WHICH MARK WILL YOU RECEIVE? The Book of Revelation is filled with contrasts between good and evil, God and Satan, The Seal of God, and the Mark of the Beast. Which mark will you receive?
We continue our study of the three angels’ messages in Revelation 14; within this context, we look at the final conflict between good and evil, God and Satan, the seal of God, and the Mark of the Beast.
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Let Us Invite God’s Presence:
Holy Father, give us hearts of love and commitment so that we may remain loyal to you. In Jesus’ Name Amen
We have been studying the events of the end time. If you want to review what we have covered thus far, view the videos on The Three Cosmic Messages at SabbathSchoolDaily.com.
From our study of end-time events, we have discovered that there is a celestial war going on. This celestial or cosmic war is between God and Satan, good and evil. The core of the war is worship, loyalty, and ultimately control.
To obtain a better understanding of this war, read Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. They depict the works of Satan. In Daniel 7, Satan is represented as the little horn. In Revelation 14, he is represented in the power of the beast.
This same power is identified in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. There, Satan’s power is represented as the “man of sin,” the “son of perdition,” in other words, the son of hell. So, the little-horn power in Daniel 7 and the beast in Revelation 13, and the Man of Sin are all names for the same religious power. This religious power is controlled by Satan. The aim is to seize God’s power, authority, command, and loyalty and introduce a counterfeit system of religion and worship.
In short, this power seeks to force people everywhere to be loyal to its commands. This power replaces God’s commands with his own and uses force, bribery, and coercion to compel people to worship him and accept his false ideas about God.
Contrary to Satan’s tactics, God is different. God is love and loving. The great motivating force in His kingdom is love. Therefore, we worship God because we love Him, and He loves us. Rather than worshipping the beast, we find pleasure in worshipping Him. God’s people are committed to Him because He is committed to them. Unlike the powers of darkness, love is the motivating force of the kingdom of God.
Therefore, the one thing that will keep us from worshipping the beast in Revelations 13 in the end times is our love for Jesus.
Hence, because we love him, we are committed to him; therefore, we receive the seal of the living God talked about in Revelation 7:2,3
2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,
3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” (Revelation 7:2, 3, NKJV).
Our love for Jesus must be so deep that nothing can break our hold upon Him.
This week we will study the mark of the Beast and what it takes for our love for God to remain steadfast.
Keep watching this video to view Day 2: Steadfast Endurance
As we have seen in Revelation 14:7, God commands His people to worship Him because He made us. This announcement is the First Angel’s Message.
7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” (Revelation 14:7)
Then in Revelation 14:8, God warns His people about spiritual Babylon; this false religious system has its roots deep in ancient Babylon. This announcement is the Second Angel’s Message.
8 And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” (Revelation 14:8)
And in Revelation 14: 9, 10, a third angel warns us not to worship the beast.
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. (Revelation 14:9-10) (Split)
In Revelation 14:12, we learn two important characteristics of God’s end-time people. See if you can identify them.
12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12)
What characterizes them?
- They are patient.
- They keep the commandments of God.
The words written as “patient” in Revelation 14:12 come from the Greek word. Better translated as “steadfast endurance.”
The point is that God, in the end time, will have a group of people who remain loyal to him even in the face of opposition and oppression. By the power of God, they will remain steadfast. Under the fiercest attacks of Satan, they keep God’s commandments. They choose to die rather than disobey God. God, in the end time, will have people who are loyal and committed to Him.
Worshipping God, the creator (Revelation 17:7) stands in direct opposition to worshipping the beast (Revelation 14:9). Those who worship God the creator are the people who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus (according to Revelation 14:12.
The final war in the end times will be all about worship. To whom will we give our allegiance? Interestingly, at the core of this battle between good and evil will be the special test of worship. The test of worshipping God on the day that he has set aside for worship, the seventh day Sabbath.
This final test will require faith to stand when the majority worships the beast and the day he has established for worship.
Worshipping God when the world all around you is worshipping the beast will require faith. For we know that we are not saved because of what we do, but we obey God and that which he has commanded because we love him, even as he has first loved us and gave his life for us.
The following scriptures help us to understand what it means to live by faith and what happens when we do so.
Romans 8:1-4
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Split)
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4) (Splipt)
Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
Colossians 1:29
29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. (Colossians 1:29)powered with God’s mercy and loving favor. We receive grace, and through the power of His Spirit, we are changed. God’s mercy changes our lives. God’s loyal followers will have faith “in” Jesus. At the same time, God’s people also will have the faith “of” Jesus. Faith in Jesus and the Faith of Jesus are different. How are the two types of faith different? Faith “in” Jesus means our belief in Him. We accept Him as our Savior. Whereas, the Faith “of” Jesus means that by faith, we accept Jesus’ holy life as our own. We will obey Jesus, the same as Jesus obeyed God, even unto death as Jesus did when He died on the cross.
Notice what Jesus says in Luke 16:10 about faithfulness.
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. (Luke 16:10)
This indicates that faithfulness is not developed overnight. It occurs in our consistent walk with Jesus. It is said that the faith of Jesus is a faith so deep, so trusting, so committed that all the demons in the cosmos and all the trials on earth cannot shake it. How do we obtain that kind of faith? View Part 3 The Cosmic Struggle
Hebron Seventh-day Adventist Church
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Houston, TX 77088
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