Oddbean

Is #Bitcoin the Mark of the Beast? I had a discussion with a Christian friend of mine about why he should buy Bitcoin. He had concerns that Bitcoin was fulfilling biblical prophecy and is the mark mentioned in scripture. Any #Christian Bitcoiners out there that can weigh in on this claim?

I absolutely can weigh in on this because I’ve had this discussion with other Christians even in the Bible. It says that the angels come in and they have marks on them so that’s why I defend myself with tattoos. Some believe that the mark of the beast was the Covid injection, but I mean if you look at a dollar bill, it has all the signs of prior religions on it

The mark of the beast will some sort of tattoo/barcode on your skin or maybe some sort of digital chip implant. Without it, you won’t be able to buy anything. I would have to think a CBDC would be a much closer fit to what your friend is thinking.

In my understanding, the mark of the beast is not a currency, it is brands on the body that nonbelievers will willingly accept to show their loyalty to the Antichrist in order to continue to participate in the economy and in society. Now if, in the future, tap signers are required by the state and they are inserted into the forehead and right hand using hot pokers and the process is part of a loyalty ceremony, I would get concerned.

Bitcoin is a digital asset that can be used to store and transmit value. I think your friend should pray about it and listen to his conscience. As a Christian, I have no concerns about bitcoin as long as I am not turning into an idol. That would be my greater concern, but that is not limited to bitcoin. Anything that replaces Christ in our hearts is a danger to our souls. Hope that perspective helps.

No, Bitcoin is the exact opposite of the mark of the beast. The mark is meant to restrict freedom of exchange, and has centralized control as a required feature. No one is able to transact unless they submit to that central authority. #Bitcoin, on the other hand, is entirely permissionless and has no centralized authority over it; no one we must bow the knee to in order to use it whatsoever. But too many dispensationals have this idea stuck in their heads that any worldwide digital currency is either the mark of the beast itself or is paving the way for it. They're also usually doomer gold-bugs. They can hfsp.

I am also a non-dispen myself (Reformed Baptist). Out of curiosity, as a Presbyterian, are you more in the idealist or partial-preterist camp? Some guys in our church are exploring Bitcoin and also discuss the classic Reformed Amil view of Revelation and the resurgence of the partial Preterist and Post Mil views. This certainly makes them more willing to learn about Bitcoin as they are not worried about taking on some satanic mark or losing salvation.

Can you not buy or sell unless you use it? I'll start to consider this argument when bitcoin gets co-opted into being a global surveillance and control token. That could happen in a sense (via bitcoin-backed alternative currencies), but such a thing would be essentially the opposite of bitcoin.

But this also adopts the frame of the premils. Read James Jordan's "The Vindication of Jesus Christ" for a very different approach to revelation. For example, he considers the idea of buying and selling as symbolic of access to the Jewish temple. Dispensational Premillennialism is a very narrow, historically idiosyncratic approach to revelation, and yet so many people take its framework for granted.

This is always a difficult subject to broach. If this helps, I think a comparison of Rev 13 and Rev 14 is helpful. The context is Deut 6:8, where you are to tie the word of God on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Symbolically, they were to keep the Word close, in their minds and in the actions, as a part of their daily lives. John takes that imagery and applies it to the mark of the Beast, hand and forehead in Rev13:16 symbolically they were to be totally sold out to the evil world system so that no one can participate in their system without it. Then he does the same thing with the Seal of God in Rev 14:1, about the people of God also having His Seal on their hands and foreheads, in their minds and actions. The Mark and Seal are being directly compared to each other. Whatever the Mark is, the Seal is comparable. And the rest of the NT tells us that the Holy Spirit of God is our Seal (Eph 4:30 for example). So, I do not think you have to worry about a barcode or a vaccine, or Bitcoin, that is not what binds you to the evil world system. As the Seal of God is not something you can see or touch, it is internal and on the heart. So the money you use, whether it be dollar or peso or BTC, it is always about the heart. And you have the Seal on your heart, you are His, and called by His name, so you have nothing to fear from a computer code. Worry more about making money an idol, and instead use this money for what He has already said to use it for: His glory, building the Church, funding ministry, raising your family, giving to those in need, etc., those actions are the farthest things from the evil world system. Fiat inflation steals from people, and it creates fake value with no work. That's evil.

I consider bitcoin to be the gift from God which allows us to break free from the horrible fate of the fiat system. Bitcoin will allow us true sovereignty and freedom. I do not think it is the mark of the beast. I consider the fiat system more of a mark of the beast.

You mean by me saying **she** is dragging them into gender wars? 🤣🤣🤣 hmm 🤔 cool 😎 ———- There is no darkness, only an absence of light. There is no light without the darkness. Acceptance of myself allowed truth. Some streaks of heaven seen While living in hell. Love and hate. Perfect union. No shame. Painful indeed. Growth took time. To those I’ve harmed, I’m sorry. To those who harmed me, I forgive. Continuous energy flowing throughout. For the love of humankind. Open your hearts. We all contain everything Both masculine & feminine within. Sacred beings walking upon the Earth.

In OUR IMAGE And it even shows it in Christian translations IF people used concordance https://image.nostr.build/b493a5e949797ddaa46c33463e874c750aa8e8576be51bbee1f545be3aa557fb.jpg https://image.nostr.build/8eddf53a5d506919303cfb40ab8fe7344694a0dc1b6eb26b663a770def8c14d7.jpg