http://www.sabbathtruth.com/faq/advanced-topics/the-sabbath-and-the-mark-of-the-beast
A tattooed number, a computer chip under the skin, or
something more subtle? It's one of the most misinterpreted prophecies in all of
the Bible - yet it is so important to correctly understand this subject. But in
studying the mark of the beast, we must address some very sensitive issues, naming
names and being specific. This is not a popular thing today, but we must be
firm because God loves His people and He wants them to know the truth. This
message is not ours, but Jesus'. And with eternal death facing those who
receive the mark, it would be a crime to not help Him deliver this message. This
lesson should probably be prefaced with a warning: "THE DEVIL DOES NOT
WANT YOU TO READ AND COMPLETE THIS STUDY GUIDE." Please read Revelation 13:1-8,
14:9-12, and 16-18, and pray for the Holy Spirit to grant you an honest and
understanding heart before embarking on this study adventure. An Urgent
Reminder We learned from Study Guide 2 that a terrible conflict is in progress
between God and the devil. It has raged through the centuries since Lucifer, heaven's
most powerful angel, rebelled against God. With the angels who joined him, he
attempted to overcome God and seize control of the universe. God and the loyal
angels had no choice but to eject Lucifer and his angels from heaven. Lucifer, who
became known as the devil and Satan, was infuriated. His determination to
destroy God and control the universe has grown with every passing year. Amazingly,
he has won the support of the vast majority of earth's people in his rebellion.
The Lord also asks for people's loyalty and support, but He leaves all free to
choose. Soon every person on earth will have aligned with either Satan or God. The
final battle between Satan and God is just ahead, and it is described in the
book of Revelation. This book points out that God has an emblem, or mark, which
will identify His people. Satan also has an emblem, or mark, that will identify
those who support him. As usual, Satan will work through an earthly power
symbolized in Revelation by a beast to impose his mark. This Study Guide will
reveal the beast's mark, which every lost person of the end time will receive. Unless
you know what his "mark" is, how will you avoid receiving it?
The papacy is the antichrist.
The papacy is the antichrist.
1. In order to know what the "mark" is, we must
first identify the beast. How does the Bible describe the beast?
Answer: Revelation 13:1-8,
16-18 provides 11 identifying characteristics. They are listed below:
A. Rises from sea (verse 1).
B. Composite of the four beasts of Daniel chapter 7 (verse 2).
C. Dragon gives it power and authority (verse 2).
D. Receives a deadly wound (verse 3).
E. Deadly wound healed (verse 3).
F. Strong political power (verses 3, 7).
G. Strong religious power (verses 3, 8).
H. Guilty of blasphemy (verses 1, 5, 6).
I. Wars with and overcomes the saints (verse 7).
J. Rules for 42 months (verse 5).
K. Has mysterious number 666 (verse 18).
Do some of these points have a familiar ring? Certainly! We
encountered many of them earlier when we studied about the Antichrist in Daniel
chapter 7. The "beast" of Revelation 13 is simply another name for
the "Antichrist," which we learned from Daniel 7 is the papacy.
Prophecies of Daniel and Revelation often cover the same
ground as prior prophecies, but each time new features are added that help make
the prophecies certain. So expect to learn some new things about the Antichrist
from this Study Guide. Now let's consider, one by one, the 11 points that
describe the beast.
A. It would rise from the sea (Revelation 13:1).
The sea (or water) in prophecy refers to people, or a
populated area (Revelation 17:15). So the beast, or Antichrist, would arise
from amid the established nations of the then-known world. The papacy, as we
all know, arose in western Europe, so it fits this point.
A Word of Explanation
In harmony with God's command to honor all people (1 Peter 2:17),
we pause here to recognize the papacy for her many good deeds and activities. Her
hospitals, orphanages, care for the poor, homes for unwed mothers, and care for
the aged are appreciated universally. She can honestly be lauded for many
things. But, like all other organizations, she has also made mistakes. God
pinpoints some of her errors in Revelation. The Lord, who blesses and comforts,
must sometimes chasten and correct. Please ask His Spirit to speak to you as
you study this crucial topic.
B. It would be a composite of the four beasts of Daniel
chapter 7 (Revelation 13:2).
Study the comparison below to see how it all fits together:
Daniel
chapter 7 Revelation chapter 13
Babylon Lion-like
beast (vs. 4) "Mouth of a lion" (vs. 2)
Medo-Persia Bearlike beast (vs. 5) "Feet
of a bear" (vs. 2)
Greece Leopard-like beast (vs. 6) "Like unto a leopard" (vs. 2)
Rome Ten-horned
beast (vs. 7) "Having ... ten
horns" (vs. 1)
The four beasts of Daniel 7 are depicted as part of
Antichrist, or the beast, because the papacy incorporated pagan beliefs and practices
from all four empires. She clothed them in spiritual garb and spread them to
the world as Christian teachings. Here is one of many supporting statements
from history: "In a certain respect, she [the papacy] has copied her
organization from that of the Roman Empire, has preserved and made fruitful the
philosophical intuitions of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, borrowed from both
Barbarians and the Byzantine Roman Empire, but always remains herself, thoroughly
digesting all elements drawn from external sources." 1 This point
definitely fits the papacy.
C. The beast must receive its power, seat (capital), and
authority from the dragon (Revelation 13:2).
To identify the dragon, we go to Revelation chapter 12, where
God's end-time church is pictured as a pure woman. In prophecy, a pure woman
represents God's true people or church (Jeremiah 6:2 Isaiah 51:16). (In Study
Guide 23, we will present a detailed study of God's end-time church of Revelation
chapter 12. Study Guide 22 explains Revelation chapters 17 and 18, where fallen
churches are symbolized by a fallen mother and her fallen daughters.) The pure
woman is portrayed as pregnant and about to deliver. The dragon crouches nearby,
hoping to "devour" the baby at birth. However, when the baby is born
He evades the dragon, fulfills His mission, and then ascends to heaven. Obviously
the baby is Jesus, whom Herod tried to destroy by killing all the babies in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).
So the dragon represents pagan Rome,
of which Herod was a king. The power behind Herod's plot was, of course, the
devil (Revelation 12:7-9). Satan acts through various governments to accomplish
his ugly work in this case, pagan Rome.
We will quote just two supportive references from history, though
there are many: (1) "The Roman Church ... pushed itself into the place of
the Roman World-Empire, of which it is the actual continuation. ...The Pope ...
is Caesar's successor." 2 (2) "The mighty Catholic Church was little
more than the Roman Empire baptised. Rome was transformed as
well as converted. The very capital of the old Empire became the capital of the
Christian Empire. The office of Pontifex Maximus was continued in that of Pope."
3 So this point also fits the papacy. She received her capital city and power
from pagan Rome.
D. It would receive a deadly wound (Revelation 13:3).
The deadly wound was inflicted when Napoleon's general, Alexander
Berthier, entered Rome and took Pope Pius VI captive in February of 1798. Napoleon
decreed that at the death of the pope, the papacy would be discontinued. The
pope died in France
in August of 1799. "Half Europe thought ...
that without the Pope the Papacy was dead." 4 So this point also fits the
papacy.
E. The deadly wound would be healed, and the entire world
would give homage to the beast (Revelation 13:3).
Since its healing, the strength of the papacy has grown and
increased until today she is one of the most powerful religio-political
organizations and influence-centers in the world. Malachi Martin, consummate Vatican insider and intelligence expert, reveals the
following in his best-selling book The Keys of This Blood 5 (page numbers in
parentheses):
ABOUT THE POPE:
He is as determined to be world ruler as was Constantine in his day (49).
He is protected by four governments (120). He is the best-known person of the 20th
century (123). He is personal friends with the leaders of 91 countries (490). People
of the world seem to him ready for strong worldwide moral government with
control (160). Sixteen thousand journalists covered his American visit (490).
ABOUT THE PAPACY:
The American ambassador says the Vatican is unmatched as a "listening
post" (120). The Vatican
knows by Saturday what will happen on Monday anywhere in the world (439). Papal
structure is prepared for worldwide rule now (143).
Obviously, the wound is healed and the eyes of the nations
are upon the Vatican,
so this point also fits the papacy.
F. It would become a strong political power (Revelation 13:3,
7).
See item E above.
G. It would become a very powerful religious organization (Revelation
13:3, 8).
See item E above.
H. It would be guilty of blasphemy (Revelation 13:5, 6).
The papacy is guilty of blasphemy because her priests claim
to forgive sins and her popes claim to be Christ.
I. It would war with and persecute the saints (Revelation 13:7).
The papacy did persecute and destroy millions of saints
during the Dark Ages.
J. It would reign for 42 months (Revelation 13:5).
The papacy reigned for 42 prophetic months, which equals 1,260
years, from A.D. 538-1798.
Points H through J also clearly fit the papacy. We touched
on them only briefly here because they were covered thoroughly in Study Guide 15,
question 8, items E, G, and H.
K. It would have the mysterious number 666 (Revelation 13:18).
This verse says, "It is the number of a man," and
Revelation 15:2 says it is "the number of his name." What man do you
think of when you think of the papacy? Naturally, we all think of the pope. What
is his official name? Here is a Catholic quote: "The title of the pope of Rome is "Vicarius
Filii Dei" (English: "Vicar of the Son of God").6 Malachi Martin,
in The Keys of This Blood, uses the same title for the pope on pages 114, 122. A
footnote for Revelation 13:18 in some Douay [Catholic]
versions of the Bible says, "The numeral letters of his name shall make up
this number."
Again, the papacy fits the identification point. The beast
with the "mark" is the papacy. No other power in history could
possibly fit these divine descriptive points. Now that we have positively
identified the beast, we can discover her mark, or symbol of authority. But
first, let's look at God's sign of authority.
1Andre Retif, The Catholic Spirit, trans. by Dom Aldhelm
Dean, Vol. 88 of The Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism (New York, Hawthorne
Books, 1959), p. 85.
2Adolf Harnack, What is Christianity? trans. by Thomas
Bailey Saunders (New York: Putnam, 2nd ed., rev., 1901), p. 270.
3Alexander Clarence Flick, The Rise of the Mediaeval Church
(reprint: New York,
Burt Franklin, 1959), pp. 148, 149.
4Joseph Rickaby, "The Modern Papacy," Lectures on
the History of Religion, Lecture 24, (London: Catholic Truth Society, 1910), p.
1.
5(New York, Simon & Schuster, 1990)
6"Answers to Readers' Questions," Our Sunday
Visitor, Nov. 15, 1914.
The Sabbath is the sign, or mark, of God's power.
The Sabbath is the sign, or mark, of God's power.
2. What is God's mark, or symbol, of authority?
"I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and
them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." Ezekiel
20:12. "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever:
for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth." Exodus 31:17.
Answer: God is
saying in the texts above that He gave us His Sabbath as a glorious sign of His
power to create and His power to sanctify (convert and save) us. In the Bible, the
words seal, sign, mark, and token are used interchangeably.7 God's sign, the
Sabbath, represents His holy power to rule as Creator and Saviour. Revelation 7:1-3
says it will be written upon the foreheads (minds, Hebrews 10:16) of His people.
It will signify that they are owned by Him and have His character. Hebrews 4:4-10
confirms this by saying that when we enter His rest (receive salvation), we
should keep His seventh-day Sabbath holy as a symbol, or mark, of salvation. True
Sabbath-keeping signifies that a person has surrendered his life to Jesus
Christ and is willing to follow wherever Jesus leads.
Since the symbol, or mark, of God's authority and power is
His holy Sabbath day, it seems likely that the symbol, or mark, of God's
challenger, the beast, might also involve a holy day. Let's see if it does.
7(Compare Genesis 17:11 with Romans 4:11 and Revelation 7:3
with Ezekiel 9:4.)
Sunday as a holy day is the beast's mark, or symbol of
authority.
Sunday as a holy day is the beast's mark, or symbol of
authority.
3. What does the papacy say is her symbol, or mark, of
authority?
Answer: Notice the
following section from a Catholic catechism:
"Question: Have you any other way of proving that the
Church has power to institute festivals of precept?"
"Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have
done that in which all modern religionists agree with her - she could not have
substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the
observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no
Scriptural authority."8
So the papacy is here saying that it changed Sabbath to
Sunday and that virtually all churches accepted the new holy day. Thus, the
papacy claims that Sunday as a holy day is the mark, or symbol, of her power
and authority.
8Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism [FRS No. 7.], (3rd
American ed., rev.: New York,
Edward Dunigan & Bro., 1876), p. 174.
Changing Sabbath to Sunday involves altering God's law - a
very serious matter.
Changing Sabbath to Sunday involves altering God's law - a
very serious matter.
4. Did God predict such a change in Scripture?
Answer: Yes! In
describing the Antichrist in Daniel 7:25, God said it would "think to
change times and laws."
A. How has the papacy tried to change God's laws? In three
different ways: In her catechisms she has (1) omitted the second commandment
against veneration of images, and (2) shortened the fourth (Sabbath) commandment
from 94 words to just eight. The Sabbath commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) clearly
specifies Sabbath as the seventh day of the week. As changed by the papacy, the
commandment reads: "Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day." Written
thus, it can refer to any day. And, finally, she (3) divided the tenth
commandment into two commandments.
B. How has the papacy attempted to change God's times? In
two ways: (1) She has changed the time of the Sabbath from the seventh day to
the first day. (2) She has also changed God's "timing" for the
beginning and closing hours of the Sabbath. Instead of counting the Sabbath day
from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night as God mandates (Leviticus 23:32),
she adopted the pagan Roman custom of counting the day from midnight Saturday
night to midnight Sunday night. God predicted these "changes" would be
attempted by the beast, or Antichrist.
Notice the following section from a Catholic catechism:
"Question: Which is the Sabbath day?
Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the
Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday." 9
Here is another Catholic statement: "The Church is
above the Bible and this transference of Sabbath observance from Saturday to
Sunday is proof positive of that fact." 10
The papacy is saying in these references that its successful
change of Sabbath observance to Sunday worship is proof that its authority is
greater, or "above," Scripture.
9Peter Geiermann, The Convert's Catechism of Catholic
Doctrine (St. Louis, B. Herder Book Co., 1957 ed.), p. 50.
10The Catholic Record (London, Ontario, Canada, Sept. 1, 1923).
The papacy has changed Sabbath to Sunday.
The papacy has changed Sabbath to Sunday.
5. How could anyone dare attempt to change God's holy day?
Answer: We ask the
papacy, "Did you really change Sabbath to Sunday?"
She replies, "Yes, we did. It is our symbol, or mark, of
authority and power."
We ask, "How could you even think of doing that?"
It's a pertinent question. But the question the papacy
officially asks Protestants is even more pertinent. Please read it carefully:
"You will tell me that Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath,
but that the Christian Sabbath has been changed to Sunday. Changed! but by whom?
Who has authority to change an express commandment of Almighty God? When God
has spoken and said, Thou shalt keep holy the seventh day, who shall dare to
say, Nay, thou mayest work and do all manner of worldly business on the seventh
day but thou shalt keep holy the first day in its stead? This is a most
important question, which I know not how you can answer. You are a Protestant, and
you profess to go by the Bible and the Bible only and yet in so important a
matter as the observance of one day in seven as a holy day, you go against the
plain letter of the Bible, and put another day in the place of that day which
the Bible has commanded.
The command to keep holy the seventh day is one of the ten
commandments you believe that the other nine are still binding who gave you
authority to tamper with the fourth? If you are consistent with your own
principles, if you really follow the Bible and the Bible only, you ought to be
able to produce some portion of the New Testament in which this fourth commandment
is expressly altered." 11
11Library of Christian Doctrine: Why Don't You Keep Holy the
Sabbath-Day? (London:
Burns and Oates, Ltd.), pp. 3, 4.
Tragically, both Catholicism and Protestantism stand guilty
before the judgment bar of heaven for rejecting God's holy Sabbath, His sacred
sign of identification.
Religious leaders who ignore God's holy Sabbath will face
His indignation.
Religious leaders who ignore God's holy Sabbath will face
His indignation.
6. What solemn warnings has God given regarding His law and
His sign, or mark?
Answer: A. God warns
religious leaders against causing people to stumble by saying that some
commandments do not matter (Malachi 2:7-9). For example, some ministers teach, "It
doesn't matter what day you keep holy."
B. God warns people who want their ministers to preach
smooth fables rather than the truth about His law (Isaiah 30:9, 10).
C. God warns people about hardening their hearts against the
truth of His law (Zechariah 7:12).
D. God warns people who say it would seem "strange"
to keep God's lawlike the Sabbath, for example (Hosea 8:12).
E. God states that the upheaval, tragedy, problems, and woes
of earth come because people refuse to follow His law, and have even tried to
change it (Isaiah 24:4-6).
F. God warns religious leaders who refuse to preach the
prophecies of the end time (Isaiah 29:10, 11).
G. God solemnly warns that leaders who teach there is really
no difference between sacred things (such as God's holy Sabbath) and common
things (such as Sunday) will face His indignation (Ezekiel 22:26, 31).
The forehead is a symbol of the mind. People will be marked
in their foreheads by observing Sunday as a holy day.
The forehead is a symbol of the mind. People will be marked
in their foreheads by observing Sunday as a holy day.
7. Revelation 13:16 says people will receive the mark of the
beast in the forehead or in the hand. What does this mean?
Answer: The forehead
represents the mind (Hebrews 10:16). A person will be marked in the forehead by
a decision to keep Sunday as a holy day. The hand is a symbol of work (Ecclesiastes
9:10). A person will be marked in the hand by working on God's holy Sabbath or
by going along with Sunday laws for practical reasons (job, family, etc.). The
sign, or mark, for either God or the beast will be invisible to people. You
will, in essence, mark yourself by accepting either God's sign or mark, the
Sabbath, or the beast's mark, Sunday. Though invisible to men, God will know
who has which mark (2 Timothy 2:19).
God requires His people to stop trampling upon His holy day.
God requires His people to stop trampling upon His holy day.
8. According to Isaiah 58:1, 13, 14, what decisive message
does God deliver to His people in the last days?
"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet,
and shew my people their transgression." "If thou turn away thy foot
from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath
a delight, ... Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isaiah 58:1, 13,
14.
Answer: He says, show
"my people" that they are (innocently perhaps) sinning because they
are trampling on My holy day, and ask them to quit breaking My Sabbath so I can
bless them. Speak loudly so they will hear you!
Notice that the third angel of Revelation 14:9-12, who
brings the message about the mark of the beast, speaks with a loud voice also (verse
9). The message is too important to treat as ordinary. It's a life-or-death
issue. Jesus says His sheep, or people, will follow Him when He calls them. (John
10:16, 27).
When laws are passed forcing Sunday worship, those who
comply will receive the beast's mark.
When laws are passed forcing Sunday worship, those who
comply will receive the beast's mark.
9. Do people who worship on Sunday (as a holy day) have the
mark of the beast now?
Answer: No! No one
will have the mark of the beast until Sunday worship becomes an issue forced by
law. At that time (just ahead), those who decide to follow the false teachings
of the beast and worship on Sunday (the beast's counterfeit holy day) will
receive the mark of the beast.
Those who follow Jesus and obey His truth will keep His
Sabbath day holy and receive His mark. Those who expect to refuse the beast's
mark in the future must step under Jesus' Sabbath banner now. His power is
available to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32). Without Him, we can do nothing (John
15:5). With Him, all things are possible (Mark 10:27).
Only those who have God's mark, or sign, in their foreheads
will enter heaven.
Only those who have God's mark, or sign, in their foreheads
will enter heaven.
10. According to the book of Revelation, whom did John
specifically see in God's eternal kingdom?
Answer: The answer
is threefold and very clear:
A. Those who have God's mark, or sign (His Sabbath), in
their foreheads (Revelation 7:3).
B. Those who refused to identify with the beast or his image
and who refused to have his mark or name in their foreheads (Revelation 15:2).
C. The people who today, and for eternity, follow where
Jesus leads, trusting Him fully in everything (Revelation 14:4). There is no
other way.
Following Jesus must include keeping His seventh-day Sabbath
holy.
Following Jesus must include keeping His seventh-day Sabbath
holy.
11. What is Jesus saying to people today?
"He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life." John 8:12.
Answer: What a
fantastic promise! If we follow Him, we will not end up in darkness but will, instead,
have glorious truth. Nothing could be more exciting! Further, following Him and
keeping His Sabbath will put God's mark on our foreheads and protect us from
the dreadful plagues (Psalms 91:10) that will fall upon the disobedient (Revelation
chapter 16). It also marks us as ready for translation at Jesus' second coming.
What blessed protection and assurance God has offered us!
An Urgent Alert
You will discover some astounding information as you study
the final three Study Guides of the nine that deal with the three angels' messages
of Revelation 14:6-14. These Study Guides will explain (1) the role of the United States
in earth's final conflict, (2) how churches and religions of the world will be
involved, (3) what world conditions will precipitate earth's final battle, and (4)
Satan's amazing strategy for deceiving billions.
Perhaps you are wondering what Protestant churches have to
say about the papal claim for changing Sabbath to Sunday. The quotes that
appear in the "Your Thought Questions Answered" section of this
lesson will provide the shocking answers.
12. I have now decided to begin keeping His seventh-day
Sabbath (Saturday) as His holy day and follow Him wherever He leads.
Answer:
Thought Questions
1. What do other preachers and pastors say about the Sabbath
and Sunday?
Answer:
Here are a host of comments from churches and other
authorities about the Sabbath:
Baptist: "There was and is a commandment to keep holy
the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. ... It will be said, however,
and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the
seventh to the first day of the week. ... Where can the record of such a
transaction be found? Not in the New Testament -- absolutely not. There is no
scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the seventh
to the first day of the week." Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, author of The Baptist
Manual, in a paper read before a New
York ministers' conference held Nov. 13, 1893.
Catholic: "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 [Catholics] never sanctify." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of
Our Fathers, 16th edition, 1880, p. 111.
Church
of Christ: "Finally,
we have the testimony of Christ on this subject. In Mark 2:27, he says: 'The
Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.' From this passage it is
evident that the Sabbath was made not merely for the Israelites, as Paley and
Hengstenberg would have us believe, but for man ... that is, for the race. Hence
we conclude that the Sabbath was sanctified from the beginning, and that it was
given to Adam, even in Eden,
as one of those primeval institutions that God ordained for the happiness of
all men." Robert Milligan, Scheme of Redemption, (St. Louis, The Bethany
Press, 1962), p. 165.
Congregationalist: "The Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is
not in the Scriptures, and was not by the primitive church called the Sabbath."
Dwight's Theology, Vol. 4, p. 401.
Episcopal: "Sunday (Dies Solis, of the Roman calendar,
'day of the sun', because dedicated to the sun), the first day of the week, was
adopted by the early Christians as a day of worship. ... No regulations for its
observance are laid down in the New Testament, nor, indeed, is its observance
even enjoined." "Sunday," A Religious Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, (New
York, Funk and Wagnalls, 1883) p. 2259.
Lutheran: "The observance of the Lord's day [Sunday] is
founded not on any command of God, but on the authority of the church." Augsburg
Confession of Faith, quoted in Catholic Sabbath Manual, Part 2, Chapter 1, Section
10.
Methodist: "Take the matter of Sunday. There are
indications in the New Testament as to how the church came to keep the first
day of the week as its day of worship, but there is no passage telling
Christians to keep that day, or to transfer the Jewish Sabbath to that day."
Harris Franklin Rall, Christian Advocate, July 2, 1942.
Moody Bible Institute: "The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in
force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word 'remember,' showing
that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote the law on the tables of stone
at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with
when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?" D. L. Moody, Weighed
and Wanting, p. 47.
Presbyterian: "Until, therefore, it can be shown that
the whole moral law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand. ... The teaching
of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath." T. C. Blake, D.D., Theology
Condensed, pp. 474, 475.
Pentecostal: "'Why do we worship on Sunday? Doesn't the
Bible teach us that Saturday should be the Lord's Day?' ... Apparently we will
have to seek the answer from some other source than the New Testament." David
A. Womack, "Is Sunday the Lord's Day?" The Pentecostal Evangel, Aug. 9,
1959, No. 2361, p. 3.
Encyclopedia: "Sunday was a name given by the heathen
to the first day of the week, because it was the day on which they worshiped
the sun, ... the seventh day was blessed and hallowed by God Himself, and ... He
requires His creatures to keep it holy to Him. This commandment is of universal
and perpetual obligation."
Eadie's Biblical Cyclopedia, 1872 ed., p. 561.
Quiz Questions
1. Many people have already received the mark of the beast.
(1)
_____ Yes.
_____ No.
2. The mark of the beast is (1)
_____ Your Social
Security number.
_____ Sunday as a
holy day.
_____ The bar codes
for grocery pricing.
3. The beast organization that has the mark is the (1)
_____ United Nations.
_____ Papacy.
_____ European
Community of Nations.
_____ Trilateral
Commission.
4. The mark is literal and will be seen by all. (1)
_____ Yes.
_____ No.
5. God also has a mark, or symbol, of His power and
authority. (1)
_____ Yes.
_____ No.
6. God's mark of authority is (1)
_____ A secret
number that is given to each faithful Christian.
_____ Speaking in
tongues.
_____ Sabbath-keeping
in commemoration of Creation and sanctification.
_____ Baptism.
7. How did the "beast" attempt to change God's law?
(2)
_____ Changing
Sabbath (of the fourth commandment) to Sunday.
_____ Teaching that
it is not a sin to commit adultery.
_____ Removing the
commandment against the veneration of images.
8. In Bible prophecy, how long is 42 months? (1)
_____ 420 literal
years.
_____ Three and one-half
literal years.
_____ 1,260 literal
days.
_____ 1,260 literal
years.
9. Where will the beast's mark be placed? (2)
_____ In the hand.
_____ On the mouth.
_____ On the cheek.
_____ In the forehead.
10. Where will God's mark be placed? (1)
_____ On the hand.
_____ In the
forehead.
_____ On the person's
tongue.
11. Which of the three angels' messages is the warning
against the mark of the beast? (1)
_____ First angel's
message.
_____ Second angel's
message.
_____ Third angel's
message.
12. The beast attempted to change God's times by (2)
_____ Celebrating
New Year's as a holiday.
_____ Changing God's
holy day from the seventh to the first day of the week.
_____ Setting the
hours for God's holy day as midnight-to-midnight instead of sundown-to-sundown.
13. Jesus gave us the warning message regarding the mark of
the beast. (1)
_____ Yes.
_____ No.
14. Sign, mark, seal, and token are used interchangeably in
Scripture. (1)
_____ Yes.
_____ No.
15. There is no scriptural authorization for observing
Sunday as a holy day. (1)
_____ True.
_____ False. - See
more at: http://www.sabbathtruth.com/faq/advanced-topics/the-sabbath-and-the-mark-of-the-beast#sthash.ZSiEXCdw.dpuf
