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Well, according to the tone of the characters
in DESECRATION, it certainly is not terribly important, or even terrible for
that matter. The authors went to great lengths to persuade the reader that a Christian having the mark of the beast is nothing to
get excited about.
On page 8 of DESECRATION,
Dr. Tsion Ben Judah received an email from Chang with the message, "I am
despairing for my life." Now this is quite normal considering that
Chang has the mark of the beast, and he knows what the Bible teaches is the fate
of any who have it.
Tsion responds, "I am here, young
brother. I know you must feel very much alone, but do not despair.
The Lord is with you. He will give his angels charge over you. You
have much to do as the point man for all the various activities of the
Tribulation Force around the world. Yes, it is probably too much to ask of
one so young, in years and in the faith, but we all must do what we have
to. Tell me how I can encourage and help you so you can return to the
task."
Now Tsion knew full well that Chang has the
mark of the beast (and had written about the consequences of being marked with
the beast's mark on his internet website) but the authors had this character misunderstand
the intent of Chang's desperate note! Tsion was made out to be thinking
that Chang's worry was that he could not handle his assignment in the
Tribulation Force.
Chang responded, "I want to kill
myself."
Again, Tsion is shown to misunderstand Chang's
desperate statement, thus lessening the importance of Chang's very real peril in the minds of the
readers. "Chang! Unless you have purposely jeopardized our
mission, you need feel no such remorse. If you have made a mistake, reveal
it so we can all adapt." Even after Chang made the statement, "I
want to kill myself" Tsion, the intelligent Bible scholar and spiritual
giant, still had no idea this had anything to do with Chang having the
mark of the beast. This is absurd, but the authors are using Tsion's
clueless state about the reason for Chang's distress to lessen the importance of
Chang (in the readers' minds) being marked with Satan's mark.
Tsion continued to emphasize Chang's
physical
task: "But you have satellites to manipulate and monitor. You have
records to keep in order, in case the enemy checks the various aliases and
operations. We are nearly at zero hour, so do not lose heart. You
can do this."
Chang responded about his his assignment and
as a closing statement said, "I could end my life right now and not affect
the Tribulation Force."
Tsion, again, had no idea what could
possibly be causing such anguish in the heart of his
"marked-with-the-beast" Christian brother: "Stop this talk,
Chang! We need you. You must stay in position and adjust the
databases depending upon what we encounter. Now, quickly, please, what is
the problem?"
Three times so far the authors
de-emphasized the seriousness and gravity of a Christian having the mark of the
beast!
Now it is
David's (and other's) Turn To Play Down the Importance of Chang Being Marked
With Satan's Mark!
On page 19 of DESECRATION, we read,
"David set his machine on the seat and stood outside, leaning in. The
others stretched, then gathered to hear him read Tsion's copy of his
back-and-forth with Chang."
"That does not sound so good,"
Abdullah said. "What to do?"
"I'd take a tone with that boy," Mac
said.
"Just what I was thinking," David
said.
So now we have three more Christian characters
who are minimizing Chang's biblically correct fears about being marked with the
beast's mark. The reader is seeing the characters agreeing that Chang
needs to be rebuked because he is not sticking to temporal things and is instead
focusing upon the evil mark of Satan in his body.
David wrote to Chang:
"You've got time to interrupt Dr. Ben
Judah but not to check in with your immediate superior?"
Stop right here for a moment. This
is yet another opportunity for the authors' to attach little importance to
Chang's situation of being yoked to Antichrist through the mark of the
beast. It was right for Chang to contact Dr. Ben-Judah first because he is
considered to be the most godly and spiritual man in the Tribulation Force.
The authors' portrayal of David being angry about this (and considers Chang's
desperate email to Tsion an "interruption") in is one more way
to
dismiss the seriousness of Chang's predicament in the readers' minds.
I will continue to quote David: "You
think this is a game, Chang?"
The authors are again endeavoring to persuade the reader that Chang's spiritual
dilemma is really no dilemma at all, and that Chang's grief and suicidal
feelings about having the mark that will put him in smoke and torment forever are merely childish games.
"What happened to the smart-aleck
know-it-all who was going to handle all this in his sleep? Nobody
begrudges you your second thoughts and spiritual angst, but you had better come
to grips that you accepted this assignment."
Well, now we have David conceding that yes,
perhaps Chang has the right to some second thoughts about whether having the
mark would be advantageous, but since Chang accepted the assignment of working
for the Tribulation Force, he had better stay focused on his assignment, which
pertains to the physical survival of the group and stop this foolish
preoccupation with his spiritual state of his soul.
David continued: "Bottom line, Chang, is
that you don't have time for this right now."
What? Here is another time the
authors are working hard through David's character to urge the reader to believe
a Christian that is marked with the mark of Antichrist is insignificant in
importance.
"Doing harm to yourself because you can't
figure out why God might have let something happen would be the most royally
selfish act you could conjure up." Now the reader is led to believe God let
"something happen" (a Christian having the mark of the beast) and that
because Chang is in mourning and godly fear, that this is the most selfish thing
Chang could possibly do. The authors used the propaganda device of
repetition to get across the LIE that the Christian character, Chang, should
dismiss the fact that he has the mark of the beast, and just get on with life!
Next the story goes on to have David remind
Chang of his responsibilities on the job. Now that the authors have worked
hard through the character of David to convince the reader that a Christian
having the mark of the beat is no big deal, they then use this same character to
address Chang's "dual mark" problem.
I will pick up with the contents of the email where David
is again referring to Chang's mark of the beast problem: "Hear me,
Chang. Something you wrote to Dr. Ben-Judah reminded me of something you
said to me about this whole dual mark thing. I know you didn't take it on
purpose, though you wanted me to think you got used to it right away and see, as
you called it, the 'upside.'"
My note: The "dual mark thing" does
not exist in the Holy Bible and therefore does not exist, period. There is
no such thing as taking the mark of the beast "not on purpose." Jesus
said no man can serve two masters, and no man can be MARKED by two masters
either.
"But it's not so easy, is it, when we're
all so new at this and something doesn't jibe with what God seems to say about
it?"
Did I read that right? What God SEEMS to say about being
marked with the beast's mark? The Word of God is being made relative here
(a New Age tactic), which is necessary so the reader will accept the whole
dual-marking demonic lie! The Word of God is clear and not at all
ambiguous about the mark of the beast and what the consequences are for anyone
who receives this mark! See Rev. 14:10-11
"Dr. Ben Judah's the expert, and you've
got him baffled, so I won't pretend to have an answer for you."
I want to stop and comment on the "Dr.
Ben-Judah being the expert" line. The Holy Bible is the only expert
that is infallible or without error. What the Holy Bible says
stands far above any human authority, and it is the absolute and final
authority. Once you read more of David's statements, you will see the
authors are putting question marks into the readers' minds about the authority
of the Holy Bible, the very Word of God.
"But obviously something's not right, and
I don't blame you for wanting to find out how God sees you now."
My note: The Bible tells us how God sees Chang
now, and he is damned for all eternity; we must never give more authority to
man's explanations than to the inerrant Word of God. This is
idolatry. Later on, the
authors used the video taped coverage of Chang's "forced marking" to try to
convince the readers to base their beliefs about the the mark of the beast on
circumstances
(situation ethics) rather than on the Word of God which will endure forever.
David continues: "There's no doubt in my
mind that nothing can separate you from God and his love, but you're not going
to have peace until you know for sure what really happened that
morning."
My note: Please notice the implication
here: not even having the mark of the beast can separate you from God and his
love. Oh yes it can! What is in David's mind is not
the final authority. The final authority about a Christian being marked
with Antichrist's mark is written in the Holy Bible ONLY. Chang will not have
peace until he finds out the circumstances under which he was marked with
Satan's mark? Can you see how the authors are trying to get the readers to
look at the circumstances and opinions of others to determine what
is ultimately true regarding a Christian having the mark of the beast?
This will result in spiritual destruction! Only the Bible is a lamp unto
our feet and a light unto our paths. Later on in the book you will see
that yes, the circumstances surrounding Chang being marked nullified the Bible's
stand on the matter in the characters' minds. God forbid that it should
have the same effect upon the minds of the readers!
David continues: "Now, again, let me be
clear: "This is not your top priority. "Most important for you
is to complete the tasks I listed above and make sure we're all safe and still
undetected."
My note: Oh, boy. Here we go
again. The authors are again hammering it into the readers' minds
that the mark of the beast is no big deal, and that physical matters of survival
take precedence over trivial spiritual matters such as a Christian having the
mark of Antichrist.
At the bottom of page 22 we read, "David
transmitted the message, then let Mac read it before they headed off for Mizpe
Ramon. Mac nodded."
"How much time do you give
him?" (This question is in reference to how long David thinks
Chang will be able to continue in his job position for the Tribulation Force.)
David shrugged. "Not much, but I
don't want to nuke the system because he's on a bathroom break
either."
My note: David (supposedly a Christian
character) called Chang's internal turmoil over being marked with the beast
(which the Bible says results in eternal damnation in smoke and torment) a
bathroom break! This reflects a contempt for things that are sacred,
and is an affront to God. A Christian being marked with
Satan's mark is an irreversible catastrophe NOT a non-event the way the
authors are portraying it in DESECRATION.
The authors could not have gone any farther to discount the
importance of the mark of the beast doctrine.
You must come out of fellowship with
these imaginations that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God.
Renounce these and any other thoughts that you remember or don't remember
that gave place to the devil. God's Word commands Christians to
"Neither give place to the devil." Eph. 4:27
I guarantee that if you entertain the notion
that you may take the mark of the beast under ANY circumstance, you have given
place to very real spiritual entities and they will in fact work with their
supernatural powers on your mind.
How do you renounce the "hidden things
of dishonesty" and the deceitful handling of the word of God that are
placed in the pages of DESECRATION? You need to use your own sincere words of
course (the Holy Spirit will help you) but here is a suggestion:
Dear Father in Heaven,
I am sorry I have been entertaining
imaginations that have exalted themselves against the knowledge of You and Your
precious Word. I repent of fellowshipping with doctrines of demons taught
by those who handle
your own Word deceitfully. I renounce thinking that a Christian can have
the mark of the beast and all other thoughts and attitudes that are in rebellion
to Your Holy Word and therefore to You. I ask you to remove any place the devil has
in my mind and my life because of
this sin.
Please renew my mind and sanctify and cleanse
me with the washing of water by your precious Holy word.
Help me to continue in your word, that I might
be your disciple indeed.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
Gary and Lisa Ruby
The
Mark of the Beast Paradigm Shift
LEFT
BEHIND Authors Answer Questions About Chang
Authors
Say Forced Mark is a Very Credible Scenario
Can
a True Christian Willfully Reject God and Take the Mark of the Beast?
It
APPEARS Christians Will Not Have the Mark of the Beast?
The
Left Behind Message Board and the Mark of the Beast Attitudinal Change Plan
Exposing
False Doctrines in the Left Behind Series
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