•The
most fearful, awesome, shocking language in all the book of Revelation
is used in speaking of the mark of the beast.
•
•To
read how God describes the punishment for those who receive the mark of
the beast (Rev. 14:9-11) is enough to immediately put a sober look on
any person’s face.
Revelation points out
the following specifically:
•a. Any person who receives the mark is
lost.
•b.
The majority of people on earth will accept this
mark.
•c.
Civil authorities will try to compel people to be so marked.
What
will be your choice?!
•God teaches in Revelation that all people on this earth
are rapidly dividing into two groups: one group following the God of Heaven,
and the other following satan, who is represented by the beast. Those who
follow God will receive the sign or number of God (see Lesson 10). Those who
follow satan, represented by the beast, will receive the mark of the beast.
Tragically,
unless a person knows for certain what the mark of the beast is, he will
inevitably end up with this dreadful mark. Are you positive that you can
identify the mark of the beast? Anything less can cost you your life!
•This
subject may cut across something you have loved from childhood. It may make
you uncomfortable, among other things, but, since God lovingly sent us this
special message from Revelation, we should all be anxious to hear and follow
His counsel. This is what Jesus asks us to do in
Rev. 1:3.
The Beast of Revelation 13:1-10
•1. What does a beast represent in
prophecy? Daniel 7:23.
•Answer:
•“The
fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom.”
•Note:
Beasts in prophecy represents kingdoms, governments
or earthly ruling organizations.
2. The beast comes out of the sea. In prophecy what does
water mean?
•Rev.13:1; 17:15
•“The
waters … are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues.”
•Note:
In prophecy water represents the people of the world.
3. Nine points identify the
beast. What are they? Rev.
13:1 - 10.
•1.
Receives power, seat and authority from the dragon (Rev.
13:12).
•2.
Comes up as (shortly after) Pagan Rome falls (Dan.
7:24).
•3.
Becomes a worldwide power
•(Rev. 13:3,7).
In the New Testament the word
“dragon” is found only in
Rev.
12:3, 4, 7, 9, 16, 17, etc., and is there
used metaphorically of “Satan.” (Easton’s Bible Dictionary)
3. Nine points identify the
beast. What are they? Rev.
13:1 - 10.
•4.
Rules 42 prophetic months - 1260 years 538 - 1798
A.D.(Rev. 13:5).
•5.
Is guilty of blasphemies (Rev.
13:5,6).
•6.
Receives a deadly wound which heals (Rev.
13:3).
3. Nine points identify the
beast. What are they? Rev.
13:1 - 10.
•7. Receives worship - a religious power
(Rev. 13:4,
8).
8. Persecutes
God’s saints (Rev. 13:7).
•9.
Has a mystic number - 666 (Rev.
13:18).
•(Title
of the Pope: “Vicarius Filii Dei”)
•Note:
Only one power fulfils all of these characteristics. History proves that the
Papacy not only received its power, seat and great authority from Pagan
Rome, that she was a worldwide power for 1260 years (538 - 1798), during
which time she puts to death some 50 million Christians who refused to bow
down in worship to her, but, also made the blasphemous claim that she was
able to forgive sins, and that the bishop of Rome was “God on earth.”
•Revelation
uses the ancient custom of giving numerical value to official names or
titles to help identify this power. A chief title of the bishop of Rome is
“The vicar of the Son of God”, in Latin - “Vicarius
Filii Dei”.
This name adds up to exactly “666”!
The Number 666
•
•
•I
= 1
•C
= 100
•A
= 0
•R
= 0
•I
= 1
•U
= 5
•S
= 0
•--------
•
112
F
= 0
•I
= 1
•L
= 50
•I
= 1
•I
= 1
•--------
•
53
E = 0
I =
1
-------
112
+ 53
+ 501
-----------
Total =
666
4. Who gives the message of
warning in Revelation?
Rev. 3:19.
•Jesus says, “As many as I love I
rebuke and chasten,
be zealous therefore and repent.”
•Note:
This is a message of love from Jesus. There are many beautiful, sweet,
loving Christians of the Roman community, who serve Jesus gladly and whom
Jesus counts as His children.
•This is not an attack on our Christian friends but an account
of the historical
Roman religious system which has demonstrated so much power in ages past.
Thank God Jesus loves us enough to give us the gracious warning that we
might avoid receiving the mark of the beast.
5. What then is the mark of the
beast?
•We
shall allow the papal system to tell us what its mark of authority is.
•The
following comes from the Catholic Record of London, Ontario, Canada, Sept.
1, 1923: “Sunday is our mark of
authority… the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath
observance is proof of the fact.”
6. Are there other proofs of the
change?
•Yes.
From the Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine by Peter Geiermann, we
read the following on page 50:
•Q.
Which is the Sabbath day?
•A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
•Q.
Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
•A. Because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity
from Saturday to Sunday.
•Note:
the Papacy claims that it changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday
and that Sunday observance by the world is its sign of authority and power.
•Note:
the Papacy claims that it changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday
and that Sunday observance by the world is its sign of authority and power.
7. Did the Papacy really change
God’s fourth commandment?
Dan. 7:25
•No!
•The
Bible says:
•“And
think to change times and laws.”
•(Matt.
5:17,18)
•Note: Daniel
7 is a parallel prophecy to Rev.
13. The message is clear, the
papacy only thought they could change God’s day of worship: the Sabbath of
the fourth commandment is still binding; Sunday is not a holy day
(Ex. 20:8).
8. What concern did God have in
Ezekiel’s day?
Eze. 22:26
•“Her priests have violated my law … and have hid their
eyes from my Sabbath ...”
•Note:
This is still happening today. Many religious leaders say, “There is no
difference between Sabbath and Sunday.” But God still says, “Thou hast
despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my Sabbaths.” Eze. 22:8
9. What did God say about attempts to change His law? Deut.
4:2; Luke 16:17
“… it is easier for heaven and
earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.”
•Note:
Popular churches are embarrassed. As we studied before, virtually all
churches admit in their official writings that there is no scripture for
Sunday sacredness.
How the mark is received
•10. Why does God command His angels to hold earth’s
final destruction?
Rev.
7:1 - 3.
•
•
•
•“Hurt not the earth … till we have sealed the servants
of God in their forehead.”
•Note:
God is holding back devastating destruction from the earth until His people
receive His seal, sign or mark, which is His Sabbath (Eze.
20:12,20). Soon
every person on earth will be in one of two groups: God’s group with His
Sabbath seal, or the beast’s group, with His counterfeit Sunday mark.
11. Who will receive God’s wrath in the last days? Rev.
14:9,10.
•Those
who receive the mark
of the beast.
God’s wrath is contained in
the seven last plagues which we will study in a future lesson
(Rev. 15:1; 16:1,2).
12. Where is the beast’s mark
placed on people?
Rev.13:16
“In their right hand or in
their forehead.”
•Note:
•The
mark is not literal. Remember we are dealing with symbols. The forehead
represents the mind with which we serve God (Rom.
7:25), and the hand is a symbol
of men’s work (Eccl. 9:10). Those who
accept Sunday observance willingly are marked in the forehead. Those who
agree to work on the Sabbath to avoid boycott or death are marked in the
hand.
13. Do people who now observe Sunday have the mark?
Rev. 13:16,17
•“And
that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark.”
•Note: No one has the mark of the beast now. No one
will
be marked until the law forces a person to stop buying and selling unless he
has the mark.
•When it becomes a major issue and people
are forced
to decide for either the mark of God or the mark of the beast, then
those who work on Sabbath or observe Sunday as a holy day will be
marked.
•Sabbath breaking however, even today, is a very
serious
matter because it involves sin (1
John 3:4).
Those who
knowingly profane God’s holy day now will lose the ability to think and see
clearly and will end up in darkness
(John 12:35).
A Test of Loyalty
•14.
How does God decide whom we serve?
Romans
6:16
•“His servants ye are to whom ye
obey.”
•Note:
God chooses to save everybody
•(1
Tim. 2:3,4). The devil
desperately wants all to be lost. We choose whom we will serve by whom we
obey (Joshua 24:15). I obey
God and serve Him by accepting His Sabbath. Sabbath-keeping is not just a
matter of choosing a day, but rather a question of loyalty to either Christ
or anti-Christ, which is another name for the beast.
15. How does God count me if I am neutral? Matt.
12:30
•“He
that is not with me is against me.”
God’s People Lovingly Obey
•16. What did Christ’s disciples say when facing
a test? Acts
5:29
•“We
ought to obey God rather than men.”
•Note:
And Jesus said “..in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men.”
17. How can I make sure I will not receive the mark?
Rev.
14:12
•1.
“Keep the commandments of God.”
2. “have the testimony of
Jesus.”
•Rev.
14:9 - 11
warns against receiving the mark of the beast. Verse 12 tells what the
victorious saints do to avoid the mark. They keep God’s commandments and
have Jesus’ faith that makes the miracle of commandment-keeping possible!
•My
faith in Jesus’ indwelling presence is the key
•(Rom.
8:3,4; Col. 1:27,28).
18. God’s last warning message includes: Rev.
14:6-12
•A. Worship of the Creator (v.7) which means I keep the sign
or mark of His Creatorship, His Sabbath. For emphasis, verse 7 even quotes
part of the Sabbath commandment (Ex.
20:11).
18. God’s last warning message includes: Rev.
14:6-12
•B. Do not receive the mark of the beast (verses
9, 10),
which means I must not receive and accept the devil’s counterfeit sign of
Sunday sacredness.
•Note:
•God gives us these two solemn warnings. What
could
be more sobering? It is clear that a person who receives the mark of the
beast will be lost.
•19. Are you serious about escaping hell’s fires?
•What is your answer? ________________
•(Hell is really for the devil and his angels -Matthew
25:41).
•20. Are you serious enough to obey all ten
commandments
out of gratitude for your salvation?
•Your answer: ___________________
(As we recognize and
accept God’s grace we must be crucified with Christ and
commandment-keeping will come naturally- Galatians
2:20)
Lesson
8 Lesson
10