Chapter Twenty-Eight -Contending With Two Ferocious Beasts

Conclusion of The Mark of the Wild Beast

What does it mean to be marked on the forehead or in the right hand with the name of the wild beast? When Jehovah gave Israel the Law, he told them:  "You must apply these words of mine to your heart and your soul and bind them as a sign upon  your hand, and they must serve as a frontlet band between your eyes."  (Deuteronomy 11:18)  This meant that the Israelites had to keep that Law constantly before them, so that it influenced all their actions and thoughts.  The 144,000 anointed ones are said to have the Father's name and that of Jesus written on their foreheads.  This identifies them as belonging to Jehovah God and Jesus Christ.  (Revelation 14:1)  In imitation, Satan uses the demonic mark of the wild beast. Anybody engaged in everyday activities such as buying and selling is pressured to do  things the way the wild beast does, for example, in celebrating holidays.  They are expected to worship the wild beast, letting it rule their lives, so as to receive its mark. 

Those who refuse to accept the mark of the wild beast have had constant problems. Starting in the 1930's, for example, they had to fight many court battles and endure violent mobbings and other persecutions . In the totalitarian countries, they were thrown into concentration camps, where many died.  Since the second world war, countless young men have suffered lengthy imprisonments, some even being tortured and killed, because of their  refusal to compromise their Christian neutrality.  In other lands Christians are literally  unable to buy or sell; some are unable to own property; others are raped, murdered, or chased from their native land. Why? Because in good conscience they refuse to buy a political party card." -John  17:16.  

In some areas of the earth, religion is so ingrained in community life that anyone who stands for Bible truth, is ostracized by family and friends. It takes great faith to endure.  (Matthew 10:36-38; 17:22)  In a world where majority worship material wealth and where dishonesty is rampant, the true Christian often has to trust implicitly in Jehovah that He will uphold him  in pursuing an upright course. (Psalm 11:7; Hebrews 13:18) In a world awash  with immorality, it takes great determination to remain clean and pure. Christians who fall sick are often pressured by doctors and nurses to break God's Law on the sanctity of blood;  they even have to resist court orders that conflict with their faith.  (Acts 15:28, 29; 1 Peter 4:3, 4)  And in these days of rising unemployment, it is becoming increasingly  difficult for a true Christian to avoid work that would mean compromising his integrity before God.-Micah 4:3, 5. 

Yes, the world is a difficult place for those who do not have the mark of the wild beast. It is an outstanding demonstration of Jehovah's power and blessing that the remaining ones of the seed of the woman, as well as more than three million of the great crowd, are keeping integrity despite all the pressures to break God's Laws.  (Revelation 7:9)  Unitedly, throughout the earth, may all of us continue to magnify Jehovah and his righteous ways, as we refuse to receive the mark of the wild beast. -Psalm 34:1-3. 

Next time: Chapter Twenty-Nine -Singing the Triumphal New Song 

From the book of Revelation