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"If someone has already been tattooed with '666,' can he still get saved?"
I
am curious whether or not a person can receive the mark of the beast before the
tribulation. I
Revelation
13:16-18 says, “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and
bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had
the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him
that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and
his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”
The
mark of the beast will have to be in one of two specific places, “...in their RIGHT
HAND, or in their FOREHEADS.”
Then
there will be choices for one of three possible marks: “And that no man might buy or
sell, save he that had the MARK, OR the NAME of the beast, OR the NUMBER of his
name.”
In
regard to the “mark,” we have no idea what design it will be, so it would be
impossible for someone today to knowingly take the “mark” of the beast. Marks or symbols do not always stand for the same
thing over time. A check mark (ü)
used to be a symbol that you answered a question incorrectly. Now, if you have that symbol on your clothes, it
represents the Nike corporation and its athletic gear.
No one knows what “mark” the beast is going to use to represent
his evil kingdom. It may be a design which now
exists, or it may be some new design which he makes. The
point is that now, at this present time, there is no “mark” that is specifically
attributed to the beast, so it would be impossible to “take his mark.”
In
regard to the “name” of the beast, no one knows his name, so it would be
impossible for someone right now to knowingly be tattooed with his name. In the Bible, there was more than one
“Judas” and more than one “Simon,” etc.
Whatever name a person is tattooed with today, has no specific meaning to the
beast, because there could be many people living right now that have that same name.
In
regard to the “number” of the beast, we do know that his number is going to be
“666.” Even this number, though, is
probably going to have to appear in a very distinctive fashion, or it would be easily
counterfeited. Remember, just like money is
counterfeited today, because it is that with which we buy and sell, even so the mark of
the beast will face the same counterfeiting attempts by people so they can “beat the
system.” In working with computers, you
know that there are many different “fonts” from which a person may chose. In dealing with financial matters, there are many
different inks with which they are now printing money (inks that change color with the
moving of the bills, etc.). To maintain
absolute control over the buying and selling on this planet, the beast is going to have to
have a very distinctive and permanent mark which he can place upon people that cannot be
easily duplicated. So there is no way to know,
right now, how exactly even that number will be placed upon people. It is very foolish to scoff at the seriousness of
this matter, and have “666” tattooed upon a person’s flesh right now. But even if a person did, it would probably not be
accepted as the legitimate “mark” or “number” of the beast when the
Tribulation Period starts. That person would
probably have to have the “official” number in its distinctiveness placed upon
his flesh.
So
the bottom line is that a person can still get saved right now, no matter what he might
have foolishly
What
is sad is that even many Christians are tattooing their bodies now. “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh
for the dead, NOR PRINT ANY MARKS UPON YOU: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:28). Just 20 years ago, who would have ever dreamed that
so many people would now be walking around with tattoos covering their flesh? It is just another sign that the time is very
short. It is all preparing people for the
Tribulation Period and the taking of the mark of the beast.
To many people, it will be no big deal, because their bodies are already
covered with marks — that will be just one more.
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of
sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light”
(Romans 13:11-12).
