Be(A)ware of Christian Heretical Films, TV, and Streaming Series
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| The Adoration of the Dragon of the Apocalypse, Folio 23, New Testament, Glossed, Salisbury, c. 1250. |
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PLEASE TEST EACH BLOG I POST WITH STUDY, RESEARCH, AND PRAYER. JUDGE MY WORDS AGAINST THE WORD OF GOD AND THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE AND THEORIES I USE TO SUPPORT MY STUDY TO ENSURE MY THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH BOTH THE BIBLE AND SCIENCE.
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| Mark Of The Beast (1997) cinematic poster. Film directed by André van Heerden. (Fair Use: Section 107 of the Copyright Act) |
Several weeks ago, I was thinking about watching a 1997 documentary by André van Heerden titled Mark of theBeast. However, after watching the trailer, I decided not to watch the movie because there were blatant misinterpretations of scripture regarding what the Bible affirms about the Mark of the Beast as documented in Revelation 13:16-18. It occurred to me, after watching the trailer, that I had watched other Christian films dealing with prophecy and eschatology that misinterpreted scripture by adding their own misconstrued twist or editing out essential portions of scripture, I presume, for entertainment purposes.
Still, when I watched the other
movies, I was not a serious student of scripture; I took for granted everyone
involved in making the various films kept the narratives aligned with
scripture, not realizing the spiritual harm. Nonetheless, because these movies
misinterpret, add, or delete verses, Christians and non-Christians alike who
watch these films are being deceived and misled from the truth of the Bible.
A part of my responsibility as a
theologian is to research and interpret scripture to the best of my ability with
the help of the Holy Spirit; it involves biblical theology – “is an
attempt to articulate the theology that the Bible contains as its writers
addressed their particular settings”[1] – the interpretation
of scripture called hermeneutics – “the study and establishment of the
principles by which it is to be interpreted”[2]
– and exegesis – “the actual interpretation of the sacred book, the
bringing out of its meaning.”[3]
Ever since I watched the Mark of
the Beast trailer, I thought I would show you an example of hermeneutics and
how exegesis works so you will understand how biblical theologians and scholars
research and interpret scripture. I will focus on the verses from Revelation13:15-18 using parallelism–" the phenomenon whereby two or more
successive poetic lines dynamically strengthen, reinforce, and develop each
other’s thoughts.”[4]
Mark of the Beast Movie
The film's description on Amazon Prime Video: “It is one of the clearest prophecies of the Bible. It simply says that in the last days, no man or woman will be able to buy or sell anything unless they are willing to receive a mark in their right hand or forehead.”[5] The description is spot-on on what Revelation 13:16-17 says about the actual Mark of the Beast.
"The Mark of The Beast" Jack Van Impe & Terry
L. Cook
Below is a
transcription of the lines of three characters in the trailer. You can watch
the whole movie above and listen to the dialogue below on YouTube at 38 min. 47 sec.
SCENE
Prisoner 1 – (opening
scene - pacing in a jail cell): “I have taken the mark of the beast. Without
even knowing it. What’s going to happen to me? Am I going to hell?
Prisoner 2 – (sitting on
the floor inside the jail cell): Of course, not. Relax. The technology itself
isn’t evil—any more than credit cards or that water bottle of yours. The
decision to follow Satan and take his mark are spiritual decisions. You cannot
be tricked into it. It’s like I said before; it’s a matter of allegiance. And
those people who decided to take the mark of the beast will do so because they
want to. Consciously and deliberately turn their backs on God.
Prisoner 2 – (stands up and
speaks to a correctional officer standing outside the cell): Choose you
this day, who you will serve. And the decision to follow God will save you from
all this. It’s a decision every person has to make for themselves. All you have
to do is just decide if you believe that Jesus died for your sins.
Correctional officer
(talking to prisoner 2: Please tell me what to do!
Prisoner 2 (talking to correctional
officer): You've already done it, my friend. Welcome to the kingdom of God!
END SCENE
You may be asking yourself, what
is wrong with the trailer? It sounds "doctrinally sound.". Didn’t Prisoner
2 help save Prisoner 1 and the correctional officer? Unfortunately, nowhere in
the Bible does it say if you take the mark, you can change your mind later. It
is a one-time deal. What’s done is done.
Regarding Prisoner 1, who said he
took the mark by accident, regrettably, no one can accidentally take the mark. Prison
2 is correct when he said, “You cannot be tricked into it,” but what is not entirely
true is when he stated, “The decision to follow Satan and take his mark are
spiritual decisions.” Yes, it is a spiritual decision, but it is also a
personal choice. An individual choice you make, understanding the consequence of
taking or not taking the mark as stated in Revelation 13:11-15.
11 Then I
saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb
and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the
first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to
worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs
great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in
the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by
those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those
who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the
sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of
the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as
would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
Furthermore, it can be safely presumed
that the correctional officer has the mark because he works at a government penal
institution that imprisons Christians and people who do not have the mark. Since
the correctional officer must have taken the mark, sadly, his eternal fate is sealed.
Again, once a person accepts the mark, there’s no changing your mind.
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| Satan (the dragon; on the left) gives to the beast of the sea (on the right) power represented by a sceptre in a detail of panel III.40 of the medieval French Apocalypse Tapestry, produced between 1377 and 1382. |
Parallelism of Revelation 13:15-18
Verse 15
A He was
granted power to give breath to the
image of the beast, (statement)
B that the image of the beast should both speak (reason)
C and cause as
many as would not worship the
image of the beast to be killed.
(example)
The “he” in this verse is the
False Prophet. After the Holy Spirit no longer restrains the mystery of
lawlessness, the son of perdition, the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:7), Satan,
is granted permission to cause havoc on earth. And according to 2 Thessalonians2:9-12 (NKJV):
“9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Verse 16
A He causes all,
B both small
and great,
C rich
and poor,
D free
and slave,
E to receive a mark
F on their
right hand or on their foreheads,
Again, the “he” is the False
Prophet. In different translations of the Bible, it is stated he causes,
requires, and makes people receive the mark of the beast. This is
not to say there will not be people, as stated in the Mark of the Beast film
description, who willingly take the mark without fuss. Also, the False
Prophet and the Antichrist do not care what your station in life is. They are
equal opportunist. But if you are a Christian or decide to become a Christian
during the Great Tribulation and you do not renounce Jesus as your Lord
and Saviour, you will have punched your ticket on a one-way trip to the executioner’s
block or firing squad.
Verse 17
A and that no
one may buy or sell
B except
one who has the mark
C or the name of the beast,
D or the
number of his name.
You must take the mark to buy
food and the basic necessities or sell anything during the Great Tribulation. Without
the mark, you can do nothing besides do your best to survive, which will be a
monumental effort. Moreover, as stated and implied above, you
will have a one-way ticket to physical death, and the entire world will hate
you. Fortunately, spiritually, you will have life with God in heaven and the
New Earth. I know a lot of people believe hell is going to be one big party and
reunion with their friends, but what if hell is Hell? Remember, like the
mark of the beast, once you take the mark, that’s it, and once you are in hell,
there is no turning back.
Verse 18
A Here is wisdom.
B Let him who has understanding
C calculate the number of the beast,
D for it is the
number of a man:
E His number is 666.
There are a myriad of hypotheses and theories about the Mark of
the Beast and what it is, but honestly, nobody will know what it truly is until
its ordained time. But we can speculate with all the advances made in science
and technology. I can say with clarity that everything we are witnessing with
microchips, artificial intelligence, and transhumanism are eschaton
transitional discoveries and events leading us to the End of Days.
"US tech company offers to implant microchips in
employees"
Good Morning America: “Around 50 employees at
Wisconsin-based Three Square Market are preparing to have microchips implanted
between their forefingers and thumbs that are designed to allow them to more
easily make purchases and enter the office.”
Why human microchipping is so popular in Sweden | ITV
News
ITV News: “Carrying credit cards, oyster cards - even your house keys or ID - will soon become a thing of the past if bio-hackers get their way. Around 4,000 people in Sweden have already been 'chipped,', and some organizations say implants could be on their way to the UK. ITV On Assignment's Rebecca Barry attends an implant party where the biohacking curious gather, and the committed are then chipped with the latest flashing implant. Is this the beginning of a bright future, where chips will one day be able to diagnose and foresee health problems? Or is it a way to keep an ever-closer eye on human movements?”
ID, Wallet, Keys All In Your Hand: Sweden Moves Into The
Future With Microchipping | Nightly News
Conclusion
I know this all sounds fantastical, but the precursor of the Mark of the Beast exists today! Think about this, the Judeo-Christian Bible was written thousands of years ago by approximately 40 authors. How is it that people who were alive during antiquity were able to foresee technology they could not have imagined without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit?
Also, consider what happens when you die. Hebrews 9:27 speaks directly to this issue: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”
Lastly, when watching a movie or TV show about the Bible, no matter if it is Christian or secular, but specifically Christian, take the time to take out your Bible to make sure what you watched is biblical sound and not false doctrine.
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FOOTNOTES
[1]
Yarbrough, Robert W. 1996. “Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology
- Biblical Theology.” https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/biblical-theology.
[2]
Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed December 20, 2023. “The critical study of
biblical literature: exegesis and hermeneutics: Nature and significance.” https://www.britannica.com/topic/biblical-literature/Literary-criticism.
[3]
Ibid.
[4]
Klein, William W., Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. “General
Rules of Hermeneutics: Biblical Poetry,” Introduction To Biblical
Interpretation, 3rd ed. (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 2017), p. 374.
[5] Amazon Prime Videos. 1997. “Description of the movie.” Mark of the Beast.
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Here is the sinner’s prayer if you are moved to give your life to Christ, and please send me an email if you would like me to say a prayer for you –
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins, rose from the dead, and are now sitting at the right hand of God the Father. I turn from my sins and invite You into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.”
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Leni D. Anderson, MLIS, MA.AC, BA ArtH, AA
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