“The Mark of the Beast”

Seal of God Mark of the beast

“The angel said, ‘Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we mark the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.’” (Revelation 7:3)

“They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.” (Revelation 22:4)

“And you also became God's people when you heard the true message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ, and God put his stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit he had promised.” (Ephesians 1:13)“…signed, sealed and delivered by the Holy

Spirit.” (The Message)“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by

whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)

“And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

“The Helper will come – the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God.” (John 15:26); “When the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth.” (John 16:13); “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever. He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him, because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him, because he remains with you and is in you. (John 14:16-17); “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.” (John 14:26)

“But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth.” (John 4:23-24)

“I have not stopped giving thanks to God for you. I remember you in my prayers and ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give you the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to you, so that you will know him.” (Ephesians 1:16-17)

“A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit. Do not be surprised because I tell you that you must all be born again. The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ ‘How can this be?’ asked Nicodemus.” (John 3:6-9)

“The LORD says, ‘Here is my servant, whom I strengthen--- the one I have chosen, with whom I am pleased. I have filled him with my Spirit, and he will bring justice to every nation.

He will not shout or raise his voice or make loud speeches in the streets. He will not break off a bent reed nor put out a flickering lamp. He will bring lasting justice to all. He will not lose hope or courage; he will establish justice on the earth.” (Isaiah 42:1-4)

“But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

“For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, his Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

“…it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved…” (MS 173)

“Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” (Revelation 7:3)

“The Lamb, who is in the center of the throne, will be their shepherd…” (Revelation 7:17)

“They won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die.” (Revelation 12:11)

“They follow the Lamb wherever he goes…They have never been known to tell lies; they are blameless.” (Revelation 14:4,5)

“The time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself for it. She has been given clean shining linen to wear. (The linen is the good deeds of God’s people.)” (Revelation 19:7-8)

“The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.” (Revelation 22:3,4)

“By beholding we become changed” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” - Toser

To be so settled into the lies about God that we cannot be moved

The sin of the Holy Spirit

“Then some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon. Jesus healed the man, so that he was able to talk and see. The crowds were all amazed at what Jesus had done. ‘Could he be the Son of David?’ they asked. When the Pharisees heard this, they replied, ‘He drives out demons only because their ruler Beelzebul gives him power to do so.’ Jesus knew what they were thinking, and so he said to them, ‘Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other will not last very long. And any town or family that divides itself into groups which fight each other will fall apart. So if one group is fighting another in Satan's kingdom, this means that it is already divided into groups and will soon fall apart! You say that I drive out demons because Beelzebul gives me the power to do so. Well, then, who gives your followers the power to drive them out?

“What your own followers do proves that you are wrong! No, it is not Beelzebul, but God's Spirit, who gives me the power to drive out demons, which proves that the Kingdom of God has already come upon you. No one can break into a strong man's house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house. Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering. For this reason I tell you: people can be forgiven any sin and any evil thing they say; but whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who says something against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but whoever says something against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven---now or ever. (Matthew 12:17-35)

“The dragon gave the beast his own power, his throne, and his vast authority. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have been fatally wounded, but the wound had healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. Everyone worshiped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast. They worshiped the beast also, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?" The beast was allowed to make proud claims which were insulting to God...It began to curse God, his name, the place where he lives, and all those who live in heaven.” (Revelation 13:2-6)

“Then I saw another beast, which came up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb's horns, and it spoke like a dragon. It used the vast authority of the first beast in its presence. It forced the earth and all who live on it to worship the first beast, whose wound had healed. This second beast performed great miracles; it made fire come down out of heaven to earth in the sight of everyone. And it deceived all the people living on earth by means of the miracles which it was allowed to perform in the presence of the first beast. The beast told them to build an image in honor of the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived.” (Revelation 13:11-14)

“I stand at the door and knock; if any hear my voice and open the door, I will come into their house and eat with them, and they will eat with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

God

Humans

Non-Humans

“For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24)

“Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14)

“Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, 'Come, let us worship other gods'—gods you have not known before—do not listen to them.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-3)

“…if ever a real, thundering miracle was performed on earth, it was on that day, the day of those three temptations…You did not come down from the cross when they shouted to you, mocking and reviling you: ‘Come down from the cross and we will believe that it is you.’ You did not come down because, again, you did not want to enslave man by a miracle and thirsted for faith that is free, not miraculous. You thirsted for the love that is free, and not for the servile raptures of a slave before a power that has left him permanently terrified.”

Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, pg. 252,256

“There are three powers, only three powers on earth, capable of conquering and holding forever the conscience of these feeble rebels, for their own happiness – these powers are miracle, mystery, and authority. You rejected the first, the second, and the third, and gave yourself as an example of that.” pg. 255

Miracle/Coercion Freely respond to the truth spoken in love

Mystery/secrets/lies/deception Transparency and openness

Authority based on power and fear Authority that springs from loving

admiration

“Omnipotence is not to be understood as the power of unlimited coercion, but as the power of infinite persuasion, the invincible power of self-negating, self-sacrificial love.”- G.B. Caird

“The way in which Christ worked was to preach the Word, and to relieve suffering by miraculous works of healing. But I am instructed that we cannot now work in this way; for Satan will exercise his power by working miracles. God’s servants today could not work by means of miracles; because spurious works of healing, claiming to be divine, will be wrought. For this reason the Lord has marked out a way in which His people are to carry forward a work of physical healing, combined with the teaching of the Word…The truth must be proclaimed in the highways and the byways, and thus work is to be done by sensible, rational methods…We are to keep as far from the theatrical and the extraordinary as Christ kept in His work.” (LT 53, 1904)