What you need to understand by the mark of the beast in Revelation 13:17 Excerpts From: the Marked Bible - Charles Lindsay Taylor "I will first call your attention to the fact that ‘the beast’ of Revelation 12, 13, and 17 is earthly power, earthly government, under the influence of Satan and controlled by the church,standing in opposition to God. It is, so far as Revelation 13 is concerned, the power of earthly government swayed by the papal church, which for ‘forty and two months’ of prophetic time (one thousand two hundred sixty literal years, reaching from 538 A. D. to 1798 A.D. ) spoke ‘great things and blasphemies,’ and to whom ‘it was given’ ‘to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.’ See verses 5-7. It was that terrible system known as ‘the man of sin,’ ‘the son of perdition,’ which took its place in the church of God, secured control of the Roman Empire, put tradition in the place of the Bible, and actually changed God’s law, substituting Sunday for the Sabbath. See 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4; Daniel 7:25; and other scriptures. All these things are matters of history, and may be read by all. You will see at a glance, therefore, that ‘the mark of the beast’ must be something intimately associated with the papacy, in its work of opposing God’s truth and people; for Revelation 14:9-11 distinctly states that to receive this mark puts one into direct warfare against God, and makes him a subject of wrath. The mark, then, is a terribly serious proposition; and surely inspiration must make plain to us what it is." So far as the mere word is concerned, ‘mark’ is equivalent to ‘seal’ or ‘sign.’ The words are used interchangeably. For instance, in Ezekiel 9:4, God tells the heavenly messenger to ‘set a mark upon the foreheads’ of the men who honor Him; while in Revelation 7:3 we find these same people ‘sealed . . .in their foreheads.’ In Romans 4:11, the words ‘sign’ and ‘seal’ stand as equivalents: ‘He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had.’ It would be perfectly proper, therefore, to speak of the mark of God; for one would be well understood as meaning the seal of God, or, if you please, the sign of God. To put the matter as it really is, the beast has its mark, its sign, its seal; and opposed are God’s mark, God’s sign, God’s seal. To have the mark, or sign, or seal of the beast is to die; to have the mark, or sign, or seal of God is to live, and to live forever. But now we come to the really interesting part of the matter. these terms — ‘mark,’ ‘sign,’ ‘seal’ — are used in the word of God with special reference to law, or legal documents. Jezebel ‘wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal.’ 1 Kings 21:8. The decree of Haman for the destruction of the Jews in the days of Esther was ‘in the name of King Ahasuerus,’ and ‘sealed with the king’s ring.’ Esther 3:12. This was the thought of the signet ring — the name ring — of the ancient times. The king’s name was in the ring; and the impress of the ring was to stamp the king’s name. In this way, documents were sealed, and thus became law. We have only to remember this to see the point we are after: God’s seal, or sign, is something connected with His law. It is the signet portion, that in which His name is found, and therefore that which gives it the force of true law. I need not remind you that three essential features are to be found in every law seal: first, the name of the official; second, his designated office; and third, the territory over which his authority extends. Thus the President of our country, in signing any bill or other document, must sign his name, with the title appended, ‘President of the United states.’ It is not enough that he sign only his name, for there might be other persons of the same name. Nor is it sufficient that he give only his name and office; for a person bearing his name might be president of a transit company or a literary club. No; it takes all three: 1, the name; 2, ‘President’ (office); and 3, ‘United States of America’ (territory). Let me now inquire if this principle is really recognized in God’s law, — the Ten Commandments. The first and the last five of the commandments do not mention Jehovah’s name, so we will pass them. The second, the third, and the fifth give only His name. But the fourth, the Sabbath command, brings to view His name, His office, His realm. ‘the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord [Jehovah] thy God’ — here is His name. ‘In six days the Lord made the heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is’ — here He gives His office as Creator, and the extent of His authority as heaven and earth. Jehovah, Creator of the universe — this is His official seal. The fourth commandment is the official seal of the divine law; and without it, that law would be invalid. Do you all see that this is so? There was no question. The truth was self-evident. God Himself constantly points to the fact that He is Creator of all things, as reason why we should obey. See Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:8-11; Jeremiah 10:10-12; Psalms 96:5; 33:6-9; and other texts. And if any of you are going abroad as missionaries to the heathen, remember that only the truth of the fourth commandment, coupled with a conscientious observance of it, will convince them of the supremacy of our God. “Kindly explain that a little further,” said Mr. Spaulding. “Well, while the heathen believes in the greatness of his god or gods, he does not worship them as having creative power. Thus when you come to him with authoritative word that Jehovah is the Creator, that He therefore made all the things which the heathen has worshipped, he sees that even the gods themselves must bow to Jehovah’s commands. The Sabbath command thus becomes the signal for him to transfer his allegiance; and your obedience helps him to understand that God still lives, and re-creates those who yield to Him.” If the Sabbath commandment is the seal of God, and if the mark, or seal, of the beast stands in opposition to it, then, logically, what must we conclude as to the character of the mark?” Why, logically, I should say it also is a Sabbath of some kind — that is, Sabbath opposing Sabbath,” was Mr. Conan’s reply. “Exactly so,” said Mr. Anderson, “And that is a historical fact, as I showed you yesterday. The beast, the papacy, a combination of church and state, in the fourth century of our era, succeeded in substituting tradition for the word of God, and wickedly attacking the truth of the fourth commandment, substituting Sunday for the Sabbath. Eusebius, a bishop of that period, openly claimed that ‘all things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath these we have transferred to the Lord’s day.’ And not very long ago, one of the leading Catholic papers of the United States made the statement that ‘the Catholic Church of its own infallible authority created Sunday as a holy day to take the place of the Sabbath of the old law.’ ‘We observe Sunday instead of Saturday,’ says a catechism that I saw yesterday, ‘because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea ( A. D. 336), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.’ Now, as God points to His Sabbath seal as evidence of His authority, so the Church of Rome points to her Sunday mark as evidence of her authority. She proves her right to command feasts and holy days ‘by the very act’ (this from a catechism) ‘of changing the Sabbath into Sunday.’ Thus her ‘mark’ is set in boastful opposition to God’s ‘seal.’ Summing all up, we have this: An apostate power has violated God’s law by tearing out its seal, and putting Sunday in its place. Then apostasy comes to men and demands of them that they accept the change it has made, enforcing its claims by law wherever and whenever it has sufficient influence to do so. All the Sunday laws of our own and other lands have this wretched principle behind them. And lest some of you do not know, I may say here that both the prophecies of God’s word and the plans of the present Roman church show that erelong all nations will pass laws making Sunday observance universal, and finally compelling men to keep it or die. Source: The Marked Bible
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 12:01:37 +0000
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