Mark of The Beast War On Worship (What's the Real Truth?)

the final conflict in this age-long controversy between good and evil is over worship when lucifer rebelled against god in heaven the issue was is god worthy to be worshipped that was the central issue in that conflict a rebel angel challenged the government of god and this revel angel claimed that god's commands were arbitrary that they couldn't be obeyed so the devil began to sow his lies he began to sow his disaffection does god really have the the angelic being's best interest in view is god really loving isn't god a vindictive judge and a wrathful tyrant satan began to sow those lies in heaven that god was authoritarian that god's law could not be kept that god did not have the best interest of his creatures in view now in every generation the evil one has led men and women to disobey god he led a third of the angels to disobey god and they were cast out of heaven he led adam and eve to disobey god and they were cast out of eden but you think about the fact of adam and eve in eden could it be possible that once it isn't god rather narrow because didn't god say to them you shouldn't need of that tree and wasn't that just a little thing you look at it the other way they could eat of every tree of the garden every single one god gave them and so god was not restrictive at all when it came to the freedom that they had of eating the trees of the garden but that one tree revealed a test a test of their loyalty a test of their obedience would they be obedient to god in every generation faith in god always leads to obedience trust in god always leads to keeping god's commandments but you look at israel worshiping around the golden calf again the issue is obedience or disobedience you look at elijah on mount carmel where he calls down fire from heaven to consume the altar where the prophets of baal entered into their disobedience to god so in every generation the test has been the same will we be faithful to god and obey him as he's outlined in his word as a symbol of our trust and loyalty to god so it shouldn't surprise us that in the book of revelation the final book of the bible that as earth comes to its climactic close as we come focusing on the last days of verse history the issue again would be worship the issue again would focus on loyalty to god and loving god enough to obey god revelation 12 verse 17 would you read it together with me please and the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of god and have the testimony of jesus christ so the dragon who's the dragon how do you know that well the earlier in the chapter it says and the dragon is what satan so the dragon is roth what's wroth mean what's another word for wrong angry so the devil is angry with the woman in bible prophecy a pure chaste woman represents what the church so the devil is angry with the church goes to make war did he make war in heaven yes will we make war with god's last state church with the remnant of her seed what is a remnant a remnant is the last part of a bolt of cloth that's left over that's exactly like the original so if you are making a tie like this tie and you want to give pastor martin a matching tie you have to look for the remnant of this bolt of cloth that's exactly like the original so god would have a remnant a last day people and how are they characterized they keep the commandments of god and have the testimony of jesus christ so if you're looking for god's remnant his last day church you look for a people that love christ enough to obey him including all of his commandments they may not be the largest group in the community they may not be the largest church in the community they may not be in the majority at all but truth never subjects itself to a majority truth is not a popularity contrast truth is truth whether a pastor believes it whether a rabbi believes it whether a priest believes it truth can stand on its own two legs right so here is an end time conflict a last day war we find this also in revelation 17 verse 12 to 14 the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom yet notice how the bible explains itself what are the ten what are the ten horns represent on this beast in revelation chapter 17 ten kings or kingdoms what will happen though these kingdoms will receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast these are of one mind and they'll give their power and authority to the beast so the beast rising in revelation 13 as i shall show a little later if many of you are aware is the papacy so here the bible is very clear that the kingdoms of this earth political powers will unite with the beast power a religious power these are of one mind at a time when the earth is in calamity and crisis when there's an economic crisis a political crisis where there's natural disasters these are of one mind they unite they give their power and authority to the beast these will make war with the lamb did we read about satan making war with god's last day church in revelation 12 17. did you read that now we're reading about the fact of how that war takes place political powers and religious powers unite these will make war with the lamb but the lamb will what overcome them for he is lord of lords and king of kings and those that are with him are what called chosen and faithful god has called you by his holy spirit you are chosen by god and god invites us to remain faithful to him but think about it he what a picture in revelation here's a dragon and this dragon is huge and he's got claws and teeth and this dragon's breathing out fire and here's a little lamb and the dragon fights against the lamb now if you were logically thinking who would win who would you think would win if a dragon is fighting against the lamb who'd you think would win the dragon but who wins in this battle the lamb battle although it appears that god's people will be attacked oppressed persecuted and even killed the incredible good news is that with jesus we're going to be victorious with jesus we are going to triumph at last now in the last days god is going to demonstrate that his glorious commands are always for our best good in these last days we come to a crisis point we come to a focal point where every human being will have to make their final irrevocable choice that's why revelation 22 ends he that is righteous let him be righteous still he that is holy let him be holy still he that is unrighteous let him be unrighteous still and he that is unholy let him be unholy still so there are only two classes at the time at the end right now there are those that are totally for god those that are totally against god and there's a lot of people on the fence they haven't made a full decision yet there are those that are living in harmony with bible truth but there are faithful christians that are committed to christ but they just don't know the entirety of god's word so here in the last days god's word is shining forth to men and women of every religious denomination and those of not religious denominations too and god's word is enlightening them thousands are coming to accept god's final truth the book of revelation focuses on this end time battle between the lamb of god and the dragon revelation's main theme is the lamb of god and his triumph over all the forces of evil jesus will defeat the principalities and powers of hell the forces of evil will be crushed like james russell lowell put it so beautifully in his poem truth forever on the scaffold wrong forever on the throne yet that scaffold sways the future and beyond the dim unknown stands god keeping watch above his own so it may appear at times that the devil's winning in this battle it may appear that the righteous are oppressed persecuted and they will be cast into prison some of them may be martyrs it may appear in this long conflict of evil down through the centuries that satan is winning but the incredible good news is that we are on the winning team and that the lamb of god is going to triumph over the principalities and powers of hell revelation speaks of an end time conflict a union of church and state powers that calls god's end-time people to trust him in the face of overwhelming odds so sometimes god allows us to have tests in our life now sometimes god allows us to go through dark valleys in our life now sometimes god allows us to go through trials why because he is preparing us for the great test in the future he's preparing us for what is going to break upon this world as an overwhelming surprise when church and state ultimately unite and when civil laws claim that those that do not stand are disobedient to the government and will face oppression and persecution so sometimes god allows us to go through difficulties now in our lives so that we'll develop greater faith so we'll develop greater confidence in god the central issue regarding the mark of the beast is over worship now let me show you that in the book of revelation revelation 14 verse 7 says fear god that's respect have reverence be loyal to obey give glory to god in your lifestyle the hour of his judgment has come and has come and worship him who made heaven earth the sea in the springs of water do you see the expression who made heaven earth sea in the springs of water this expression is an exact quote word for word from the fourth commandment the sabbath commandment remember the sabbath day to keep it holy six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work but the seventh day is the sabbath of the lord thy god why should i keep it for in six days the lord made heaven and earth the sea in the springs of water so when you read this it's a call to worship the creator the one that made it's a direct quote from the fourth commandment the sabbath commandment so but we keep we worship the creator by keeping the sabbath now in verse nine we find in distinction in opposition to that revelation 14 9 then a third angel followed them saying with a loud voice if anyone worships the beast in his image and receives his mark in his forehead or in his hand he himself shall drink of the wine of the wrath of god in revelation 15 1-2 it says the wrath of god is filled up in the seven last plagues that's not something we want is it certainly not now notice there are two worships here revelation 14 7 says to worship the creator revelation 14 9 says do not worship the beast now if indeed there is coming a conflict over worshiping the creator and worshiping the beast if that conflict is coming as outlined in revelation wouldn't god make it abundantly plain what it means to worship the creator and what it means to worship the beast wouldn't god make that abundantly plain if those issues are so critical if those issues are so important do you think god would leave that in the bible a little bit foggy so people didn't know what the mark of the beast is and then they'd receive the seven last plagues or do you think god would make it abundantly plain he has now notice in opposition to those that receive the mark of the beast it says in revelation 14 verse 12 here is the patience of the saints that word saints means believers patience is endurance these people have hung on they've not accepted falsehood they've not accepted the mark of the beast here are those that keep the commandments of god in the faith of jesus or to make it simple let's diagram it this way revelation 14 7 says what worship the creator revelation 14 9 says what don't worship the beast revelation 14 12 says to do what keep the commandments of god and the faith of jesus the only way you can keep the commandments of god is if you have the faith of jesus so those who worship the creator are those that are keeping the commandments of god so the issue has to do with worship what is the only commandment in all the bible that has to do with worship it's the fourth commandment the sabbath commandment right there's none other that have to do with worship so here you have clarity in the book of revelation itself that the issue of the mark of the beast has to do with worship and it has to do with false worship and a false sabbath rather than the true worship of the true sabbath the angels flying in the book of revelation urgently warn all humanity about this area of true worship now let's go back and look at this beast power try to discover something about the beast then the mark of the beast then something about god's mark the seal of god in the book of revelation chapter 13 verse 1 the bible says and i saw another beast rising up out of the sea having seven heads and ten horns and upon his horns ten crowns and upon the crowns the name of blasphemy and the beast which i saw was like unto his leopard his feet were like the feet of a bear his mouth like the mouth of a lion and the dragon gave him his power his seat and great authority and all the world wandered after the beast and they worshipped the dragon that gave power unto the beast and they worshipped the beast saying who is like unto the beast now notice there what the scripture says it describes this beast in revelation 13 and i've just quoted about the first three or four verses it says that this beast came up out of the sea now in the bible according to revelation 17 verse 15 the sea represents peoples nations tongues so it's it's peoples so this beast arises in a very populated area in the bible a beast represents a king or a kingdom it could be a political or religious kingdom since this beast is worshipped it must be a religious political power but notice something about it he says it's like a lion it's like a bear it's like a leopard we know those symbols from daniel babylon media persia greece and then it says the dragon gave him his power his secret authority the dragon in revelation 12 represents satan but the dragon always works through an earthly power remember it was the dragon pagan rome that worked through the the dragon the devil worked through pagan rome to kill jesus when he was born roman soldiers nailed jesus to the cross it was a roman seal upon the tomb of christ so the dr the dragon in revelation 13 that gives civil power to this new power this dragon would obviously represent satan working through pagan rome so we know one notice one thing about this beast power this religious political power it has to rise in rome we also notice that it becomes a worldwide system of worship we notice that because the text itself says that we notice also that it's described as a blasphemous power now often people think of blasphemy as some power that denies the existence of god but how does the bible itself describe blasphemy it says here in revelation 13 6 about this power that he opened his mouth to blaspheme against god to blaspheme his name his tabernacle and those that dwell in heaven what would it mean to blaspheme against god what it would mean to blaspheme against his name it would mean that one would consider himself equal to god what about his tabernacle how do you blaspheme god's tabernacle what what is in god's tabernacle well it's the ark of the covenant what's in the ark of the covenant the law of god so to blaspheme his his name would be to consider oneself equal with god and you must consider yourself equal with god if you try to change god's law in the heart of his tabernacle and those that dwell in heaven how do you blaspheme those that dwell in heaven well you create images and you create idols and so what it what the what is blasphemy how does the bible describe blasphemy um we find this blasphemy again in revelation 17 verse 13. so he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness i saw a woman this is the false church not the true one sitting on a scarlet colored beast so beast representing the state powers woman representing the church powers the church guiding the state full of the names of blasphemy having seven heads and ten horns in the bible you'll find that the jewish leaders one time accused jesus of blasphemy they accused jesus of blasphemy well why did they accuse jesus of blasphemy because he claimed equality with god and he claimed he could forgive sins the bible says that john 10 33 the jews answered him saying for a good work we do not stone you but for blasphemy because and because you being a man make made yourself god so when a human being claims equality with god the definition of that in the bible is what blasphemy now was jesus a blasphemer was he not at all why wasn't jesus a blasphemer because he was god right he was equal with the father he came to earth he said if you've seen me you've seen the father so so what is blasphemy blasphemy then is taking the privileges and prerogatives of god jesus claims were true but when a mortal human being claims the privileges and prerogatives of god as an equal then that is what blasphemy now also there's another definition of blasphemy in luke 5 21 the scribes and the pharisees began to reason saying who is this who speaks blasphemies who can forgive sins but god alone is god the only one that can forgive sins is he so if a human being claims the power to forgive sins that according to the bible is what blasphemy now the bible gives you two examples of blasphemy if any man pretends to be or claims to be god or if any man claims the power to forgive sins so the question we have to ask then is was there a religious political power that rose out of rome that claimed universal worship that is spread all over the world whose leader claims that he is equal with god or who claims that he can forgive sins the roman church has two distinctive doctrines which the bible calls blasphemy the roman church claims that the power of forgiveness or absolution is vested in her priests by christ himself here's what the church believes it believes that when christ gives the ability to forgive sins he gives that through the church through the priest so there's no direct forgiveness directly in jesus now our message this afternoon obviously is a very clear and a very plain message i was brought up in a lovely roman catholic home i knew nothing about these truths until later in my life when i was 17 years old and began to study the great prophecies of the bible attended meetings like this and it changed my life totally radically transformed it when the bible talks about the beast of revelation 13 it's not talking about a man or a person there are many lovely roman catholics who god is speaking to and he's calling them out but it's dealing with a system a system does the church claim by its priests the ability to forgive sins i'm quoting one of the most famous catholic authors here and it says and he says in this book that has the imprimatur of the pope of rome he says this is what our catholic friends say seek where you will through heaven and earth and you will find but one created being who can forgive the sinner who can free him from the chains of hell that extraordinary being is the priest the catholic priest who can forgive sins except god was the question which the pharisees sneeringly asked who can forgive sins i'm still quoting is the question which the pharisees of the present day also ask and i answer there is a man on earth who can forgive sins and that man is the catholic priest this is michael mueller's book the catholic priest printed in baltimore in 1876 page 78 and 79. so he's claiming that i'm so thankful for what the bible says would you read this with me please first timothy chapter 2 verse 5. reading together for there is one god and one mediator between god and man the man christ jesus who gave himself a ransom for all thank god we need a priest thank god we have a priest and our priest is jesus we can come to god not through an earthly priest not through an earthly intercessor not through an earthly intermediator why do we need jesus as our only priest well since the priest himself is a sinful human being he cannot be our mediator because he also needs a mediator right but we have an intercessor we have a mediator we have the lord jesus christ now there was an article written in the los angeles times wednesday december 12 1984 and sanchez the time staff writer headlined the article this way because the pope had come out and said there's no forgiveness directly from god the pope says this was the headline of the article and the pope made this point he said if you want forgiveness you have to come to the priest because all forgiveness from heaven flows through the church through the priest to the believer so that's the understanding that there is no forgiveness directly from god revelation 13 talks about a power that would claim the authority of god but jesus says in first john chapter one that's verse nine he if we confess our sins he christ is faithful and just to forgive us our sins to cleanse us from all unrighteousness you and i can kneel by our bed we can pour out our hearts to god we can know that he will forgive us we can know that the burden of guilt will be gone we can know that our sins are forgiven we can know that there is no condemnation to those that are in christ jesus we need a sacrifice not the sacrifice of the mass but the sacrifice of jesus christ on calvary's cross we need a priest not an earthly priest but jesus our heavenly priest and in christ we have all we need in christ we have forgiveness in christ we have mercy in christ we have grace in christ we have freedom from condemnation in christ we have power to overcome the sins that shackle us the earthly sacrifice of the mass can never substitute for the atonement provided by christ he indeed is the only one that can forgive our sins jesus walked this earth he walked the dusty streets of gavel galilee walked the cobblestone streets of jerusalem here this this christ faced every possible temptation that satan could throw at him and he came off victorious he is our perfect sacrifice he indeed is our perfect savior he is our perfect high priest he is the only one that can truly represent god on earth does the papal power claim the authority of god look here's another statement by a roman catholic author establishing what he believes the authority of the pope of rome the pope is of so great dignity this catholic author says and so exalted that he's not a mere man but as it were god and the vicar of god hence the pope is crowned with a triple crown as king of heaven of earth and of lower regions the pope is as it were god on earth now this is not a protestant author speaking this is a this is a catholic author who's describing the pope chief king of kings to whom has been entrusted by the omnipotent god direction of the heavenly kingdom this comes from lucius ferris in an article papa in the prompt of biblica that comes out of venice italy this is the official description of the pope by the church itself now pope leo the 13th urged complete submission and obedience to the will of the church and to the roman pontiff as to god himself that was the great encyclical letter pope leo the 13th published in 1903. i was interested in this statement too by leo the 13th uh issued in another encyclical letter june 20 1894 from the vatican he said we the popes hold upon this earth the place of god almighty so we see that the beast power of revelation 13 when we're looking at that gets its authority from pagan rome we also see that it becomes a worldwide system of worship we also see that it fits into this description of blasphemy now first thessalonians chapter 2 verse 3 and 4 will mean a lot more to us now in the light of revelation 13. let no one deceive you by any means in other words don't be deceived for that day that's christ's second coming will not come unless the falling away that's the apostasy the drifting from truth comes first and the man of sin is revealed the son of perdition the word sin there is lawlessness the man of lawlessness the son of perdition who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called god or that is worship now notice so that he sits as god in the temple of god showing himself that he is god so the apostle paul says that this apostasy is going to take place there'll be a drift from god's plan and his purposes and we will see this apostasy taking place just before the end in a variety of symbols all pointing to the same conclusion the roman church is identified as the beast power of revelation 13 and revelation 14. it received the seat of its government from pagan rome its leader claimed authority of god its priests claimed the divine right to forgive sins revelation 13 verse 5 though gives us some mathematical proof he the beast was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies he was given authority to continue 42 months what is this all about he's given continue authority to continue 42 months in the bible a day equals a day when you read six days of creation god rested the seventh it's a literal 24-hour period but when you read the prophecies of daniel and the prophecies of revelation and there are symbolic beasts that are used then the time periods are symbolic as well so when it talks about 42 months what's that talking about in scripture each prophetic day equals one literal year and we read that throughout scripture so when you look at bible prophecy one prophetic day equals a year we find that numbers 14 verse 34 israel goes up to spy out the land in 40 days god says for every day that you spite out the land he predicts they'd wander in the wilderness 40 years they did then as in a prophecy in ezekiel chapter 4 verse 6 read it together with me i've appointed let's read it together i've appointed thee each day for a year so in prophecy one prophetic day equals a literal year so then how long would this 42-month period be well in ancient times there were 30 days in a literal month and if you look at 42 times 30 you get 1260 prophetic days or 260 literal years how does the papacy fit into that in the ancient calendars also the egyptians the hindus the assyrians the hebrews they all had 360 days per year it was later that they added days to catch that up never changing the cycle of the week of course constantine legal legalized christianity in the fourth century so there in the days of constantine 321 a.d the pagan roman emperor became a christian and he legalized christianity as he did that church and state united from 321 a.d to 538 a.d the christian church gained power particularly the papacy gained power constantine became very concerned with the empire that was falling apart so the barbarian tribes were coming down from the north and what constantine did was he moved his capital from rome to turkey and he named the capital constantinople we call it istanbul today and so that's where he changed it by the time when constantine moved his capital in ad 330 it left a leadership vacuum in rome the pope of rome became the leading figure in the roman empire by 538 a.d all of the pagan tribes that had ward against rome were either defeated the last of those tribes was the ostrogoths and so in 538 the pope had then filled the void he became not only a powerful religious leader but a powerful political force to be reckoned with in europe in 538 a.d justinian who was the pagan roman emperor extremely weak at the time officially granted the roman bishop and you can read this in history the role of defender of empire the definer of heretics the defender of the faith the last of the barbarian tribes the ostrogoths were defeated so in 538 you have the beginning of the 1260 years many people have said this is the beginning of the dark ages the beginning of the middle ages from 538 1260 years later you have 1798. now during these dark ages the papacy ill exercised great influence toward the end of the dark ages you have the reformation that's beginning to take place but what happened in 1798 what was the significance of that year in 1798 this prediction was fulfilled revelation 13 10 he who leads into captivity shall what shall what go into captivity in 1798 napoleon looked to the south and there he saw general he he there he commissioned general berthier because there in the south he saw the pope of rome getting stronger and so napoleon was concerned 1798 he sent down general berthier who took the pope of rome captive and the pope of rome died in captivity pope pius vi died in exile the next year in valencia in france in 1799. now it's really a remarkable how the bible is so accurate it describes in revelation 13 that a power would rise out of rome the papacy did it describes how this would become a worldwide system of worship it did it describes how that it would be a power that claimed the authority with god and the ability to forgive sins that exactly happened it claimed as well in revelation that this power would last for 1260 years mathematical proof 59538-1798 so we see these prophecies indeed fulfilled but then the bible says in revelation 13 verse 12 that the deadly wound would be what healed so we would see then the papacy rising to international international popularity we would see after 1798 throughout the 1800s 1900s the 21st century the pope of rome the deadly wound would be healed he would be jetting around the world welcomed by tens of thousands and we see that being fulfilled in countries around the world today where presidents and kings and queens and princesses meet the pope of rome he came to the united states president obama met him there and and we see him not only in in america but we see him there addressing the congress and addressing right at the washington monument we see him addressing tens of thousands he would go into captivity the deadly wound would be healed it has not only the western world but you look here coming to moscow meeting with putin and other political leaders there around the world these prophecies indeed are being fulfilled now the latest research on moral leadership finds this that employees managers and executives believe that the great need of the world is for moral leadership it's more urgent than any ever before so right now what do we see happening in our world we see a lack of confidence in government leaders we see a cry from the masses give us moral ethical leadership millions of people wonder where is there somebody that's morally fit to lead the world in a world of instability and uncertainty they say we need a leader in a world of rising hunger and increasing poverty they say we need a moral leader in a world of environmental disaster in a growing threat from nuclear weaponry they say we need a moral leader in a time of economic global crisis they say we need a moral leader could it be could it be that the devil is getting ready to palm off one of the greatest deceptions ever in the history humanity could it be that we are on the verge of an incredible global crisis where the economic the economy will collapse there'll be natural disasters that there will be riots in our streets and is it possible at all at a time like this that the pope of rome will rise as the greatest moral leader in the world and that sunday will become a time to unite all humanity together is that remotely possible what vehicle might the devil use to unify society what vehicle might the devil use to unify all society well let's go back have you ever heard the statement that history repeats itself what did the devil use when the roman empire was falling apart the barbarian tribes were coming down in an attempt to save his empire constantine turned to religion he developed a political religious system and he passed the first sunday law in a.d 321 and it as he passed that law he passed it to bring people together pagans and christians unified in the worship of god could anything like that happen in the last days of earth's history might the devil use sunday as a vehicle to unite people in a time of crisis constantine passed the first sunday law and the church reinforced that decree could it be that political and religious leaders would unite at a time of crisis to bring all humanity together arthur wiegel in his book the paganism in our christianity page 145. now wiggle is a great historian and he studied these early years of church history and he said the church made a sacred day of sunday now notice god didn't do that the church did largely because it was the weekly festival of the sun now this is a historian not necessarily writing in some christian book this is history for it was a definite christian policy to take over the pagan festivals endeared to people by tradition and give them christian significance in other words in an attempt to unite paganism and christianity in an attempt to save the roman empire sunday the first day of the week became the vehicle to do that as the roman church and the roman government united a common day of worship has the potential to unite the entire world since the change of the bible sabbath was instituted by a church state union in the early centuries worship on the first day of the week is a sign of papal authority it is because the church changed the sabbath to con to accommodate or compromise with paganism to change the law of god someone or some group must have authority that's falsely assumed to be higher than god's authority the church of rome claims that sunday is the mark of its ecclesiastical authority notice this statement this is louis gaston secure plain talk about protestantism today so segura is arguing for the authority of the pope he's arguing for the authority of the papal power over the uh above all protestantism and he says thus the observance of sunday by the protestants is a homage they pay in spite of themselves to the authority of the catholic church so what segura is arguing is since there's no basis for sunday in the bible that in since it only comes by the authority of the catholic church that protestants who accept sunday are really accepting the authority of the catholic church now the american catholic quarterly review january 1883 says this of course the catholic church claims that the change was her act that's the change of the sabbath in the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters so according to the church itself the mark of their authority is indeed the change of the sabbath now you ask does anybody have the mark of the beast today no does everybody who keeps sunday of the mark of the beast no they do not but the bible does teach us that we are coming to a crisis in our world where sunday will become the vehicle enforced by a political religious union to unite and save the world though no one has the mark of the beast today revelation predicts that there will come a time of international crisis and at that point the pope will emerge as the moral leader of the world the vehicle that will be used to accomplish this goal of world unification will indeed be sunday worship notice what pope benedict the 16th said now this is recent relatively recent june 6 2012. the demands of work can't bully people out of needed time off then he goes on to say sunday must be a day of rest for everyone so people can be free to be with their families and with god by defending sunday one defends human freedom do you see the argument that's being given the argument that's being given is that if you want to be a defender of human freedom you want to be a defender of human rights you want to be a protector of the climate if you want to be part of one common humanity you need to worship on sunday now this encyclical goes on to say that the essence of all of this is as governments legislate sunday that's what the call is in the encyclical now notice here is i continue sunday is the day of the lord and of man a day which everyone must be able to be free free for the family and free for god so you see with where this is going if you want to respect human freedom keep sunday if you love your family keep sunday if you don't want climate change keep sunday see that's where this is emerging that's why in europe today you have the sunday alliance that's becoming so powerful pushing so strongly that's why you have these events taking place in the united states there's a wonderful statement in the book great controversy page 592 and it says those who honor the bible sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order as breaking down the moral restraints of society causing anarchy and corruption and calling down the judgments of god upon the earth their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy stubbornness and contempt of authority they will be accused of dissatisfaction toward the government so you can see how that could take place let's suppose that you had an economic collapse let's suppose and when you look at the debt of america somebody said when america gets a cold the rest of the world gets pneumonia when you begin to look at the very high debt ratio that we carry so let's suppose we're trillions of dollars in debt let's suppose our economy hangs on a slender thread let's suppose that collapses let's suppose in addition to that there are natural disasters hurricanes fires floods you look at the disasters taking place in southwest now louisiana the hurricanes hurricane ida et cetera look at the fires in california that's going to cost billions and billions of dollars then you look at iran and you look at the nuclear war capabilities of northern korea you begin to see the battle of over nuclear weapons you begin to look at china that's flexing its muscles its armies are getting stronger you begin to look at the famines in india famines in africa and you begin to see what if the pandemics of coven 19 what if you had worse pandemics even than that that were pestilences that came through and what if there were decrees that went forth that said all the world has to get back to god you know you can have whatever religion you want but we got to get back to god so let's dedicate sunday as that day to get back to god as the movement for sunday it says in great conversation 607 enforcement becomes bolder and more decided the law will be invoked against commandment keepers they'll be threatened with fines and imprisonment and some will be offered positions of influence and other rewards and advantages as inducements to renounce their faith now notice there's a progression here so first there are some fines then there is some imprisonment then there are inducements and bribes and rewards then eventually economic boycott but somebody says all of this in the name of unity it could never happen in america protestants would never go along with this well let me show you some interesting things do any of you remember back in 1976 some of you are too young to remember that and those of you too old can't remember it anyway no let's uh but rem what what took place in 1976 what took place there gas shortages all across america so christianity today which is is really the most famous uh christian magazine in america had an editor at that time by the name of harold wenzel and so linsell comes out with an article and he said look the only way we can solve this gas shortage in america if we're going to solve that we need to take sunday everybody in america as a day of worship we need to do that he said but there's a problem we won't do it voluntarily so what does lindell say he says the only way we can accomplish that is by force of legislative fiat through the duly elected officials of the people so here you have the editor of christianity today saying to people put pressure on your legislators so they will yield the popular demand for a law enforcing sunday so that we can save gas in the economy that was back then now notice what revelation 13 14 says telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast so if the beast powers the papacy if the sign of the papal power is sunday worship who's wounded by the sword but he now lives he was granted power and breath to give breath to the image of the beast that the image of the beast should both speak now let's pause there if indeed the beast is a political religious union if that's the case and if indeed beast powers represents nations or tongues how do nations speak they speak through their laws right that's the way they speak should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be what killed now somebody says pastor mark these are very serious issues and these are very serious issues but i thank god we are on the winning side i thank god that as we trust jesus and as we have faith in him indeed we can conquer in earth's final war at a time of pollution and climate change at a time of economic difficulties and ecological problems at a time when our atmosphere is polluted and our water is polluted there is a call to come back to worship on the first day now you say but what about the supreme court won't the supreme court protect the people of god let me show you something very interesting william rehnquist the chief justice supreme court said this the wall of separation between church and state is a metaphor based on bad history in other words what he's really saying there is this when our founding fathers established the wall of church separation between church and state they were not meaning in any way that religion should not influence the state they were simply meaning the state shouldn't control religion so religion should have an influence in the state see so that's the subtle argument that indeed is being used pat robinson wrote a book and pat robbins one of the the leading and he writes a book called the new world order and in that book this is what he said the next obligation is page 236 the next obligation that a citizen of god's world order owes is to himself remember the sabbath day to keep it holy now he's speaking about sunday not the seventh day sabbath is a command for the personal benefit of each citizen higher civilizations rise when people can rest and draw inspiration from god laws in america that mandated a day of rest so that sunday laws have been nullified so he's saying these laws have been they've been set aside today they've been nullified as a violation of the separation of church and state as an outright insult to god in his plan now do you catch what what what pat robertson saying he's saying that we have done away with um in america with those old puritan blue laws those sunday laws and as the result america is going down down down and so if we want american to rise again we need to institute those sunday laws so i've showed you that i've quoted encyclicals from the pope of rome who's saying we need to move toward one day of worship i've showed you from christianity today harold winslow says when the gas shortage came we need a legislative fiat we've looked at pat robinson who said here that it's an insult to god to not have this one day a week only those policies that can be shown to have a clearly secular purpose are are recognized he says probably one of the more significant letters ever written by the pope of rome is the encyclical letter la dato si of the holy father francis on the care for our common home january 18 2005. now notice the title is on the care for our common home this was a major encyclical that just has come out of rome actually 2015 where the pope is appealing to the leaders of the nations of the world and he's appealing to them largely because he desires the entire world to legislate sunday observance sunday like the jewish sabbath he says is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with god with ourselves with others and with the world sunday is the day of the resurrection the day of the first day of the new creation whose first fruits are the lord's risen humanity the pledge of the final transfiguration of a created reality it also proclaims man's eternal rest in god in this way christian spirituality incorporates the value of relaxation and festivity so what he's saying there and he goes on to say that this should be prominent before the governments of the world so what he's really saying is that sunday's a family day sunday is a rest day sunday is a day of relaxation it's a day that can bring the entire world together but yet echoing down the carters of time is revelation 14 verse 12 here is the what patience the endurance of the people of god here are those that do what keep the commandments of god and the faith of jesus jesus is appealing to men and women today to be obedient and loyal to him he's urging us to be sealed from eternity so in revelation you have the mark of the beast revelation 13. you have the seal of god revelation 7 and verse and verse 14. so the seal of god stands in contra distinction in opposition to the mark of the beast jesus says if you love me keep my what commandments loving christ we receive his seal in our forehead we are sealed by the holy spirit to be faithful to god now seals were used in ancient times to notarize or attest to the authenticity of official documents how many of you are married how many married people we have here how many wish they were married how many are married and which no okay now if you have a marriage certificate do you have a seal on your marriage certificate you do don't you and what does the seal tell you it tells you that that marriage certificate is authentic that's what the merit that's what the seal is all about a seal authenticates a document now in ancient times they would take a clay seal and it would have the name of the sealer namely the prince of the king that was authenticating the document it would have his official title and his territory the seal would be soft and it would harden you could take a wax seal it would be soft when you and i come to christ we are sealed by the holy spirit so if you are a christian you have received the seal of the holy spirit in your life but that seal is hardening until the day of the final test when you are finally sealed for eternity by christ now what is the sign of this final seal that prepares us for what is what is this seal that notarizes god's eternal document now remember the final conflict is over what worship and we find that worship in manifestation and keeping the commandments of god so do the commandments of god have a seal in them that has the name of the sealer the title of the sealer and the domain of the sealer now to be authentic a seal must contain at least these three elements the name of the one that's doing the ceiling the title of the one that's doing the ceiling the territory the individual seal it was where is the seal of god found read with me please i say eight verse sixteen bind up the testimony seal the what law among thy disciples so where is god's seal found everybody it is what in his law and the seal authenticates that law in the heart of god's law exodus 20 verse 8 9-11 it says remember the sabbath day to keep it holy six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the sabbath of the lord your god so here is his name the lord your god it goes on to say for in six days the lord made he's the maker he's the creator that's his his title the heavens and the earth that's his domain so the so for example the commandment that says thou shalt not commit adultery that doesn't have the name the title and the domain of the law giver honor your father and mother that doesn't have it thou shalt not kill that doesn't have it so satan has attacked god's seal by instituting a counterfeit sabbath we have the name of the originator of the seal that authenticates the ten commandments the lord your god we have the title of the sealer the one who made the creator we have his territory the heavens and the earth the sea and all that in the miz revelation chapter seven verse 1 and 2 do not harm the earth the sea of the trees till we've sealed the servants of god in their foreheads so revelation 7 pictures the angels of god holding back the major destruction holding back the strife the conflict holding back the economic disasters holding back the major pandemics that will come sometimes the winds blow through the fingers of these angels and we see a little bit of that until the servants of god are sealed in their forehead in other words until every man every woman every child has an opportunity to make their final irrevocable decision all for christ and step out for christ and serve christ and the holy spirit seals us as we make a decision to be loyal to god in our life and when that national sunday was passed as we make the decision to honor our creator and worship the creator and stand for his commandments we then have the seal of fixed in our life we are sealed by the spirit of god to go through that time of trouble jesus respects our freedom to choose he invites us to let him shape our minds with the things of eternity so we cannot be moved from the anchor of our faith in the word of god that's what the ceiling is all about so the holy spirit works in our lives now the holy spirit works in our hearts now the holy spirit convicts us now the holy spirit leads us to truth now the holy spirit leads us to obedience now and as we respond to the spirit we are being sealed but in the as the final test comes we stand for christ then because we've stood for christ now we receive his seal that is to say in our minds we are sealed by the holy spirit to stand through the conflict the mark of the beast is received in the forehead or in the hand indicating that people are either intellectually convinced that's the forehead they're deceived intellectually convinced by the beast they choose to accept satan's lies or they're forced that's the hand pressure against their will satan's last deception fueled by spiritualism at a time of international crisis undermines the law of god we're going to see spiritualism take place there will be signs and wonders and miracles that take place that are false miracles but god has given a sign he's given his seal he's given his mark the seventh-day sabbath throughout through sabbath observance we concede to god his position as creator and accept ours as creatures we come every sabbath we rest in the god that created us we rest in the god that redeemed us through christ every sabbath we come as an acknowledgement to please god every sabbath we come and the sabbath places us in a special position of worship and loyalty to the creator that's why it's singled out as the keystone commandment that's why it's the sign or seal of the covenant for an agreement to be valid each parties have to sign it god has given us his covenant we come with a commitment to christ we come loyally to follow him god wants the universe to behold in his people the triumph of his grace he says to us here is the patience of the saints here they that keep the commandments of god and of the faith of jesus have you ever listened to handel's messiah isn't it incredibly inspiring you know when handel was writing the messiah as he was writing that he was almost bankrupt in fact he was bankrupt he had uh so much debt he couldn't possibly could not possibly pay off the debt he was so depressed so discouraged and he began to write you know he wrote the messiah in about 23 days and he came across revelation 11 15 the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our lord and of his christ he shall reign you remember that forever and ever he read revelation 19 6 and i heard as it were the voice of the great multitude is the sound of many waters the sound of mighty thunder saying hallelujah you know it for the lord our god omnipotent reigns he read revelation 19 16 he's king of kings and lord of lords as hindu read those things he put his head in his hands and he just wept he wrote this messiah score 24 days he just wept and his valet came in his servant came in and he looked up and he said i think i've seen the very voice of god i think i've i think i've heard the voice of god i think i've seen god you know we will go through that time of difficulty sealed by the holy spirit trusting god by faith and we'll hang on to these promises jesus is king of kings jesus is lord of lords we'll hang on to these promises in revelation alleluia the lord our god reigns hallelujah oppression may take place persecution may take place there may be signs and wonders by the devil the evil one there may be an economic collapse there may be pandemics there may be war conflict strife but we will be encircled by the light of god's love and angels we will be singing alleluia earth god still sits on his throne beyond what's going on on earth we're looking to heaven because jesus is there he is our king of kings he is our lord of lords and we will sing hallelujah the lord our god reigns i want to sing with him that day don't you i want to sing the praises to him as he streams down the curry of the sky lightning shines from the east even into the west darkness covers the earth the earth rumbles christ comes and he said to his disciples let not your heart be troubled let not your heart be troubled you believe in god believe also in me in my father's house our many mansions if it were not so i would have told you i go to prepare a place for you and if i go and prepare a place for you i'm coming again would you like to to seal your decision with christ today would you like to say jesus i am yours today we're living in the last hours of verse history if you've never made a decision for christ fully before i invite you to make it now right now wherever you are if you've never made a decision to be obedience to him and keep his commandments and keep the bible sabbath i invite you to make that decision right now maybe you're right on the verge of being baptized i had a lady walk into our living hope church this last week and she said last sabbath she said pastor mark i want to be baptized we have so many people i talked to another lady on the phone watching our youtube videos she said pastor mark i want to be baptized many who have drifted away are coming back i want to invite you right now to make one of three decisions if you've never accepted christ i'd like you to bow your head right now and as i pray and say jesus i want to accept christ if you've never before made a full decision to follow his truth wherever it leads you or maybe you've made that decision you've heard the sabbath and the light of the truth has dispelled the darkness in your life i want you right now to say jesus i'm going to do that and if you want to look forward to baptism or re-baptism write to us at hope lives 365. contact us we'll pray with you we'll help you in that decision let's pray father in heaven right now men and women are making eternal decisions they are coming to you and i just pray that you'd guide them that you'd strengthen them seal them by your holy spirit prepare them for the crisis that's coming and enable us each one to have the motto of our lives the same motto that jesus said i'll do always those things that please him help us have one desire in life and that's to please jesus in christ's name amen i want to thank those of you who are supporting this ministry many of you support us with prayers you're praying for this ministry others of you are supporting with free will offerings and if you're interested in that there's a place on the website you can donate or if you so desire you do you make out your check to hopefully it's 365 you send it to living hope at 5235 merchants view square haymarket virginia 20169 i want to thank you for enabling us to go to the world we have many of our videos will be a hundred thousand views some have gone 500 000 views some have gone a million views we have anywhere from 500 000 to 200 to 2 million people watching every month we are in over a hundred countries so you're part of something big for god part of something grand for god and i just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping to keep this ministry going to help to keep it alive and to help us be able to preach jesus and his truth to the ends of the earth

Channel: HopeLives365

Views: 105,072

Keywords: mark of the beast, Seventh-day Adventist, Seventh day Adventist, SDA, Adventist, Adventists, Mark Finley, HopeLives365, Hope Lives 365

Id: wW10gQ6UXhY

Length: 65min 38sec (3938 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 16 2021