David DeRose - God’s Seal or the Beast’s Mark? (Sabbath School Study Hour)

[Music] my friends you know the modern flags that we see flying from the top of Capitol buildings are out in front of patriotic homes really stem back from the times of battles being fought between warring nations these beautifully designed and intricately colored banners were flown high above the battlefields so the warring forces were able to identify amid the chaos and the smoke and the fog of war where their forces were rallied and where they were fighting the battle and if you could capture your enemy's flag it was considered the highest honor wonder if that's where we got the a game capture the flag with the changes in war now these flags also represent a little more of a demarcation and identification of different nationalities today the flags that represent the different nations of the world are very colorful and diverse and all of the colors in the shapes have a specific meaning they're easy to distinguish and recognize from one another but perhaps one of the most interesting flags in the world is the flag of the Philippines this is unique because it is flown differently in times of peace than it is in times of war during times of peace the Filipino flag that's composed of red white blue and yellow is flown with the blue side up but in times of war they flip it around and the red side is up because they're they're willing to make sacrifices of their blood to defend the freedom of the country in the same way that an embassy that is situated in a foreign country flies their flag while still surrounded by another nation Christians are supposed to have the flag of God's love flying in this fallen world you can read in the book Song of Solomon chapter 2 verse 4 his banner over me is love love is the flag that identifies Christians has a unique Kingdom even here in the world so friend the big question is how are you flying your flag [Music] let's face it it's not always easy to understand everything you read in the Bible with over 700,000 words contained in 66 books the Bible can generate a lot of questions to get biblical straightforward answers call into Bible answers live a life nationwide calling radio program where you can talk to pastor Doug Batchelor and ask in your most difficult Bible questions four times and stations in your area or to listen to answers online visit be a at amazing facts RG [Music] welcome to Sabbath school study our I am so excited that you are tuning in our international family our family across North America we are so excited that you have joined us for another Sabbath School study era coming to you from the granite base seventh-day Adventist Church currently located in Rocklin California we are studying together on the end of time and that will be our lesson today lesson number eleven God seal are the beasts mark so stay tuned but before we get into our lesson study we're going to sing and we want you to join us on one of our favorites every week I say it's our favorites because we truly do we have so many favorites and I know that they are yours as well we're going to sing a song that's not in your hymnal but the lyrics are on the big screen here I am Lord and I hope that you pay attention to the words that we're singing Here I am Lord is it I Lord have you called me are you going for God I hope that you will sing with us on this beautiful song you yes [Music] my say [Music] I the size [Music] [Music] I love Lord snow [Music] they they're strong give the boys [Music] here [Music] the wind and say I will [Music] - bread - there [Music] here [Music] thank you so much for joining us and before we have our lesson I'm going to tell you about our free offer that we have for you every week we have something that we encourage you to write call email and now you can text for this it is entitled the mark of the beast and it goes along with our lesson today and it is free offer number 127 all you have to do it's very simple is call eight six six seven eight eight three nine six six which is eight six six steady Lord or you can go to amazing faxes website amazing facts Oh our G and here's the easy one you can tax the code sh zero four nine two four zero five four four once again text the code sh zero four nine two four zero five four four and you can get the mark of the beast' biblical study guide will answer every question that you have ever had about the mark of the beast so go ahead and let us know that you want that and we would love to hear from you father in heaven thank you so much for the opportunity that we have to be here to open up your word and study together on this important topic of the mark of the beast and I pray that you will make her hearts receptive that we will have listening ears and that you will speak to us we thank you so much for our extended family around the world and those that are here with us here at Granite Bay and be with pastor and dr. DeRose and we thank you so much that he is bringing us our lesson study in Jesus name Amen at this time dr. DeRose will be bringing us our lesson well good morning to each one of you we are indeed continuing our study through the lesson the time and it is indeed lesson 11 God seal or the beasts mark God's seal or the beasts mark what do you share when you introduce yourself someone's meeting you for the first time what kind of things do you reveal about yourself I hear some of you saying well your name may be what kind of work you do maybe where you live but typically we don't go through the darker chapters in our life history we wouldn't typically say at a first meeting we're glad to meet you my great grandmother was a prostitute my great-grandfather was a murderer and you get the picture open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 1 some of you may already realize where I'm headed and we'll see how this fits in with our lesson today because it's an unusual way to introduce a book Matthew chapter 1 begins with the genealogy of Jesus and most of you who have looked at this genealogy written by someone who was a publican someone a member of a despised class in Jesus day that's Matthew the gospel writer as he writes this genealogy of Jesus he includes some details that many would no doubt have been tempted to leave out but under inspiration listen to some of the details that Matthew brings out in verse 3 Judah begot Perez and zerah by Tamar Paris begat hezron and hezron begat RAAM RAAM begat a minute AB a minute AB begat nation and nahshon beget salman Salman beget Boaz by Rahab Boaz begat obed by Ruth Obed begat Jesse and Jesse begat David the king David the king begat solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah let's just stop there did you catch over some of the names that were mentioned in this genealogy and by the way those genealogies typically just highlighted the men how many of you noticed some female names in the genealogy yes you heard which ones tame are first in verse 3 did you catch that who was Tamar yes she was the daughter-in-law of Judah who disguised herself as a prostitute you can read the story and her father-in-law went into her and had an incestuous if you will relationship and that was how that lineage dot was completed who else is mentioned here Rahab what was Rahab's profession she was a prostitute you mentioned Ruth Ruth was a Gentile wasn't she right you remember the story you say well Ruth sounds like a little bit nobler class but she was a member of a class that was hated and cursed the Moabites you can read about them in the Bible and how evil they were to God's people and then you have this mention in verse 6 at the end David the king begat solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah whose name is not even mentioned there Bathsheba by the way is this sounding like a peculiar genealogy but it's the genealogy of who Jesus Jesus coming to our world through brokenness through relationships tainted by sin through a heritage that we would say from a human perspective what good can come out of it now why is there a connection between this in our lesson study dealing with God's seal or the beasts mark I would like to suggest to you what we've been studying about in these last lessons is our heritage is our lineage it's not someone else as a Christian Church the lineage of the Christian Church goes through the Church of Rome the medieval Roman Church that we studied about last week right for 1260 years we read how those prophecies were fulfilled in daniel and revelation and the medieval roman church sometimes referred to as the papacy was persecuting God's people this is the lineage of the Christian Church today now do some of you have trouble with that is that really our lineage as Christians now some of you might say well I'm a I'm a in the lineage of the wold NZ's because I'm embracing God's truth but I'm sharing with you the Christian heritage is this and as we come to Revelation 13 we looked at it last week as well as we read about those two beasts and the image to the Beast into the picture as we studied last week this is review comes the Protestantism of America again our heritage and so instead of as we talk about the mark of the beast as pointing to someone else I believe that the Bible in the book of Revelation is wanting us to look very carefully at our own selves yes yes don't misunderstand what I'm saying their traditional posture that we have taken as seventh-day Adventist is correct the presentation in our free offer the mark of the beast is right on target but unfortunately sometimes things in the Bible that have painted historical personages and future personages in a less than desirable light have led Christians to point fingers I think the message today is more necessary than ever before because we're in a world that is very sensitive about using religion to oppress other people so as we speak today about this important topic we are not pointing fingers at any individual or any person who has a certain heritage this is our heritage as Christians that we're looking at well with that background God has been interested in something for his people to share not just a heritage that's marred but to be infused with his heritage his line and his principles in Sunday's lesson we see that God is anxious not only to invite everyone to be his but to seal them but to give them signs that demonstrate their loyalty so the first sign that we're going to look at is actually one that was highlighted in the Old Testament times and it comes to us in a rich rich heritage turning your Bibles to Genesis 16 as we pick up the story line I'm turning to Genesis 16 this is of course the story of Abraham the father of the faithful so again we're speaking about our heritage now in Genesis 16 we read that there was a problem that Abraham had now you say to just jump in here might be unfair and I know these stories are often so familiar but if we were to take the story of Abraham from the beginning we'd start in Genesis 12 and in Genesis 12 the Lord has this promise that he gives Abraham so let's start there just to make sure we're all on the same page Genesis chapter 12 beginning with verse 1 God speaks he says get out of your country speaking to Abraham leave your family leave your father's house go to a land that I will show you I will make you a great nation I will bless you and make your name great you shall be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you and in you all families of the earth shall be blessed now here's the question God was promising to make of Abraham a great nation of course he's referred to as Abraham here but how many are in Abraham's line at this point in the story how many children does Abram have he has none and as the story plays out Abram begins to get more and more worried about his lack of lineage when we come to chapter 15 Abraham is clearly struggling and so in Chapter 15 god again comes to Abram in a vision and he says don't be afraid Abram when do you say to someone don't be afraid when they're afraid that's right don't be afraid Abraham's afraid he's afraid of what listen what God says I am your shield I'm your exceeding great reward but Abram says he reveals what his fear is he says Lord God will you what will you give me seeing I go childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus so he's looking to one of his servants his chief servant he's saying this is who's gonna have to inherit my line Lord but you promised you'd make of me a great nation what does God say verse 4 this one shall not be your heir but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir and so God keeps repeating this promise of an abundant heritage to Abraham well by the time we come to chapter 16 Abraham's really getting worried now by the way I should mention one of the key texts in the Bible is Genesis 15 verse 6 it is one of the key text in the Bible repeated again in the New Testament because in verse 6 of Genesis 15 it says Abram did what he believed God he believed in the Lord he trusted God and God counted it to him for righteousness so we speak about righteousness by faith trusting in God that he'll fulfill his promises and really we're getting at the essence of this issue of god's seal vs. the mark of the beast we're seeing it here in Abraham's story even though we may not be seeing it clearly just yet when we come to chapter 16 now of Genesis what does Abraham do you know the story Abraham still has no children his wife Sarah sees there's no children she actually suggests to Abram in verse 2 of chapter 16 see now the Lord has restrained me from bearing children please go to my maid perhaps I shall obtain children by her now is this crazy I mean it sounds crazy doesn't it to us today but the thing is Sarah believes the promise she believes that Abraham will have children of his own from his own seed and she says well I can't do it she's not really trusting the Lord either is she and so they take matters into their own hands and Abraham does have a child Ishmael now we're in chapter 17 that was all background for where we're headed Abraham now 99 years old and again God appears to him he says I am Almighty God walk before me and be blameless and I will make my covenant between me and you and will multiply your seed exceedingly and as the story plays out God speaks of an everlasting covenant and that covenant will be given not through Ishmael but through a seed that will be born miraculously a child born to Abraham and to Sarah and in this context in this context God says in verse 10 of Genesis 17 this is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and your descendants after you every male child among you shall be circumcised and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between me and you we're gonna have one of our members share a verse in just a moment from Romans chapter 4 but before we do I want you to pick up the significance of what's happening here what has Abraham just done in chapter 16 what has he shown his trust was in his trust was in his flesh right in himself Abraham trusted in his flesh Sara trusted in Abraham's flesh and now what is God asking them to do the sign of the Covenant becomes a cutting off of the flesh now you might say well this is being a little bit too graphic but we need to turn in our Bibles to Romans Romans chapter 4 we have someone who'll be reading that for us momentarily romans 4 11 and 12 and he received the sign of circumcision a seal of the righteousness righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised that he might be the father of all those who believe though they are uncircumcised that righteousness might be imputed to them also and the father of circumcision to those who not only are the circumcision but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised thank you do you catch the picture here abraham was righteous by faith in genesis 15 right and when we get to genesis 17 now god is asking him a sign god is sealing him it's a seal it's a sign of what of righteousness by faith do you catch this it's a sign that he's trusting God he's cutting off his flesh he's saying I'm not rusting and what I can do I'm trusting in God's promise and so God gives us beautiful sign it really is it's a seal as the Apostle Paul put it of what a seal of the righteousness by faith and I'd like to suggest to you the essence of God's seal always includes this element of trusting in him and righteousness by faith not somehow trying to find our righteousness by what we do but righteousness by what by trusting a God who calls us righteous in the midst of our sinfulness right so we can come to God just as we are he's not content to leave us in sin right but he sealed Abraham before Abraham was perfect for the child had even been born it was a sign of Abraham's trust in the father so we see this seal but what's crazy about this outward seal is what happened to it what was the history of the Jewish nation by the time we come to the book of Galatians turn there the Jews had so perverted this sign this seal of cutting off of the flesh of not depending on the flesh and trusting in God that they began to trust in the sign that it was a sign that they didn't trust in their flesh does that make any sense at all you say you just said that way too quickly how could it make sense to anybody do you catch it God was saying you're cutting off the flesh you're not trusting in the flesh it's a sign of righteousness by faith and the Jews are going around saying we are good because we are the circumcised we're God's people we are trusting in our flesh in so many words look with me at Galatians it had gotten so bad the church had become so polarized the early church and some were thinking they had to be circumcised to be saved Paul put it this way in Galatians chapter 5 verse 2 indeed I Paul say to you that if you become circumcised Christ will profit you nothing now wait a minute how could that happen how could circumcision go from a sign or a seal of righteousness by faith to a sign that someone was not trusting in God yes because of tradition and because of a misinterpretation of the good thing that God had given now this is really crazy when you think about it God gives a seal or a sign of righteousness by faith and his people can pervert it into a sign that becomes identified with showing our own righteousness by our works now this is a sobering thought as we continue this study because this theme does not stop as we continue to look at this topic of sealing Sundays lesson doesn't stop with that seal because in the New Testament there is another seal another sign that takes the place of circumcision if you will circumcision is set aside as the sign of the Covenant as a sign of righteousness by faith and in its place is the sign of baptism turn in your Bible to another of Paul's letters this time we're going to Romans and again we want to catch this the significance of baptism in Romans chapter 6 Romans chapter 6 there are a number of passages that are mentioned in the lesson study but let's highlight this one in particular Romans 6 we could begin well begin with verse 1 we probably should just in case you've misunderstood anything I've said to this point Romans 6 1 begins with a question what shall we say then shall we continue in sin that grace may abound so by speaking about grace and righteousness by faith we're not setting aside God's law in fact Paul makes it quite emphatic here he says we condoning sin his answer to that rhetorical question shall we continue in sin that grace may abound verse 2 certainly not how shall we who died to sin live any longer in it and then he speaks about this sign or this seal now of baptism or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life so you get the picture here so now our sign of dying to self of identifying with Christ's death is baptism so we go into the watery grave in Baptism we're fully immersed where we die and then we're resurrected up right that beautiful symbolism and by the way if you haven't been baptized with Bible baptism this is a reminder that this is something that God has put his approval on and be sure to talk with one of the elders or one of the pastor's here because this is something that God asks of his people you say well wait a minute if he asks something of us have yes circumcision of them in the Old Testament then surely at some worth that must save us no Jesus is complete Paul wrote you are complete in him it's not in our lineage that we trust it's not in the signs that we embrace although God uses those it's in trusting a loving father we've thought about it that way so think about it are there people that will be in the kingdom that have never had water baptism you know Jesus went through every step the sinner needed to do and not only was Jesus setting an example there at the Jordan when John baptized him I believe that Jesus was providing a sufficient record that can be assumed by anyone who is in a situation where they can't be baptized maybe in an unusual prison setting or maybe on a cross like that thief who died beside Jesus no opportunity to be baptized was there but Jesus did want he gave them him the assurance of salvation why because he trusted in him so God has used signs of the Covenant throughout history but there are other signs that mark people and to whose they are we're going to have a scripture reading from the book of Revelation in just a moment from revelation 13 verses 16 and 17 but before we go there just a reminder we've been looking at a drama as the book of Revelation has been playing out and by the way lest we miss something lest we miss something some of you think I've been taking liberty with saying the heritage of some of these powers in Romans 13 as a heritage we all need to to own but turn your Bibles to Revelation chapter 3 those of you who've studied the book of Revelation realized that among the parallel prophecies time prophecies in the Bible are the prophecies of the seven churches which by the way are actually literal messages to seven literal churches in John's day but they're also prophetic descriptions of Ages of church history and if you study out the seals it parallels this very precisely and as you read through revelation two and three in these letters to the seven churches when we come to the seventh Church Bible scholars for decades have realized this refers to the last Christian Church era when we come to that last or the seventh Church which is known as the Church of Laodicea so go with me there to Revelation chapter 3 verse 14 it says these things says the Amen the faithful and the true witness the beginning of the creation of God these are all descriptors of Jesus who was revealed to John chapter one and here's the words of Jesus verse 15 I know your works that you are neither cold nor hot oh I could wish you were cold or hot so then because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot I will vomit you out of my mouth because you say I'm rich I've become wealthy and have need of nothing and do not know that your wretched miserable poor blind and naked I counsel you to buy of me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich in white garments that you may be clothed that the shame of your nakedness bent they may not be revealed and anoint your eyes with eyesalve that you may see as many as I love I rebuke and chasten and then what is the message what is a summary of that message to the endtime Church be zealous and repent so basically as we read through the book of Revelation it's not we're putting down a group of people or a church or a church system that we're putting these people down anyone connected with it and we're supposed to walk proudly because we have the seal of God as we'll look at a little bit later another of God's seals but it's realizing that we all need to examine ourselves the book is the revelation of what of Jesus it's not a revelation of how good his people are it's a revelation of how good Jesus is and the ones who stand complete will see are the ones who stand complete because they are hidden in Jesus hidden in Jesus revelation 13 brings into focus just one of the places it brings into focus the mark that Satan if you will has in Satan's Kingdom we have someone who's gonna read for us revelation 13 verses 16 and 17 and he causes all both small and great rich and poor free and slave to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name so again this is a bit of review but it's critical for today's topic we looked last week at the identity of the bee and we saw that it that first beast power in Revelation 13 applies with particular force to the medieval Roman Church sometimes referred to as the institution of the papacy and it's rightly been pointed out and we've tried to allude to this already that this is not speaking about individuals in that church it's not speaking about any individual Pope it's speaking about a system there's Pastor John so clearly portrayed last week is a system that historically has set itself in opposition to God's principles it is really a a system if you will that has trusted in its own judgment in its own flesh right there is in contrast to that seal that's sign of allegiance to the Beast that is a sign of allegiance to God and in the end times what is highlight in the book of Revelation is not circumcision that's been set aside baptism although it's still reinforced in the New Testament that is not the identifiable seal that is especially highlighted in the book of Revelation we want to look at a very interesting verse and someone has this scripture for us as well because we're going to find that there's an internal seal as well as an external seal and both of these go hand-in-hand that internal seal again is described very clearly in the writings of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Church of Ephesus someone's going to read for us in just a moment from Ephesus the letter to the Ephesians chapter 1 verses 13 and 14 Ephesians 1:13 and 14 in in him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and whom also having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory so the book of Ephesians is writing again to a polarized church case of you to go back in history by the way Ephesus is the first Church mentioned in the book of Revelation it is one of those seven churches identified so it would be in what we would call Turkey today and as Paul was writing to this Christian Church there was a lot of tension between Jews and Gentiles so in the book of Ephesians Paul is speaking of how Christ makes us all one we're all one in him and some of the most beautiful expressions of salvation are found in Ephesians chapter two about God who is rich in mercy not looking to us for what we've done look at there Ephesians two verse verse four let's just read some of these verses feegans to beginning with verse four God who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses so what ours our situation our lineage and our own behavior condemns us okay we have nothing to boast in but God is what rich in mercy now many people aspire to have wealth in our culture right but how many people really aspire to be rich in the things that are of most value how many of you aspire to be rich in mercy rich in mercy this is the characteristic of our Father he's rich in mercy and it says his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses so how do you feel today are you seeing yourself dead in trespasses do you see your sin before you the Bible often paints that picture to us and it's not to drive us into the dirt it's to help us realize that we have a loving father who forgives all of us who have trespassed greatly isn't that good news and so Paul here and this letter is establishing our faith he's establishing it on Jesus he made us alive I'm continuing verse 5 of Ephesians 2 we were made alive together with Christ he's raised to some together he's made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus but in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of His grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast but Paul doesn't stop there many Christians would like to stop right there but he continues in verse 10 for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them so coming back to Ephesians 1 that we just heard read in Ephesians 1 God speaks of a redeemed people that are sealed internally and they are sealed how with the Holy Spirit of promise how can we live the kind of lives that God wants us to live it said we just read it we're called in Jesus to good works we're not saved by our works but we're called to live in harmony with God's loving principles what's the longest chapter in the Bible psalm 119 that's right what is psalm 119 all about it's the psalmist rejoicing and how much he loves the law now it's true the law points to our need for a savior the law drives us to Jesus but once we're there the law has not ceased it's another important purpose and that is revealing God's character we see in the law God's loving character we see what it looks like to love God with all our heart mind and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves and so it should come as no surprise as we're looking at this topic from this perspective that the seal of God as identified in the book of Revelation is a surprising one to some Christians so go back with me to Revelation 13 we just read not long ago from revelation 13 about the mark or the seal of a power that sets itself in opposition to God in his people but now we come to Revelation 14 and someone in just a moment is going to read how just right after this mark of the beast is described we have the mark or the seal of God referred to so Revelation chapter 14 and verse 1 then I looked and behold a lamb standing on Mount Zion and with him 144,000 having his father's name written on their foreheads so there is something in verse 16 of Revelation 13 that's on the foreheads of those who are identified with the beast powers and there is something on the forehead of those who are identified with God what is this on the forehead of those who have trusted in Jesus what's on their foreheads well it's a sealing it's the name do you see it there revelation 14:1 the father's name is on their foreheads now turn your Bibles to Exodus 34 just to remind you of something God's name is synonymous with his character when we speak about the name of God we're speaking about God's character the righteous are sealed with God's character Exodus 34 you know that Moses was longing for a revelation a fuller revelation of God he asked God to see him and revel a excuse-me in Exodus 34 verse 5 Exodus 34 verse 5 we read this now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him with Moses there and proclaimed what the name of the Lord so God is now going to proclaim gonna just say Jehovah Jehovah Jehovah is that what we're gonna hear he's gonna proclaim the name of the Lord what are we gonna hear look what it says verse 6 the Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord yes there is that Holy Name of God Jehovah Yahweh the Lord God continues merciful and gracious long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth keeping mercy for thousands forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin by no means clearing the guilty visiting the iniquities of the father's upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation now we like the first part of we say it's a beautiful character loving merciful kind but by the way do we appreciate to appreciate the character of someone who overlooks atrocities someone who overlooks things that bit harm us God is going to purify the planet and those that cling to sin will lovingly be put out of their misery before the conclusion of all time what is the seal of God it's God's character and it's especially represented it's especially embodied in God's law and Wednesday and Thursdays lesson Thursday in particular it speaks of the Sabbath as a seal by the way I don't know if you picked up on it but when we read that met that message to the last Church in Revelation chapter 3 how was one of the ways that Jesus was identified did you pick up on it it says he's the beginning of the creation of God he is the source of creation so the Laodicean church the endtime Church has a revelation of Jesus as creator look now with me at Exodus chapter 20 because we just want to remind ourselves of something that is basically pointed to as we look at God's endtime seal Exodus chapter 20 they're familiar words but as we read in the heart of the commandment God's special sign the Sabbath it says there in verse 11 for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth the sea and all that in them is and he rested the seventh day therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it now think about this for a minute think about this for a minute as we come to the book of Revelation as we've been looking at God's endtime people a people that trust him fully that have absolute confidence in the father one of the things they're doing is they're representing God's character and as we read about the seal of God in multiple places by the way you could look back as far as revelation 7 you'd see a seal there a sealing work is taking place in Revelation chapter 7 as you read on you read about a sealing work taking place in Revelation 14 we just looked at it in contrast to those who receive the mark of the beast as that third angel's message is given we read in Revelation 14:12 here is the patience of the saints here are those who do what keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus we're called to worship the creator in the last days and the sign of the creator's authority is the Sabbath God is wanting to place his seal on our foreheads that is basically in our minds you read about a mark of the beast on the hand and on the forehead by the way and we'll mention this again just before we finish this study the mark of the beast that we have is the free offer goes into great detail and all these things if you're wondering how to connect all the dots but this point is simply this whether we accept this seal of uniting with the beast power the powers that are in opposition if you will to God and the hand in the Bible is a symbol of our works the mind our thoughts whether we're deceived and go along with the endtime powers in opposition to God or whether we act in harmony with those powers for fear of economic boycott or life itself we bear the mark of the authority of the earthly powers the trust in themselves to quote do God's will in contrast we have a choice will we bear God's seal we allow his holy spirit to put his character in our lives and to embrace his law which is his character represented and especially in the heart of the law is the seventh-day Sabbath it is our sign that we are his now lest again coming back to that opening imagery lest we somehow think this is a reason to be proud that we are keeping the Sabbath that we're here on church on the seventh day on Saturday lest we are proud of ourselves if we trust in our Sabbath keeping we're just as lost as the Jews who trusted in their circumcision our trust is where our trust is in Jesus and we keep the Sabbath as a sign of our loyalty to the loving Savior who saved us do you see how that comes through God's last-day message calls for his people to come out of Babylon we're entrusted to give that message to a world many of whom don't understand many wonderful Christians don't realize this special endtime sign do you want to learn more about it our closing offer goes into much more detail than we've been able to touch on here and if you're disappointed with what I didn't cover get the special offer the mark of the beast it is offer 127 you can get it by calling our toll-free number that's eight six six seven eight eight three nine six six simply eight six six study more or you can text the code sh 0 4 9 and you would text that to the number four zero five four four so text sh zero four nine two four zero five four four and we can get you an electronic copy of the amazing fact study guide entitled the mark of the beast well thank you for joining us today by God's grace we'll be back again together next week studying more about the endtime I invite you to join us then can't get enough amazing facts Bible study you don't have to wait until next week to enjoy more truth filled programming visit the amazing facts media library at aft vor G at aft vor G you can enjoy video and audio presentations as well as printed material all free of charge 24 hours a day seven days a week right from your computer or mobile device visit aft vo RG [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] get up this is what God wants you to experience Christ your sins are washed away to become a new creature if a lad loved me living together how many ways you do this for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat in as much as you do it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to me [Music] [Music] we're here in Ponce a puerto rico in an iguana park surrounded by big lizards or small dinosaurs depends on how you look at it these magnificent creatures are found mostly in Mexico Central America and South America and the Caribbean islands here's a few amazing facts about iguanas iguanas come in a great spectrum of colors they can be brown green blue and their skin will often work as camouflage lousing them to hide in the jungle they're social creatures who like to eat together and what's really interesting even though they look fierce iguanas are vegan vegetarians they're regarded as popular pets though if they're not cared for they can actually just stop eating and will themselves to die typically iguanas just lay eggs and they abandon their offspring so those little iguanas have to fend for themselves from the time they're born if they're attacked they'll fight with their tail either punching or whipping their opponent it's interesting to see a dog running for mercy after being whipped by an iguana also to ensure a fast escape they can detach their tail and later grow another one iguanas generally like to live around water and they can swim away escaping from predators marine iguanas in particular are excellent swimmers they have the ability to inflate themselves and swim incredible distances this is one way they've been able to populate the different islands of the Caribbean what's incredible is these creatures have lungs where they're able to hold their breath for up to 28 minutes putting even a crocodile to shame they also know how to compensate for when things get hot or cold they can regulate their body temperature using the loose flaps of skin they have under their throats and under their legs you might even say an iguana has ESP because God made them was sort of a third eye on top of their head they can't really see with it but it's a photoreceptor that helps them to regulate their body circadian rhythms you know in the same way that God made iguanas were there some of the toughest creatures in God's natural kingdom Christians need to learn to be in the spiritual realm through God's grace we can learn to be great survivors Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 4 verse 8 and 9 we are hard pressed on every side yet not crushed we are perplexed but not in despair persecuted but not forsaken struck down but not destroyed I thank friends we all know sometimes life can be tough we feel like we're being beaten pressed on every side sometimes as health problems relationship problems financial reverses but in the same way God made the iguana resilient God can help you to bounce back jesus said that through his help we can be overcomers and we are able to endure if you turn to Him and ask him for his help and his spirit he will recreate you and make you even tougher than an iguana what did you like to ask him now [Music]

Channel: SDA Burgas

Views: 9,569

Rating: 4.5625 out of 5

Keywords: david, derose, God, seal, beast, mark, sabbath, school, study, hour, sda, burgas, seventh, day, adventist, amazing, facts

Id: MhmqspJwrVM

Length: 58min 30sec (3510 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 06 2018