1MB Rev. 14:9-11, 14. In the closing era of earth's history just before Christ appears on the cloud at the last day to reward every man, God will send a special message warning every person not to receive the mark of the beast. The terrible punishment of which God warns should make us purpose never to receive the mark of this beast, even if our faithfulness to God should cost us our lives.

2MB Rev 13:18. This beast power, whose mark we are warned to avoid, is the Catholic power. The pope's leading title, Vicarius Filii Dei, when counted according to the Roman numerical value of the letters, equals exactly 666. Since the beast is symbolic of the Catholic power, the mark of the beast must be some institution of Catholicism, which will distinguish those who adopt it as obeying her authority in preference to obeying God on that point.

3MB Rom 6:16. Whatever power we obey in religion, his servants we are. Two questions will show plainly what is involved in this matter of the mark of the beast:

   1. When a person keeps the seventh day, Saturday, as the Sabbath, whom does he obey? There can be only one answer: that person is obeying God, for that is what God has commanded in the fourth commandment of the ten. Ex. 20:8-11.

   2. When a person keeps the first day of the week, Sunday, as a so-called sabbath, whom is he obeying? He is not obeying God by keeping the first day, because God has never told anybody to keep the first day of each week. Whom then is he obeying? He is obeying the command of the Catholic power, which has attempted to substitute the first day as a holy day in place of the seventh day, which the Lord Christ sanctified or set apart for man in the beginning of time. Gen. 2:1-3. Thus it is made plain in the light of God's message that, when we choose to keep the seventh day, we are marked as worshipers of the Creator, the only true God (Ex 20:12); while if we choose the Catholic Sunday in the place of God's seventh-day Sabbath we are marked as followers of the beast power.

4MB Matt 15:9. When we substitute a human ordinance in place of what God has ordained, our worship of Him is vain.

5MB Rev. 13:16,17. An attempt will be made to enforce the mark of the beast on all people. So each one will have to decide whether he will obey God and keep the seventh day or obey the beast power and keep the first day, which this power has sought to put in the place of God's day.

6MB Rev 13:8. All the world will obey the beast power, except a few, who will be loyal to God, as the three Hebrews were in the vast throng of Babylon. The book of Revelation shows that in the testing time every person will have to choose whether he will receive the seal of God on his forehead, or whether he will receive the mark of the beast on the forehead or in the hand. Whichever mark we choose, either for God or for the beast, for Christ or antichrist, will seal our eternal destiny. God holds out the Sabbath as the sign of His power Ex. 31:16, 17. The beast power holds out Sunday as the sign of its power. Which one do you choose?

7MB Acts 5:29. We should decide now to obey God rather than man.

8MB Rev. 14:12. The only way we can avoid the mark of the beast is to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. If you have made that decision, then stick to it. If you have not so decided, then put yourself on God's side this moment by deciding to obey Him and keep His day.

Click here to see page on  Identifying the Beast of Revelation.