THE MARK OF THE BEAST THE MARK OF THE BEAST The 24th study in the series. Studies written by William Carey. Presentation by Michael Salzman. All texts are from the New King James version. All rights reserved. 1-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST What is the warning message of the third angel? Revelation 14:9-11,14 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. 1-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST 10 “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. 1-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST 11 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. 1-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST 14 Then I looked, and behold a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 1-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST In the closing era of earth’s history just before Christ appears on the cloud, at the last day, to reward every man, God will send a special message warning every person not to receive the mark of the beast. 1-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST The terrible punishment of which God warns should make us purpose never to receive the mark of this beast, even if our faithfulness to God should cost us our lives. 2-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST Can this beast power be identified? Revelation 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. 2-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST This beast power, whose mark we are warned to avoid, is the Catholic power. (Beasts are a symbol of a nation or a power, Dan 7:17,23). The pope’s leading title, VICARIUS FILII DEI, when counted according to the Roman numeral value of the letters, equals exactly 666. 2-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST Since the beast is symbolic of the Catholic power, the mark of the beast must be some institution of Catholicism, which will distinguish those who adopt it as obeying her authority in preference to obeying God on that point. 3-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST How do you become a servant? Romans 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 3-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST Whatever power we obey in religion, his servants we are. Two questions will show plainly what is involved in this matter of the mark of the beast: 1. When a person keeps the 7th-day Sabbath, who does he obey? There can be only one answer: that person is obeying God, for that is what God has commanded in the 4th Commandment of the 10, Ex. 20:8-11. 3-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST 2. When a person keeps the first day of the week, Sunday, as a so-called Sabbath, whom is he obeying? He is not obeying God by keeping the first day, because God has never told anybody to keep the first day of each week. Whom then is he obeying? He is obeying the command of the Catholic power, which has attempted to substitute the first day as a holy day in 3-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST place of the 7th-day, which the Lord Christ sanctified or set apart for man in the beginning of time, Gen 2:1-3, Eph. 3:9. Thus it is made plain in light of God’s message that, when we choose to keep the 7th-day, we are marked as worshipers of the Creator, Jesus Christ, the only true God. 3-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST See Eze. 20:12. Compare also Neh. 9:12-15 with 1 Cor. 10:4); while if we choose the Catholic Sunday in the place of God’s seventh-day Sabbath, we are marked as followers of the beast-power of Revelation 13. 4-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST Is false worship of any benefit? Matthew 15:9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” 4-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST When we substitute a human ordinance in place of what God has ordained, OUR WORSHIP IS IN VAIN. 5-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST Is the world forced to accept the Mark of the Beast? Revelation 13:16-17 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand, or on their foreheads, 5-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST 17 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. 5-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST An attempt will be made to enforce the mark of the beast on all people. So each one will have to decide whether he will obey God and keep the seventh day, or to obey the beast power and keep the first day, which this power has sought to put in the place of God’s holy day. 6-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST Will everyone on earth worship the beast? Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 6-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST All the world will obey the beast power, except a few, who will be loyal to God, as the three Hebrews were in the vast throng of Babylon. The book of Revelation shows that in the testing time every person will have to choose whether he will receive the SEAL OF GOD on his 6-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST forehead, or whether he will receive the MARK OF THE BEAST on the forehead or in the hand. Whichever mark we CHOOSE, either for God or for the beast, for CHRIST or ANTICHRIST, WILL SEAL OUR ETERNAL DESTINY. God holds out the Sabbath as the sign of His power, Ex. 31:16-17. 6-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST God holds out the Sabbath as the sign of His power, Ex. 31:16-17. The beast power holds out Sunday as the sign of its power. Which one do you choose? 7-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST Who did the apostles say we should obey? Acts 5:29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said, “We ought to obey God rather than men. We should decide now to obey God rather than man. 8-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST Who avoids the mark of the beast? Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the Commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. 8-MB THE MARK OF THE BEAST The only way we can avoid the mark of the beast is to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. If we have made that decision, then stick to it. If you have not decided, then put yourself on God’s side this moment by deciding to obey Him by keeping HIS day holy. From a Catholic Catechism THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 7:25 “Think to change times and laws” Quoted from a Catholic Catechism THE THIRD COMMANDMENT 192. What is the third Commandment? The third Commandment is: “Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath Day.” From a Catholic Catechism 193. What are we commanded by the third Commandment? By the third Commandment we are commanded to keep Sunday holy. The Jews Sabbath Day was Saturday; we Christians keep Sunday holy. The Church, by the power our Lord gave her, changed the observance of Saturday to Sunday. From a Catholic Catechism A word about Sunday. God said, “Remember that thou keep holy the SABBATH DAY.” The Sabbath was Saturday, not Sunday; why, then, do we keep Sunday holy instead of Saturday? The Church altered the observance of the Sabbath to the observance of Sunday in commemoration of our Lord having risen from the dead on Easter Sunday, From a Catholic Catechism and of the Holy Ghost having descended upon the apostles on Whit Sunday. Protestants who say that they go by the Bible and the Bible only, and that they do not believe anything that is not in the Bible, must be rather puzzled by the keeping of Sunday when God From a Catholic Catechism distinctly said, “Keep holy the SABBATH DAY.” The word Sunday does not come anywhere in the Bible, so, without knowing it, they are obeying he authority of the Catholic Church. --THE CATECHISM SIMPLY EXPLAINED, H. Canon Cafferata, page 89. THE MARK OF THE BEAST “You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.” FAITH OF OUR FATHERS, --James Cardinal Gibbons, Page 89. THE MARK OF THE BEAST Do you want to receive the MARK OF THE BEAST? Do you want to receive the SEAL OF GOD? END