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The world has seen numerous false prophets and prophecies relating to the mark of the beast. With careful reading of the scriptures and allowing the Bible to interpret itself (2Pet.1:20; Isa. 28:9-13) one will come to a right understanding which is quite different from mainstream thinking. The warnings about the mark are found in Revelation 13:16-17 and 14:9-11. The mysteries of God are understood as a speck of physical truth upon which are layered spiritual meanings. See the paper The City of God (No. 180). Even the angels want to see these mysteries which have been sealed until now, the end of this age (1Pet.1:12).

In Revelation the beast has a mark put on the forehead and hands of those who worship it. So too does the One True God have a mark on the foreheads and hands of the true believers who keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Law (Ex.13:6-10; Deut.6:1-25). The mark is on the forehead symbolising our thinking and the hand where the thoughts are put into action. By following the commandments and the worship system of God in mind and action, one receives God’s mark and is sealed with the Holy Spirit. This is a spiritual, not physical mark, making them servants of the Living God.

Like a brand on cattle, the mark denotes ownership and possession by the issuer of the mark and obedience and allegiance by the one having the mark or sign. Another sign of God is the keeping of the Saturday Sabbath (Ex. 31:12-17). It is a sign forever. It didn’t stop with the first advent of Christ, nor did he change it to the day of the sun, Sunday. Sunday always was and still is the day of worship of those in rebellion to God and His eternal laws. Although modern day Christianity considers Sunday to be the Lord’s Day, Jesus Christ said himself he was Lord of the Sabbath (Mat.12:8). See the paper The Day of the Lord and the Last Days (No.192).

Modern Islam also has it wrong by keeping the Juma’ah on Friday, disregarding the prophet Mohammed who said if one didn’t keep the Sabbath he was an ape! Friday is the preparation day for the Holy Sabbath. The mark of God is given to those who keep the commandments and His appointed feast days, not those adopting practices of pagans and calling them Christian (Deut.12:29-32).

By changing the commandments and appointed feasts of God both mainstream Christianity and Islam have denied themselves the very seal of God (Mat.5:17-19). The Jews use postponements in their calendar so can’t keep the feasts on the right days; they are in error also. At the end of this age the earth is not allowed to be harmed until the full number of the servants of God are sealed with His mark (Rev.7:2-3; Jer.31:33).

In the origins of man we are told the serpent was more cunning or wise than the beasts of the field (Gen.3:1). This was not a physical serpent but the covering cherub, light bearer or Lucifer who rebelled against God (Ezek.28:12-15). The serpent is used as an allegory for Satan who spoke to and deceived the woman Eve (2Cor.11:3). The beasts of the field refer to the other spirit beings that rebelled with Satan. See paper The Fall of Egypt: The Prophecy of Pharaoh’s Broken Arms (No. 36) for more on this symbolism.

Several times Jesus Christ cast demons out of people (Mat. 8:28-32; Mk. 5:1-13). He sent these demons into pigs, the beasts of the field; they ran and were drowned in water. This symbolised the demons’ fate. The power of Christ, as delegated to him by God the Father, will crush the rebellion. The demons will be brought down to the pit and forcibly become physical beings in the second resurrection (Ezek.31). It is at this time they will see the wages of their sin of rebellion. They will be given a chance to repent, accept Christ as their saviour and be baptized in the waters of the Holy Spirit and be given new life by a forgiving and merciful God. See the paper The Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son (No. 199).

In Daniel 7:2-7 we see there are four beasts which come up from the sea. We are told in Daniel 7:17 that these beasts are four kings that will rise up on the earth. These four beasts are synonymous with the four different sections of the image in the dream of king Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2:31-35.

The last stage of this beast system of rulership is destroyed by the rock from heaven, which is the returning Messiah (Act 4:10-12). This beast system that has power over the whole earth makes war with Christ, but He and the elect with Him overcome and destroy these armies (Rev.17:14).

This one system started with the Babylonians, went through to the Medo-Persian, through the Greco-Macedonian, and finally will end with the last beast, which is the Roman system These empires have a thriving false system of worship, change the calendar (Dan.7:25) and do away wherever possible with the laws of God. This beast is said to have a woman who is a harlot riding it. She is stamped with the mark of Babylon on her forehead. Her teachings are that of the Babylonian mystery religions, which she has cleverly incorporated into her brand of so called Christianity. The consequence of this would be the loss of understanding of God’s plan of salvation for mankind, which can only be understood by keeping His appointed feast days.

The beasts in Daniel and Revelation are the kingdoms of this world that are controlled behind the scenes by spiritual beings under the control of Satan, the god of this world. He even offered his kingdoms to Messiah if he would worship him. The real battles are spiritual. These spiritual forces are able to control the minds of men who don’t have the protection of the seal of God. This beast system of government and worship has lied to mankind and kept them separated from God for some 6000 years.

During that time Jesus Christ has worked to bring out the elect from this false system and train them to be ready to take over the planet when he returns to set up God’s kingdom on this earth. The conquering Christ will rule the nations by the laws of God. At his return he will gather those sealed with the mark of God and defeat the beast and those with his mark. It’s important to study the paper in full so we can ask ourself: Do I worship and follow the beast or do I worship and follow The One True God? It can only be one or the other; the choice is ours.