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If you go to church on Sunday and worship
Jesus are you taking the
mark of the beast? Some say you are!
Many believe that the Papacy, the
Catholic Church is the Antichrist Beast of Revelation thirteen, and that the beast is a “spirit” and not literal. They believe that
if a church worships
on Sunday, it is a daughter of the Catholic Church and that the mark of the beast (papacy) is worshipping Jesus on Sunday because they claim the pope changed the Sabbath to Sunday.
1) Antichrist is one who denies, Jesus is the Christ:
"WHO is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and
the Son," 1 John 2:22. KJV.
The Catholic Church believes Jesus is the Christ, so that rules them out for being the Antichrist.
Now if some future pope declares that Jesus is not the Christ, and the Catholic Church changes their beliefs to this,
yes, then there is a possibility.
2) Is the beast a spirit or literal?
“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet
that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark
of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire
burning with brimstone,” Rev.19:20.
If the beast and false
prophet were thrown ALIVE into the lake of fire, they must be literal and not a spirit.
3) What about the number of the beast’s name?
Rev. 13: 16 “And he causeth all, both small
and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17And
that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18Here
is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is
Six hundred threescore and six. Revelation 13: 11-18.”
Seems pretty clear to me, you cannot buy or sell unless you have the Antichrist’s (beast) mark,
his name or the number of his name which equates to 666.
They claim that the title of the pope, VICARIUS FILII DEI equals 666 in Roman numerals. Big problem. The Bible
was written in Hebrew and Greek. John wrote Revelation in Greek, not Roman. Wouldn’t
the proper translation of 666 be a name in Greek?
Gematria is the study of the numeric equivalents of Hebrew and Greek letters in order to find hidden
meanings in the words. Example is, the new age Christ- Maitreya in the Greek and Hebrew
gematria, both equate to the number 666.
4) They say that the pope changed the Sabbath to Sunday therefore he has changed times and laws.
But, did the pope change the Sabbath?
In the year 321 A.D., Constantine decreed, "On
the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed"
Making Sunday a day of rest doesn’t appear to be changing the Sabbath to me, or assembling on the day Jesus resurrected.
Really, common sense here, do you think Jesus would say you can only worship Him on Saturday? It appears that the early Christians, before
Constantine, were already meeting and worshiping the lord on Sunday as early as 70 AD, long before Constantine;
The Epistle of Barnabas, 70-120 AD: Wherefore we Christians keep the eighth day for
joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead and when he appeared ascended into heaven. - The Epistle of Barnabas, section
15, 100 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers , vol. 1, pg. 147
Ignatius of Antioch, 107
AD: let every friend of Christ keep the Lord's Day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen
and chief of all the days of the week. - Epistle to the Magnesians, chp 9. Ante-Nicene Fathers , vol. 1, pg. 62-63.
Justin Martyr, 150 AD:
But Sunday is the day on which we hold our common assembly, because it is the first day of the week and Jesus our saviour
on the same day rose from the dead. - First apology of Justin, Ch 68
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Many
Seventh Day Adventist believe that Sunday worship is the mark of the beast. What does the Bible
say about the Mark of the Beast? “And he causeth all,
both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark
in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the
mark, or the name of the beast, or the number
of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man;
and his number is Six hundred threescore and six,” Revelation 13:16-18.
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 Where
does the Adventists get the idea that Sunday worship is the Mark of the Beast? They get the idea from Ellen G. White. A Word to
the Little Flock, page 19, paragraph 1 April 7, 1847
I saw all that "would
not receive the mark of the Beast, and of his Image, in their foreheads or in their hands," could not buy or sell.[
O REV. 13: 15--17.] I saw that the number (666) of the Image Beast was
made up;[ P REV. 13: 18.] and that it was the Beast that changed the Sabbath, and the Image Beast had followed on
after, and kept the Pope's, and not God's Sabbath. And all we were
required to do, was to give up God's Sabbath, and keep the Pope's, and then we should
have the mark of the Beast, and of his image.
In 1898 Mrs. G. White wrote:
"John
was called to behold a people distinct from those who worship the Beast and his image by keeping the first day of the week.
The observance of this day is the mark of the Beast."
"If the light of truth has been presented to you, revealing the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and showing that
there is no foundation in the Word of God for Sunday observance, and yet you still cling to the false sabbath, refusing to
keep holy the Sabbath which God calls 'my holy day,' you receive the mark of the beast. When does this take place?
-- When youobey the decree that commands you to cease from labor on Sunday and worship God, while you know that there is not
a word in the Bible showing Sunday to be other than a common working-day, you consent to receive the mark of the beast, and
refuse the seal of God. If we receive this mark in our foreheads or in our hands, the judgments pronounced against the disobedient
must fall upon us. But the seal of the living God is placed upon those who conscientiously keep the Sabbath of the Lord."
--Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 27, 1911, paragraph 26. Article Title: A Study of Principles
-- No. 8 (Who will Receive the Mark of the Beast)
"When Sunday observance
shall be enforced by law, and the world shall be enlightened concerning the obligation of the true Sabbath, then whoever shall
transgress the command of God, to obey a precept which has no higher authority than that of Rome, will thereby honor popery
above God. . . As men then reject the institution which God has declared to be the sign of his authority,
and honor in its stead that which Rome has chosen as the token of her supremacy, they will thereby accept the sign of allegiance
to Rome--'the mark of the beast.' And it is not until the issue is thus plainly set before the people, and they are
brought to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of men, that those who continue in transgression will
receive 'the mark of the beast.'"
--Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 27, 1911,
paragraph 23. Article Title: A Study of Principles -- No. 8 (Who will receive the Mark of the Beast) "A
refusal to obey the commandments of God, and a determination to cherish hatred against those who proclaim these commandments,
leads to the most determined war on the part of the dragon, whose whole energies are brought to bear against the commandment-
keeping people of God. 'He causeth all, both small and great, . . . to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their
foreheads.'" Not only are men not to work with their hands on Sunday, but with their minds are they to acknowledge
Sunday as the Sabbath. "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the
number of his name."
--Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 27, 1911, paragraph 13. Article
Title: A Study of Principles -- No. 8 (Who will Receive the Mark of the Beast) |
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In Summary, the Adventists believe that the Mark of the Beast Is-- OBSERVANCE OF THE FIRST DAY
"The sign, or seal, of God is revealed
in the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, the Lord's memorial of creation. . . . The
mark of the beast is the opposite of this--the observance of the first day of the week."--8T p. 117 (1904).
THE
PAPAL SABBATH
"The mark of the beast is the papal sabbath." (Sunday) –Ev. p. 234 (1899). KEEPING
THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK
What Is the Mark of the Beast?--John was called to behold
a people distinct from those who worship the beast and his image by keeping the first day
of the week. The observance of this day is the mark of the beast
(Letter 31, 1898). S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 7, page 979, paragraph 11.
IT IS KEEPING
SUNDAY
"When the test comes, it will be clearly shown what the mark
of the beast is. It is the keeping of Sunday."--7BC 980 (1900).
THE SIGN
OF ALLEGIANCE TO ROME:
“But when Sunday observance shall be enforced
by law, and the world shall be enlightened concerning the obligation of the true Sabbath, then whoever shall
transgress the command of God, to obey a precept which has no higher authority than that of Rome, will thereby honor popery
above God. He is paying homage to Rome and to the power which enforces the institution ordained by Rome. He is worshipping
the beast and his image. As men then reject the institution which God has declared to be the sign of His authority, and honor
in its stead that which Rome has chosen as the token of her supremacy, they will thereby
accept the sign of allegiance to Rome--"the mark of the beast." And it is not until the issue is
thus plainly set before the people, and they are brought to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of
men, that those who continue in transgression will receive "the mark of the beast."
The Great Controversy, page 449. The Sabbath Is the Issue in the Final Conflict.-- The Sabbath is
the great test question. It is the line of demarcation between the loyal and true and the
disloyal and transgressor. This Sabbath God has enjoined, and those who claim to be commandment keepers, who
believe that they are now under the proclamation of the third angel's message, will see the important part the Sabbath
of the fourth commandment holds in that message. It is the seal of the living God. They
will not lessen the claims of the Sabbath to suit their business of convenience.--Manuscript 34, 1897. Selected
Messages Book 3, page 423. True observance of the Sabbath is the sign of loyalty to God.--7BC p. 981 (1899).
When does this take place?
When you obey the decree that commands you to
cease from labor on Sunday and worship God, while you know that there is not
a word in the Bible showing Sunday to be other than a common working day, you consent to receive the mark of the beast, and
refuse the seal of God. Notice carefully that in order to receive the mark of the beast one must: 1.
"Cease from labor on Sunday" and ... 2.
"Worship God" on Sunday From the first, Mrs. White taught that the Pope
changed to Sabbath that Sunday-keeping is "the mark of the beast," and that before the end Seventh-day Adventists
were to suffer great persecution because they would not cease working on Sunday. A decree was finally to go forth to slay
them and rid the earth of them (Early Writings, pp. 29, 47, 55, 143, 145, ed. 1882). After a time, on account of their aggressive ways and their strong
denunciations of those who observe Sunday, a few Seventh-day Adventists were imprisoned for short periods here and there for
working on Sunday, and finally two of their publishing houses, one in London and one in Basil, Switzerland, were closed out
for disregarding Sunday laws and laws regulating the hours of female labor. This set Mrs. White to thinking, and she finally had a revelation directing her people,
the world over, to refrain from work on Sunday wherever the law requires it and prosecutions were threatened. They have all
readily obeyed. But, following this instruction, how, then, can they ever be persecuted for Sunday work? In Australia there was a law requiring them to
close their publishing house in Melbourne on Sunday. For three Sundays, after having had notice, they did not obey. Then they
were threatened with arrest. What now? Did they brave the law and take the penalty as they had always said they would? Mrs.
White, their divine oracle, fortunately was right there. Did she counsel martyrdom? Oh, no! She immediately produced a revelation
directing them to obey the law, close the plant on Sunday, and devote the day to the Lord in religious work just as Sunday-keepers
do. Here are her instructions
in "Testimonies for the Church," Vol. IX., No. 37, published in 1909. It is a square backdown from all she had published
before. It avoids all possibility of persecution for Sunday work. She says: "The light given me by the Lord at a time
when we were expecting just such a crisis as you seem to be approaching was that when the people were moved by a power from
beneath to enforce Sunday observance, Seventh-day Adventists were to show their wisdom by refraining from their ordinary work
on that day, devoting it to missionary effort" (p. 232). "Give them no occasion to call you lawbreakers." "It
will be very easy to avoid that difficulty. Give Sunday to the Lord as the day for doing missionary work." Further on she says: "At one time those
in charge of our school at Avondale [Australia] inquired of me, saying, 'What shall we do? The officers of the law
have been commissioned to arrest those working on Sunday.' I replied, 'It will be very easy to avoid that difficulty.
Give Sunday to the Lord as a day for doing missionary work. Take students out to hold meetings in different places, and to
do medical missionary work. They will find the people at home, and will have a splendid opportunity to present the truth.
This way of spending Sunday is always acceptable to the Lord'" (p. 238). It will be readily seen that Mrs. White now directs her people to keep
Sunday exactly as all conscientious Sunday observers do; that is, in holding religious meetings and doing religious work!
They are to "refrain from their ordinary work on that day"; they are to "give Sunday to the Lord as a day for
doing missionary work." And, to complete the somersault, they are told that "this way of spending Sunday is always
acceptable to the Lord." A prospect of arrest suddenly converted Mrs. White to a zealous religious observance of Sunday.
"Give the day to the Lord." And then especially notice: "This way of spending Sunday is always acceptable to
the Lord." Good and true. Now, if it is acceptable to the Lord from Adventists, it must be acceptable to the Lord from
Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and others. But the point is this: If Adventists follow this advice, how will they ever be persecuted
for working on Sunday? What becomes of the prediction that an edict will be issued to kill them for violating a Sunday law?
That is what Adventists have always taught before. But in 1909 they were directed to refrain from their ordinary work on Sunday,
devote the day to religious exercises, and obey the law. If
the prospect of simply a fine will cause Adventists to obey the law and refrain from work on Sunday, would not the prospect
of a death penalty quickly induce them to obey? Surely. It shows that their whole theory breaks down when put to a test. Lastly, if Methodists, Baptists and other Christians
have the mark of the beast because they "give Sunday to the Lord" in religious service, why will not Adventists
also have it if they give the day to the Lord in the same way? Of course they will. If Sunday-keeping is the awful thing Adventists say it is, then
what Mrs. White here tells her people to do is positively sinful - a compromise with sin. In giving the instruction she did, Mrs. White herself removed the
ground for the persecution under Sunday laws which she had previously predicted.
I tend to believe the Mark Of
The Beast is just what is says; a mark of 666. I can only hope and pray that I wont be here to find out!
DID THE POPE CHANGE THE SABBATH TO SUNDAY?
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