Revelation's Ancient Discoveries

Revelation's Mark of the Beast Exposed

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: RAD

Program Code: RAD170022A


00:01 What does the future hold?
00:02 Where can we find certainty in a world of uncertainty?
00:05 The Book of Revelation provides hopeful answers for today,
00:09 tomorrow and forever.
00:11 Join Mark Finley,
00:12 author and world renowned speaker
00:14 on a journey into the future
00:16 with Revelation's Ancient Discoveries.
00:23 When you look at the Book of Revelation,
00:26 one of the major topics in Revelation
00:28 is this conflict over worship,
00:31 conflict between righteousness and unrighteousness,
00:35 conflict between truth and error.
00:38 And at the heart of that conflict
00:40 is a crisis over worship.
00:43 There are two signs in the Book of Revelation,
00:45 the seal of God and the mark of the beast.
00:49 And in this presentation, we're going to probe both,
00:52 what is the mark of the beast, what is the seal of God.
00:56 And how can we avoid the mark of the beast.
00:59 Let's pray as we enter into this most significant,
01:03 vitally important presentation.
01:05 Father in heaven,
01:07 reveal to us clearly Your truth.
01:12 Help us to see the truth of Your Word
01:15 and may it make a difference in our lives in Christ name.
01:19 Amen.
01:21 The title of this program
01:22 is Revelation's Mark of the Beast Exposed.
01:26 This is part of a series of telecasts called
01:31 Revelation's Ancient Discoveries aired here
01:35 on Three Angels Broadcasting.
01:38 When I was asked to do this series
01:40 on the Book of Revelation,
01:42 I knew that one of the key topics was the one
01:46 we're going to be presenting right now,
01:48 Revelation's Mark of the Beast Exposed.
01:51 Many people are quite confused about the mark of the beast.
01:54 They have the idea that it is 666 branded
02:00 on somebody's forehead.
02:02 And so, they've often said as I've lectured
02:04 on the Book of Revelation.
02:06 I don't want anybody,
02:07 I'm not gonna let anybody brand 666 on my forehead,
02:10 much more subtle than that.
02:13 Some have felt that maybe it's the bar code on cans
02:18 or that which we scan on consumer goods.
02:21 And they have said, you know, that has to do with 666,
02:25 a time when you cannot buy or sell.
02:28 But we need to go to Revelation itself
02:31 and discover some basic things like who is the beast,
02:35 what is the mark of the beast,
02:38 and how can you avoid the mark of the beast.
02:42 The Book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ.
02:46 So as we study this issue of the beast power
02:49 and discover who the beast is,
02:51 we want to be sure that Jesus is central.
02:53 Whoever the beast is or whatever the beast power is,
02:56 whatever that antichrist power is,
02:59 it's something opposite of who Christ is.
03:02 It teaches teachings not in harmony with Jesus.
03:07 So Jesus is always front and center
03:10 in the Book of Revelation.
03:12 But Revelation reveals Jesus' truth
03:15 and exposes Satan's deceptions.
03:19 If there is a pathology or sickness in the human body,
03:23 it's not always pleasant to have a diagnosis
03:26 by a physician that you are sick.
03:28 Let's suppose you had cancer and let's suppose
03:33 that you need a diagnosis before treatment
03:36 which of course you would.
03:38 And let's suppose in that diagnosis,
03:40 the cancer was worse than you thought but the physician said,
03:44 "If you have a very painful operation,
03:48 I know that cancer can be removed.
03:51 We can get it.
03:53 It has not yet metastasized, the growth is growing.
03:56 We need to cut it out."
03:58 You and I wouldn't look forward to surgery,
04:01 but we would look forward to saving our life.
04:04 Sometimes in life, you have to go through things
04:07 that are quite painful for the ultimate result
04:11 of saving your life.
04:13 So the subject of the mark of the beast
04:15 is not a pleasant one at times to discuss
04:18 because we're looking
04:20 at some long cherished religious opinions.
04:23 And I want to do this as kindly, as lovingly as I can,
04:27 but wouldn't you expect me as a preacher of the Word of God
04:31 to share truth with you even at times if that truth
04:35 were painful if it could save your very life.
04:41 Revelation 13:1 says,
04:43 "Then I stood on the sand of the sea.
04:45 And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea,
04:48 having seven heads and ten horns,
04:51 and on his horns ten crowns,
04:53 and on his heads a blasphemous name.
04:57 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard,
05:01 his feet were like the feet of a bear,
05:03 his mouth like the mouth of a lion."
05:07 "The waters which you saw..." Now water...
05:11 You see, this beast comes up out of the water,
05:13 so let's pause here for a moment.
05:14 We have to let Revelation describe its own symbols.
05:18 So remember the beast comes up out of the water,
05:20 what do the waters represent?
05:22 Revelation 17:15, "The waters which you saw,
05:26 where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes,
05:28 nations, or tongues."
05:30 We've studied about that harlot,
05:32 that false religious system in Revelation 17.
05:35 But what do the waters represent?
05:37 They represent peoples.
05:38 So a beast coming up out of the sea,
05:42 like we saw in Revelation 13 that we just read,
05:45 represents something, a power coming up
05:49 out of the peopled area of the world,
05:52 out of a population based, not of an area
05:54 that is not populated.
05:57 So in Bible prophecy, we look at the symbols
06:00 and the symbols explain themselves.
06:02 Waters represent people.
06:04 We sometimes use the expression
06:06 "the great sea of humanity",
06:09 and so it's a very common symbol.
06:12 Now in the Book of Revelation, not only in Revelation
06:15 but throughout Bible prophecy, what does a beast represent?
06:20 A beast represents a king or a kingdom.
06:23 Daniel 7:23, "Thus he said, 'The fourth beast
06:28 shall be the fourth," what?
06:29 "Kingdom on earth."'
06:32 When you read these prophetic symbols,
06:34 they are quite common throughout scripture
06:38 and they are consistent.
06:40 You read about a beast representing
06:42 a king or a kingdom in the Book of Daniel, you carry that over
06:47 to the Book of Revelation, a beast represents
06:49 a king or a kingdom.
06:51 So the beast coming up out of the sea
06:54 represents a kingdom
06:56 arising in a populated area of the world.
07:01 So a beast represents a political power
07:04 or it could represent a political religious power
07:07 but something that has authority.
07:10 Now where does this new power get its authority from?
07:13 Revelation 13:2, "The dragon gave him his power,
07:18 his throne, and great authority."
07:21 So his throne of rulership comes from the dragon.
07:25 This is Revelation 13.
07:27 If you go back to Revelation 12,
07:31 you'll notice something about this dragon.
07:36 In Daniel 7, you have four beasts.
07:40 You have lion with eagle's wings, Babylon.
07:43 You have a bear with three ribs, Medo-Persia.
07:46 You have a Greece with the leopard like
07:49 beast describing Greece.
07:52 And then you have this really non-descript
07:54 dragon like beast representing Rome.
07:57 So back in Daniel 7,
08:00 the fourth beast represents Rome.
08:03 The beast that comes up in Revelation 13
08:05 is this composite beast.
08:07 You remember how it read,
08:08 "I stood upon the sand of the sea,
08:10 saw another beast come up out of the sea
08:12 having seven heads and ten horns.
08:14 Upon his horns ten crowns,
08:15 upon his head the name of blasphemy.
08:17 The beast which you saw was like," unto a what?
08:19 "Leopard," there you see it,
08:20 "feet like the feet of a," what?
08:22 "Bear, mouth like the mouth of a," what?
08:23 "Lion and the dragon."
08:25 See again, it's describing the Babylon,
08:28 Medo-Persia, Greece, pagan Rome of Daniel 7.
08:33 There is another interesting aspect of this dragon's work.
08:38 You look at Revelation 12:4-5,
08:42 "The dragon stood before the woman
08:45 who was ready to give birth,"
08:46 So now this is the dragon in Revelation 12.
08:49 Who do they represent?
08:51 "To devour her Child as soon as it was born."
08:54 So the dragon to devour the Child.
08:57 Who is the Child? Child is Jesus, of course.
09:00 And who is the dragon in Revelation 12?
09:05 It says the dragon which you saw is Satan.
09:07 So how do you harmonize the dragon being Satan
09:09 and the dragon being pagan Rome?
09:11 Satan always works through some earthly power.
09:15 So in Revelation 12, the dragon is working
09:19 through pagan Rome to destroy Jesus.
09:23 In Revelation 12,
09:25 the dragon Satan is bent on destroying Christ.
09:29 Now remember, it was a Roman official Herod
09:32 that passed a decree that all male children be killed.
09:37 The dragon, Satan working through pagan Rome
09:41 to destroy Jesus.
09:43 It was a Roman governor Pilate that sentenced Christ to death
09:46 and ordered His crucifixion.
09:48 Again, the dragon, Satan
09:51 working through pagan Rome to destroy Jesus.
09:54 You look again, it was a Roman emblem that sealed Jesus' tomb
09:59 and Roman soldiers that guarded it.
10:01 Again, the dragon working through pagan Rome
10:04 to destroy Jesus.
10:06 So when you come to Revelation 13
10:09 and you see the dragon gave the power
10:13 and great authority to this beast coming up,
10:17 this new power that's rising in Revelation 13.
10:20 You have to raise a question,
10:21 since in Daniel 7, the dragon-like beast,
10:24 non-descript beast is pagan Rome.
10:27 Since in Revelation 12,
10:29 the Satan works through pagan Rome.
10:34 Who did pagan Rome give its power,
10:36 throne, and great authority to?
10:38 Let's go to history.
10:39 We'll find six identifying characteristics
10:43 of this beast power that leave no question,
10:47 no shadow of a doubt what the beast power is.
10:50 First, it gets its authority from pagan Rome.
10:54 Professor Labianca, the Professor of History
10:58 in the University of Rome said this,
11:00 "To the succession of the Caesar's
11:02 came the succession of the Pontiffs in Rome.
11:07 When Constantine left Rome..."
11:10 Now this is Professor Labianca,
11:12 Professor of History, University of Rome.
11:13 "He gave his seat to the Pontiff."
11:16 What did Revelation 13 say?
11:19 That this beast power would get its seat of government,
11:23 its authority from pagan Rome.
11:27 So who got its authority from pagan Rome?
11:29 It was, of course, papal Rome or the Pontiff.
11:33 So the beast power identified here in Revelation 13
11:39 would have to be papal Rome
11:41 because it got its seat of government from pagan Rome.
11:45 The Pontiffs sat there in the throne of the emperors
11:50 or the Caesars.
11:52 Stanley's History, page 40,
11:55 again we go to history says this,
11:57 "The popes filled the place of the vacant emperors of Rome,
12:02 inheriting again their power, prestige,
12:06 and titles from paganism.
12:10 The papacy is but the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire,
12:14 sitting crowned upon its grave."
12:17 This is not a preacher, this is Stanley's History.
12:19 Now let me assure you, the beast is not a person.
12:24 The Bible doesn't say the beast is a person.
12:26 The beast is always a power,
12:28 a political power or a religious power.
12:32 It is a religious- political system.
12:35 Let me pause as well here.
12:38 In our Ancient Discoveries series
12:42 on the Book of Revelation,
12:44 in our Revelation's Ancient Discovery series,
12:46 it's not our goal to condemn,
12:49 blaspheme any religious organization.
12:54 There are many wonderful, wonderful godly people
12:59 in the Roman Catholic community.
13:01 I was brought up in a lovely Catholic home.
13:04 My mom was Roman Catholic,
13:06 and I was educated by the priest
13:08 and the nuns for much of my life,
13:11 the first eight years of my education.
13:13 And I look back at that with deep thanks giving.
13:16 One of the things that I really appreciate is learning
13:20 to memorize my Roman Catholic teachers,
13:24 my nuns really taught me how to memorize a great deal.
13:26 So I thank God for that, and I remember the first time
13:29 I heard a message like this.
13:31 It really tore me apart inside.
13:33 But, you know, when you look at Scripture,
13:36 you have to say, "I don't want to go the easy way."
13:40 We have to say, "What is truth?
13:42 And if this is clear truth, I want to follow it."
13:45 So let's look at the identifying characteristics
13:48 of this beast power.
13:50 Then let's look at the mark of the beast,
13:52 let's look at the seal of God,
13:53 and try to put all that together tonight.
13:55 The Beast of Revelation 13
13:56 describes a religious political power system
13:58 that would grow up out of Rome
14:00 after the fall of the Roman Empire.
14:04 Now notice another characteristic.
14:06 Revelation 13:8,
14:07 "All who dwell on the earth will worship him..."
14:10 In other words, it is a system of religious authority
14:15 or worship.
14:17 It talks about all over the world,
14:20 there would be this worldwide religious power.
14:22 So whoever the beast power is in Revelation 13.
14:25 It can't be something done in a corner.
14:27 It's not an individual.
14:29 It's a political, religious system that spans the globe.
14:34 There's another characteristic of this power as well.
14:38 Revelation 13:5 said,
14:40 "He was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies."
14:44 According to the Bible, what is blasphemy?
14:48 How does the Bible itself define blasphemy?
14:53 What does the Bible say that blasphemy is?
14:55 Jesus was charged with blasphemy,
14:58 He certainly wasn't a blasphemer.
15:01 But John 10:33,
15:03 "The Jews answered Him, saying,
15:05 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy,
15:09 and because You being a Man, make Yourself God.'
15:12 So any human being that claims the authority of God
15:18 is indeed a blasphemer because blasphemy
15:22 is what a human being claims authority of God.
15:25 Does the Roman Church make that claim?
15:29 One must be fair with history.
15:31 And so let's go to the original sources.
15:36 In Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII,
15:39 of course, pope,
15:40 "We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty."
15:46 Another aspect of blasphemy is found in Mark 2:7, again,
15:50 the Pharisees, Scribes say, religious leaders of Judaism,
15:55 "Why does this Man, Jesus, speak blasphemies like this?
15:58 Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
16:01 So they are claiming Christ as a blasphemer, why?
16:05 Because He has the power to forgive sins.
16:07 Was Jesus a blasphemer?
16:09 No, not at all. Why not?
16:11 Because He was God
16:13 and therefore could claim the power to forgive sins.
16:18 But yet, any earthly power that would claim
16:21 the power to forgive sins
16:23 would enter into what the Bible calls blasphemy.
16:26 In the book The Dignities and Duties of the Priest,
16:30 we read this sentence,
16:34 and this is volume 12, page 2,
16:36 Dignities and Duties of the Priest
16:38 is a book that priests get to study their responsibilities
16:43 as a priest for the priesthood.
16:45 "God Himself," this is amazing,
16:48 "God Himself is obliged to abide
16:49 by the judgment of His priest,
16:52 and either not to pardon or to pardon,
16:55 according as they refuse or give absolution...
16:59 The sentence of the priest precedes,
17:02 and God subscribes to it."
17:04 Again, I'll let you judge for yourself.
17:08 The Bible says blasphemy is claiming
17:10 to be equal with God.
17:12 Does the church do that? They claim to.
17:15 The Bible says blasphemy
17:17 is claiming the power to forgive sins.
17:19 You've seen the clear statement.
17:20 I need not comment on it.
17:23 Honest hearted people
17:25 guided by the Spirit hear the call of God
17:28 to their hearts and want to step out
17:32 from falsehood and tradition.
17:34 Jesus is our only priest.
17:37 And I remember a time
17:39 when my mother was sitting in the backyard of our home
17:43 there in Norwich, Connecticut.
17:46 And I came out in the back, it was a hot sunny July day,
17:50 I had come to Jesus,
17:51 I had heard and understood these truths
17:54 that I so wanted to share them with mom,
17:56 my dad had already accepted them,
17:58 came out in the back porch and I said,
18:00 "You know, mom..."
18:01 When I was taught in catechism,
18:03 I was taught that I needed a priest
18:06 because the priest would be a mediator between God and me,
18:10 that I was not good enough to approach God,
18:12 but mother let me read your Bible text.
18:14 And I read here 1 Timothy where it says,
18:17 "There is only one mediator between God and man,
18:19 the man Jesus Christ."
18:21 And I noticed tears coming out of her eyes
18:23 because she began to understand,
18:25 maybe for the first time in her life,
18:27 the all supremacy of Christ.
18:29 We are not good enough to appear before God,
18:31 we need a priest.
18:32 But Jesus is our priest.
18:34 So here are three characteristics
18:36 of the beast power.
18:37 They have authority,
18:39 the beast power gets its authority from
18:40 pagan Rome, papal Rome did.
18:41 It is a worldwide religious power,
18:43 papal Rome is.
18:44 It claims equality with God, papal Rome does.
18:48 But notice, Revelation 13:7,
18:50 "It was granted to him
18:52 to make war with the saints and to overcome them."
18:53 In other words, during the Middle or Dark Ages,
18:56 church and state would unite and this power would become
18:59 a persecuting power.
19:01 Did church and state unite under Rome
19:03 and persecute those
19:05 that didn't go along with its teachings?
19:06 There is only one answer to that.
19:08 You look at history
19:09 and certainly the answer is yes.
19:12 This would be a persecuting power
19:15 during the Dark or Middle Ages.
19:18 There is a fifth characteristic.
19:21 It says, Revelation 13:5,
19:23 "He was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies."
19:26 In other words, the power to forgive sins,
19:28 exalting one's authority above the authority of God.
19:32 "And he was given authority to continue for 42 months."
19:35 Now what's that all about,
19:37 authority to continue 42 months.
19:41 Here is mathematical proof of this identity.
19:46 In Bible prophecy, one prophetic day
19:49 equals one literal year.
19:50 You read that in Ezekiel 4:6, Numbers 14:34.
19:57 He says, "I have given you one day for a year."
19:59 Now every time you read about a day
20:01 in Bible prophecy,
20:02 in the Bible, rather, it's not a year,
20:04 but when you read about it in Bible prophecy,
20:07 it is a symbol.
20:08 You have symbolic prophecy.
20:10 You have beast coming up out of the sea,
20:12 you have like a lion with eagle's wings,
20:13 nothing like that in natural phenomenon.
20:16 You have a bear raising itself up on
20:19 one side with three ribs in its mouth.
20:21 You have these symbols,
20:23 you have the leopard with four heads,
20:24 and the wings, and this dragon-like beast.
20:27 And then you have time prophecy
20:29 in the context of those symbols.
20:31 And so where you have symbolic prophecy,
20:35 you have symbolic time prophecy as well,
20:37 so one prophetic day equals a year.
20:40 So in the Bible,
20:42 there are 30 days in a prophetic month.
20:44 So this power would reign for 42 months,
20:47 or 1260 prophetic days,
20:50 or 1260 literal years,
20:53 what is that all about?
20:55 The papal power rose to its ascendancy.
21:00 When Vigilius II was crowned by Justinian,
21:06 the pagan Roman emperor, there in 538 A.D.
21:10 Now before that time,
21:11 the last of the Barbarian or the Arian tribes
21:14 are driven out of Rome and here the significance
21:18 of this day is papal authority
21:22 is given at this point.
21:24 The papacy ruled for 1260 years,
21:28 certainly there was the reformation
21:30 during this time with Luther, and Zwingli,
21:33 and Hus, and Jerome, and the other reformers,
21:35 but if you take 1260 years and you add it to A.D. 538,
21:39 you come to A.D. 798.
21:42 What happened in A.D. 798?
21:44 The Bible is very, very plain.
21:47 Napoleon looking down to the South
21:51 sees the pope of Rome as a rival.
21:53 And so he sends his General...
21:54 He actually sent him the year earlier
21:59 but the General came back empty-handed.
22:01 He goes down in 1798, it's Berthier,
22:04 exactly in that year that Bible prophecy predicted.
22:08 General Berthier enters Rome,
22:10 takes the papacy captive during that time,
22:14 takes the pope captive.
22:16 The pope eventually dies in captivity.
22:18 There are a number of rivals that battle for the papacy
22:23 and that's an interesting history in itself.
22:25 But here is the point that in 1798,
22:29 the pope is taken captive.
22:31 What does history tell us about these remarkable events?
22:34 Church History, page 24,
22:37 "The murder of a Frenchman in Rome in 1798
22:41 gave the French an excuse for occupying the Eternal City
22:44 and putting an end to the Papal temporal power.
22:48 The aged Pontiff himself
22:50 was carried into exile into Valence...
22:53 The enemies of the Church rejoiced."
22:55 They fought of course,
22:56 "The last pope, they declared has resigned."
22:59 So 538 A.D. French put a crown on the king.
23:05 Their emperor Justinian, enables the king,
23:10 rather enables the pope to sit upon his throne
23:15 and gives him civil authority at that time.
23:19 Then 1798 occurs, what takes place?
23:24 Napoleon sends his French General down.
23:27 He overthrows Rome, takes the pope captive.
23:31 So from 538 to 1798,
23:33 the receiving of authority,
23:35 the removing of authority
23:36 exactly like the Bible says in that 1260 year period.
23:42 Now what does the Bible say about this.
23:43 Let's look at it, very carefully.
23:46 "And I saw one of his heads
23:47 as if it had been mortally wounded..."
23:49 In fact, that's what many people thought
23:51 that the papacy was mortally wounded.
23:53 "And his deadly wound would eventually,
23:55 of course, be healed.
23:56 And all the world would marvel or follow the beast again."
24:00 So the Bible predicted
24:01 that the pope would go into captivity,
24:03 it would be a deadly wound,
24:05 but that deadly wound would be healed
24:07 and the pope eventually would achieve
24:09 worldwide prominence or authority again.
24:12 So here are five characteristics,
24:15 five identifying characteristics
24:18 of the beast power of Revelation 13.
24:20 It would get its authority from pagan Rome, it did.
24:24 It would be a worldwide religious power, it was.
24:27 It would claim equality with God, it indeed did.
24:30 It was a persecuting power
24:32 during those Dark Ages, it was.
24:34 It would reign for 1260 years, exactly,
24:37 historically like the Bible says.
24:39 But there is another identifying characteristic
24:41 found in Revelation 13:18.
24:44 It says, "Here is wisdom.
24:45 Let him who has understanding calculate,"
24:48 or compute, "the number of the beast,
24:50 for it is the number of a man and His number
24:54 is six hundred and sixty-six."
24:56 So when you look at that, it says let's calculate.
25:00 Now I want to, here, be sure we understand,
25:03 666 is not the only identification of the beast.
25:08 In fact, if we didn't have 666,
25:10 we could still easily identify the beast from those
25:13 five characteristics outlined in Revelation 13.
25:17 But it does help to confirm that identity.
25:20 Now in the Bible prophecy, of course,
25:22 seven equals perfection,
25:25 the six equals apostasy or rebellion
25:28 throughout Scripture.
25:30 One of the official titles of the papacy
25:33 is Vicarius Filii Dei or Vicar, the Son of God.
25:37 This is one of the very authoritative,
25:41 one of the official titles of the papacy,
25:44 Vicarius Filii Dei.
25:47 In fact, it's one of the most exalted titles
25:49 because it means Vicar, the Son of God.
25:52 If you take Vicarius Filii Dei
25:56 and you compute that in Roman numerals.
26:00 And, of course, in the days of John,
26:04 you had the use of these Roman numerals
26:07 and Roman numerals are very common symbol
26:10 or common system of computation.
26:13 V would equal 5, I would equal 1,
26:16 C would equal a 100, A would equal 0,
26:19 R would equal 0, I would equal 1,
26:24 U, that's same as V, that would equal 5,
26:26 S would equal 0.
26:28 So you just have 5, and 1, and 100, 1,
26:30 and 5 that is 112.
26:34 Then F, Filii, would equal 0,
26:37 I would equal 1, L would equal 50,
26:40 I would equal 1, and I would equal 1 again.
26:42 You've got 53.
26:44 D in the Dei, Vicarius, Vicar, the Son of Filii Dei, God.
26:50 D would equal 500, E will equal 0,
26:53 and I would equal 1.
26:54 That's 501.
26:56 If you add them up, 112, 53, and 501,
27:00 here's wisdom that human would have understanding,
27:03 calculate or compute the number of the beast.
27:05 It's the number of its name
27:08 and that is the number of a man.
27:10 So notice the name or title of the papacy,
27:13 Vicarius Filii Dei, you'll get 2, and 3, and 1,
27:15 that's 6, 1, and 5, and 0, that's 6, and 5 and 1 is 6.
27:19 So you have 666.
27:21 So the beast power outlined
27:23 in Revelation 13 is a religious power.
27:28 It's a power that would rise out of Rome
27:31 and assert religious authority.
27:34 Now notice what Scripture says.
27:38 Each of these identifying characteristics
27:40 must be present.
27:42 They are, of course, in the papacy.
27:45 "He causes all, both small and great,
27:47 rich and poor, free and slave,
27:51 to receive a mark on their right hand
27:53 or on their foreheads,
27:55 that no one may buy or sell
27:57 except the one who has the mark or the name of the beast,
28:00 or the number of his name."
28:02 What is this talking about?
28:05 The mark of papal authority,
28:08 the mark of papal authority that would be
28:10 enforced at a time of universal crisis,
28:14 famine, fire, flood,
28:17 earthquake, hurricane,
28:19 natural disaster, war, conflict,
28:23 strife, economic disaster.
28:26 So around the world, the Bible teaches
28:29 that before the coming of Jesus,
28:31 there would be great disaster.
28:32 And the human race would look for
28:34 a single world-ruling authority
28:37 to bring human beings together
28:40 to bring peace back to the world
28:42 under the auspices
28:44 of the sign or mark of that authority.
28:47 Now in Bible prophecy,
28:50 what is indeed this mark of the beast?
28:54 To understand the mark of the beast,
28:56 we must first understand God's sign, seal, or mark.
29:01 In the Book of Revelation,
29:03 you have both the mark of the beast and the seal of God.
29:07 So you can't fully understand the mark of the beast
29:11 unless you understand the seal of God.
29:13 So in Revelation 7:2-3, it says,
29:17 "Then I saw another angel ascending from the east,
29:21 having the seal of the living God."
29:24 So what is this seal of the living God?
29:27 "Then the angel says,
29:28 'Hurt not earth or the sea until we have sealed
29:32 the servants of God in their foreheads."'
29:36 Now notice, "He cries with a loud voice
29:38 to the four angles to whom it was granted
29:40 to harm the earth and the sea..."
29:41 In other words,
29:43 hold the strife back, hold the destruction back,
29:46 hold the calamity, the conflict back
29:49 until something happens,
29:51 till we've sealed the servants of God, where?
29:53 In their foreheads.
29:55 "saying, 'Do not harm the earth,
29:57 the sea, or the trees
29:59 till we have sealed the servants of God
30:01 in their foreheads."'
30:02 'Did you notice something interesting?
30:03 The mark of the beast is received either in the forehead
30:05 or in the hand,
30:07 the seal of God only in the forehead.
30:09 We will understand that why shortly.
30:11 So what is God saying here?
30:13 He is saying, "Before the mark of the beast
30:14 goes forth,
30:15 I want My people to receive My seal,
30:17 the seal that they are mine, the seal that I own them,
30:21 the seal that they belong to me,
30:23 the seal that they are the creators."
30:27 The mark of the beast is enforced either in the hand
30:30 or in the forehead.
30:32 The forehead is a sign of the brain.
30:35 It's a sign of conscience, reason, and judgment.
30:38 It's a symbol of the intellect, the forebrain.
30:42 So the devil either deceive people
30:45 by the millions into following him
30:46 in their mind,
30:48 whereas the hand is a symbol of force,
30:51 coercion, power.
30:53 So the devil doesn't care
30:54 if he deceives you like the serpent,
30:57 or he forces or coerces you like the dragon
31:01 and since you can't buy or sell
31:03 and there's this economic boycott
31:05 or there's this death degree.
31:06 The devil doesn't care which way he gets you.
31:09 God never appeals to us through force or coercion,
31:14 but He only appeals to us through truth and love.
31:19 The devil can use force and fear.
31:23 Jesus only uses love and truth.
31:27 Forehead means you're convicted it's right.
31:30 The hand means you're conversed to go along,
31:33 you're coerced to go along with it.
31:36 Jesus only appeals to our logic.
31:40 God never ever use His force.
31:43 He wins us by love.
31:45 Now what is this seal?
31:47 What's another name for the seal?
31:48 Romans 4:11, talking about Abraham,
31:51 "He received the sign of circumcision,
31:54 or a seal of righteousness..."
31:56 In the Bible, a sign or a seal
31:59 is the same thing.
32:02 A seal authenticates a document.
32:06 Where do we find God's eternal code of conduct?
32:09 Of course, in His law.
32:11 So the Holy Spirit which is the sealing agency.
32:14 The Bible says in the Book of Ephesians,
32:16 "Grieve not the Holy Spirit," Ephesians 4:30,
32:19 "Whereby you're sealed until the day of redemption."
32:22 So the Holy Spirit seals
32:23 in your heart loyalty to Christ,
32:26 seals in your heart commitment to God's law.
32:29 The Holy Spirit places within you that power,
32:32 that strength, that desire to serve Christ
32:34 and Him alone.
32:35 Look, Isaiah 8:16,
32:37 "Seal the law among my disciples."
32:41 So God's seal is found in His law.
32:44 The Holy Spirit seals the law in our hearts or in our lives.
32:50 What's another name for seal?
32:51 It's sign.
32:53 Ezekiel 20:12,
32:55 "Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths,
32:58 to be a sign between Me and them..."
33:00 So God's Sabbath is His sign or His seal of ownership
33:06 and authority.
33:08 In all of the Ten Commandment law,
33:11 there's only one commandment that tells us
33:13 why we keep the commandments.
33:16 You read the commandment,
33:17 it says, "Honor your father and mother."
33:19 Why you should that?
33:20 I mean, it's the right thing to do, yes.
33:22 Thou shall not kill, why not?
33:23 Thou shall not steal, why not?
33:24 Don't commit adultery, don't covet, why not?
33:26 Don't have any other gods before you, why not?
33:28 Don't take the name of the Lord,
33:30 your God in vain, why not?
33:31 No images, why not?
33:33 Why not?
33:34 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
33:36 "Six days shall thou labor into all thy work
33:38 but the seventh day is the Sabbath
33:40 of the Lord, thy God.
33:42 In it, thou shalt not do any work.
33:44 For the Lord made the heaven, the earth, the sea,
33:47 and all that in the midst."
33:48 Why not?
33:50 Because God created you, because God fashioned you.
33:54 Revelation 4:11, "Thou art worthy, O Lord,
33:57 to receive glory, and honor, and power,
33:59 for You created all things."
34:01 So the Sabbath is the symbol of the Creator God.
34:05 It's the symbol that we belong to Him.
34:07 It's the symbol of His ownership.
34:10 So the seal of God is really the Holy Spirit
34:14 placing within our heart and mind
34:16 the desire to be loyal to Christ.
34:18 "666 symbolizes man's rebellion in changing God's law
34:24 which is His sign, His seal, or His mark of authority."
34:29 Now, royal seals were commonly used
34:33 throughout the Old and New Testament period.
34:36 Royal seals always would have the name of the sealer,
34:41 the title of the sealer, and his territory.
34:43 So if you have a royal seal for Constantine,
34:46 for example, it would say name, Constantine,
34:48 title, Emperor, and territory, Roman Empire.
34:52 If you had a seal of the United States
34:55 for say Abraham Lincoln,
34:56 it would say name, Abraham Lincoln,
34:58 title, President,
35:00 his domain or territory, United States.
35:03 So seals were commonly used to authenticate a document.
35:07 Even now if you go down to a justice of the peace,
35:13 if you go down to a notary public,
35:15 you have a seal.
35:16 You have an important document bring it down to the notary,
35:20 and the notary will put their seal on it.
35:21 The seal will have the name of the notary,
35:24 it'll have the titlen of the notary,
35:27 and it will also have the territory of that notary.
35:32 Now God's seal in His law, the Sabbath,
35:36 has His name, His title, and His territory.
35:39 It says, "Remember the Sabbath day
35:41 to keep it holy."
35:42 "Six days shall thou labor and do all thy work,
35:44 but the seventh day is the Sabbath
35:46 of the Lord, thy God."
35:47 So what's His name?
35:48 It's the Lord, thy God.
35:50 What is His function?
35:52 It is Creator, the one who made.
35:55 And what's His territory? Heaven and earth.
35:58 Look, "For in six days the Lord,"
36:00 that's His name, "made," that's His title.
36:03 He is the maker, the creator, "the heavens and the earth,
36:06 the sea, and all that is in the midst,"
36:08 that's His territory,
36:09 "and He rested the seventh day."
36:11 So the Holy Spirit leads us to conversion.
36:15 The Holy Spirit is the sealing agency.
36:19 The Holy Spirit writes the law of God in our mind,
36:22 so we know it in our heart, so we love it.
36:25 The Holy Spirit then places within our dis-hearts
36:29 the desire to follow Christ.
36:31 The Sabbath becomes the visible symbol
36:35 that we desire through
36:36 His grace to be loyal and committed to Him.
36:39 "He has blessed the Sabbath day and He's hallowed it."
36:43 It is His divine seal
36:45 in the last days of earth's history.
36:48 At a time when there is war, terrorism, conflict,
36:51 strife on every hand.
36:53 God has a group of people that will stand for Him.
36:55 On the other hand,
36:57 there will be this mass ecumenical movement
36:59 to bring people together to have world peace.
37:04 God's seal His name, the Lord your God,
37:07 His, title the Creator, His territory,
37:08 heaven and earth.
37:09 He is gathering men and women under His banner to serve Him.
37:14 He says in Ezekiel 20:20, " Hallow My Sabbaths,
37:18 and they shall be a sign between Me and you,
37:20 that you may know that I am the Lord your God."
37:22 Just as the Sabbath is the sign of God,
37:26 just like a seal was the sign of the ancient king,
37:30 the ancient emperor, the ancient ruler,
37:32 the Sabbath is God's sign of loyalty,
37:35 God's sign of faithfulness,
37:37 God's sign that He indeed is the creator,
37:41 and we want to worship Him.
37:43 The central issue
37:45 regarding the mark of the beast is worship.
37:48 Whose shrine will we worship at?
37:51 Will we worship at the shrine of man or the shrine of Jesus?
37:55 Whose authority will we accept?
37:57 The authority of man, the authority of Jesus.
38:00 It's not a matter of days, my friends, simply,
38:04 it's a matter of allegiance, it's a matter of loyalty,
38:07 it's a matter of a conflict over the law of God,
38:11 a conflict between the seal of God
38:14 and the mark of the beast.
38:16 Now what does the church of Rome claim
38:19 is the sign of its authority.
38:22 What does the Church of Rome claim
38:24 that it's the sign of its authority?
38:26 Notice.
38:27 In the Catholic Record, September 1, 1923, I read,
38:31 "Sunday is our mark of authority...
38:34 The Church is above the Bible, and this transference
38:39 of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact."
38:42 So what does the church itself claim?
38:45 That it's his mark of authority,
38:47 of course, Sunday.
38:48 Now somebody says, "Pastor, Mark,
38:50 please make this plain."
38:52 Does everybody who keeps Sunday have the mark of the beast?
38:56 Not at all.
38:58 Let me repeat that.
38:59 Everyone who keeps Sunday
39:01 does not have the mark of the beast.
39:04 There are so many conscientious Christians,
39:08 they are Catholic Christians, they are Baptist Christians,
39:11 they are Pentecostal Christians,
39:13 they are Lutheran Christians,
39:15 they are non-denominational Christians.
39:17 I meet them everywhere. They love Jesus.
39:20 They are totally committed to Chris
39:23 and they do not have the mark of the beast
39:25 by keeping Sunday.
39:26 But look, in the future, church and state will unite.
39:32 In the future at the time of crisis,
39:34 when this world appears to be falling apart,
39:37 in an attempt to unite all the world,
39:40 a decree will be passed leading people to worship
39:43 on the first day of the week.
39:46 Denominational differences will be dropped
39:49 for the sake of political unity
39:52 and the sake of trying to save the world.
39:54 Now that doesn't mean
39:56 that each religious denomination
39:57 is going to blend into one,
39:59 but they will find at least two points in common.
40:03 One, Sunday worship and second,
40:05 the idea of the soul being immortal,
40:08 and they'll be led on those two points
40:11 in this great unity movement.
40:13 But God will have other people, a people that are loyal to Him,
40:18 a people that are faithful to Him,
40:20 a people that will never give up their conscientious
40:25 convictions to Him.
40:27 God has a mark and that mark is the divine Sabbath.
40:32 The Roman Church has a mark of its authority, Sunday.
40:37 And the church claims that its authority
40:40 is above the authority of the Bible.
40:42 If you read Peter Geierman Catechism,
40:46 it says, "Which day is the Sabbath day?
40:50 Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.
40:52 Why then do we keep Sunday instead of Saturday?"
40:55 Geierman Catechism says,
40:57 "Because the church changed the day
40:59 from Saturday to Sunday."
41:01 Why did the church do this, because of its authority.
41:04 If you look at The Convert's Catechism,
41:07 very similar statements.
41:08 Catholic encyclopedia, very similar statements.
41:12 You'll get the statements of Edward Hiscox,
41:15 author of the Baptist Manual, points out
41:17 that Sunday came into the church
41:19 through pagan sources, adopted by the papacy,
41:24 and that it then has come into Protestantism.
41:27 So the Roman churches are a mark of its authority,
41:31 not based on biblical authority but based on its claim
41:35 that it can exalt the Sunday Sabbath
41:39 above the true Sabbath of the Bible.
41:41 In Saint Catherine's Catholic Church Sentinel,
41:45 May 21, 1995,
41:47 they were discussing the issue of the Bible Sabbath.
41:52 And why the Catholic Church keeps Sunday
41:54 rather than the Sabbath.
41:56 And look at what this Catholic journal said,
42:00 May 21, 1995,
42:02 "Perhaps the boldest thing,
42:04 the most revolutionary change
42:07 the Church ever did happened in the first century."
42:11 Not quite historically accurate,
42:12 it happened in about the third or fourth century.
42:15 "The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed
42:17 from Saturday to Sunday...
42:19 not from any directions noted in the Scriptures..."
42:22 Now note,
42:24 this is Saint Catherine's Catholic Church Sentinel,
42:27 May 21, 1995 and what's it say?
42:30 What's it talking about?
42:32 It says that the church changes
42:34 the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday
42:37 not based on Scripture.
42:39 What's it based on?
42:40 We go on,
42:41 "But from the Church's sense of its own power...
42:47 People who think that the Scriptures
42:49 should be the sole authority,
42:51 should logically become Seventh-day Adventists,
42:54 and keep Saturday holy."
42:56 Isn't that amazing?
42:58 Isn't that an incredible statement
43:01 from the monastery,
43:03 from the Catholic Church saying people
43:07 that want to keep Sabbath
43:09 should become Seventh-day Adventists?
43:11 A friend of mine, I don't know about you,
43:13 but I want to follow Jesus.
43:15 And I know that's why you are watching this telecast
43:19 because deep within your heart, you want to follow Jesus.
43:23 Deep within your heart, you want to hang on
43:27 to the truth of Scripture.
43:28 Deep within your heart, you know that Jesus indeed
43:33 is your Lord, Jesus indeed is your savior,
43:37 and that the Bible is your only guide.
43:40 You see, the final issue is one of loyalty.
43:44 The final issue is one of commitment to Christ,
43:48 and the final issue will deal about worship.
43:52 The issue in heaven
43:54 had to do with worship and loyalty.
43:56 The issue in the Garden of Eden had to do
43:58 whose voice would you listen to
44:00 with Adam and Eve had to do with loyalty.
44:03 Down through the centuries,
44:05 the human race has been tested on this area
44:08 of obedience, tested in this area of loyalty,
44:12 tested in this area of worship.
44:14 When men and women come to Jesus,
44:16 when they are saved by His grace,
44:19 when they are redeemed by His love,
44:21 they long to be obedient to Him.
44:24 You see, in every age,
44:26 God has had called men and women to take a stand.
44:32 In the days of the early Roman Empire,
44:36 Perpetua Vibia took a stand for Christ.
44:40 It was not popular to take that stand in those days,
44:44 not common to take that stand.
44:46 But she took a stand for Christ.
44:49 This young woman in her 20s
44:52 would not burn incense to Caesar.
44:54 Christ was her Lord.
44:57 As the result of that, she was cast into prison.
45:01 She had just borne a baby and the Roman authorities,
45:05 the pagan Roman authorities took that baby
45:09 and held it outside of the prison bars,
45:15 and she could hear her baby crying for milk.
45:18 And they said, "If you renounce Christ,
45:21 we will open the doors of the prison,
45:24 open the gates of the prison, and we will give you your baby
45:28 and you can nurse it."
45:30 She could not renounce Christ.
45:33 They did everything they could
45:35 from starving her, beating her,
45:38 and one day they came in and they said,
45:39 "You are foolish. Why won't you renounce Christ?"
45:42 Perpetua Vibia pointed to a clay pot
45:45 and she said, "What's that?"
45:46 They said, "A clay pot."
45:48 She said, "If we call it by any other name
45:51 than a clay pot,
45:53 will it make it anything else?"
45:56 They said, "No, it's a clay pot."
45:58 She said, "If I am called by any other name
46:00 than a Christian, I can't change who I am,
46:06 I'm still a Christian."
46:07 She died because of her faith. She took that courage.
46:12 And God is calling men and women
46:14 in this crisis hour of earth's history
46:18 to take a stand.
46:20 In these last days of earth's history,
46:22 God invites His people to take a stand.
46:27 I've spent many weeks, months, years
46:31 traveling in Eastern Europe,
46:33 traveling in the former Soviet Union.
46:36 I've talked to scores of men and women
46:40 who have been imprisoned for their faith.
46:43 I've talked to people
46:45 who have suffered for their faith.
46:48 I remember my dear friend, Mikhail Kulakov, he's died now.
46:52 This great man of faith,
46:54 this tremendous man of God
46:57 who told me about his father's trial,
47:00 his father was a Sabbath keeping Adventist minister.
47:03 He was tried by the communist government
47:06 for what they called
47:07 counter revolutionary activities.
47:09 He had baptized some young people at night.
47:12 One of them was a communist informer
47:13 who told on the father, said he was coerced,
47:16 he wasn't of course.
47:17 But he was often manipulated, this young man
47:21 was by the government to do that.
47:23 Pastor Mikhail Kulakov's father was imprisoned for his faith.
47:28 He was tried, falsely accused after the trial
47:32 which none of the family could be in.
47:34 Pastor Kulakov told me, I went down to his cell.
47:36 There was a young Russian guard about his age in his early 20s
47:40 guarding the cell.
47:42 Pastor Kulakov said, "Can I talk to my father?"
47:45 The guard looked one way, the guard looked another way,
47:47 he said, "I'll give you five minutes."
47:49 Pastor Kulakov when he said, "My father embraced me.
47:51 We cried and cried together.
47:53 I didn't know if I'd ever see him again."
47:55 I said, "What did he say to you?"
47:57 He said, "Oh, son, how much I love you.
47:59 Be faithful to Christ."
48:01 Then he took his hand, he ran it through my hair.
48:03 He said, "Look, the court records indicate
48:06 they are going to come and arrest you next.
48:08 The court records indicate
48:10 that you too will be sent to prison.
48:13 But don't worry, they will cut-off all your hair
48:15 but it'll grow again."
48:16 Pastor Kulakov was sent to five years in prison.
48:19 When I talked to him after that,
48:22 his father was in one prison, he was in another prison,
48:25 his brother was in another prison,
48:26 his brother never made it out of prison, he died in prison,
48:29 but I said to Pastor Kulakov,
48:31 "Pastor Kulakov, how did you survive in prison?"
48:33 He said, "I knew there was something beyond.
48:35 I knew that I was going to a land
48:37 where there is no sickness, suffering, or death.
48:39 I knew that God would get me through."
48:41 And he said, "By the way,
48:43 in prison there were many Jewish rabbis.
48:45 And, you know what?
48:46 I took those five years and I learned Hebrew in prison
48:48 and God worked it out for good
48:50 because now I've been able to translate
48:52 the old Russian Bible into modern Russian
48:56 because I learned Hebrew and I could translate it
48:57 from the original languages."
48:59 My friend, this moment,
49:03 God is calling you to take a stand.
49:05 This moment, God is calling you to follow His truth.
49:08 This moment, God is calling you to look beyond what He is
49:11 to what will be, to look beyond time to eternity.
49:14 And God is calling you to follow Him.
49:18 Jesus says to you just now,
49:20 "Do you like to live in a land where there is no sickness,
49:22 suffering, and death, a land where there is no more night?"
49:24 Listen as Celestine sings about that glorious land,
49:28 about that marvelous land,
49:30 about that time
49:32 that all of our trials will be over,
49:34 all of our sufferings will be over,
49:36 all of our heartache will be over,
49:38 there will be no more night.
49:44 The timeless theme
49:47 Earth and heaven
49:50 Will pass away
49:54 It's not a dream
49:56 God will make all things new
50:02 That day gone is the curse
50:08 From which I stumbled and fell
50:15 Evil is banished
50:19 To eternal hell
50:27 No more night
50:32 No more pain
50:37 No more tears
50:42 Never crying again
50:47 And praises to the great
50:53 I Am We will live
50:59 In the light
51:01 Of the risen
51:05 Lamb
51:18 See all around, now the nations
51:25 Bow down to sing
51:29 The only sound
51:31 Is the praises to Christ,
51:37 Our King Slowly
51:42 The names from the book
51:46 Are read
51:50 I know the King, so there's no need
51:57 No need to dread
52:02 No more night
52:06 And no more pain
52:12 And no more tears
52:16 Never crying again
52:22 And praises to the great
52:28 I Am We will live
52:34 In the light of the risen
52:40 Lamb
52:41 See over there
52:44 There's a mansion oh
52:47 That's prepared just for me
52:51 Where I will live with my savior
52:57 Eternally
53:03 So there will be no more
53:06 Night
53:13 And no more pain
53:18 And no more tears
53:23 Never crying again
53:27 And praises to
53:31 The great I Am
53:35 We will live
53:38 In the light
53:40 Of the risen Lamb
53:45 And praises
53:47 To the great I Am
53:53 We will live
53:56 In the light
54:03 Of the risen Lamb
54:17 The risen Lamb
54:26 It will be worth it on that day, my friend.
54:32 Whatever sacrifice you have to make now,
54:35 whatever commitment that God is calling you to make,
54:40 whatever stand He's inviting you to take,
54:44 whatever decision He's leading you to,
54:47 it'll be worth it on that day.
54:49 No more night, no more heartache,
54:53 no more pain, no more suffering.
54:56 You know, when I heard a message like this
54:59 for the very first time,
55:01 it really steered me to the depth of my soul
55:04 because as I mentioned, I was brought up
55:06 in a very lovely Roman Catholic home.
55:10 My father had become a Seventh-day Adventist,
55:13 my mother educated us in Catholic schools
55:17 but yet I began to study the Bible.
55:20 I knew there was something missing in my life.
55:23 I knew there was a deep down longing within
55:25 that wasn't being satisfied
55:27 by the traditions of the church.
55:30 And I came to a point
55:32 where I heard a message
55:34 just like the one you've heard that really gripped me,
55:37 that really moved me.
55:38 And I knew I had to do something with it.
55:41 I had to make a decision, to make that decision
55:44 meant to step out from my friends,
55:47 to make that decision meant to step out
55:49 from much of my family,
55:52 to make that decision meant to step out
55:55 from everything that was comfortable for me.
55:59 But I sensed the conviction of the Spirit of God.
56:03 I sensed the moving of the Holy Spirit
56:06 and I knew that for me, personally,
56:09 to be faithful to Christ,
56:12 I needed to make that decision.
56:14 I'd like you to pray about what God wants you to do.
56:17 Just forget about the influence of others,
56:21 forget about your legacy, your past,
56:25 forget about how you've been brought up,
56:28 and just say,
56:29 "Jesus, whatever You want me to do,
56:33 that's what I want to do."
56:35 Ask Jesus to bring deep conviction to your heart.
56:39 Be honest with Christ.
56:41 Listen for His voice speaking through His Word.
56:46 Play fair with God.
56:48 Tell Him, "Lord, whatever You want me to do,
56:52 make it plain to me and I will do it
56:54 because I'm dedicated to following You
56:56 and Your Word."
56:57 Why not make that decision as we pray.
56:59 Father in heaven, thank You so much
57:02 that You are faithful to Your Word.
57:06 You'll never let us down.
57:08 You'll guide us, You'll strengthen us
57:09 for the decisions ahead.
57:11 And we thank You for that, in Christ name, amen.
57:15 Thank you for joining us
57:16 for Revelation's Ancient Discoveries.
57:19 God has an amazing plan for your life
57:23 as you continue in Christ,
57:26 to follow Him now and forever.
57:29 Amen.


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Revised 2018-06-18