The Closing Messages of the Gospel

THE MARK.—The image enforces the worship of the first beast by the reception of his mark. What is the mark of the beast? All may learn what it is who will; or we could not vindicate the righteousness of God in denouncing unmingled wrath against all who shall receive it. Of course it is not a literal mark or brand, such as men put upon cattle, horses, soldiers, or slaves, as a sign or token that they belong to them; but it must be something which serves as well to distinguish the yielding subjects of the beast from the truly loyal to the God of Heaven. The living God also has his mark or seal; and it is reasonable to conclude that his seal and the mark of the beast are religious institutions, or observances, which are directly opposed to each other, and which clearly distinguish the servants of God and those of the beast from each other.

1. The terms, sign, seal, mark, and token, are used interchangeaby in the Bible; hence their meaning is the same. Abraham "received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised." Rom. 4:11. In Gen. 17:11 circumcision is called a "token of the covenant." In Eze. 9 a mark is put upon the people of God before the slaughter of the wicked; and in Rev. 7 the servants of God are sealed, or signed as some translate it, before the winds of war are loosed and the great day of wrath comes.

2. The time of marking and sealing is just before the day of wrath as shown by Eze. 9, Rev. 7, and the message of warning against the reception of the mark of the beast. Rev. 14:9, 10. And this message, being the last proclamation of the gospel, being immediately followed by the unmixed wrath which it threatens, and the appearing of the Son of man upon the white cloud to reap the harvest of the earth, must be the sealing message; and while it warns against the reception of the mark of the beast, it must bear to men the seal of the living God in its stead.

3. The place of the seal of God is the forehead, Rev. 7:3, that of the beast is the forehead or the right hand. The forehead, the seat of intellect, is a symbol of the mind or affections. The truth of God, to be effectual, must be heartily received in the love of it. The right hand is a symbol of outward actions. If the subjects of the beast do not in their minds accept his teaching and yield hearty obedience, outward conformity to his requirements will answer the demand.

4. The clue to the mark and seal is found in the third angel's message, where the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus are put in contrast with the worship and mark of the beast.

5. The 144,000 who are sealed with the seal of God, are described as having the Father's name written in their foreheads, the place of the seal. The mark of the beast also is said to be the mark of his name. Rev. 14:11. Name as a symbol signifies authority; as, in the name of the governor means by his authority. The sign of the Father's authority must be found in connection with his law. A law must have the signature and seal of the lawgiver to give it force. This signature or seal must point out the lawgiver, showing his claim to dominion and his right to rule.

For example: A command from our President must have something more than simply his name to give it force. There may be other men of the same name to distinguish him from all others, and to show his right to command, he must annex to his name, President of the United States with the proper seal. This shows who he is, the extent of his dominion, and his right to rule.

Has the law of God such a sign or seal? It must have to give it validity. Where is it found? In the fourth commandment. In all the other nine there is nothing to distinguish the true and living God from all the false gods of the heathens—"the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth." Jer. 10:11. But the Sabbath commandment sets him forth as the Maker of "heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is." Ex. 20:11. As the Creator of all, his dominion extends over all, and his right to command is established. I repeat: In the Sabbath commandment alone is the sign of his authority as the giver of this whole moral code.

Accordingly he testifies in the Scriptures: "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." Ex. 31:13. "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed." Verse 17. Again, the Lord testifies by a prophet: "Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." Eze. 20:12. "And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Verse 20.

Here we have the direct and explicit testimony that the Sabbath is the sign or seal of the living and true God; the Creator of heaven and earth. His distinctive appellation is found in this commandment, and in no other of the ten. And the keeping of this commandment is a sign of the knowledge of the true God. We need nothing plainer. Revelation and reason combine in this conclusion. Therefore those who keep the ten commandments from a heart renewed by faith in Christ will have the seal of God in their foreheads. They are marked as the loyal subjects of their Maker.

Now is it not reasonable to suppose that the mark or seal of the beast, the sign of his authority, is an institution directly opposed to the Sabbath of the Lord? We have seen that the power called the beast was to think to change the times and laws of God. Dan. 7:25. Now what evidence does the Roman church give as a sign of its power and authority, upon which it claims the right to make laws which all are bound to obey? We have noticed the testimony of the Creator concerning his sign. We now call the great antichristian power to the stand to testify concerning its mark of power and authority. We quote from standard publications of the Roman Catholic church.

The "Catholic Catechism of the Christian Religion" says:—

"Ques. Say the third commandment.

"Ans. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.

"Q. What does God ordain by this commandment?

"A. He ordains that we sanctify in a special manner this day on which he rested from the labor of creation.

"Q. What is this day of rest?

"A. The seventh day of the week, or Saturday; for he employed six days in creation, and rested on the seventh. Gen. 2:2, etc.

"Q. Is it then Saturday we should sanctify, in order to obey the ordinance of God?

"A. During the old law, Saturday was the day sanctified; but the church, instructed by Jesus Christ and directed by the Spirit of God, has substituted Sunday for Saturday, so we now sanctify the first and not the seventh day, Sunday means, and now is, the day of the Lord.

"Q. Had the church power to make such change?

"A. Certainly, since the Spirit of God is her guide, the change is inspired by that Holy Spirit. The uniform, universal, and perpetual tradition of all ages and nations attests the antiquity of, and consequently the divine assent to this change; even the bitterest enemies of God's church admit and adopt it."

The following is from a Catholic Catechism, called the "Abridgement of Christian Doctrine."

" Q. How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days?

"A. By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church."

This we quoted before, as also the following from the "Doctrinal Catechism," another Catholic work.

"Q. Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?

"A. Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her;—she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority."

All the Roman church are agreed that the institution of Sunday observance in the place of the Sabbath, a change "for which there is no Scriptural authority," is the mark of their power and authority; in Scripture language, "the mark of his name." And this institution stands in direct opposition to the Lord's Sabbath, which He himself sets forth as his sign forever. Ex. 31:17.