BEGINNING OF THE END!

CHAPTER SIX

THE MARK OF THE BEAST

There is a great crisis coming upon our world, which will greatly overshadow any problems we now face. This final crisis is explained in this chapter.

The Mark of the Beast is revealed in Revelation 13. We want to understand the meaning of this chapter, but to do this requires a careful Bible study, comparing Scripture with Scripture. That is the only way we will determine the correct meaning of the Mark of the Beast. We will begin at the first verse:

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”—Revelation 13:1.

A beast in prophecy represents some great earthly power or kingdom. A head or horn indicates a governing power. Waters symbolize “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17:15).

“The beasts of Daniel and John are empires. The ten-horned beast is the Roman power . . The head is the governing power in the body. The heads of this beast represent successive governments.”—H. Grattan Guinness, Romanism and the Reformation, pp. 144-145.

“And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”—Revelation 13:2.

In this beast of Revelation 13:2 we see the characteristics of the first three symbols of Daniel 7: the lion, bear, and leopard which represented the kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, and Greece. That suggests that this beast of Revelation 13 symbolizes the fourth beast of Daniel 7, or Rome, which came up after the first three and inherited so many of their characteristics.

Both the fourth beast of Daniel 7 and the first beast of Revelation 13 have ten horns. Like the dragon of Revelation 12, this beast also has seven heads. The dragon symbolized the power of evil working in Rome in its earlier (pagan) and later (papal) forms, as it sought to slay God’s people throughout the Dark Ages (read Revelation 12:11-17). This beast of Revelation 13:1-2 is also like the little horn which came up among the ten horns of the fourth beast of Daniel 7,—thus representing Rome in its later, or papal, form. Both it and the little horn have a mouth speaking great things; both make war upon the saints; both continue for the same period of 1260 years.

“And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”—Revelation 13:2.

We earlier noted that, when Constantine transferred his capital to Constantinople, he left Rome under the control of the popes. Thus pagan Rome became papal Rome, and the persecuting power of the dragon of Revelation 13 was conferred upon the Papacy.

“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

“And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”—Revelation 13:5-7.

We earlier found that all these specifications were fulfilled in the Papacy during the Dark Ages.

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”—Revelation 13:3.

We have already learned how the Papacy received its wound when Berthier, general of Napoleon, took the pope prisoner in A.D. 1798 and he later died in captivity. That ended the 1260 years of papal supremacy (The Catholic Advocate [Australia], April 18, 1929, p. 16).

It is predicted that, in some way, everyone will eventually be required to worship this first beast.

“And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? . .

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”—Revelation 13:4, 8.

The Bible predicts that the final end of this power will be by a terrible death (Revelation 19:20; Daniel 7:11).

But there is also a second beast in Revelation 13. At about the time that the first beast received its wound (A.D. 1798), another beast began arising. But this one comes up “out of the earth.”

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.”—Revelation 13:11.

“He is not yet come: tho’ he cannot be far off. For he is to appear at the end of the forty-two months [1260 years] of the first beast [of Revelation 13].”—John Wesley, Note on Revelation 13:11 (A.D. 1754), in Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, 1791 ed., Vol. 3, p. 299.

The beasts of Daniel 7 and the first beast of Revelation come up “out of the sea,” or in areas where there are many people.

“The waters which thou sawest . . are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”—Revelation 17:15.

But this second beast is different; it arises in a relatively uninhabited part of the world. What nation, destined to become a great world power, arose near the end of the 1700s, in a land with few people? The United States of America.

“And he had two horns like a lamb.”—Revelation 13:11.

Unlike the nations of Europe which, like terrible beasts of prey, so often warred on one another, was the United States with its wonderful principles, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution of 1789.

It was a haven of refuge from intolerance, persecution, and oppression. It truly was the land of freedom.

“And he spake as a dragon.”—Revelation 13:11.

Changes would later come; and, according to Bible prophecy, our wonderful nation would eventually persecute people.

“And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.”—Revelation 13:12.

“The first beast before him” was papal Rome. This indicates that the persecution will be a religious persecution.

The Bible says that miracles will be performed. It should not be surprising that, accompanied by satanic wonder-working power, the demand that everyone worship on Sunday will go everywhere and stir up the most intense excitement.

“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,”—Revelation 13:13.

This second beast will cause to be made an “image to the [first] beast.”

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the means of] those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.”—Revelation 13:14.

The beast which had been wounded was the Papacy. The nature of the Papacy is that it is a church and a state combined. The “image” (exact likeness) would be another ecclesiastical organization clothed with civil power—another union of church and state—which would enforce religion by law.

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”—Revelation 13:15.

We have learned that the basis of the Papacy’s power was the change of the Sabbath to Sunday. That was, according to the official decision of the Council of Trent, its special mark of its authority.

“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change [of the Sabbath to Sunday] was her act . . And the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical power.”—From the office of Cardinal Gibbons, through Chancellor H.F. Thomas, November 11, 1895 [caps ours].

The image will use the same mark of power. It is an image “of the beast” (verse 15), for it will mirror the beast. It will be an image “to the beast” (verse 14), for its actions will honor the beast.

We have observed that the Papacy especially focused on enforcing the Sun day as the holy day of worship. This was the particular focus of its persecution in the earlier part of the Dark Ages.

The image power will do the same thing. We should not be surprised at this, for the Fourth Commandment is the special mark, the special identifying sign that the God of heaven is our Creator and demands our worship. The Sabbath-Sunday issue is pivotal. When we understand the issue, our decision in the matter determines the one we have chosen to serve.

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”—Revelation 13:16-17.

In order to properly understand the full meaning of the Mark of the Beast, we need to understand its opposite: the Seal of God.

In ancient times the king would affix his seal to something, to show it belonged to him.

“Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, that it be not changed.”—Daniel 6:8.

A king would use a seal ring, containing his name, initials, or monogram. Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, “wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal” (1 Kings 21:8). Of a Persian decree it was said, “In the name of King Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring” (Esther 3:12).

A seal is something that has to do with legal affairs. A law is stamped with the seal of the ruling government. The seal of the lawgiver must show three things: (1) his name; (2) his official position, title, or authority; thus his right to rule; and (3) the extent of his dominion and jurisdiction.

The Bible tells us that the seal of God is found in His law.

“Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples.”—Isaiah 8:16.

God’s seal makes His law official, and the whole loyal universe stands behind it. Anyone disloyal to the seal of the government, and to the law upon which it is attached, is looked upon as disloyal to the government.

Only one of the ten commandments in the Decalogue reveals the name, authority, and dominion of the Author of this law. It is the Fourth:

“Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.

“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”—Exodus 20:9-11.

In six days, (1) the Lord (name); (2) made (office; Creator); (3) heaven and earth (dominion);—the three aspects of the seal.

This commandment, alone, contains “the seal of the living God.” It shows God’s authority to enact all the other commandments and our duty to obey them all. It also reveals that all other gods—non-Creator gods—are false gods.

Do you see how very serious this matter is? The question is whether we will worship the God of heaven on His holy day or whether we will yield to what men tell us to do.

So we see that the Sabbath commandment, therefore, contains the seal of God; and the Sabbath, itself, is inseparably connected with the seal. It not only contains the seal of God; but, as the following two verses show, it is the sign by which God’s creatorship and redeeming power are to be acknowledged.

“It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.”—Exodus 31:17.

“Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.”—Exodus 31:13.

It requires the same power to redeem that it does to create. “Create in me a clean heart” (Psalm 51:10). “We are . . created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10). The Sabbath reminds us of all that God has done and is doing for us.

“And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.”—Ezekiel 20:20.

God is going to seal His name into the foreheads of His faithful ones.

“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.”—Revelation 14:1.

The name of God the Father represents His character; what He is like. The Ten Commandments tell us what He is like: full of goodness, kindness, and helpfulness.

God wants to write His law on our hearts and place it in our minds. He wants us to live clean, pure lives. He wants us to be obedient, through the enabling grace of Christ, to His law. His sealed ones will be like that.

“And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”—Revelation 14:5.

Here is an excellent description of what God’s special people in the last days will be like: trusting in Jesus and keeping God’s commandments.

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”—Revelation 14:12.

Just before that verse is a special warning not to receive the Mark of the Beast. The third angel’s message of Revelation 14:9-12 is the last message to the world before Christ returns for His people. That warning message has two parts: (1) Do not receive the Mark. (2) Do keep God’s commandments by faith in Christ. Put the two parts together and you have the solution to the matter. You will not receive the Mark of the Beast if, in submission to Christ, you are obedient children.

“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand; the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation . .

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”—Revelation 14:9-12.

Now we want to look more closely at the Mark of the Beast. As mentioned a little earlier, we find that the Papacy has declared that Sunday is the special mark of its authority and power.

“Ques.—How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holy days?

“Ans.—By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of.”—Henry Tuberville, An Abridgement of the Christian Doctrine, 1833, p. 58. [Tuberville was a Catholic priest].

“If Protestants observe the first day of the week are they in that act recognizing the authority of the Catholic Church? . . It looks that way. Since the custom they observe is of the Church and from the Church.”—H.F. Thomas, chancellor to Cardinal Gibbons, letter dated February 8, 1898.

“By what authority did the Church change the observance of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?

“The Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her Founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant, claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh-day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant.”—The Catholic Universe Bulletin, August 14, 1942, p. 4 [official newspaper of the Cleveland, Ohio, diocese].

“The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves to the authority of the [Catholic] Church.”—Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, 1868, p. 213.

The seventh-day Sabbath is the only weekly rest day that God ever gave to mankind in His Inspired writings, the Bible. He commanded us to keep it holy. If we do so we acknowledge His authority. If we keep Sunday, instead, we acknowledge the authority of fallible men.

A large part of Revelation 12 is about the efforts of Satan, through the leading power in the Dark Ages, to persecute faithful Christians and slay those who would not yield to an authority not of God.

But the last verse in that chapter brings us right down to the last days and the very end of time! Our time in history! It fits right into Revelation 13, just as Revelation 14:6-12 fits into Revelation 13. Revelation 12:17 not only tells us that a terrible persecution of God’s people will occur at the end of time,—but, like Revelation 12:14, it identifies who the faithful ones will be at that time:

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”—Revelation 12:17.

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”—Revelation 14:12.

Two verses later is the Second Advent:

“ And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud [one] sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.”—Revelation 14:14.

There can be no doubt that in the very last days, just before Christ returns in the clouds of heaven for His children, they will be obedient to the commandments of God through faith in Christ’s enabling grace.

And they will do it in the face of a death sentence for obeying God.

This is a very serious matter. Throughout history, there have always been faithful ones who, by faith, obeyed God’s Ten Commandment law. But Satan has continually sought ways to blot them out of existence.

In the final crisis, Satan will seek to abolish Sabbathkeeping throughout the world. He wants to destroy the seal which identifies God as the Creator. The Sabbath commandment, in the heart of God’s law, is the only commandment containing that seal.

(As an aside, let me mention here that a special unique quality of the Sabbath is its sheer arbitrariness. God selected the seventh day instead of some other day of the week [the second day or the fourth, etc.]. He did the selecting! It is obvious that we should not go around killing people; but why His selection—instead of another of our own choice? This situation makes it a special faith commandment. We obey it by faith, taking Him at His word. The same situation occurred in the garden of Eden: One tree was forbidden, yet they all looked fine. Adam and Eve had to obey—simply because they believed God meant what He said.)

Back to our subject: It was by the technique of enforcing Sunday worship by a death penalty, that the Papacy obtained dominance over territories throughout a vast area, By the 12th century, the Papacy had essentially eliminated all Sabbathkeepers, except small groups in distant or mountainous areas.

In the centuries since then, many conscientious Christians have ignorantly worshiped God on Sunday, not realizing the true situation.

But in these last days, the God of heaven is going to permit this matter to develop into a full-blown crisis! He predicted it in His Word, and so it shall come to pass.

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”—Revelation 13:16-17.

How will this be done? First a strict National Sunday Law will be enacted, to be followed by other Sunday Laws elsewhere in the world. Efforts will be made to crush any that object. Keep in mind that, not only has Scripture predicted that obedience to God’s commandments will be the issue (Revelation 12:17 and 14:12), but that wonder-working miracles by the beast and its image will be performed—which will captivate the senses of the entire world.

By the coercive efforts of the second beast, the United States, the first beast, Rome, will be exalted. By knowingly yielding to the command to worship on Sunday, everyone who submits will be marked in their forehead (minds) and in their hand (daily activities). Any that refuse obedience will be cut off from employment and opportunity to purchase goods. Efforts will be made to kill them.

That is what is predicted in Scripture, and it is quite obvious. Notice the italicized portions of these passages:

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”—Revelation 12:17.

“If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God . . [contrasted with] Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”—Revelation 14:9-10, 12.

“All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the first beast], whose names are not written in the book of life.”—Revelation 13:8.

“He [the second beast] exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast.”—Revelation 13:12.

“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.”—Revelation 13:13.

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.”—Revelation 13:14.

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”—Revelation 13:15.

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.”—Revelation 13:16.

“And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”—Revelation 13:17.

The sealing work will take place at the same time that the marking occurs. This is important! We will receive either the Seal of God or the Mark of the Beast. Our individual decision and actions will be the deciding point.

But, as they recognize the issues involved, all who are faithful to God will stand true to Him—in spite of all efforts to compromise their loyalty.

“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.”—Revelation 15:2.

Here are a few concluding quotations, showing that Sunday sacredness is the special Mark of Rome. It is the mark of its authority to change God’s law. It is the Mark of the Beast. (All caps are ours.)

“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change [of the Sabbath to Sunday] was her act . . AND THE ACT IS A MARK of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things.”—From the office of Cardinal Gibbons, through Chancellor H.F. Thomas, November 11, 1895.

“The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an HOMAGE they pay in spite of themselves to the AUTHORITY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.”—Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk about the Protestantism of Today, p. 213.

“Q. How prove you that the church HATH POWER TO COMMAND feasts and holy days?

“A. BY THE VERY ACT OF CHANGING THE SABBATH INTO SUNDAY, which Protestants allow of, and therefore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church.

“Q. How prove you that?

“A. Because BY KEEPING SUNDAY THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THE CHURCH’S POWER to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin.”—The Douay Catechism, p. 59.

“PROVE TO ME from the BIBLE ALONE that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. THERE IS NO SUCH LAW IN THE BIBLE! It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone.

“The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SAYS, by MY DIVINE power, I ABOLISH THE SABBATH DAY and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church!”—Priest Thomas Enright, C.S.S.R, president of Redemptorist College, Kansas City, Mo., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 18, 1884, and published in The American Sentinel [R.C. journal], June 1893, p. 173.

“All dogmatic decrees of the pope, made with or without his general council, are infallible . . Once made, no pope or council can reverse them . . This is the Catholic principle, that the church cannot err in faith.”—The Catholic World, June 1871, pp. 422-423.

“We have no right to ask reasons of the church, any more than of Almighty God, as a preliminary to our submission. We are to take with unquestioning docility, whatever instruction the church gives us.”—The Catholic World, August, 1871, p. 589.

“Nowhere is dogmatic intolerance so necessary a rule of life as in the domain of religious belief . . There can be but a single true religion, which, by the very fact of its existence, protests against all other religions as false.”—Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 14, p. 765.

A time is coming when the law of God is, in a special sense, to be made void in our land. The rulers of our nation will, by legislative enactments, enforce the Sunday law; and thus God’s people be brought into great peril. When our nation, in its legislative councils, shall enact laws to bind the consciences of men in regard to their religious privileges, enforcing Sunday observance and bringing oppressive power to bear against those who keep the seventh-day Sabbath, the law of God will, to all intents and purposes, be made void in our land; and national apostasy will be followed by national ruin.

The sins of the world will have reached unto heaven when the law of God is made void, the Sabbath of the Lord is trampled in the dust, and men are compelled to accept in its stead an institution of the Papacy through the strong hand of the law of the land. In exalting an institution of man above the institution ordained of God, they show contempt for the great Lawgiver and refuse His sign or seal.

Once again history will be repeated. False religion will be exalted. The first day of the week, a common working day, possessing no sanctity whatever, will be set up as was the image at Babylon. All nations and tongues and peoples will be commanded to worship this spurious sabbath. This is Satan’s plan, to make of no account the day instituted by God and given to the world as a memorial of creation.

Trial and persecution will come to all who, in obedience to the Word of God, refuse to worship this false sabbath. Force is the last resort of every false religion. At first it tries attraction, as the king of Babylon tried the power of music and outward show. If these attractions, invented by men and inspired by Satan, failed to make men worship the image, the hungry flames of the furnace are ready to consume them. So it will be now. We need the same spirit that was manifested by God’s servants in ages past, in their conflict with paganism.

You and I want to be on God’s side of this matter. It is not safe to delay obedience! You now understand the Sabbath-Sunday issue far more fully than ever before. You have a decision to make. Please, make the right one. Through the empowering grace of Jesus Christ, obey all ten of the commandments.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”—2 Timothy 4:3-4.

“This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with [their] lips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain they do worship Me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.”—Matthew 15:8-9.

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?”—Romans 6:16.

“How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.”—1 Kings 18:21.

The Bible is your only safe guide. Jesus can help you obey it. Trust God’s Word more than man’s traditions.

A powerful book which explains the final crisis, far more completely than this present book, is Great Controversy.

Continue- Chapter 7