CONTENDING FOR FAITH
~ The Received Text ~
ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS
CHAPTER IX
THE MARK OF THE BEAST
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The following warning is given in Chapter 2 of In Awe of Thy Word, pp. 100-101.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, says Gail, “the Greek epi can be translated as ‘in’.” To begin with, the Oxford English Dictionary should never be used as an authority on Greek usage. For the translation of Greek words depends on their grammatical relationships—their arrangement in phrases, clauses and sentences—and one thing the student of the Bible won’t learn in the OED is the meaning of Greek words according to their syntax. To be properly translated, Greek words must be “parsed,” that is analyzed in terms of their grammatical constituents; parts of speech must be identified and their syntactic relations ascertained. An English dictionary does not deal with the fine points involved in Greek translation.
Although epi may, in some instances, be translated as “in,” this is not the normal definition of the word epi. We doubt the OED explains that epi “can be” translated as ‘in’ only if it occurs in specific relationships to other words and identifies those grammatical relationships. Wesley Perschbacher’s New Analytical Greek Lexicon, an invaluable tool which parses every word in the Greek New Testament, identifies the occasions on which epi “can be” translated as “in”:
“epi...in, of locality, Mark 8:4, et al;...in the presence of, especially in a judicial sense, 2 Cor. 7:14, Acts 25:9;...in the case of, in respect of, John 6:2, Gal. 3:16; in the time of, at the time of, Acts 11:28; Rom. 1:10, et al...in the neighborhood or society of, Acts 28:14...in order to...Matt. 3:7...”
In Revelation 13:16, 14:9 and 20:4, the Greek article “the” before the noun “hand” in the prepositional phrase “in the hand” renders the word “hand” in the accusative case, which requires its translation to be “upon.” Perschbacher’s New Analytical Greek Lexicon (#1909) states “‘epi’,...with the acc., upon”.
Confirming Perschbacher’s Lexicon, Learn New Testament Greek by John H. Dobson, states that “epi” means “on, on top of” (“Prepositions followed by an accusative case”, p. 186).
In other words, when the preposition ‘epi’ is present with a noun in the accusative case, its meaning is “upon, on.” Had God intended Revelation 13:16, 4:9 and 20:4 to be translated “in the hand” or “in the forehead,” He would have used a different Greek word —“en” (See: Strong’s Concordance #1909 and #1722).
It is noteworthy that the KJV Translators correctly translated the word “epi” as “upon” in Revelation 20:4, in the phrase pertaining to the mark on the forehead, however, they mistranslated the same Greek word as “in” pertaining to the hands in the next prepositional phrase:
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark UPON their foreheads, or IN their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:4)
In Revelation 13:16, 14:1 and 14:9, however, epi is mistranslated “in,” with reference to the mark on the foreheads of the 144,000 and the mark of the Beast:
“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:” (Rev. 13:16)
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written IN their foreheads.” (Rev. 14:1)
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man do homage to 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: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” (Rev. 14:9,10)
Why did the KJV translators vary the translation of “epi” in these identical prepositional phrases, when the syntax requires the translation to be “on” or “upon”? The answer is found in the Bishop’s Bible and previous English translations, including the Wycliffe Bible which was based on the Latin Vulgate. (The reader can compare these Bible versions at: http://www.studylight.org/)
In Latin, the word “in” is used for both “in” and “on” regardless of syntax, and it appears that the translator(s) of the Wycliffe Bible chose to translate the Latin word “in” and all of the subsequent English translations followed suit. The point is that the Greek Textus Receptus was not the authority of the 1611 Translators in these verses; rather they followed the Bishop’s Bible and previous English Bibles, all of which derived their readings from the Latin Vulgate! Although King James had commanded them to follow the Bishop’s Bible, they were not to depart from the Greek Text, which they obviously did:
“FOR the better ordering of the proceedings of the translators, his Majesty recommended the following rules to them, to be very carefully observed:—
1. The ordinary bible, read in the church, commonly called the Bishop’s Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the original will permit...
14. These translations to be used when they agree better with the text than the Bishop’s Bible, viz. Tyndal’s, Coverdale’s, Matthews’, Wilchurch’s, Geneva.” (“History of the King James Version”)
In the excerpt quoted above from In Awe of Thy Word, Gail Riplinger stated: “Over ten years ago the bestseller, New Age Bible Versions, warned of the one letter change from “in” to ‘on.’” This is not true. In Awe of Thy Word was published in 2003 and the first printing of New Age Bible Versions in March 1993 did not warn about the letter change. Furthermore, in the first edition of NABV, Gail interpreted Rev. 13:16 in terms of a brand (charagma) “on” the hand or “on” the forehead. In so doing, she tacitly recognized the normal definition of the Greek word epi and its correct translation — on, upon.
We have reproduced below the relevant portion of New Age Bible Versions (pp. 99-103) as it appeared in two different editions in order to show that a significant revision occurred between the 1st printing in March 1993 and the 5th printing in August of 1994. Such reproduction is permitted for purposes of criticism, comment and research under the Fair Use Provision of the U.S. Copyright Law. (See Notes below)
In the parallel sections reprinted below, the first column contains the 1st printing with the original words that were removed highlighted in blue, and the 2nd column has the 5th printing with the words that were added highlighted in red. We have taken the liberty to underline certain prepositional phrases prefixed by “in” and “on” which reveal Gail Riplinger’s choice of prepositions when referring to location of the mark (charagma) of the beast. In this chapter, Gail is making her case that modern versions will sanction receiving the “name” of the beast “on” their foreheads. In the process of critiquing new versions’ addition of the words “and his name” to Rev. 14:1, she states (in the 1st printing) that the “number” and “mark” of the beast will be “on” the forehead.
Note as well in the 1st printing, especially the removed portions, that Gail referred to the name and the Mark of the Beast as a “brand” that idolaters “inscribe on” their hand or forehead. However, by the 5th printing, this very correct interpretation was edited out % and replaced by “news” about the microchip implant —with the caveat that “new versions will deceive many...into believing that the forbidden mark is on, not in, the hand or forehead.”
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New Age Bible Versions Copyright © by G.A. Riplinger, 1993. Published by A.V. Publications, Box 388, Munroe Falls, Ohio 44162
First Printing, March 1993Chapter 6 His Mark & Masquerade (…) 99
The Mark: Christ or Antichrist
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. Rev. 14:1
This verse, along with Revelation 22:4, reveal that at some point in time, whether symbolically or literally, the Lamb will have “his Father’s name” written in his servants’ foreheads. Revelation 7:3 and 9:4 attest similarly to God’s people being “sealed in their foreheads.” In his typical counterfeit counterpoise, we see the deceiver afoot, working through the antichrist. Revelation 13:16 foresees his forgery.
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: that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name…and his number is six hundred threescore and six [666].
All new versions, based on a tiny percentage of corrupt Greek manuscripts, make the fatefully frightening addition of three words in Revelation 14:1.
“…the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” NIV
100
Will the unwary reading Revelation 14:1 in a recent version, be persuaded that the bible sanctions and encourages the taking of “his name” on their forehead before they receive his Father’s name? (Already Rev. Sun Myung Moon [who spiritualist Arthur Ford calls, “the New Age voice of religious thought”] calls himself “the Lamb” and claims that Christ’s “new name” mentioned in Revelation 3:12 is Sun Myung Moon.1)
New versions are mimicking ‘the Name’ seen in the esoteric Dead Sea Scrolls; these tell of an Arabic Mahdi whose ‘Name’ and initiation, if rejected, brings death and imprisonment during a 7 year period. (See Theodore Gaster, The Dead Sea Scriptures, (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1976 pp. 29, 38, 57, 85, 121, 181, et al.) In the tribulation (and new versions) “his name” is in and “the Lord Jesus” is out. Will “another Jesus” (II Corinthians 11:4) brand his followers with the mark of the beast, after “his ministers” (II Corinthians 11:5) have prodded them with skewed bible verses? The smoke of Satan’s branding iron ascends forever.
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever: and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. (Revelation 14:11)
One bible commentator notes and Old Testament elusion [sic] to the distinction between the New Testament charagma, mark of the rebellious, and the graphomai of God.
They have corrupted themselves, their spot [Hebrew: mum] is not the spot of his children. Deut. 32:5
The comment reads:
This may refer to the marks of idolaters who inscribe on their arms or foreheads…[a] sign of their particular deity. The practice is very ancient…2
Recent versions completely obscure this clue translating that verse, not from the Jewish Masoretic text but from either the Peshitta or the Greek Septuagint, both of which contain numerous corruptions. (Sounding rather cruel, they read, in effect, that certain people aren’t ‘his’ because of their defect. Curiously though, most new versions translate ‘mum’ as ‘spot’, not as ‘defect’, in Job 31:7; their inconsistency rears its head frequently.)
The number of “his name”. . .is 666
There are two modes of communication: 1.) direct and explicit (i.e., the word of God and its doctrines) 2.) indirect and implicit (i.e., symbols and rituals). God uses the first method; Satan uses the second means. The number 666 in the form of a mobius symbol appears on the cover the New King James Version (NKJV), just as it does on the cover of The Aquarian Conspiracy, the most popular New Age book. Its meaning is mantled to NKJV readers, a maneuver set in motion by Vera Alger and others who call for the use of such “symbols…to conceal certain knowledge from the masses.”3 Aquarian Conspiracy fans are privy to the ‘conspiracy’.
What makes it a symbol for people is this strange power to communicate to some and not to others.4
Luciferians say it is “recognizable by those who have received certain instructions.”5 Alice Bailey adds:
102
[T]he number 666 has to do with…the Greater Initiation…the initiate is defined as one who has…expressed 666.6
The Keys of Enoch “instructs the reader to use the numerical sequence 6-6-6 as frequently as possible:”7
1. [T]o be an “outer and visible sign of an inner and spiritual reality.” [The NKJV denies the deity of Christ a half dozen times.]8 2. “[T]o invoke Lord Maitreya.” 9 3. “[T]o attract higher intelligences from...other dimensions.”10
New Agers heed the call and parade the 666 shaped mobius. The Mobius Group, based in Los Angeles, is a leader in investigating “psychic phenomena.” They give much press to the spirits still lingering in Cambridge from Westcott’s Ghostly Guild.11 While New Agers hang 666 over their door, new versions try to push its negative connotations out the back door. A note in the NASB and Living Bible nudges readers to believe the number to avoid is not 666, but 616. Their readers are not told that only two insignificant documents, manuscripts C and 11 record this error.
The Mark and Image of the Virgin
For thousands of years the mark has been looming in the world’s cultural and religious scaffolding, ready to be unleashed at the advent of the antichrist. The 500 million Buddhists worldwide revere effigies of Gautama Buddha and Buddhist ‘saints’ with a mark on their forehead and on their hand. The 800 million Roman Catholics sport spots on their forehead as a part of their yearly Ash Wednesday service. Daily doses of cow excrement don the foreheads of Hindu Krishna devotees. Surveying the meaning behind this ancient practice may forearm us as to the nature of the religious system of the antichrist. Scholars tell us the forehead mark represents, “the eternal Virgin. . .the One itself.” New Agers disclose that this is Lucifer.
103
The point-bindu is a standard religious symbol throughout the world. . .bindi—the red spot that Hindu women wear on their forehead. It is nothing other than a form of the bindi of esoteric origin. . .and other mystical disciplines. . .[I]t is an affirmation that she is Shakti, the feminine power. . .The concept of supreme power as female. . .[arises] from submerged prehistoric mother cults of the earliest people of the subcontinent. The Goddess is he source of all, the universal creator, as eternal Virgin (Kumari). . .She is the One itself.12
Even though most of the world’s religious systems are pantheistic, that is, worship of ‘the One’,—the Virgin or Mother Goddess has perennially been the tangible icon through which that nature god has been addressed and venerated. An engraving on a goddess icon from ancient Egypt reads, “I am all that has been, or that is, or that shall be.”13 The bible opens to expose this accomplice, a talking image, that takes victims by the hand to receive their mark.
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 would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 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 forehead. Revelation 13:15,16
An image of ‘the Virgin’ appearing in Marienfried, Germany to Barbara Reuss, speaks, calling for the taking of a mark on the forehead. This phantom pronounces to all:
I am the Sign of the living God. I place my sign on the forehead of my children.14
Just as the esoteric Virgin is the image or outward manifestation of ‘the One’, so this apparition in Germany calls itself the ‘sign of God’. This commonality, among others, identifies this talking entity, not as Mary, but as ‘the Virgin’, of esotericism. The scriptures identify ‘the Sign’ as Satan himself.
Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. II Thessalonians 2:9
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New Age Bible Versions Copyright © by G.A. Riplinger, 1993. Published by A.V. Publications, Box 388, Munroe Falls, Ohio 44162
First Printing, March 1993 Fifth Printing, August 1994 Chapter 6 His Mark & Masquerade (…) 99
The Mark: Christ or Antichrist
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. Rev. 14:1
This verse, along with Revelation 22:4, reveal that at some point in time, whether symbolically or literally, the Lamb will have “his Father’s name” written in his servants’ foreheads. Revelation 7:3 and 9:4 attest similarly to God’s people being “sealed in their foreheads.” In his typical counterfeit counterpoise, we see the deceiver afoot, working through the antichrist. Revelation 13:16 foresees his forgery.
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: that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name…and his number is six hundred threescore and six [666].
All new versions, based on a tiny percentage of corrupt Greek manuscripts, make the fatefully frightening addition of three words in Revelation 14:1.
“…the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” NIV
100
Will the unwary reading Revelation 14:1 in a recent version, be persuaded that the bible sanctions and encourages the taking of “his name” before they receive his Father’s name? Dr. Carl Sanders, developer of the hypodermically inserted Positive Identification Microchip (pim I Samuel 13:21 NKJV), now warns Christian audiences that new versions will deceive many, as they did him, into believing that the forbidden mark is on, not in, the hand or forehead. Is the U.S. government’s top secret laboratory at Los Alamos creating this microchip and digitizing the Rockefeller Foundation supported Dead Sea Scrolls because the scrolls prescribe all of the elements necessary to coerse [sic] people to conform to the one world political and religious system of the antichrist?1 With the microdensitometer “You can actually move letters around in the manuscript” allowing manipulation of “the evidence”, warns one researcher. The scrolls, created by the esoteric Essenes already call for: 1) confiscation of personal property, 2) two messiahs, one political and one religious (Rev. 19:20), 3) the Sons of Light, “ruled by the angel of light” (II Cor. 11:14), 4) an Arabic Mahdi whose ‘Name’ and initiation, if rejected bring death and imprisonment during a 7 year period.2 The NIV mimics this ‘Name’ over 80 times and prescribes death for those who will not bear it. In the tribulation (and new versions) “his name” is in and “the Lord Jesus” is out. Will “another Jesus” (II Corinthians 11:4) brand his followers with the mark of the beast, after “his ministers” (II Corinthians 11:5) have prodded them with skewed bible verses? The smoke of Satan’s branding iron ascends forever.
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever: and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. (Revelation 14:11)
The number of “his name”. . .is 666
There are two modes of communication: 1.) direct and explicit (i.e., the word of God and its doctrines) 2.) indirect and implicit (i.e., symbols and rituals). God uses the first method; Satan uses the second means. The number 666 in the form of a mobius symbol appears on the cover the New King James Version (NKJV), just as it does on the cover of The Aquarian Conspiracy, the most popular New Age book. Its meaning is mantled to NKJV readers, a maneuver set in motion by Vera Alger and others who call for the use of such “symbols…to conceal certain knowledge from the masses.”3 Aquarian Conspiracy fans are privy to the ‘conspiracy’.
What makes it a symbol for people is this strange power to communicate to some and not to others.4
Luciferians say it is “recognizable by those who have received certain instructions.”5 Alice Bailey adds:
102
[T]he number 666 has to do with…the Greater Initiation…the initiate is defined as one who has…expressed 666.6
The Keys of Enoch “instructs the reader to use the numerical sequence 6-6-6 as frequently as possible:”7
1. [T]o be an “outer and visible sign of an inner and spiritual reality.” [The NKJV denies the deity of Christ a half dozen times.]8 2. “[T]o invoke Lord Maitreya.” 9 3. “[T]o attract higher intelligences from...other dimensions.”10
New Agers heed the call and parade the 666 shaped mobius. The Mobius Group, based in Los Angeles, is a leader in investigating “psychic phenomena.” They give much press to the spirits still lingering in Cambridge from Westcott’s Ghostly Guild.11 While New Agers hang 666 over their door, new versions try to push its negative connotations out the back door. A note in the NASB and Living Bible nudges readers to believe the number to avoid is not 666, but 616. Their readers are not told that only two insignificant documents, manuscripts C and 11 record this error.
The Mark and Image of the Virgin
For thousands of years the mark has been looming in the world’s cultural and religious scaffolding, ready to be unleashed at the advent of the antichrist. The 500 million Buddhists worldwide revere effigies of Gautama Buddha and Buddhist ‘saints’ with a mark on their forehead and on their hand. The 800 million Roman Catholics sport spots on their forehead as a part of their yearly Ash Wednesday service. Daily doses of cow excrement don the foreheads of Hindu Krishna devotees. Surveying the meaning behind this ancient practice may forearm us as to the nature of the religious system of the antichrist. Scholars tell us the forehead mark represents, “the eternal Virgin. . .the One itself.” New Agers disclose that this is Lucifer.
103
The point-bindu is a standard religious symbol throughout the world. . .bindi—the red spot that Hindu women wear on their forehead. It is nothing other than a form of the bindi of esoteric origin. . .and other mystical disciplines. . .[I]t is an affirmation that she is Shakti, the feminine power. . .The concept of supreme power as female. . .[arises] from submerged prehistoric mother cults of the earliest people of the subcontinent. The Goddess is he source of all, the universal creator, as eternal Virgin (Kumari). . .She is the One itself.12
Even though most of the world’s religious systems are pantheistic, that is, worship of ‘the One’,—the Virgin or Mother Goddess has perennially been the tangible icon through which that nature god has been addressed and venerated. An engraving on a goddess icon from ancient Egypt reads, “I am all that has been, or that is, or that shall be.”13 The bible opens to expose this accomplice, a talking image, that takes victims by the hand to receive their mark.
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 would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 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 forehead. Revelation 13:15,16
An image of ‘the Virgin’ appearing in Marienfried, Germany to Barbara Reuss, speaks, calling for the taking of a mark on the forehead. This phantom pronounces to all:
I am the Sign of the living God. I place my sign on the forehead of my children.14
Just as the esoteric Virgin is the image or outward manifestation of ‘the One’, so this apparition in Germany calls itself the ‘sign of God’. This commonality, among others, identifies this talking entity, not as Mary, but as ‘the Virgin’, of esotericism. The scriptures identify ‘the Sign’ as Satan himself.
Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. II Thessalonians 2:9 |
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How do we account for Gail Riplinger’s sudden shift in the interpretation of Bible prophecy in New Age Bible Versions? Should Christians revise their interpretation of Bible prophecy as they hear the news, as Gail Riplinger has done, or “prove all things” according to the Greek Textus Receptus, which she has regrettably placed on the “KJV-Only Index of Forbidden Books”?
In the 1st printing of New Age Bible Versions, Gail revealed accurate information about the name, number and Mark of the Beast:
The Name of the Beast will be given “on” the forehead. “On their forehead” was removed by the 5th Printing;
“Will the unwary reading Revelation 14:1 in a recent version, be persuaded that the bible sanctions and encourages the taking of ‘his name’ on their forehead before they receive his Father’s name?” (NABV, 1st Printing, March 1993, p. 100; revised in 5th Printing)
The Name of the Beast will be associated with an initiation rite, i.e., the Luciferic Initiation.
“New versions are mimicking ‘the Name’ seen in the esoteric Dead Sea Scrolls; these tell of an Arabic Mahdi whose ‘Name’ and initiation, if rejected, brings death and imprisonment during a 7 year period. (See Theodore Gaster, The Dead Sea Scriptures, (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1976 pp. 29, 38, 57, 85, 121, 181, et al.)” (NABV, 1st Printing, March 1993, p. 100; removed in 5th Printing)
The Mark of the Beast will be a “brand” and not an implant.
“Will ‘another Jesus’ (II Corinthians 11:4) brand his followers with the mark of the beast?” (NABV, 1st Printing, March 1993, p. 100; removed in 5th Printing)
The Mark of the Beast will be a charagma, a “mark” which idolaters “inscribe on their arms or foreheads.” Furthermore, these marks are symbols of the deities they worship.
“One bible commentator notes and Old Testament elusion [sic] to the distinction between the New Testament charagma, mark of the rebellious, and the graphomai of God. ‘They have corrupted themselves, their spot [Hebrew: mum] is not the spot of his children. Deut. 32:5’ The comment reads: ‘This may refer to the marks of idolaters who inscribe on their arms or foreheads…[a] sign of their particular deity. The practice is very ancient…2’” (NABV, 1st Printing, March 1993, p. 101; removed in 5th Printing)
The Greek word for “mark” in all of the relevant verses is "charagma," that is, a “stamp” or “mark” that is branded, imprinted or engraved ON the forehead or hand (rather than implanted in the skin) of a follower of the Antichrist.
5480 charagma {khar'-ag-mah} from the same as 5482: TDNT - 9:416,1308; n nAV - mark 8, graven 1; 9
1) a stamp, an imprinted mark
1a) of the mark stamped ON the forehead or the right hand as the badge of the followers of the Antichrist
1b) the mark branded UPON horses
2) thing carved, sculpture, graven work
2a) of idolatrous images
In the first printing of NABV, the Mark of the Beast was the symbol of Lucifer branded on the skin during an initiation rite. By the 5th printing the Mark of the Beast had become a surgically implanted device that was not associated with religious worship but having only commercial value. Whereas the “mark of Lucifer” will be branded on idolaters in places of worship during the Tribulation period, the RFID Microchip will be implanted on the masses in outpatient clinics. We can readily understand why a brand received by an idolater during the Luciferic Initiation will seal his/her eternal destiny in the Lake of Fire. However, it makes no sense that God would eternally condemn a man, woman or child for receiving an RFID microchip in a hospital or clinic or government facility. In fact, God even commands obedience to governing authorities, with the exception of obeying laws that compel the Christian to disobey His Word, for example, to commit murder. In contrast, God passionately forbids the worship of false gods and the practice of witchcraft, including tattoos, as abominations with eternal consequences:
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;” (Exod. 20:4-5)
“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” (Exod. 22:18)
“Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh fOR THE DEAD, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” (Lev. 19:28)
“There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.” (Deut. 18:10-12)
“And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.” (Rev. 9:21)
“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: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” (Rev. 9:21)
Another perhaps inadvertent disclosure in the first printing of New Age Bible Versions was Gail’s blunt acknowledgement of the corrupt nature of the Syriac Peshitta: “...the Peshitta or the Greek Septuagint, both of which contain numerous corruptions.” (NABV, 1st Printing, March 1993, p.100) This presumably unintentional admission was hastily withdrawn and does not appear in the 5th printing. Elsewhere in New Age Bible Versions (5th Printing), Gail states the opposite: “the Sinaitic Version (third century), the Gothic Version (fourth century) and the Peshitta Syriac (now dated much earlier than the fifth century) agree with the KJV.” (NABV, p. 488) (For the “numerous corruptions” in the Syriac Peshitta, which KJV-Only propaganda classifies with the Traditional Text, see: The Semitic New Testament)
Finally, Gail did not forget to misrepresent the New King James Version, even though the NKJV follows the Textus Receptus in all verses pertaining to the Mark of the Beast. Writes Gail:
“The merchants of the ‘mark’ can swear on a wobbly stack of NKJVs that ‘The Bible says its ok’ to take the I.D. marker.” (Awe, p. 101)
“The NKJV denies the deity of Christ a half dozen times.” (NABV, p. 102) / not true
“All new versions, based on a tiny percentage of corrupt Greek manuscripts, make the fatefully frightening addition of three words in Revelation 14:1. / NKJV does not add these words
“…the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” NIV
“The number 666 in the form of a mobius symbol appears on the cover the New King James Version (NKJV)” (NABV, p. 101)
Concerning the symbol on the cover of the Thomas Nelson NKJV, let us remember the old axiom about judging a book by its cover. Just as we cannot judge the text of 1611 King James Version by pagan woodcuts, headpieces and tailpieces that were added by the printer, Robert Barker, so we cannot judge the text of the New King James Version by a book cover designed by the publisher Thomas Nelson, Inc. Many New King James Bibles do not have the Thomas Nelson cover, just as pagan woodcuts and headpieces vanished from King James Bibles.
Gail Riplinger makes much ado about the “mobius” being an occult symbol and a visual representation of 666. How much more significant in terms of historic and Biblical import is the number 666 in the form of the 6-pointed star (misnamed the Star of David) which occultists have for three millennia venerated as the Seal of Solomon, the apostate king who led Israel into idolatry. This pagan symbol was used by King Solomon as a powerful talisman for his idolatrous worship of the goddess, Ashtaroth, and the gods, Chemosh and Molech, and so is it used in the occult world today.
“II Kings 23:13 is explicit: ‘And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.’…King Solomon built an altar for Ashtoreth, worshipped her, and also practiced Moloch rituals. It was at this time that the hexagram or six-pointed star came to be called the Seal of Solomon... Solomon’s Seal was accepted as occult by the occult world. King Solomon was deeply involved in witchcraft and occultism. According to The Sorcerer’s Handbook, ‘King Solomon, traditionally known as an arch magician, used a spell to banish infernal beings sent by the king of demons to extract human hearts…’” (O.J. Graham, The Six-Pointed Star, pp. 24-5, 29, 32)
“Interestingly enough you will notice that the emblem is made up of three pairs of triangles with their apexes touching. Each pair collectively represents the number 6, which qualifies the whole symbol as a graphical representation of 666.” (“Sects, Symbolism & the Mark of the Beast”)
God has provided important clues in His Word which point to the Seal of Solomon as the Mark of the Beast:
“Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was SIX HUNDRED THREESCORE AND SIX talents of gold...” (1 Kings 10:14)
“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is SIX HUNDRED THREESCORE AND SIX. ”(Rev. 13:18)
For further evidence that the Seal of Solomon is the Mark of the Beast, please see:
THE REVELATION OF THE ANTICHRIST ~ As the Second Coming of King Solomon
The Six-Pointed Star: The Mark of the Beast ~ The Star of David or Star of Remphan?
Designer Marks of the Beast ~ Why the Mark of the Beast is NOT the Microchip Implant
The New King James Version correctly and consistently translates the Greek word epi as “on” in all of the prophecies concerning the Mark of the Beast.
“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,” (Rev. 13:16, NKJV)
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark ON his forehead or ON his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.’” (Rev. 14:9-10, NKJV)
“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark ON their foreheads or ON their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:4, NKJV)
Can it be that the accurate translation of these crucial verses (which have end-time and eternal ramifications) accounts for the relentless campaign to discredit the New King James Version? We have little doubt. The fact that the NKJV reflects the Greek Textus Receptus in these verses alone would be sufficient reason for the Antichrist system to conspire against it and to promote in its place a translation that carries a false reading. For the endgame of the KJV-Only conspiracy is not only to eliminate the Textus Receptus—and along with it Greek resources which translate epi as “on”—but also Fundamental Christians who believe the Greek Textus Receptus must be the only basis for New Testament translation.
When the microchip implant becomes mandatory, many Fundamentalist Christians will rebel against the U.S. Government, while other Fundamental Christians will endure starvation rather than take the chip implant, having been deceived that it is the Mark of the Beast. Those who take up arms against the U.S. Government will provide legal justification for the persecution and elimination of all Fundamental Christians. Either way, whether through organized rebellion or starvation, Fundamental Christianity will be eliminated, with it, the Greek Textus Receptus.
CHAPTER X
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