Participants: Scott Moore (Host)
Series Code: LOE
Program Code: LOE000025
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00:01 The harvest truly is plenteous but the laborers are few.
00:03 Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest 00:06 that He will... He will send forth laborers into His harvest. 00:10 Also, I heard the voice of the Lord say: 00:13 "Who shall I send? And who will go for us? " 00:17 Then said I: "Here am I... send me, send me. " 00:23 Life on the Edge will enable you to be an effective harvester 00:26 for the Lord. We now invite you into our classroom 00:30 to Come Experience Life. 00:43 We'd like to welcome those of you that are at home. 00:46 We'd like to invite you 00:47 into our classroom now. 00:49 We're going to be going over 00:51 our 17th Bible study. 00:53 Our 17th Bible study that 00:55 you're going to be marking in your Bibles 00:57 is on the topic of the Mark of the Beast. 01:01 And before we even get into this topic 01:05 I'm going to tell you exactly what the mark of the beast is. 01:07 Are you ready? 01:09 The mark of the beast is the mark 01:12 of the beast. 01:16 It's quite simple, isn't it? 01:19 The mark of the beast is the mark of the beast. 01:24 Now we've studied in our classroom here 01:28 multiple times about who the antichrist power 01:32 or who the beast power is. 01:36 And Pastor Sizemore made that very clear. 01:38 There's some of you that are watching who did not... 01:41 have not been able to see that program, 01:43 and you need to make sure that you watch that program. 01:46 It's called The Antichrist Part 1 01:49 and The Antichrist Part 2. 01:52 Once we know who the beast is 01:55 all we have to do is look at the beast to know what his mark is. 02:00 But my friend, I'm not into looking at the beast 02:03 to see what his mark is. 02:05 I want to go to the Bible 02:08 and I want to find out what God's mark is. 02:11 And when we find God's mark we'll know exactly 02:17 what the beast's mark is because the beast 02:19 always has a counterfeit of the real thing. 02:24 The beast always has a counterfeit of the real thing. 02:28 And that's what we are going to bring out in this study. 02:31 You'll notice on your screen the title of the study is 02:34 Mark of the Beast and our code is going to be MB. 02:56 You understand that? The antichrist power 03:00 wants worship so desperately 03:02 that he will even force you so that he can get that worship. 03:08 But God desires worship from the heart 03:13 not worship from coercion. 03:29 We show Jesus our love and we show Him that He is our Lord 03:35 by obeying Him. 03:39 You'll notice also on your screen... 03:41 We've been marking these Bible studies in our Bible. 03:45 Life on the Edge: a course that is designed to make the edges 03:49 of your sword - i. e. the Bible - extremely sharp. 03:54 And you know, somebody once said to me... 03:56 they once said to me: "how did you get your Bible to be 03:58 so floppy? " Have you ever wondered how people 04:01 have... some people's Bibles are so floppy? 04:04 Well you can get this special type of oil that will 04:07 make that happen. Do you want to know what it is? 04:09 Called palm oil. 04:11 The longer you hold this in the palm of your hand 04:14 the more supple the cover will become 04:16 and the more floppy your Bible will be. 04:19 You'll be just like one of those evangelists that preach 04:23 in front of your churches and the Bible just seems to 04:26 flop open like a little dove and just wave 04:30 because it's got a lot of palm oil on it. Isn't that neat? 04:33 You can see there we're going to... we have 17 texts 04:36 in our Mark of the Beast study. 04:39 I want you to notice on this slide as well 04:42 you will notice that the 3rd text is marked 3MB1. 04:47 That's the 3rd text in the mark of the beast 04:49 the first time we're there. 04:51 We are going to go to that text, Revelation 13:15 and 16, 04:56 we are going to go there 3 times during this Bible study. 05:00 So as you mark it, you need to make sure 05:03 that you include the 1 the first time we go there 05:07 because then that will give you the next reference 05:08 we're going to go to. Then you need to include the 05:11 2 when we get to the ninth text. 05:13 9MB has a 2... that's the 2nd time we're at that reference. 05:18 And then the third time we're at that reference 05:21 it should be 17MB3 rather than what you see there 05:24 on the screen. Should be 17MB3. 05:27 So let's go ahead and start our study. 05:30 Now before we begin any Bible study 05:33 we have made it our habit - our persistent habit - 05:37 to what? Pray. To pray. So that's what we're going to do 05:40 right now. So let us pray. 05:43 Father in Heaven, You have made it so clear in Your Word 05:46 that it is Your desire that we be saved. 05:50 It is Your desire that we avoid Your wrath 05:54 and that we avoid the mark of the beast. 05:58 And Jesus, as we focus on You today, we are asking 06:02 that Your Spirit will give us wisdom to understand 06:07 beyond anything we are capable of without You. 06:11 Thank you for being with us during this study, Jesus. 06:15 In Your name we pray, Amen. 06:18 I'd like to invite those of you at home to get your Bible. 06:21 Get yourself some paper... a pen or pencil. 06:24 Make sure you've got some water because you're not going to 06:26 want to stop once you get started. 06:29 So we're going to go to our first reference, 06:32 and we're going to ask Bill if he will read our 1st reference. 06:35 Now Bill, what is our first reference? Help me get there. 06:38 Our first reference is what? Go to the New Testament. 06:41 The New Testament... that's the back half of my Bible, right? 06:44 The last half of the Bible, OK? Yeah, yeah. 06:47 I'm in Luke... what do I do now? 06:48 You're about three books away. Yeah. Keep moving to the right. 06:52 To the right. OK, I'm moving to the right. Acts... 06:55 Romans. OK, Romans. And where are we going in Romans? 06:58 Chapter 6. And what verse are we going to? 07:01 16. All right, I'm there. All right. Maybe everybody else 07:04 is there as well. Can you read that for us? 07:06 "Do you not know to whom you present yourselves slaves 07:09 to obey, you are slaves to the one whom you obey 07:13 whether of sin leading to death 07:15 or of obedience leading to righteousness? " 07:18 So in this passage right here... 07:20 the reason that we are in this passage when we're giving 07:22 this study is to show this principle: 07:25 that the one that you obey 07:29 is the one that you serve. 07:32 Does that make sense in that passage, Dosung? 07:35 It says there in Romans 6:16 07:37 let's just read it one more time 07:39 "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves 07:42 servants to obey... " Then it says: 07:45 "his servants ye are to whom ye obey. " 07:49 And there's two ways that we can obey. 07:51 We can obey unto sin that leads to what? Death. 07:55 What kind of death is that talking about? 07:58 Eternal death, that's right. That's where sin leads us, 08:01 isn't it? And apart from the Savior 08:03 we die death that is eternal. 08:05 We can obey sin unto death or we can obey unto what? 08:10 righteousness. 08:13 So who is it that we need to obey in order to 08:17 obtain that righteousness spoken of here in Romans 6:16? 08:20 Jesus or God, right? 08:23 We need to obey Jesus and God. 08:25 So the reason that we are in Romans chapter 6 verse 16 08:29 is to show the principle of the person that you obey 08:34 is the person that you what? Serve. That's absolutely right! 08:40 Very nice. Let's all get it this time. 08:42 The reason that we're in this verse is to show that 08:44 the person that we obey is the person that we serve. 08:48 Now we are going to go to the next reference 08:52 in this Bible study. And we are going to see... 08:54 you'll see on the screen there, we're going to Matthew chapter 4 08:57 verses 9 and 10. And we are going to see 09:01 in this passage - we've been here already once - 09:05 we went here when we went through the Great Controversy 09:07 study. That was back... This is the 17th study in our series. 09:11 That was 14 studies ago, believe it or not. 09:14 It's hard to believe it's been that long, isn't it? 09:16 And time has just flown by. 09:18 We're going to see a principle here in Matthew chapter 4 09:22 verses 9 and 10 where Jesus links 09:26 service to worship. 09:30 Obedience leads to serving. The one that you obey 09:34 is the one that you serve. Now we're going to see that 09:36 Jesus says that serving is the same as worshiping. 09:40 So we are going over here to Jessica 09:44 and we're going to be in Matthew chapter 4 09:48 and verses 9 and 10. 09:51 Can you read that for us, Jessica? 09:55 "I will give it all to You, he said, if You will only 09:58 kneel down and worship me. " 10:00 OK, Jessica... who's talking here? 10:02 Satan. And who's he talking to? 10:05 Jesus. That's right... go ahead now. 10:06 "Get out of here, Satan, Jesus told him. 10:10 For the scriptures say you must worship the Lord your God; 10:14 serve only Him. " 10:16 "You must worship the Lord your God; 10:19 serve only Him. " So Jesus links 10:23 service or serving to what? Worship. 10:27 So over there in Romans 6:16 we saw that obedience 10:31 was linked with what? Serving. 10:35 Serving or service. 10:37 And Jesus links here service to what? Worship. 10:42 So if obedience = service = worship, 10:47 then obedience = what? Worship. 10:52 So when you're giving this Bible study to someone 10:55 make sure that you point that out. 10:57 The reason you go to Romans 6:16 is what? Dosung, tell me. 11:01 What's the reason you went to Romans 6:16? 11:03 Can you use the microphone for us? 11:05 What's the reason we go to Romans 6:16? 11:08 Who you obey is your master. 11:10 That's right. So obedience leads to serving... 11:15 or the one that you obey is the one that you serve. 11:17 Now Anita, tell me: why did we go to Matthew 4 verses 9 and 10? 11:22 Why did we go to Matthew 4:9-10? 11:25 To show that Satan wants worship. 11:29 He wants us to serve him. 11:30 He wants worship, and what did Jesus link to worship? 11:36 What did Jesus link with worship? 11:38 Service, right? 11:40 Service. He says: "You shall obey the Lord your God 11:45 and Him on shalt thou serve. " 11:47 So Jesus links obedience with service. 11:51 So those are the reasons that we go there. 11:54 Now, the antichrist power... 11:57 the beast power in Daniel 7 12:00 and in Revelation 13... 12:02 that beast power wants worship 12:06 so desperately we see here 12:07 in Matthew 4:9-10 that he even asks his own Creator 12:11 to worship him. 12:12 Pompous and arrogant... no doubt. 12:16 But he wants worship so desperately and so bad 12:20 that he will actually coerce worship. 12:24 Let's go to Revelation the 13th chapter 12:27 the 15th and 16th verses. This is our third text 12:31 in the Mark of the Beast study. 12:33 We're in Revelation 13:15-16. 12:39 And we'll ask Anita to read that. But Anita, I'm in Matthew. 12:43 How do I get to Revelation? 12:44 Go to the last book of the Bible. 12:47 The last book of the Bible. And that's Revelation. 12:50 That's Reve... That's easy enough, isn't it? 12:52 And we're going to Revelation what? 12:55 13 verses 15 and 16. 12:59 OK, can you read that for us? 13:02 "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast 13:06 that the image of the beast should both speak 13:09 and cause that as many as would not worship the image to 13:12 the beast should be killed. And he causeth all 13:16 both small and great, rich and poor, 13:19 free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand 13:23 or in their forehead. " 13:25 So what is it in verse 15, Anita, 13:27 that this beast power wants? 13:31 Worship. He wants worship. 13:33 Right there in verse 15 it says: "And he had power to give life 13:35 unto the image of the beast that the image of the beast 13:37 should both speak and cause that as many as would not" 13:40 what? "worship him" - the image of the beast - 13:44 "should be killed. " So he wants worship so desperately 13:47 that he is willing to even kill you if you will not 13:50 give him worship. Does that sound like the person that 13:53 you want to serve? 13:55 Does that sound like the person you want to obey? 13:58 No! So here we see a clarion call 14:03 by the beast power saying: "If you do not worship me, 14:07 you will be" what? "killed. " 14:13 Are you ready to stand up for the Lord Jesus? 14:16 Because that's what's going to happen at the end of this study. 14:19 God is going to ask you to make a stand for Him. 14:25 God is going to ask you to make a stand for Him. 14:31 And that's where we're leading in this study. 14:33 Let's go now to the call for worship 14:37 that comes from Jesus Christ... not the antichrist 14:42 but from Jesus Christ. Let's go to Revelation, 14:45 our next reference, where we're going to spend a little bit 14:47 of time here in Revelation 14 verses 7 through 12. 14:51 This is our fourth text in the Mark of the Beast study. 14:55 Revelation chapter 14 verses 7-12. 14:59 And we're going to go ahead and ask Tim if Tim will read 15:01 that for us. Revelation 14. We're very close to it. 15:04 Read verse 7. And Tim, I am going to interrupt you 15:07 all throughout this, so just be prepared for that, OK? 15:11 "Saying with a loud voice: 'fear God and give glory to Him 15:15 for the hour of His judgment has come. 15:18 And worship Him that made heaven and earth and the seas 15:21 and the fountains of waters. ' " OK. 15:23 Now the Bible says for us to fear God 15:26 and do what? Give glory to Him. Give glory to Him. 15:30 Then it says and do what? You had it right. 15:33 And worship who? The One who made us. 15:37 The Creator, the One that made everything. 15:40 The One that made... what did He make there? 15:42 Tell me. He made... heaven, 15:44 the earth, the sea, and the fountains of water. 15:49 You and I can either worship... and when you're giving this 15:52 Bible study you... I mean, this is exciting, isn't it? 15:56 And I have a hard time containing excitement myself. 15:59 So when you're giving this Bible study it's all right 16:02 to be excited. We can either worship the beast 16:06 or be forced to worship the beast 16:08 or we can make a conscious decision to worship the Creator 16:13 or the maker of heaven and earth. 16:17 This call to worship the Creator 16:21 keeps us from receiving the mark of the beast. 16:27 Get that lodged. 16:29 This call to worship the Creator 16:33 keeps you from receiving the mark of the beast. 16:39 Go ahead and read verses 8-11 now. 16:44 OK. Verses 8 through 11. 16:46 "And there followed another angel saying: 'Babylon is fallen 16:50 is fallen. That great city because she made all nations 16:53 drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. ' 16:57 And the third angel followed them saying with a loud voice: 17:01 'If any man worship the beast and his image 17:03 and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand... " 17:07 OK, stop right there. 17:09 If any man does what? Receive the mark. 17:12 Worships. Is that right? Is that what it says there? Yes. 17:15 If any man worships the beast and receives what? 17:20 His mark. His mark. Then what happens to that person? 17:24 Notice that this worshiping of the beast is associated 17:28 with the mark of the beast. 17:30 The issue here is not whether you're going to have 17:32 one mark or another mark. The issue in the mark of 17:35 the beast study is: who will you worship. 17:38 OK. Keep reading. 17:40 "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God 17:43 which is poured out without mixture into the cup 17:45 of His indignation. " OK, stop right there. 17:48 Who is it that drinks of the wine of the wrath of God 17:51 that is poured out without mixture into the cup of 17:55 His indignation? Those who worship the beast. 17:57 The ones that choose to serve the beast and what did you say, 17:59 Robert? Those that receive his mark. 18:03 That's absolutely right. 18:04 So let must just ask this question right off: 18:07 do you want to receive the mark of the beast? 18:12 No. So all we have to do to avoid the mark of the beast 18:16 is to what? Worship God. 18:18 Worship God as the what? 18:20 Creator. As the Creator. Now keep reading. 18:24 OK. "And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone 18:28 in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of 18:30 the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment 18:33 ascendeth up forever and ever and they have no rest 18:36 day or night who worship the beast and his image 18:40 and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. " 18:42 They have no what day or night? 18:44 Rest. They have no rest day or night. 18:48 My friends, it is imperative that we understand 18:51 that the mark of the beast is associated with rest 18:58 or lack of rest. 19:00 Let's read now verse 12 'cause you're not finished, 19:03 right? Verse 12. 19:05 What does it say there? 19:06 It says: "Here is the patience of the saints. 19:09 Here are they who keep the commandments of God 19:11 and have the faith of Jesus. " 19:12 So the definition of a saint is what according to that verse, 19:16 Tim? They keep the commandments of God 19:18 and have the faith of Jesus. They keep the commandments 19:20 of God and they have the faith of Jesus. 19:22 Revelation chapter 14 verse 7 19:26 and Revelation chapter 14 verse 12 19:30 are two bookends that keep us 19:36 from getting the mark of the beast. 19:40 The first thing that we learned in Revelation 14:7 19:42 is that to avoid the mark of the beast we worship who? 19:45 The Creator. The Creator God. 19:47 And then we come down here to Revelation chapter 14 verse 12 19:51 and we see that those that do not receive the mark 19:54 of the beast are keeping the what? 19:58 The commandments. And whose faith do they have? 20:00 They have the faith of Jesus. 20:02 So this is what we've learned so far: 20:04 Obedience = service = worship. 20:09 You remember that. Romans 6:16; 20:11 Matthew chapter 4 verses 9 and 10. 20:14 And then we came over here to Revelation 13:15-16. 20:18 And then now we're here in Revelation 14:7-12. 20:22 Obedience = service... obedience = service = worship. 20:27 Then the Bible says that if we are obeying God - 20:32 i.e. keeping His commandments - 20:34 then we are what? Serving Him 20:37 which means that we are worshiping Him. 20:41 And how is it that we worship God 20:45 in order to avoid the mark of the beast? 20:49 As the what? We worship Him as the Creator, 20:52 that's absolutely right. 20:53 It's imperative in here that we notice 20:55 that we need to worship God as the Creator 20:58 in order to avoid the mark of the beast. 21:05 Now God's people are going to be sealed. 21:10 God's people will be what? Sealed. They will be sealed. 21:13 And we're going to see this in our next reference. 21:15 Let's go to Revelation chapter 7 verses 1 through 3. 21:21 Revelation, and we're going to ask Mrs. Gloria to read this. 21:24 Revelation chapter 7 verses 1, 2, and 3. 21:28 What we have already seen is that God's saints 21:31 are consumed with obeying God. 21:36 They are consumed with worshiping God 21:39 as the Creator. And we're going to see right now that 21:41 God's saints are sealed. 21:43 Mrs. Gloria, read Revelation 7:1-3. 21:47 "After these things I saw four angels 21:50 standing at the four corners of the earth 21:52 holding the four winds of the earth 21:56 that the wind should not blow on the earth, 21:58 on the sea, or on any tree. 22:01 Then I saw another angel ascending from the east 22:05 having the seal of the living God. 22:07 And he cried with a loud voice 22:11 to the four angels to whom it was granted 22:15 to harm the earth and the sea 22:17 saying: 'Do not harm the earth, 22:21 the sea, or the trees till we have sealed 22:24 the servants of our God on their forehead. ' " 22:27 So God's saints are sealed. 22:32 Do you see that in Revelation 7:1-3? 22:36 God's saints are sealed. 22:39 Now, what are they sealed from? 22:42 They're sealed from the wrath of God. 22:45 They are sealed for salvation. 22:48 Nothing can get to them because they are sealed 22:51 by the seal of God. 22:54 Now you and I have learned that we do not want to get 22:57 the mark of the beast 'cause we will suffer the wrath of God. 23:01 We've just learned that God 23:04 tells the destroying angels 23:06 "hold back the destroying power 23:09 until My servants are sealed. " 23:12 What was it in Revelation chapter 14 verse 12 that 23:17 kept God's people from getting the mark of the beast? 23:21 Worshiping God as the Creator and keeping His... 23:24 commandments. 23:26 So these people that are sealed must be worshiping God 23:29 as the Creator and they must be those that are keeping 23:33 the commandments. 23:35 Now we need to stop right here and just say 23:38 can you and I keep the commandments so good 23:41 that God must save us? 23:44 No, no, no. We are saved by grace through faith 23:47 but we are certainly judged by our works. 23:52 The Bible made it very clear in our millennium study, 23:54 didn't it. So here we see that God's people are sealed. 23:59 Now there is a fantastic Old Testament example 24:05 of how God's people are sealed 24:08 and thereby avoid God's wrath. 24:12 Let's go to Ezekiel the 9th chapter. 24:17 Ezekiel chapter 9. Now this is a very long passage 24:21 so I'm going to read this one. 24:22 We're going to be in Ezekiel chapter 9. 24:26 Ezekiel chapter 9. We will begin in verse 1 24:30 and it says there to read through to verse 11. 24:32 We could have just put Ezekiel 9, but then I was afraid 24:35 someone might ask: "Well where do I put my mark in this? " 24:38 You're going to put it there by verse 11 24:40 'cause you're going to read through the whole thing. 24:41 Now the Bible says here... this is an Old Testament example 24:46 of God's people being sealed with a mark in their forehead. 24:52 Now what is it that we do in our forehead? 24:55 What's right there behind your forehead? 24:57 Your brain. OK, what part of your brain? 25:00 The frontal lobe. What is the frontal lobe used for? 25:04 Reasoning... decision making. 25:07 So God's people in that symbolic book of Revelation 25:11 are sealed in their foreheads. They have made a decided stand 25:16 to obey God and thereby to worship God 25:20 and serve Him as the Creator. 25:22 We're all on the same page? 25:24 What we've gone over so far... 25:26 could you communicate that to someone if you were giving them 25:29 a Bible study? Do we need to go over it again? 25:32 All right. Dosung says "No! 25:34 I'm excited. " What happens here in Ezekiel? 25:36 The Bible says... Ezekiel chapter 9 verse 1: 25:39 "He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice 25:42 saying: "cause them that have charge over the city 25:46 to draw near. Even every man with his destroying weapon 25:52 in his hand. And behold, six men came from the way 25:57 of the higher gate which lieth toward the north 26:01 and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand. 26:05 And one man among them was clothed with linen. " 26:09 Incidentally, the priests wore linen. 26:12 "with a writer's ink horn by his side. 26:15 And they went in and stood beside the brazen altar. " 26:19 So where are they at, Bible students? 26:22 They go in and stand by the brazen altar. 26:26 They're in the temple area, aren't they? 26:28 Then verse 3 says: "And the glory of the God of Israel 26:34 was gone up from the" what? "cherub. " What's a cherub? 26:38 Angel. 26:41 You know, isn't it Ezekiel back near the first of it 26:44 where it says that God's throne is on these cherubim 26:49 that have all of these wings and all of these heads 26:52 that move in different directions? 26:54 Well the heads don't move but they move in different 26:56 directions without having to turn their heads. 26:58 It says that "the glory of the God of Israel was gone up 27:01 from the cherub whereupon He was 27:04 to the threshold of the house. 27:07 And He called to the man clothed with linen 27:11 which had the writer's ink horn by his side. 27:15 And the Lord said unto him: 'Go through the midst 27:19 of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem 27:23 and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men 27:27 that sigh and cry for the abominations that be done 27:32 in the midst thereof. ' " 27:35 My friends, who is it that sighs and cries 27:39 for the sin or the abomination of this world? 27:42 Who is it? 27:44 The righteous... the saints. 27:46 So the Bible says here: "The Lord said to him: 27:50 go through the midst of the city through the midst of Jerusalem, 27:53 and set a mark upon the foreheads of the righteous. " 27:56 Is it logical for us to say that? 28:00 Because it's the righteous that sigh and cry for the 28:02 abominations that are done in Israel or in Jerusalem. 28:06 So the righteous here get a mark on their foreheads. 28:10 What was that mark called in Revelation 7:1-3? 28:15 A seal. 28:17 A seal. We'll get to a sign later. You're absolutely right. 28:20 But this mark talked about in Ezekiel 9 28:23 is the seal that is talked about in Revelation chapter 7. 28:27 We'll just keep reading. 28:29 "And to the others He said in mine hearing: 28:31 'go ye after him through the city and smite. 28:35 Let not your eyes spare... 28:39 neither have pity. 28:41 Slay utterly old and young 28:44 both maids and little children and women 28:48 but come not near any man upon whom is the mark. ' " 28:52 What does it look like the Lord is pouring out right here? 28:57 Wrath. Absolutely right. 28:59 Who gets to avoid the wrath of God in this passage? 29:05 The ones that have the mark... 29:07 the ones that are sealed with God's seal. 29:11 Continuing on here: 29:13 Then He began... then it says: "Come not near any man 29:17 upon whom is the mark" verse 6... 29:18 "And begin at My sanctuary. 29:20 Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. 29:24 And He said to them: 29:27 'Defile the house and fill the courts with the slain. 29:30 Go ye forth. ' And they went forth 29:33 and slew in the city. 29:36 And it came to pass while they were slaying them 29:40 I was left, then I fell upon my face and cried aloud: 29:45 'Ah, Lord God, wilt Thou destroy the residue of Israel 29:50 in Thy pouring out of Thy fury upon Jerusalem? ' " 29:54 Truly this is God pouring out His wrath 29:59 on the wicked. Do you see that? 30:03 Yes you do see it or no you don't see it? 30:05 You do see it. Who is it that is spared 30:10 in this chapter? The righteous 30:14 are spared because they have the mark 30:20 that God puts on their foreheads. 30:23 They have the seal of God in their foreheads. 30:29 Now how many of you want the seal? 30:32 How many of you want God's mark? 30:35 I want God's mark as well. 30:36 And I know that you want God's mark. 30:39 The only way to get God's mark is to worship God 30:41 as the Creator, to serve Him through obedience. 30:47 And then the Bible says in 30:50 that we need to obey God or keep His commandments. 30:56 Is that something that you are willing to do? 30:59 That's all it takes and you get the seal of God. 31:03 You avoid the mark of the beast; you avoid the wrath of God. 31:08 It's that easy. 31:10 So you and I don't even have to discuss any further 31:13 the mark of the beast, do we? 31:16 Because we know how to avoid it. We know how to avoid it. 31:19 So the Bible study's over. 31:21 We know how to avoid it. 31:23 Who cares what it is if you know how to avoid it? 31:27 But you really want to know what it is, don't you? 31:30 So we'll keep going. 31:31 We'll keep going... won't keep you hanging there. 31:34 Where is it that we find God's seal? 31:40 We know that that seal is put in the forehead. 31:41 The forehead is symbolic of choices that we make. 31:45 Where is it that we can find God's seal? 31:49 Isaiah chapter 8 verse 16. 31:53 Our next reference is going to tell us where we can find 31:56 God's seal. Isaiah chapter 8. 31:59 We are in Ezekiel. You're going to turn to the left. 32:03 You'll go past Jeremiah then you're in Isaiah. 32:07 Isaiah chapter 8. We're going to ask Ryan to read this for us. 32:11 Isaiah chapter 8. A very, very simple verse here. 32:16 What does it say for us, Ryan? Isaiah 8 verse 16. 32:19 "Bind up the testimony; seal the law among My disciples. " 32:24 "Bind up the testimony; 32:27 seal the... " what? "law among My disciples. " 32:33 In order for a document to be legal 32:37 it must have a seal on it. 32:42 When I am going to send something... a very important 32:45 letter that says "Yes, this is Scott's signature, " 32:48 I go to the bank and I get a notary public 32:50 to sign and seal that document 32:54 saying that "Yes, I saw Scott Moore 32:57 sign this piece of paper. " 33:00 A document contains... a seal contains 33:04 three things. We're going to go to our screen here. 33:11 Now again, we are finding out what God's... 33:14 what the mark of the beast is by contrasting that with God's 33:19 seal. Because the beast always has a counterfeit 33:24 of God's right way. 33:28 So a seal contains 3 elements. 33:30 It contains a name. 33:32 It contains a title. 33:34 And it contains a territory. 33:37 Now you and I are all familiar 33:38 with the United States of America because that's where 33:41 we live. So if... if a document comes out 33:45 of the White House, it has to have three things on it 33:49 in order to really come from the White House. 33:51 Right now it has to have President Obama's name on it. 33:55 It must have Obama's title which is what? President. 34:00 And it must tell the territory which is the what? 34:02 United States of America, that's absolutely right. 34:05 A seal always contains those three elements. 34:10 A seal always contains those three elements. 34:13 Now before we go and we see what God's seal is 34:18 we are going to notice - and this is a little bit of a 34:20 transition, so you're going to want to remember this 34:22 when you're giving this Bible study. 34:24 Before we go and see what God's seal is 34:27 we are going to notice what the beast tries to do. 34:32 Before we go see what God's seal is 34:35 we're going to notice what the beast tries to do. 34:39 So let's go... let's go now 34:42 to Daniel chapter 7 and verse 25. 34:45 Daniel chapter 7 verse 25. 34:47 And we're going to ask Mike to read this. 34:50 So Mike, I'm in Isaiah. Where do I need to go? 34:52 You go to the right. Go to the right. 34:55 And I'm in Ezekiel... Daniel. 34:58 And where am I going in Daniel? Daniel chapter 7 35:01 Daniel chapter 7 verse 25. Daniel chapter 7 verse 25. 35:07 And now that we're all there can you read that for us? 35:10 "And he shall speak great words against the Most High" 35:13 OK, stop! Who is the he that's going to speak great words 35:16 against the Most High? The antichrist. 35:17 The antichrist power. Now in our previous studies 35:20 we found out that the antichrist power is what? 35:22 The papacy. That's right. Now keep reading. 35:25 "and shall wear out the saints of the Most High 35:29 and think to change times and laws. 35:31 And they shall be given into his hands 35:34 until a time, and times, and a dividing of time. " 35:37 So Mike, the antichrist power 35:40 is going to think to change what? 35:43 Times and laws. Times and laws. 35:46 What part of God's law 35:52 has the antichrist tried to change? 35:55 There's two parts, aren't there? 35:57 So I've got a question up here on our graphic. 35:59 Well, I just have a statement: 36:16 Now notice this... notice this: 36:18 that the antichrist power wants to attack God's law. 36:21 He wants to change it. 36:23 We found out from Isaiah 8:16 that God's seal is in His law. 36:29 Which commandment is it that contains God's title, 36:34 God's name, and God's territory? 36:37 The fourth commandment. That's absolutely right. 36:40 So let's go now to the fourth commandment. 36:43 The antichrist power wants to change God's law 36:45 and God's time. Which of these commandments attacked by the 36:48 antichrist contains the seal of God? 36:50 Now we know that the antichrist power took the 2nd commandment 36:56 out, didn't he? 36:58 He took the second commandment out. The second commandment 37:00 is the commandment that says: "thou shalt not bow down 37:03 to anything that is made in the heaven, in the earth 37:07 or made in the likeness of anything under the earth 37:09 or in the water. " You shouldn't bow down and worship something. 37:12 So that's one of the command- ments that the antichrist 37:18 changed or has tried to change. 37:20 Now can we change God's law? 37:21 Jessica, we can't change it. 37:23 Oh, we can think all day to change it, can't we? 37:25 But you remember in II Thessalonians chapter 1... 37:28 chapter 2 verses 1 through 4 37:30 that the antichrist power - the son of perdition... 37:32 We'll get to this verse later 37:34 but I want to throw it in here right now. 37:36 That the antichrist power puts himself in the place of God, 37:41 sits on his own throne, and thinks just like he's God. 37:46 But he certainly can't be. 37:47 He wants to change God's law, 37:50 and he did that by taking out the second commandment. 37:52 And he has also thought to change God's time. 37:58 The fourth commandment is the only one of the commandments 38:02 that contains a time element. 38:06 So we're going to read the fourth commandment. 38:08 And in this commandment we are going to see God's name, 38:13 God's title, and God's territory. 38:17 We will verify this in the commandments to be God's seal. 38:21 Incidentally, if we took the fourth commandment out 38:26 you would have no idea who authored the commandments 38:30 or who authored the other nine. 38:32 If you took the fourth commandment out, 38:34 you could apply that law to anyone. 38:37 That's why this fourth commandment is God's seal. 38:40 And we're going to go here to... to Danielle. 38:44 And Danielle is going to read for us Exodus chapter 20 38:48 verses 8 through 11. And we're looking for 3 things. 38:50 Danielle, what are those things? 38:52 Looking for God's name, God's title, 38:56 and His territory. Territory, that's right. 39:00 I knew if I whispered you'd get it. 39:02 OK. Go ahead, read that for us. 39:03 8 through 11 of Exodus 20. 39:05 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 39:08 Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work 39:11 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. 39:14 In it thou shalt not do any work. 39:17 Thou nor thy son nor thy daughter 39:20 nor thy manservant nor thy maidservant 39:23 nor thy cattle nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. 39:27 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 39:30 the sea and all that in them is, 39:32 and rested the seventh day. 39:34 Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day 39:36 and hallowed it. " 39:38 OK. So what is His name? 39:41 What is His name? The Lord God. Isn't that right? 39:45 It said: "The Lord made heaven and earth. " 39:47 Or verse 10 says: "But the seventh day is the Sabbath 39:49 of the Lord thy God. " His name is Lord. 39:51 What is His title? 39:54 Maker, right. "He made... " So He is the Maker 39:59 or He is the Creator. That's absolutely right. 40:01 Creator, but I wanted to show us how we got to Creator. 40:04 And what is His territory? 40:10 Heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is. 40:13 Now I want you to take a flashback in your memory 40:16 to Revelation chapter 14 verse 7. 40:20 Revelation 14 verse 7 called us to worship the One who 40:24 made heaven and earth, the seas, and the fountains of waters. 40:31 That clarion call by God for worship began with worshiping 40:37 the Creator. Now if we worship the Creator, 40:40 we obey the Creator. 40:42 If we obey the Creator, then we are serving the Creator. 40:47 So those that have made the choice in their mind, 40:52 those that have made the choice in the front of their brain, 40:56 their frontal lobe... the reasoning area, 41:00 will avoid the mark of the beast. 41:02 Even if somebody tried to force it on you, 41:07 you will obey God because you made that life-changing, 41:12 long-standing, eternal-lasting decision 41:15 to worship, serve, and obey God. 41:20 Isn't it amazing that the very commandment that keeps us 41:26 from receiving the beast's mark 41:30 is the one that God had to say: "Remember, My children. 41:35 Remember. Don't forget. 41:37 Please remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. " 41:43 The antichrist power - the papacy - seeks to change 41:47 God's law. He did that by removing the 2nd commandment. 41:51 By splitting the tenth commandment into two 41:53 so that there would still be ten. 41:54 And he has sought to change God's time. 42:00 And God's time according to Mark chapter 2 42:05 I think it's 27 and 28 Jesus said that He is the Lord 42:09 of the Sabbath day. 42:11 Now is it possible that God could be so explicit 42:15 in this part of the commandments for a specific reason? 42:18 He says in verse 7 or 8 42:24 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 42:26 Six day shalt thou labor and do all thy work 42:29 but the - definite article - seventh day 42:33 is the - definite article - Sabbath of the Lord thy God. " 42:39 The seventh-day Sabbath, the fourth commandment, 42:43 is the commandment that contains the seal of God. 42:50 Now those that have made the decision in their mind 42:56 to worship God as the Creator, 42:59 to keep His seventh-day Sabbath holy, 43:01 to obey all ten - not just nine - of His commandments, 43:07 are the ones that avoid the mark of the beast. 43:14 Now if... since not if... but Since the Sabbath commandment 43:19 is God's seal, 43:24 what has the papacy sought to put in place of God's seal? 43:29 God's seal is the seventh-day Sabbath 43:33 and worshiping on the seventh-day Sabbath. 43:37 So what has the papacy sought to put in the place 43:41 of the seventh-day Sabbath? 43:43 Sunday worship; Sunday worship. 43:46 Worship on the first day rather than the seventh day. 43:53 So you and I now know that the mark of the beast 43:59 is the opposite of the seal of God, isn't it? 44:03 You get the seal of God you don't get the wrath. 44:05 You get the mark of the beast you get the wrath. 44:08 You worship God as the Creator you don't get the wrath. 44:12 You don't worship God as the Creator, you get the wrath. 44:15 You worship God by keeping the commandments and obeying Him 44:19 you don't get the wrath. 44:21 You obey the beast and his commands 44:24 you get the wrath. 44:25 The decision to me seems very simple. 44:29 It's very logical. 44:32 God wants His people to be saved 44:34 and He says: "Let me make it easy for you: 44:36 worship Me as the Creator and keep My commandments. 44:39 No wrath for you. " 44:42 Why then is it so difficult 44:46 for us to worship God as the Creator? 44:52 If you and I took this huge step back 44:56 and we're able to look at all of Christendom, 45:02 all of Christendom... we look at it and we say: 45:05 "Where are the people that are worshiping God 45:10 as the Creator? 45:12 Where are those people 45:14 because those are the people 45:15 that I want to be with 45:17 because I want to be right there 45:21 where God puts His seal in my forehead. 45:24 Isn't that where you want to be? 45:26 Now we're going to go back to Revelation 13. 45:31 Revelation 13. We're going back to verses 15 and 16. 45:35 So you notice on our graphic 45:37 that we are in the tenth Mark of the Beast text: 45:41 Revelation 13:15-16. 45:45 So we're going right back to where we were. 45:47 And this is the second time that we are here. 45:50 Revelation 13 verses 15-16. 45:54 And Dosung, you get to read this, this time. 45:56 If you'll read that for us... Revelation 13:15-16. 46:01 "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast 46:05 that the image of the beast should both speak and cause 46:10 that as many as would not worship the image of the beast 46:13 should be killed. 46:15 And he causeth all, both small and great, 46:18 rich and poor, free and bond, 46:21 to receive the mark in their right hand 46:24 or in their foreheads. " 46:26 So what does this mean? 46:29 We know what it means to receive a mark in our foreheads, 46:32 don't we? That's where we make a conscious decision. 46:35 What is it that you and I do with our hands? 46:38 We work, don't we? We do things with our hands. 46:42 So we will receive the mark either by making a choice 46:46 in our mind or by going ahead and saying to the beast power: 46:51 "I don't want to die. I will work; I will do whatever you ask 46:55 me to do. You just tell me what you want me to do. " 46:57 And my friends, the mark of the beast 47:00 at the end of time the issue, the culmination of this cosmic 47:06 battle Jesus Christ and the antichrist is over worship. 47:10 And worship is shown by service 47:14 and service is shown by obedience. 47:18 Very easy to avoid the mark of the beast. 47:21 Now some people are saying: "Are you telling me 47:23 that because my grandma and my grandpa went to church on 47:26 Sunday that they received the mark of the beast? 47:29 Not at all! 47:31 Because it's not enforced yet. 47:36 But the decisions and the habits that we create today 47:42 will determine our choices in the future, won't they? 47:46 Won't they? They certainly will. 47:50 We're going to look very quickly here 47:52 at some other clues of this mark of the beast. 47:58 So let's go to II Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 1-4. 48:04 II Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 1-4. 48:09 II Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 1-4. 48:17 II Thessalonians chapter 2, and we are going to let Darlene 48:21 read this. II Thessalonians chapter 2 48:24 verses 1 through 4. 48:28 Why don't you read verses 3 and 4? 48:30 That will do for this study, just 3 and 4. 48:33 "Let no one deceive you by any means 48:37 for that day will not come unless the falling away 48:40 come first and the man of sin is revealed - 48:45 the son of perdition - who opposes and exalts himself 48:49 above all that is called God or that is worshiped 48:53 so that he sits as God in the temple of God 48:57 showing himself that he is God. " 49:01 So we'll take notice there in verse 3 49:04 it says that they day - speaking of the day of Christ - 49:07 will not come unless there comes a falling away first 49:11 and that man of sin is revealed the son of perdition. 49:15 That word falling away is apostasia. 49:18 It means to divorce or to fall away from. 49:21 So the antichrist power falls away from truth 49:27 and thereby now teaches non-truth. 49:30 He falls away from that which is right and now teaches 49:33 things that are not right. The only other time in scripture 49:38 that the name son of perdition is used 49:40 is in John chapter 17... our 12th text. 49:44 John chapter 17 verse 12. 49:47 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John 49:50 chapter 17 and verse 12. 49:55 John chapter 17 and verse 12. 49:57 I'll go ahead and read that. The Bible says in John 17:12: 50:01 "While I was with them in the world 50:04 I kept them in Thy name. 50:10 Those Thou gavest Me I have kept 50:13 and none of them is lost but the son of perdition 50:17 that the scripture might be fulfilled. " 50:22 Who is the son of perdition: 50:24 the one of the 12 that did not choose to stay on the side 50:29 of Christ? Judas. 50:31 Now was Judas a violent opposer of Christianity? 50:35 No. No he wasn't. 50:37 He was not a violent opposer of Christianity. 50:41 So the beast itself - the mark of the beast - 50:45 is going to be a very subtle, a very subtle way 50:51 to get worship 50:53 and it's going to look Christian. 50:57 The son of perdition exalts himself above God, 51:01 above all that is called God, 51:02 and sits as God... showing himself that he is God. 51:06 The only other time that phrase is used is in John 17:12. 51:11 So we see here from these two passages 51:14 that the mark of the beast is going to be something 51:18 that is apparently Christian. 51:20 It's going to be very subtle. 51:22 We'll go to our next reference now 51:24 which is Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 5-8. 51:28 Deuteronomy the 6th chapter verses 5-8. 51:32 We're going to notice something very amazing here. 51:34 Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 5-8. 51:38 And let's go ahead and let Robert read this. 51:40 Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy 51:44 chapter 6 verses 5-8. 51:51 Six. Deuteronomy 6:5-8. 51:55 That's where we want to go. 51:56 All right, go ahead and read that. 51:58 "And these words which I command you 52:01 today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them 52:05 gently to your children and shall talk to them 52:11 when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, 52:16 when you lay down and when you rise up. 52:20 You shall bind them 52:24 as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets 52:30 between your eyes. " 52:33 So the Bible says here speaking of God's law... 52:35 God says first of all there in verse 6: 52:38 "And all these words which I command thee this day 52:41 shall be in your... " what? "heart. " 52:44 Then He says you will "bind them on your forehead 52:46 and on your hand. " Notice that to be in your heart 52:50 and to be in your forehead or in your hand is the same thing. 52:55 To be doing what God asks you to do 52:57 because you're making a decision to do that 52:59 is to be bound on your forehead. 53:02 To do what God is asking you to do and to honor His Sabbath 53:04 by not working on it means that your hand 53:08 is doing exactly what your hearts wants to do. 53:11 Because these things are written in your heart. 53:17 Now some people will tell you that the mark of the beast 53:21 is a tattoo or a bar code 53:23 or something that is put on you. 53:25 The next reference that we're going to, Revelation 12:9, 53:28 we've been to this so many times you could probably quote it. 53:31 The Bible says that that old serpent called the devil 53:35 and Satan was cast out. He was cast to the earth 53:39 and he wants to deceive us. 53:43 Do you remember that? 53:45 Revelation 12:9... he wants to deceive us. 53:48 Is an external mark any type of deception? 53:54 No, no, no. 53:55 Did God really want His people to bind His law 53:59 on their forehead and to put it on their hand? 54:01 No, He prefaced that entire passage by saying 54:04 "let all of these words be in your... " what? 54:06 "In your heart. " 54:08 So you will receive the mark of the beast if you do not 54:12 love God enough to obey His law. 54:17 And the mark of the beast stands in contradistinction 54:21 to the seal of God. 54:25 We're going to go to our 15th reference. 54:28 We've got, I think, just a couple of references left 54:31 in this study. 54:32 We're going to Romans chapter 4 verse 11. 54:34 We will let Vanessa read this. 54:36 Romans chapter 4 and verse 11. 54:41 Romans chapter 4 verse 11. And Vanessa, if you could 54:44 go ahead and read that for us. 54:46 "And he received the sign of circumcision 54:50 a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet 54:54 being uncircumcised. " OK. 54:57 That's all we need read of that verse. 54:58 The reason we are in Romans 4:11 55:01 is to show that a sign is the same thing as a seal. 55:07 "And he received the sign of circumcision, 55:10 a seal of the righteousness... " 55:13 So you see there in scripture that a sign 55:17 is equal to a what? Seal. 55:20 That's the principle we're bringing out of Romans chapter 4 55:24 and verse 11. 55:26 Now let's go to Exodus 31:13 55:30 and see what God describes His Sabbath as. 55:35 Romans... or Exodus, rather, 31 verse 13. 55:39 We have another graphic up there for this. 55:41 Exodus 31 and verse 13. 55:47 The Bible says here in Exodus 31:13... 55:51 we're getting very close to the end of this study 55:53 so I'll read this. 55:55 Exodus 31 and verse 13. 55:59 And God says this... God says: 56:02 "Speak now also unto the children of Israel 56:06 saying: 'verily My Sabbaths 56:08 ye shall keep for it is a... ' what? 56:11 'sign between me and you 56:14 throughout your generations 56:15 that you know... 56:17 that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ' " 56:21 So the Sabbath is the sign, 56:24 the seal, whereby we know God sanctifies us. 56:33 Isn't that amazing? 56:35 Then we go back to the reference that we've been to 56:38 so many times during this study. 56:40 You will remember exactly what that reference said. 56:44 That reference said that the beast power 56:48 wants worship so desperately 56:51 that he will force you to worship him 56:55 or you will be killed. 56:59 Only those that are sealed with God's seal... 57:03 What did we find out God's seal to be? 57:06 The Sabbath. Only those that are sealed with God's seal 57:10 avoid the mark of the beast. 57:14 Only those that obey God and serve Him 57:18 and worship Him will avoid that mark. 57:22 Is it your desire to worship God as the Creator 57:27 today? To make that decision right now? 57:34 God is giving you that opportunity 57:38 and you need to take it. |
Revised 2014-12-17