“Truth is stranger than fiction” is a popular saying. Brace yourself. You are about to discover strange things, but they are factual. The Holy Bible predicts that during Earth’s darkest hour a sinister deception called “the mark of the beast” (see Revelation 19:20) will be legislated by earthly governments as a misguided solution to a global crisis. Finally, “no one may buy or sell except the one who has the mark” (Revelation 13:17). Those who settle into this delusion—after being earnestly warned by a loving Creator to reject the devil’s deadly mark—will reap the just “wrath of God” (see Revelation 14:9-11), and be doomed forever.
Sound serious? It is. Keep reading.
What is this mysterious mark? If you Google “mark of the beast,” you’ll find plenty of opinions on the Internet. But honestly, this topic is far too important to practice “theology by Google.” Instead, first and foremost we must examine what the Bible actually says. After all, the “mark” is a Bible topic. Here are the sober facts:
1. The “mark” is mentioned eight times in the book of Revelation (13:16,17; 14:9,11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4).
2. Those who receive this “mark” are “deceived” (Revelation 19:20). Thus the “mark” must be highly deceptive.
3. The “mark” comes from “the beast.” Thus we must correctly interpret who the beast is.
4. The “mark” involves false worship, for the Bible says, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark …” (Revelation 14:9).
5. By contrast, the Bible urges God’s people to “worship Him that made heaven and earth …” (Revelation 14:7).
6. Only those who “keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12) will avoid the mark (verse 11).
7. The “mark” is received in two places: the “forehead” (mind) or the “hand” (actions)—which are the exact two places God seeks to write the Ten Commandments (see Deuteronomy 5:6-21; 6:8; Hebrews 8:10; 10:18).
Thus those who wholly trust Jesus as their Savior, worship the Creator, and have God’s law written within them, will avoid the deadly mark. This is what the Scripture says.
Back to the beast. As previously established in Part 1, for nearly 400 years—from the 1500s to the 1800s—millions of Protestant Christians like Martin Luther (Lutheran), John Calvin (Presbyterian), John Wesley (Methodist), Charles Spurgeon (Baptist), and Matthew Henry (world-famous Bible commentary author) interpreted “the beast” to be the religious-political system(not Catholic people) of the Roman Church, led by popes. Thus the “mark of the beast” comes from the Roman Catholic Church.
Does the Roman Church have a mark? Indeed she does. Put on your spiritual seat belts. According to official statements from Catholic sources, Rome considers Sunday—a day which the Bible never sanctifies as a special day of worship—to be a mark of her authority.
See for yourself:
Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change [from the Bible Sabbath to Sunday] was her act … And the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things.” C.F. Thomas, chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons, in a letter dated November 11, 1895.
By contrast, the Ten Commandments, “written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18), identify “the seventh day” of the week (Saturday) as God’s holy rest day, not Sunday, which is simply “the first day of the week.” The fourth commandment thunders:
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy … the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. … For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8–11, emphasis added).
If you study history carefully, you will discover that the Roman Church led the charge away from the biblical Sabbath and over to Sunday (“the day of the sun”), partly because of compromises with pagan sun worship, and partly due to hostility against Jews—which was then rationalized with the crowning argument that, after all, Jesus rose on Sunday.
But remember, the book of Revelation clearly states that those who “worship” the Creator (Revelation 14:7) and “keep the commandments of God” (Revelation 14:12) won’t get the mark. Now don’t miss this: the only one of the Ten Commandments about the Creator is Number Four, which commands us to keep “the seventh day,” which is our Creator’s original rest day (see Genesis 2:1-3).
Amazingly, the book of Revelation predicts that Rome’s “mark” will someday be globally enforced by law. Impossible! you may be thinking. No, it isn’t. In Pope Francis’s June 18, 2015 encyclical recommending solutions for the problem of global “climate change,” the Pope declared,
Sunday, like the Jewish Sabbath, is meant to be a day which heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and with the world” (“Praised Be,” Section 237, emphasis added).
Believe it or not, Sunday closing laws have already been pushed or enforced to various degrees in Germany, Hungary, Greece, Poland, Chile, Fiji, Argentina, Brazil, and in other countries. News articles favoring Sunday legislation have also been recently reported on Fox News, CBS, CNN, The Guardian, AssociatedPress, and Time magazine. As Planet Earth falls apart, and as millions of desperate eyes look to the Pope for guidance, you can expect such agitation to increase, until finally, Sunday will be legislated worldwide.
Prophecy predicts it. You’ve been warned. Now you know. So forget Google and popular opinions. Instead, read Revelation 14:6-12 as if your life depended on it. As you do, you will discover that the real issue is trusting Jesus, worshiping the Creator, and keeping God’s law. Jesus Himself is our Creator (see John 1:3,10). He Himself is “Lord of the Sabbath” (see Matthew 12:8). It was our Creator Himself who died on a cruel cross for our sins and waywardness in breaking His Holy Law (see 1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 John 3:4)—including the Sabbath commandment.
The bottom line is: who will you follow during earth’s final crisis?
Will it be Jesus Christ, our loving Creator, or the beast?
That choice is up to you.