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"Open the doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars. Wail, O fir tree, for the cedar has fallen, because the good ones are destroyed: wail, O you oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest has come down. A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! For their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! For the pride of the Jordan is laid waste.

"In this manner said Yahweh my Elohim: Feed the flock of slaughter; whose possessors kill them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Yahweh, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not. For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, says Yahweh; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor’s hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall strike the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. So I fed the flock of slaughter, truly the poor of the flock. And I took to me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me. Then I said, I will not feed you: that which dies, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them that are left eat every one the flesh of another. And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it apart, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. And it was broken in that day; and thus the poor of the flock that gave heed to me knew that it was the word of Yahweh. And I said to them, If you think good, give me my hire; and if not, refuse. So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver. And Yahweh said to me, Cast it to the potter, the good price that I was evaluated by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter, in the house of Yahweh. Then I cut apart my other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

"And Yahweh said to me, Take to yourself yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces. Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaves the flock! The sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened." (Zechariah 11:1-17).

Our study of the book of Revelation has been a most rewarding experience for all of us. We have understood more of the great importance relative to the significance of the seven assemblies of Revelation chapters 2 and 3. These messages are meant to encourage and uplift the spirit of the people of Yahweh in these last days. The Word of Yahweh has strengthened us all spiritually, and it has lifted us to new levels of endeavor that we may more accurately understand the purpose for which Almighty Yahweh has created and called us. If heeded, these enlightening lessons will remove from us the anxiety concerning the future, since we will, by the knowledge of the things to come, be able to prepare ourselves for the crisis times lying just ahead of us. In this way, Almighty Yahweh has blessed His people beyond anything that we could desire so that we may make our calling and election sure (which means our quest for salvation).

Zechariah chapter 11 holds a parallel interpretation with Revelation 13. We have here the prophecy of how Almighty Yahweh will maintain the loyalty of His people to Himself through feeding them (with an education). It describes the time when each one of us will have to stand the test of faith individually. It will be necessary to do so through having assimilated the spiritual nourishment that each one of us has received from on High through the Word of Yahweh imparted during the years wherein we have studied the sacred Scriptures. The end of this passage also describes a death stroke delivered to one who is described as a "worthless" or "foolish shepherd," yet, it appears similar to what happens to one of the heads of the beast, as described in Revelation chapter 13.

The individuals who have accepted the mark of Babylon are living conversely to those who are striving for spiritual perfection. It required some personal action to become imprinted with the character of Babylon. There are abominations that are committed by Babylonish people (worldly people) that are reprehensible, and we must cry out against them. We do each day in our radio broadcasts over Yahweh’s own clean station, Radio Station WMLK, the international shortwave radio voice of the Assemblies of Yahweh, and also on the commercial radio and television network broadcasts.

"Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for there is a happy end to the man of peace. As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off." (Psalm 37:37-38). In that passage the mark of Yahweh is described on the one hand (one is marked as a perfect man), while on the other hand appears the destination assigned by Yahweh to the transgressors; they will be cut off forever. Ezekiel chapter 9 comprises a parallel passage with Psalm 37:37-38.

Can we tell what is the mark of the Beast? In Revelation 13:16-18 you find the number written as ÷îò. We have seen that this is the abbreviation of Chr-st and Zeus. The ÷ is the abbreviation of Chr-stos, while the î and ò stands for Zeus. We could conclude that it is an abbreviation of Chr-st Jes-s. That is the name of the Beast (the name of the mighty one it worships).

In the last segment, I mentioned that in the book Biblical Numerology, written by John J. Davis, the author mentions a publication that appeared in 1903, wherein it is explained that this number is the abbreviation of the word Christos. In 1903 the author already knew this fact! Consequently, joined by the ksee in the middle which appears like a snake, they identified this term in that publication as representing the ANTI-MESSIAH.

This number 666 (the mark of the Beast), also relates to government finances. Let us notice how this assertion is proven. "Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, besides that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mingled people, and of the governors of the country. And king Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold; six hundred shekels of gold went to one buckler. And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pounds of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon." (1 Kings 10:14-17). (These shields would have cost about $19,200 each or $5,760,000 for the 300 shields.)

It is never more applicable than right now to put on the entire (whole) spiritual armor of Yahweh or we will not be able to stand for Yahweh and Yahshua in the coming tribulation. Only those who are strong in Yahweh’s character and in His Holy Spirit will remain firm in the faith. Those who will faithfully stand will be those who have acquired these spiritual characteristics that can be seen in our personal conduct. While they are evidently visible, both to Yahweh and His people, and to those outside, through the fruits they produce, they are not some visible mark tattooed or printed upon a person. See Leviticus 19:28.

Let us never forget what the mark of the Beast comprises. The mark of the Beast means to follow Satan and bear his evil character, which is imprinted upon his people, imprinted like this present Babylonish system upon those people whose minds remain unconverted, beast-like.

May Yahweh bless you at all times and keep you faithful as we serve Him and daily prepare for the Second Coming of Yahshua, our Messiah and Redeemer.