July 13: PROPHETIC PARALLEL #4

He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Revelation 13:17

Prophetic parallel #4 is about economic and monetary control as a key element in the time of the end fulfillment. Control of the world’s wealth will make manipulation against nations, corporations, small businesses, and individuals easily accomplished.

In our opening verse, John the Revelator writes: He causes all… The identity of this “He” is the beast that comes up out of the earth (13:11) just as the papacy is being taken down. The timing of our nation’s birth is a major clue as to the identity of this beast. Another clue is found in the previous chapter: But the earth helped the woman… In the centuries before the United States of America became a nation that was recognized across the world, Christians fleeing the papacy’s persecution chose to face the perils of crossing the Atlantic and the struggles of surviving in the American wilderness over the constant pressure to conform to the demands of the Roman Catholic Church. The “New World” became a haven for God’s people. There are many stories that, upon disembarking on American shores, many would drop to their knees in humble gratitude to God and kiss the ground. The world’s great experiment of civil and religious liberty was set up in “New England”: a government without a king and a church without a pope. The lamblike principles of our nation’s foundation were divinely foreseen as the makings of a Glorious Land for the New Testament people of God.

Daniel writes of economic and monetary control: He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt (Daniel 11:43). In this verse, “He” is the king of the North (11:40), another name for the beast out of the sea (Revelation 13:1). The idea goes back to using coercive measures to “encourage” people to make the “right” decision. The economic, monetary squeeze placed upon people is “for their own good.”

In the history of the people of God, buying and selling were voluntarily set aside on the weekly seventh-day Sabbath as a sign to the world that their God is the Maker of heaven and earth. It was a visible sign of God’s authority in their lives. In addition to honoring the day that He created for rest and worship, it demonstrated obedience as well as unfettered trust in His provision. The seventh day of each week was made holy by the Creator (only He can make something holy). His will is to make each of us holy, but we must yield to His will by choice.

There is a counterfeit day of rest and worship set up by the beast out of the sea. Very soon that “he” will join hands with another “he”: the beast out of the earth. Together, they will apply economic pressure to gain conformity with man’s plan to save planet earth. Many forms of idolatry will be rolled into one and presented to the world as the only way to guarantee peace and safety.

For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:3