The MARKof the BEAST

The MARKof the BEAST

• • • it is here, NOW!Better be sure whether this brand is upon you! Without it, no man willbe able to buy or sell! Without it, you will be tortured even to death!But with it, you shall suffer the SEVEN LAST PLAGUES!

by Herbert W. Armstrong

SOME say this mystic "rnark" is thefasces on our dimes. During WorldWar II many said it was Hitler's

swastika. During the Depression NewDeal many said it was Roosevelt's NRA!

No subject has intrigued-and baffled-more people in our generation. Thou­sands of SerlTIOnS have been preached onit-by professed ministers and evange­lists who themselves did not Iinou. whatit is! Millions have been curious.

The average sermon on this subjectconsiders one text of Scripture, only!

Only Text Usually ReadThis is the sole passage ordinarily

quoted:"And he (the second "beast.") causeth

all, both small and great, rich and poor,free and bond, to receive a MARK intheir right hand, or in their foreheads:and that no man might buy or sell, savehe that had the mark, or the name ofthe beast, or the number of his name."(Rev. 13: 16-17.)

From this one passage the speakercustomarily uses his imagination. Thegeneral idea seems to be that since you

Copyright 1952 •

will not be able to buy or sell withoutthis mysterious rnar1<., and since we allwish to be able to buy and sell, there­fore we ought to do all in our power toreceive this marli!

But here is an additional passage theyneglect to show you:

"And I saw another sign in heaven,great and marvelous, -seven angelshaving the seven last plagues; for inthem is filled up the wrath of God .••And the seven angels came out of thetemple, having the seVe1t plagues, • • •And I heard a great voice out of thetemple saying to the seven angels, UGoyour ways, and pour out the vials of theWRATH OF GOD upon the earth. And thefirst went, and poured out his vial uponthe earth; and there fell a noisome andgrievous sore upon the men which hadthe mar]: of the beast, and upon themwhich worshipped his image." (Rev.15 :1,6, and 16: 1-2) •

If you do have the "mark of thebeast," you will be terribly punished,without mercy, by GOD-you will re­ceive the SEVEN LAST PLAGUES!

Radio Cburcb of God

THE MARK OF THE BEAST 3

Ilow to Tell What It Is!There are many more references to

this subject in the Bible. Instead oflooking at one passage only, then turn­ing away from God's own revelation ofthis mystery, and using human imagina­tion and fancy to conjure up the manyridiculous conclusions being foistedupon a deceived public by men devoidof understanding, let us see what GOD

says this MARK really is!Make no mistake, GOD TELLS US

PLAINLY what it is! It is unmistakably,clearly revealed and explained in THEBIBLE! But to find GOD'S ANSWER, wemust have before us all of the Scripturesreferring to this subject!

First, from the text universally quoted(Rev. 13:16-17), notice this: the"mark" is something that will be verypopular-something the majority ofpeople will be in favor of, will seek­which custom will approve as RIGI-IT­because no man will be allowed to "buyor sell," unless he receives this "mark."

Everyone wants to be able to "buy orsell." In this scriptural usage the expres­sion "buy or sell" more literally indi­cates being able to buy-not that storesor those from whom one might makepurchases of the necessities of life wouldrefuse to accept the money, but that theone refusing the "mark" would not beable to buy, would not be able to earna living, to earn a wage or salary, or toengage himself in business.

The "mark of the beast," then, hasdirect bearing on ability to engage inbusiness, or to hold a job and earn aliving.

But let's look at all the facts God re­veals on the subject-all the Scripturesbearing on it.

What Is the Beast?First, then, the "beast" itself. The

"mark" is the mark of the ('('BEAST."This is described in the first verse ofthis chapter:

"And I stood upon the sand of thesea," records John, speaking of his pro­phetic vision, "and saw a beast rise upout of the sea, having seven heads andten horns, and upon his horns tencrowns, and upon his heads the name of

blasphemy. And the beast which I sawwas like unto a leopard, and his feetwere as the feet of a bear, and his mouthas the mouth of a lion: and the dragongave him his 'power, and his seat, and

great authority." (Rev. '13:1-2).What is this weird(Cbeast"?An astound­

fug booklet (CWho Is the Beast ?=,' identi-fies this wild animal-a composite wildanimal with the strongest characteristicsof the four wild animals symbolicallydescribed in Daniel seven-as 'THE RO­

MAN EMPIRE. Space does not permitthat full identification here. A copy ofthis fr ee booklet will be mailed you,without charge, upon request.

Daniel seven reveals that thesettbeasts" or wild animals, symbolizecivil GOVERNMENTS, or world Empires.Daniel's first "beast" was like a lion,and it represented the Chaldean Empireof Nebuchadnezzar, called Babylon. Hissecond, like a bear, pictured the PersianEmpire; his third; with four heads, likea leopard, represented Alexander's Gre­co-Macedoniarr Empire and its succeed­ing four divisions after his death; andhis fourth beast, unlike any existingwild animal, the Roman Empire whichswallowed up and absorbed all theothers, and embodied the strongestphysical and -military characteristics ofall its predecessors.

This "beast" of Revel ation 13 had the

mouth, the strongest part, of the lion;the feet, the strongest part, of the bear;the body of the leopard. It included,in the ONE Empire it represents, thestrength of ALL of Daniel's "beasts." Itis the ROMAN EMPIRE.

Notice, the "dragon" gave this Em­pire its seat and power, and greatauthority. Rev. 12:9 and 20:2 both tellus in plain words this "dragon" isSATAN 'fI-IE DEVIL. It is, then, the politi­cal instrument of Satan in ruling anddeceiving the world.

WHO'S Mark?Note this well! The "rnark" is the

mark of the BEAsT-and the "beast' isthe ROMAN EMPIRE. In Revelation 17 alater stage of this same wild beast ispictured, and there a "woman" - agreat CHURCH-sits astride it, guides it,

4 THE MARK OF THE BEAST

rules over it. But the MARK is themark of the ROMAN EMPIRE-not theRoman Catholic CHURCH!

That is fact number one. Keep thatin mind.

Now in verse 11 another "beast" ispictured, (Rev. 13). This beast had twohorns like a lamb, but spoke as a dra­gon.

- The Bible plainly reveals this sec­ond "beast" to be the Roman CatholicChurch. This Church is an ec~lesiasticalworld Empire-a government. See arti­cle "Papacy," Encyclopedia Britannica.

I t took over, exercised, wielded, allthe power· of the first beast-the Ro­man Empire. After 554 A.D., theRoman Church did do this for 1260years, as prophesied!

Notice, further, verses 15-16:"And he had power to give life unto

the image of the beast, that the imageof the beast should both speak, andcause that as many as would not wor­ship the image of the beast should bekilled. And he causeth all, ... to re­ceive a mark in their right hand, or intheir foreheads." (Rev. 13 :15-16).

Now here is a deceived Church­both herself deceived by, and thereforeused by the devil, and also deceivingthe world. Notice, this Church did notactually herself kill these martyrs-shemerely caused them to be killed. Andshe it was, too, who CAUSES all underher domination to receive the dreadMARK of the Beast.

The Brand of RomeNotice carefully what the above text

tells us:1) UHe,"-the Catholic Church that

formed the Papacy and originated hu­man church government modeled afterthat of "the Roman Empire.

2) "Causetb" all to receive this mark.It is the Church, not the civil govern­ment, which forces this brand on people.

3) It is the same power which causedthe martyrdom of saints.

4) It brands on the people the markof the "Beast;"-that is, the mark ofthe ROMAN EMPIRE, not the mark ofthe Church.

5) This mark is received in the right

hand, and in the forehead.So the MARK is that of the Roman

Empire, which the Roman CHURCH didcause or shall cause the western worldto receive.

TWO MartyrdomsNext notice when these saints were

killed. This will show us when the markof the beast is enforced.

ttAnd when he had opened the fifthseal, I saw under the altar the souls ofthem that were slain for the word ofGod, and for the testimony which theyheld: and they cried with a loud voice,saying, How long, 0 Lord, holy andtrue, dost thou not judge and avengeour blood on them that dwell on theearth?" (Rev. 6 :9-10).

Here we find pictured the martyrs ofthe middle ages already dead, at thetime of this vision-which is the ap­proximate present. They know "Ven­geance is MINE, saith the Eternal." Theyknow God's judgments against this per­secuting, deceiving false Church, as de­scribed in Revelation 18, are to be theSEVEN LAST PLAGUES, poured out "inthe presence of the Lamb" at the sec­ond coming of Christ. Read of it inRevelation 18. These dead saints arepictured as crying out to ask ((HOWLONG" before the Second Coming ofChrist and the seven last plagues whichwill avenge their martyrdom. Historytells us between fifty and a hundredMILLION of these saints were killed fortheir BIBLE faith and obedience to Godinstead of obedience to this church gov­ernment of man and the devil. Notice,now, what must again happen beforethe seven last plagues and the corningof Christ!

"And white robes (symbolizing right­eousness and purity) were given untoeveryone of them; and it was saidunto them, that they should rest yet alittle season, until their fellowservantsalso and their brethren, that should bekilled as they were, should be fulfilled."(Rev. 6: 11) .

Christ will not come to take ven­geance on this great false Church UN­TIL another great martyrdom has takenplace!

THE MARK OF THE BEAST 5

NOTE IT! There was one martyrdom.Those sain ts are already killed. Theirresurrection will occur WHEN Jesus re­turns to earth-WHEN His judgmentsare poured out on this false BABYLONand her daughter churches! But thereis yet to be another universal persecu­tion and martyrdom of saints, just priorto Christ's coming in vengeance againstthe forces of evil! Here are TWO uni­versal martyrdoms!

This coming great martyrdom is THEGREAT TRIBULATION (Matthew 24:9,21-22). This TRIBULATION is not thewrath of God-the last plagues. It isthe wrath of Satan (Rev. 12:12), in­flicted at the behest of HIS apostatechurch by the coming "United N a­tions of EUROPE" and against the truepeople of GOD! It is a persecution-atorturing-a martyring of the saints ofGod-the very elect who cannot be de­ceived (Mat. 24: 24). Except those daysof Great Tribulation be shortened, noflesh could be saved. But, FOR THESAKE OF GOD'S PERSECUTED SAINTS thosedays shall be shortened.

God shall in tervene. Christ shall"come quickly."

MARI( Then, and NowNow compare with these Scriptures:In Revelation 17, picturing this same

Church as the great whore riding thebeast, John writes: HAnd J saw thewoman drunken with the blood of thesaints, and with the blood of the mar­tyrs of Jesus." (verse 6).

Also: Rev. 20:4-ccAnd I saw thrones,and they sat upon them, and judgmentwas given unto them: and I saw thesouls of them that were beheaded forthe witness of Jesus, and for the wordof God, and which had not worshippedthe beast, neither his image, neitherhad received his mark upon their fore­heads, or in their hands; and they livedand reigned with Christ a thousandyears."

Now we see WHY these many mil­lions were, and shall be martyred! Itwas because they refused to receive thismark of the beast-refused to join inthis worship of Church and Empire!They obeyed GOD rather than man!

Their lives were governed by GOD. Theywere the children, the heirs, the futurecitizens, of HIS KINGDOM, not thekingdoms of men. But-note it well!­they were, as God commands, SUBJECTto the government of MAN. They didnot resist-they yielded themselves sub ...jeer to the PENALTY. They were tor­tured - they were killed! But theyobeyed the government of God ratherthan man where there was conflict.And, at Christ's coming to rule theworld as KING of kings, they shall allbe lesser priests and kings UNDER IDM

and RULE THE WORLD!Do you see what this plainly reveals?

Those martyrs, over a thousand yearsago, were killed BECAUSE they wouldnot worship the Roman CatholicChurch, conform to its idolatry andpagan beliefs and customs, or worshipthe so-called "FIoly Roman Empire,"-and BECAUSE they refused to receivethe MARK of the beast!

'This means the MARK of the Beast issomething that was forced on people,on pain of being killed, more than II

thousand years ago! The MARK of theBeast was in full existence- and enforce­ment over a thousand years ago!

:BUT, since it is those who have themark of the beast who shall suffer theseven last plagues at Christ's coming,that DREAD MARK IS ONCE AGAIN TO

:BE ENFORCED! And those who refuseit are those who shall be MARTYRED inthe coming GREAT TRIBULATION!

Now we begin to find real1ight shedon this bafflinz auestion!

Warning of Third AngelSoon, now, the time is coming when

gross spiritual darkness will cover thisearth-when no human will be permit­ed to preach Christ's true Gospel. Wemust work while it is day-the nightis fast drawing on when no man canwork, for God.

At that time God shall send angelswith His final warning to these apostatenations under sway of this great deceiv­ing Church as a final witness againstthem. Three such angel messages areforetold in Revelation 14. Notice thefinal warning of the third angel:

6 THE MARK ,OF THE BEAST

"If any man worship the beast andhis image, and receive his MARK in hisforehead; or in his hand, the same shalldrink of the wine of the WRATH OFGOD"-the seven last plagues, full force,unmixed with mercy! (Rev. 14:9-10).

This shows that altho the MARK wasbranded on all but the martyrs over athousand years ago, it is STILL thebrand of apostate Rome today, and isONCE AGAIN to be enforced. Onceagain those who refuse it shall be mar­tyred. But those who receive it SHALLSUFFER THE WRATH OF GOD WITHOUTMERCY!

Y01t, dear reader, must soon choosewhom y(J1,t will obey-this coming fas­cist Roman Empire resurrected by aUnited Nations of EUROPE, ruled byRoman Catholicism-or whether youshall OBEY GOD!

A Mark of ObedienceWe begin now to see that the MARK

of the Beast involves a point of OBEDI­ENCE-whether we shall OBEY GOD, orreject the commandment of God andobey MAN'S rule.

It has something to do, then, withthe COMMANDMENT OF GOD!

Notice, there are two classes-onehas the MARK, the other rejects it andis martyred. Notice now the descrip­tion of those who refuse this evil MARK:

"Here is the patience of the SAINTS:

here are they that keep the COM­MANDMENTS OF GOD, and the FAITHOF JESUS." (Rev. 14: 12) •

There it is! In verses 9-11 of thischapter the third angel warns that thosewho have the mark of the beast shallbe punished by the plagues of God.In the next verse, the 12th, the saintswho do not have the mark are thosewho KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OFGOD. Those who have the mark, there­fore, are those who REFUSE TO KEEPTHE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. TheMARK of the Beast, therefore, involvesa rejection of the COMMANDMENTs OFGOD, or of one of them, for if we breakone we are guilty of all (Jas. 2: 10) •

So, one class of people accepts theMARK of the Beast.

The other class keeps the Command­ments of God.

Mark of DisobedienceHence, whatever the Mark of the

Beast may be, it means disobedience toGOD'S government-to the Command­ments of God.

Here's further proof-here are theywho get victory over this mark:

Revelation 15 :2-3: (CAnd I saw as itwere a sea of glass mingled with :fire:and them that had gotten the victoryover the beast, and over his image, andover his mark, and over the number ofhis name, stand on the sea of glass hav­ing the harps of God. And they singthe song of Moses the servant of God,and the song of the Lamb, saying,(Great and marvelous are thy words,Lord God Almighty; just and true areTHY WAYS, thou King of saints'."

This corresponds to the children ofIsrael, delivered from Egyptian bon­dage under Moses. Moses was a type ofChirst. Pharoah was the type and fore­runner of this Beast. The plagues Godpoured on Egypt were a type of thelast plagues to be poured out on Baby­lon. The children of Israel stood on theshore of the Red Sea, and God miracu­lously delivered them. Here the saintsof God are pictured on this symbolicsea of glass.

They sing the song of Moses, andthe song of the Lamb (Christ). Mosespictures Law and God's Command­ments, the Lamb (Christ) picturesfaith and salvation from sin.

Remember, the Beast is the humancivil organization of the devil. In Rev­elation 12, we find Satan stirred togreat wrath "because he knoweth thathe hath but a short time." (Rev. 12:12 ). He then starts a great PERSECU­TIoN, or TRIBULATION against the TRUEChurch-the true saints of God. Thisis just prior to the second coming ofChrist. (Verse 13). Now notice againstwhom Satan is so wroth:

"And the dragon (Satan) was wrothwith the woman (Church), and wentto make war with the remnant (lastgeneration) of her seed, which keepthe commandments of God, and have

THE MARKO'F THE BEAST 7

the testimony of Jesus Christ (theBible)." (Verse 17).

There it is} again! Those keepingGod's COMMANDMENTS-those yieldingthemselves to God's RULE, and livingby every Word of God-by the BIBLE-which is the written testimony. ofJesus Christ-they are the ones thedevil will persecute and martyr thru hisfalse Church and his Fascist re-bornEmpire!

But Satan knows his own. He willbrand his own with a mark, so theyshall not receive this persecution andmartyrdom, even as God put a mark onsinning Cain lest men finding him slayhim (See Genesis 4: 15). All who donot receive Satan's brand-the MARKof the BEAST-will suffer Satan's wrathin the Tribulation.

Thank God, those days shall be cutshort, for the elect's sake!

Class on Whom Plagues FallThere are TWO classes of people.

That class which receives the MARK ofthe Beast is the class upon whom thePLAGUES OF GOD will fall. So if wecan further identify those who shallreceive this WRATH OF GOD, and whyGod will thus punish them, we shallfurther identify what the Mark is.

In Ephesians 5 Paul is telling Chris­tions to flee fornication, covetousness,idolatry - transgressing the TEN COM­MANDMENTS. Then he says: "for be­cause of these things," (transgressingGod's LAW) "cometh the WRATH OFGOD (last plagues) ~tpon the childrenof disobedience." (Eph. 5:6.)

How plain! The wrath of God-c-theseven last plagues-are coming on thosewho DISOBEY God, by violating theCOMMANDMENTS. The plagues fall up­on those who have the mark of thebeast!

Those who receive the plagues arebreakers of God's Commandments, andalso at the same time receivers of theMARK! It becomes more and more plainthat the mark of the beast representsCOMMANDMENT-BREAKING.

Notice this again in Col. 3: 5-6:"Mortify therefore your memberswhich are upon the earth; fornication,

uncleanness, inordinate affection, evilconcupiscence, and covetousness, whichis idolatry (transgressions of Ten Com­mandmentsj e for which things' sakethe wrath of God cometh on the chil­dren of disobedience."

Notice it also in the prophecies ofthe Old Testament: ttThe great day oftbe Eternal (time of God's wrath-thelast plagues) is near • • . that day is aday of WRATH, a day of trouble anddistress • • • and 1 (God) will bringdistress upon men, and they shall walklike blind men (the PLAGUES! Butwhy?) because they have sinned againstthe ETERNAL." (Zeph, 1:14-17). Whatis sin?

"Sin is the transgression of the Law"(I John 3:4)-commandment breaking.

The TRUTH Becomes Plain!Now, let's recapitulate! The truth is

becoming plain!1) The ttm'ark" plainly means the re­

jecting and breaking of God's COM­MANDMENTS. And in Jas. 2:10-11,God says if we break only one of theCommandments, we are GUILTY ofbreaking the LAW-guilty of all!

2) The ROMAN EMPIRE is the realauthor of this ttmark." It is the markof the BEAST, not the woman who rodethe beast.

3) The Roman Church caused peo­ple to be deceived into receiving thismark.

4) Satan gave this Roman Empire itsseat and great authority-it is the po­litical instrument thru which Satanworks, in deceiving the world.

5) Those who refuse this ttmark" areprohibited from "buying or selling,"­engaging in commerce, trade, or hold­ing a job.

6) Many of those refusing this"rnar]:" were, and shall again be, mar­tyred because of their refusal-becausethey keep the Commandments of God!

7) Therefore, the inevitable andplain conclusion is that the "merh' issomething enforced by the RomanCatholic Church, originating in thepaganism of the Roman Empire, whicha cunning, deceiving devil would seizeon as a means of cleverly DECEIVING

8 THE MARK OF THE BEAST

people into BREAKING GOD'S TEN COM­

MANDMENTS. And it involves a directconnection with holding a job-engag­ing in business-earning a living.

Satan is clever-cunning-a deceiver.He palms off counterfeits, which looklike the genuine! Naturally he wouldselect the one Commandment of Godwhich he can counterfeit with a substi­tute-one in which by human reasonalone no man could see where it wouldmake any difference! He would selectthe one which would seem of least im­portance to the carnal human mind!

He would not try to deceive men onidolatry, profanity, or on stealing, lying,murder, adultery-tho he has led peopleinto all of these.

But WHAT Commandment could itbe - what commandment affecting aman's job, or his business?

There is ONLY ONE POSSIBLE COM­

MANDMENT-the one regarded by thelargest number as the ('('LEAST" of theCommandments-and that is the fourthCommandment, which says: ((REMEM­BER the Sabbath day, to keep it holy ..•The seventh day is the Sabbath of theEternal thy God."

No carnal mind can see, without thespecial spiritual revelation of God thruHis word, where it makes any differenceWHICH day man observes.

WHERE DID SUNDAY ORIGINATE? Notwith the Roman Catholic Church, butwith the pagan religion of the ROMANEMPIRE, long before there was anyCatholic Church! It is the day on whichthe ancient pagans assembled at sun­rise, faced the east, (as they do EasterSunday morning today) and worship­ped the rising SUN. It was Constantine,Emperor of the Roman EMPIRE, not apope, who made SUNDAY the official so­called "Christian day of rest." But itwas enforced -people were caused toaccept it universally.-by the RomanCatholic CI-IURCH!

Why Saints Were MartyredIt was for obeying God's FOURTH

Commandment -keeping the Sabbath-that millions of saints were put todeath. The Roman Catholic Council ofLaodicea, in 363 A.D., passed this de-

cree: "Christians must not Judaize byresting on the Sabbath, but must workon that day, resting rather on Sunday.But, if any be found to be Judaizing,let them be declared anathema [romChrist."

The Church. ca'llsed',them.'to be killed.When the Church branded one "anath..ema" (a heretic), the STATE POLICEof the Empire began torturing him.Unless he r.ecanted, he was tortureduntil he died!

Laws became so strict no man couldhold a job, or engage in business, un­less he worked on Saturday and restedon Sunday. And the world is now sogeared that it is almost impossible forone to "buy or sell" except he receivethis MARK OF THE BEAST!

This is the ONLY COMMANDMENTwhich was altered by the ROMAN EM­PIRE! In Daniel 7:25 we read theprophecy of this ('('BEAST" and the littlehorn (papacy) rising up, which was tothink to CHANGE "rimes and laws."That is, change God's LAW in respect toTIME-the time for the Sabbath!

What Is a Mark, Anyway?Now what is a "mark?' In Bible

usage it is virtually synonymous with a"sign," and in one or two places usedinterchangeably. There is merely thisdifference:'. A "mark" is a brand ofidentification, forced on one. Cattleraisers put by force their mark on theircattle-their brand. A "sign' is also abadge of IDENTITY, but one voluntarilyaccepted and used. A druggist hangs asign in front of his store. It may say,(,C'JONES & co., DRUGS." It identiiie«.It tells what kind of store, and whoowns it.

Now the "Beast," in association withthe Church, used FORCE to brand thewestern world with their MARK. Thosewho obeyed God and kept His Sabbathwere martyred. They were unable to"buy or sell." But God does not forceanyone. God says, -whosoever will maycome." God lets us make our own de­cision about obeying, Him, acceptingChrist, and becoming His obedientchildren.

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But is the Sabbath God's SIGN thatwe are Christians, belonging to HIM?

God's SIGNYes, indeed!It was after God had made, and rati­

fied, the Covenant with Israel. That oldCovenant, of course, was for limitedduration, is now replaced with the New.But any covenant made after it hadbeen made and ratified by blood wasno part of that Old Covenant.

It was forty days after that ratifica­tion, that God made a new, separate,different Covenant between Himselfand all who should be HIS PEOPLE, tolast forever. This was no temporarycovenant, but for all generations, FOR­EVER.

It is found in Exodus 31:12-17:"And the Eternal spake unto Moses,

saying, "Verily MY SABBATHS ye shallkeep; for it is a SIGN between me andyou ibrougbout your generations'."These generations of Israel-WE are Is­rael-(see our free booklet, "UnitedStates in Prophecy,") are still going on!Now WHY is it a sign? Does it IDENTI­FY God to us? Does it identify us asHIS? ". •• that ye may know that I amthe ETERNAL that doth sanctify you."

Get the powerful meaning of thosewords!

It is a SIGN, that we may KNOW thatthe ETERNAL is the true God. It identi­fies who God is. How? Notice verse 17:UIt is a SIGN . . . for in six days theETERNAL made heaven the earth, andon the seventh day He rested, and wasrefreshed." It is the memorial of God'srest from CREATION. Always, in all partsof the Bible, God identifies Himself asCREATOR. How can we distinguish whois the TRUE God, from all the false gods?The true God created all the false gods,and that from which they are made, andeverything that is. Some worshippedthe sun. But The ETERNAL, the trueGod, created the sun, and rules it. Someworship idols carved out of stone, orwood, or marble. But the true Godcreated that from which they weremade, and even the human beings whomade them. The Sabbath is GOD'S Sab-

bath, not the Jewish Sabbath. Neverdoes the Bible call it the "jewish Sab­bath." It identifies GOD as the CREATOR.

The Sabbath was made FOR MAN. SOsaid Jesus (Mark 2:27). It was madeWHEN man was made (Genesis 5: 1- 3) •It was MADE-and it was Christ, TheEtrenal, who made it! Therefore HE isLord of the Sabbath! It was made tokeep man in the true knowledge of theIDENTITY of the true God, to keep himfrom idolatry! And history proves thatevery nation who did NOT keep God'sSabbath worshipped false gods, and didnot know who the true God was! WhenIsrael quit keeping God's Sabbath, theywent into idolatry (Ezek. 20:5, 11-13,17-21).

IT WAS FOR SABBATH BREAKING GODSENT BOTI-I ISRAEL AND JUDAH INTOSLAVERY!

But back to Ex. 31 :17-17. It also isthe SIGN by which we are identified asbelonging to GOD. We BELONG to whomwe obey-so we read in Romans! It isthe sign by which we know He is TheETERNAL ... "rhat doth sanctify you."To sanctify is to set apart for spiritualuse. The SABBATH sets one apart fromthe world, and always did-as OBEYINGand belonging to GOD. Can you think ofANY REASON why anyone would EVERkeep the Sabbath, except to OBEY GOD?Would any man defy human customand invite persecution, and be set apartas different, thru human reason? Couldany atheist be a Sabbath keeper? THESABBATH IDENTIFIES GOD'S PEOPLE!

God's people, we have seen above, areidentified as they who KEEP THE COM­MANDMENTS. The world acknowledgesall the other nine Commandments. Theonly one the world rejects is the fourth.The only one that sets one apart fromthe world-that IDENTIFIES one as be­longing to GOD-that is a SIGN of God-is the SABBATH.

Notice, verse 16, it is a t'C"pERPETUALCOVENANT." It is a COVENANT! It isno part of the Old Covenant-no partof the Law of Moses! It was made withIsrael after all these, and is a separate,and perpetual COVENANT.

10 THE MARK IOF THE BEAST

Notice verse 17: "It is a SIGN be­tween me and the children of IsraelFOREVER." There it is! It is a COVE­NANT. It is FOREVER!

When given to physical, flesh-bornIsrael, this covenant punished by deathany breaking of the SIGN~ Today, sincethe administration of the death penaltyby the Levites and judges is not beingdone (2 Cor. 3: 7,8 ), and since all raceswhether Israelite or Gentile are graftedinto spiritual Israel (Romans 11: 24 ) ,the willful refusal to keep this sign ispunishable by death-the second death.

"He that despised Moses' law diedwithout mercy under two or three wit­nesses: of how much sorer punishment,suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy,who hath trodden under foot the Sonof God?" (Heb. 10:28,29.)

Right Hand and in ForeheadGod says the penalty for SIN is

DEATH! Sin is the transgression of theLaw. If we break only this one Com­mandment, we are guilty. The penaltyis DEATH!

The Roman Church caused people toreceive the MARK of pagan ROME-theSunday observed by the pagan RomanEmpire-and the penalty for disobedi­ence was DEATH. Fifty millions wereput to death-so says history.

It is the ONLY Commandment theworld will not accept in its MIND (fore­head) and OBEY (by work, or rest, withthe HAND). It is the ONLY command­ment that can distinguish betweenthose who have the MARK of the BEAST,or the SIGN OF GOD.

Now the Book of Revelation is writ­ten mostly in symbols. The right handsymbolizes work, or labor-the fore­head the intellect, or mind. It has to dowith what we BELIEVE, in the mind,and whether we OBEY, with the hand.

HOW ABOUT GOD'S SIGN? It also wasreceived in the forehead, and the band!

Regarding one of God's annual Sab­baths, we read: tt. • • it shall be for aSIGN unto thee upon thine hand, andfor a memorial between thine eyes(forehead), that the Eternal's LAW maybe in thy mouth." (Ex. 13:9.)

Deut, 6:1, 6-8: "Now these are the

COMMANDMENTS • • • and these wordswhich I command thee this day, shallbe in thine heart, • • • and thou shaltbind them for a SIGN upon thine hand,and they shall be as frontlets betweenthine eyes."

Deut, 11: 18: "Therefore shall ye layup these my words in your heart and inyour soul, and bind them for a SIGNupon your hand, that they may be asfrontlets between your eyes."

Also see Prove 7:2-3, and Rev. 7:3-4;14:1.

There is ABSOLUTE PROOF! Yes, theTRUTH is very PLAIN!

The Sabbath is God's SIGN, standing,more than any commandment, for OBE­DIENCE. It was symbolically in theHAND and in the FOREHEAD, just as theMARK of the BEAST-the pagan SUNDAY-was in the right HAND and in theFOREHEAD!

SUNDAY observance-Christmas, NewYears, Easter, etc-this is the MARK ofthe BEAST!

The Roman Catholic Church didcause all under the "Holy Roman Em­pire" to receive this "Mark," duringthe middle ages. Has she stopped?

Just at present she has not the pow­ER to enforce this mark on everyone'.But our men in Europe this past sum­mer saw the BEAST rising for the lasttime out of its symbolic "bottomlesspit." It will be a United Nations ofEUROPE-a union of ten nations. Itwill be a UNION of Church and State-and the Roman Catholic Churchonce again will sit astride "The BEAST."

Now notice Daniel 7:21, 22: "I be­held, and the same horn (papacy) madewar with the saints, and prevailedagainst them; Until the Ancient, ofdays came (second corning of Christ)and judgment was given to the saintsof the most High."

Yes, the MARK OF THE BEAST onceagain will be enforced! No one will beable to hold a job or engage in businesswithout it. Those refusing will onceagain be tortured and martyred-prob­ably by the secret police of the politicalstate-but at the behest of the Church!

THE MARK OF TIlE BEAST 11

Today, ALL NATIONS are deceived bythis paganism masquerading under thename "Christianity,"

Today, America, Canada, Britain­Israelitish nations-are actually in theways of this C'C'BABYLON."

God's last warning is this: "cosmpUT of her, my people, that ye be notpartakers of her sins, and that ye re­ceive not of HER PLAGUES!"

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IF you are branded by this MARK, re­jecting the SIGN of God in your fore­head and hand, YOU SHALL BE TOR­

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(Luke 21:36).

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