At some point in everyone’s life there has been a pledge made to someone or something. For example, here in America most of us as we were growing up recited the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America every weekday in school. For those of you reading this commentary in other countries our pledge goes like this “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Most of the very young probably haven’t a clue as to what they are actually saying or what that allegiance refers to. But as adults we know that if we recite that pledge above we are aligning ourselves with the laws and rules that govern this country. Basically we are placing ourselves, quite willingly, under that professed allegiance.

 

We can refuse to recite that pledge if we so desire. No one will do anything to you for your refusal to pledge allegiance to the flag. There is absolutely no punishment forthcoming because of a steadfast refusal to pledge your allegiance to the U.S. The Gestapo will not be knocking on your door at 2:00 am and hauling you off to some concentration camp. There’ll be no fines, no imprisonment, and no condemnation of any kind for refusing to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance to our flag.

 

Interestingly, there is coming a time when Americans along with the rest of the world will become united in a new pledge of allegiance. And this pledge, one that many believe is coerced, will be to a certain person who will come onto the scene in the not so distant future. This person will demand that every human bow down and worship his image as god. If they refuse there will be severe consequences attached to that refusal. Those consequences will very likely include a detachment of one’s head from the rest of their body. “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” Revelation 13:15.

 

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:” Revelation 13:16. Many people are confused when it comes to this verse. The word in the Greek for causeth is “poieō” and it is the same Greek word used in verse 15, but in this context it has a different meaning. Here it simply means “to continue in”. There’s no coercion involved with taking the mark of the beast. It’s only a continuation of verse 15. The damage has already been done. Those who’ve bowed down and worshiped the image of the beast do so willingly and then they take the mark of the beast, also quite willingly. In other words, their pledge to worship the beast will not come as a surprise or through some false pretence; those who do so will know exactly what the ramifications of pledging themselves to the beast will be. They’ll believe he’s god and they will worship him as such.

 

During the Tribulation period multitudes of people will be fully engulfed in the lie. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11, 12. They will willingly worship the beast as their god. Still, a few will not fall under this delusion but if they are discovered without his mark they will be killed for not submitting. Obviously the great delusion sent by God will not affect everyone because the Bible talks about the Tribulation saints. But even many of those who know the truth may be so full of fear that they worship the beast to keep their heads from being detached from their bodies, and thereby receive his mark and the same condemnation as those who do so willingly.

 

When we as believers give ourselves to Jesus Christ He becomes a part of us and what we’ve actually done is we’ve pledged ourselves to Him. That means we belong to Him and no one else. This allegiance to Christ is so binding that nothing outside of Christ can touch us, that is our spirit, from then on. Yes, these bodies can be killed but no one can touch our spirit.  

 

Similarly, once those who bow down to this coming world leaders image and pledge themselves to him, they will belong to him for the remainder of their earthly lives. And their eternal destination will be shared with this false god. He demands allegiance to him and him alone and all who submit become bound to him, nothing can change that ownership. Those of you reading this commentary who don’t belong to Christ will be left here on earth after the Church is removed. Something else you might want to consider is this, if you’re not a born again believer in Christ right now, you are already dwelling in the enemy’s camp. Whether you bow down to him or not if you die during that time without Jesus as your savior you’re still condemned to Hell.

 

Of course, everyone should know by now that I am writing of the anti-Christ, the man of perdition. The pledge made that this man demands by those left behind will be a final act of rebellion to God. I can’t overstate the point I’m making here. To become a servant to the anti-Christ one must willingly submit to him by pledging themselves to him. It won’t be by accident that that pledge is made. It won’t be done out of an acceptance of some government enforced embedded chip program placed under the skin of the populace. Pledging allegiance to the anti-Christ will be done willingly and with complete knowledge of what that allegiance means.

 

I’m not saying that this chip program won’t be in some way the vehicle that the anti-Christ uses as his mark when he’s ready, but that they who accept it will do so willingly. This will not be a concern to those who are in Christ because this will not happen until after the Rapture of the church. I don’t think anyone can actually pin down what form this mark will take, only that it will be a sign of allegiance. What's really important is that the condemning factor will be making the pledge of allegiance to the image of the beast; then the mark will be placed on them as a proof of that pledge. 

 

After the great and terrible totalitarian rulers of the 20^th Century (Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao), it isn’t hard to imagine a dominating world leader demanding a declaration of allegiance, tantamount to worshipping him (Obama?). Here we are in the 21^st Century and we’re seeing signs that the whole world is searching for a true leader, a world leader, basically a messiah figure to usher in a euphoric sense of nirvana. In the past year how many times have we heard Obama referred to as the “messiah” or the “one”? And as a “professed Christian” how many times have we heard him rebuke those who place those names on him? Not once.

 

The fact is, this world leader, whoever he is, is very close to being revealed and some of you reading this commentary have no protection from his influence and the “lie” that’s on the horizon. That fact alone should be terrifying. It won’t be much longer before some of you will find yourselves living under the rule of a one world government and its dictatorial god.

 

There is a sense of fear even among evangelical Christians that they may soon be coerced into receiving the mark of the beast. Many of my fellow brethren are actually promoting this fear. Why? Because they lack a full understanding of what it means to be a part of Christ’s Church. We believers can’t pledge allegiance to the anti-Christ because when this usurper is finally revealed and demanding all to bow to his image, the Church will no longer be on planet earth. At some point after the church is removed he will demand all those remaining to worship him and then take his mark. And as I said before those who do worship the beast will do so quite willingly.

 

For believers there’s nothing to fear from this man. But for those who are left behind? There’s plenty for them to be fearful of. As God sends the great delusion onto the populace of the world the majority remaining will not be interested in the truth of the Gospel. The reason for the delusion is that they have rejected God’s free gift of salvation through His only begotten Son.

 

Some people will become believers during the Great Tribulation period. All Jews who are still alive during the last half of the tribulation period will be saved. They will finally have their blindness cured and they will recognize their Messiah, Jesus. But, unfortunately most of them will be martyred for their faith as they make their stand for Jesus. “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them” Revelation 13:7. This verse is proof that there will be believers on earth during the Great Tribulation. Some believers will, somehow, dodge all the bullets and scimitars and while keeping hold of their heads and refusing to bow down to the image of the beast and take his mark, they may actually survive that horrible period of time and go into the millennium alive. But most will willingly condemn themselves to Hell.

 

For all those who bow their knee and worship the beast and then take his mark their destiny will be set in stone. Equate bowing to this beast in a posture of worship and taking of his mark to jumping out of a plane at 30,000 ft. without a parachute. No matter how much you might regret that jump you’ll never recover from it and the regret will last for an eternity. My advice is, never bow the knee to the beast, and never accept his mark. Better yet place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ right now before it’s too late.

 

When the tribulation period begins the Church will no longer be present and the Holy Spirit will be in a different capacity then He is now. Because we’re told that there are saints on earth during the Great Tribulation we know that the Holy Spirit must still be here but His primary job classification will change slightly. Every person who becomes a follower of Jesus Christ during the tribulation period will be responsible for keeping themselves saved. Unlike those of us who are currently born again, those who are saved during the tribulation will not be sealed with the Holy Spirit.

 

The tribulation saints are going to go through perilous times, thus these saints might be persuaded to take the mark of the beast just so they can buy and sell. If they do they will lose their salvation. “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:” Revelation 14:9, 10. 

 

What I’m getting at here is just this. Why wait? Do you really want to experience life during the tribulation period? The chance of becoming a believer and remaining a believer during that time will be slim. If you’re a holdout to the truth, it isn’t too late to accept Christ as your Savior. If you know someone who is going through a phase of rebellion to God, please pass this commentary on to them. We must at least try to convince the lost in these last days that life during the last three and one half years of the tribulation period is going to be so horrific they most certainly won’t want to be a part of it. But if they wait much longer they may wake up some morning in the middle of Hell on earth.

 

Spreading the Gospel of Christ is essential for every believer, especially now that we can see the end approaching. Jesus tells us that there’s an end coming and that we should all be working. “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” John 9:4. By adding the phrase when no man can work, Jesus is saying all of us must be about our Fathers business while it is day. That night is almost upon us. Therefore continue to spread His Gospel while it is day.

 

God bless you all,

 

Ron Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

All scripture is from the KJV