Love for Life

666 Mark Of The Beast Introduction
666 and the Mark of the Beast Truth
Who Is The Beast That Enforces The Mark?
The Great Controversy
Microsoft and the Mark of the Beast
Microsoft and the Mark of the Beast - Page two
Microsoft and the Mark of the Beast - Page three
Microsoft and the Mark of the Beast - Page four

[Note: I Suspect that 666 means 99.9% of the global population (666 reversed 999) - Please Read All Our Postings Here: http://www.loveforlife.com.au/node/3385 - Arthur Cristian - Love For Life]

666 Mark Of The Beast Introduction

Revelation 14:9-11 “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; and 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 ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

Here is one of the most severest warnings you will find in the Bible. Today there are a multitude of interpretations on what 666 and the mark of the beast is. Many people believe that 666 is the mark of the beast but note closely what Revelation 13:17 says, “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.” Did you note that the number and the mark are two separate things?

Considering the consequences are so severe for receiving 666 or the mark, it is highly advisable we study this topic thoroughly and find out what the Bible really reveals. The documentation below is from an excellent book by Pastor Steve Wohlberg, a leading specialist in the area of Bible prophecy and endtime events. The content below is from his book called "Truth Left Behind". It is a complete topic on 666 and the mark of the beast and I have no doubt you will enjoy it. Steve has very kindly granted his permission to use this chapter of his book here.

Select the following link for further reading on 666 and the mark of the beast: http://www.666mark-of-the-beast.org/

666 and the Mark of the Beast Truth

666 and the mark of the beast is the severest warning you will find in the entire Bible but today there is a massive number of interpretations on what 666 and the mark of the beast is. Most people believe that 666 is the mark of the beast but note closely that Revelation 13:17 says, “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.” Did you note that the mark of the beast is different to the number of his name being 666, which is the number of a man? The day will come when all people will get either the mark, the name, or the number. This doesn’t mean that the government will say someday, “Do you want the mark, the name, or the number?”

Prophecy minded Christians of today imagine that 666 and the mark of the beast will come from the devil and will be enforced by the Antichrist and will be used to control buying and selling, and they assume it will be centred around some kind of high tech computer technology. Revelation 13:16 says “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” The Bible does not specifically say it will be a “miniature biochip” or even that it will involve technology at all. These modern words, “computer,” “biochip,” “technology,” “bar code,” and “scanner” do not appear in Revelation. People just assume that it will happen this way.

The Bible does specifically say in Revelation 19:20, “He deceived them that had received the mark of the beast” Did you notice that those who receive 666 or the mark of the beast are deceived. It stands to reason therefore that 666 and the mark of the beast must involve some sort of subtle deception, that is, it must not be too obvious or easily noticed. If it were, how could almost the entire world be mislead? Jesus warned us that Satan’s deceptions are so deceptive they can “deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24. How deceptive would it be for someone to command everyone to accept a computerized biochip in their foreheads or in their hands? How many real people do you know who would accept big government implanting biochip technology inside their heads?

When we look carefully at Revelation, we discover that the mark of the beast is not the only thing placed in people’s foreheads. Amazingly, the forehead is mentioned many times apart from the mark. The first time the mark is mentioned is in Revelation 13:16. Three verses later John saw a group called the 144,000 with the “Father’s name written in their foreheads” Revelation 14:1. This solitary verse places new light on the whole topic. One group gets the mark of the beast while the other group gets the Mark of God, that is, the name of God in their foreheads. Referring to the saved, the very last chapter of the Bible says, “They shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” Revelation 22:4. Hence both saints and sinners will all have something in their foreheads one day. Does this mean that God’s people will walk around with actual visible letters written on their foreheads?

Harlot riding a BeastThe apostle John, who wrote Revelation, also saw an evil scarlet woman riding a beast. “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS” Revelation 17:5. No one doubts this is a symbolic prophecy. There will be no real prostitute riding a beast and therefore the writing of that mysterious name upon her forehead is also symbolic as the woman here symbolically represents a Church.

Was the mark the Lord set upon Cain a physical mark or was it symbolic also? Genesis 4:15 reads, “And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.” Did Cain spend the rest of his life with writing on His forehead and would anyone have acknowledged it?

The idea of the hand and forehead is not only found in Revelation. It is by no coincidence that Moses speaking of the Ten Commandments told the Israelites, “These Commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts…Tie them as symbols on your HANDS and bind them on your FOREHEADS” Deuteronomy 6:6, 8. Note the KJV translates “on your foreheads” to “frontlets between thine eyes” which means forehead. Again Moses said, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your HANDS and bind them on your FOREHEADS.” Deuteronomy 11:18. In other words, God said His Ten Commandment law was to be a sign upon our hands and foreheads. Where does the mark of the beast go? What about the Seal of God? So what is the symbolism behind your HANDS and FOREHEAD?

Some believe 666 and the mark is a microchip injected into the hand or forehead. Others feel it may be connected to a credit or national health card or even a bar code or tattoo. Are we to speculate to understand Bible prophecy? 2 Peter 1:20 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” So what are all theses theories you here today on 666 and the mark of the beast being technology? They are speculation, which we are told not to do and are not necessary. So how about we take the Biblical approach and see what God’s Word says 666 and the mark is.

Who is the beast that enforces the mark?

A sensible approach to understanding 666 and the mark of the beast would be to first identify who the beast is so we can then establish what 666 and their Mark is. So let’s start with the origins of antichrist. John said that in his time there were MANY Antichrists and anyone that denies Jesus came in the flesh is antichrist. 2 John 1:7. This for example would include a Church that denies Jesus came in the flesh by saying that Christ took on the sinless nature of Mary’s flesh. It may shock you to know that John said that the origin of antichrist was from the early Church. John 2:18-19 “Little children, it is the last time: and as you have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there MANY antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19 They went out from US, but they were not of US; for if they had been of US, they would no doubt have continued with US: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of US.” John is warning us that antichrist was part of the early Church that he and the other disciples established but went out on there own and formed their own Church. This is not an individual although could be headed by an individual, especially when you consider that Revelation 13:18 says that 666 is the number of a man heading this beast power. John is also pointing out that Antichrist means in place of Christ and not just against Christ. So who claims to be God on Earth and places himself in place of Christ? Which Church broke away from the early Church and makes this blasphemous claim?
Daniel 7 unlocks Revelation 13 and reveals who the beast is

To understand the following Bible prophecy, we need to understand that when prophecy is symbolic in nature, the Bible uses the proven principle of a day for a year rule demonstrated by Luke 13:32-33, Ezekiel 4:6, and Numbers 14:34.

Beginning with Daniel 7:3, we find Daniel in vision and he sees “four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.” Four beasts from the seaThese four beasts were like a lion (Babylon), a bear (Medo-Persia), a leopard (Greece) with four heads (Alexanders four generals that took over when he died suddenly) and some dreadful, terrible beast (Rome) that had ten horns. Some privately speculate that the Beast is Satan which is easily proved wrong by Revelation 20:10-11 which says, “And the DEVIL that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the BEAST and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Since we are told not to speculate, what does the Bible say a Beast is? Daniel 7:23 states, “The fourth beast (Rome) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.”

Daniel 7:24 informs us that “the ten horns out of this kingdom (Rome) are ten kings (divided Europe) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.” When the Roman Empire collapsed it divided into ten kingdoms. The king that subdued three of these ten kingdoms is called the little horn in Daniel 7:8 because it is a small kingdom and history reveals that the three of the ten kingdoms it destroyed were the Vandals the Heruli and the Ostrogoths. History already proves beyond doubt that this diverse kingdom was a religious political power that was responsible for their demise because they opposed them. Do you know who this little horn is yet which is synonymous with the beast enforcing the mark? Daniel 7:25 informs us this little horn power would “speak great words against the most High [God]” and oppress God’s people and most importantly it states that he will think to change times and laws. What power changed the law of God? This is a very significant statement that many do not even stop to consider but is of the utmost importance and we are warned of this change with very good reason. Most Christians are keeping this law unknowingly in reverence to the beast power and the majority of Christians have absolutely no idea.

Moving now to Revelation Chapter 13, we see something really incredible. John in his vision sees exactly the same thing that Daniel saw as a composite beast. Note how it matches Daniel seven precisely. It says that a beast (kingdom government or political power) with seven heads and ten horns rises out of the sea with a crown upon each horn (ten kings) and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. Verse 2 goes on to say the beast was like unto a leopard and feet of a bear and mouth of a lion (same four beasts) and that the dragon (Satan) gave this beast his power, his throne, and his vast authority. Verse 3 through 6 then states that one of the seven heads (head representing the Papacy) had received a fatal wound (causing death) but his deadly wound was healed and all the world would wonder after the beast and they worshipped the dragon which gave power to the beast and they worshipped the beast also. The beast was allowed to make proud claims which were insulting to God, and it was permitted to have authority for 42 months. Daniel 7:25 says, “a time (1 year) and times (2 years) and the dividing of time (half a year = total 3.5 years * 12 Months = 42 months)” which of course is the same period of time. (Bible time works in lunar months which = 30 days * 42 months = 1260 days and using the day for a year rule = 1260 years). It opened its mouth and uttered blasphemies against God and blasphemed his name and his residence, that is, those who are living in heaven. Verse seven states that it was also allowed to fight against God’s people and defeat them, and it was given authority over every tribe, nation, language and race.

As we have seen by examples such as Daniel 7:17 and 7:23, the Bible identifies a Beast as a kingdom or government or a political power and does not mean something beastly. After the severest persecution in A.D. 321, Constantine who was a pagan became Caesar in Rome and he saw the balance of power shifting from paganism to the Church. So in 321 A.D. Constantine passed the first law enforcing Sunday worship. Previously there had never been a law enforcing Sunday observance. Two years later Constantine joined the Catholic Church and so now we had a mingling of paganism with the Church. In order to control the eastern and western halves of his empire, Constantine moved his empire from Rome to Byzantium by building a city there, which he named Constantinople after himself and thus transferred his headquarters over to Constantinople leaving Rome vacant. As a result the Papal Church moved in and sat on the throne of Caesar and so the Church took over Rome. This explains what Revelation 13:2 means, “and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” The dragon as previously stated represents Satan. See Revelation 12:9 and 20:2.

Revelation 13:5 says this first beast would also blaspheme God. Luke 5:21 reads, “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”

Today in the Catholic Church they allege that every Priest has power to forgive sins. Catholic Quote: “To pardon a single sin requires all the omnipotence of God... The Jews justly said: ‘Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ But what only GOD can do by His omnipotence, the PRIEST can ALSO do by saying ‘Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis’ [I absolve you from your sin].” — Alphonsus de Liguori, Dignity and Duties of the Priest, pages 34-35.

No man on Earth can forgive sins. As for power, Elizabeth I defied the Pope and he sent word to all Catholics in England not to obey the Queen. Henry of Germany offended the Pope and he had to stand barefoot in the snow for three days to pay pennants to the Pope before he would forgive him.

The Papacy also regularly make claims to take the place of God on Earth, which is clearly according to the Word of God blasphemous. John 10:33 says, “The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone you not; but for blasphemy; and because that you, being a man, makest thyself God.” As stated previously, the beast makes many blasphemous claims and this is another Biblical definition for blasphemy and criteria for identifying the beast enforcing the mark.

Remember that the apostle John demonstrated that antichrist came form the early Church and he also demonstrated that antichrist was in place of God. Does the Pope put himself in place of Christ, and hence match the definition of antichrist?

“We hold upon this earth the place of God almighty.” — Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter, June 20, 1894.

“The Pope is not only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ, Himself, hidden under the veil of human flesh.” — Catholic National, July 1895.

“The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in Heaven and earth.” — Pope Pius V, quoted in Barclay, Chapter XXVII, p. 218, “Cities Petrus Bertanous.”

Revelation 13:7 says the beast would fight against God’s people and defeat them. This coming statement is not intended to foster any ill towards another as this would be contrary to Christian teaching and not only that but over the centuries, many wonderful Christian people from the Catholic Church have done many outstanding deeds. But truth is truth and the sad truth is the Roman Catholic Church murdered and tortured between 50 and 150 million people as heretics. Watch an example true story of this on a Death in Red Square and why.

Who do the Catholic Church say are heretics?
“Heretics (those who are not members of the Catholic Church or who do not hold to Catholic doctrine) worship a God who is a liar, and a Christ who is a liar.” — St. Augustine, (quoted in “Patrologiae Cursus Completus: Series Graca”, by Fr. J. P. Migne, Paris: 1866, 42:207).

How does the Papal Church say they should deal with heretics?
“When confronted with heresy, she (Catholic Church) does not content herself with persuasion, arguments of an intellectual and moral order appear to her insufficient, and she has recourse to force, to corporal punishment, to torture.” — The Rector of the Catholic Institute of Paris, H.M.A. Baudrillart, quoted in The Catholic Church, The Renassance, and Protestantism, p 182-183.

“A heretic merits the pains of fire....By the Gospel, the canons, civil law, and custom, heretics must be burned.” — The American Textbook of Popery, p 164 (quoting from the “Directory for the Inquisitors”).

What about this mysterious number 666 that sends a shiver down the spine of so many people when they hear or see it, as they conceive as being the devils number. Is 666 really the devils number? The book of Revelation says that 666 is the number of his name and that it is the number of a man. Revelation 13:16-18 reads, “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: 17 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. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” The word translated “count” in the verse eighteen above means to count, compute, calculate or reckon according to the Thayer dictionary.

So 666 is the number of a mans name and Revelation says that this man is the head of this antichrist beast power. Since the beast power is the Papal Church, it is not hard to work out who the most prominent man of this system is. The Pope wears a triple tiered crown which signifies he is the king of Heaven and Earth and Purgatory. This of course is obviously wrong. There is a King of Kings and His name is Jesus Christ our Lord. He is King of Heaven and King of Earth and since there is no purgatory, that one can go to the Bishop of Rome. On the original crown are inscribed the words in Latin, the Papal title “VICARIUS FILII DEI”, which means “Vicar of Christ” or Substitute for Christ, which is synonymous with Antichrist, i.e., assuming the power of God on earth. The literal meaning of each word of this Papal title is as follows: VICARIUS - substituting for, or in place of, FILII - means son and DEI - means God. They now deny that this was ever a Papal title but the evidence though it is no longer blatantly obvious, does still exist. Here is one of their very own quotes.

Question: “What are the letters supposed to be in the Pope’s crown, and what do they signify if anything?”
Answer: “The letters inscribed in the Pope's mitre are these: Vicarius Filii Dei, which is the Latin for Vicar of the Son of God. Catholics hold that the Church which is a visible society must have a visible head. Christ, before His ascension into heaven, appointed St. Peter to act as His representative. Upon the death of Peter the man who succeeded to the office of Peter as Bishop of Rome, was recognized as the head of the Church. Hence to the Bishop of Rome, as head of the Church, was given the title ‘Vicar of Christ.’ Enemies of the Papacy denounce this title as a malicious assumption. But the Bible informs us that Christ did not only give His Church authority to teach, but also to rule. Laying claim to the authority to rule in Christ’s spiritual kingdom, in Christ’s stead, is not a whit more malicious than laying claim to the authority to teach in Christ’s name. And this every Christian minister does.” — Our Sunday Visitor, (Catholic Weekly), April 18, 1915, thirteenth question under "Bureau of Information,” p. 3, (on page 2 appears “sanctions for the editor” from Pope Pius X, dated May 17, 1914; from the Apostolic Delegate, John Bonzano, dated April 27, 1913; and from J. H. Alerding, Bishop of Fort Wayne, Ind., dated March 29, 1912).

Hover here for an excerpt of an article called “The number of a man” about the known titles of the Pope or select for the full original image. Page 17 continued.

Some that oppose this truth say it was manufactured by the largest Sabbath keeping Church today but you might be surprised to know that the knowledge of 666 being the number of the Pope is not new. This was common knowledge by many of the early Protestants since about 1620 which is more than 200 hundred years before this Church existed. You can always guarantee there will be opposition to all truth as the enemy will do every thing in his power to ensure that truth does not become popular or common knowledge.
Pope Pius IX Crown
V=5 F=0 D=500
I=1 I=1 E=0
C=100 L=50 I=1
A=0 I=1
R=0 I=1
I=1
U=5
S=0
___ __ ___
Total 112 + 53 + 501 = 666

Above is a Papal tiara that was presented to Pius IX by Belgium in 1871. Select the picture of the tiara to view full size or here for a cropped version. The complete inscription including text on the unseen sides is: IESV CHRISTI VICARIO INFALLIBILI ORBIS SVPREMO IN TERRA RECTORI REGVM ATQVE POPVLORVM PATRI which translates to: To the Infallible Vicar of Jesus Christ To the Supreme Governor of the World on Earth To the Father of Nations and Kings.

Every criteria specified by the Bible is met by this beast that enforces the mark. The Bible says this beast would receive a deadly head wound. The Pope took over Rome and rose to power in 538 A.D. The Bible informs us they would have un-interrupted power for 1260 years which brings us to 1798. So what happened in 1798? Precisely on time as prophesied, in 1798 Napoleon sent his General Berthier down to Rome to kidnap the Pope and exiled and imprisoned him in France. In 1799 the Pope became ill and died. The head of the Catholic Church was dead! This is the deadly head wound. For a while there was no head of the Roman Church. The Encyclopaedia Americana, 1941 edition says. “In 1798 he (Berthier) made his entrance into Rome, ABOLISHED THE PAPAL GOVERNMENT and established a secular one.” Hover for an article excerpt from page 3 of the London Times dated 12-3-1798. The Bible says the deadly wound would be healed, and in 1800 they elected a new Pope and the healing of the deadly wound began.

However, this newly elected Pope had no real power until 1929 when a man in Italy called Benito Mussolini signed a concordat in RomeMussolini signs the concordat giving back to the Pope, not the whole city but over 100 acres which is now known as the Vatican, and so the healing of the deadly wound continues. As a result, the Bible says, “the whole world wondered after the beast.” This picture shows Benito Mussolini reading his credentials prior to signing the Lateran Treaty on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III. Cardinal Gasparri (person seated), signed on behalf of Pope Pius XI. American Presidents have bowed before the Pope but they have never bowed before the head of any other Church.

With the arrival of the printing press in the 15th century and the resulting explosion of Bibles accessible in the common language from many Protestant sources, it became readily evident to those who could now study the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation particularly, that Bible prophecy identified by the use of symbols, a persecuting apostate Church generally known as antichrist. If we list the many characteristics of antichrist, the following becomes readily apparent. Select to see Prophecy Charts and more information that identifies the Antichrist.

1. It would rise to be a great power after the fall of the pagan Roman Empire (after 476 A.D.)
2. It would geographically be a small nation. (a little horn)
3. It would uproot three of the ten kingdoms the Roman Empire collapsed into and reveals who on this point alone.
4. It would rule over many nations, people and tongues. (it will be universal)
5. It would be headquartered in the city of seven hills, Rome.
6. It would be a religio-political entity - a political city-state ruled by a priest-king.
7. It would have a priest-king that would make great and blasphemous claims.
8. It would claim authority over all kings.
9. It would claim its power to change the holy times and laws of God as its MARK of authority.
10. It would be an apostate Church that makes the nations drink her cup of apostate doctrine.
11. It would be a “mother” Church, with apostate daughters coming from her.
12. It would be a persecuting power, killing the faithful saints of Jesus Christ as heretics.
13. It would hold power and authority for 1260 years following the fall of pagan Rome.
14. It would suffer a deadly wound that will end 1260 years of dominance and persecution.
15. It would be revived after the deadly wound and all the world would wonder at its revival.

In this the “Historical” interpretation, the antichrist was clearly not merely just a single individual, it was a system of apostasy and persecution that would hold control for over twelve centuries. The inevitable conclusion of those who studied these prophecies in scripture, before and during the Protestant Reformation, was that there was only ONE entity that fits all the above characteristics: the Papal dynasty of the Roman Catholic Church. Is it any wonder that the Catholic Church was so violently opposed to the scriptures being available for everyone to read for themselves?
The Protestant Reformation

Satan obviously does not want anyone to know who the Antichrist beast power is as this would certainly give Christians the upper hand in understanding what 666 and the mark of the beast is. So naturally, Satan has many counter lies coming against this truth. Besides the fact that history and the Bible is clear that it can be none other than the Papacy, are these just our thoughts or is it the understanding of many theologians? The Protestant Reformation in the 1500’s literally changed the course of history and helped move Europe out of the Dark Ages and led to the rise of true religious freedom. Its original principles eventually found expression in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America which teaches that when it comes to religion, the governments on earth have no right to control the conscience.

True Protestantism teaches the priesthood of all believers (2 Peter 2:9-10) and every person anywhere can be saved by coming directly to our loving heavenly Father through His only Son, Jesus Christ (John 14:6). “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5. It also teaches salvation by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8) and the supremacy of the Bible above the visible Church, (2 Timothy 3:16) above traditions, Pastors, Kings, Priests and Popes.

Below are several quotes on what the major Protestant Reformers taught about antichrist. Please note that no offence is intended towards any person, for this would be contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ (John 13:34-35), but rather to just simply present what some of the most significant Christian leaders who have ever lived believed about “the man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), “the little horn” (Daniel 7:8) and “the beast” (Revelation 13:1) and about the antichrist.

John Wycliffe “When the western church was divided for about 40 years between two rival popes, one in Rome and the other in Avigon, France, each pope called the other pope antichrist - and John Wycliffe is reputed to have regarded them as both being right: “two halves of Antichrist, making up the perfect Man of Sin between them.” — Ibid

Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) (Anglican): “Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons.” (Referring to prophecies in Revelation and Daniel.) — Works by Cranmer, Vol. 1, pp. 6-7.

John Wesley (1703-1791) (Methodist): Speaking of the Papacy, John Wesley wrote, “He is in an emphatical sense, the Man of Sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled the Son of Perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers… He it is…that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped…claiming the highest power, and highest honour…claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone.” — Antichrist and His Ten Kingdoms, by John Wesley, pg. 110.

Martin Luther (1483-1546) (Lutheran): Based on prophetic studies, Martin Luther finally declared, “We here are of the conviction that the papacy is the seat of the true and real Antichrist.” (Aug. 18, 1520). — Taken from The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, by LeRoy Froom. Vol. 2., pg. 121. “Luther … proved, by the revelations of Daniel and St. John, by the epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. Jude, that the reign of Antichrist, predicted and described in the Bible, was the Papacy … And all the people did say, Amen! A holy terror seized their souls. It was Antichrist whom they beheld seated on the pontifical throne. This new idea, which derived greater strength from the prophetic descriptions launched forth by Luther into the midst of his contemporaries, inflicted the most terrible blow on Rome.” — Taken from J. H. Merle D'aubigne’s History of the Reformation of the Sixteen Century, book vi, chapter xii, p. 215.

John Calvin (1509-1564) (Presbyterian): “Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff Antichrist. But those who are of this opinion do not consider that they bring the same charge of presumption against Paul himself, after whom we speak and whose language we adopt… I shall briefly show that (Paul’s words in II Thess. 2) are not capable of any other interpretation than that which applies them to the Papacy.” — Taken from Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin.

Roger Williams (1603-1683) (First Baptist Pastor in America): Pastor Williams spoke of the Pope as “the pretended Vicar of Christ on earth, who sits as God over the Temple of God, exalting himself not only above all that is called God, but over the souls and consciences of all his vassals, yea over the Spirit of Christ, over the Holy Spirit, yea, and God himself…speaking against the God of heaven, thinking to change times and laws; but he is the son of perdition (II Thess. 2).” — The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, by Froom, Vol. 3, pg. 52.

John Knox (1505-1572) (Scotch Presbyterian): John Knox sought to counteract “that tyranny which the pope himself has for so many ages exercised over the church.” As with Luther, he finally concluded that the Papacy was “the very antichrist, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks.” — The Zurich Letters, by John Knox, pg. 199.

Cotton Mather (1663-1728) (Congregational Theologian): “The oracles of God foretold the rising of an Antichrist in the Christian Church: and in the Pope of Rome, all the characteristics of that Antichrist are so marvelously answered that if any who read the Scriptures do not see it, there is a marvelous blindness upon them.” — Taken from The Fall of Babylon by Cotton Mather in Froom’s book, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. 3, pg. 113.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647): “There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition that exalteth himself in the church against Christ and all that is called God.” — Taken from Philip Schaff’s, The Creeds of Christendom, With a History and Critical Notes, III, p. 658, 659, ch. 25, sec. 6.

A Great Cloud of Witnesses: “John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, [Tyndale Bible] Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer; in the seventeenth century, Bunyan, the translators of the King James Bible and the men who published the Westminster and Baptist confessions of Faith; Sir Isaac Newton, John Wesley, Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards; and more recently Spurgeon, Bishop J.C. Ryle and Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones; these men among countless others, all saw the office of the Papacy as the antichrist.” — Taken from All Roads Lead to Rome, by Michael de Semlyen. Dorchestor House Publications, p. 205. 1991.
What does it mean that this beast would change God’s law?

We saw earlier that Daniel 7:25 says that this beast power would change the law of God. Did the Roman Catholic Church change God’s law and so meet this criteria? Does the Pope believe he can change the law of God?

“The Pope is of great authority and power, that he is able to modify, declare, or interpret even divine laws. The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man, but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth...” — Lucius Ferraris, in “Prompta Bibliotheca Canonica, Juridica, Moralis, Theologica, Ascetica, Polemica, Rubristica, Historica”, Volume V, article on “Papa, Article II”, titled “Concerning the extent of Papal dignity, authority, or dominion and infallibility”, #30, published in Petit-Montrouge (Paris) by J. P. Migne, 1858 edition.

“We may according to the fullness of our power, dispose of the law and dispense above the law. Those whom the Pope of Rome doth separate, it is not a man that separates them but God. For the Pope holdeth place on earth, not simply of a man but of the true God....dissolves, not by human but rather by divine authority....I am in all and above all, so that God Himself and I, the vicar of God, hath both one consistory, and I am able to do almost all that God can do...Wherefore, no marvel, if it be in my power to dispense with all things, yea with the precepts of Christ.” — Decretales Domini Gregori ix Translatione Episcoporum, (on the Transference of Bishops), title 7, chapter 3; Corpus Juris Canonice (2nd Leipzig ed., 1881), col. 99; (Paris, 1612), tom. 2, Decretales, col. 205 (while Innocent III was Pope).
What law did the beast change and by whose authority?

In 1562 the Archbishop of Reggio openly declared that tradition now stood above scripture. This is what he wrote. “The authority of the Church is illustrated most clearly by the scriptures, for on one hand she recommends them, declares them to be divine, and offers them to us to be read, and on the other hand, the legal precepts in the scriptures taught by the Lord have ceased by virtue of the same authority. The Sabbath, the most glorious day in the law, has been changed into the Lord’s day. These and other similar matters have not ceased by virtue of Christ’s teaching (for He says that He has come to fulfill the law, not to destroy it), but they have been changed by the authority of the Church.” — Gaspare de Posso, Archbishop of Reggio, Council of Trent.

In the Roman Catholic Catechism we also find the following questions and answers in regards the Sabbath:

Question: Which day 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 in the council of Laodicea (A.D. 366), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday. — Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Convert’s Catechism, p. 50, 3rd edition, 1957.
We know what 666 is but what is the Mark of the Beast?

Now that we recognize unmistakably who the first beast of Revelation 13 is that enforces the Mark, perhaps the best approach now would be to consider asking the Roman Catholic Church themselves what they say their Mark is. Before asking them, let’s first consider ten points that give all the criteria identifying what the mark of the beast is.
Ten Points defining 666 and the Mark of the Beast

1. The mark comes from the beast, which represents the Roman Catholic Church.
2. The Mark of the Beast is deceptive and so is not obvious. (Revelation 19:20)
3. The warning against the mark will be given with a loud voice, thus it must be clear and easy to understand. (Revelation 14:9)
4. The three angels reveal a comprehensive message from God before the second coming of Jesus Christ to the entire world to help people understand the mark. (Revelation 14:6-16)
5. The mark involves a special sin against God Himself, for those who receive it will drink the wine of His wrath. (Revelation 14:9-11)
6. The mark will be received on the forehead, which represents the mind, or on the hand, which represents the actions. (Revelation 14:9; Deuteronomy 6:5-8; 11:18)
7. The mark has something to do with the changing of God’s law. (compare Daniel 7:25 with Revelation 13:16 and see Deuteronomy 6:5-8)
8. Those who worship Jesus Christ as Creator will not get the mark. (Revelation 14:7, 9-11)
9. Those who keep the Ten Commandments will not get the mark. (Revelation 14:9, 12)
10. 666 is the number of a mans name from the beast power that we have to add or count. (Revelation 13:17-18)
What does the Roman Catholic Church say their Mark is?

The following statements from the Catholic Church who we now know to be the beast power enforcing the mark tell us what they personally declare their Mark is.

“Question: How prove you that the church had power to command feasts and holydays?
Answer: 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.”
“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 a 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 of the week, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” — Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism On the Obedience Due to the Church, 3rd edition, Chapter 2, p. 174 (Imprimatur, John Cardinal McCloskey, Archbishop of New York).

And here it is. “Of course the Catholic church claims that the change [i.e. Sabbath to Sunday] was her act, and the act as a MARK of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things.” — H.F. Thomas, Chancellor to Cardinal Gibbons. [Parenthesis added]

The Catholic Church declares their MARK to be their power to change God’s times and laws. (Daniel 7:25) The only problem here as we have already seen from scripture, is that man cannot change God’s laws. The created can not change what the Creator has put in place for His creation such as His unchanging law of love. See also Mark 7:6-9. Watch a short video on Authority and Tradition.

The Great Controversy

Remember that a woman in prophecy represents a true or an Apostate Church. Revelation chapters 12-19 all reference the same Apostate Church that persecuted the saints for 1260 years. For more information see Mystery Babylon and for a very deep and detailed study that proves beyond doubt Who is the Antichrist, select this link.

What is about to be presented here has seismic implications and is something that Satan has hundreds of deceptions to prevent the Christian world from knowing. Our adversary will stop at nothing to have you see the greater picture of what is happening in this regard. It is literally about good and evil, God’s true Church and an apostate Church and most importantly, and do NOT miss this point - whom we Worship. Revelation 13:2 says “…and the dragon [Satan] gave him [the Pope] his power, and his seat, and great authority.” If you observe nothing else here, please at least understand the following points. Satan wants to be worshipped as God (Isaiah 14:12-14). Worship is ultimately found in the Church so Satan has to achieve his worship from the Church. He also found that he could inflict more damage on the Church from within, so Satan gave his “power, and his seat, and great authority” to the first beast of Revelation 13, the Papacy, which is the “great whore”, mystery Babylon the mother of harlots that is drunk on the blood of the saints she murdered through the dark ages (Revelation 17:1-6). He did this to obtain the Worship he coveted.

The Priests in the Old Testament had the colour blue in their robes (Exodus 28:4-6) which represented God’s law (Numbers 15:38-40). Did you note that this Harlot woman (Church) has exactly the same colours of the Old Testament Priest’s robes except blue? Catholic Priest robes are also missing the colour blue and not by coincidence. This whole scene is symbolic of a Church in control of state (kingdom) that has changed and forgotten the law of God. The Sabbath is a SIGN that it is the true God we worship and belong to; therefore, keeping the wrong day has us fall short of this promise. Paganism from Satan is deeply rooted in Sun worship, so one of the first things Satan had to accomplish was to change the day of worship to a day that he instituted and DIFFERENT from the day that is a SIGN that we belong to God.

God created the world in six literal days so we should have a six day week… right? No. God added ONE extra day to the week so man could rest in Jesus and Worship Him totally on this day. The extra day added cannot go in place of the first day as it was a WORK day and was used for creating this world. The Seventh day which is the extra day God added with only one purpose is the day that God blessed and sanctified and made Holy. It is not just about a day of worship, IT IS A SIGN that it is God we worship and give our allegiance to. It is NOT a sign that it is God we belong to if we keep another secular day. It is THE Seventh day that was added to the week for this ONE and ONLY purpose. It cannot move or end as it is part of a much bigger plan that Christians need to open their hearts and spiritual minds to.

We find in the Bible that the number SEVEN to God represents perfection and completeness. On the other hand, man was created on day SIX and this number represents the worship of man, the number of man and signifies his rebellion, imperfection, works and disobedience. The image that Nebuchadnezzar made in rebellion to God was 60 cubits high, six cubits wide and when the other dimension is not given it is the same as the width. This means this man made image had the dimensions of 666. The number THREE represents the God head and so triple six represents something very wrong.

If this very special Commandment, the Seventh day Sabbath, were abolished at the cross then we would no longer need the Seventh day of the week and therefore God would have changed our week back to SIX days representing man and no longer perfection and completeness. Would God change the days of the week to a number representing man and not perfection and completeness? Not a chance! The Seventh day is here to stay and was added for no other purpose. Number SEVEN and the Seventh day is very significant in more ways than one and is something we need to try and understand. Napoleon knew the significance of this and hated Christianity which is also part of why he ended the Popes rule and tried to change to a ten day week. His attempt at doing so obviously failed. Due to the significance and importance of a SEVEN day week, God no doubt had his hand on this situation as well to ensure it did not come to pass.

There are now over 500 different denominations that keep the Seventh day Sabbath, but why does most of the remainder of the Christian World have literally hundreds of different reasons for NOT keeping the true Sabbath? How many reasons do you think there should be as to why the very law that God spoke and wrote in person has been reduced to nine Commandments? One might imagine one or two reasons, but I have been given more than a hundred. This absolutely ridiculous number of excuses can only be possible when the enemy is desperately trying to convince us that this day has no significance. If Christians don’t start opening their minds to the significance and truth of this one Commandment then many will perish in the end as the book of Revelation tells us when it says the whole world will be deceived.

Revelation 13:12 says, “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.”

Is the entire world truly and literally going to bow down and worship the Catholic Church? That is just not feasible, logical or possible. So what does this verse actually mean? Looking at this from a different angle for a moment, how is it that we show it is God we obey and worship and hence give our allegiance to? In reference to God feeding His people with manna in the wilderness, for forty years God worked three miracles every week to show Israel which day was holy. 1) No manna fell on the seventh day. 2) They could not keep it overnight without spoilage, but 3) when they kept it over the Sabbath, it remained sweet and fresh. What did God do to see if His children would keep His Commandments?

Exodus 16:4 “Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.”

God wanted to find if they would obey Him and keep ALL of His Commandments and laws, and how did God do that? He tested their allegiance to Him by seeing if they would keep His Seventh day Sabbath or not. The Sabbath was the test Commandment to see if they would obey God and worship Him alone. Did they pass the test?

Exodus 16:28 “And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse you to keep my Commandments and my laws?”

They failed to keep the Sabbath on the seventh day as instructed by God as miserably as most do today and He accused them of breaking ALL His Commandments and laws. This is very significant. It is a SIGN that it is God we obey and worship by keeping this one Commandment. It proves our allegiance to Him. This is the only Commandment that defines that it is God the Creator that we do worship. Here are some of the scriptures that show the Sabbath is a sign that it is God we love, obey and worship and that it is God that sanctifies and makes us Holy when we keep His weekly Sabbaths.

Ezekiel 20:12 “Moreover also 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 20:20 “And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a SIGN between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.”
Exodus 31:16-17 “Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a PERPETUAL covenant. 17 It is a SIGN between me and the children of Israel FOREVER: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.”

Does this perpetual covenant that is a SIGN forever, (Exodus 31:13-17) apply only to the Israel of God? Today there is an Israel of the flesh (1 Corinthians 10:18) and an Israel of God, Galatians 6:16. The Israel of the flesh are those that are Jews by birth. The Israel of God is anyone who belongs to Christ and is under the New Covenant. If we are Christ’s then we are spiritual Jews and the Israel of God. If we reject this truth then we cannot be under the New Covenant. Observe below who the New Covenant was ONLY made with. This came into effect when the Jews rejected God’s message from Stephen (Acts 6:8-7:60) and stoned him. See also Romans 2:28-29, Romans 9:6-8 and Galatians 3:28-29.

Hebrews 8:10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the HOUSE OF ISRAEL after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:”

America already has blue laws for Sunday worship already in place in most states and something we will go into more detail later. Some crisis in earth’s final history will no doubt bring about a new world order that will cause a reuniting of Church and State (two horns, Revelation 13:11-12) as in the dark ages. As a result these blue laws will be enforced and accepted as being for our benefit. So how will the world be made to worship the Papacy? In exactly the same way we prove our allegiance to God. By worshipping on the day that Satan instituted through his agent the Papacy. When you worship on their day, you give your allegiance to the enemy who gave them their “power, seat and great authority” (Revelation 13:2) for this purpose. This is total rebellion against God and why it carries the wrath of God (Revelation 14:9-11). By worshiping on the Seventh day, it proves that we walk in God’s laws and that we are giving our allegiance to Him.

Revelation 14 is unmistakably about whom we worship and keeping God’s Commandments. It is easy to see if you truly love God with all your heart, might and soul. So does the fourth Commandment and the day matter? Even if you don’t fully understand it, you better believe it’s very important to God. We need to understand that we demonstrate our worship to God by our love and obedience. Isn’t love and obedience through faith what is important to God? Who are we going to give our allegiance to? Are we going to keep the day that Satan desires to be worshipped on or the day that God added to the week that is also a memorial of creation and a day that defines that it is God we Worship and belong to? As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

When God gave the Ten Commandments in fiery majesty, He had purpose in every Commandment. Not one was intended to change. Each and every one are to last as long as heaven and earth. If you study the table below you should now see the bigger picture and why Satan changed the day through paganism.
God’s True Church

The Apostate Church
God's True Church The Apostate Church
Clothed with the sun. God, Church is light
(1 John 1:5, Matthew 5:14) Clothed in purple and scarlet. Sin, Corruption (Revelation 17:3, Isaiah 1:18)
The remnant Church, from the original
(Revelation 12:17) Mother of Harlots, other Churches came from her. (Revelation 17:5)
It is God who wants the Worship and receives it (Revelation 14:7) It is Satan who wants the worship and receives it (Revelation 13:4)
Christ is the head of the Church
(Ephesians 5:23) Man is the head of the Church
(Catholic Church quote 1, quote 2)
Christ is its power and authority
(Jude 1:25) Satan gave it its power and authority
(Revelation 13:2)
Based on scripture
(Acts 17:11, 1 John 2:5) Based on Tradition
(Catholic Church quote, Mark 7:6-9)
Keeps God’s Commandments
(Revelation 12:17, 14:12)
Changed God’s Commandments
(Daniel 7:25)
Worships God only
(Keeps 2nd Commandment) Worships Idols and Mary
(2nd Commandment deleted)
Keeps God’s true Sabbath day of Worship (Revelation 12:17) Changed the Sabbath to Satan’s day of Worship (Catholic Church quote 1, 2)
True day of Worship is based on the Word
(Exodus 20:8-11) False day of worship comes from Paganism
(Historic Quote 1, Quote 2)
True day comes from worship of the Son of God (Exodus 31:13-17, Isaiah 58:13-14) False day came from worship of the Sun god (Ezekiel 8:16)
Our allegiance is to God when we worship on His holy day (Ezekiel 20:20, Exodus 31:13-17, Revelation 14:7) Our allegiance is to Satan when we worship on their day (Hover or click here, Revelation 13:2, Revelation 13:4)
Jesus is the capstone
(Matthew 21:42, 1 Peter 2:7) Satan through Paganism is the capstone
(Revelation 13:2)
Does not commit fornication
(Revelation 12:17, 14:12) Commits spiritual fornication
(Revelation 14:8; 17:2, 4; 18:3, 9)
Works on destroying the powers of Satan
(Luke 9:1) Satan through her tried to destroy God’s true Church (Revelation 13:7, Daniel 7:25)
Preaches the 3 angels messages
One warns of the Mark of the Beast Does not preach the 3 angels messages
The MARK of the Beast is her MARK
Reigns with Christ for ever and ever
(Revelation 22:5) Destroyed by God and thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20)

The Mark of the Beast cannot be a Computer Chip

Many have been led to believe that the mark of the beast must be an implanted computer chip such as a biochip or verichip, partially because the KJV Bible states that the mark is in the hand or in the forehead. Chip implantAs the mark of the beast is symbolic, “in” or “on” is not relevant but for the sake of clearing up this misconception, we will discuss this speculation that scripture says is not allowed or necessary. Below you will find three of the scriptures concerned. The Strong’s number for the word that the KJV Bible has translated as “in” is G1909 and I have given the Thayer definition below as it is easier to understand. The word “in” does not even qualify for a mention.

Thayer Definition: G1909 epi
1) upon, on, at, by, before.
2) of position, on, at, by, over, against.
3) to, over, on, at, across, against.

The Greek word 1909 “epi” means “upon or on” and you will also note that exactly the same Greek word (1909) is used in all these verses and the KJV Bible actually did get it correct in just one place in the latter part of Revelation 20:4. There you will note they translated exactly the same Greek word “1909” as “upon” which is correct.

Revelation 13:16 “And2532 he causeth4160 all,3956 both small3398 and2532 great,3173 (2532) rich4145 and2532 poor,4434, (2532) free1658 and2532 bond,1401 to2443 receive1325, 846 a mark5480 in1909 their848 right1188 hand,5495 or2228 in1909 their848 foreheads:3359”

Revelation 14:9 “And2532 the third5154 angel32 followed190 them,846 saying3004 with1722 a loud3173 voice,5456 If any man1536 worship4352 the3588 beast2342 and2532 his848 image,1504 and2532 receive2983 his mark5480 in1909 his848 forehead,3359 or2228 in1909 his848 hand,5495”

Revelation 20:4 “And2532 I saw1492 thrones,2362 and2532 they sat2523 upon1909 them,846 and2532 judgment2917 was given1325 unto them:846 and2532 I saw the3588 souls5590 of them that were beheaded3990 for1223 the3588 witness3141 of Jesus,2424 and2532 for1223 the3588 word3056 of God,2316 and2532 which3748 had not3756 worshiped4352 the3588 beast,2342 neither3777 his846 image,1504 neither2532, 3756 had received2983 his mark5480 upon1909 their848 foreheads,3359 or2532 in1909 their848 hands;5495 and2532 they lived2198 and2532 reigned936 with3326 Christ5547 a thousand5507 years.2094”

Matthew 6:10 “Thy4675 kingdom932 come.2064 Thy4675 will2307 be done1096 in1909 earth,1093 as5613 it is in1722 heaven.3772”

You will note that the translators of the KJV Bible made this mistake in more than one place. In Matthew 6:10 from the Lord’s prayer, we find it should be “ON” Earth not “IN” Earth. Almost all other translations got this right as they did also in reference to on hand or on forehead. Note the NKJV Bible translation below which has it translated correctly.

Revelation 14:9 “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,”

One could say that this still does not rule out a microchip. The fact is the Bible does not specifically say at all what the mark is. It does not say it is a chip implant, a barcode or some card system or anything else. Without reasonably clear scriptural support, it is all speculation. We are however given some clear clues on what it is related to. So what information do we have that might indicate that it is not a microchip? Look at the verses again that reference the mark.

Revelation 14:9 “...If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark…”
Revelation 14:11 “…who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
Revelation 15:2 “…and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name…”
Revelation 16:2 “…which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.”
Revelation 19:20 “…the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image…”

All these verse are associated with the beast (Catholic Church) or its representative (the Pope). It is the MARK of the Catholic Church. Is technology the mark of the Catholic Church? Not at all. It’s possible that microchip implants or some other type of technology might be used to control buying and selling but technology does not fit the mark of the beast given the above verses. The Catholic Church has enforced many things by death over the centuries but it was never technology, it was ALWAYS their religious viewpoint that was enforced by death and Revelation says that it will be again.

One time (Revelation 14:11) it’s called “the mark of His Name”
Two times (Revelation 16:2; 19:20) it’s called “the mark of the Beast”
Three times (Revelation 14:9; 15:2; 20:4) it’s called “His Mark.”

So we know that the mark is associated somehow with his name and his number and the number 666 is the number of a man. As seen previously, the Pope fits this criterion perfectly. We now have at least three things which lean away from the theory of it just being a chip or similar technology. What we also know is that “buying and selling” is NOT just for those that have the MARK, but ALSO for those that have the NAME of the beast, or the NUMBER of his name.

Revelation 13:17-18 “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. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. [666]”

This is not just an issue of some symbolic mark which we will give even more scriptural evidence supporting this soon. The very clear issue is also not to receive their mark or their name or the number of his name. Revelation 13:17 clearly shows THREE reasons why a person can’t “buy or sell.” It says, “And that no man might buy or sell, save he…”

One time (Revelation 14:11) it’s called “the mark of His Name”
Two times (Revelation 16:2; 19:20) it’s called “the mark of the Beast”
Three times (Revelation 14:9; 15:2; 20:4) it’s called “His Mark.”

So even if you do NOT have the “MARK OF THE BEAST” but you have the NAME or the NUMBER you are still able to “buy or sell.” When all these factors are taken into consideration, it shows that the mark itself cannot be some form of technology. The evidence is clearly that it is symbolic and is to do with the fact that they changed God’s laws on worship, which Daniel 7:25 says they would. They deleted the second Commandment (idolatry) and changed the fourth (Sabbath) and as we have unmistakably seen, those that do NOT get the mark worship God only and keep His Commandments.

Do both these laws relate to the mark? Another way we can still incur the wrath of God is by not just having the mark of the beast but also for worshipping it. Does everyone remember what happened when Pope John died? Literally millions of people lined up for days to look upon a dead Pope. Never before have I ever seen one man get so much worship let alone a DEAD man. It dominated television for weeks and got the attention of the whole world. Look at what the latter part of Revelation 13:3 says, “…and all the world wondered after the beast.” Isn’t this what happened when the Pope died? The entire world wondered after the Catholic Church at this time?

Isn’t the Pope the only religious person that the President of the United States has ever bowed down too and kneeled before? Isn’t this idolatry at its worst? No man should be worshipped. Revelation 14:9 shows the consequences are just the same if you worship the Catholic Church or its representative the Pope. This also takes away from the issue of the mark and the number as being associated with a computer chip or any other form of technology as worship of the Pope receives exactly the same consequences from God.

Revelation 14:9 “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,” (Remember the forehead and hand is also symbolic. The forehead represents the mind and the hand represents ones actions. (Exodus 13:9, 16; Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18)

What do we actually know for certain about 666 and the mark of the beast?
1) We know the mark comes from the beast, which represents the Roman Catholic Church.

2) We also know that 666 is the number of a man (Revelation 13:18) which is associated or a representative of the beast. (Roman Catholic Church) This can only be the Pope and as shown earlier meets the criteria perfectly.

3) Those who worship Jesus Christ as Creator DO NOT get the mark. Revelation 14:7 “Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Remember the Sabbath is a memorial of creation and sign that it is God alone we worship. Note also how Revelation 14:7 above references the fourth Commandment which the Greek Lexicons also point out. Exodus 20:11 “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.”

4) Those that worship the Beast DO receive the mark and God’s wrath. Revelation 14:9 “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,”

5) Those that keep God’s Commandments DO NOT receive the mark and avoid the wrath of God. Revelation 14:12 “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the Commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

Are you beginning to see a pattern here? If you worship God and keep His Commandments you DO NOT receive the mark or the wrath of God. If you worship the beast, which breaks God’s second and fourth Commandment, then you DO receive their mark and incur the wrath of God. One group keeps the Commandments and the other group does not.

In Daniel 3:16-28 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace but God was with them through the persecution and in this case took them safely through it. They refused to disobey God’s second Commandment. There is obviously a strong link here to obedience to God and who we Worship in regards to the mark. Remember it was the breaking of God’s Commandments that got this world into this mess in the first place.

The Bible often refers to times of patience with times of suffering. Revelation 13:10 speaks of the “patient of the saints” after they endured the 1260 years of persecution from the Roman Catholic Church which is the first Beast. As stated earlier, 50 - 150 million Christians were tortured and murdered. Revelation 14:12 is the verse following the mark of the beast warning, and the “patience of the saints” as those who will endure through the second time of persecution from the Roman Catholic Church and still keep God’s Commandments. These are those who truly trust and love God.

Revelation 13:10 “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”

In Revelation 14:9-11 we see in what we will call group one, the consequences for those who worshipped the beast and so received the mark of the beast. Remember this is the mark of the Catholic Church. And what is their mark?

Revelation 14:9-11 “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, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

Again we see how God’s people will have to endure a time of tribulation from the Beast yet again by the statement “Here is the patience of the saints.” You will note in the next consecutive verse we see in what we will now call group two, a very special characteristic of this group compared to group one in which group two keep the Commandments of God despite the persecution for not worshipping the beast or receiving their mark. These are truly God’s faithful children.

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

The Papacy enforced Sunday worship through the dark ages and persecuted millions of Christians that they called heretics. Revelation 13:11-18 tells us the second beast will give power back to the first beast and force all to worship the first beast (Papacy). They deleted the second Commandment and they want our worship which breaks this Commandment. They mock Protestants today for keeping their day rather than God’s and they changed the Sabbath and murdered millions the first time, until they received a deadly wound (Revelation 13:3) in 1798 when Napoleon’s General Berthier put the Papacy out of action. Verse 3 also says that this wound will be healed. For the wound to be fully healed they need to be as they were before the wound. This was when they were persecuting millions of Christians as heretics falsely. The Bible also clearly says that they are coming back. (Revelation 13:11-12) Do you think they will do it again given that chance? If we really think the Papacy won’t enforce Sunday worship again as they did before then we are very much dreaming. If we obey the Catholic Church and worship on their day, we are again breaking one of God’s Commandments. But not only that, it is the Commandment that is SIGN that defines who we belong to and DO worship.
Will Sunday laws really be Re-Enacted?

The first Sunday law was enforced by Emperor Constantine in March, 321 A.D. when he joined the Roman Catholic Church. The big question is, will history repeat itself? The Bible says yes. The following is the historical quote of this first Sunday Law. “On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” Source: Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol.3 (5th ed.; New York: Scribner, 1902), p.380, note 1.

The following quote informs us why this first Sunday law was enacted and it has nothing to with any instruction noted from scripture but was done as a result of paganism that entered the Church through Constantine. Constantine joined the Church as a result of what he believed to be divine vision of a cross in the sky which had accompanying words. As a result he marched his pagan army through the Jordon river claiming they were now baptized. They went in dry pagans and came out wet pagans. You will note the change was done entirely in favour of Sun worship. “The Church made a sacred day of Sunday ... largely because it was the weekly festival of the sun; for it was a definite Christian policy to take over the pagan festivals endeared to the people by tradition, and to give them a Christian significance.” Source: Arthur Weigall, The Paganism in Our Christianity, p. 145. Copyright 1928 by G. p. Putnam's Sons, New York.

After Constantine’s first Sunday law, the Roman Catholic Church continued enforcing Sunday law in Europe for more than a further 1,000 years. Sunday laws were also enforced in England for centuries. Amazingly, this practice was continued in colonial America. In the 1600s, if you lived in Massachusetts, Virginia, or Connecticut, you were required by law to attend church on Sunday. Disobedience was punished by heavy fines, whipping, confinement in a cage, and in some cases, even by death. Hence colonial Protestant America still followed Constantine and the Catholic Church in the uniting of church and state, and enforcing Sunday laws.

The American Revolution resulted in complete separation from England and in the forming of a new nation. The American Constitution and the Bill of Rights fully established the doctrine of religious freedom. The First Amendment now denies the right of government to enforce religion. The Statue of Liberty at the entrance to New York harbour remains a monument against Rome and against the history of religious persecution in Europe. So in the United States Church is separate from the state. Both have their place and both remain free. Yet history reveals that Protestant America has never completely cut loose from the City of Seven Hills, from the Vatican itself.

On May 21, 1888, a New Hampshire Christian senator introduced the following bill into the fiftieth Congress, “Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that no person, or corporation, or the agent, servant, or the employee of any person or corporation, shall perform or authorize to be performed any secular work ... on the first day of the week, commonly known as the Lord’s day” (The National Sunday Law, Arguments of Alonzo T. Jones before the United States Senate Committee on Education and Labor at Washington, D.C., December 13, 1888. 1889, p. v.). The whole purpose of this bill was to produce enforced Sunday keeping nationwide, and this proposed legislation had the support of Christian Churches across America. But this was just groundwork for future legislation and the Blair Sunday bill was finally ruled unconstitutional, and it died in committee. Watch a re-enactment of this Sunday Law Debate.

Bible prophecy predicts that what happened in Europe leading to the forming of the Beast power that resulted in 1260 dark years of Papal rule will eventually happen in America leading to the “image of the beast.” Rome was disintegrating In the fourth century and Constantine decided that the solution to the problem was to unite the government of Caesar with the Roman Catholic Church and to enforce the keeping of Sunday. Something similar will happen again. During some future crisis that will result in people becoming very religious, Protestant America will conclude that the only solution to the national emergency will be to unite the Church with the federal government and to enforce the keeping of Sunday.

Pope John Paul II issued an extensive pastoral letter on May 31, 1998, Dies Domini (The Day of the Lord), which contained a passionate appeal for the revival of Sunday observance. The Pope said the prevailing neglect of Sunday reflects a spiritual crisis inside the Catholic Church and within Christianity in general. Notice his words: “The Lord’s Day has structured the history of the Church through two thousand years: how could we think that it will not continue to shape the future?” Shockingly, the Pope then urged world governments to enforce Sunday laws! “In the particular circumstances of our own time, Christians will naturally strive to ensure that civil legislation respects their duty to keep Sunday holy.” Such statements are right in line with this official Vatican position, “Christians should seek recognition of Sundays and the Church’s holy days as legal holidays” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, p. 528. 1994.)

The founder of the Christian Coalition Pat Robertson also shares this view. In his best selling book, The New World Order, he correctly emphasizes the need for America to come back to God. His book envisions a time when this will occur. But he also writes: “The next obligation that a citizen of God’s world order owes is to himself. ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,’ is a command for the personal benefit of each citizen. ... Only when people are permitted to rest from their labors, to meditate on God, to consider His way, to dream of a better world can there be progress and genuine human betterment ... Laws in America that mandated a day of rest from incessant commerce have been nullified as a violation of the separation of church and state” (Pat Robertson, The New World Order, p. 236. 1991).

Pat Robertson is envisioning an America that has returned to God. As part of this new world order, he also sees an America that is keeping the Sabbath, but by the Sabbath, he in fact means Sunday. He then looks back to the days of colonial America when Sunday was enforced by law. He wants to see this again. He says what is stopping Sunday laws from being enforced is the separation of church and state, which, he has concluded, is really a doctrine of the liberal left. This is a mistake. The founding fathers separated government and religion as a reaction to the Church of Rome and in favour of inalienable rights. As we have already seen, the Catholic Church is against the separation of Church and state and is in favour of Sunday laws. When Protestants attack the separation of Church and state and at the same time seek for Sunday laws, “They know not what they do.” What they will be doing is lining up with the Catholic Church and preparing the way for the image of the beast and for the enforcement of their mark.

“Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat its mistakes.” It already happened in Europe. The Roman Empire was falling apart, so Constantine decided to unite the government of Caesar with the Roman Catholic Church and to enforce the keeping of Sunday. This helped form the beast, and it will happen again in America. Our country is now sinking in the quicksand of sin, and immorality is raging out of control. Like the approaching footsteps of a midnight thief, the final crisis is coming. In a soon coming dramatic hour of desperation, prophecy predicts America will reject over two hundred years of freedom. Sincere, yet misguided Christians will take the reins of government. The appropriate separation of government and religion will disappear as Protestant America forms an image of the Roman Catholic Church. In a final attempt to bring America back to God, Sunday observance will once again be enforced by law. But this time, unlike the past, the enforcement will be universal. Protestants, Catholics, and even the apparitions of Mary, will all be united in this. The reasons will sound good and the movement will look Christian, and it will seem like our only hope. But deep in the midst of these turbulent waters will be Satan himself. He will have finally pulled off his ultimate masterpiece of delusion. He will have led Christians, in the name of the Lamb, to enforce the mark of the beast. Those who refuse to cooperate will not be able to buy or sell. This is not some fictitious issue and it will apply to you and me.

When the mark of the beast is finally enforced by law all around the world, the Good Shepherd will call His faithful sheep and during the fateful crisis, there will be sincere Protestants and Catholics everywhere who have never really understood the important issues. The Spirit of the Almighty God will speak to their hearts. The three angels’ messages will be read in print, and will heard from television, radio, the pulpit, the World Wide Web and even via satellite. People will have a chance to learn the real truth. Christ will be lifted up and His cross will be seen, and the actual cause of His death will be more deeply understood by Christians. Why did Jesus die? The Bible says, “Christ died for our sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:3. What is sin? “Sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. Simply put the pieces together. Jesus Christ died because we have broken the Ten Commandments, including the forgotten one, which says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8. Therefore Jesus Christ our Creator also died because we broke His very significant Sabbath day!

During this final crisis surrounding this 666 and the mark of the beast issue, it will be understood that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world and the Maker of all life. The Sabbath will be presented as the special day that it is, which uniquely reveals Jesus and His love for His own horribly lost world. Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8). People will then be brought face to face with the core issue that will ultimately decide their destiny. Will they worship Jesus Christ, the Creator and keep the Commandments of God? Or will they worship the beast and his image and receive his mark? Humanity will have reached the final crossroads. Heaven’s clock will have struck the midnight moment. The last hour of decision will have come. During those closing seconds, the seventh day Sabbath will represent our allegiance to Jesus Christ, the Maker of all life, while Sunday will represent allegiance to Rome and their agent the devil himself.

Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my Commandments.” John 14:15. The whole heart of the issue is our love for Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour. Out of sincere appreciation for His grace and for the magnitude of His sacrifice for the sins of all humanity, Jesus Christ’s true followers will fully take their stand on the Lord’s side, no matter what the cost. The three angels’ messages will be and are clear. Those who accept the gospel and embrace the Lamb, worship the Creator, and keep His Commandments will not receive the mark of the beast. This is what the Bible says! The third angel’s message describes God’s final apocalyptic people in the following way. “Here is the patience [endurance] of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. Parenthesis added.

During planet Earth’s last and final crisis, when the mark of the beast is globally enforced by law and after someone truly sees the real core issue but still chooses to believe in Papal Rome’s secular Sunday instead of the Holy Bible Sabbath of Jesus Christ, then and only then, will God Almighty look into the inner recesses of that persons mind and consider that person to have the mark in the forehead. Those who don’t believe in Sunday keeping, but still choose to go along with it because of the intense economic and social pressure to conform, they will receive the mark in their right hand. Those who endure and reject the use of force and choose to follow the Lamb, keeping the Sabbath no matter what the cost will be revealing their supreme loyalty to the great Creator of heaven and earth. They have the name of God in their foreheads.

Remember the importance of worship in regards to the mark of the beast? We can see conclusively that worshipping God and not the beast and keeping His Commandments is related to the mark of the beast (Revelation 14:12) and this would also include the second Commandment. The Sabbath defines who we DO worship which the Papal Church changed and say is a MARK of their authority and hence the central issue. But where else in the Bible do we find such an example?

In the third chapter of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar makes an image of gold with the dimensions of 60 cubits high, plus 6 cubits wide and 6 deep [666] that he commanded all to bow down and worship. Fiery furnaceShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not disobey God’s Commandment and refused to obey the king. The king therefore threw them into a blazing furnace that was heated seven times hotter than usual. The King in amazement said, “Why do I see four men walking around in the fire? They are not tied up, and they show no sign of being hurt and the fourth is like that of the Son of God. Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! They disobeyed my command and risked their lives rather than bow down and worship any god except their own. There is no other god who can rescue like this.” As a result, the king promoted them to higher positions in Babylon.

Here is the perfect and most beautiful example of true obedience to God. This is an example God has given us, which is a parallel of the mark of the beast issue in Revelation Chapters 13 and 14 that demonstrates how we should respond in Earths final days, that is, we should obey God rather than man and not worship the Beast or his image. So do we worship on the Pope’s day specified by the beast and receive the mark of the beast, or on the day God commanded and receive the Mark of God being His Seal? Do you love the “praise of men” more than the praise of God? Or do you have the FAITH and the COURAGE to obey God’s Commandments, even if you were to lose your job and perhaps some of your friends or even your own life as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were prepared to do? The choice should be simple.

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Microsoft and the Mark of the Beast
By Steve Wohlberg
Taken from Chapter 8 of his eye-opening book, Truth Left Behind.

Because the San Andreas fault line runs through the vast city of Los Angeles, those who live in the area are justly concerned about the coming of the “big one”—an earthquake above 7.0. When it comes to apocalyptic issues described in the book of Revelation, the “big one” is definitely 666 and the Mark of the Beast. If this subject could be measured by a Richter scale capable of weighing spiritual significance, its magnitude would be well above 1,000. The consequences of receiving 666 and the mark are truly catastrophic. Those who get it will experience the wrath of God and lose their souls (Revelation 14:9-11). Therefore nothing could be more serious.

The eighth book in the Left Behind drama, The Mark—The Beast Rules the World, continues the developing saga of the “Tribulation Force” against the beast after the Rapture. At the height of his sinister reign over mankind, Antichrist Nicolae Carpathia unveils his secret weapon to gain full control of the world—a highly sophisticated “miniature biochip” to be inserted under the skin of people’s foreheads and hands “as painlessly as a vaccination in a matter of seconds” (p. 86). “The visible evidence of loyalty to the potentate,” this techno-mark also “serves as a method of payment and receipting for buying and selling. Eye-level scanners will allow customers and merchants to merely pass by and be billed or receipted” (pp. 86, 87). This forces Rayford Steele, Buck Williams, and the rest of the Tribulation Force to make a final decision: either submit fully to the Antichrist or expose themselves as Christians. For all who refuse to follow Carpathia, “loyalty enforcement facilitators await with sharpened guillotines” (p. 170).

This incredible scenario reveals what most prophecy-minded Christians today imagine when it comes to 666 and the Mark of the Beast. They know it will come from the devil, will be enforced by the Antichrist, will be used to control buying and selling, and they assume it will be centered around some sort of high-tech computer technology. And as we have already seen, the majority also believe it will come after the Rapture. Beyond this, there seems little else to know. Or is there? In this book we have challenged the accuracy of Left Behind when it comes to the beast, the image, and the timing of the Rapture. If this blockbuster best-selling series is off track in these key areas, what about its basic theology regarding the Mark of the Beast itself? Is it trustworthy? When it comes to the mark, could Left Behind be once again sincerely and yet mistakenly out in left field?

“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). Here the Bible says a mark will be received in the hand or in the forehead. Yet the Bible does not specifically say it will be a “miniature biochip,” or even that it will involve technology at all. These modern words, “computer,” “biochip,” “technology,” “bar code,” and “scanner,” do not appear in Revelation. People just assume it will happen this way. It’s a little bit like the Catholic doctrine of the assumption of the Virgin Mary established in 1950. Because Pope Pius XII proclaimed the assumption to be true, many Catholics now believe Mary was “assumed” or taken to heaven without dying at the end of her earthly life. Yet this is really just a huge “assumption” not supported by the Bible!

Likewise with 666 and the Mark of the Beast. Christians assume the mark will involve computer technology developed by a Microsoft or an Intel, yet the Bible itself does not specifically say this. I call this the “Great Mark of the Beast Microchip Assumption.”

The Bible specifically does say, “He deceived them that had received the mark of the beast” (Revelation 19:20). Notice carefully. Those who receive the mark are deceived. Therefore the 666 and the Mark of the Beast must involve some sort of subtle deception. That is, it must not be too obvious or easily noticed. If it were, how could almost the entire world be mislead? Jesus warned us that Satan’s deceptions are so tricky they can “‘deceive, if possible, even the elect’ ” (Matthew 24:24, NKJV).

It seems to me that the Left Behind scenario portrays the mass of humankind as altogether too gullible. Think about it. How deceptive would it be for someone like Nicolae Carpathia to command everyone to accept a computerized biochip in their foreheads or in their hands? Honestly, let’s get away from fiction and talk about real people. How many real people do you know who would accept big government implanting biochip technology inside their heads? The idea becomes slightly more believable if one imagines a world in which millions of people have just vanished. But what if people don’t vanish? What if we are dealing with this world—the real world and real people? Even more than this, what if we are talking about you and me facing 666 and the Mark of the Beast? How deceptive would that be to us? How could this “deceive, if possible, even the elect”?

When we look carefully at Revelation, we discover that the Mark of the Beast is not the only thing placed in people’s foreheads. Amazingly, the forehead is mentioned many times apart from the mark. The first time the mark is mentioned is in Revelation 13:16. Three verses later John saw a group called the 144,000 with the “Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1). This solitary sentence flashes new light on this whole topic. One group gets the Mark of the Beast while the other group has the name of God in their foreheads. Referring to the saved, the very last chapter of the Bible says, “They shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4). Therefore, both saints and sinners will all one day have something in their foreheads. Does this mean God’s people will walk around with actual, visible letters written on their foreheads?

John also saw an evil scarlet woman riding a beast. “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS” (Revelation 17:5). No one doubts this is a symbolic prophecy. There will be no real prostitute riding a beast. Therefore, the writing of that mysterious name upon her forehead must also be symbolic. Are the scales beginning to fall from your eyes? The real issues are more than skin deep.

This idea about the forehead or the hand is not unique to Revelation. Moses told the Israelites, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. . . . Thou shalt bind them for a sign on thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes” (Deuteronomy 6:6, 8). Again Moses said, “Therefore shall ye lay up these mine words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes” (Deuteronomy 11:18). What did God intend the Israelites to learn from this? Did the Lord want them to take a fine-point pen and write a whole lot of words on the tiny bit of skin between their eyes above their noses? How could their faces contain the entire book of Deuteronomy? It has thirty-four chapters!

With a little bit of reflection we should be able to understand what this idea of the forehead and hand is really all about. Anciently, God wanted His words on the foreheads of the Israelites. This must mean He wanted them inside of their minds. What about His words on their hands? This must apply to their actions. So, the forehead represents the mind, and the hand represents the actions. That’s simple enough. Therefore, what the book of Revelation is really saying when it speaks of a mark in the forehead or in the hand is that one day the masses of humanity will fully yield their minds and their actions to some specific idea, or tradition, or “mark” that comes from the beast. They will be marked in their minds. Yet God’s true people will see through this deception. Why? Because they have the name of God in their foreheads.

What is the name of God? Is it only a specific set of syllables God would like us to use when we address Him, or does this issue involve more than mere pronunciation? When Moses ascended Mount Sinai, “The LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD” (Exodus 34:5). Then God described His character. He revealed Himself as merciful, gracious, patient, forgiving, just, and full of truth (Exodus 34:6, 7). These wonderful attributes are referred to as “the name of the LORD.” At the end of His earthly life, in a prayer to His Father, our Saviour said, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world” (John 17:6). Jesus didn’t say this simply because He had been pronouncing certain syllables correctly, but because His life revealed the true character of God. So when the Bible says people will have the name of God on their foreheads, this means that His gracious attributes of character have become a deep part of their thinking and actions. They are truly connected with Jesus Christ. In the final days, God will have a people who are so firmly rooted in Jesus and in His attributes of character that they will not be deceived or go along with 666 and the Mark of the Beast. Thus, we are dealing with deep spiritual issues.

The mark is mentioned eight times in Revelation (13:16, 17; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16: 2; 19:20; 20:4), but there is only one unique section that specifically and comprehensively clarifies the issues and warns the entire world against receiving this evil mark. It is the three angels’ messages found in Revelation 14:6-12. Sadly, most Christians have never even heard of these messages, yet they are of cosmic significance. They are just as important as the message of Noah before the Flood. Why? Because they contain Heaven’s last call before the return of Jesus Christ (Revelation 14:14-16).

John saw the first “angel flying in the midst of heaven,” followed by “another angel,” and then by a “third angel” (Revelation 14:6, 8, 9). All three of these angels have tremendous things to say “to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6, NKJV). This does not mean that literal angels will appear in the sky flying over Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Paris, London, and Moscow. As with many other things in Revelation, these angels are symbolic. They represent a final group of Christians who proclaim God’s last message to the whole world from the pulpit, on the radio, on television, in print, and via satellite. Instead of the fictitious “Tribulation Force,” we might call them God’s real “Three Angels’ Messages Force.” They expose the real Antichrist, counteract the tidal wave of Jesuit futurism, and teach the actual truth about Satan’s evil mark.

Here’s a quick overview of these mighty messages. The first angel proclaims the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ, the hour of judgment, and the importance of worshiping the Creator of heaven and earth (Revelation 14:6, 7). The second angel announces the fall of the Babylonian harlot, which has made the whole earth drunk with her confusing wine of deception (Revelation 14:8). The third angel solemnly warns about the beast, the image, and the deadly mark, stating that those who receive the mark will drink the wine of the wrath of God (Revelation 14:10, 11). The third angel concludes with these highly significant words, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). As soon as God’s real “Three Angels’ Messages Force” has completed its heavenly assignment, there follows a power-packed description of the return of Jesus Christ on a white cloud to reap the final harvest of the earth (Revelation 14:14-16).

Let’s unpack these mighty issues, beginning with the all-important topic of worshiping the Creator. The first angel says with a loud voice, “Worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Revelation 14:7). Then the third angel thunders, “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” (Revelation 14:9, 10). Here people are given the ultimate choice: Either worship the Creator or worship the beast and receive his mark. Thus, the issue of worshiping the Creator is central to avoiding the mark.

The next mighty issue is one few people are aware of. Most best-selling prophecy books and blockbuster Tribulation movies skip right over it. Those who believe the mark is a biochip developed by some high-tech firm like Microsoft or Intel usually miss it entirely. As we have already seen, immediately after the third angel warns humankind about receiving the mark, the very next sentence says, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). Here one group receives the mark, while the other group “keeps the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Thus, the issue of keeping the commandments of God is also central to avoiding the mark. In a little while we will place this hidden issue fully under the microscope.

Have you heard of a brand of toothpaste called “Close-Up”? It is designed to make one’s breath smell sweet. When we take a “Close-Up” look at the three angels’ messages, we discover that the sweetest part of all has to do with a Person, the person of Jesus Christ. The first angel announces to the world “the everlasting gospel” (Revelation 14:6), which literally means the good news of Jesus Christ. The third angel speaks of “the Lamb” in contrast with the beast (Revelation 14:9, 10), which is another reference to Jesus Christ, pointing to His unfathomable love and sacrifice on the cross. And the very last word of the third angel’s message is “Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). Thus, we discover a laser-like focus on “the gospel,” the “Lamb,” and on “Jesus” Himself. To summarize thus far: Those who believe in Jesus Christ, accept the gospel, follow the Lamb, worship the Creator, and keep the commandments of God—these will not worship the beast and receive his mark. Like the unparalleled majesty of Mount Everest, these mighty issues regarding 666 and the Mark of the Beast are now rising up before our very eyes.

Jesus Christ is center stage, and so is the worship of the Creator. Once again, let’s take a closer look. The first angel says, “Worship him that made heaven, and earth” (Revelation 14:7), but who is the Maker of heaven and earth? What does the New Testament really say? Speaking of Jesus Christ, the Bible says, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not” (John 1:10). Do you see it? John is saying that the One who was in the world is also the very One who made the world. Those in John’s time didn’t understand this, and neither do most people today. Yet the Bible is telling us that Jesus Christ is not only our Saviour, but He is also the Maker of planet Earth. That humble Man who walked our dusty roads, who ate our food, who slept outside under our stars, and who spoke words of love to those who were just plain stressed out, is actually the great Creator of all life.

Jesus Christ is “The Word.” We know this because John wrote, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). These words reveal that Jesus did not begin His life in a manger, but that He existed long before He became a tiny baby inside of Mary. Speaking of the One to be born in Bethlehem, an ancient prophet wrote, “Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). Thus, the Baby of Bethlehem is an eternal Being who existed long before the time of Joseph, Herod, and the wise men.

The very first words in the book of John reveal, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Once again the wonderful and beautiful truth is established that Jesus is the Maker of everything. Nothing exists apart from Him. He made Adam and Eve, the mountains and the trees, the sun, moon and stars, all of the animals, every shiny fish, and your favourite pet.

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16, 17). Let this thought both amaze and subdue us; the Eternal One who made this earth is the very One who died almost naked on a splintered cross in the Middle East. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14). When we fully yield to God’s love, say “Goodbye” to every sin, stop trusting in ourselves, and start really believing in Jesus Christ, our merciful heavenly Father will forgive us, and grant us the free gift of eternal life (see Ephesians 2:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Acts 20:21; and 1 John 1:9). This good news is called “the everlasting gospel” in the first angel’s message.

Therefore, when the first angel tells everyone to “worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Revelation 14:7), this is a special end-time call to worship Jesus Christ, not only as Saviour, but also specifically as the Maker of all life. And amazingly, this very issue is closely tied in with 666 and the Mark of the Beast, for we have already discovered that those who worship the Creator are placed in contrast with those who worship the beast and receive his mark. Yet what exactly is 666 and the Mark of the Beast? Is it possible to know for sure without indulging in wild-eyed speculation? I believe it is. We still have a few more pieces to put together in this awesome prophetic puzzle, yet when we are finished, it will become extremely clear what 666 and the Mark of the Beast is. In fact, there will be no mistaking it.

In some Hollywood action movies, a high-impact “red button” is finally pushed inside some technological control center. In a symbolic sense, it’s time for us to push a “red button” of deep prophetic insight. Here goes. The deadly mark is the Mark of the Beast; it’s a mark that comes from the beast itself. John saw those who gained “the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark” (Revelation 15:2). Logic tells us that in order to understand “his mark,” we must correctly interpret who “he” is. Who is this beast? Some think the beast is a huge computer in Belgium. The Left Behind novels portray the beast as a super-powerful, devil-indwelt Romanian who gains control of the world after the Rapture. Yet what have we learned in this book? Who did Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, the translators of the King James Bible, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Spurgeon, and countless other historic Protestants think the beast was? What power arose out of the Roman Empire, has spoken great words against God, has made war on the saints, has received a deadly wound which is now healing, and has fulfilled every point of this prophecy? Now you know the answer. It is the Roman Catholic Church. And the mark is “his mark.” Therefore the Mark of the Beast must be something that comes from the Roman Catholic Church itself.

Not long ago someone handed me a copy of a very old Bible from the 1800s that had belonged to a Presbyterian lay pastor. Certain texts throughout this Bible contain footnotes reflecting the beliefs of Christians in the nineteenth century. I quickly turned to Revelation 13:16 about the Mark of the Beast, and I discovered footnotes that would probably not appear in a Scofield Reference Bible. I was stunned when I read: “Ver. 16. A mark. Submission to the rites and ceremonies of the papal communion. In their right hand. By active obedience to the papal power. Or in their foreheads. By outward profession of its doctrines and infallible authority” (The New Testament: With Commentaries, References, Harmony of the Gospels and the Helps Needed to Understand and Teach the Text. 1895. New York and St. Louis. N.D. Thompson Pub. Co., p. 530). When those words were written, Bill Gates wasn’t born yet, nor was there a company called Microsoft. In the footnotes of that Bible, when it came to 666 and the Mark of the Beast, computer technology was a non-issue. What mattered was submission or resistance to the Roman Catholic Church!

The third angel’s message is now crying out with a loud voice to everyone, “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” (Revelation 14:9, 10). Now think about it. Would Jesus tell us in Revelation, “The mark is coming, so watch out. It will be tricky, almost deceiving the very elect. I love you, and died for you, yet I can’t tell you exactly what this mysterious mark is. If you get it, you’ll be lost. You’re on your own.” Does this sound logical? Would Jesus show and not tell? Why would God send a message to the whole world about the mark, and then keep its identity a secret? How could such a message be given with a loud voice? Imagine Noah preaching, “Quick! Get into the ark, because the Flood is coming! That is, I’m pretty sure, although I‘m not entirely positive.” Impossible! It is the same with the third angel’s message. Again, think about it. Can we know for sure who the beast is? Yes. Therefore, we must be able to find out from the Bible itself exactly what the mark is. Logic, reason, and the integrity of God’s loving character require this.

We are about to make another amazing discovery. Remember those X-ray eyeglasses I talked about in chapter 3 of this book? Well, there is a certain X-ray text in the Bible that will, if we let it, supernaturally enable us to see exactly what 666 and the Mark of the Beast is. I also call it our golden clue. We can find it by carefully comparing Revelation 13 with its Old Testament counterpart, Daniel 7. These two chapters fit together like a key fits into a lock. The connections are easily seen. Both chapters talk about beasts from the sea, a lion, a bear, a leopard, a dragon, ten horns, a mouth speaking great things, war on the saints, and a specific time period of three and a half years or forty-two months. Interpretations may vary, but almost all Protestant, Catholic, and Evangelical scholars, including the authors of Left Behind, agree that the little horn of Daniel 7 and the first beast of Revelation 13 refer to the same thing—the Antichrist. Yet there is something many people have missed that is right there in God’s Word. And not only does it tie in with 666 and the Mark of the Beast but, it is a golden clue as to what the mark really is.

The very first time 666 and the Mark of the Beast is mentioned in the Bible is near the end of Revelation 13. Now, if other aspects of the beast in Revelation 13 find such a perfect parallel in the little horn of Daniel 7, then what about the mark? Could there be something near the end of Daniel 7 that parallels the mark near the end of Revelation 13? Yes, there is. It is in verse 25. Daniel 7:25 says the little horn will speak great words against God, and this idea is also found in Revelation 13:5. Daniel 7:25 says he will wear out, or make war, on the saints, and this idea is also found in Revelation 13:7. Daniel 7:25 says the horn will rule for three and a half years, and this point is also restated in Revelation 13:5. Thus, every point of Daniel 7:25 finds a perfect parallel in Revelation 13. Yet there is one point in Daniel 7:25 we have not yet touched upon. Most people miss it, few ever explain it, yet there it is. It is our golden clue. You may not believe this, but the final destiny of the world is connected with it.

Microsoft and the Mark of the Beast - Page two
By Steve Wohlberg
Taken from Chapter 8 of his eye-opening book, Truth Left Behind.

Are you ready? Here it is. The little horn will also “think to change times and laws” (Daniel 7:25). What does this mysterious sentence mean? Most have no idea. Notice that little word “change.” The horn will “change” something, then the beast will enforce his mark. Could this change, whatever it is, be connected with the mark? Let’s think about it. Can a change be a mark? Has anyone ever entered your life and changed you so deeply that it can truly be said, “He left his mark?” Imagine a man losing his temper and punching another man in the eye. What would show up around that eye the next day? A mark. What if a vandal entered your home and hit your computer screen with a hammer, changing its surface? The next day, as you surveyed your shattered monitor, you could plainly see where that man had left his terrible mark.

Yet what exactly will the little horn think to change? He shall “think to change times and laws” (Daniel 7:25). Because the Antichrist comes during New Testament times, it is evident that some of God’s “laws” must still exist this side of the Cross. When Jesus died, He put an end to the sacrificial laws of the Old Testament, which pointed forward to His death, and this is why we no longer sacrifice lambs. Those laws are gone. Yet what about the Ten Commandments? Do they still apply to us?

Let’s have a brief Bible study on law and grace. An essential part of “the everlasting gospel” of the first angel’s message is the truth that Christians are “justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28, NKJV). Paul wrote: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9). This mighty New Testament truth became one of the battle cries of the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther boldly taught that a person is saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, rather than through pilgrimages, idol worship, prayers to Mary, confessions to a priest, or any other human work. Renouncing self and all self-merits, we are to trust completely in the merits and worthiness of Jesus alone. Yet the Roman Church could not accept this. This led to the great divorce.

The Bible urges us to “Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The more we discover who Jesus Christ is, how much He loves us, and how He died on a cruel cross for all of our sins, the more we are drawn to God. We see Him in His true character of love and friendliness. “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). The Bible teaches, “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Jesus said, “This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Through repentance and faith in the dripping blood of the Lamb, we are forgiven and accepted by God just as if we had never sinned. “All that believe are justified” (Acts 13:39). This is what the Bible calls, “good news.” Jesus has already died for us, paid for our sins, and His free salvation is now offered to us all.

This good news is also powerful news to transform our lives. When a person surrenders fully to Jesus Christ, he is born again. The Holy Spirit enters the life and changes the heart. Peter said, “Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Believers receive a divine power that begins to work on the inside. Then how should a Christian, saved by grace, relate to God’s law? After describing salvation by grace apart from works in Ephesians 2:8, 9, the same Paul wrote in the same book, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise” (Ephesians 6:1, 2). “Honor thy father and thy mother” is the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:12). In the same book, Paul also wrote, “Let him that stole steal no more” (Ephesians 4:28). “Thou shalt not steal” is the eighth commandment (Exodus 20:15).

James also wrote, “He that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now, if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law” (James 2:11). Here, James tells Christians to keep the sixth and seventh commandments. Jesus Himself said, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marries another, committeth adultery” (Luke 16:17, 18). Thus, Jesus upheld the seventh commandment. Near the end of His earthly life, in touching tones of love, Jesus Christ appealed to His followers, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). These words are actually a quote from the second commandment, which states, “Shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:6). Thus, the New Testament is very clear—Christians who are saved by grace should also love Jesus Christ and keep the Ten Commandments, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Who can truly disagree with that?

What does all of this have to do with 666 and the Mark of the Beast? You are about to find out. First, let me summarize some major points. Just as there are Ten Commandments, even so there are ten fundamental facts in our Bibles about the Mark of the Beast. These facts do not represent Left Behind fiction, but real truths found in God’s Word:

1. The Mark of the Beast is deceptive, not obvious (Revelation 19:20).

2. The mark will be received on the forehead, which represents the mind, or on the hand, which represents the actions (Revelation 14:9; Deuteronomy 11:18).

3. The three angels reveal a comprehensive message from God before the second coming of Jesus Christ to all the world to help people understand the mark (Revelation 14:6-16).

4. Those who worship Jesus Christ as Creator will not get the mark (Revelation 14:7, 9-11).

5. Those who keep the Ten Commandments will not get the mark (Revelation 14:9, 12).

6. The mark comes from the beast, which represents the Roman Catholic Church.

7. The warning against the mark will be given with a loud voice, thus it must be clear and easy to understand (Revelation 14:9).

8. The mark involves a special sin against God Himself, for those who receive it will drink the wine of His wrath (Revelation 14:9, 10).

9. The mark has something to do with the changing of God’s law (compare Daniel 7:25 with Revelation 13:16).

10. The Mark of the Beast has something to do with the changing of the times and laws of God (Daniel 7:25).

Let’s take a look again at our little-known, golden-clue text, He shall “think to change times and laws” (Daniel 7:25). Now notice that word, “times.” We know the word “laws” has to do with the Ten Commandments, which continue after the Cross. But what about “times”? OK, here we go. We are almost at the bottom line. You are about to discover something you will hardly believe. It’s a truth so shocking it can hardly be written. It shatters all false interpretations, which may sincerely, yet deceptively, hide the real issues. If you pray and humbly study this out, you will know for sure it’s true. Are you ready? There is only one of the Ten Commandments that has to do with “time.” There is only one that has to do with the Creator of heaven and earth. And this single, solitary commandment is the only one of the Ten Commandments that the Roman Catholic Church specifically says it has changed. It is the commandment that says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8)—the commandment that points to Jesus Christ as the Maker of all life.

Before we go any further, I want to share with you a very important thought. The Bible says, “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4). This verse tells us that in the final times, God will be giving new light to His people. This especially applies to an increase of knowledge of the book of Daniel, which includes our golden-clue text: He shall “think to change times and laws” (Daniel 7:25). In the final days, God will help His people understand what this changing of “times” is really all about. This doesn’t mean that previous generations of godly Christians who never had this special end-time light are lost. Nor does it mean that believers today who haven’t yet grasped it are doomed. But it does mean that God has new light for this final generation. Thus, we need a certain openness of mind to learn something new. Someone once said, “The purpose of an open mind is to close it on the truth.” So let’s be open, testing everything by Scripture.

God Almighty did not write the ten suggestions, but the Ten Commandments. The fourth says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 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, . . . 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 20:8-11).

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Where do we remember? In our foreheads. “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.” With what do we work? With our hands. Thus, the Sabbath commandment deals with both the forehead and the hand. The “seventh day” is specified as “the Sabbath of the Lord.” It is not the Sabbath of the Jews, but of the Lord. “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.” These words are directly quoted in the first angel’s message (see Revelation 14:7). And who is this “Lord” that “made heaven and earth”? As we have already seen, according to the New Testament, it is Jesus Christ. Thus, the Sabbath commandment, in a unique and special sense, reveals Jesus Christ as Lord and as the Maker of all life.

A well-known Roman Catholic catechism declares:

Q. Which is the Sabbath day? A. Saturday is the Sabbath day. Q. 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 (The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, by Peter Geiermann, 1946, p. 50).

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 (The Christian Sabbath, p. 29. Printed by The Catholic Mirror, the official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Baltimore, Md., 1893).

The Pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, change, or interpret even divine laws (Farraris’s Ecclesiastical Dictionary. Article, “The Pope”).

Of course the change [from Sabbath to Sunday] was her act . . . and the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters (Signed by H. F. Thomas, Chancellor for Cardinal Gibbons, in a letter dated, Nov. 11, 1895).

Thus, the Catholic Church claims the pope has power to change God’s law, just as Daniel 7:25 says. This church claims to have changed the Sabbath into Sunday, which is a changing of “times,” just as Daniel 7:25 says will occur. And papal Rome also calls this change a “mark” of her authority, which makes this a perfect fit with Revelation 13!

This issue of Sabbath or Sunday is now the hottest, most intense, and most explosive issue facing the Christian world. An entire book could be written on this subject alone. It is outside the scope of Truth Left Behind to deal with every single argument for or against Sabbath keeping, yet we will address the major issues. Let’s start by looking at ten key Sunday facts found in the New Testament:

Microsoft and the Mark of the Beast - Page three
By Steve Wohlberg
Taken from Chapter 8 of his eye-opening book, Truth Left Behind.

1. Jesus Christ rose on Sunday, “the first day of the week” (Mark 16:9).

2. The New Testament refers to “the first day of the week” eight times (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; 1 Corinthians 16:1; Acts 20:7).

3. Five of these references are about the Resurrection (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1).

4. One Sunday text refers to a fearful gathering of the disciples on that day before they knew Jesus was alive (John 20:19).

5. One Sunday text refers to a special collection of money on that day in the city of Corinth for a group of poor believers in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1-3; Romans 15:25, 26).

6. And one Sunday text refers to a solitary instance in Troas where believers gathered late one Saturday night as a farewell to Paul (Acts 20:6-13).

7. None of these references even remotely suggest that Sunday is now holy or that it has been set aside in honour of the Resurrection.

8. Jesus Christ never said a word about Sunday in any of His teachings.

9. Jesus Christ gave His church authority to teach only what He taught (Matthew 28:19), which forbids any emphasis on Sunday keeping.

10. The New Testament is as silent as a cemetery about any change from Sabbath to Sunday.

By way of contrast, here are ten key Sabbath facts found in your own Bible:

1. Jesus Christ kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16).

2. Jesus taught much about the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-14).

3. Jesus said He is “Lord of the Sabbath,” thus revealing that it is His own special day in honour of the fact that He is the Creator of all life (Mark 2:28; Matthew 12:8).

4. Jesus often healed people on the Sabbath, revealing His love and power (Matthew 12:9-13).

5. Jesus freed the Sabbath from the burdensome traditions of the Pharisees (Luke 13:10-17).

6. The Sabbath was kept by Christ’s disciples after the Cross (Luke 23:46, 54-56).

7. The Sabbath was kept in the book of Acts by both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 13:42-44; 16:13; 17:1-4; 18:4).

8. The entire book of Revelation was given on the Lord’s,” day which is the Sabbath day (Revelation 1:10; Exodus 20:10; Isaiah 58:13; Matthew 12:8).

9. The Sabbath is not just for Jews, but is also for Gentiles (Isaiah 56:1-8).

10. The Sabbath will be kept in the new earth by all the saved (Isaiah 66:22, 23).

In the next few paragraphs I am going to get very specific about certain arguments which I have heard against this “new light” about keeping the Sabbath. Some of this may seem a bit technical, yet it is necessary to cover this subject thoroughly. As I go through these arguments, it is not my purpose to attack other Christians. Yet in the interest of truth, we must carefully study the Word of God. We need to look at this topic from every possible angle.

I have spoken about this hot subject in cities across America, and in my many discussions with Christians, I have discovered that, just as there was a Roman Catholic counter Reformation, so there are two major counter texts now being used against Sabbath keeping. The first is Romans 14:5, 6 where Paul talks about eating or not eating certain things, and esteeming or not esteeming certain days. Many people apply this to the Sabbath, but this is a mistake. When we carefully compare Romans 14 with 1 Corinthians 8, we learn that Paul was referring to eating or not eating food sacrificed to idols on certain pagan feast days. He may also have been thinking about certain Jewish feasts or fast days (see Luke 18:12). The very first verse of Romans 14 tells us that this chapter is dealing with “doubtful disputations” (KJV) or “disputes over doubtful things” (NKJV). Thus, Romans 14 is not a discussion of the Ten Commandments, which are not “doubtful,” but exceedingly clear, “written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18). In any case, Romans 14 says nothing about the Sabbath.

The second major counter text now being used against the Sabbath is Colossians 2:16. But when we look at its context, we discover something that is often overlooked. Jesus Christ, “blott[ed] out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us . . . nailing it to his cross” (2:14). The “handwriting of ordinances” was not the Ten Commandments, which were not written by any human hand, but with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18). It was the ceremonial law that was written with the hand of Moses (Deuteronomy 31:24-26). It was this “handwriting of ordinances” that was nailed to the cross. Paul continued, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come” (Colossians 2:16, 17). People sometimes apply those “sabbath days” in verse 16 to the Creation Sabbath of the Ten Commandments, yet again this is a mistake. Paul is referring to the meat offerings, drink offerings, and the yearly sabbaths of the ceremonial law (Leviticus 23:24, 27, 32, 37-39), not the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The yearly ceremonial sabbaths (Passover, Day of Atonement, etc.) were shadows pointing forward to Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 10:1). The Creation Sabbath is not a shadow, for it points back to the beginning of the world (Exodus 20:11)! Along with the other nine commandments, it was definitely not nailed to the cross (Revelation 11:19; 12:17; 14:12).

Some say, “We keep Sunday because we are under the new covenant.” Yet it is impossible for Sunday to be part of the new covenant because Sunday came after Jesus Christ died! Yet it was His death that “confirmed” the covenant. Paul said that after a covenant is confirmed by death, “no man disannulleth or addeth thereto” (Galatians 3:15). Some say, “Sabbath keeping is legalism,” yet they would not say this about such commands as “honor your father and mother” or “Do not commit adultery” or “Do not steal.” So why make that charge against Sabbath keeping? Besides, this is the only commandment of the ten in which God specifically said, “Remember”! Should we forget the only one God said not to? Some are too willing to abolish the whole ten-commandment law just to get around the fourth one. Yet this is very strange, especially at a time when Christians everywhere would like to see the Ten Commandments hanging once again on the walls of our public schools!

Others say, “If Christians are supposed to keep the Sabbath, why are all of the other Ten Commandments carried over into the New Testament, except the fourth?” Yet the fourth is in the New Testament! The Bible says that after Jesus died, His followers “rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56). There it is. The “commandment” was still there after the Cross, and Luke wrote this about twenty-eight years after the Resurrection!

Still others object, “But we are not under the law; we are under grace!” quoting Romans 6:14. This is true, yet people fail to read the very next verse. Paul continued: “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid” (6:15)! What is sin? “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). Simply put the pieces together. Even though we are under grace, this does not mean we are free to break any one of the Ten Commandments. If we may disregard the fourth commandment, why can we not also disregard the other nine?

The most common argument is, “We keep Sunday in honour of the Resurrection.” But the Bible nowhere supports this. The truth is, baptism commemorates the death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:4). Besides, how could the Resurrection change one of the Ten Commandments? Shall we use the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Sunday as a reason to break the law of God, which says, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8)? Paul asked, “Is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid” (Galatians 2:17). It’s true that Paul taught that we are not saved or justified by the law, but by the grace of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:28). This is a Protestant principle. But then Paul asked, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (Romans 3:31).

The Catholic Council of Trent said tradition is equal with Scripture. Yet Protestants responded, “No way! The Bible is above tradition!” This is another major Protestant principle. Dear friend, Sunday is only a tradition of men. Shall we follow the Bible or tradition?

Others ask, “Then why didn’t the Reformers keep the Sabbath?” The reason is simple. They were just coming out of the midnight blackness of the Dark Ages, and they could handle only so much light. Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). Yet we live in the final days. The Bible says, “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4). Knowledge is increasing, and fuller light now shines. This especially applies to our golden-clue text: He shall “think to change times and laws” (Daniel 7:25). This is no minor matter, for we are talking about one of the Ten Commandments that the Almighty God wrote with His own all-powerful finger on two tables of stone (Exodus 31:18). Have you ever heard anyone say, “We can change this or that because it is not written in stone?” Friend, stone is stone, and rock is rock. There is simply no use in beating our heads against this truth. God’s law has not changed! Read Matthew 5:17-19.

Did you hear about the high-tech hackers who illegally emailed their way into Microsoft’s internal corporate network in November 2000? Microsoft’s public relations spinners insisted that the intruders viewed or altered any of Microsoft’s source code, yet Bill Gates was very concerned that his enemies “could have built secret ‘back doors’ into future programs, ensuring access to computers worldwide” (Newsweek, Nov. 6, 2000, p. 8). This was an attack on the source code of the world’s largest software maker. The Bible also describes an illegal attack upon the “source code” of the great King of the universe. The little horn has “[changed] times and laws” (Daniel 7:25). It has hacked its way into the very heart of the Ten Commandments, the foundation of God’s government in heaven and earth. It has altered the Bible Sabbath of Jesus Christ from Saturday to Sunday, and now it claims that Sunday is a mark of its authority as the true church. Thus, Rome admits what prophecy predicts. The pieces fit together too perfectly for us to doubt. According to the Bible and the Roman Church itself, Sunday is the Mark of the Beast.

Yet I want to clarify something of the utmost importance. No one has this mark right now. Most Christians have never really studied this subject before. There are true Christians in all churches, including the Roman Catholic Church. Yes, God has sincere people everywhere. Yet one of these days, according to the book of Revelation, this mark of Rome’s authority will be enforced by law around the world. Then, after people’s minds have been enlightened, the final time of choice will come.

The Bible says, “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” (Revelation 13:16, 17). Thus, this mark of Rome’s authority is destined to be enforced by law. This may shock you, but Sunday laws have been enforced in various degrees for 1,800 years. The first Sunday law was enforced by the Roman emperor Constantine on March 7, 321 A.D. His famous edict declared, “On the venerable day of the sun [Sunday] let the magistrates and people residing in the cities rest, and let all workshops be closed” (Schaff’s translation, History of the Christian Church, vol. iii, p. 75. See also the Code of Justinian, Book 3, Title 12, Law 3).

Why did Constantine pass this Sunday law? The reasons are both fascinating and relevant for us today. In the fourth century, the Roman Empire was disintegrating. Morality was at an all-time low. Yet religion was far from dead. Constantine himself was a dedicated sun-worshiper, as were the majority of his subjects. In fact, the very name “Sunday” stems from pagan sun worship. By this time, a growing number of Christians were following the Catholic Church’s example of giving up the Sabbath and keeping Sunday in honour of the Resurrection. Constantine had already seen the moral strength of Christianity as revealed in the courage of its martyrs, and this gave him an idea. He thought to himself, “Why not unite the Christians and the pagans together through their mutual respect for Sunday?” That’s why he passed his famous Sunday law hoping to bring unity into his empire, thus saving it from ruin. His plan failed, and Rome still went down.

Constantine’s Sunday law “was his mode of harmonizing the Christian and Pagan elements of the empire under one common institution” (A. P. Stanley, Lectures on the History of the Eastern Church, p. 227. 1861). But he went further than this. He not only claimed to become a Christian himself, but he also favoured the Roman Catholic Church. Through Constantine’s influence, the Catholic Church’s political power grew strong. A union between the Catholic Church and Constantine’s state developed. Yet Constantine really remained a pagan at heart. “His coins bore on the one side the letters of the name of Christ; on the other the figures of the Sun-god” (Ibid.) Thus, Constantine contributed to the uniting of the Roman Catholic Church with the Roman state and to the forming of the beast, and it happened through the enforcement of Sunday.

Microsoft and the Mark of the Beast - Page four
By Steve Wohlberg
Taken from Chapter 8 of his eye-opening book, Truth Left Behind.

After Constantine, the Roman Catholic Church continued to enforce the keeping of Sunday in Europe for over 1,000 years. Sunday laws were also enforced in England for centuries. Amazingly, this practice was continued in colonial America. I have in my library a book, Dateline Sunday, USA-The Story of Three and a Half Centuries of Sunday-law Battles in America, written by Attorney Warren L. Johns (1967). This book reveals that in spite of the desire of the early American Puritans to get away from everything Catholic, they still maintained the keeping of Sunday and even the enforcement of Sunday laws. In the 1600s, if you lived in Massachusetts, Virginia, or Connecticut, you were required by law to attend church on Sunday. Disobedience was punished by heavy fines, whipping, confinement in a cage, and in some cases, even by death. Thus, colonial Protestant America still followed the example of Constantine and the Catholic Church in the uniting of church and state, and in the enforcement of Sunday laws.

The American Revolution resulted in complete separation from England and in the forming of a new nation. The American Constitution and the Bill of Rights fully established the doctrine of religious freedom. The First Amendment now denies the right of government to enforce religion. The Statue of Liberty at the entrance to New York harbor remains a monument against Rome and against the history of religious persecution in Europe. In the United States, the state is separate from the church, and the church is separate from the state. Both have their place, and both are to remain free. Yet history reveals that Protestant America has never completely cut loose from the City of Seven Hills, from the Vatican itself.

On May 21, 1888, a New Hampshire Christian senator introduced the following bill into the fiftieth Congress, “Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that no person, or corporation, or the agent, servant, or the employee of any person or corporation, shall perform or authorize to be performed any secular work . . . on the first day of the week, commonly known as the Lord’s day” (The National Sunday Law, Arguments of Alonzo T. Jones before the United States Senate Committee on Education and Labor at Washington, D.C., December 13, 1888. 1889, p. v.). The purpose of this bill was to produce enforced Sunday keeping nationwide, and this proposed legislation had the support of Christian churches across America who were seeking to inject more religion into an increasingly secular society. Yet the Blair Sunday bill was finally ruled unconstitutional, and it died in committee.

That was over a hundred years ago. Yet the problem of immorality remains; in fact, it is getting worse. Every Christian knows society is in moral trouble, and we struggle for solutions. What does the future hold? Bible prophecy predicts that what happened in Europe leading to the forming of the beast will eventually happen in America leading to the image of the beast. In the fourth century, Rome was disintegrating. Constantine decided that the solution to the problem was to unite the government of Caesar with the Roman Catholic Church and to enforce the keeping of Sunday. Something similar will happen again. During a future crisis, in an hour of desperation, Protestant America will finally conclude that the only solution to the national emergency will be to unite the church with the federal government and to enforce the keeping of Sunday.

Pastor John Hagee, a much-respected Christian television evangelist, recently said, “I believe that in the next two years America will either return to God—or we will be a nation that goes beyond the brink and forever turns away from God. We are in that decision-making process now. It’s time we rise up and Take America Back!” (John Hagee Ministries, Ministry Resource Catalog. Fall issue, 1999-2000, back cover). Pastor Hagee is correct when he says America needs to come back to God, yet (and I trust he would agree) this must be done through the love of Jesus Christ without the use of force.

On May 31, 1998, Pope John Paul II issued a lengthy pastoral letter, Dies Domini (The Day of the Lord), which contained a passionate appeal for the revival of Sunday observance. The pope said the prevailing neglect of Sunday reflects a spiritual crisis inside the Catholic Church and within Christianity in general. Notice his words: “The Lord’s Day has structured the history of the Church through two thousand years: how could we think that it will not continue to shape the future?” Shockingly, the pope then urged world governments to enforce Sunday laws! “In the particular circumstances of our own time, Christians will naturally strive to ensure that civil legislation respects their duty to keep Sunday holy.” Such statements are right in line with this official Vatican position: “Christians should seek recognition of Sundays and the Church’s holy days as legal holidays” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, p. 528. 1994, italics supplied).

This view is shared by Pat Robertson, the founder of the Christian Coalition. In his best-selling book, The New World Order, Pat Robertson (like Pastor Hagee) correctly emphasizes the need for America to come back to God. His book envisions a time when this will occur. But he also writes: “The next obligation that a citizen of God’s world order owes is to himself. ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,’ is a command for the personal benefit of each citizen. . . . Only when people are permitted to rest from their labors, to meditate on God, to consider His way, to dream of a better world can there be progress and genuine human betterment. . . . Laws in America that mandated a day of rest from incessant commerce have been nullified as a violation of the separation of church and state” (Pat Robertson, The New World Order, p. 236. 1991).

Do you realize what you just read? Pat Robertson is envisioning an America that has returned to God. As part of this new world order, he also sees an America that is keeping the Sabbath, yet by the Sabbath, he really means Sunday. He then looks back to the days of colonial America when Sunday was enforced by law. He wants to see this again. He says what is stopping Sunday laws from being enforced is the separation of church and state, which, he has concluded, is really a doctrine of the liberal left. This is a mistake. The founding fathers separated government and religion as a reaction to the Church of Rome and in favour of inalienable rights. As we have already seen, the Catholic Church is against the separation of church and state and is in favour of Sunday laws. When Protestants attack the separation of church and state and at the same time seek for Sunday laws, “They know not what they do.” They are really lining up with the Roman Catholic Church and are preparing the way for the image of the beast and for the enforcement of his mark.

In the blazing light of Bible prophecy, these developments are more chilling than the scariest horror movie. I am not questioning anyone’s sincerity or deciding people’s destinies, yet the truth must be spoken. Truth Left Behind may never become as “wildly popular” as Left Behind, and it probably won’t receive a host of positive reviews from Christian leaders nationwide. Nor will its contents be viewed as altogether politically correct. But, like Martin Luther, I have my orders, and they come from above. How many people accepted the preaching of Noah? How many boarded the ark? I am writing this book because the Spirit of God is compelling me and because Christians must be warned. Lucifer himself is hiding underneath many of Christianity’s most popular trends. In fact, the enemy has recently spoke directly from heaven in support of Sunday observance. Have you heard of the apparitions of Mary? They are definitely increasing. We should have no doubt they really come from Satan. Notice these words from a Catholic author who has compiled an entire book about these appearances: “One evening our Lady appeared to a local farmer, Michael O’Donnel. She told him, ‘Preserve Sunday for prayer’ ” (The Thunder of Justice, by Ted and Maureen Flynn, MaxKol Communications, Inc., 1993, p. 30).

“Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat its mistakes.” It already happened in Europe. The Roman Empire was falling apart, so Constantine decided to unite the government of Caesar with the Roman Catholic Church and to enforce the keeping of Sunday. This helped form the beast, and it will happen again in America. Our country is now sinking in the quicksand of sin, and immorality is raging out of control. Like the approaching footsteps of a midnight thief, the final crisis is coming. In a soon-coming dramatic hour of desperation, prophecy predicts America will reject over two hundred years of freedom. Sincere, and yet misguided Christians will take the reins of government. The appropriate separation of government and religion will disappear as Protestant America forms an image of the Roman Catholic Church. In a final attempt to bring America back to God, Sunday observance will once again be enforced by law. Yet this time, unlike the past, the enforcement will be universal. Protestants, Catholics, and even the apparitions of Mary, will all be united in this. The reasons will sound good; the movement will look Christian, and it will seem like our only hope. Yet deep in the midst of these turbulent waters will be Satan himself. He will have finally pulled off his ultimate masterpiece of delusion. He will have led Christians, in the name of the Lamb, to enforce the Mark of the Beast. Those who refuse to cooperate will not be able to buy or sell. And this is not an issue that some fictitious Tribulation Force will have to deal with. No. It will apply to you and me.

“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). Notice carefully that people will get either the mark, the name, or the number. This doesn’t mean the government will someday say, “Take your pick. Do you want the mark, the name, or the number?”—as is taught in The Mark—The Beast Rules The World (p. 86). Not a chance. We are dealing here with deep spiritual issues. Sunday is the “mark” of Rome’s authority. And just like “the name” of God refers to His character (Exodus 34:5-7), even so does “the name of the beast” refer to his character. The beast “thinks” it’s OK to change God’s law (Daniel 7:25). Those who think like this during the closing seconds of time will be sharing in the character of the beast. They will have his name on their foreheads, instead of the name of the heavenly Father (Revelation 14:1).

What about that mysterious “number of his name . . . 666” (Revelation 13:17, 18)? Consider this: What day was man created? On the sixth day. What day did God rest? On the seventh day (Genesis 1:26; 2:1-3). What number is God’s number all throughout Revelation? Seven! The book of Revelation talks about seven churches (1:20), seven lampstands (1:20), seven stars (1:20), seven seals (5:1), seven trumpets (8:2), and finally seven last plagues (15:1), which will be emptied on those who get the number 666! Revelation says that 666 is man’s number (Revelation 13:18), representing man trying to take the place of God. Seven is God’s number, representing complete submission to Jesus Christ, our Creator. In fact, Jesus is represented in Revelation as a Lamb with “seven horns and seven eyes” (5:6), therefore the number seven is also Jesus Christ’s special number. Those who keep the Sabbath reveal to the whole universe that they have entirely surrendered pride and self to the love of Jesus Christ, the Maker of all life, and to the full power of His Cross. By God’s grace, they overcome where Lucifer failed. This is the core issue.

When the Mark of the Beast is finally enforced by law around the world, the Good Shepherd will call His sheep. During that fateful crisis, there will be sincere Catholics and Protestants everywhere who have never understood the real issues. The Spirit of the Almighty will talk to their hearts. The three angels’ messages will be heard from the pulpit, in print, on the radio, on television, on the World Wide Web, and via satellite. People will have a chance to learn what is truth. Jesus Christ will be lifted up, His cross will be seen, and actual cause of His death will be more deeply understood by Christians. Why did Jesus die? The Bible says, “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). What is sin? “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). Simply put the pieces together. Jesus Christ died because human beings have broken the Ten Commandments, including the forgotten one, which says, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Therefore our Jesus Christ, our Creator, also died because we broke His Sabbath!

During the crisis surrounding the Mark of the Beast, it will be understood that Jesus is the Saviour of the world and the Maker of all life. The Sabbath will be presented as a special day, which uniquely reveals Jesus Christ and His love for His own lost world. He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8). People will then be brought face to face with the core issue that will ultimately decide their destiny. Will they worship Jesus Christ, the Creator, and keep the commandments of God? Or will they worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark? Humanity will have reached its final crossroads. Heaven’s clock will have struck the midnight moment. The last hour of decision will have come. During those closing seconds, the seventh-day Sabbath will represent allegiance to Jesus Christ, the Maker of all life, while Sunday will represent allegiance to Rome.

Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). The heart of the issue is love for Jesus Christ. Out of sincere appreciation for His grace and for the magnitude of His sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, Christ’s true followers will fully take their stand on the Lord’s side, no matter what the cost. The three angels’ messages are clear: Those who accept the gospel, embrace the Lamb, worship the Creator, and keep the commandments, will not receive the Mark of the Beast. This is what the Bible says! The third angel describes God’s final apocalyptic people in this way: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12).

During planet Earth’s last crisis, when the Mark of the Beast is globally enforced by law, after a person truly sees the core issue and then chooses to believe in Rome’s Sunday instead of the Bible Sabbath of Jesus Christ—then and only then, will God Almighty look into the inner recesses of his or her mind, and consider that person to have the mark in the forehead. Those who don’t believe in Sunday keeping, yet who go along with it because of intense social and economic pressure to conform, will receive the mark in their right hand. Those who reject the use of force, who follow the Lamb, keeping the Sabbath no matter what the cost, will be revealing their supreme loyalty to the great Creator of heaven and earth. They have the name of God in their foreheads.

After everyone has made his final choice, the hinges of heaven’s door will close forever. Jesus Christ will then make this final, tremendous announcement: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:11, 12). A mysterious voice will thunder from the heavenly temple, commanding the seven angels: “Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image” (Revelation 16:1, 2). These seven last plagues will totally desolate planet Earth. But as the Lord protected the Israelites in Egypt during the falling of the ten plagues (Exodus 8:22, 23; 9:6, 26; 10:21-23), even so will he fully protect His trusting and obedient children who have His holy name in their foreheads.

“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling” (Psalm 91:4-10).

At the conclusion of the seven last plagues, at the end of “the time of trouble such as never was,” God’s loyal people shall look up with wonder and see the coming of the King. “Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:30, 31). Contrary to the fictitious account of Left Behind, this is when the Rapture takes place!

Jesus Christ, the Babe of Bethlehem, the carpenter’s Son, the Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God, the King of kings, the Lord of the Sabbath, and the Maker of all life, the One who loves us and died for us, will soon return to take His children home. Oh friend, will we be “caught up” on that great day? Will we follow the Bible or tradition? True Protestantism or Jesuit futurism? The Creator or the beast? Will we be marked in our minds or will we have the name of God in our foreheads? The choice is up to us. It is up to you. “If any man have an ear, let him hear” (Revelation 13:9).