Revelation 3:1 ¶ And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. 6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
PART TWO
Those people in the upcoming last 3 ½ years of human history, called The Great Tribulation by Bible students, cannot take the Beast’s mark without suffering God’s rejection. There may be those who claim to be Christians but are really philosophical Christians or cultural Christians or even political Christians who will deny Christ by taking this mark.
In the early church there were great controversies over whether or not Christians who had surrendered under persecution and denied Christ should be readmitted to fellowship upon their repentance of their deed. We should not take this lightly as the impulse to make a statement that pleased the authorities would be very strong if your child was being tortured in front of your eyes.
Our Baptist doctrine of eternal security is called into question here but I think there is a resolution. First, the heresy of Calvinism must be addressed and then the question of the meaning of the verses in 2Timothy 2 and Hebrews 6 in relation to eternal security. Finally, the question of whether or not Christians in the Great Tribulation could lose their salvation needs to be examined.
John Calvin and his adherents called Calvinists made and make the primary mistake of applying any “..ism” to the Bible. Forcing the Bible to be interpreted by a system creates grave errors in understanding, particularly as the student is not open to evidence the Holy Spirit reveals to him. For instance, recently I was starting a discussion with a Calvinist and realized there was no grounds on which to continue our discussion because he, in believing that mankind is not capable of choosing God and that God chooses those who will be saved and those who will burn in eternity, simply ignored and refused to comment on verses contrary to his beliefs.
Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
When a person places a method of interpretation whether it be Calvinism, Fundamentalism, Replacement Theology, Dispensationalism, etc. above the Bible it is not possible to reason with them.
Secondly, regarding 2Timothy 2:13;
13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
With Christ’s Spirit abiding within us it is He who saves and preserves and the verses I quoted above in no way deny the security of our salvation in the age of the church. In similar regard Hebrews 6:4-6 shows that it is impossible to be saved twice. So, either our salvation is secure by virtue of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection or, if you believe you can lose your salvation, you cannot ever be saved again and are lost forever. But that is for the age of the church.
Under the Law a Jew could lose their salvation. Talking to Ezekiel, God said;
Ezekiel 3:20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Ezekiel 18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Compare this with Christ’s promise;
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Back to what we call the Great Tribulation it is clear that anyone, no matter what their profession of faith is, if they take the mark of the Beast, will perish forever.
Revelation 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Revelation 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
So, either no actual Christian will take the mark of the Beast, a Christian in the Great Tribulation can lose their salvation, or, based on the context, the person is condemned because they worship the Beast, not because someone threatened to torture and kill their loved ones or they were faced with starvation if they did not take the mark and they did out of fear and weakness. Some commentators even say there will be no believers in this Tribulation however there are some problems with that and chapter 12.
I would bring to mind that Peter was forgiven for his denial that he knew Christ and also remember the parable of the tares and the wheat. There are many who say they are Christian who will deny Christ under pressure but will not return to Him in bitter, tearful repentance like Peter.
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