Mark of the Beast Deception: How the Antichrist Will Target Christians in the End Times
Excerpted from They Lied to You About the Rapture.
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God (Hebrews 11:5 KJV).
The ramifications that come from lies, misconceptions, and errors about the Rapture have far-reaching implications.
How a Christian views this subject can have a major effect on their spiritual vitality and resilience. When errors and distortions about this pivotal principle infiltrate our understanding, they can pose a significant threat.
In this chapter I make the case that the blessed hope functions not merely as a comforting expectation but as a crucial piece of spiritual armor. This hope fortifies believers against the deceptions of the antichrist and the pervasive uncertainties of the end times. By depriving believers of this crucial protection, we inadvertently leave them exposed to the very deceptions that threaten to undermine their faith. The loss is not just doctrinal but profoundly practical, stripping believers of a defense designed to guard their minds against the unfruitful works of darkness.
Critics of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture often argue that this doctrine might leave believers ill-prepared for the coming tribulation. They worry that prominent teachers of the Rapture are falsely reassuring people with the notion that, “You’ll be raptured out before anything bad happens to you,” potentially fostering complacency and a lack of readiness for adversity.
Let me unequivocally say that, although I have not encountered anyone teaching this misguided view, I would strongly oppose it if I did. Scripture clearly promises that we will face tribulation and that the world will grow increasingly dark. The intensity of these trials before the Rapture remains uncertain, but it is certain that the challenges will be more severe than anyone has ever experienced. It is essential that we equip believers for the reality of persecution. I delve into the distinctions between persecution, tribulation, and The Great Tribulation later in a subsequent chapter.
Will Rapture Believers Be Deceived into Taking the Mark of the Beast?
They Lied to You About the Rapture
Alan DiDio
While we’re on this subject, others have suggested that a belief in a pretribulation rapture somehow sets Christians up to receive the mark of the beast. The argument runs like this: if we don’t expect to be here during the Tribulation, then if we do encounter something like the mark, we’ll assume it can’t be “the” mark and carelessly accept it. Such accusations not only misunderstand what pretribulation teachers actually say, they also show a lack of awareness about the very nature of the mark itself.
First, consider that the overwhelming majority of teaching and warning about the mark of the beast actually comes from the pretribulation camp. We’ve been the ones consistently sounding the alarm. In fact, many have taken these warnings so seriously they’ve gone to extremes, rejecting any new technology out of fear it might be the mark. Far from setting anyone up, we have been the primary voice urging caution and discernment.
Second, the notion that a committed Christian could somehow “accidentally” receive the mark betrays a misunderstanding of its fundamental purpose. The mark of the beast isn’t some piece of tech you might mindlessly opt into. It’s inseparable from the act of worshipping the antichrist. No true believer will stumble into it. It will require a clear, deliberate decision: to serve God or to serve the antichrist. It won’t be a matter of confusion or poor timing; it will be a stark, conscious choice. No matter what one’s view on the timing of the Rapture may be, this choice will be anything but subtle.
What is essential to understand right now is that the Pre-Tribulation Rapture doctrine does not undermine our preparedness for difficult times; rather, it provides a unique protection against the antichrist’s end-time agenda. The hope of the Rapture is not an escape from suffering but a helmet against the profound spiritual deceptions that will characterize the end times. Not just a helmet but, THE Helmet.
The Helmet of the Blessed Hope
I have contended for years that we have misunderstood a vital piece of armor listed in Ephesians chapter 6. The Bible instructs us to put on “the helmet of salvation” (Ephesians 6:17). Does being saved mean we already have this helmet on? If that were the case, why would Paul, writing to a church of believers already saved, emphasize the need to put it on?
Paul’s exhortation to put on the helmet of salvation holds a deeper and more profound meaning. What exactly is he referring to? To fully appreciate his instructions in Ephesians 6, it’s important to understand that this wasn’t Paul’s first attempt to draw a parallel between Roman armor and the Christian defense system. Ten years earlier, he had addressed a similar theme in his letter to the Thessalonians. Here’s what he said then:
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:8-9 KJV).
This passage explains that the helmet of salvation is closely connected with the “hope of salvation,” specifically, the hope of the Rapture.
The term helmet in Greek denotes “something that encircles and protects the head.” In spiritual terms, this helmet is designed to guard our minds. If we are struck in the head, our thinking and decision-making can be severely impaired. Similarly, the hope of our salvation, which is embodied in the expectation of the imminent return of Christ, acts as a crucial defense against false doctrines and the deceptive schemes of the enemy. This blessed hope keeps us steadfast, knowing that Christ’s return could happen at any moment.
Imminence and Spiritual Vigilance
Imminence refers to the biblical concept that nothing needs to be fulfilled prophetically before the Rapture can occur. This doctrine emphasizes that the return of Christ is imminent and could happen at any moment.
If Christ were to return to save us midway through the Tribulation, we would not need to remain vigilant because we could simply wait for specific signs that we know must happen first. This would even be more true if His return were scheduled for the end of the Tribulation. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture provides believers with profound comfort and assurance. We are promised that we will meet the Lord in the air, go before the judgment seat of Christ, and be with Him before later returning with Him.
The helmet of salvation, representing the blessed hope of the Rapture, is not just an unnecessary accessory. It’s a vital component of our spiritual armor. It protects our minds, fortifies our faith, and keeps us vigilant in anticipation of Christ’s imminent return. These things alone make us the antichrist’s worst nightmare. Even if believers were to face the judgment of the Tribulation, they would be the most equipped and prepared for it because of what the anticipation of the Lord’s return does in the believer’s life.
The Maranatha Mindset
This is what I call, “The Maranatha Mindset.” The word Maranatha is an Aramaic term found in 1 Corinthians 16:22, which translates to “Our Lord, come!” or “The Lord is coming.” In the Early Church, this phrase was a powerful declaration of hope and expectancy, a reminder that Christ’s return was imminent and that believers should live in readiness for that glorious event. Maranatha is how they greeted one another.
The Maranatha Mindset is a way of life that protects the mind of the believer in the last days.
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He [Christ] is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He [Christ] is pure (1 John 3:2-3 NKJV).
The Maranatha Mindset encourages self-purification. As discussed previously, the knowledge that you could see the Lord at any moment is a strong motivator. Only this blessed “hope of salvation” can produce desire to stay in right-standing with God.
The Maranatha Mindset encourages church attendance and discipleship: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some is; but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25 NKJV).
As we look to that glorious day, we are exhorted not to forsake our connection with the body of Christ. Only the Pre-Tribulation Rapture position allows for this kind of imminence. Every other view requires certain signs and prophecies to be fulfilled first and therefore could cause a Christian to look for those signs instead of looking for Jesus.
I’ve written about this in my book Summoning the Demon: AI, Aliens and the Antichrist, but I want to go deeper here. Good people get confused about Matthew chapters 24 and 25, where Jesus gave very specific information regarding the end of the age. Matthew 24 is often called the mini-apocalypse because in the first few verses, Jesus lays out the precise events of the last days, as they were later disclosed to John in Revelation chapter 6. Matthew began his discourse with a shocking prediction of the overthrow and destruction of the temple: “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’” (Matthew 24:3 NKJV).
There were three questions:
When will this happen?
What will be the sign of Your coming?
What is the sign of the end of the world?
Jesus did not always answer questions in the order in which they were asked. He would often answer in a way His listeners did not expect. Among the many dramatic evidences Jesus gave of the conditions surrounding His return (His triumphant return to earth, not the blessed hope of the Church), was this, from Matthew 24:37-42 (KJV):
But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Jesus did not say it was wrong to eat, drink, get married, have a job, or fulfill other necessary responsibilities. What He was saying in this passage can be summarized by the last statement: “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.”
He is talking about not being mindful of spiritual things in the midst of natural things. He’s talking about not being aware of the potential of imminent judgment. People in Noah’s day had no thought that judgment was coming. They were going through their day, working their job, feeding their family and all of the same kinds of things that people do today, without a thought that anything would change. Some even mock the idea of the end of the age or the imminent return of our Savior. The Bible addresses this in 2 Peter 3:3-10 (KJV):
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Peter is saying the same thing that Jesus was communicating in Matthew 24 and 25. He forecasts that there will be scoffers who taunt the faithful by asking why they can be so sure Jesus is coming, since He hasn’t appeared yet. Peter was accurate in that prediction.
God makes no promises that He does not fulfill.
God said Jesus would come as a baby in Bethlehem, and He did.
God said Jesus would be crucified and rise from the dead, and He was, and He did.
God said Jesus would come again, and He will.
God will not settle for being right two out of three times. He is faithful to His promises.
Peter also refers to the days of Noah, referring to the flood. The scoffers and mockers of Noah’s day said the same things then that they do today. They ridicule the concept of the return of the King of kings and Lord of lords. They maintain that they must attend to much more important affairs than the obscure predictions of an uncertain future event.
Peter reminds us that the world in the time of Noah was destroyed by water. He goes on to say that the current world will not be destroyed by water, rather, it will be burned by fire. He is right. The mockers are wrong. They insist Jesus is not coming, and they live like their assertions are true. Peter says they are “willfully ignorant.” The reason for what may seem like a delay in Jesus’s return is not that God is unaware of the time, but because He is patient and awaiting the repentance of multitudes before the end-time countdown begins.
Look at Paul’s resolve when writing to the Thessalonians. Fifty percent of the book of 2 Thessalonians references the end times directly, and even more of that letter makes indirect reference to the Second Coming of Jesus. Think about the urgency behind his words in 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 (NKJV), where he warned against those who lived as though Jesus was not coming: “And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”
Paul is not talking about someone in the world who questions Jesus’s return. He is speaking of someone in the Church who does so. He goes on to say that other believers should not fellowship with those who live contrary to the expectation of His return. He does not say this because brothers and sisters may disagree on this issue and it therefore may disqualify them from the kingdom of God. The reason is that complacency and carelessness are contagious. If you spend all your time with those who mind only worldly things, chances are good that you will begin to mind only worldly things, giving no thought to Jesus’s coming. A serious study of the end times, whether from the teaching of Jesus, Peter, or Paul, can be summed up in one word: WATCH.
All scriptural eschatology emphasizes the concept of watchfulness. Every person who teaches Bible prophecy should center their instruction on this concept. Any eschatological teaching that does not emphasize the urgency of watching should be viewed as untrustworthy. This one word can keep you straight about the last days. As the old saying goes, we should live every day like it is our last, because one day we will be right.
Decode the Rapture. Discern the Signs. Embrace Your End-Time Assignment.
Are you confused, frightened, or indifferent toward end times teachings about the rapture?
You're not alone.
The end-time teaching of the rapture has sparked controversy, misunderstandings, and debates among Christians. Some misrepresent it as an excuse to disengage from worldly affairs and await heavenly rescue. Others mock it as escapist theology, reject it outright, or live blissfully ignorant of the glory and crisis that will unfold on earth in the last days.
Alan DiDio, pastor, influential podcaster, and seasoned end times teacher, exposes false teachings and misinterpretations about the rapture, reconnecting you to a life of purpose, meaning, and Kingdom impact in these last days.
Through clear teachings and profound truths, you’ll discover how to:
Discern prophetic signs of the times pointing to the coming rapture.
Live every day fueled by a clear sense of purpose and meaning.
Avoid being caught off guard by prophecies being fulfilled around you.
“Occupy" your sphere of influence by living as a representative of the Kingdom until Jesus returns.
The world may be caught off guard by the return of Jesus, but you are called to discern the times and seasons. Open your eyes to the reality of Jesus’ imminent return and live every single day filled with a sense of divine purpose and Kingdom assignment!
