Refrain from taking the Mark of the Beast

Refrain from taking the Mark of the Beast,
For its damnation by the Devil’s yeast.
Sorrow, pain and eternal regret,
If God’s command one does forget.

Trust not worthless idols and images,
Be not part of the world and savages.
Heed what Christ has commanded,
Faithfulness to the end is demanded.

Even if the forces of darkness seem to win,
Take not the vile mark and thus sin.
Trust in God even if faced with death,
Hold on to Jesus of Nazareth.

Though millions may take the Beast’s Mark,
The Gospel if you believe is enough life spark.
Don’t be fearful of sickness and pestilence,
In those times; focus on God’s ordinance.

By the Holy Spirit you live,
And by Christ you forgive.
Let your prayer then remain,
That Jesus Christ come again.

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, so beware of it!

All praise and glory to the Lord God Almighty the Father along with our Lord Jesus Christ in union with His Holy Spirit. Thanks be to Jesus Christ for giving us the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us in this world and in the world to come. Amen.

Neglecting, ignoring and opposing the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, is the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. If there is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and you say it is from the devil, you are dangerously blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Don’t Risk It!  Don’t resist the movements of the Holy Spirit, that is the Blasphemy we were warned about. (Robert Brownell)

There are three sins mentioned in the Bible that cannot be forgiven and of them only for one you still have a chance out of it. Here are the trio:

1. Receiving the mark of the Beast and worshiping the image of the Beast. (refer Revelation 14:9-12)
2. Unforgiveness. (refer Matthew 6:14-15)
3. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Of these three sins only unforgiveness has a cure which is that before a person dies, he or she must actually forgive those who sinned against them. There is no other remedy to unforgiveness than to forgive. The other two sins are totally unpardonable forever.

Coming to the main topic about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, one must realize that there is absolutely no forgiveness for this sin. Even Jesus won’t forgive those who sin against the Holy Spirit. You can read the verse Mark 3:22-30 mentioned below which confirm this:

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

You can also read the below verses which confirm the same thing:

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:31-32)

One must take note of the word ‘whoever’ in the above verses. This means it applies to everyone in the world including atheists. There are various skeptics against the Christian faith who have gone to the extent of churning out blasphemies against the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t matter what they do or do not believe in, they are already under eternal condemnation. Don’t waste your time on such blasphemers as even the Gospel can’t save them now. This also applies to people who do believe in the existence of God as well that they must never blaspheme the Holy Spirit. As Christians, there should be no one so wicked as to commit this sin and so be condemned.

How does the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit manifest?

There are two major ways that I noticed how this happens:

1. There are fools who directly speak evil against the Holy Spirit. They may also use cartoons, literature, videos etc to do this.
2. There are people who criticize, oppose, reject and ignore the workings of the Holy Spirit through various individuals, ministries, groups etc. (This usually doesn’t happen overnight)

One must be very careful about blaming other Christians in saying that they are doing the works of demons. Just because you can’t understand them doesn’t mean they are always wicked. You need to check if they manifest the fruits of the Holy Spirit and do they preach Christ crucified and his resurrection.

For instance, there’s a young man who comes to church and after the church service waits outside and starts praying for sick people and they get healed. Then don’t be rash in judgement saying he does this by demonic powers because he wasn’t doing this in the church. What if he was doing this by the Holy Spirit and you were impulsive to skip all the due diligence but instead directly accused him? How would you be answerable to God for that?

So what I suggest is that if there is such a person you encounter then walk up to him with your church preacher and/or with some mature Christians and question him about his methods, doctrines and behavior. Ask him why did he, all of a sudden come to start healing and also what is his mission towards God. Ask him does he believe that Jesus is Lord and that God raised from the dead on the third. Then check back on the Bible and see if any of the things he mentioned or does contradicts the teaching of the Bible. You can then accuse the person if he indeed does go against the Lord God in any way. Be wise enough that you actually mention the sin or wrongdoing along with valid proof, if you’re warning others. That too warn others because you don’t wish them to be in deception.

Another example, is when ministries or church groups accuse each other blindly instead of checking for the facts. This is true in cases when their members are filled with misplaced pride about their sect or denomination instead of being focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. They will rally forth a huge volley of insults calling each other ‘demon led’, heretics, new world order stooges, [insert swear word] of Babylon, damned sinners and what not, on seeing that the people they oppose are doing great works in the name of the Lord Jesus and winning more converts to the Christian faith than them. Some of them even incorporate this into their doctrines and close the doors on open dialogue between opposing groups.

This name calling goes on really foolishly, especially on online forums that even unbelievers are shocked or amused by this. Now once in a while a person comes by and then asks them what is the actual crime they accuse each other of, then on systematic checking he realizes that these are not true or simply speculations. It’s quite a weird situation then, when such people are found to be foolishly accusing each other without valid proof. One excuse which is given when they’re caught is that they say they need to test every spirit. Well, ‘test every spirit’ means you actually test instead of jump the gun and directly accuse each other.

We are called to test every spirit. Any evil spirit you encounter, go ahead rebuke it in the name of Jesus. Keep your peace when any person is talking things contrary to the Gospel and if you want to rebuke or expose his falsehood, then do so with due diligence. You don’t need to become a person who speaks foul language even against blasphemers. Even the angels of God despite being powerful know to conduct themselves with honor. Jude 1:9 says that; But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

1 John 4:1-6 has excellent principles on how to test the Spirits. Here we go:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

So do check the facts before blaming anyone who is doing the works of God. Forgive those who sinned against you and reject the Evil One. Love and respect the Holy Spirit at all times. Give glory to God in all that you do.

Related articles

• Unforgiveness Is Unforgivable
• Excuse My Scepticism
• Don’t Cross the Line
• The Power of Forgiveness
• The Spirit In You Knows the Truth

Why will the Beast destroy Babylon?

There are many things written against how depraved and evil the Babylonian system is. Indeed its correctly mentioned as sinful and blasphemous in its nature and workings. However, I also see how many are wondering how to defeat Babylon and seem scared due to that.  My answer to that is to be brave and look at what the Holy Scriptures says about her downfall by the Beast on which she rides. Let’s first read a description about her by John in the Book of Revelation:

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgement of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. (Revelation 17:1-6)

What we must utterly dislike about Babylon is that she is “the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus”. That shows her murderous nature towards believers in the Lord God. So, such a behavior ought to be punished greatly.

Indeed God has spoken judgement against Babylon and also wants his people out of her ways. The following verses confirm this:

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. (Revelation 18: 4-6)

And the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.  (Revelation 17:15-17)

Because of the sins of Babylon, the Lord God destined it to be that the very Beast on which Babylon rides will become the instrument of her destruction. Don’t think that the Beast is doing anyone any favor. In a bid to be in control and assert its own dominance over the world the Beast along with the ten horns will ensure that the Babylonian system is taken down by brutal violence. So the evil ambitions of the Beast will be used by God to destroy Babylon in the process.

A thing to take note; Babylon though spoken of as a wicked woman is not actually one single person. The Bible makes it specific that Babylon is a city that has remarkable influence over world leaders. The following verses confirm this:

• And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:18)
• Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,“So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more (Revelation 18:21)

Someone might ask what about Matthew 12:26 which says “And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?” in the context of the Beast destroying Babylon?

A simple answer to that would be Babylon is not Satan though she is profoundly wicked which warrants God’s judgment against her. Besides Revelation 17:17 says; for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

To make it more clear, God can use anyone to fulfill his purposes. That includes using those who are evil to bring God’s judgement upon the wicked. You might like to call them as unwitting accomplices of God. And this is consistent with the Bible. Here are two examples from the Holy Scriptures:

• Sennacherib the king of Assyria, was killed by his owns sons as a result of God’s judgement on him due to his blasphemy against God. (Read 2 Chronicles 32:1-22)
• Ahab the king of Israel who was very wicked and who was also the husband of the evil and idolatrous queen Jezebel, was killed by the a soldier of the king of Syria in a battle with the Syrians. This was due to God’s judgement upon Ahab prophesied by the prophet Micaiah. Now take note the king of Syria didn’t worship the Lord God yet God used him to execute his judgement. (Read 1 Kings 22:1-38)

To conclude, it’s true that God will use anyone (including sinners) to work good for those who love him. He is so great that he will use even the Beast to punish Babylon for her sins against those who believe in the Lord God. This shows a new dimension to Romans 8:28 which one might have not noticed earlier.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.(Romans 8:28)