‘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.’ That is happening in these last times and it has happened periodically throughout history in a literal way. We have had it in the United Kingdom: tradespeople, who wouldn’t provide things for, say, same-sex marriage festivities, being prosecuted. It has been brought to nothing at the moment in the UK, but in the USA there are people who have gone to prison simply because they wouldn’t provide, say, a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage, and a prosecution against them, criminal prosecution, has been successful in what boasts to be the land of freedom. Extraordinary!
And we have seen similar things among ordinary Christians. First of all, we saw the civil registrars being fired because they wouldn’t officiate at same-sex marriages. Then we saw science lecturers being fired, a number of teachers being fired and harassed. That is only what this verse speaks of coming to pass: ‘that no man might buy or sell’, carry out his trade or his work or his employment, without kowtowing to the immorality of the age, and be criminalised if he refuses. This kind of persecution has gone on, periodically for years. Years ago, in the 70s and the 80s, we were reading about those dear friends who were believers in the Soviet Union, the old Soviet Union. They were not allowed to finish their schooling, because their parents weren’t in the party. They suffered all kinds of repression, major and minor, taking away opportunities, consigning them to the lower ranks of society. We have seen it all in various places. But in many ways it’s fulfilled all the time. There are many Christians who have had measures taken against them in their profession or place of employment, being denied promotion or promoted down – if you can speak of such a thing – because it was resented that they were Christians, and they held Christian views. We see much of this, and particularly in our land in these last days.