Well hello and welcome back my beautiful family! As always, it is an absolute pleasure to have you here with me today. Thanks for joining me and I hope that today's topic will be more than just a read, a study to a very important prophecy aspect found in the book of Revelations: "the mark of the beast". Before we enter in-full into our study, let me ask you: What do you think the "mark of the beast" is? What have you heard about it? What does your church/denomination preaches the "mark of the beast" is?
As it has been our tradition, I invite you take a look at this post's video which is in essence a summary of what we'll be discussing in much detail on this post. If you're a visual person, then great! If not, then feel free to skip the video and proceed with the lecture :)
So, did you see the video? What are your thoughts? I more than welcome you to reach out with any comments, questions, follow-ups or concerns. More than just this being a prophecy crash course, I'd love for this to be a study, a conversation between us. That's how we can all ultimately learn, no? By studying with others towards understanding God's word WITH the help of God's Holy Spirit.
Some background before starting...
First off, it is of the outmost importance for me to emphasize something that I have said many times before throughout several different posts... when it comes to Bible study, we HAVE TO ALLOW the Bible and the Bible ONLY to interpret itself. God has left for us everything that we need to study Bible, in the Bible. There is no need for human interpretations, extrapolations, or deductions. The Bible and the Bible ONLY. This, among may other reasons, is one of the things that helps me keep my faith and beliefs strong.
On another note, we have (by the awesome grace of God) studied prophecy before. In one of our studies back in February we learned about and identified who the 'little horn' that appears in Daniel 7 is and how this 'little horn' is a representation of the beast that appears in Revelation 13:1-10; the two are one in the same. [To learn more about this, click here] Using all the characteristics given in Daniel 7 about this 'little horn' (which by the way can be seen again in Rev 13:1-10) we clearly identified that the 'little horn' (Dan 7) or beast (Rev 13) represents the Roman Catholic Papacy. I invite you to take a look at that study prior to continuing this one.
Now, in Revelation 13, towards the end, there's mention of a 'mark' that the beast has, and then in Revelation 14, within the 3 angels' message we see, again, a mention of the 'mark of the beast'. Considering that the commonly known "Three angels' message"is God's last final message and warning to the world, needless to say... it is of the outmost importance to identify what is the "mark of the beast". Worry not, we will do that today in this post with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Ready?
Where is the 'mark of the beast' mentioned in the Bible?
As mentioned in the previous section, the 'mark of the beast' appears both in Revelation 13 and 14... lets read both instances with a little background for context.
First, let's read the appearance of the 'mark of the beast' in Revelations 13. Remember that Revelation 13:1-10 speaks about a beast (same as 'little horn') which represents the Roman Catholic Papacy as we've already identified. Now, on the second part of Rev 13 another beast appears that seems to give life and power to the first beast. Although we will not be studying today who this 2nd beast is, it is important to see what this beast is doing and what it is enforcing. Let's read...
"Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He [second beast] causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. - Revelation 13:11-17
**emphasis added for guidance
Note how this second beast, against all odds, works very closely with the first beast (Roman Catholic Papacy) to ensure the authority of the Papacy is enforced. Note also how this second beast forbids the buying, selling and even persecutes and kills those who do not have the mark attributed to the first beast (Papacy).
Now, let's read the "Three Angels' Message" found in Revelation 14.
"Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.'
And another angel followed, saying, 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'
Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” - Revelation 14:6-11
I have separated the verses to have a clear delineation of what each angel is proclaiming; 3 angels, 3 messages. Again, remember that these messages are God's last warning message to the world. I wish I had the time to discuss everything that's going on in these verses but I can't. If you reach out, I promise we can definitely talk more :). In the meantime, let's focus on a few things:
Note that the prevailing conflict during the last stages of this world's history is all about WORSHIP (highlighted in blue). The world is being called to worship the Creator; His judgement hour has come. Also, the world is receiving a warning about those who are indeed worshipping, but not God but the beast. It is easy to see between the lines how both God and the beast are demanding worship.
Note the mention, again and as in the previous chapter (Rev 13), of the 'mark of the beast'.
Now that we have the biblical picture and context, the question that prevails is, what is the 'mark of the beast'?
The Seal of God
The truth of the matter is that knowing what the 'mark of the beast' is does nothing for our Salvation; having the seal or the mark of God does. So, before we identify what the 'mark of the beast' is, it is of the outmost importance to identify what the Seal of God is, as such, we'll know what is God's own mark, hence, making the identification of the beast's mark much easier.
Where do we see in the Bible a mention of God's seal/mark? Let's read:
"Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 'Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.'" - Revelation 7:2-3
Interesting, no? Just as the 'mark of the beast' can be in the forehead, God's own seal can also be in the forehead. The question now becomes, what is the Seal of God?
"[God speaking] Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." - Isaiah 8:16
Note how God is asking to seal His law amongst His disciples, a correlation between God's Seal and His law. Furthermore, there's a very interesting historical fact when it comes to the seals used by the Kings in old times and even during biblical times.
A seal from these old times always had three (3) distinct characteristics... actually three characteristics that are very easily identifiable from just reading through the Old Testament and seeing how kings are introduced. The 3 characteristics of a seal are (1) that it contains the name of the person issuing the seal, (2) the title of the person (i.e. King), and (3) the jurisdiction (geographical area). Can you guess where I am going with this?
When studying God's law, there is only ONE commandment that lists (1) God's name, (2) God's title, and (3) God's territory. Let's take a look:
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." - Exodus 20:8-11
The name: The Lord, God
The Title: The Creator
The jurisdiction: The Earth and everything that is in it
Right there on the Sabbath, on the Sabbath commandment lies the Seal of God. The Sabbath is the mark of God's authority as a Creator. Without the 4th commandment, God's Law can quite literally be anyone's Law, but the Sabbath, the presence of the Sabbath, is a reminder of Who the Creator is and under Whose authority the moral code there explained is. Amen to this! When the Sabbath is kept, is a sign that we honor and respect He Who Created it all.
"...hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God." - Ezequiel 20:20
The sabbath is the sign, the seal, the mark of God. I think now we're ready to identify what the mark of the beast is... do you agree?
The 'Mark of the Beast'...
Before we say anything about the 'mark of the beast', let's recap: (1) we know that the beast - the first beast in Rev 13 and the little horn in Daniel 7 - is no other than the Roman Catholic Papacy... the politico-religious power of the Catholic Church, and (2) God's seal, sign, mark is His the sabbath. The keeping of the Sabbath per God's commandment calls us out to remember Him as the Creator; it is His sign between him and his people.
This being said, we can directly conclude that if God's seal, God's mark is the Sabbath day, then the 'mark of the beast' must simply be a counterfeit day, a day that is opposite to what God teaches; a day which this beast proclaims is a worship day against the word of the living God... yes, you read me right. This beast has the audacity and bravery to openly defy God's commandments and super-impose its own commandment/s in lieu of those given by God. Talk about boldness.
As we already stated and read from the 'Three Angels' Message', the last conflict on this planet will be a conflict over worship. God calls us to worship Him and warns us as to what will happen to those who worship the beast and receive the beast's seal. He asks us to worship Him and keep His sabbath... now this beast wants worship for himself... as to a day, can you think of any day that the Roman Catholic Papacy has instituted as a worship day?
There is only ONE day which the Roman Catholic Papacy power and church have proclaimed a worship day and instituted it as a God-given day against God's own word:
"If you follow the Bible alone there can be no question that you are obliged to keep Saturday holy, since that is the day especially prescribed by Almighty God to be kept holy to the Lord. In keeping Sunday, non-Catholics are simply following the practice of the Catholic Church for 1800 years, a tradition, and not a Bible ordinance... ” F. G. Lentz, The Question Box (New York: Christian Press Association, 1900), pp. 98, 99
“The Catholic Church for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday. We say by virtue of her divine mission, because he who called himself the ‘Lord of the Sabbath,’ endowed her with his own power to teach, ‘he that heareth you, heareth me;’ commanded all who believe in him to hear her under penalty of being placed with the ‘heathen and publican;’ and promised to be with her tothe end of the world. She holds her charter as teacher from him—a charter as infallible as perpetual. The Protestant world at its birth [in the Reformation of the sixteenth century] found the Christian Sabbath too strongly entrenched to run counter to its existence; it was therefore placed under the necessity of acquiescing in the arrangement, thus implying the church’s right to change the day, for over three hundred years. The Christian Sabbath is therefore to this day, the acknowledged offspring of the Catholic Church as spouse of the Holy Ghost, without a word of remonstrance from the Protestant world.” The Catholic Mirror (Baltimore, September 23, 1893)
"The authority of the church could therefore not be bound to the authority of Scriptures because the Church had changed... the Sabbath into Sunday, not by command of Christ, but by its own authority." - Canon and Tradition, p. 263
It is not yet too late for protestants to redeem themselves. Will they do it? Will they stand consistently upon the protestant profession, will they indeed take the written word only, the Scripture alone, as their sole authority and sole standard? Or will they still hold the indefensible, self contradictory, and suicidal doctrine and practice of following the authority of the Catholic Church and wear the sign of her authority? Will they keep the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day, according to Scripture? Or will they keep the Sunday according to the tradition of the Catholic Church? - Rome's Challenge (Why do Protestants keep Sunday?), p. 31
**I should state that all these quotes above... are from Catholic sources.
Let me call it out as clear as I can: The Roman Catholic Papacy is the beast, the Sunday as the day of worship is an institution of the Catholic Church who claim to have the power to overrule God's own law; they claim this power is the *sign* of their authority. The receiving of the Sunday as the day to worship God... is receiving the mark of the beast. Keep reading though :) there's something that still needs to be clarified.
The most defiant thing that someone can do to challenge God's authority is to change His law... the Catholic Church has done just that. As the last world conflict develops, every person will choose the mark/sign of the power they choose to obey. God's law... or Religio-political laws influenced by the Roman Catholic Papacy and power. As prophecy outlines and perhaps we'll study in the near future (2nd part of Revelation 13), the time will come (very soon) when church and state will join forces again and the Catholic Papacy will once again rule using the influence and power of the United States of America as the enforcer. At that time, laws will be instituted forcing the people to worship on Sunday and we all will have to take a stand: we follow the masses and respect the government's authority, or we stay true to God and obey and worship He who Created it all.
Today, if I worship on Sundays, do I have the 'mark of the beast'?
To answer this question we have to go back to Revelation 13 and study the sequence of events. A read at Revelation 13 shows that the 'mark of the beast' makes it's first appearance during the time of the 2nd beast and while this one (a beast that we have not yet studied but is none other than the United States of America) enforces the authority of the 1st beast and forces all to have the 'mark of the beast' if they wish to buy, sell or even stay alive. (See Rev 13:11-17). It is not until the government enforces the worshipping on Sundays and reverence to the Roman Catholic power that the 'mark of the beast' becomes active. It is when we are forced to take sides, God's or man's, and make a conscious decision...that we will carry the seal and mark of God... or that of the beast.
Now you may be wondering or asking: "So then... is it 'ok' to worship on Sundays because the 'mark of the beast' is not yet a thing?" The answer is: even though your ability to buy, sell or even stay alive might not be compromised just yet, you still have a decision on your hands. The fact that there's no "mark of the beast" yet doesn't mean you have a free pass. There's a verse in the Bible that states:
"His lord said to him,‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’" - Matthew 25:23
If now that you are FREE to make a decision, honor God or honor the tradition of men you choose wrong... do you really think that you will choose God when your ability to feed your family and even to live is compromised? There's no 'mark of the beast' just yet, but there is disobeying and sinning against God. God had stated that we should keep Sabbaths, Saturdays; the Roman Catholic Papacy instituted Sundays. Which day will you keep? Slowly but surely you can already tell that Saturdays are regarded as secular days and that Sundays are more broadly accepted as "God's day"; do you follow God's commandments and keep the day (Saturday) denoting His authority as Creator or follow commandments made by men openly defying God's law and their day (Sunday) who they believe is a sign of their authority? The ultimate choice is yours...
Closing
Satan has done a pretty good job himself to distract us from what the true 'mark of the beast' is and what will the final conflict of the world revolve around. From implanted chips, to vaccines, to pills or cerebral implants... many have offered all sorts of explanations and opinions as to what the 'mark of the beast' will be. For a topic as important as the world's final conflict and God's final appeal to the earth, He would not had left us to rely on personal opinions as a method of bible prophecy interpretation. Everything we need to know to understand this earth's final conflict and what the 'mark of the beast' is... God has already left for us in the Bible.
Friend, we have studied the seal/mark of God, we have studied the seal/mark of the beast, we have defined who the beast represents and which other power represents the second beast that appears in Revelation 13. We have talked about timelines and we have talked about decisions that need to be consciously made. Who will you ultimately choose to serve? Who's authority will you hold-on to? God's or man's? When will the last final conflict in the world be is uncertain, all we know is that the puzzle pieces are slowly but surely falling into place. What we do know is that this final conflict will revolve around worship. Who will you worship? ...and along the lines of this post, in which day will you worship? Note that behind the scenes of history Satan has evolved significantly. He no longer pursues to get us not to worship... but to worship contrary to God's word.
What will your decision be? My invite to you is for you to choose serving God regardless of how bad the consequences might be. God WILL stay true to His promises and will reward those who honor and obey Him. Unfortunately my beautiful friend... I cannot choose for you. Choose and know that the consequences of your decision will be eternal.
Until next one my friend,