The Strange Mystery of the “Mark” of the Beast!
In the book of Revelation, the apostle John speaks
of a peculiar “mark” which will be inscribed on people
by the governing authorities, and the terrible fate of
those who possess that “mark.” What is this strange
“mark”? How can you be
certain that you will not possess
it and suffer the horrible fate of those who do?
William
F. Dankenbring
“Then I saw another beast coming
up out of the earth, and he had two horns
like a lamb, and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the
first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those
who dwell in it to
worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. . .
He causes all,
both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to
receive a MARK on their
right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or
sell except one who
has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his
name. Here is
wisdom: Let him who
has understanding calculate the number of the beast,
for it is the number of a man: His number is 666” (Rev.13:11-12, 16-18, NKJV).
The Greek word translated “mark” in
the expression “mark of the beast,” used throughout the book of Revelation, is charagma and means “a scratch or etching,
i.e. stamp (as a badge of servitude), or sculptured figure (statue)” – graven,
mark” (see Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, number #5480). Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament defines this word as follows:
“to engrave; a. a stamp, an imprinted mark: of the mark stamped on the forehead or the
right hand as the badge of the followers of Antichrist, Rev.13:16; 14:9, 11;
15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4) . . . b. thing carved, sculpture, graven work: of idolatrous images, Acts 17:29.”
What is this strange-sounding
prophecy all about? One thing is for
certain – possession of this “mark” will no doubt be looked upon by the masses
of people as a GOOD thing, when it is announced, for no one will be able to buy
or sell without it! Yet, God says
plainly, it is really the “badge of DEATH”!
Possession of this “mark” will
certify one as a “member” of the religious and political system of the great
Worldwide Empire which will rule all nations in the very “time of the end” –
the fast-rising “Babylon the Great,” as the Scriptures call it (Revelation
17-18). Modern world leaders refer to it
as the “New World Order,” and claim it will be a wonderful new world system of
enlightenment and religious freedom and UNITY!
But beware – the truth is not so sanguine or innocent!
What is this strange “mark,” then? What is it that we need to beware of? Is it already beginning to be developed?
In all totalitarian countries in the
past, such as Stalinist Russia, or Hitler’s Nazi Germany, the citizens were
compelled to carry identification papers on their person at all times. They had to be ready to present their
identity documents to the proper authorities at any time. Such papers were often checked at borders,
train stations, bus depots, when doing banking, airports, at road blocks, and
various check points. The words, “Show
me your papers,” would send an ominous chill up the spine of the enslaved
people.
This was, however, a rather
cumbersome procedure, and papers could easily be forged by a good engraver or
printer. But today we live in the age of
incredible advances in computer technology.
Today, the
Implementation of such a card will
give the Government, Big TOTAL CONTROL over the lives of individual
citizens. You would not be able to buy
or sell or conduct any business, without your own “ID chip”!
On
This means that humans can NOW be
implanted and tracked by satellite for location, and even their vital signs can
be monitored from afar! The
transceiver’s power supply and actuation system are unlike anything ever created. When implanted within the human body, the
device is powered electromechanically through the movement of the body’s own
muscles. It can be activated either by
the “wearer,” or by the monitoring facility.
ADS foresees a unique use for its
product in the wake of 9-11, under the new name VeriChip,
after the terrorist attacks on Washington, D.C., and New York City. It is being studied as a means of tracking
terrorists. Says a
company spokesman, “We’ve changed our thinking since September 11. Now there’s more of a need to monitor evil
activities.”
Of course, what is considered “evil”
is in the mind of the beholder!
Other uses of the technology,
according to Applied Digital Angel, Inc., is to provide a tamper-proof means of
personal identification, enhanced e-business security, animal tracking,
locating lost or missing individuals, tracking the location of valuable
property, and monitoring the medical condition of patients.
However, people who wear such a
device will be on an “electronic leash,” and their own personal privacy will be
no more. Their whereabouts will be
relatively easy to track by authorities at any time. This may seem like a good thing, for those
worried about being abducted, kidnapped, or “lost” somewhere. But there is an ominous side to the story as
well. By feeling more “secure,” one
virtually has to give up their right to privacy. Is that what we really want?
Forget about mobile phones as the
hottest new media technology. The
world’s new craze will be using microchip implants to communicate with others
and to transact business!
In April 2004,
In
Also
in
The
propaganda campaign to secure acceptance of the implantable chip by the public
appears to be working, after getting off to a slow start. The events of 9-11 made a big difference. A July 2004 MSN poll showed that 20% of
people would be happy to take an implantable microchip!
Over the years, governments have
been ‘chipping away’ at people’s natural revulsion against having a foreign
object implanted under their skin. They
introduced the chip for pets, to help keep them from becoming lost. And chips have been hyped as a means to
prevent child abductions. In
Conrad Chase, the owner of the Baja
Beach Club in
In April 2005, Chief of Police Jack Schmidig of
Said Kevin H.
McLaughlin, the CEO of VeriChip, “High-profile
regional leaders are accepting the VeriChip,
representing an excellent example of our approach to gaining adoption of the
technology.” This new aggressive
marketing and indoctrination program, “is intended to create widespread
acceptance and exponential adaptation of the company’s FDA-cleared,
human-implantable RFID tag” (
With all the propaganda, hype, and
news of terrorist abductions, we may well reach the place where almost everyone
will wanted to be “chipped”!
It is interesting to note that IBM,
the company behind the VeriChip, the major retailer
of implantable chips, was also the company that ran the cataloguing system of
the Nazis to store information on Jews in Hitler’s anti-Semitic
Simple fish-eye lenses on newer televisions have the potential to watch us as we go about our business in our homes. The Center for Digital Democracy warned in a 2001 report – “TV That Watches You: The prying Eyes of Interactive Television” – that this technology can be used to invade privacy. Stated the report, “A key concern for privacy is that each set-top has a unique identifier built into it that allows for the service provider to identify the household or location of that box.” It went on to state that users would have little or no ability to control or protect their own privacy. “The systems are proprietary, making it difficult, if not impossible, even for advanced users to identify what the system is doing.”
Increasing by leaps and bounds, we
are all living under the microscope of growing surveillance technology – from
cameras at intersections monitoring traffic and identifying those who run red
lights, to widespread use of cameras in department stores and banks and
government buildings to monitor the public, prevent theft, identify criminal
behavior, and record the actions of people, customers, and
Whereas
many people, today, seem to focus on the "mark of the Beast" as being
some kind of physical or electronic device implanted under the skin, however,
there is another very real "mark of the beast" which could be the
fulfillment of this prophecy of Scripture.
Notice!
The
Mark of Cain
When Cain was banished from the sight of God, to the
The Hebrew word for mark is simply owth and means “a signal, as a flag, beacon,
monument, omen, prodigy, evidence – mark, miracle, ensign, token.” It was something that identified Cain, and
set him apart from other men. It marked
him as not being one of God’s own people, but an outcast, a renegade, a man who
had been banished from the society of God's people. This mark came to stand as an ensign or
emblem for Cain and his way.
What was this mark? Alexander Hislop in
The Two Babylons tells us of an ancient pagan
emblem that has characterized this world’s religious system long before the
time of Christ, since time immemorial.
It became the “sign”or “mark” of the Roman
Catholic Church, and all her Protestant “daughters.” We read:
“There is yet
one more symbol of the Romish worship to be noticed,
and that is the
sign of the CROSS. In
the Papal system, as is well known, the sign of the cross and
the image of the cross are all in all. No prayer can be said, no worship engaged in,
no
step almost can be taken, without the frequent use of the
sign of the cross. The cross
was looked upon as the GRAND CHARM [remember Cain? The "mark" was
his symbol of divine protection! No wonder its use would become commonplace
among his followers!], as the GREAT REFUGE IN EVERY SEASON
OF DANGER,
in every hour of temptation as the INFALLIBLE PRESERVATIVE
from all the
powers of darkness.
The cross is adored with all the homage due only to the Most
High;
and for any one to call it, in the hearing of a genuine Romanist, by the
Scriptural
term, ‘the accursed tree’ is a MORTAL OFFENCE. To say that
such superstitious
feeling for the sign of the cross, such worship as
cross, ever grew out of the saying of Paul, ‘God forbid that
I should glory, save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’ – that is, in the doctrine
of Christ crucified -- is a mere
absurdity, a shallow subterfuge and pretense. The magic virtue attributed to the so-
called sign of the cross, the worship bestowed on it, never
came from such a source.
The
SAME SIGN OF THE CROSS THAT
IN
THE BABYLONIAN MYSTERIES, was applied by Paganism to the same
magic purposes, was honoured with
the same honours. That which is now called the
Christian
cross was ORIGINALLY NO CHRISTIAN EMBLEM AT ALL, BUT
WAS
THE MYSTIC TAU OF THE CHALDEANS AND EGYPTIANS – the true
original form of the letter T – the initial of the name of
Tammuz – which, in Hebrew,
radically the same as ancient Chaldee
. . . . That mystic Tau was MARKED IN
BAPTISM
ON THE FOREHEADS OF THOSE INITIATED IN THE MYSTERIES,
and was used in every variety of way as a most sacred
symbol. To identify Tammuz
with the son it was joined, sometimes to the circle of the
sun. . .” (The Two Babylons,
p.197-198).
Hislop
continues:
“. . . there seems no reason to doubt that the Maltese cross is an
express symbol
of the SUN; for Layard
found it as a sacred symbol in
as led him to identify it with the sun. The mystic Tau, as
the symbol of the great
divinity, was called 'the
sign of life;' it was used as an AMULET OVER THE
HEART;
it was marked on the official garments of the priests of
borne by kings in their hand, as a token of their dignity or
divinely-conferred
authority” (ibid.,
p.198).
The Vestal virgins of Pagan Rome
used it suspended from their necklaces, even as Catholic nuns do now. The ancient Egyptians did the same, as
Egyptian monuments show. Says Wilkinson in his work on the Egyptians, “it was already in use
as early as the fifteenth century before the Christian era” (vol.1, p.
376).
Alexander Hislop
goes on:
“There is hardly
a Pagan tribe where the cross has not been found. The cross was
worshipped by the Pagan Celts, long before the incarnation
and death of Christ. . . .
It was
worshipped in
foot there, large stone crosses being erected, probably to
the ‘god of rain.’ The cross
thus widely worshipped, or regarded as a sacred emblem, was
the unequivocal symbol
of Bacchus, the Babylonian Messiah, for he was represented
with a head-band
covered with crosses.
This symbol of the Babylonian god is reverenced at this day in
all the wild wastes of Tartary,
where Buddhism prevails, and the way in which it
is represented among them forms a striking commentary on the
language applied by
How did the cross get into the Church as an object of religious worship? Alexander Hislop gives the answer. He explains,
“Now this Pagan
symbol seems first to have crept into the Christian Church in
of the third century, shows how much, by that time, the
infected with the old leaven. Egypt, especially, which was never
thoroughly
evangelized, appears to have taken the lead in bringing in
this Pagan symbol”
(p.201).
Says Ralph Woodrow, in his original book Babylon Mystery
Religion, “It was not until
Christianity began to be paganized that the cross
came to be thought of as a Christian symbol.
It was in 431 A.D. that crosses in churches and chambers were
introduced, while the use of crosses on steeples did not come until about 586
A.D. In the sixth century, the crucifix
image was introduced and its worship sanctioned by the church
of Rome. It was not
until the second council at
Woodrow points out that long before
Christ, the cross was a widely used religious symbol not only in
The “cross” is the number one symbol
of the so-called religion of "Christianity"! It is the major symbol of the Roman Catholic
Church. Under its sign, more blood has
been shed than under any other religious symbol in history – both Jewish blood,
Muslim blood, and even "Christian" blood, as Protestants fought
Catholics in the religious wars for the control of nations, during the Middle Ages.
The cross, then, is a mark of
identity of this world’s paganized and corrupted form
of degenerate “Christianity” that was subverted by the pagans – the
Christianity which forsook God, His commandments, and the true teachings of
Christ. Other identifying marks of this
world’s paganized Christianity are its chief days of
worship – Sunday in stead of God’s Sabbath, Christmas, the birthday of the sun
god, and Easter – the celebration of the ancient goddess of fertility and
spring, whose name was pronounced “Easter” by the Germanic people, and Ishtar by the Egyptians.
Read our insightful articles on “The Incredible Pagan Origin of
Christmas” and “The
Surprising Origin of Easter.”
Also, write for our article, “Was
Jesus Christ Crucified on a ‘Cross’?”
The truth is, He was NOT! Rather, He was put to death on a “stake” – stauros in the Greek language! So the “cross” is definitely a PAGAN
substitute – a pagan IDOL – an a pagan instrument of
DEATH! No true Christian should have
anything to do with it!
The
SIGN or MARK of God’s People
In the book of Exodus, we read that
when God instituted the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread for His people,
He declared: “It shall be a SIGN to
you on your hand and as a MEMORIAL between your eyes, that the LORD's
law may be in your mouth” (Exo.13:9).
Again, the Hebrew word here is the same word used regarding the
mark or sign God placed upon Cain. It is
the word owth.
In other words, the sign or mark of
God’s true people is observance of God’s annual Festivals,
particularly Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread! That is to say, the mark of God’s true
assembly, His Church, His people, is observance of God’s own Biblical HOLY
days! So says the Word of God!
The forehead, in Jewish thought,
refers to the MIND. The right hand
refers to activities, actions, labor, and work.
Thus God’s Holy Days are to remain in our minds, and our thoughts – part
of our belief structure. We believe with
our minds. The right hand speaks of our
works – we are commanded to celebrate the days of unleavened bread, to desist
from work on the annual Holy Days, and to eat “unleavened bread” for seven
days. Thus we are commanded to OBSERVE
these days both in our minds, and in our activities and works -- actions.
Notice also! God says regarding His weekly Sabbath day,
that it, too, is a SIGN or MARK of His people, those who truly worship
Him! God says, “Surely My Sabbaths you
shall keep, for it is a SIGN between Me and you throughout your generations,
that you may know that I am the LORD [Yahveh] who
sanctifies you” -- that is, sets you apart (Exodus 31:13). Here again, the Hebrew word for “sign” is owth!
God goes on, “Therefore the children
of
Therefore, we are also to keep the
weekly Sabbaths in our minds, and thoughts, and observe them – and we are to
refrain from any work or labor on them!
The mark of God’s true people is true SABBATH observance! Write for our new booklet, “A New Look at
God’s Holy Sabbath!”
True Christians are the “Israel of
God” (Gal.6:16). The apostle Paul
writes, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are ABRAHAM’s
SEED, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal.3:29).
What promise?
The promise made to Abraham and his
descendants! As true followers of the
Messiah, we become true spiritual Israelites!
We embrace God’s laws, which set us apart from the world. We observe His “sign” – His “mark” – the
SABBATH, and annual Holy Days!
Since the mark or brand upon God’s
people is the observance of HIS true calendar, Sabbath day, and true Holy Days,
then it follows that the mark or brand of Satan the devil upon his people,
worshippers and followers is the DIAMETRIC OPPOSITE – that is, following and
accepting his counterfeit calendar, and his counterfeit ‘sabbath’ – the pagan day of the Sun, that is, Sunday, and
his counterfeit holy days, Christmas and Easter!
The “mark of the Beast” then is the
worship of God according to the dictates, dogmas, and teachings of the great
apostate global Church – the growing Church endorsed by the New World Order –
the modern CHURCH UNITY under the control of the Vatican at Rome!
Thus there is a clear cut issue
which divides God’s true people from those who disobey Him, and follow the way
of Cain – the way of rebellion – the “way of the cross.” The sign of the world’s pagan religion is the
cross, Sunday worship, Easter, and Christmas and the whole religious tableau of
the Roman Catholic Church, including Mary worship, and the Protestant churches
which are reconciling with
One World Pagan Religion
At the present time,
The “second Beast” of Revelation 13
which looks like a lamb (Christ), but speaks like a dragon (Satan
the devil), is non other than this world’s fast-rising Ecumenical Religion
under the sway and guidance of the Pope of Rome – MODERN religious “Babylon”
(Rev.13:11). This authority will enforce
and carry out the authority of the first beast – the “Antichrist” – the tyrant
and leader of the New World Order, probably a future Secretary-General of the
United Nations!
Thus those who sign on with the new
ecumenical movement, and go back to the leadership of
The “Mark” -- Symbolic or Literal?
Is the mark of the Beast, then, literal -- a physical
electronic device? Or is it figurative
or symbolic –- a spiritual mark, such as a method of religious worship
and practice?
The book of Revelation itself
suggests strongly that the “mark” is figurative or symbolic. Much of this book is written in symbolic
language. Even the “beasts” of
Revelation 13 are not literal animals, but figurative descriptions of a secular
world power (Rev.13:1-5), and a religious world authority (Rev.13:11).
Likewise, in the book of Revelation,
the four horses of the apocalypse – described as a white, red, black and pale
horse (Rev.6:1-8) – represent future plagues that will strike the earth. They are not literal. In chapter 1, seven stars are mentioned, and
a candlestick with seven candles (Rev.1:12-16).
These are not literal, but represent seven angels, and seven churches
(verse 20).
Therefore, it is very likely also
that the mark of the Beast is not only a literal “mark” of some kind, but is
primarily symbolic, or figurative. Just
as God’s mark on HIS people is the Sabbath and annual Holy Days, so the
diametric opposite of His mark would be Satan's mark on HIS people – the false doctrines
of the paganized world church – such as the Trinity
doctrine, infant baptism, worship of images, Sunday observance, and Christmas
and Easter celebration, which are nowhere commanded or taught in the pages of
the Word of God!
Another "Sign" -- God's LAW Versus No Law!
There is another “sign” God says which reveals who His
people are. We read in Deuteronomy
6: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD [Yahveh] our God, the LORD [Yahveh]
is one! You shall love the LORD [Yahveh] your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your strength. And these
words which I command you today shall be in your heart. . . You shall bind them
as a SIGN on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your
eyes” (Deut.6:4-8). Here again the
word owth is used.
Orthodox Jewish people take this
command in a literal sense, and go even further, making little boxes containing
portions of Scripture, called phylacteries, and wear them strapped to their
right wrists and foreheads, especially when praying. But this commandment was not referring to
wearing philactories.
Rather, notice carefully! God
said that His words – His entire entire LAW,
the TORAH – not just a few verses in a box – are to be “AS a sign” (OWTH)
on our hand, and “AS” frontlets between our eyes! The word “as” means “like,”
“similar to,” or “in the character of.”
The commandment clearly does not mention any little black boxes, or
their containing portions of Scriptures.
This idea is one of the “traditions” of the Jews which Christ Himself
condemned as worthless substitutes for the Laws of God – mere commandments of men
(see Matt.15; Mark 7).
But notice! God’s ENTIRE LAW – His entire TEACHING – is
to be AS a “sign” or “mark” – the “hallmark,” if you please – governing
lives! It is to be our guide in what our
“hand” does, in work and activity, and what our MIND does – thinks about, and
believes, and practices!
Thus in the full sense, God’s true
“sign” identifying His people is HIS ENTIRE TORAH – His LAW, that is, ALL His
commandments and HIS WAY OF LIFE! By
rejecting that “sign,” and embracing the rebellious “mark of the beast,” which
does away with God’s commandments, His Law, His Torah, the world’s apostate
Christianity dooms itself to the wrath and fury of God Himself!
Notice carefully. Jesus Christ declared, “Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”
(Matthew 4:4) – the WORD of
GOD! He also declared, “Do
not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to
fulfill [that is, obey, observe, complete, fill up to
the brim]. For assuredly, I say to you,
till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle
shall by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least
of these my commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the
kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great
in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt.5:17-19, NKJV).
Therefore, in contra-distiction to GOD’s sign, the
“mark” of HIS people, the New World Order will possess the DEVIL’s
own, substitute “sign” or “mark” – the stigma of his own substitute
Christianity, unified together under the Papacy of Rome!
Thus the true “mark of the beast”
referred to in Revelation 13 is not just some “identity chip” in your hand – it
is Satan’s WHOLE SYSTEM OF FALSE, COUNTERFEIT WORSHIP, with all its
practices, pagan beliefs, masses, indulgences, and false teachings!
The Mark and Number of the Beast
Interestingly, there are as mathematicians know, certain squares or grids of numbers which exhibit a
strange oddity. In a square of three
boxes across and three down (like in tic-tac-toe), if the numbers 1-9 are
arranged a certain way, each column across will add up to 15, each column down
will add up to 15, and so will the two diagonal columns.
What is more interesting is that in
a “magic square” of six boxes across, and six boxes down, with the numbers 1-36
inserted, if the numbers are placed in s particular order, then each horizontal
line of boxes will add up to 111, and so will each of the vertical columns –
and so will the diagonal columns! Since
there are 6 rows across, the total of the horizontal boxes will add up to 666 –
the “number of the beast”! So will the
six vertical columns. Also, if you add
up the total value of the numbers in the square, 1-36, you come up with a total
of 666!
To occult practitioners and those
involved in astrology and witchcraft, the sums of the numbers in the rows and
columns of a “magic square” are very significant. The total value of all the numbers of the
square is also considered important.
According to makers of magic charms,
amulets, and talismans, a different magic square is used to represent each of
the seven days of the week, and the seven inner “planets,” including the sun
and moon. Monday’s magic square is a 9 x
9 grid, representing the moon. Tuesday’s
magic square is a 5 x 5 grid, representing Mars (god of war); Wednesday’s is an
8 x 8 grid, representing Mercury (messenger of the gods); Thursday’s is a 4 x 4
grid, symbolizing Jupiter (Zeus, king of the gods, also Thor, god of thunder);
Friday’s grid is a 7 x 7 grid, symbolizing Venus; Saturday’s grid is 3 x 3,
representing Saturn (“the hidden one”); and Sundays magic square is a figure 6 x
6, representing the SUN, or SUNDAY.
Notice! Sunday’s magic square is the 6 x 6 square
which adds up to “666” – the number of the BEAST of Revelation! Thus the “number of the beast” is directly
tied up with SUNDAY – THE DAY OF BAAL, or MITHRA, the pagan SUN GOD!
Says Man, Myth and Magic: The
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Unknown about this
6 x 6 magic square figure:
“The square of
the sun has 6 rows of 6 figures, each row adding to 111, and
the total of all the numbers used in the square is 666, the
celebrated ‘number
of the Beast.’ The
deduction which can be drawn from this is that the Beast
of Revelation is an aspect of the sun or life-force, the
fierce drive that impels
living creatures to survive or procreate” (page 1691).
Thus both the number of the Beast, and the mark of the Beast, both point in a very strong manner to PAGAN WORSHIP! Sunday was the day of worship of the ancient pagan societies. Baal worship, and all its forms, celebrated Sunday, the day of the sun. Mithraism, also, worshipped the sun as a solar divinity, and celebrated its birthday on the winter solstice, which was December 25, at that time! Christmas day worship, then, is tied in directly with SUN WORSHIP!
How
Pagan Sunday Worship Entered the Church
Emperor Constantine of
Hugh Smith in History of the
Christian Church wrote:
“The first
Christian Church established at
authority became in its doctrine and practice a model for
the greater
part of those founded in the first century. . . . These Judaizing
Christians
were first known by the outside world as ‘Nazarenes.’ . . .
ALL
CHRISTIANS AGREED IN CELEBRATING THE SEVENTH
DAY
OF THE WEEK in conformity to the Jewish converts” (p.50,
51, 69).
According to Giesler, in Church
History, Apostolic Age to A.D. 70, the early church in
“While the
Jewish Christians of Palestine, who kept the whole Jewish
law, celebrated of course ALL THE JEWISH FESTIVALS . . .”
(Sect.29).
For hundreds of years, the true Church faithfully observed
the seventh-day Sabbath. It was not
until Emperor Constantine, who ruled the Roman Empire from 306 to 337 A.D.,
that a concerted effort was made to enforce Sunday observance in the Roman
Empire among Christians, and that all Sabbath observance was condemned, by an
apostate church council held at the behest of the Emperor, who sought to unify
the church as to doctrine, and who hated the Jews and all Jewish customs and
observances.
The first Sunday-law prohibiting work on Sunday was enacted
by emperor Constantine of the
“On the
venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people residing
in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however,
persons
engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their
pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not
suitable for grain
sowing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper
moment for such
operations the bounty of heaven should be lost” (Codex Justinianus, lib.3,
tit.12, 3, transl. in History of the
Christian Church, Schaff, vol.3, p.380).
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, calls this
"the earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a legal duty." Says Webster in Rest Days,
“This
legislation by
it appears, on the contrary, that the emperor, in his
capacity of Pontifex
Maximus (a title the popes took from the emperors), was
only adding the
day of the Sun, the WORSHIP OF WHICH WAS THEN FIRMLY
ESTABLISHED
IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE, to the other ferial days of
the sacred calendar” (pp.122-123).
The force of the
“CHRISTIANS MUST
NOT JUDAIZE BY RESTING ON THE SABBATH,
BUT
MUST WORK ON THAT DAY, rather, honouring the
Lord’s Day [by
which they meant Sunday!]; and, if they can, resting then as
Christians. But
if any be found to be Judaizers [that is, IF ANY OBEY GOD'S SABBATH!],
let them be anathema from Christ!” (Nicene and
Post-Nicene Fathers, vol.19,
p.148).
Writes H. G. Wells of
this radical transformation occurring in the Church:
“He [Jesus] did not say a word about the worship of his mother
Mary in
the guise of Isis, the Queen of Heaven. Much that is most characteristically
Christian
[sic] in worship and usage, he ignored.
Skeptical writers have had
the temerity to deny that Jesus can be called a CHRISTIAN AT
ALL”
(Outline
of History, p.445).
And so the whole professing Christian world became trapped – taken
over by a hideous pagan world, which adopted the “name” of Christ, but retained
its own pagan holidays, practices, and customs. This paganism is the REAL
“mark of the beast” of Revelation, which the apostle John warns us about!
What about you? Have you been deceived? Have you swallowed the “mark of the beast,”
lock, stock, and barrel? Are you a
victim of APOSTATE Christianity, and do you embrace the modern Church ecumenism
– the religion of the New World Order?