Until recently, I wasn't paying attention to the "we are one" faction of the "New Age" (eastern religion) movement. We’ve all seen it: “We Are the World” (video: YouTube), “Imagine” (Beatles –John Lennon), “We’re all in this together” (current meme for the virus issue), the “United Nations”, et. al.. We even hear that “all roads lead to God” so we are all “children of God”; therefore, “we are all one”.
Through the years I’ve heard “we are one” many many times (for at least four decades) and have, long ago, read the book, "Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow" by Constance Cumbey. Though glaringly evident, I had not otherwise connected it to anything until now when all of these pieces came together in a meaningful way.
Today, that message is being propagated constantly in these "end-of-the-end times". There is a reason: this is Satan's plan: "We are one".....one body connected through "energy" (i.e. connected spiritually). One body; get that? “We” are one body: the body of the Anti-Christ.
“This should be no mystery. Christ has His body; Satan has his.” ... Pastor Randy
This should be no mystery. Christ has His body; Satan has his. Satan copies God (not vice versa) and will have his body in the earth to rule and reign with him and to fulfill his will.
What we see happening before our eyes is the "perfecting of the body of the Beast". People are being manipulated into becoming the "body of the Beast" so that they might do his will and not God's (Isaiah 58:13). They will seek his pleasure and not God's (Isaiah 58:13) and they will speak his words and not God's (Isaiah 58:13).
Some will be his "bride", as well. This is a direct copying of Christ our Lord. Just as Christ, the Son of God, has His own (“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” - Ga 5:24; 1Corin 15:23), the Beast, the son of perdition who is the son of Satan and who is Satan incarnate has those who are his.
The Beast’s bride is as deeply committed to him as Christ’s bride is to Him. Make no mistake; they (those who are the Beast’s) are delusional (2Thess 2:11) and their faith will not be changed nor abrogated by any means. This is important to remember because it is they who will persecute “all who would live Godly in Christ” (2Tim 3:12).
Just as we are the "body of Christ" and are "sealed" with the Holy Spirit (the earnest of our salvation, 2Corin 1:22; 2Corin 5:5), so Satan will unify his body into one "perfected" body and bride and "seal" them with his mark, his number, or the number of his name. They will all be indoctrinated and brainwashed to be part of the "system" (otherwise, they will be left out and outlawed).
This “system” is a theocracy (religion combined with politics with God/god ruling over all (Islam and Israel prior to the “Law of Moses” are archetypes). Pastor Greg Laurie states it this way: "The antichrist's economic policy will be very simple. Take my mark and worship me, or starve to death; no mark, no merchandize; no seal, no sale".
These partakers of the Beast’s socio-economic religious system will be readily identifiable by their commitment to the beast and they will bear the "mark" of that commitment. They will worship him and him alone and he will be their god.
The identifier/seal will be the beast's name, the number of his name, or his mark (note: no one knows what the mark is at this point. We only know his name and the number of his name but not his mark). He will perfect them and bring them into "unity" (i.e. “we are the world”) in a “new world order” that has been created out of chaos. That unification (that “army”, if you please) will be used against God and His people so that only the Beast and Satan/the Dragon get the glory that is rightfully God's (Rev 13:4).
“All of these categories are qualifiers to be partakers of the “Beast’s system” of commerce, religion, and society.” ... Pastor Randy
All of these categories are qualifiers to be partakers of the “Beast’s system” of commerce, religion, and society. If you do not belong to the Beast, you do not belong on the earth; you will be eliminated because the Beast and Satan will not share the glory with anyone (but especially God). Because Christians are direct representatives of God and His glory (i.e. we are to walk in His glory as the light of the world), they cannot be allowed to interfere. That light must be extinguished for darkness to be able to rule.
Many (believers) will be persecuted but will not love their lives unto death. And, many of those who are persecuted will be beheaded (Rev 2:10; Rev 20:4). Those who do not overcome but submit to the Beast and his system (very likely the “great falling away from their faith and from the love of God”) will experience the wrath of God and will be found in the same judgment as the Beast and Satan (and his angels).
We can now see why the penalty for taking the "mark of the Beast" is so brutal and final. If anyone, including a Christian, takes the mark, they will lose their soul in the "Lake of Fire" (Rev 14:9-11). To take the mark is to take the Beast (the "Son of Satan") as lord and there is no other punishment than that which is written.
There are pastors today who are now saying that it's OK to take the “mark of the Beast” (and, presumably, his name or the number of his name) because “God will understand and will forgive you” (e.g. Pastor John McArthur – “Grace to You”; Tom Stewart – “What Saith the Scriptures”; Dr. Jimmy DeYoung)!! Be advised: this is patently false teaching. The Bible is unequivocal that the final destination of those who take the mark is the “Lake of Fire”. Attempts of religious exegesis to explain away the obvious are simply false doctrine and are heresy.
“The Bible is unequivocal that the final destination of those who take the mark is the 'Lake of Fire'.” ... Pastor Randy
It’s time for all believers to study to show themselves approved unto God (and not man and his doctrines). It is time to heed and obey the word of the Lord with all diligence lest the enemy gains a foothold in our lives and we be deceived and fall into a trap and/or we fail to overcome. “Be not deceived” (Deut 11:16; Luke 21:8; 1Corin 6:9, 15:33; Gal 6:7) is a commandment and not a suggestion.
