusted in the System – and He did so with amazing insight and clarity. He said the key distinction wasn’t which day of the week they worshipped God on, whether they spoke in tongues, or even how they approached baptism. Instead, Jesus said this:
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Did you catch that? According to Jesus, the key distinction between “Gentiles” and those with faith is that Gentiles seek how they will feed and clothe themselves. But true believers don’t. This is an important point for faith in general, but especially in relation to the Mark of the Beast prophecy.
So, earlier in this post, we asked the question of how to survive the end times without the Mark. I’m only going to look at two alternative approaches here – both of which are wildly popular among people familiar with the prophecy – and finish with a third approach… one more consistent with what Jesus taught.
Approach 1: Stock Up & Prep
I would say this is by far the most popular form of “preparation” to survive without the Mark of the Beast. And that is the idea of stocking up big on supplies so you can survive the end without needing to buy or sell.
On a human level, I appreciate the rationale. You know the end is coming, and you know you won’t be able to buy or sell in that time. You know you need to eat to survive, and so you pour all your resources into stock-piling supplies. You buy drums of water, fill your pantries with dry goods, buy candles and toilet paper – anything you think you might want or need – and then you stockpile them, and keep them safe. If your ‘barns’, or storage space, is not large enough to accommodate everything you’ve bought, you tear them down and build bigger.
But before you rush too fast into this instinctive approach to survival, ask yourself: how consistent is this with the life and teachings of Jesus? You see, in Luke’s Gospel we hear Jesus tell a parable about a rich fool. (Luke 12:13-21) In the parable, the ground of a certain rich man yielded a big harvest. So much so that he didn’t even have place to store his crops. Rather than taking that as a prompt to share his abundance with others, he had another idea: tear down his barns to build bigger ones!
This rich fool told himself that with bigger barns for storage, he would have plenty laid up in store for years. But the irony is that the rich fool was going to die that very night: then who would own all the stuff he had been stock-piling? The lesson is simple: stock-piling is not a Christian solution for surviving without the Mark, nor is it consistent with living by faith in God.
Approach 2: Trust in the Rapture
Another, maybe equally dangerous approach to preparing for the Mark of the Beast is this: trusting in the rapture. For context, the rapture is an event most biblical scholars would agree is described in the Bible… most notably in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. (Another commonly quoted passage is 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.)
I won’t bother to expound on the rapture in this post, as that’s not the subject of this article. I’ll just say it describes believers being caught up in the air to meet Christ at “the end of the world”, and before God pours out His final wrath. Most believers don’t argue about whether or not there is a rapture. What they do argue about, instead, is this: whether the Rapture happens before or after the Great Tribulation.
If you are reading this now, I will assume you are familiar with the Tribulation as described in the Bible. It is a period of 1,260 days, 42 months, or 3.5 years mentioned in multiple places in the Scripture, describing the most troublesome time period in human history. A time so bad that, according to Jesus, unless the days were shortened, no one would survive it. (Matthew 24:22)
So, for those not ‘prepping’ – stockpiling goods – to survive the coming Mark, the most popular alternative is this: believing we will all be raptured before the coming Tribulation, and before the Mark of the Beast is instituted. There are two main flaws (at least) with this approach, which I will highlight here.
The first flaw is that, even if the Rapture does occur before the Great Tribulation (that is, if believers are whisked away before any of the Trouble starts), there is nothing in the Bible stating that the Mark of the Beast is implemented after the Great Tribulation starts. In other words, no clear biblical support exists to say that only after Christians are raptured, and after the Great Tribulation begins, then will the Mark of the Beast prophecy come into fruition. If anything, the Bible implies the opposite.
The second flaw is that this approach is built on another assumption: that Christians will be raptured before the Great Tribulation. Again, I don’t want to deviate too much into discussion over the Rapture here, since the topic of this article is the Mark of the Beast and living by faith. Just suffice it to say that Jesus taught the rapture happens after the Great Tribulation, not before. (Matthew 24:29) And that the majority of arguments in favor of a pre-tribulation rapture are spurious at best, and blatantly dishonest at worst.
Look at it like this: if you as a believer are preparing to endure the Great Tribulation, and find that God raptures you before any of the Trouble starts, you have lost nothing. If, on the other hand, you are assuming you will be whisked away before any of the Trouble starts, and later find that you were wrong…
A Better Way
So if the solution is not to be found in prepping nor a pre-tribulation rapture theology, what is the solution? Again, like we said at the start of this article, the solution is to live by faith.
When God led the children of Israel across the desert for 40 years, and provided for them and kept them safe throughout, He didn’t need money to do it.
When He saved Noah and his family from a coming flood, provided for Elijah in the midst of persecution, fed 5,000 men… when God did all of these great acts recorded in Scripture, He did so without needing money. He showed that He is so much more powerful… all powerful. And that money – the ultimate idol which man greedily covets after – can only imitate His providing nature. But it’s a cheap imitation. There’s only One real provider – one Jehovah Jireh – and that’s the Creator of the universe.
When Jesus taught for people to stop worrying about food & clothes, and to seek first God’s kingdom instead, He was teaching us to live by faith. When He said the way to have treasures in heaven was by selling what we have and giving to the poor, He was teaching us to live by faith. (Matthew 19:21) When He said for us to help those who can’t pay us back, He was helping us to live by faith. (Luke 14:12-14) And when He said “freely ye have received, freely give”, He was again teaching us to live by faith. (Matthew 10:8)
Living by faith is the ultimate solution to surviving the end times without the Mark of the Beast. Not stockpiling foods that might get stolen or rot and spoil before you can use them. Not wishfully thinking on the basis of one or two proof-texts that you’ll be raptured before the trouble starts. Not buying into the lie that the prophecy has already been fulfilled, hence rendering a literal interpretation null and void. None of those approaches will prepare you to survive the darkest days in the history of the planet. It’s the metaphorical equivalent of building your house on sand – it won’t survive what’s soon to come. (Matthew 7:24-27)
Instead, the solution to surviving the end times without the Mark of the Beast is this: learn to trust God and not money for your provision. Learn to seek first His kingdom, and trust that your needs will be met as you do. Learn to share, and that it’s only where two or three are gathered that Jesus promises His spirit. (Matthew 18:20) Living by faith is something any of us can do, because all it requires is letting go. (Luke 14:33)
If you want practical advice and counsel about how to go about it, feel free to write to us today: reclaimingtheway146@gmail.com
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