The Three Angels’ Messages 03

Lesson 03: Shine

Revelation 14:9-11 – Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 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.”

The third angel’s message is very ominous and scary. The third angel’s message also leaves us full of questions. What is the mark of the beast? Is it a tattoo or a bar code of some sort? How can we avoid getting this mark? Before we try to answer any of these questions, there is something important we need to discuss first. Did you know that God has a mark for His people?

Let’s read together REvelation 6:12-17 and 7:1-4.

There is a question asked at the end of Revelation chapter 6.  “Who is able to stand when Jesus comes again?  The answer is given at the beginning of Revelation chapter 7.  Those who have the seal of the living God on their foreheads will be preserved.

The mark of the beast and the seal of God are antithetical to each other – you can only have one or the other.  Ultimately, everyone must choose one mark or the other.  The mark of the beast and the seal of God both involve worship.

Let’s read together Revelation 14:1 and 22:4.

What is the seal of God?  The 144,000 and God’s redeemed people who have been saved by the blood of Jesus both have the name of God written on their foreheads.  What is the significance of this?

Let’s read together Exodus 33:18-23 and 34:1-35.

God’s name, God’s law, and God’s character are all one and the same.  When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God agreed upon three conditions:

God then passed by Moses and proclaimed His name and character.  God wrote His law, the ten commandments, again on two tables of stone.  When Moses came back down the mountain, he told the children of Israel God’s commandments.

Let’s read together Genesis 17:4-6, 15-16; Genesis 33:22-28; Daniel 1:3-8; and Acts 9:1-5, 13:9.

There have been instances in the Bible where God changed an individual’s name to reflect a new identity.  God changed the names of Abram (“high or exalted father”) and  Sarai (“my lady or my princess”) to Abraham (“father of multitudes) and Sarah (“princess”).  God changed their names to reaffirm His promise that they will have a child and his descendants would become a great nation.

God changed the name of a Jacob (“supplanted”) to Israel (“contends with God”) to signify his reception of the same covenant promise given to Abraham and Isaac.

Nebuchadnezzar changed the names of Daniel and his friends as part of his attempt to indoctrinate them into Babylonian culture and thinking.

Jesus changed the name of Saul, a persecutor of Christians, to Paul when he became a follower of Christ.

Let’s read together Psalm 19:7; Isaiah 6:3; Matthew 5:45; and Romans 7:12.

God’s name, God’s law, and God’s character are all one and the same. Anything said about God’s name can also be said about His law.  For example, God is holy and perfect.  God’s law is also holy and perfect.

Let’s read together Exodus 20:8-11 and  Ezekiel 20:12, 20.

The fourth commandment in the Bible tells us when we worship and who we worship. The Sabbath is a sign that God alone makes us holy. Our own works cannot make us holy. We must trust in and rest in God’s work for us. We cannot add to the work of salvation. We can only enjoy it. The Sabbath is a sign of trusting in Christ’s righteousness and not our own.

Let’s read together Deuteronomy 6:1-8;  Ecclesiastes 9:10.; John 3:16; and Hebrews 10:16.

God is actually talking about the Ten Commandments in this passage of Deuteronomy.  How do we know this? Moses just repeated the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 5. Did Moses mean in Deuteronomy 6:8 that we have to literally bind stone tablets to our hands? Of course not! Let the things you do demonstrate the God you serve.

Additionally, Moses did not want us to literally bind a copy of the Ten Commandments between our eyes. What is between your eyes? It’s your forehead, which plays an important role in processing information in a meaningful way.  If God’s name is on your forehead, then His law is on your forehead. Moses wanted us to take the name of God, the holiness of God, and the law of God and put them into our minds.

Let’s read together Romans 5:1-2 and  Ephesians 2:8.

Remember, salvation is by faith through grace. You cannot obtain salvation by your own works. Salvation is a decision you make in your mind. The seal of God can only be communicated and applied in the mind.

Conversely, the mark of the beast can be received by the hand or the forehead. You can receive the mark of the beast by your works or by your mind. It is the inculcation of principles that are against the name, the character, and the law of God. This disabuses us of the notion that the mark of the beast is some kind of literal tattoo or bar code placed upon our bodies.

If you have the seal of God, then you don’t have to worry about the mark of the beast, even if you didn’t know what the mark of the beast is! The seal of God is the name of God, the law of God put right into your mind. You accept the seal of God by faith, and God works outside of you to declare you righteous and inside of you to make you righteous by the power of the Holy Spirit. When you have a daily personal relationship with God, He will write His law into your hearts.

Let’s read together Exodus 20:11; Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Hebrews 4:1-11; Revelation 13:4; and Revelation 14:6, 9-12.

Worship is tied to receiving the mark of the beast.  If the seventh-day Sabbath is a sign of God’s authority, then the mark of the beast must be a counterfeit sign.

Consider the following excerpt from The Catholic Record of London, Ontario, Sept.1, 1923, p.4:

Protestants reject Divine Tradition, the Unwritten Word, which Catholics accept as of equal authority with the Written Word, the Bible. The Divine authority given by Christ to the Church to teach in His name, to bind and loose, Protestants deny. For them – and it is their boast – the Bible and the Bible alone has Divine authority.

Now in the matter of Sabbath observance the Protestant rule of Faith is utterly unable to explain the substitution of the Christian Sunday for the Jewish Saturday. It has been changed. The Bible still teaches that the Sabbath or Saturday should be kept holy. There is no authority in the New Testament for the substitution of Sunday for Saturday. Surely it is an important matter. It stands there in the Bible as one of the Ten Commandments of God. There is no authority in the Bible for abrogating this Commandment, or for transferring its observance to another day of the week.

For Catholics it is not the slightest difficulty. “All power is given Me in heaven and on earth; as the Father sent Me so I also send you,” said our Divine Lord in giving His tremendous commission to His Apostles. “He that heareth you heareth Me.” We have in the authoritative voice of the Church the voice of Christ Himself. The Church is above the Bible; and this transference of Sabbath observance from Saturday to Sunday is proof positive of that fact. Deny the authority of the Church and you have no adequate or reasonable explanation or justification for the substitution of Sunday for Saturday in the Third – Protestant Fourth – Commandment of God.

Sunday worship does not have a Biblical basis. It has pagan roots. It is the mark of the Roman Catholic Church’s authority over the Bible. It has been adopted by Protestant churches and rationalized as “the Christian Sabbath” without any biblical support.

Why should we keep the seventh-day Sabbath?

The Sabbath:

Note in Revelation 14:11 that those who receive the mark of the beast have no rest. The Sabbath is all about rest. The physical rest on the Sabbath is a sign of our creation.  The spiritual rest on the Sabbath is a sign of our redemption.

John contrasts those who get the mark of the beast with those who keep the commandments of God in spirit and truth. God’s people have His name and law inculcated into their very minds, thoughts, and thinking.

Let’s read together Daniel 3:1-6; John 16:2; and Revelation 14:8-12..

Note that no one has the mark of the beast right now.  Just like in Daniel chapter 3, the mark of the beast will only come about when a day of worship is enforced by civil authorities.  Additionally, there will be legal punishment for those who do not worship on that day.

Let’s read together John 14:15; Galatians 5:22-26; and  James 2:14-26.

Apple trees don’t produce apples to be apple trees, but because they are apple trees. In the same sense, Christians don’t do good works to be saved, but because they are saved. Works do not get or earn you salvation.  Rather,  works are the result of salvation based on what Jesus did for us.

Let’s read together Genesis 15:6; Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; Romans 1:17, 3:23-24, 8:6; Galatians 3:24; James 2:10; and Revelation 2:10.

When Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden, they were expected to keep all of God’s commandments.  God only tested their faith in Him on one point – to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Likewise, God’s people in these end times will be expected to keep His commandments.  The final test will be only on one point – will we keep the seventh-day Sabbath, the true day of worship?

What is the message of the third angel?  It is a message about righteousness by faith.  Will you have faith in Jesus?  Will you stand strong and keep all of His commandments out of love and obedience to His word? Will you stand strong in the face of overwhelming peer pressure to worship on another day?  Will your faith endure to the end, even if it meant your death?

Friend, the third angel’s message is not to be feared, but to be welcomed! It is good enws for all those who have the seal of God! Jesus is promsing to destroy sin and death forever!