What is the Mark of the Beast?

Revelation 13:15-17 will the mark be a tattoo on your flesh, your social security number, a digital chip implanted in your body, facial recognition, retinal scans?

In our technological times the idea of a universal identification that can be used to keep track of you and regulate your ability to buy & sell make a living, to survive doesn’t seem far fetched at all. Today it seems inevitable, either as a matter of convenience or security… and on the surface it seems rather practical.

But wondering about the specific technology will be used to mark people is just a distraction. Whether its a tattoo or a digital chip is irrelevant. What matters is WHY its used, WHAT sort of activities it affects, WHO gets it, WHO doesn’t… and what we must do to avoid it. Discussing that is our purpose today.

However it comes to pass, it is clear that accepting the mark or number will involve compromising and contradicting God’s commands. It will announce that one is officially associated and cooperating with the Beast will be necessary for one to be allowed to engage in commerce.

The Beast has his mark... but God also has His.

A Mark Indicates Allegiance and/or Ownership

Let’s take a look at the mark/sign of God: 

1. Deuteronomy 6:6-9; 11:18 – His commandments are a sign upon His people. Referring to the forehead and the hand is telling us these commands should guide our thoughts [head] and actions [hand].
2. Exodus 31:12-13 – Sabbath command is singled out as one of the 10 commandments that identify the people of God... God's Sabbath is an identifying sign of allegiance that curiously enough also affects your ability to conduct commerce... although in a different way and with a different intent that the beast's mark.
3. Ezekiel 20:11-12, 19-20 same idea

There is a lot more to being the people of God than just keeping the Sabbath, God’s people will be keeping ALL His commandments, they will bear the fruits of the spirit, they will have sound biblical teachings. BUT, the keeping of the seventh day Sabbath is the most visible, public, and easily recognized sign of God’s Church and his people to this day!

Revelation 7:3 & 14:1 – the followers of Jesus have a sign/seal of God that sets them apart and protects them from the outpouring of God’s wrath in the Day of the Lord.

The Beast also has a sign of allegiance and/or ownership which people buy into through both their thoughts and beliefs [the mark on the forehead] and their actions [the mark on the hand]. Revelation 15:2 God’s people will have to make a choice and reject the Beast’s mark.

There will be a time of persecution and tribulation preceding Christ’s return who’s mark/seal is upon you will be very important. God marks those who are His and the beast marks those who are his.

Who or What is The Beast?

There are two parts to the beast

1. The beast of the sea - the dominant political, military power which wields authority derived from Satan Revelation 13:1-2
2. The beast of the earth - false church masquerading as the church of the lamb but really preaching words that come from the dragon (Satan) – elsewhere the beast of the earth is depicted as the great prostitute who rides the beast

Revelation 13:11-17 the mark is part of a religiously motivated agenda seeking to control worship... definitely who... possibly when or how. Getting the mark probably involves some sort of religious test.

Revelation 14:7-13

verse 7-9 this could mean a person has to literally worship [bow down to] the a giant statue representing the beast to qualify for the mark which then allows them to buy and sell… like Daniel and the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar.

The wording here could also be understood as something in addition to bowing before an image. If so, could this be related to the how or when of worship? For example the observance of the 7th day Sabbath?

1. Sabbath observance is an act of obedience God tells us is a sign between Him and His people
2. Sabbath observance is a matter of how we worship the true God
3. Sabbath observance has a direct correlation to your ability to conduct commerce

verse 10  tell us those who accept the mark will be caught up in the wrath of God that is poured out at Christ’s return... this addresses the "why its important" question [See also Revelation 16:1 & 19:20].

verse 11 says “there is no rest day or night” for those who receive the mark of the beast. This could simply mean that they are subject to the wrath of God day and night with no break… but if that’s all it means then its an interesting choice of wording… might it also indicate those who accept the mark of the beast do not have a "day of rest"?

verse 12 reinforces the connection of the mark to taking a stand on the commandments by warning the people of God they will need to show endurance in keeping God’s commands in the face of this pressure and persecution

verse 13 tells us that the people of God who die as the result of this persecution - “rest from their labors”. Maybe that means they experience rest through death like in Revelation 6:11 where the saints killed in previous persecutions are told to “rest”. But once more, if that’s all it means then its an unique turn of phrase… because it says they rest from their labor [literally=toil/work] … which could be understood as… “they kept the Sabbath as a day of rest from their labors” and that act of obedience in worship is duly noted and follows them to the grave affecting their standing with God.

Standing up to the persecution and deception of Satan involves faithful obedience to ALL God’s commands. But notice that in the time of persecution from the beast the commandments related to our worship of the Creator seem to get special attention. The beast system demands worship of the beast and its image which violates the 1st, 2nd, and possibly 3rd commandments.

I personally believe that the 4th commandment will also be incorporated into the persecution that comes from the beast and the receipt of his mark. Because the observance of the 7th day Sabbath concerns how we worship and who we worship… the true Creator God.  Exodus 20:10-11.

However this comes to  pass; one set of people will take on the mark of the beast and allegiance to his name… another will take on the mark and sign of God and allegiance to His name.

Persecution of God’s Church in the Past

The mark of the Beast will be a tool of persecution. It will be put in place during the final 1260 day long persecution or tribulation unleashed upon the people of God immediately before Jesus returns.

This 1260 day long persecution is a prophecy that has a dual fulfillment:

1. a future persecution lasts only 3.5 years [1260 days].
2. a persecution that has now been written into human history books which lasted 1260 years. The past persecution is an example of  the day-year principle [in which the word day in prophecy is considered to be symbolic of a year of actual time - Wikipedia].

In the story flow of Revelation Chapters 12 & 13 take break from the flow of events to provide some back story on Satan’s war upon the church and give context for what is going on when Jesus returns.

Revelation 12:1-6 church has no choice but to flee for their lives and hide out in wilderness places.

Revelation 12:17 Satan hates the church and people of God because they obey the commandments of God and have the testimony of God… [Satan wants to be worshiped and the commandments of God stand in direct opposition to this desire]. If Satan can’t corrupt the people of God through temptation, he’ll threaten and try to destroy you using every power on earth he is allowed to use… such as the military and police power of the Beast of the Sea, or the religious deception of the Beast of the Earth.

This actually happened in the past during the middle ages and it will happen again in the future before Christ’s return. We reckon the 1260 years as beginning in 554 when the Holy Roman empire begins [emperor Justinian recognizes the supremacy of the Pope] and ending in1814 with the defeat of Napoleon... the last of the emperors.

During that 1260 year long time frame the Roman church and the political, military and police powers of the European state were inter-twined. The Roman church used its prominence and power to persecute anyone it deemed a heretic.

The Church of God were persecuted because they refused to acknowledge the authority of the false church. This refusal extends to many areas of doctrine and worship but significant among them is refusal to accept the changing of the day of worship from the seventh day to the first day. A change to the very commandments of God, which has no biblical mandate or permission from God to do so.

Here is a quote of the official declaration: Council of Laeodicea 363 A.D. “Christians must not Judahize by resting on the Sabbath but must work on that day, resting rather on Sunday. But if any be found Judahizing, let them be declared anathema from Christ.”

This change of the official day of worship was enforced using the power of the state to force people to accept this change or be arrested, exiled, executed etc.

Once a person was declared “anathema” or “heretic” they were in big trouble. They could be seized by the state police or military and executed (at certain times the Roman church maintained its own law enforcement professionals). The only escape was to flee to the wilderness… and that is exactly what the people of God did.

Note: this rule is still on the books… if the Roman Church gets back into the position of influence it once had over the government it will probably be enforced once again.

Why are we not being persecuted right now?

The Church of God… those are faithful to the testimony of Jesus Christ… who endure patiently keeping the commandments of God… who keep the seventh day Sabbath have survived by hiding out in the wilderness from the 554 to the 1814 when the power of the holy Roman empire was broken.

Show map of the migration of the church in the wilderness across Europe to England & America - Cappadocia/Bogomils/Paulicians/Waldensians/Sabbath keepers of RI/Church of God 7th Day

In past decades the Church of God has funded research into tracking down the history of God’s people. We used to publish lots of material on the matter. In doing the research there were lots of groups during the 1260 years who were persecuted for teachings and beliefs deemed heretical but who were not the church of God. In sifting through the historic records the key used to identify the church of God out of the rest was their obedience to the Sabbath command.    

After 1814 the church of God began to cautiously come out their hiding places in their new home… the United States of America. They had actually arrived there some time in the 1600s when America was just about as far away as they could get from the political, military and religious authority of the Dragon and the Beast. 

Today we are free to keep the Sabbath without being hunted down and killed… free to preach and teach the truth, to remain faithful to the testimony of Jesus Christ and to keep His commandments.

1. our host country provides a guarantee of religious freedom through a constitution that disallows the state from establishing a religion
2. our host country has sufficient will and military power to protect that freedom
3. we enjoy great wealth we can use to provide for the preaching of the gospel

These protections and the vast wealth are not going to last forever. Sabbath keeping and obeying the God may not always be as comfortable as it is in our day and age. I hope you take it seriously today so you are mentally prepared for what may happen tomorrow Luke 21:36, Revelation 20:4.

The Beast Will Be Back

The Beast and the False Church are dormant now… weak and unable to exert their power. They are still recovering from a destructive series of wars that ended in 1945. We might all wish they were destroyed and gone forever… but they are not. And when they return the persecution will return as well.

We do not know exactly when the Beast will return to the world stage… but we do believe there are a number of signs indicating the stage is being set for a surprising and swift return.

When the Beast comes to power he will resume persecuting the Church of God. He will demand a sign of allegiance and ownership, a mark that goes on the forehead and the hands which people will have to accept in order to conduct business transactions. The Beast will demand to be worshiped and threatened to kill anyone who does not comply.

The people of God will also have a mark and a sign placed upon them. It will be the mark of God which is the keeping of his commands and in particular the observance of The Seventh-Day Sabbath.

May God's mark be upon you.