More on this in our next lesson…
A New Covenant
The Bible speaks of a ________ covenant between God and His people. It is absolutely essential that we look at the nature of this _________ covenant in seeking to understand the Mark of the Beast. The new covenant promise is that God will write His _______ into our _________ and __________. And that He will remember our _________ no more. See Hebrews 8:8-12. Your mind (which has its seat in the brain) is right behind your ___________. The frontal lobe of the brain is where moral decisions are made. It is where our character resides, and where decisions related to character are made. This agrees perfectly with what we saw in Deuteronomy 6 doesn’t it? (Remember, Deuteronomy 5, the chapter just before chapter 6, is one of two chapters that list all of the 10 Commandments!) God puts His law, His name, His character into our minds and hearts! How? By the power of the Holy Spirit, of course.
Our obedience is in __________ to God’s mercy. Our obedience does not _________ salvation for us. It shows that we have received God’s salvation by _________. God writes His law—a transcript of His holy character, His holy name—into our minds! We are sealed with God’s character by God’s Spirit. God is our authority and King, not the traditions of man. We have the seal of God’s righteousness and law, not the ________ of the beast’s authority and his law. Simple. See John 14:15; Revelation 12:17; 14:12; 22:14; Isaiah 8:16; Daniel 3; 6; Ezekiel 8; 9
• So who are you taking orders from?
• Whose authority are you under?
• Whose law are you going to obey?
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord…” Joshua 24:15
—Discover Prophecy—
with David Asscherick, DP Speaker
Discover: How Not to Get the Mark of the Beast
The Mark of the Beast is one of the most serious and misunderstood, subjects in the Bible. Since we have already identified the Beast of Revelation 13, we need only to discover what his mark is. After all, the mark of the beast is just that: the mark of the beast. That is, it is the beast’s mark. Once the beast has been Biblically identified the matter of uncovering his mark becomes almost elementary, as we shall see…
Don’t Forget the Issue…
As we study the topic of the mark of the beast, we must bear in mind what we have learned from our past studies of Revelation. First, we have learned that there is a great ___________ that surrounds God, His character, His law, and His government. Satan has claimed that God is unfair, unjust, and self-serving. Satan has claimed that he could run the universe better than God. This backdrop of the larger issue at stake, namely God’s own character, helps us to understand with clarity the “big-picture” issues in Revelation. Second, the central issue at the end of time, according to the book of Revelation, is the issue of ___________. Keeping these two “Revelation essentials” in mind will be exceedingly helpful in understanding the mark of the beast issue.
God’s Seal Versus the Mark of the Beast
In order to understand the mark of the beast, we must __________ understand
God’s seal. These two are the opposite of one another. If you have one, you cannot have the other. The issue, then, for the believer, should be about ensuring that he/she does have the seal. In short, the seal of God should be the primary focus, not the mark of the beast. In obtaining the seal one is guaranteed that he/she cannot also receive the mark of the beast. Let us first, then, seek to understand the seal of God…
The Seal and the 144,000
The 144,000 spoken of in Revelation 7:1-4 and 14:1-5 all have the seal of God in their forehead. Note that the mark of the beast can be received either in the _____________ or in the ___________, but the seal of God can be received only in the ___________. According to Revelation 6:12-17, the 144,000 are those who are __________ when Jesus Christ returns to earth. They sing a song that no one else can sing because they pass through an experience that no other generation has known. The number does not have to be a literal number, as everything in Revelation is highly symbolic, and the number itself is quite obviously steeped in theological significance. These 144,000 are undefiled by “women”, that is false ___________. They have God’s seal in their __________, that is in their hearts and beliefs. See Deuteronomy 6:6-12.
God’s Name, God’s Character and God’s Law
In the Bible, name represents ____________. This is demonstrated by the number of people who, following a transformative encounter with God, had their name changed as a symbol of the larger character change. For example:
• Saul became ______________
• Jacob became _____________
• Abram became _____________
• Sarai became ______________
• Simon became _____________
God’s holy character and name are synonymous with His _______. See Exodus 33:18-34:7. So God’s seal, which is His name and character, are found to be synonymous with His _________. Those people who receive God’s seal at the end of time will be those who honor and keep God’s holy law. This is exactly how Revelation describes them in Revelation 12:17, 14:12 and 22:14. This is powerfully significant.
The Sabbath, and its Uniqueness Among the Commandments
The 7th day Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment stands out as unique in the 10 Commandments as the one commandment that identifies God as creator, deliverer, and law-giver. Satan knows well the power and purpose of the Sabbath, and he has sought tirelessly to obscure it and cause it to be forgotten. Yet, God’s end-time people will not forget it. They will honor it and keep it as a memorial of both ____________ and _____________. See Exodus 20:8-11 and Ezekiel 20:12, 20. The Sabbath is a sign that it is God _____________ who can make us ________. Our own works ____________ make us holy, we must __________ in and _________ in God’s work for us. Therefore, the Sabbath is a ___________ of trusting totally in _____________ righteousness and not our own! God’s own character, exemplified in His holy law, is God’s seal. Those who, through a faith commitment to Jesus Christ, honor and obey God’s righteous law need not fear the coming mark of the beast crisis! After all, they have the seal of God!
The Mark of the Beast
The mark of the beast is the _____________ of the seal of God. The beast’s mark is his claim to ecclesiastical authority and power. The mark of the beast is the mark of the _____________________ authority. What is this mark? Remember Daniel 7:25 which says that this antichristian power “will _________ to change times and laws.” Have they attempted to do this? The answer of history is: yes! They have sought to “transfer” the holiness and solemnity of the 7th day Sabbath to Sunday, the first day of the week. There is no Biblical authority or mandate for this change. The church has done it out of her own sense of authority. She has placed convenience and tradition above the Bible. The Roman Church-State has historically made this claim, and continues to even today. She claims that this change proves her sovereignty and authority in religious matters. It is her _________ of authority. It is the mark, the identifying mark, of the beast and its usurped ecclesiastical power.
More Than a Day
This issue is about more than “just a day”. (Imagine Adam saying, “It was just an apple.”) It is about Biblical fidelity and faithfulness to Jesus Christ. In short, the issue could be boiled down to the following sentence: Who are you taking orders from—from the Roman Church-State, or from Jesus Christ? This is an issue of loyalty and authority. It is an issue of the commands of God versus the traditions of man. The _______________ is a sign of Christ’s ____________ and ______________. ______________ is a sign of the church’s authority and man’s convenience. Which will you choose?
We’re Not There Yet…
The key word in Revelation 13 relating to the mark of the beast issue is the word: ____________. The second beast of Revelation 13 will enforce and command the worship of the first beast of Revelation 13, the Roman Church-state. This will happen when mandatory ____________ worship is enforced by the secular government. It will be a choice between God’s law or man’s law. The Biblical ______________ will be forgotten, despised, and neglected.
