Tag: turmoils

The Marked Ones – Part 2

~ Sowmya Gali

Revelation 13: 15-17

15. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

16. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,

17. and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

From time immemorial, God set apart His own, those He called by His name. Abraham circumcised himself and his household after God asked him to set himself apart. The blood of the lamb on the doorposts was the sign for the death angel to pass over His children in Egypt. The nation of Israel had been sanctified or set apart for God. They are the apple of His eye. They have been permanently marked for God.

When Jesus Christ came into this world, He called a few and set apart a few disciples. These disciples were given charge to go out into the whole world, preach the Gospel of Good News and baptize them into the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Those who have accepted Christ into their hearts and lives, have now been set apart and they will not be condemned anymore. Their mark is the blood of Jesus on them which they received willingly on their own.

Now that the Bride of Christ – the Church has been raptured, very few good people remain on the planet. The devil is given free reign and there is no Restrainer to hold him back. The copycat devil has to do everything that God did. God marked His own to save them but He gave the free will to choose Him. He only marked those who remembered Him and sought Him, wholeheartedly. People with devotion towards our loving Heavenly Father, were the ones that were saved when the destroying angels slaughtered people.

Unlike the part 1 of the essay where God marked His people, in this portion of the Scriptures, the antichrist forces people to get a mark either on the forehead or the right hand. The devil has to destroy God’s priced creation. He will go to all extremes and employ all means to accomplish just that. He doesn’t offer a free will. Either the person chooses to live or die. In order to survive under such tyrannical situation, man has to choose to either receive the mark or die. No trade happens without the mark.

Devil, the tyrant cunningly deceives God’s children into submission. He will leave us no choice. In contrast, God has given His children a free will. He didn’t force us into submission to Him. He gave us that choice. At the end, it is our decision to either follow Jesus or denounce Him. During tribulation, the antichrist will not be so kind as to give us a choice. Either the people receive the mark of the beast or die. It would be interesting to know how many people would be willing to die and not receive the mark.

God has already raptured His marked ones before the tribulation. Saints are gone to be with their Redeemer for all eternity. Those left behind will suffer the consequences of their choices. Every activity of those left behind is under scrutiny. None can buy or sell without the mark of the beast. No economic activity or travel or any social activity will be possible without the mark of the beast. There is no freedom. Marked people are now bonded and branded slaves of the antichrist. They are marked for eternal damnation. They will never enter heaven.

Whose mark did we receive? Who marked us? Did God our Father and Jesus with His blood mark us? If we have the mark of God on us, then we are eternally saved. We are raptured before the tribulation. However, if we are forced to receive the mark of the antichrist, then we are doomed for eternal damnation. There is no going back after receiving the mark.

Let us enter into light while we still have the Light of God’s Word. Let us receive the mark of the Righteous One!

The Marked Ones – Part 1

~ Sowmya Gali

Ezekiel 9: 3-6

3. Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the writing case.

4. The Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.

5. But to the others He said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare.

6. “Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the elders before the temple.

God knows who are His own. From time immemorial, God always knew who remained steadfast in their faith despite the circumstances. During the time of Moses, when the Israelites were in bondage, God heard them groan under the burdensome and cruel hand of the Pharoah. God sent Moses to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and led them into the Promised Land.

In the passage above, the Israelites were in exile in Babylon under the tyrannical rule of Nebuchadnezzar. While in captivity, Ezekiel was taken in spirit to Jerusalem to see the abominations that were being committed in the temple and in the city. A Holy God, enraged after witnessing the evil in the temple, moved out to the threshold of the temple. They had defiled the temple with all kinds of abominations. Filled with wrath, God summoned a few executioners, six of them with a destroying weapon in their hand.

However, among them there was one executioner clothed in linen with a writing case about his waist. God Almighty, gave him a special task: to place a mark on the foreheads of those who sighed and groaned over all the abominations occurring amongst them. We do not know if they prayed to God but they had groaned in their spirits over the evil which was in their midst. That was all which was required for God to send out His angels to rescue them. In the times that we are living, with evil abounding, and our hearts overwhelmed about the evil in our midst, if our hearts groan or sigh for God’s righteousness to return, then God is faithful to rescue us. He is also faithful in bringing about peace and justice to the oppressed.

The other five executioners were commanded to slay anyone who didn’t have the mark. They were not to pity anyone but to slay them ruthlessly. Those five executioners followed the one with the writing case and slew those who did not have the mark of God on their foreheads. Ezekiel fell on his face and cried out to the Lord if God was going to slaughter the entire remnant of Israel from the land. God argued that the sins of Israel and Judah were so great that He cannot have any pity. Such was evil in the land of Israel!

God did spare the remnant that was marked. It is interesting to notice that God knew who groaned and longed for His righteousness and He rescued them from His wrath. There could have been a handful or many who sought after God. In this instance, God rescued these faithful few by coming to them. God placed the mark on them. He separated and spared them from His wrath.  Imagine the ghastly sight these people who were spared saw all around them – people falling dead around them. Imagine the screams emanating from the temple and in the streets of Jerusalem. Imagine the frenzy and chaos all around. These marked people probably neither saw the executioners nor the angel with the writing case, marking the faithful.

Our Faithful God did send the ultimate Savior to rescue us from sin – Lord Jesus Christ. The Good Shepherd calls His own and His sheep hear Him. If only we believe in the name of our Lord Jesus and commit our lives and hearts to Him, we are marked for all eternity, sanctified for all eternity and preserved for all eternity. If we are marked by Him, then we can escape His wrath.