If blaspheming the Holy Spirit is the only unforgivable sin (MATTHEW 12:31-32), then why is taking the mark of the beast also unforgivable? To answer that question, we need to do two things. First, we need to turn to the Word, and then, we also need to turn to the author of the Word. For God says, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (JOHN 14:26). And just like Jesus, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, said in JOHN 12:49, “I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it”, where Jesus never blasphemed the Holy Spirit by taking credit for what was the leading of the Holy Spirit, when the Holy Spirit counsels man into revelation knowledge of the Word, man likewise speaks "not on his own", and is likewise not to take glory for what is the good work of the Holy Spirit in the teaching us of the meaning of the scriptures, and of "what to say and how to say it".

      Throughout the Bible, God uses the mechanism of "contrasts" to illustrate a point, to draw distinction, and to teach us all in the way and the truth and the life. And these "dualities" are always polar opposites of each other. Which also helps to create a certainty and clarity of thinking, one where there is "no gray area". An illustration of the “method of contrasts” is in ISAIAH where God says to man that His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. In other words, He is creating “a contrast”, a distinction between Himself and man, and a duality of “ways” and of “thoughts”. And in doing so, He is thereby reinforcing the "theme of contrasts" that we find throughout the Bible. For example: “Light and dark”; “Good and evil”; “Right and wrong”; “Love and hate”; “Righteousness and sin”; “Life and death”; “Truth and lies”; “Hope and doubt”; “Faith and fear”. Another duality, established right at the beginning of time, is the contrast of the two trees in the Garden of Eden (the tree of life; the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). All polar opposites. All contrasts. And all teaching aides.

      "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD's renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever." ISAIAH 55:8-13

      There is a good reason why God says My ways are not your ways, and My thoughts are not your thoughts. One of the contrasts that help frame man's comprehension of the constant tussle for man in choosing from which of the two trees he will feed, and in which tree he will place his trust, is the contrast of the "kingdom of the world" and the "kingdom of God". The contrasts here are also polar opposites, just like with all the dualities throughout the Bible. For the “kingdom of the world”, the currency and motive is “mammon”. The culture is "to take”. The principle is “for me, myself, I” (non-relational). The sovereignty is “self”. For the “kingdom of God”, the currency and motive is “love” (relational). The culture is “to give”. The principle is “for us”. The sovereignty is “God”. When a culture is based on "what I can take for myself", and the currency is the love of mammon, it is not surprising that God says My thoughts are not your thoughts, and My ways are not your ways. For those are NOT His ways or His thoughts. His ways are not for self, nor are His thoughts of Him alone. As a father is mindful of his children, the Father's thoughts and ways are forever inclined to expressing and accomplishing His love for His children. God's motives and thoughts are "to give". And His ways demonstrate this through His perfect model of love, which is to first fill our cups to overflowing with His love, through "communion and fellowship", and to then pour out that love, through "community" by "loving our neighbour as ourself" (MATTHEW 22:37-39).

      What God also says in the same scripture in Isaiah is that His word "goes out". Which is to release or to give, not to hold onto. He says it will not "return" to me empty. It cannot be in a position to "return" if it hasn't first been fully released, which is to be "given". The thinking of the world, on the other hand, is to not let what one has "go out" from the hand. But to "hold on to". It's to accumulate more and even more for self. Which is the opposite of faith. It means that you don't trust outside of what is in your hand. It places your trust in money and self (being the means to money). But God says it is impossible to please Him “without faith”. For an absence of faith believes that if I release it from my hand or mouth, it will "not return". It will leave me with lack or less, not more. It believes that such thinking will leave man's hand completely "empty". And in thinking like that, its thinking is diametrically opposite to the blueprint of the Father's thinking. And since “our ways” are a function of “our thoughts”, the ways of the world are also polar opposite to the kingdom of God.

      Yet the Father says quite clearly that what goes out from Me will not return to me empty. In other words, in giving, it prospers and provides not only for the one to whom He gives, for He says "it will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it", but it will also return to Him. In other words, in returning, it means His hand will be filled again, and by being filled again, He will be able to repeatedly let it "go out", again and again, to the benefit and gain of all. Which is what He means when He says "so that it yields seed for the “sower” (returns to the hand of the giver) and bread for the “eater”” (it is received by the one who for whom it was given). Which is "completely contrary" to the thoughts AND the ways of the kingdom of the world. This principle of giving and returning so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater fulfills the scripture of "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." ROMANS 11:6.

      Now, the ruler of the kingdom of the world is “the beast”. And we are talking about "the mark" of the beast. And the beast is “the devil”. He is the one who comes “to kill, steal and destroy”. In other words, everything he does, he does to “TAKE FROM” others, and not to “GIVE TO” others. It's all for self, and not for any others, but that they should rather have lack, and not ever for love. His name is Lucifer, and he is the ruler of the kingdom of the world. He is the ruler of the currency of mammon, and of the love of money, which is the world’s thought process of "accumulating and keeping for self", rather than giving unto others so that "it yields both a seed to the sower and bread for the eater". He kills, steals and maims the circle of life and love. When it comes to the “mark of the beast”, which is the mark "by he who has the authority" to bestow it, being “the beast”, that will "authorise" man's conditional permission to partake of the ecosystems of the kingdom of the world, which are the financial systems and systems of supply and demand, then those who take the mark will effectively be saying that they have no faith in the thoughts and the ways of the "kingdom of God", but that their faith is in the thoughts and ways of the "kingdom of the world". Which is why when God says that the only unforgivable sin is blaspheming the Holy Spirit, that He also says that those who take on the "mark of the beast" will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.

      "A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name."" REVELATION 14:9-11.

      Taking the mark of the beast is equal to and symbolic of taking the “30 pieces of silver” by Judas. He placed his trust in “the thirty pieces of silver” or “the ways of the kingdom of the world” rather than “the kingdom of God”. And he was "the son of perdition". Which describes a person who, like Judas, has experienced a certain closeness to God and has a good understanding of salvation, but then denies it. Instead of bearing good fruit, he bears “thorns and thistles.” The other son of perdition in the Bible is the Antichrist. Which establishes another duality, being those who are "the sons of the Antichrist" as opposed to "the sons of the Christ", which is the black and white scenario explained in 1 JOHN 3:10:"This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister."

      Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is the condition of heart that has become like the condition of Judas. It has fallen into apostasy. It does not believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. It believes not in “the evidence of things unseen”, but in the evidence of “what is seen”. In other words, it believes in “the 30 pieces of silver in the hand”. Those who take the mark of the beast are saying they “don't trust in God”, but that their faith is “in the beast, and his kingdom”, which is in the sovereignty of self, and the power of money. Their trust is in “the 30 pieces of silver” in their hand. Which is also why they won’t give it to another. And why they won’t give it in loving their neighbour as themselves so that it “can return”. They have arrived at that condition where all have become “as sons of perdition”. And so it is that “the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit” is synonymous with “the sin of taking on the mark of the beast”, which are both unforgivable.

       The comfort for those who are alive during the great tribulation and the kingdom of "the false prophet, the antichrist and the beast", being representative of the polar opposite of the kingdom of "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit", lies in these great words. "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." JOHN 14:12. At the time of the coming of the false prophet, the antichrist, and the beast, God will release His power upon His “true church”, being the church that not only firstly loves God with all its heart, and soul and strength, but the church that also loves its neighbour as itself, being that time when the church stops "playing church" and becomes the real church as opposed to a gathering of pew warmers that are motivated by self, and never go out to love their neighbour as themselves by doing greater miracles than multiplying "the five loaves and two fish" (a function of seven, being a perfect and complete work) in feeding the lost and hungry during the great tribulation. At that time, we will need not fear. We will not have to rely on the mark of the beast, or the systems of the world, or lucre and luck of lucifer (all three words having the same three letters: LUC), where the love of lucre and faith in luck are the primary products of the enterprise of deception of Lucifer, being the ways the devil kills, steals, and destroys man's faith in his Creator. And by Jesus making provision “for greater miracles”, which is an operation of faith, being not only the evidence of things hoped for, but the way we please the Father, we not only do not blaspheme the Holy Spirit, but we honour and glorify the Holy Spirit, who is the One who empowers us for these greater miracles, and enables us to overcome the ways and the thoughts of the world. And as such, by His thinking of us and making a way for us, God is also different from the ways of the world, because God honours His pledge to “never leave us or forsake us”, which was a pledge made “in the context of money”.

      "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
- HEBREWS 13:5

Now to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen. (1 TIMOTHY 1:17).

God's richest blessings, for now and for always, amen and amen.

Wayne Biehn