A Much Bigger Problem for Those Who Take the Mark of the Beast Than Just Getting Marked
On the other hand, only one very specific sin is ever said to be unforgivable. Any sin that is repented of is forgivable. Immediately after declaring all fornicators, drunkards, and swindlers unfit for heaven, the apostle writes, “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). After saying, “Whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven,” Jesus famously forgave Peter, who denied Him before men.
Jesus Himself said, “Any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven ” (Matthew 12:31, emphasis added). The one unpardonable sin was the sin of those who had seen His miracles with their own eyes; they knew He was the true Messiah; they were part of the generation to whom He was personally sent. And yet they attributed His powers to Satan. That was unforgivable because it was such a hard-hearted, willful expression of utter rejection from fully enlightened hearts, who punctuated their rejection with an extreme blasphemy. Those Pharisees had stood in the presence of the living embodiment of all truth; they heard His words and saw His works. All the mysteries of Christ had been unveiled before their very eyes. And yet they spurned Him. There was nothing else that could be shown to them to enlighten them further. They were not deceived; they knew full well what they were doing. That’s why their sin was unpardonable (cf. 1 Timothy 1:13).
Revelation 19:20 indicates that multitudes will take the mark of the Beast because they are deceived. Scripture does not say that they are thereby automatically hardened forever against repentance. That is not the point of the strong warnings.
This whole issue suddenly became a matter of intense controversy when it was mentioned on a provocative radio program. It’s certainly not worth all the ink that has been wasted and all the bandwidth that has been consumed by angry people demanding explanations and retractions. This much should certainly be clear from the biblical text (and I think would be affirmed by all sides): Taking the mark of the Beast is high treason against Christ and will be judged by God accordingly. Meanwhile, the Lord is “good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon [Him]” (Psalm 86:5).
This is quite a stand. I feel confused about why Dr. MacArthur thinks otherwise. As much as I've enjoyed several of his sermons - I feel like his stand on the mark of the Beast feels out of place. Yet, I decided to redo a study on Revelation and there's probably one important key phrase and it's "repented not". Here are the verses that talk about people who receive the mark of the Beast that they repented not:
Revelation 9:21
Neither repented they of their murders, nor their sorceries, nor of their fornications nor of their thefts.
Revelation 16:9-11
And men were scorched with great heat and blasphemed the name of God which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory. [10] And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the sea of the Beast and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues in for pain, [11] And blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their pains and repented not of their deeds.
Here's the problem. God has been giving them more than 14 chances to repent. Revelation 9 talks about the seven trumpets. Revelation 16 talks about the seven bowls of God's wrath. You can see the words "neither repented" and "repented not". In short, God has been given these people who have received the mark of the Beast their chance to repent but they repented not.
What's the much bigger issue with the warning in Revelation 14:9-11? The mark of the Beast begins with worship. Nobody ever receives the mark of the Beast if they're saved. Anybody who has become a Christian after the Rapture wouldn't even think about it because it's obviously high treason against Christ. Those who have taken the mark have already given their minds into worshiping the Antichrist as part of the system. They have had all the time to repent whether it's the seven trumpets or the seven bowls in Armageddon - these people repented not! The continuous path of rebellion is where those who have taken the mark of the Beast is going. They continue in their rebellion against God hence it shows why those who are taking the mark of the Beast - they continuously refuse to repent!
This is what MacArthur probably means. He's emphasizing that these people are given the chance to repent but they didn't. That's probably what he meant - these people aren't just going to the Lake of Fire forever for simply receiving the mark. They are going to the Lake of Fire because of their continuous rebellion against God. Besides, those who worship the Beast don't even have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Revelation 13:8).
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