God's Law and the Mark of the Beast
How do we know that receiving the mark of the beast is a result of going against God's law?
Revelation 14:12 ...'Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.'
Straight after the third angel warns of receiving the beast's mark, he announces that those who don't receive the mark are those who are KEEPING GODS COMMANDMENTS and the faith of Jesus. In other words, the true remnant church of God are those who follow in Jesus' footsteps, and what did Jesus say? ... John 15:10 ...'If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.' ... Are we not to follow Jesus? The sad thing is, the truth of God's law has been cast down by satan and many professing Christians are deceived into thinking that keeping God's Ten Commandments is not important.
Now we know from Revelation 13 that the beast's mark is received either in the forehead or in the hand ... Revelation 13:16 ...'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.' ... There is also another set of people that have a mark on their foreheads ... Revelation 14:1 ...'And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.'
So during the last days we have two sets of people. One with the beast's mark and one with God's name written on their foreheads. Now will these people be walking around with a literal mark on their foreheads, or the name of God actually written on their foreheads? I don't believe so, I believe these marks will be spiritual ones. Remember, the book of Revelation is full of symbolic language. Take the harlot women for instance in Revelation 17:3,5 ...'and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast. And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.' ... Is this going to be a literal prostitute riding a literal beast with those names on her forehead? Of course not, this is symbolic, just like the mark of the beast and the seal of God.
Is there any significance to receiving the mark in the forehead or hand? Yes there is, which we can see from the following Old Testament scripture.
Deuteronomy 6:6-8 .....'And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.'
Deuteronomy 11:8,18 .....'Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it. Therefore shall ye lay up these my 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.'
What does it mean to bind Gods Words, His law upon our hands and foreheads? God wasn't asking them to literally write them on their hands and heads. He wanted them to keep His Commandments in their minds to stop them from sinning.
Did you know that the front of our brain (forehead) is where our thoughts and decisions are made?
The hand represents our actions. So if the people had the mark of Gods law in their hands and foreheads, then it meant that they were keeping Gods law in their minds spiritually, through their thoughts and decisions, the way Jesus taught us, and also in their actions.
Hebrews 10:16 .....'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.'
God would 'seal' His law in the hearts (minds) of His people, and they would be the one's keeping God's ten Commandments and would not be deceived into receiving the mark of the beast.
Isaiah 8:16 .....'Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.'
Remember, Bible prophecy reveals that we would have two groups of people during the end times. One group of people with the seal of God, and the other group with the mark of the beast. In other words, we will have one group who will yield their minds and actions to the beast, and have the beasts mark, and another group that will yield their minds and actions to God and have Gods seal. Or His name spiritually written in their foreheads. To understand this further, we need to find out what the truth is about the name of God. Is it just a set of words, or does it have a deeper meaning to it?
Exodus 34:5-7 .....'And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.'
Do you see the truth about the name of God in the above verses? God proclaimed His Name to Moses on Mount Sinai. But God didn't tell Moses to command people to use certain words for His Name. No, the name that God proclaimed was His CHARACTER! - merciful, gracious, forgiving, longsuffering etc. God reveals that the 'name of the Lord' is His character, Just as Jesus confirmed ... John 17:6 ...'I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.' ... Jesus didn't just go around pronouncing the words of Gods name in the correct way. He displayed and proclaimed Gods character in His life. So now we can see that when it says in Revelation that the one group of people have Gods name in their foreheads, it means that Gods character has become a deep part of their lives, thinking and actions. The same way as the other group of people have given their thoughts and actions to the beast and receive the beasts mark.
As we mentioned earlier, the sea beast of Revelation 13 is the Papal Church of Rome (Roman Catholic Church), and the mark of the beast is the mark of the Roman Catholic Church. Out of interest, let's ask the Roman Catholic Church if they have any kind of "mark" that goes against the law of God.
"As Pope Benedict says, Sunday is not just a suspension of ordinary activities, but a time when 'Christians discover the Eucharistic form that their lives are meant to have.' The way we celebrate Sunday will affect the way we live the remainder of the week and is a mark of Christian identity from generation to generation." (Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, Pastoral Letter, November 20, 2011 - source)
"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 have 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, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority." (Doctrinal Catechism, Rev. Stephen Keenan (Kenedy, New York), p. 174 - source)
"Question. How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days? 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. How prove you that? Answer. Because by keeping Sunday they acknowledge the church's power to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin." (The Douay Catechism, Abridgment of Christian Doctrine (Kenedy, New York), p. 58 - source)
So if the beast is the Papal Church of Rome, what does she say is her "mark" of authority? The Roman Catholic Church believe that changing the Sabbath Day from the seventh day to the first is her "MARK" of authority. The Roman Catholic Church is also the little horn power in Daniel that "thinks to change times and laws" (Daniel 7:25). So this fits with Bible prophecy also.
