Prophecy

The Beast’s Mark

by

by Michael C. Wells

The Beast's MarkHave you ever wondered why so many people today are fearful of the future? Many are afraid because of a prophecy in Revelation that warns the world about a dreaded mark that every person will receive if they follow the “beast.” The penalty for receiving this mark is death! Is it no wonder people are scared to receive it and want to avoid it at all cost? Yet today, society is so complacent about the book of Revelation that many preachers are teaching that it doesn’t apply to Christians at all, but only to those who will be left here to face the wrath of God. Is this what the Bible says? Why would Jesus spend His time giving a personal prophecy about these end times if it didn’t apply to you and me?

Unfortunately, people are easily deceived into believing doctrines that make them feel safe and secure. Paul tells us to watch out for such doctrines, “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety! ’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape [destruction].” I Thessalonians 5:3. If I came running into you’re house screaming “Fire! Fire!” would you be alarmed and take action, or would you just let yourself die in the fire? But so many times when we hear a warning from the Bible, we dismiss it as not important or not being applicable to us.

John the Revelator writes concerning this mark, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 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. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Revelation 14: 9- 11. What a warning! I don’t think there is anyone who wants to receive the mark of the beast.

What is this mark and how do we avoid receiving it?

What is this mark and how do we avoid receiving it? That is the question at hand. In order to answer that question, we must look at what this mark entails. Notice that this beast is involved in worship. “So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him. ’ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13: 4,8. Therefore, this must be a religious power. Only religious organizations are involved in invoking the worship of someone.

He is also involved in civil authority and government. He will be involved in the persecution and killing of those who oppose him. He will use his agents to do his work for him while he sits behind the scenes and reaps the results. “It was granted to him [the first beast] to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. And he [the second beast] exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 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.” Revelation 13: 7, 12, 15- 17.

This power will subjugate the people of the earth to do his will. He will cause them to worship him, which is against God’s law. Therefore, he will teach the people of the earth to break God’s law! This is not just speaking about those who do not believe in God, but also those who profess to be His people. Could you receive the mark of the beast and still think you are following God? Jesus said many would have this experience. We read in Matthew 7: 21- 23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ (notice that they are acknowledging Jesus as Lord. These are professed Christians), shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, ’ have we not prophesied in Your name, cast our demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

These people really thought they were Christians. They thought they were “filled with the Holy Spirit,” but they had not searched hard enough for God’s will and were not willing to submit fully to His law. Jesus says to them “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do the things which I say?” Luke 6: 46. They are lawbreakers. They are those who claim that God’s law is not binding on Christians today. Someone might say, “Doesn’t the Bible say we live under grace and not the law? That we live by the Spirit of the law, not by the letter?” The answer is yes! But what does it mean to live under grace? If you were a murderer in prison on death row waiting to be executed, and the warden gave you a pardon and freed you, you would have just moved from condemnation to grace. Now that you are under grace do you have the right to go out and kill someone again? Does grace give you the authority to break the law or are you still required to keep it?

You see how simple it is. This is the spirit of the law, that you keep it out of gratitude for your life and because it is right in the sight of God. It shows where our loyalties lie, and how our character is formed. It is an outward sign of an inward change. The letter of the law brings condemnation, because we are keeping it solely out of the fear of the punishment for breaking it. The letter of the law kills not because the commandments are wrong or bad, but because a book with words in it can not make a change in us if we do not apply it to our lives. Children who obey their parents exclusively out of fear of punishment may well break the laws of the land, because they were not instilled with a love for truth and righteousness. We must keep God’s law, because we love Jesus and we want to obey Him, otherwise, we are doing it out of “works” and not “faith.” Jesus came to set us free from condemnation by His great sacrifice of His life on the cross, one of the worse forms of torture ever devised by man.

He gave us His pardon (grace) from the sentence of death that hung over our heads, yet He did not say “go and sin as much as you want,” but “Go, sin no more.” John 8: 11. He wants to help us overcome sin by writing His laws on our hearts and establishing them in our minds (Hebrews 10: 16), not by doing away with them. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” and He said, “I do not change.” Hebrews 13: 8; Malachi 3: 6.

What is Sin?

What is sin anyway? “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness (or transgression of the law), and sin is lawlessness.” I John 3: 4. So sin is breaking God’s Ten Commandment law. James 2: 10 speaks to this when he quotes from the Ten Commandments and declares “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one, he is guilty of all.” Every person has committed sin in his or her life. Paul exclaims, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 3: 23; 6: 23. That is why we need Jesus. Someone had to pay the penalty for our sin, and if not ourselves, someone else had to die for the wickedness that we have committed. Jesus made that sacrifice for you and me so that we might have life. It is a free gift, but we have a part to play in receiving it.

We know that the beast power in Revelation 13: 1- 10 is the antichrist power because it says, “he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,” Revelation 13: 6. In two other places in the Bible the antichrist power is also described, first in Daniel 7 where the antichrist power is described as the “little horn.” We know that this is the antichrist power, because it says, “he shall speak great words against the Most High,” Daniel 7: 25. Then in II Thessalonians 2: 3 where the antichrist power is described as the “man of sin.” We know that here, Paul is talking about the antichrist power because he says concerning this “man of sin” that he “opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, [among God’s professed people, the professed church of God] showing himself that he is God.” II Thessalonians 2: 4, Concerning the antichrist power, Paul shows us that he teaches people to break God’s law: “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” II Thessalonians 2: 8.

In fact, not only will this beast power break God’s law, but he will also think to change God’s law. Can you imagine someone thinking that they could get away with changing God’s law? No way, you might say! But look at Bible prophecy and again notice that this is the same power. It has all the same identifying marks as those we find in Revelation 13 and II Thessalonians, “he shall speak pompous (great, blasphemous) words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law . Then the saints shall be given into his hand (to be persecuted) for a time and times and half a time.” Daniel 7:25.

Paul says that this “man of sin” or beast power was already working in his day, he said, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.” II Thessalonians 2:7. Paul also makes it clear that this power will continue until Jesus returns to this world again and that it will then be destroyed: “And then shall the lawless one be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” II Thessalonians 2: 8. Peter tells us from where this power will come. He points specifically to where the “man of sin” power will emerge. “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way the truth will be blasphemed.” II Peter 2:1,2. Where does Peter say he will arise? Right among the believers of Christ! This man of sin will come out of the early church and will use his false doctrines to contaminate the pure doctrine of Jesus. He will introduce false teachings and deceptive lies to turn people from the true worship of God, to a false worship of man, and most of the people will put up with it! (See II Corinthians 11:3,4).

Obviously, if this beast power (better known as the antichrist) was alive in Paul’s day, and he is still work today, this cannot be speaking of an individual man, but a system of religion. Notice how long this system was to persecute the saints. “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty- two months. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.” “Then the saints shall be given into his hands for a time, times, and half a time.” Revelation 13:5,7; Daniel 7:25. We have two prophecies that deal with time here. Because this is the same power that is being described in both Daniel and Revelation, the time prophecies both deal with this same “beast/ little horn” power.

The Bible gives two examples of prophecies dealing with time. One is in Ezekiel 4: 4- 6, and the other is in Numbers 14: 34, which says, “According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear you guilt one year, namely forty year, and you shall know My rejection.” So the Lord uses a day to equal a year in Bible prophecies. In Revelation and in Daniel we see two time prophecies, one for forty- two months, and the other for a “time, times, and half a time.” A “time” represents one year, so “times” would speak of two years, and, of course, half a time would be a half a year. The total years mentioned here would be three and a half years. Since a day equals a year in Bible prophecy, we must convert these years and months into days.

First let’s calculate the months of Revelation. Forty- two multiplied by 30 days for each month (the Bible specifies 30 days for one month see Genesis 7: 11; 8: 3, 4) will give us a total of 1260 days, which would convert to 1260 years. Now the 3½ years multiplied by 360 would again give us 1260 days/ years. Again we see that still another characteristic of this beast/ little horn power is the same. If this power will be around for at least 1260 years, these prophecies cannot be speaking of a person, but a religious power that will endure for a long time.

Now notice what will happen to this power. “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.” This beast was to be “mortally wounded.” If you are mortally wounded it means that you are close to death. The King James Bible translates this term as “wounded to death.” This beast, or religious power, was to be wounded so bad (lost so much power and prestige) that all the world will believe that it was to become extinct, yet its “deadly wound was healed.”

This antichrist power was to arise out of the fourth beast in Daniel 7. A beast represents a kingdom or empire. “The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces.” Daniel 7: 23. Out of this fourth kingdom will arise ten horns. A horn also represents a kingdom. “The ten horns are ten kings (kingdoms) who shall arise from this kingdom” (verse 24). So ten other kings, or kingdoms will come up out of this fourth beast.

Notice that another “horn” or kingdom will also arise. “And another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings,” Daniel 7: 24. This kingdom will arise after the other ten kingdoms have been established and will be different than the rest. Yet this power will be a persecuting power. It subdues three of the kingdoms, or in other words, he destroys them. “I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots . And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man (there will be a man at the head of this power), and a mouth speaking pompous words,” Daniel 7: 8. “And the ten horns were on its head (the head of the fourth beast), and the other horn which came up, before which three fell , namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. I watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” (Daniel 17: 20- 22).

Identifying marks of the “little horn” from Daniel 7

Here are some identifying marks of this “little horn” that are found here in Daniel 7.

  1. It arose out of the fourth beast. Verses 7,8
  2. It arose after the ten horns. Verse 24
  3. It arose among or in the same geographical area of the ten horns. Verse 8
  4. It was “different” from the other horns. Verse 24
  5. It destroyed three of the other horns Verses 8,20,24
  6. Its appearance was greater than the other horns (meaning it became more prominent). Verse 20
  7. It speaks pompous (blasphemous) against the Most High. Verse 25
  8. Thought to change times and God’s law. Verse 25
  9. Would have temporal power (civil govern mental authority) for 1260 years. Verse 25
  10. Would persecute God’s people (true Christians). Verse 25
  11. A man would be at the head of this power. Verse 24, 25.

In our booklet, The End of War and Injustice, we examined the four beasts of Daniel 7: 3- 7, showing that they represent four world empires. These consisted of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and the fourth was Rome. Notice that this little horn power comes out of the fourth kingdom (Rome). Also notice that it comes up after the ten kingdoms that split off and divided the Roman Empire. So we can say that this little horn power, which is diverse from the rest of the kingdoms, takes its power from Rome. This is made clear when we take the prophecies of Revelation and combine them with Daniel. This beast in Revelation 13 takes its power from the dragon and is a composite of all the beasts of Daniel 7. “Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.” Revelation 13:2.

Clearly, we can see this is like no other beast on the face of the earth. If this beast really existed, some carnival or circus would be making big money showing it off. No, this beast represents the characteristics of each of the following beasts before it. This was a swift power like a leopard. A leopard is so fast that it can chase down its prey quickly. It also has great agility to get out of scrapes. This beast power has these same abilities to be able to survive through varying situations. It also has feet like a bear. A bear’s feet are big, strong and very sure- footed. He really can put some weight behind him when he “puts his foot down.” So it is with this beast power. He has authority and power to actuate his policies and doctrines. He has the weight of political and religious power behind him. Remember that we notice earlier that he would be involved in worship (or religion). The beast speaks as the lion of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar. He speaks pompous words as the king of Babylon did. Check out the words of King Nebuchadnezzar in defiance to God, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” Daniel 4: 30.

As King Nebuchadnezzar exalted himself and did not give God the glory for what he had, so does the beast or Revelation 13. It is common among rulers, kings, and religious leaders to forget where their sovereignty came from. Daniel reminds the king of Babylon in Daniel 2: 20,21, “Daniel answered and said: ‘Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”

Finally, let’s investigate the power base of this beast. He receives his power, authority, and throne from the dragon. Who does this dragon represent? “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12: 9. Ultimately, it is Satan who gives this beast his authority. But does this dragon also represent an earthly power, too? In Revelation 12, we find the prophecy of Jesus’ birth and the oppression that the “dragon” gave Him at His birth, What tyrannical power tried to destroy the Christ child at birth? It was Rome, of course. The Roman soldiers, under the direction of Herod the Great, killed all the children of Bethlehem up to the age of two years old. It was also the Roman Empire, through its despotic and cruel leaders, who pursued and tried to destroy the early church through murder and torture.

We can see that the dragon not only symbolizes Satan but also denotes Pagan Rome. So from Rome, this beast receives power and authority (muscle to enforce its will) to rule over all the people of the world. It also receives its “throne” from the Roman Empire. It is always so interesting how God presents His truth so clearly, leaving nothing to speculation. In 532 A. D., the Roman Emperor Justinian made a decree to force everyone to submit to the papacy. The historian says, “By an edict which he issued to unite all men in one faith, whether Jews, Gentiles or Christians, such as did not, in the term of three months, embrace and profess the Catholic faith, were declared infamous, and as, such, excluded from all employments both civil and military, rendered incapable of leaving anything by will, and their estates confiscated, whether real or personal. These were convincing arguments of the truth of the Catholic faith; but many, however, withstood them; and against such as did, the imperial edict was executed with the utmost rigor. Great numbers were driven from their habitations with their wives and children, stripped and naked.” Bower, The History of the Popes, vol. 1 p. In 533 A. D Justinian exalted the papacy as “the head of all the holy churches.” Croly The Apocalypse of St. John pages 167, 168. But this could not be put into effect as long as the Arian nations did not acknowledge it. The kingdom of Odoacer which had ruled Italy had already been destroyed in 493 A. D. and his people universally massacred (Italy and Her Invaders, book IV chap VI) In 533 A. D Justinian sent his armies to conquer the Vandals in Northern Africa. When this was accomplished by his general Belisarius in 534, “Impatient to abolish the temporal and spiritual tyranny of the Vandals, he proceeded, without delay, to the full establishment of the Catholic Church. . . .Arian worship was suppressed, the Donatist meetings were proscribed;” Gibbon Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire chapter 12) As soon as this was done, Justinian turned his arms against the East Goths (Ostrogoths) in Italy itself who also were Arian Christians and not Catholic. In March of A. D 538, for the first time Rome was delivered completely from the rule of the Ostrogothic kingdom, “They (the Ostrogoths) had lost their king (an inconsiderable loss), their capital, their treasures, the provinces from Sicily to the Alps, and the military force of two hundred thousand barbarians, magnificently equipped with horses and arms.” (Gibbon Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire chapters 41, 43) The historian Milman in History of Latin Christianity book 3 chapter 4 states it like this, “The conquest of Italy by the Greeks was, to a great extent at least, the work of the Catholic clergy… The overthrow of the Gothic kingdom was to Italy an unmitigated evil… In their overthrow began the fatal policy of the Roman see… which never would permit a powerful native kingdom to unite Italy, or a very large part of it, under one dominion. Whatever it may have been to Christendom, the papacy has been the eternal, implacable foe of Italian independence and Italian unity; and to the welfare of Italy.” Emphasis supplied. So A. D. 538 is the year that marks not only the destruction of the kingdom of the east Goths but, the true date which marks the establishment of the independent temporal authority of the papacy and the exercise of such authority as a world power.

Characteristics of the “Beast” of Revelation 13

Let’s list some of the characteristics of the “beast” of Revelation 13 and see if there are not a lot of similarities to the little horn in Daniel.

  1. He receives his power, seat, and authority from the pagan Roman empire. Verse 2. Arises among the ten horns on the fourth beast Daniel 7: 8
  2. Speaks blasphemy (pompous words) against God and His tabernacle (His church). Verses 5,6 Speaks great things or pompous words against the Most High Daniel 7:25
  3. Is a superpower- has authority over all nations Revelation 13: 7
  4. His appearance is greater than his fellows Daniel 7: 20
  5. Is not only a superpower (see #4 above) but is a religious power because it is worshiped. Revelation 13: 4, 8, 12; the little horn is different from the other horns Daniel 7:24
  6. Receives a deadly wound that was later healed. Verse 3 6. Persecutes the saints of the Most High (people of God). Verse 7 also Daniel 7:25
  7. It is a worldwide religious and political power that the whole world will follow and worship in one form or another. Verse 3,4,8
  8. Will continue for forty- two months (1260 years). Verse 5; also Daniel 7: 25
  9. Will be led into captivity at the end of the 1260- year period. Verse 10
  10. Has a man at its head that has a number of 666. Verse 18

After examining all of the identifying attributes of this power, it is not hard to figure out whom it designates. God makes sure that we can identify who the beast is, for He does not want us to be deceived. If we know just a little bit of history it certainly appears that the little horn/beast power cannot apply to any other power than the papacy. But let us go through the identifying marks in Revelation 13 again and see if every single one is an exact fit- if even one identifying mark did not fit then we would know that we have made a mistake because it is impossible for God to lie.

  1. Did the papacy receive its power, seat (throne) and authority from the Pagan Roman Empire? We will give the answer from a Catholic source. “Long ages ago, when Rome, through the neglect of the Western emperors, was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked him to rule them; . . . and thus. . .commenced the temporal sovereignty of the popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages.” –James P. Conroy, American Catholic Quarterly Review, April 1911.
  2. Does the papacy have a “blasphemous name?” The Jewish definition of blasphemy in the days of Christ was when a man claimed to be able to forgive sins (Matthew 9) and when a man claimed to be God (John 10). The name will be discussed under item 10 below.
  3. Has the papacy spoken great words (pompous words Daniel 7: 20, 25) against the Most High (against God). Again, let us look at the official Catholic teachings. The Council of Trent defines papal power thus: “We define that the Holy Apostolic See and Roman Pontiff holds the primacy over the whole world.” –Labbe and Cossart (A. C.), The Most Holy Councils, Vol. XIII, col. 1167.
    When the triple crown is placed on the head of a new pope at his “coronation” ceremony, the ritual prescribes the following declaration by the officiating cardinal: “Receive the tiara adorned with three crowns, and know that thou art the Father of Princes and Kings, Ruler of the World, the Vicar of Our Savior Jesus Christ.” National Catholic Almanac
    The New Catechism, under the section of the pope, states: “The pope takes the place of Jesus Christ on earth… He is the infallible ruler, the founder of dogmas, the author of and the judge of councils; the universal ruler of truth, the arbiter, the judge of all, being judged by no one, God himself on earth.”
    Does the Papacy fit the prophecy that it would “speak pompous words”? Again, let the record speak for itself.
    In an encyclical letter by Pope Leo XIII, on June 20, 1894 (notice, this is NOT that long ago, this was not during the Dark Ages, but was an official statement by a pope that ended his pontifical reign in this very century- 1903), he stated: “We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.” This is in the official records and can be checked out by any caring student. Could more pompous words be spoken? What else could possibly be said to more accurately fit the description? Moreover, the pope is declared to be infallible when speaking ex-cathedra according to Vatican Council I in 1870, again, not that long ago.
  4. Is the papacy a superpower with influence over all the nations of the earth? Anybody that listens to the news or reads the news knows the answer to this question.
  5. Nobody of any belief would argue against the papacy being a religious power that is worshiped.
  6. Did the papacy at one time receive a deadly wound that today has been healed? In 1798, Napoleon’s general, Berthier, captured the pope and removed him to prison, where he died and for a short time there was no papacy. At that time much of the world believed the papacy was finished and would never hold temporal power over the earth again. Yet in 1929, Pope Pius XI signed the Treaty of the Lateran with Mussolini, whereby Vatican City was established and the papacy now had back its temporal governing power. The deadly wound was healed and Bible prophecy claimed that after this all the world would marvel and follow and worship this power (Revelation 13: 3, 4, 8)
  7. Has the papacy persecuted the saints of the Most High? In the massacre of St. Bartholemew alone most of 100,000 Protestants were slain. That the Catholic Church hunted down, tortured, and burned people at the stake throughout the Middle Ages hardly even needs to be said. That is common history. In one sweep in the year 1208, a crusade organized by Pope Innocent III crushed out the lives of approximately one million Waldenses and Albigenses in upper Italy and lower France. Was it their crime? They were teaching and disseminating copies of the Scriptures to people throughout Europe in their own language.
    Estimates range from the most conservative figure of around 50,000,000 upwards to much larger numbers of martyrs who lost their lives during the Dark Ages at the hands of the Catholic Church during the years of its supremacy.
    Does the prophecy fit? Again, history speaks for itself. As even the Roman Catholic paper, the Western Watchman, declared, “The church has persecuted, only a tyro (one uninformed in church history) will deny that.”- December 24, 1909.
  8. Is the papacy a worldwide religious and political power that people from every country all over the world are worshipping today? Anyone who has traveled the world knows that this is the case.
  9. Did the papacy continue as a religious and political (civil) power that is as a union of church and state through the dark ages for 1260 years? It did. Beginning with its acquirement of independent civil authority for the first time in 538 1260 years last until 1798, the very year that the pope was taken prisoner and the papacy ceased to exist for a short time.
  10. Does the papacy have a man at its head who has the number 666? We noticed that the little horn (papacy) would “intend to change times and law.” This has been one of the primary doctrines of the Roman Pontiff and the Catholic Church. And by changing God’s law, it gives credence to their suggestion that the pope has all power and authority. “The Pope can modify [change] the Divine Law.” Lucius Ferraris, Ecclesiastical Dictionary. They claim that the ability to change God’s law is their mark of authority. For instance, if you look in the Catechism, you will find the second commandment has been removed, relating to graven images and bowing down to them, and the tenth commandment split into two commandments. Mary is referred to as a Mediatrix (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1994 p 252), but, the Bible says, “For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man, Christ Jesus.” I Timothy 2: 5.

The one commandment that God said to remember, the Catholic Church has disregarded, and they have convinced the rest of the world to follow suit. Through reasoning and human philosophy, men have rejected the one commandment that was to give men rest. They have profaned and polluted that commandment which was meant to give life and happiness. It was to be a sign between God and us to identify us as His people. “Moreover I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I an the Lord your God.” Ezekiel 20: 12,20.

The papacy claims the authority to change God’s law, especially this very commandment about worship. “Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of Solemn rest, a holy convocation [worship day]. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.” Leviticus 23: 3. If God set a day aside for worship, does any man have the right to decide that any other day is just as acceptable? Who is God and who is the created being? Yet the papacy has claimed the authority to switch days for God’s day of rest and worship.

They even claim that by doing this, and the world following its lead, that it is the Mark of their authority. “Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change [of the Sabbath to Sunday] was her act . . . and the act is a mark of the ecclesiastical power.” – From the office of Cardinal Gibbons, through Chancellor H. F. Thomas, November 11, 1895. The Roman Church derides Protestants for claiming to believe in the Bible while keeping Sunday as their “Sabbath.” “If Protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day [Saturday]. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church.” Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the Cardinal in a letter dated February 10, 1920.

Yet in another bold statement, a priest says, “Prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. ’ The Catholic Church says, no. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic Church.”- Priest Thomas Enright, CSSR, President of Redemptorist College, Kansas City, Mo., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 22, 1884, and the American Sentinel, a New York Roman Catholic journal in June 1893, page 173.

Who will you worship?

It is evident from these statements that the issue of worship will be over who is God. The Lord of the heavens has given His “mark” or “sign,” which is the Sabbath Day. Only God can make a day holy, and only God can sanctify it. Only God has the ability to work miracles in the lives of people, and only God can sanctify a people for Himself. God’s sign is His commandments and specifically His Sabbath. The Beast’s Mark is the counterfeit worship day- Sunday. “Sunday is our mark of authority… The Church is above the Bible, and the transference of the Sabbath observance is proof of that fact.” The Catholic record, London, Ontario, Canada, September 1, 1923. In the last generation, all, who continue to worship the beast by honoring his “mark” of authority (Sunday worship) after they have seen the truth, will receive of the plagues, the unmixed wrath of God. “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice (this is so important that the Lord is having His messenger shout out this last day warning), ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead (has allowed himself to be deceived into believing the lie) or on his hand (performs this form of worship for fear of his life and livelihood), 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.

This is a life and death message to the world. Wake Up! Search the scriptures and find the truth, God says to His people. Maybe for years you have believed false doctrines and have lived up to all the light (truth) you knew. Now that God has opened your eyes to more Biblical wisdom, will you turn away and shut your mind and heart away from His righteousness? “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” Matthew 6: 33 Jesus commands. Those in past times were destroyed because they did not have a love for the truth. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” Hosea 4: 6. And all who reject His knowledge today will also be rejected by Him. “And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” II Thessalonians 2: 11,12.

God is not a God of force. He will not force you to love Him, to follow Him, or to receive the gifts that He wants so badly to give to you. Yet He cannot allow this world to continue forever in sin and degradation. He is working to create for Himself a people who will be loyal to Him in all that He says. All, who will not follow Him and allow Him to remove sin (the breaking of His Ten Commandments I John 3: 4; James 2: 10- 12) from their hearts, will be die in their sins. All who are not willing to listen to His counsel and truth will be given over to the adversary and will be allowed to believe the lies of the devil. God will eventually fully withdraw His Holy Spirit from working on the hearts of those who continue in rebellion. They will fall into strong delusions, that they may be condemned because of their love for sinful pleasure and disobedience to His law.

The mark of the beast is not an outward mark that all can see, but an inward mark of a deceptive thought process and a corrupted heart. Just as God’s sign will be written on our hearts and minds, the Beast’s mark will be written on the hearts and minds of all who follow his doctrines and theology. These will have their place in the lake of fire along with the devil, the beast, and the false prophet. See Revelation 20: 10,15.

This is an urgent message to the world! God is exerting untold energy in the attempt to turn mankind from their sinful path and bring them to a condition of salvation. God is calling you and me today. He is long suffering, but cannot wait forever for us. He is giving us that chance today. What will be your decision? Do you love Jesus more than the customs of this world? Paul said, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” “ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he shall reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Colossians 2: 8; Galatians 6: 7,8.

Do not deceive yourselves today thinking that God’s Sabbath is not important. We will be keeping His Sabbath in the new heavens and earth (Isaiah 66: 22,23). His Sabbath is an everlasting covenant which can never be changed (Exodus 31: 12- 18), because God Himself wrote it with His own finger. There is an over abundance of evidence that all the apostles kept the Sabbath, and neither Jesus or any of His apostles ever commanded or kept Sunday as a holy day. This would have gone directly against the prophecy of Revelation 13. Who are God’s last day people? “Here is the patience (steadfastness) of the saints (God’s people); here are those who keep the commandments of God (including the Sabbath commandment) and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14: 12. Who are called blessed and will enter into New Jerusalem? “Blessed are those who do his commandment, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:14.

Here is the bottom line for each of us. If God says one thing, and we believe another, who should change his mind, God or us? The question is over who will be God! Who are we truly worshipping when we break His Sabbath and worship on the day that has only human authority as a day of worship? Who has the right to change God’s law? God said “My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of my mouth,” Psalms 89: 34 and “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4: 4. God sends this last day warning to all his people because He loves them and does not want to see them destroyed. When Sunday worship is set up as a law under penalty of death, the mark of the beast will be enforced. Which side will you be found on in these last days of Bible prophecy. When the roll is called up in heaven, will you truly be found there? Will you today devote your life to God and obey His voice? Will you let Him give you His special sign? Will you worship the Lord your God on His Sabbath day as He has asked and avoid receiving the mark that brings death and destruction? The decision is in your hands.

Sources:

  • Beyond Pitcairn, Harvestime Books.
  • Wilkinson, B. G., Truth Triumphant.
  • J. T. C., Smokescreens.
  • White, E. G., Great Controversy.
  • Grosboll, John J., God Predicts Your Future.
  • The Bulwark, Oct. 1922, pg. 104.
  • The Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII, pg. 304.
  • Philippe Labbe and Gabriel Cossart, The Most Holy Councils, vol. 13, col. 1167, on “The Council of Trent.
  • Lucius Ferraris, Ecclesiastical Dictionary.
  • From the office of Cardinal Gibbons, through Chancellor H. F. Thomas, November 11, 1895.
  • Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the Cardinal in a letter dated February 10, 1920.
  • Priest Thomas Enright, CSSR, President of Redemptorist College, Kansas City, Mo., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, February 22, 1884, and the American Sentinel, a New York Roman Catholic Journal in June 1893, page 173.
  • The Catholic Record, London, Ontario, Canada, September 1, 1923.

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Another Ark to Build

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Jesus says that “as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37). Has He given a message to the world today like the message of Noah? The world is going to be destroyed and God has sent some people into the world to preach as Noah preached. In fact, all Christians are called to give a message similar to Noah’s message, in no uncertain tones.

However, Noah’s preaching is not the subject of this article, but rather Noah’s ark-building.

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house” (Hebrew 11:7).

Noah not only preached, He worked. He worked with his hands. Mighty trees had to be brought down to the ground, made into timbers, and then put together to build that great boat, which was quite a piece of engineering.

God’s purpose in telling Noah to build the ark was to provide a way of escape, a refuge from the storm that was coming. The only people who survived the flood, survived as a result of Noah’s ark-building.

The time in which we live is as the days of Noah and the world is not preparing for what is coming. As in the days of Noah, they ate and drank, they planted and they builded, they married and were given in marriage (Luke 17:26, 27). So today this country is in the greatest spending spree of history. The feeling is, “People never had it so good.” That is the way it was in the days of Noah.

Today the labor unions are coming into the picture larger and larger. In 1955, the two great branches of the labor movement, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO), combined to form one great union. When that happened, we read over the prophecies and said, “This will mean something in the history of America and the world. Here is an enormous new factor—a political power—13 million working men and women welded into one great movement. Things can happen now that couldn’t have happened here before.”

We didn’t have to be profound thinkers to predict that something might happen. You and I have been given special light from heaven that it is largely through the labor unions that the persecutions, Sunday laws and boycotts of Revelation 13 are going to be fulfilled. (See Selected Messages, Book 2, 141–144.) We saw this great new power – the AFL – CIO – come onto the scene, and we began to look for results. Some of those results are here already—politically, legislatively, industrially, financially.

One hundred and fifty years ago the Lord’s messenger pointed forward to the time when in all our great cities there would be a binding up in bundles by the confederacies and unions formed. The lives of those who refused to unite with these unions would be imperiled. And then she said that the same binding up in confederacies that exists today, existed in Noah’s day.

Although Noah faced these same problems, by following God’s directions, he was led to safety through every one.

Is there need for an ark today? At the coming of Jesus we know that we will be taken away from every danger and go up to heaven. We are going to leave the world. We won’t need any ark to get through that experience.

There is a great time of trouble just before that when the plagues will be falling, when many of God’s people will be in the caves and the rocks of the mountains. How are we going to get along then? We are told that the angels are going to feed us. (See Early Writings, 56). How we are going to live through that awful time of trouble and get out of the world I think we all understand. But there is a time before that called the “little time of trouble” that occurs before probation closes, a time of peril and persecution that follows swiftly after the national Sunday law is passed. How will we get through that?

Revelation 13:16 speaks of the actions of the two-horned beast, the symbol of the United States: “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.”

Verse 17 tells what will happen to those who refuse this mark: “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.”

God says in the 14th chapter of Revelation that you must not take this mark or you will drink the wine of the wrath of God. In Revelation 15:2 John sees in heaven the company of saints who have gotten the victory over the beast, and his image, and his mark, and the number of his name.

If there is coming a time before the close of probation when you cannot buy anything to eat, of what help is it going to be to you to have a promise that angels will feed you at some later time in a cave, if you starve to death before that? Is that a practical question?

There was a rainbow on the other side of the flood, but the great thing when the rain began to fall was how to get through that flood! There is a storm coming, just ahead, and many people have little idea how they are going to get through it. The attitude of some is, “Well, the Lord will take us through somehow.” In other words, they just expect to get through that great time of trouble when the plagues are falling, without any preparation of their own.

Now suppose Noah had gone about preaching and saying, “There’s a flood coming! Get ready for it!” And suppose the people had said, “If a flood is coming, what are we going to do?” Just suppose that Noah had answered, “Oh, the Lord will take care of us somehow.”

And picture him saying to his sons, “We just haven’t any time to build a boat, because it is so important to get out and preach and tell the people that the flood is coming.” That would not have been logical, nor would it have been obedient.

It was God who told Noah that the flood was coming. He told him to preach and warn the people and He also said, “Build an ark.” Noah was to practice what he preached. He was to preach what he was practicing. It was all tied up together.

Hear this wonderful statement from The Story of Redemption, page 63: “He was not only to preach, but his example in building the ark was to convince all that he believed what he preached. …

“Every blow struck upon the ark was preaching to the people. Noah directed, he preached, he worked, while the people looked on in amazement and regarded him as a fanatic.” You see, Noah preached with his hammer as well as his vocal cords!

Now, I wonder if God has given you and me any hammering to do while we are preaching and warning people about that storm of persecution that is coming. Is there some practical work involved in preparing for that awful boycott when thousands will be confronted on the one side with the seal of God and on the other with the mark of the beast? I believe there is an answer to that. I find part of it in Selected Messages, Book 2. On page 141 the servant of the Lord says, “The time is fast coming when the controlling power of the labor unions will be very oppressive. Again and again, the Lord has instructed that our people are to take their families away from the cities, into the country, where they can raise their own provisions; for in the future the problem of buying and selling will be a very serious one.”

I am glad that is put in such simple language that anybody can understand it. Let’s start with the last thing it says. “The problem of buying and selling will be a very serious one.” We won’t be able to do it, the Bible tells us, unless we take the mark of the beast. And page 142 of this book tells us that the labor unions are going to have much to do with it.

In view of that fact, Inspiration says we ought to get out of the cities and move into the country and raise our own provisions—our own food.

On pages 310, 311 of Medical Ministry it says, “To parents who are living in the cities the Lord is sending the warning cry, Gather your children into your own houses; … Get out of the cities as fast as possible.

“Parents can secure small homes in the country, with land for cultivation where they can have orchards and where they can raise vegetables and small fruits. … God will help His people find such homes outside of the cities.

“As far as possible, our institutions should be located away from the cities. … It is not God’s will that His people shall settle in the cities. …

“The Lord desires His people to move into the country, where they can settle on the land and raise their own fruit and vegetables.”

Friends, you see, this is how the Lord plans for us to get through this preliminary time of trouble. This is the way He plans for us to have something to eat when we cannot buy or sell, a place of refuge in that time when our lives would be in danger in the cities.

God has three ways of caring for us in three different stages of the final events. At the very end, He will take us clear away from the world. Before, that, in the great time of trouble, angels will feed us. But in this first time of trouble we are to get our food by growing it ourselves on the land.

There is a little tract entitled “The Nashville Agricultural and Normal Institute”—that’s the Madison school—published by the Pacific Press in 1908. It was gotten out by Elder W. C. White. On page 11 Professor Magan says: “At first we felt that the school farm was too large. We had planned, in our own minds, an ideal school farm which should be small, but kept so clean and orderly that it would be a model. … When we told Sister White our objections to the size of the farm, she said that the time would come when many that are now living in the cities would be forced to leave, in order to live the truth, and that we should make the farm a place of refuge, where some of these could stop for a while and be taught how to make a living from the soil. Then they would have courage to go out into the country where they could find land, make a home, and educate their children in harmony with God’s law.”

That is the “ark,” friends. There it is! When the storm breaks, when the national Sunday law is passed; when the labor unions are carrying on their oppressive, coercive work; when the Loud Cry is being given and the saints are being hurried out of Sodom, they will need “a place of refuge.” O, let’s build an ark for these dear people!

Let me ask you, do you think this preliminary time of trouble is going to last for more than a few days or weeks? Why, you cannot even grow carrots and harvest them in just a few days and it takes several months to grow sweet potatoes. It takes longer than that to grow strawberries and other small fruits.

Noah’s message was practical. God help us to see that, and if we have a Bible in one hand, to have a hammer or a hoe in the other hand. And we had better know how to use them all—the Bible and the hoe and the hammer! That is the only way we can “make the farm a place of refuge, where some of these could stop for a while, and be taught how to make a living from the soil.”

“A place of refuge.” The Lord wouldn’t tell us to make a place of refuge if there were no refugees going to come to it. Friends, it seems to me that we need to do all our work with that view in our minds—the coming of the refugees. They’re coming. God knows, they’re coming whether we get ready for them or not.

It must have been a wonderful feeling for Shem and Ham and Japheth, as they saw those two elephants come walking up the gangplank. Can’t you hear Noah saying, “Boys, here come the elephants!” And they could answer, “Right this way. We’ll put them right down here!”

And what was there, waiting for them? Why, of course there was hay. The ark was stored with provisions, for they were expecting their guests.

When the refugees come, will you have a place for them? And will there be something in the garden and in the granary for them to eat? Or will you say, “Oh, I’m so sorry! I just don’t have any place to take anybody and we don’t have anything ready to feed them.” Oh, we had better be ready, because the One who knows says they are coming.

Now notice, it takes more than merely living in the country to meet this problem. These refugees are coming out of the cities, and they are coming out to these farms in the country because of a serious problem. They cannot buy anything. They cannot sell.

The time of trouble isn’t here yet. … It is not only making room to house the refugees; it is planting gardens and berry patches and corn and sweet potatoes, not only that we may have some food, but that we may have the “know how” to teach the folks who come.

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if some morning the manager would say to you, “Brother, last night some refugees came in from Chicago, and we would like you to take Brother Smith out—he has been working in a factory—he doesn’t know anything about the land—we would like you to show him how to get a living from the soil.”

What would you say? “I don’t know anything about growing food. I just eat the stuff, that’s all!”

Oh, let’s build the ark, what do you say? Let’s remember that the refugees are coming. If we plant a garden or an orchard, remember the refugees, because the Lord has told us they are coming.

Friends, if you and I ever act upon this instruction … we will act upon it by faith, in advance of the storm. There were millions, remember, who were convinced of Noah’s wisdom when it was too late. I thank God that the Holy Spirit is moving upon us to build this ark before it is too late.

But, what kind of an ark is this that we are building? Where do we get the blueprint and the orders? What is it going to look like when we get it done? You can look in the book Medical Ministry and see the whole picture, pages, 308 and 309. The “ark” is a complete little program that God gave our people to establish outside every city. A farm, a school on that farm, a little sanitarium connected with it, an evangelistic center. It is all there.

And God is calling, not only for little institutions but He wants every home to be a place of refuge. Read The Ministry of Healing, pages 192 to 194. You farmers, there is a work for you. You who are builders, mechanics. You who know how to cook, how to sew, how to nurse. Read it. Let God fill your souls with the determination to make your homes places of refuge in the coming crisis.

Do you remember how the allied armies got off the beach at Dunkirk when the enemy seemed to have every way of escape cut off? The big ships were under fire and it looked like doom for those thousands of men, but God had an ark of safety for those men—the little yachts and fishing craft of England. Some could take ten men; some could pack in fifty or more. Every size and speed and capacity was there, little boats plying back and forth in the fog. They moved an army, friends! Those little boats, hundreds of them, saved the lives of an army. That is the picture of how God works.

But those boats had to be there when the crisis came. They had to be seaworthy and loaded with fuel for the voyage and ready for the rescue. That preparation cost something, didn’t it?

It cost Noah to build the ark. In Patriarchs and Prophets, 95, it says, “He gave the world an example of believing just what God says. All that he possessed, he invested in the ark.” How much? “All that he possessed.” Did there come a time when he had to call the family together and say, “Listen, folks, we are going to have to draw out that last money we have in the bank to get another keg of nails”? All that he had he invested.

Furniture, carpets, houses and land—all that he had he invested in the ark. The people of that time were sure that he was a crazy man, that “religion had gone to his head.” But when the rain began to fall, and the waters began to rise, and men were throwing their money everywhere in wild desperation as the flood rose around them, Noah did not have the sorrow of seeing any green-backs that belonged to him floating on those billows. Not one. There was not anything that belonged to Noah that perished in the flood. None of his property; nothing.

We can confidently believe that because it says, “All that he possessed, he invested in the ark.” Noah was right there with everything he possessed, right there in the ark!

O let us concentrate on getting the ark built, if it takes everything we have. Getting all the parts together according to the plan. If you want to help, God needs you, with your own particular talents. Just tell Him, “I want to help build the ark, and the thing that I am most concerned about is not what happens to me—what I get out of it—but what happens to the ark and the people who are going to find refuge in it in a little while.”

And if you say that, and if you will do that, you may find, as Noah did, that the ark you build to save others will be the ark that God will use to carry you and your family safely through the storm!

“This article originally appeared in Another Ark to Build, A Chapel Talk, Sunset Series–1. Although some of the references in the article refer to the specific situation at the time it was written, the principle Elder Frazee expresses is certainly appropriate for today.”

Elder W.D. Frazee studied the Medical Missionary Course at the College of Medical Evangelists in Loma Linda, California. He was called to Utah as a gospel medical evangelist. During the Great Depression, when the church could not afford to hire any assistants, Elder Frazee began inviting professionals to join him as volunteers. This began a faith ministry that would become the foundation for the establishment of the Wildwood Medical Missionary Institute in 1942. He believed that each person is unique, specially designed by the Lord, of infinite value, and has a special place and mission in this world which only he can fill. His life followed this principle and he encouraged others to do the same.

Counterfeits

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An Adventist is somebody who believes in the imminent return of Christ to this world. We are Adventists because of Bible prophecy, which opens to us things that are going to happen in the future.

In the book of Revelation, we are told that in the last days there will be counterfeits. Generally, counterfeits precede the genuine. Jesus also predicted counterfeits in Matthew 24 and history proves that the devil has continually used counterfeits to further his evil ends.

In Egypt, Aaron was told to cast his rod down and it became a serpent. The devil, attempting to demonstrate his power, enabled the magicians to cast their rods down and they also became serpents. There was just one little difference – the devil is unable to create life, so Aaron’s live serpent devoured the counterfeits. Aaron grabbed the tail of the serpent and it became a rod again. However, the rods of the magicians had been eaten.

The devil knew that at the time of the judgment, God was going to send a special Elijah prophet message. Therefore, he set in motion many counterfeits. Around the 1830s to 1840s there were other people claiming to have the gift of prophecy. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormanism and Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science are just two of them.

To cause confusion is a very successful tool of the devil. There were also counterfeits during the first advent of Jesus. One significant counterfeit was Barabbas. According to at least some of the New Testament manuscripts his first name was Jesus. Bar is the Aramaic word that means son. Abba means father. So, Jesus Barabbas would be translated, Jesus, Saviour, the son of the father.

Pilate asked the Jews whom to release according to the custom of the feast, Jesus Barabbas, the Saviour, the son of the father, or Jesus of Nazareth, the Saviour from Nazareth. Barabbas was a counterfeit. Both had a name that claimed to be the son of the father. The only way to tell the difference was by the actions of each life. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and had said, “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” (John 10:37, 38).

Jesus said if you do not believe Me, look at what I have done. From that you should be able to believe. The sum of a person’s works is his character and the way to tell the difference between the true and the counterfeit is by the character.

The Bible records a marked difference between the character of Jesus Christ and Barabbas. Their names were the only similarity. Though Barabbas also claimed to be a savior, the Bible records that he was a thief and a murderer. A person who is a thief and a murderer cannot be the Messiah. Yet it was he who was set free and the true Saviour was crucified.

Before the second coming of Jesus there are going to be many counterfeits. The crowning act will be Satan’s impersonation of Christ but let’s consider some of the others.

There are some things that people have speculated would be counterfeited, like Armageddon and the seven last plagues. However, there is no solid evidence to substantiate that. We do know that in addition to the second coming there is one other counterfeit mentioned often in the Spirit of Prophecy that we need to remember.

Ellen White wrote, “I saw that God has honest children among the nominal Adventists and the fallen churches, and before the plagues shall be poured out, ministers and people will be called out from these churches and will gladly receive the truth. Satan knows this; and before the loud cry of the third angel is given, he raises an excitement in these religious bodies, that those who have rejected the truth may think that God is with them. He hopes to deceive the honest and lead them to think that God is still working for the churches. But the light will shine and all who are honest will leave the fallen churches, and take their stand with the remnant.” Early Writings, 261.

Today there seems to be more nominal Christians than honest people in both the Adventist as well as in the Sunday keeping churches. These will be the targets of Satan, who will raise a religious excitement among them to cause in them a false sense of security.

In the book, The Great Controversy, 464, the same event is described. “Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. … At that time many will separate themselves from those churches in which the love of this world has supplanted love for God and His word. Many, both of ministers and people, will gladly accept those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed, at this time, to prepare a people for the Lord’s second coming. The enemy of souls desires to hinder this work; and before the time for such a movement shall come, he will endeavor to prevent it by introducing a counterfeit. In those churches which he can bring under his deceptive power he will make it appear that God’s special blessing is poured out; there will be manifest what is thought to be great religious interest. Multitudes will exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the work is that of another spirit. Under a religious guise, Satan will seek to extend his influence over the Christian world.”

This counterfeit will occur first. Satan knows that this is his last chance and will go to battle to prevent the people from accepting the final invitation to come out from the churches that are described as Babylon. During this time, something is going to happen in the world, and especially in the United States, that is going to make it possible for the counterfeit to be accepted by the majority of the population.

“By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy, in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 451.

We are told that at the time of the passing of a national Sunday law, there will already be excitement among the religious bodies, but when the national Sunday law is implemented, we can look for the marvelous working of Satan. This is something that most Adventists cannot imagine right now. Suddenly, this false revival is going to explode and the devil will attempt to take in the entire world. For a little while it will look as if he is going to succeed.

To understand how this deception is going to be so persuasive, look at Revelation 13:3, which says, “… I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.”

“Then another beast came up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived” (verses 11–14).

Notice that he is going to deceive the earth by “signs which he was granted to do.” The Greek word used here for signs or miracles is semeion. Signs is the most literal translation. However, when a supernatural being is going to give a sign, he gives it by doing something supernatural. In other words, by working what people would call a miracle.

There are going to be real miracles. Some people believe that all the devil’s miracles are counterfeit. The Bible does call the devil a liar and a deceiver and there is no question that he works miracles that are counterfeit, but a careful examination of this text shows that there are going to be genuine signs and wonders performed by devils that you will not be able to deny or explain away as simply a sleight of hand. There are going to be real miracles. Just how far the Lord will allow the devil to go we do not know, but we do know that he cannot create life.

Many years ago, a Pentecostal lady told me about the wonderful things that were happening in her church. She shared how a person had died somewhere in the South Pacific and when the mourners prayed, the dead person began to wiggle his toes. A short time later he could wiggle his feet, and then his whole body could move. Finally, he sat up and was alive again. She was convinced that the Lord had raised this person back to life. We can be sure that the devil cannot raise people back to life, but he can deceive you into thinking that he can.

What are you going to do when miracles are worked right in front of your eyes? You cannot deny it. Most people immediately assume that it is performed by the power of God. However, we just read in the Bible that in the last days it will be evil spirits that are working these miracles. These same people who are deceived by the miracles will refuse to believe when they are shown truths from God’s word. A person like that is preparing himself or herself to be deceived.

The Bible predicts that the whole world is going to be deceived. This will not take very long once the miracles begin. One of the most common miracles that will be performed is the healing of the sick. Whether it is a counterfeit or real, you will not be able to tell the difference.

For deception to be successful, it must be as close as possible to the real. Evil spirits are going to claim to be Christians with respect and reverence for the ordinances of the church. These spirits will claim to be Christians and to have reverence for the churches and its institutions. You will see miracles of healings and tongues, among other things, that you will be unable to deny.

“It is true that spiritualism is now changing its form and, veiling some of its more objectionable features, is assuming a Christian guise. But its utterances from the platform and the press have been before the public for many years, and in these its real character stands revealed. …

“As Spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted, after the modern order of things. He will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through the agency of Spiritualism, miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the spirits will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power.” The Great Controversy, 557, 588.

These spirits will say that you need to respect the government. Seventh-day Adventists should always respect and obey the laws of the land in whatever country they live, unless these laws conflict with God’s law.

Most Christians keep Sunday instead of the seventh-day Sabbath. When the government enacts a national Sunday law and the explosion of miracles begin, Adventists will be accused of disaffection of the government by not going along with the law and of disrespecting the community of faith. The Catholic church often uses this terminology that you should respect, and that conscience should be in subjection to the community of faith.

We are Protestants. We believe in the community of faith, but we do not believe that our conscience should be in subjection to a false community of faith. Adventists are going to be accused of being lawbreakers and of disaffection toward the government.

“Communications from the spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters of Sunday of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law of God. They will lament the great wickedness in the world, and second the testimony of religious teachers, that the degraded state of morals is caused by the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation excited against all who refuse to accept their testimony.” Ibid., 591.

Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 will be quoted. “They will lament the great wickedness in the world, and second the testimony of religious teachers that the degraded state of morals is caused by the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation excited against all who refuse to accept their testimony. …

“Under the rule of Rome, those who suffered death for their fidelity to the gospel were denounced as evil-doers; they were declared to be in league with Satan; and every possible means was employed to cover them with reproach, to cause them to appear in the eyes of the people, and even to themselves as the vilest of criminals. So, it will be now. While Satan seeks to destroy those who honor God’s law, he will cause them to be accused as law-breakers, as men who are dishonoring God, and bringing judgments upon the world. …

“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.” Ibid., 591, 592.

During this time, God’s judgments will be in the land. When the United States passes a national Sunday law “… the limit of God’s forbearance is reached, that the measure of our nation’s iniquity is full, and that the angel of mercy is about to take her flight, never to return.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 451.

Those who continue to regard God’s commandments will be accused of disaffection against the government of being lawbreakers, the cause of anarchy, and bringing on the judgments of God on the land. For this reason, it is so important now to live in an honest way so that nobody should ever be able to accuse us of breaking the law. We must dare to be a Daniel, that as it was with him, there will be nothing in our lives that could be used to accuse us of breaking the law. Jesus also was accused with false accusations.

Among Christians during this time, every wind of doctrine will be blowing and there will be fanaticism. Satan, clothed in angel robes, will try to deceive the very elect. He will use human beings as teachers to try and take control of the church by bringing in false teachings. Unless you know what the Bible says, you will be deceived without realizing it.

“None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict.” The Great Controversy (1888), 593. “God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines, and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority—not one, nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain ‘Thus saith the Lord’ in its support.” Ibid., 595.

Without this we will be deceived. If we are alive during this period, we will probably have a number of meetings with the devil and evil spirits in human form, even as believers. “He (the devil) and the angels who fell with him, will appear on the earth as men … .” Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, 399.

“Evil angels in the form of believers will work in our ranks … . These powers of evil will assemble in our meetings … .” Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 2, 504.

The devil knows how to preach better than most. He can quote Scripture and knows how to persuade. He attempted to deceive Jesus in the wilderness with his perverted Scripture. The Spirit of Prophecy teaches that the time is coming when the path of truth and the path of error will be so close together that without the Holy Spirit, you will not be able to tell the difference. We need to study our Bibles and know what is in it and pray for the Holy Spirit to protect us from all deceptions.

“All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).

For further study …
Five Crucial Bible Truths to Know

1. The Ten Commandment Law – This is a single law written on two stones. It was written by the finger of God and cannot be changed. What happened to the commandments at the cross and what did the apostles say about the law decades later?
2. The Difference Between the Two Laws – Which law was nailed to the cross and abolished?
3. The State of the Dead – What does the Bible teach about what happens when you die?
4. Obedience to Civil Authority – When is it appropriate and in fact required that Christians disobey civil authorities? Although we should be impeccable law keepers, is there a time when it is right to disobey authority of both the church and the state?
5. Second Coming – What instruction does the Bible contain regarding exactly how and what is going to happen when Jesus comes again in the clouds of heaven? Cannot the devil counterfeit the Second Coming?

Study and pray for the Holy Spirit to avoid being taken in by the worldwide deceptions that are coming.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)