Who or What Is the Prophetic Beast?
Part Four
What Is the Mark of the Beast?
Better
be sure whether this brand is upon you! Without it, no man will be able
to buy or sell! Without it, you may be tortured even to death! But with
it, you shall suffer the SEVEN LAST PLAGUES OF GOD!
We begin
now to see that The MARK of the beast involves a point
Of OBEDIENCE WHETHER we shall OBEY God or reject the commandments of
God and obey man's rule.
It has something to do, then, with the commandments of God!
A mark of obedience
Notice, there
are two classes one has the mark, the other rejects it and is
martyred. Notice now the description of those who refuse this evil
mark: "Here is the patience or the saints: here art they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12).
There
it is! In verses 9-11 of this chapter the third angel warns that those
who have the mark of the beast shall be punished by the plagues of God.
In the next verse, the 12th, the saints who do not have the mark are
those who keep the COMMANDMENTS of God!
Those who have the mark,
therefore, are those who refuse to keep the commandments of God. The
MARK of the Beast, therefore, involves a rejection of the commandments
of God, or of one of them, for if we break one we are guilty of
all (James 2:10). So, one class of people accepts the MARK of
the beast. The other class keeps the commandments of God.
Mark of disobedience
Hence, whatever the mark, of the beast may be, it means disobedience to Gods government to the commandments of God.
Here's further proof — here are they who get victory over this mark:
Revelation
15:2-3: "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and
them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image,
and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of
glass. having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the
servant of God, and the song of the lamb, saying. Great and marvelous
are thy works. Lord God Almighty; just, and true are thy ways, thou
King of saints."
This corresponds to the Children of Israel. delivered from Egyptian bondage under Moses.
Moses
was a type of Christ. Pharaoh was the type and forerunner of this
beast. The plagues God poured on Egypt were a type of the last plagues
to be poured out on Babylon.
The children of Israel stood on the.
shore of the Red Sea, and God miraculously delivered them. Here the
saints of God are pictured on this symbolic sea of glass.
They
sing the Song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb (Christ). Moses
pictures law and God's commandments; the Lamb (Christ) pictures faith
and salvation from sin,
Remember, the beast is the human civil
organization of the devil. In Revelation 12. we find Satan stirred to
great wrath "because he knoweth that he hath but a short time"
(verse 12). He then starts a great persecution or
TRIBULATION, against the TRUE Church — the true saints of God. This is
just prior to the Second Coming of Christ (verse 13). Now notice
against whom Satan is so wroth:
"And the dragon [Satan| was
wroth with the woman [Church]|, and went to make war with the remnant
|last generation] of her seed, which keep the commandments of God. and
have the testimony of Jesus Christ [the Bible]" (verse 17).
There
it is again! Those keeping God's COMMANDMENTS, those
yielding themselves to God's rule, and living by every word of God by
the Bible which is the written testimony of Jesus Christ — they are the
ones the devil will persecute and martyr through his false church and
his reborn empire!
But Satan knows his own, He will brand His
own with a mark. so they shall not receive this persecution and
martyrdom, even as God put a mark on sinning Cain lest men finding him
slay him (Genesis 4:15), All who do not receive Satan's brand the
MARK Of the BEAST — will suffer Satan's wrath in the
tribulation.
Thank God, those days shall he cut short, for the elect's SAKE!
Class on whom plagues fall
There
are two classes of people. That class that receives the mark of the
beast is the class upon whom the PLAGUES OF GOD will fall. So If we can
further identify those who shall receive this WRATH OF GOD, and why God
will thus punish them, we shall further identity what the mark is.
In
Ephesians 5 Paul is telling Christians to flee fornication,
covetousness. idolatry - transgressing the Ten Commandments Then he
says, "for because of these things
[transgressing God's Law] cometh the wrath of God [last plagues] upon
the children <>] disobedience" (Ephesians 5:6).
How
plain! The wrath of God — the seven last plagues are coming
on those who DISOBEY God, by violating the commandments, The plagues
fall upon those who have the mark of the beast!
Those who
receive the plagues are breakers of God's commandments. and also at the
same time receivers of the mark! It becomes more and more plain that
the mark of the beast represents COMMANDMENT BREAKING.
Notice
this again in Colossians 3:5-6. "Mortify therefore your members which
are upon the earth; fornication, uncleaness, inordinate
affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is Idolatry
[transgressions of some of the Ten Commandments]: for which things'
sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience."
Notice
it also in the prophecies of the Old Testament: "The great day of the
Lord [time of God's wrath — the last plagues) is near...that day is a
day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress... and I [God] will bring
distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men [The plagues!
But why?], because they have sinned against the Lord'' (Zephaniah
1:14-17).
What is sin "Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4) commandment breaking.
The TRUTH becomes plain Now. Let's recapitulate! The truth is becoming plain!
1)
The mark plainly means the rejecting and breaking of God's
commandments. And in James 2:10-11, God says if we break only one of
the command merits, we are guilty of breaking the LAW — guilty of all!
2) The Roman Empire is the real author of this mark. It is the mark of the beast, not the woman who rode the beast.
3) The church caused people to be deceived into receiving this mark.
4)
Satan gives this Roman Empire its seal and great authority —- it is the
political instrument through which Satan works. in deceiving the world.
5) Those who refuse this mark are prohibited from "buying or selling" — engaging in commerce, trade or holding a job.
6)
Many of those refusing this mark were, and shall again he, martyred
because of Their refusal — because they keep the commandments of God!
7)
Therefore, the inevitable and plain conclusion is that the mark
is something enforced by the church, originating in the
paganism of the Roman Empire, which a cunning, deceiving devil would
seize on as a means of cleverly deceiving people into breaking God's
Ten Commandments. And it involves a direct connection with holding a
job — engaging in business — earning a living.
Satan
is clever cunning — a deceiver. He palms off counterfeits, which look
like the genuine! Naturally he would select the one commandment of God
that he can counterfeit with a substitute — one in which by human
reason alone no man could see where it would make any difference! He
would select the one that would seem of least importance to the carnal
human mind!
He would not try to deceive men on idolatry,
profanity or on stealing, lying, murder, adultery though he has led
people into all of these.
But what commandment could it be what commandment affecting a man's job, or his business?
There
is only one possible commandment the one regarded by the largest
number as the "least" of the commandments — and that is the Fourth
Commandment. which says. "Remember the sabbath day. to keep it holy.
... the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God."
Why saints were martyred
No
carnal mind can see. without the special spiritual revelation of God
through His Word, where it makes any difference which day man observes.
Where
DID Sunday originate? Not with the church, but with the pagan religion
of the Roman Empire! It is the day on which the ancient pagans
assembled at sunrise, faced the east (as they do Easter Sunday morning
today) and worshiped the rising SUN.
It was Constantine, emperor
of the Roman Empire, not a pope, who made Sunday the official so-called
"'Christian day of rest." But it was enforced — people were caused to
accept it universally - by the CHURCH! It was for obeying God's FOURTH
Commandment keeping the Sabbath that millions of saints were put
to death, The local Council of Laodicea, about A.D.. 163, passed this
decree: 'Christians must not Judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but
must work on that day, resting rather on Sunday. But, if any be found
to be Judaizing, let them be declared anathema from Christ."
The
church caused them to be killed. When the church branded one "anathema"
(a heretic), the state police of the empire began torturing hint.
Unless he recanted. he was tortured until he died!
Laws became
SO Strict no man could hold a job, or engage in business,
unless he worked on Saturday and rested on Sunday.
And the world is now cleverly deceiving people into breaking God's Ten
Commandments. And it involves a direct connection with holding a job —
engaging in business — earning a living.
No carnal mind can see.
without the special spiritual revelation of God through His Word, where
it makes any difference which day man observes.
Where DID Sunday
originate? Not with the church, but with the pagan religion of the
Roman Empire! It is the day on which the ancient pagans assembled at
sunrise, faced the east (as they do Easter Sunday morning today) and
worshiped the rising SUN.
It was Constantine, emperor of the
Roman Empire, not a pope, who made Sunday the official so-called
"'Christian day of rest." But it was enforced — people were caused to
accept it universally - by the CHURCH! It was for obeying God's FOURTH
Commandment keeping the Sabbath that millions
of saints were put to death, The local Council of Laodicea,
about A.D.. 163, passed this decree: 'Christians must not Judaize by
resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, resting rather on
Sunday. But, if any be found to be Judaizing, let them be declared
anathema from Christ."
The church caused them to be killed. When
the church branded one "anathema" (a heretic), the state police of the
empire began torturing hint. Unless he recanted. he was tortured until
he died!
Laws became SO Strict no man could hold a job, or
engage in business, unless he worked on
Saturday and rested on Sunday. And the world is now so geared that it
is almost impossible for one to "buy or sell" except he receive this
mark of the BEAST' This is the ONLY COMMANDMENT that was altered by the
Roman Empire! In Daniel 7:25 we read the prophecy of this BEAST and the
little horn (the political government of the church) rising up. which
was to think to change "times and laws." That is, think to change God's
Law in respect to time — the time for the Sabbath!
What is a mark, anyway?
Now
what is a mark? In Bible usage it is virtually synonymous with a
"sign," and in one or two places used interchangeably. There is merely
this difference: A mark is a brand of identification, forced on one,
Cattle raisers put by force their mark on their cattle — their brand. A
sign is also a badge of IDENTITY, but one voluntarily accepted and
used. A druggist hangs a sign in front of his store. It may say. "Jones
& Co., DRUGS " it identifies. It tells what kind of store, and who
owns it.
Now the beast, in association with the church, used
force to brand the Western world with their mark. Those who obeyed God
and kept His Sabbath were martyred. They were unable to "buy or sell."
But
God does not force anyone. God lets us make our own decision about
obeying Him, accepting Christ and becoming His obedient children.
But is the Sabbath God's sign that we are Christians, belonging to Him?
Yes, indeed!
Gods SIGN
It
was after God had made. and ratified, the covenant with Israel. That
Old Covenant, of course, was for limited duration and is now replaced
with the New. But any covenant made after it had been made and ratified
by blood was no part of that Old Covenant.
It was 40 days after
that ratification that God made a new, separate. different covenant
between Himself and all who should be His people, to last forever This
was no temporary covenant, but for all generations, FOREVER.
It
is found in Exodus 31:12-17: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying . .
. Verily MY Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you
throughout your generations."
These generations of Israel — WE
are Israel (see our free book The United States and Britain in
Prophecy) are Still going on!
Now
why is it a sign? Does it IDENTIFY God to US? Does it identify us as
His? ". . , That ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you."
Get the powerful meaning of those words!
It
is a sign, that we may KNOW that the Eternal is the true God It
identifies who God is. How? Notice verse 17: it is a sign ... for in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he
rested, and was refreshed "
It is the memorial of God's rest from
CREATION, Always, in all parts of the Bible, God identifies Himself as
CREATOR. How can we distinguish who is the TRUE God from all the false
gods? The true God created everything that is,
including everything people have turned into false gods
and worshiped.
Some worshiped the sun. But the Eternal, the true
God, created the sun, and rules it. Some Worship idols carved out of
stone, or wood, or marble. But the true God created that from which
they were made, and even the human beings who made them.
The
Sabbath is God's Sabbath, not the Jewish Sabbath. Never does the Bible
call it the "Jewish Sabbath." It identifies God as the Creator.
The
Sabbath was made for man. So said Jesus (Mark 2:27), It was made WHEN
man was made (Genesis 2:1-1). It was made and it was Christ, the Yahweh
or Eternal, who made it! Therefore He is the Lord of the Sabbath!
It
was made to keep man in the true knowledge of the IDENTITY of the true
God, to keep him from idolatry! And history proves that
every nation who did NOT keep
God's Sabbath worshiped false gods, and did not know who the true God
was! When Israel quit keeping God's Sabbath, they went into idolatry
(Ezekiel 20:5. 11-13, 17-21). It was for Sabbath BREAKING GOD SENT BOTH
ISRAEL AND JUDAH INTO SLAVERY!
But Back to Exodus 31:17-18 It
also is the sign by which we are identified as belonging to God. We
belong to whom we obey — so we read in Romans! It is the sign by which
we know He is the Eternal "that doth sanctify You.''
To sanctify
is to set apart for spiritual use. The SABBATH sets one apart from the
world, and always did — as obeying and belonging to GOD.
Can you think of ANY REASON why anyone would ever keep the Sabbath, except to obey God?
Would
any man defy human custom and invite persecution, and be set apart as
different, through human reason? Could any atheist be a Sabbath keeper?
The SABBATH IDENTIFIES GOD'S PEOPLE!
God's people, we have seen
above, are identified as they who KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS The
world acknowledges all the other nine commandments. The only one the
world rejects is the fourth. The only one that sets one
apart from the
world — that identifies one as belonging to GOD
— that is a SIGN of God — is the Sabbath.
Notice, verse 16. It
is a "perpetual COVENANT." It
is a COVENANT! It is no part of the
Old Covenant no part of
the law of Moses! It was made with Israel after all these, and is a
separate, and perpetual, COVENANT.
Notice verse 17. "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel For ever." There it is! It is a covenant. It is FOREVER!
When
given to physical, fleshborn Israel, this covenant punished by death
any breaking of the SIGN. Today, since the administration of the death
penalty by the Levites and judges is not being done (II Corinthians
3:7-8), and since all believers, in all nations, whether Israelite or
gentile, arc grafted into spiritual Israel (Romans 11:24), the willful
refusal to keep this sign is punishable by death — the second
death. "He that despised Moses law died without mercy under two or
three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be
thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God...?"
(Hebrews 10:28-29).
Right hand and in forehead
God
says the penalty for sin is death! Sin is the transgression of the
law If we break only this one
commandment, we are guilty The penalty is
death!
The Roman church caused people to receive the mark of
pagan Rome the Sunday observed by the pagan Roman Empire and the
penally for disobedience was death!
Fifty million or more were put to death so says history.
It
is the only commandment the world will not accept in its mind
(forehead) and obey (by work, or rest, with the hand) It is the only
commandment that can distinguish between those who have the mark
of the beast,
or the SIGN OF GOD.
Now the book of Revelation
is written mostly in symbols. The right hand symbolizes work or
labor the forehead, the
intellect or mind. It has to do with What we BELIEVE, in the mind and
whether we OBEY, with the hand.
How about Gods sign?
It also was received in the forehead. and the hand!
Regarding
one of God's annual Sabbaths, we read: "It shall be for a SIGN unto
thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes [forehead],
that the Lord's LAW may be in thy mouth" (Exodus 13:9).
Deuteronomy
6:1, 6-8: "Now these are the commandments . . . and these words, which
I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart . . . and thou shalt
bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall
be as frontlets between thine eyes."
Deuteronomy 11:18;
"Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your
soul, and shall them for a SIGN upon your hand, that they may be
as frontlets between your eyes"
Also see Proverbs 7:2-3 and Revelation 7;3 4, 14:1.
There is absolute proof! Yes, the truth is very plain!
The
Sabbath is God's sign, standing, more than any commandment, for
OBEDIENCE. It was symbolically in the hand and in the FOREHEAD, just as
the mark, of the Beast — the pagan Sunday was in the right
hand and in the forehead!
SUNDAY observance Christmas, New Year's, Easter, etc. this is the MARK of the BEAST!
The
church did cause all under the "Holy Roman Empire" to receive this
mark, during the Middle Ages. Not only were active church members
caused to observe Sunday Instead of the Sabbath, but it became a
universal custom so that all the Western world — regardless of
religious connection or belief - accepted Sunday instead of
Saturday as the weekly day of rest. It has become universal in
the Western world except for Judaism. Islam, a few sects in
Christianity and the comparative few whom God has called out of this
world and into His true Church.
Has the Roman church stopped causing people to receive this mark?
Just
at present she has not the POWER to enforce this mark on everyone But
there will be a United States of Europe — a union of 10 nations. It
will be a Union of church and state and the church once again will sit
astride the beast.
Now notice Daniel 7:21-22: "I beheld, and the
same horn [the political government of the church] made war with the
Saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came
[Second Coming of Christ], and judgment was given to the saints of the
most High."
Yes, the mark OF THE BEAST once again will be
enforced! No one will be able to hold a job or engage in business
without it. those refusing will once again be tortured and martyred —
probably by the secret police of the political state but
at the behest of the church!
Today,
All. NATIONS are deceived
by this paganism masquerading under the name
"Christianity." Today, America, Canada, Britain. Israelitish
nations, descended from the ancient so-called lost 10 tribes of Israel
— are actually in the ways of this "Babylon "
God's last warning
is this: "COME OUT of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her
sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues (Revelation 18:4)!
If
you are branded by this Mark, rejecting the sign of God in your
forehead and hand, you shall be tortured by God's plagues without
mercy! Yes, you!
But if you are watching, praying without
ceasing you shall be accounted worthy to ESCAPE — and come under under
God's protection (Luke 21:36).
By Herbert W. Armstrong The Good News Magazine February 1986
