Chapter
91
The
"Mark" of Apostasy
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Against what
does the third angel warn?
"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in
his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God."
Rev. 14:9, 10.
By what power is
this mark enforced on those who receive it?
"And he [the two-horned beast] causeth all, both small and great, rich
and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their
foreheads." Rev. 13:16.
What will those
keep, who do not receive the mark of the beast?
"Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12.
NOTE. - It is evident from
the foregoing scriptures that the mark of the beast is something directly
opposed to the commandments of God. In the preceding chapter it is shown that as
the first beast itself had enforced the observance of Sunday, the first day of
the week, by the secular power, so the two-horned beast will, in making an image
to that beast, enforce the same observance by the same means.
What day is the
Sabbath?
"But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God."
Ex. 20:10.
What does God
call the Sabbath?
"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on
My holy day." Isa. 58:13.
Of what day is
Christ the Lord?
"Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Mark 2:28.
What do eminent
men say regarding the change of the Sabbath to the first day?
Lyman Abbott, editor of the Christian Union, says in that paper of
June 20, 1890: "The current notion that Christ and His apostles
authoritatively substituted the first day for the seventh, is absolutely without
any authority in the New Testament."
The Watchman (Baptist), in reply to a correspondent, says: "The
Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week the Sabbath... There is no
scriptural authority for so doing, nor, of course, any scriptural
obligation."
The Protestant Episcopal Church says: "The day is now changed from the
seventh to the first day;... but as we meet with no scriptural direction for the
change, we may conclude it was done by the authority of the church."
Explanation of Catechism.
What does the
papacy set forth as the mark, or sign of its authority in commanding men under
sin?
"By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants
allow of... Because by keeping Sunday they acknowledge the church's power to
ordain feasts, and to command them under sin." Abridgement of Christian
Doctrine, page 58.
What are several
modern Sunday advocacy organizations trying to do at the present time?
To enforce Sunday as a religious institution that all of the people, without
exception, will have to observe.
How are they
described who submit to this unscriptural requirement?
As being worshipers of the beast and his image.
How strongly
will this worship and mark be urged?
"That the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as
would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 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." Rev. 13:15-17.
What warning
does the Lord give against the reception of this mark?
"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man
worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his
hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God." Rev. 14:9, 10.
What is this
wine of God's wrath?
"And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels
having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of
God." Rev. 15:1.
How extensive
will be the worship of the beast?
"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are
not written in the book of life." Rev. 13:8.
NOTE. - "But in this
homage to the papacy the United States will not be alone. The Influence of Rome
in the countries that once acknowledged her dominion is still far from being
destroyed. And prophecy foretells a restoration of her power. 'I saw one of his
heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed; and all the
world wondered after the beast.' The infliction of the deadly wound points to
the abolition of the papacy in 1798. After this, says the prophet, 'His deadly
wound was healed; and all the world wondered after the beast.' Paul states
plainly that the man of sin will continue until the second advent. To the very
close of time he will carry forward his work of deception... 'All that dwell
upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of
life.' ...In both the Old and the New World, the papacy will receive homage in
the honor paid to the Sunday institution, that rests solely upon the authority
of the Roman Church." Great Controversy, page 579.
Will all receive
this mark?
"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and
them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over
his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the
harps of God." Rev. 15:2.
The third
angel's message warns against the worship of the beast, and the reception of his
mark. What follows this message?
"And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat
like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a
sharp sickle." Rev. 14:14.
What does He do
at this time?
"And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and
the earth was reaped." Rev. 14:16.
What is the
reaping time, or the harvest, called?
"The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the
angels." Matt. 13:39.
NOTE. - When the mark of the
beast is enforced, it will be one of the most critical times the church of God
has ever passed through. As is shown from the last few Scripture quotations, the
Lord's coming and the end of the world follow close after the enforcement of the
mark. The third angel's message, which warns men against the work of the beast
and his image, becomes to the present generation one of the most important
concerns of this life.
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