HOW DO WE SOLVE SYMBOLIC PROPHECIES IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION

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I was making a Bible presentation one Sabbath afternoon on The Contradistinction between the Seal of God and Mark of the Beast. It was a rather animated discussion due the difference of opinion from

the perspective that I was putting forward. The main school of thought that seem to be dominant among the bretheren is the idea that both the seal of God and the mark of the beast are not literal

but are symbols of the character of the Father and that of the beast.

The rationale for this conclusion stems from the notion that name represents character. Since the name of the Father is the seal of God and the mark of the beast involves the name of the beast, then the 'name' that John refers to in Revelation 13:17 and 14:1 is a symbol of character of both.

Immediately after I heard that, the obvious questions begin to pop up in my mind. How do we know that this notion is supposed to be used as a rule for the interpretation of a symbol? How can we be sure that the 'name' that is referred to in the respective prophecies is supposed to be treated as a symbol that requires interpretation?

It is a fact that names in the Bible signifies character. But even so it does not intend that the name be substituted for character. In other words, the fact that a name signifies character does not deny the reality of a literal name. Jacob's name signifying 'deceiver and supplanter' does not mean that when Rebecca, his mother, was calling him she says, "deceiver and suplanter, come here", instead of saying, "Jacob, come here!" And when his name was changed to Israel, the prince of God and overcomer (Gen. 5:10), his family calls him by his name, Israel, and not by its definition.

I am raising this matter because it perfectly illustrates my concern about the flawed way in which we attempt to supply interpretations where the Bible is silent. The act of 'stretching' a biblical precedent and treating it as a rule of interpretation only leads us to treat as a symbol that which the scriptures intend to be taken for its obvious meaning. This is a common problem among prophecy students who are not discerning enough to recognize when the Bible treats an element as a symbol and when it does not. And because of this they tend to conjecture and speculate on what the scriptures have made plain.

Whenever God intends that a particular element in a prophecy be treated as a symbol to be interpreted He usually makes it very plain in His word. One prime example of this is found in Revelation 17:18 where it is stated thus: “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”  This is a clear suggestion that this woman is a symbol of a city. From the notion that woman as a biblical symbol also represents a church (Jer. 6:3) we can also say that this woman is also a church organization.

Because this church system is represented under the symbol of a great whore, we can easily deduce that this church is an apostate church imposing her false religious philosophy upon the world. This harlot woman, being both a city and a church, can be likened to apostate Jerusalem of whom the prophet Isaiah thus declared: “How is the faithful city become an harlot! ...” Isa. 1:21

This is how the Lord treats an element in Bible prophecy as a symbol and we need to follow His instructions closely. Anything besides a chapter-and-verse extraction of biblical solutions to symbolic prophecy will amount to mere conjectures and outright speculations.

IF YOU WERE THE DEVIL, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR END-TIME STRATEGY?

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Most of Christendom, in their prognoses on the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, seem to believe that Satan is such an inept and clumsy adversary who is so hungry for power that he cannot stop to take the time to plan a good strategy to ensure a successful campaign. The Devil doesn't mind us thinking that way because it only renders the success of his deceptions more assured.

               

The fact is, he is the very opposite. He is much more shrewd and cunning in his persuasions than he was when he deceived Eve and led her to partake of the fruit that God forbade her not to eat lest she die. She did it simply because Satan, through the medium of a serpent, convinced her saying, "ye shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:4). That's the persuasive power of this wily foe.

The worst assumption that anybody can ever make is to believe that Satan is some ignorant and stupid person!

Today Satan has modernized and updated his deceptions to adapt to the new order of things. And he is refining his strategies and adjusting his game plan in preparation for his final onslaught on the inhabitants of planet earth in the not-too-distant future.

Just about every end time prophecy student would agree with methat the mark of the beast will be the central issue in last days that everyman, woman and child living on the earth today should be concerned about.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of misconception surrounding this end-time issue that is potentially detrimental to one’s eternal salvation.

Have you ever thought what you would do to effectively deceive the people in the last days and lead them to take the mark of the beast if you were the Devil? While you give some thought about that I amgoing to tell you what I would do.

First to begin with, I would have to keep my last-day plan a top secret. Therefore, I would employ different methods to make the Bible less significant in the eyes of the people. I would

popularize as much as possible the idea that most of the things that are in the Bible are just fables concocted by the different writers to create a 'feel good' effect in their congregations.

Furthermore, I would take control of the universities and introduce a humanist philosophy and make it a compulsory discipline so as to increase the likelihood that anybody who becomes a university student will eventually reject the Bible.    

I would take control of the media and propagate the idea that the evolution theory is more credible and consistent with the truth about human origin than the Genesis account of creation. I would also point to some contradictions to justify why people must not believe anything it says. I would even get former Christians to provide testimonials in favour of evolution in order to further destroy the credibility ofthe Bible.

And for those who profess to believe the Bible I would make them devote more of their time to secular studies and very little time for the word. In other words, I would destroy the Bible without

burning it.  I would have to do that in order to ensure that my end-time strategy is not detected.

Secondly, I would crank up my propaganda machinery and spread myriads of falsehoods about end time prophecy, and sell all kind of fanciful theories about what I will do to "force" people to

take mark of the beast.

I would make people believe the wrong things about events surrounding the issue of the mark of the beast and lead them into a false sense of security so that when this event breaks upon the

world they are not prepared for it. I would even give the impression that I am an ignorant, asinine fool who is too mired in evil and dog-heartedness to think out a well coordinated and

effective deception plan.

And finally, I would use the media as my main propaganda tool both for the purpose of propagating my philosophy and to discredit those who are preaching the truth about the mark of the beast. In this way I will cause the public to believe that those who are upholding the truths of the Bible are a set of deceivers and antichrists. Where possible I would cause some of them to be persecuted and/or unjustly thrown into jail.

You may have other strategies in mind but one thing is certain, SATAN DOES NOT INTEND FOR THE WORLD TO KNOW ABOUT HIS END-TIME GAME PLAN.

Contrary to the false and misleading theories out there, Satan will not put a knife at your throat or a gun to your head and force you to take the mark of the beast. Believe it or not, this argument that the mark of the beast will be "enforced" and how we must 'say no to that mark' could be one of the most subtle deceptions of all time!

I can see the puzzled look on your face as you read this. You disagree with me completely. Stay with me a little longer. It has been correctly taught by almost every Bible commentator I heard on

the subject that the mark of the beast is Satan's counterfeit to God's seal; that the seal of God and the mark of the beast operate on the same principle. Isn't that right?

If that's the case, then what is being suggested is that these two elements are counterparts to each other! But while we make this observation we are not consistent in the way we apply it.

If you have a Bible nearby take it and read Revelation 3:12. It clearly teaches that the name of the Father will be written on His faithful people who are overcomers. From a comparison with

Revelation 7:4 and 14:1 you will see that the name of the Father and the seal of God are one and the same.

Thus the name of the Father is written in the foreheads of Gods people as a reward for their faithfulness. In other words, something would have to be done or accomplished in the lives of the saints of God before they can receive His seal. If this principle is also true of the mark of the beast, then why do we teach that it will be enforced? Get the point?

Furthermore, in Revelation 13 we are clearly taught how the people will receive the mark of the beast. In the 13^th and 14^th verses we are told that, far from being forced, the inhabitants of the earth will actually be deceived by the lamb-horned beast that came up out of the earth into taking the mark of the beast and worship his image. Therefore, the pledging of allegiance to the beast will be the action of a deceived people destitute of the truth.

Contrary to popular opinion, the mark of the beast will be issued by means of an apparently harmless but the cunningly evil scheme administered by one of the most trusted organization in the world.

Its for this reason why the vast majority are going to fall for the idea of taking a mark of their foreheads and right hand. Your only hope of escaping Satan’s evil scheme in the last days is to arm yourself with the knowledge of the sure word of prophecy.