The Beast

The Beast is more commonly known as the “antichrist.” While the Bible talks about antichrists’ in the plural as a spiritual rejection of Yeshua and the Father, there is a man who will be the summation of the spirit of antichrist, or in place of Christ Himself. He will glorify himself as God, declaring it so in the rebuilt Jewish temple. That person is described in scripture as the beast out of the sea.

He will head the Fourth Kingdom. I believe the first beast described in Revelation 13 is actually an image of the antichrist kingdom. It is represented by several heads that represent the kingdoms of men historically. Since the completed beast from the sea is ultimately controlled by one man, the beast from the sea and his kingdom are essentially one in the same. Just as our head controls our body, so too will the head control the final kingdom before Christ returns in glory to put down all kingdoms and bring His own eternal kingdom.

There are actually two beasts that come, but they are not the same beast. The characters in these end-time prophecies are:

Overview of the antichrist

The coming up out of the waters reminded me of these passages in Revelation 17, where the beast [antichrist] is mentioned again. We also see the addition of another member, the woman who rides the beast.

Use of the Term “Antichrist”

There is a belief that there is not a single man who is called the “antichrist” by some believers. Rather, that the term is associated with a spiritual alignment apart from God’s Truth through Christ that is not literally fulfilled in a future man but is spiritual and continual in nature. My view is in agreement with this while also recognizing that there is a future man called the man of sin, son of perdition and other such terms in Bible prophecy who I also term as the future “antichrist.”

Truly the majority of these passages use the term antichrist as a spiritual alignment anyone can take that denies that Yeshua is the Christ come in the flesh or denies He is the Son of the Father in heaven. However we are also told in the first example that, “ye have heard that antichrist shall come...” in context to the last time and knowing it is at hand. This is contrasted with the many antichrists already meaning that while the spiritual aspect of this seen in the last three examples is true and doesn’t speak of a future instance that stands apart, there is also an antichrist that shall come.

This is the future “man of sin,” or “son of perdition” spoken of in scripture that will be touched on below. He will deny Yeshua is the Christ and furthermore set himself up as an idol to be worshipped declaring himself to be God. He will be the cause of great tribulation and the instrument of the dragon’s wrath on Israel and all of God’s people on the earth.

Whether comfortable using the term antichrist to describe him or not, this page is focused on this future man and by using the term antichrist to describe him I am referring to this future literal figure that will be further described in scripture on this page who will be the ultimate fulfillment of denial of the Father and Son, replacing himself as God and demanding worship from the whole world or death.

The Antichrist: the Head of the Beast from the Sea

This passage is clear that there is a literal man in the future who will be given power and authority by the dragon, Lucifer, for 42 months and rule over the earth that will be worshipping him.

Another primary scripture showing a future man who will be the fulfillment of this antichrist to come is found in the letter to the church of Thessalonica. This is a second letter expounding on some ideas presented in Paul’s previous letter to them regarding the coming day of the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

The membership going through persecution was afraid that the salvation promised from the wrath to come had passed and so they had been left behind. This idea is covered more in the harpazo Bible study, more specifically the timing according to scripture of the pre-wrath harpazo of the bride. For this topic the focus is on the identity of a future person and what he will do.

This passage lays out many aspects of this antichrist to come. He is called the “man of sin,” “son of perdition,” and “that wicked.” All of these point to what he is going to do and his concealing until that time by the restrainer. He will exalt himself above all that is called God or worshipped, sitting in the temple of God saying that he is God. This also speaks to the rebuilding of the temple spoken of in Revelation 11:1-2 as well.

This blasphemy is spoken of elsewhere in scripture pointing to this time also called the abomination of desolation. This is where an idol is placed in the Holy of Holies. The man of sin sets himself up as an idol to be worshipped and this is the main thrust of his 42 month reign of forcing people to worship him, the war on the saints.

This “time and times and the dividing of time” is 3½ years, or 42 months, referred to in Revelation 13:5. And in addition to this beast from the sea, there will be a man called the false prophet who acts as an enforcer of the antichrist’s policies and enforces worship of both the beast and the dragon who gives them both their power.

All of this speaks to a literal time in the future where two literal men will work in conjunction with the dragon that gives them their power to overcome the saints on the earth and kill all those who refuse to worship them and force them to take a mark of loyalty to the beast, the mark of the beast.

Where is he coming from?

I once held the belief that the antichrist comes from the revived Roman Empire, and while that’s still not out of the question, there is also a view that the man of sin will have Jewish origins and there is a lot of compelling scripture that points to this view.

Life to the Image of the Beast

There is an interesting aspect that Chris White brought up in that according to Old Testament prophecies, the Messiah will rule from the temple in Jerusalem. However the Antichrist, not wanting to be stuck in the temple all the time, uses this image of the beast in the temple to point to the fulfillment of these prophecies while not confining him there.

Mark of the Beast

I believe that you can't accidentally take the mark of the beast, it will be a choice made out of fear of death, inability to survive outside the system or even deceived devotion to one that is perceived to be God. However God makes it clear that accepting the mark is rejecting Him and He will honor that by rejecting those who take it.

An Opposite of God’s High Priest?

Aaron was the first high priest of Israel and it was in the wilderness when God told them all the various instruments and practices that would be part of their worship and communion with God at His sanctuary.

Perhaps the number of the beast’s name that his followers will take on their hands or foreheads is related to this idea of the high priest for God bearing the iniquity of the holy things, but twisted into Satan’s corruption. In the case of the Exodus account it is קֹדֶשׁ לַֽיהוָֽה, which adds up to 460 in Hebrew gematria. I have no idea what that means if anything, or if it’s really related or not, just wanted to add this here.

Technology and Restrictions on Buying and Selling

The mark of the beast is a sign of allegiance to the man of sin and his new world order. I believe this will be a choice, not something that will be done against one’s will, and a strong influence in people making that choice will be the ability to buy and sell. So how would it be possible to restrict the ability to buy and sell?

I think we’ve already seen the issues of credit card fraud and banking security lead to a desire for a more secure system. Moreover physical currency is inherently more free than electronic currency...and more expensive to maintain.

In recent years we’ve also seen how a combination of electronic money and falling on the wrong side of social acceptance can eliminate businesses as happened with Parler or even in China how social scoring can give or take away the ability to participate in the marketplace.

SEPA goes live European Central Bank (January 28, 2008) Speech by Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB Launch event organised by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the European Payments Council

The countdown is over! Today, 28 January 2008, SEPA goes live! I am pleased to welcome you all to the launch of SEPA. First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the European Commission for hosting today’s event and for its cooperation over the last few years, the fruit of which can been seen today as SEPA comes to life. Those who have made SEPA a reality, the banks and the service providers are here tonight and I would like to congratulate them all. Let me also mention the work of the Council and the European Parliament that has contributed to making SEPA a reality. Nine years ago we introduced the single currency. Today, we launch SEPA – another important step in European integration. But let me assure you: today is only just the beginning! SEPA is all about integration, harmonisation and modernisation. It is a natural consequence of the single currency and a major step in the creation of the Single Market. That is why the ECB has supported the project closely over the past six years. Today’s launch is the first visible result. A single currency – with a single set of payment instruments – in a single euro payments area. With SEPA, this becomes a reality. And we, as euro area citizens, will be able to make euro payments as cheaply, as easily and as safely as we do national payments. All euro payments will be “domestic”; finally, there will be no difference between sending a payment from Rome to Dublin or from Brussels to Antwerp. We can now make payments not only with euro notes and coins, but harmonised electronic payments by European credit transfer, direct debit and payment card as well. An important milestone has been reached today with the launch of “SEPA Credit Transfer”. We are now able to send euro payments quickly, and in the same way, to any beneficiary in Europe. This will be followed by “SEPA Direct Debit” before the end of 2009. As a result, we will be able to make direct debit payments across Europe, as if no borders existed. With the “SEPA Cards Framework”, extensive changes await the European cards market. The ECB expects a new European card scheme to emerge, harmonising card payments across Europe. That said, efficient national card schemes should not vanish, leaving the cards market entirely to international card schemes. Let’s work together and use the experience of the national schemes to devise a new European card scheme. Together, these three payment instruments make up SEPA, our key to a door behind which many opportunities lie. Once the door is open we will still have a mountain to climb. But if we are willing to take up the challenge and use SEPA with innovative thinking, we can reap the full benefit. Let me stress: we do not envision opening the door only to sit back and admire the great many opportunities on the other side. Let’s climb the mountain, discover the opportunities and progress onwards and upwards. Let’s complement the SEPA instruments with innovative services, such as online and mobile payment initiation, e-invoicing and e-reconciliation. By combining these services with SEPA instruments, we eliminate paper and the payment process becomes fully electronic. End-users will spend less time on payments – and, as we all know, time means money. BBut how will you benefit from SEPA?

Corporates – make fast European transactions, simplify your payment handling and consolidate your liquidity management. SEPA’s harmonised services can optimise your payment process. So, request these services from your banks and service providers.

Public administrations – you will experience the same benefits as corporates. But that’s not all. SEPA can help drive e-Government and e-procurement, thereby promoting efficient public services. By adopting SEPA at an early stage, you will extend its benefits to society at large.

Consumers – one bank account and one set of payment instruments is all you need. As with euro notes and coins, there will finally be no difference between payments across Europe – all euro payments will be ”domestic”.

AAnd banks – you have developed and will form the basis of SEPA. And SEPA can help you expand your business, as integration and harmonisation will encourage competition. It is now up to you to use the opportunities SEPA brings.

The launch of SEPA today is a major step in creating the Single Market and represents a significant contribution to the Lisbon agenda and a more competitive Europe. It has not been easy to arrive at where we are today – SEPA has been a formidable challenge, but formidable challenges make us stronger. It is not time to sit back in admiration; it is time to use SEPA. So, let’s rise to the challenge; let’s use SEPA, our key; and let’s discover the great many opportunities that lie on the other side of that door.

French Bulldog is Catalyst for Investigation of Microchip-Cancer Connection Spychips.org (September 8, 2007)
Could a microchip implant like the VeriChip cause cancer? A French Bulldog named Léon was the catalyst for new questions about the safety of RFID implants. OOne year ago, Léon’s owner contacted me with startling news. She believed that her dog’s cancerous tumor and his untimely death might have been caused by a microchip implant. This was not just idle talk by a grieving dog owner grasping at straws to figure out why she had been robbed of her constant companion. This was a gutsy lady who refused to allow the vet to simply cremate the evidence. This lady prefers to be known only by her first name of “Jeanne,” so the Associated Press couldn’t credit her properly as the original source for some of the explosive information in its article “Chip Implants Linked to Animal Tumors,” but I have the leeway in this forum to share the behind-the-scenes story. Jeanne spent a small fortune trying to cure her ailing French bulldog, Léon, after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2004. When medical interventions failed and Léon passed away, she decided to hunt for the reason the fatal tumor in his body was attached to the glass-encapsulated microchip that had been injected into his neck for identification purposes. Jeanne located a team of researchers in Italy who agreed to test tissue samples from a biopsy of Léon’s tumor to determine if the microchip was implicated in his aggressive cancer. They documented their findings in a 2006 paper entitled, “Fibrosarcoma with Typical Features of Postinjection Sarcoma at Site of Microchip Implant in a Dog: Histologic and Immunohistochemical Study.” The full text is available online here. Since Léon’s suspicious cancer was not enough evidence to prove microchip implants were a threat, Jeanne decided to search for other proof of a link. She unearthed scholarly animal studies documenting a possible chip-cancer link and posted several of these at the website that she formed as a tribute to Léon: Jeanne informed us of this research and even faxed us copies of these studies as they were difficult to obtain. Fortunately, my Spychips co-author Dr. Katherine Albrecht had access to the Harvard library and was able to take Jeanne’s work further, analyzing additional studies that seemed to support a cancer-microchip link in animals. Sometime later, AP Reporter Todd Lewan entered the picture, eager for an exclusive. He used his press credentials to gain further information, tie up the story with a perfect, documented bow, and broadcast it to media outlets around the world. He and Katherine tirelessly pursued the truth that you can now find published in the explosive AP story. I promised Jeanne that Katherine and I would share the whole story, and that Léon would be remembered for his contribution. Here’s to you, Jeanne and Léon! I’m so sorry it took tragedy for this information to be brought to light. I applaud your tenacity, bravery, and amazing research skills.

Could this be what pushes for the ink RFID tattoo instead of the grain-of-rice-sized Verichip? The Bible talks about the mark of the beast without which you cannot buy or sell. It will happen and the technology to force people to buy and sell only by getting the RFID mark that carries a unique ID number is already here. The system is being implemented now, prepared for future use. Imagine a world with no more paper currency. The stores don’t take it, they just have RFID readers. There is no longer exchange rates or different currencies. Due to financial collapse and world catastrophes, the world will be united under a man declaring himself to be God. Anyone who refuses cannot buy or sell and will be rejected from society and eventually will be forced to participate or will be killed. Sound crazy? That is nothing compared to what else will be going down during this time. We need to develop a personal relationship with Yeshua because He is our blessed hope.

Revelation 16:2
AAnd the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

National ID? How about a global ID? Info World (August 10, 2007)
A little-known federation quietly lays the infrastructure for a universal identity system that could eventually be implemented nationally or internationally.. The Federation for Identity and Cross-Credentialing Systems (FiXs) -- a little-known group of non-profits, government contractors, commercial entities, and government agencies -- has just unveiled a first-of-its-kind global infrastructure to support distributed, integrated identity management and cross-credentialing across organizations. The implementation combines several existing security technologies along with a set of trusted models, policies, and operating rules to insure the accurate identity of personnel accessing physical sites or logical systems. Already in a pilot mode at a handful of government agencies and defense contractors, the FiXs identity management initiative does not have a hard date for broad deployment, although the impediments do not appear to be technical. “The cultural gap with the public in general is still too wide,” said Dr. Mike Mestrovich, President of FiXs. “I think there would have to be a public consensus to move us in that direction and I don’t see that happening until at least 2009 or beyond.” Founded in 2004 and based in Fairfax, Va., FiXs counts among its members the Department of Defense (DoD), Wells Fargo, Lockheed Martin, EDS, and several others. Modeled after secure electronic payment systems and initially implemented by the DoD’s Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), the FiXs initiative meets the objectives set forth in the October 2006 Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12). “Until now, cross-bordering policies between government and industry had not been established,” said Mary Dixon, director at the DMDC. The FiXs implementation does not assign roles, grant or deny access, or otherwise act as a gatekeeper. Rather, the mission of FiXs is simply to authenticate the identity of participants within its member organizations. Once verified by FiXs, individual site managers and systems administrators assign or designate access controls based on the role of the individual and the policies of a given organization. FiXs’ capabilities allow it to cross between both public and private sector organizations using a federated trust model. The implementation is available worldwide in local or remote settings via both wireless and wired environments. Access is available in real time. An individual’s specific identity data remains within their vetted source organization. “By its very nature, the federated solution aids in privacy because there is no central database and individual data can be stored in only one [vetted] place,” Dr. Mestrovich said. Yet the distributed design and cross-organizational model found in the FiXs implementation does offer the possibility of a future national or international identity management system that might cross borders and organizational boundaries. “The federated approach can actually take the place of a mandated National ID system,” Dr. Mestrovich stated.

Thank you Vera for this article! This shows the subtle move to build the infrastructure necessary to carry out the mark of the beast. According to the Bible, without this mark a person will be unable to buy or sell. But the Bible tells us the end, not always how it gets to that point. I believe this is a good example of how the infrastructure could be there without anyone really realizing it in the population until the time came to implement it. Then say goodbye to paper currency because nobody will accept it anymore. And without this mark, you can’t walk into a store and get anything unless it’s running out with alarms blaring. Vera adds,

“...this worldwide trend is not the private work of a few secret societies- it is openly being pushed by 1000s of engineers and business people and government bureaucrats, all over the world, that want to either make money or save money. No secrecy involved- this FiXs membership open to any business or group interested in making money on identity solutions, or driving forward their desire to identify terrorists or give security clearances (DoD and GSA) - this is being driven by companies and groups that want to make money, not conspiracies. This ought to be raising waaaaay more eyebrows than RealID.”

Alzheimer’s Care Center to Carry Out VeriChip Pilot RFID Journal (May 25, 2007)
This summer, Alzheimer’s Community Care (ACC), a West Palm Beach, Fla., provider of support to Alzheimer’s patients and their caretakers, will implant RFID chips in about 200 volunteers who are clients of the organization. The two-year project, says Mary M. Barnes, president and CEO of ACC, will employ VeriChip Corp.’s VeriMed system to help identify patients who arrive at an emergency room in an unresponsive state. ACC provides support to about 2,000 patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. That includes a daycare center for some patients, as well as visiting registered nurses, caregiver education programs and support groups. One safety concern, Barnes says, involves the lack of information available to medical personnel when patients unable to speak for themselves are admitted to a hospital during an emergency, unaccompanied by caregivers. In such circumstances, the patients may receive inappropriate treatment because doctors are unaware of any existing medical conditions. “I really am concerned about the situation with Alzheimer’s patients dealing with losing the ability to remember,” Barnes says. “This [loss of memory] is so isolating that the effect on the patient and the caregiver is very dramatic. In an acute situation, such as emergency medical services, it can be even worse. There comes a point in a person’s illness when you have to look at every safety measure available.” Alzheimer’s Community Care considered a multitude of resources to reduce this risk, says Barnes, including MedicAlert wristbands. Such wristbands, however, can be removed or damaged, rendering them useless. Therefore, 10 months ago, Barnes began speaking with Scott Silverman, now chairman and CEO of VeriChip, about an RFID solution. Alzheimer’s Community Care has formed a review board to generate the proper paperwork for the participants, as well as other basic protocols, before beginning the project. Once the board finishes its work and the project is launched, hospitals that have VeriChip-trained staff and have implemented the procedures will be able to access the medical histories of the 200 participating patients. When an unresponsive patient enters the hospital, the staff can use an RFID interrogator to scan that person’s arm. If the patient has had a VeriMed chip embedded, the reader will indicate its ID number. That number can then be inputted manually, or directed wirelessly to the VeriMed Web-based database. If the hospital is an approved care provider, it can immediately access the patient’s identification and health records. more...

Thanks to Kimberly for the referral! In today’s security-conscious world, imagine instead of hospital information, a system where money was now obsolete and payment was automatic and mindless. Nobody takes cash anymore because there’s no longer a system in place to handle it. That time is coming and already possible. With RFID taking off for so many applications that makes life easier, the system is probably already close to being in place. But this prepares the world to accept what is coming more readily. Ultimately I believe that the “mark” will be made as a pledge of allegiance to the antichrist as well as buying into his system. I think many people won’t have a problem with that when the time comes.

The Beast of Revelation 13: Antichrist