I’ve recently read where a well-known preacher believes that people who take the Mark of the Beast during the Tribulation can still be saved. I get the impression that this preacher may think that worshiping the Beast, not taking the mark, is what damns people during the Tribulation. Doesn’t Revelation 20:4 contradict this? Aren’t these people eternally damned after they take the mark?
We don’t need theologians to help us understand what Rev. 14:9-11 says. The language is clear.
“If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his 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 his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name.”
There are three acts mentioned here and any one of them will result in eternal damnation. Whether they 1)worship the beast (anti-Christ) or 2) worship his image, or 3) receive the mark of his name it’s all the same.
And you’re right in saying that Rev. 20:4 confirms this. Tribulation martyrs who are resurrected at the time of the 2nd Coming will be those who did not worship the beast or his image and did not receive his mark.