Alden Ho/Wheel Salt Ministries
The term conspiracy theory is the buzz phrase it seems today. One group says its not true, while another believes it to be whole heartedly the truth. How can one validate the authenticity of a conspiracy theory? Both sides will have solid evidence, yet neither will believe the opposing side and accept it as truth.
The Bible contains many similar things that one could say are conspiracies, however, one thing is without doubt, and that is what Paul writes in Titus 1:2, “God, who cannot lie.” If you truly believe this fact, then the Bible can be trusted since “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).
What I’m about to share with you is something the Devil absolutely doesn’t want you to accept as truth, but rather as a conspiracy and that is what the Mark of the Beast is. Some have surmised that it is a bar code tattoo, or an imbedded RFID tag in your body, yet the Bible, God’s Word is unequivocally clear.
Let’s back up for a moment and study the evidence at hand. Everything that God’s done, Satan has a counterfeit for. For example; Aaron throws down his staff and it becomes a snake while Pharaoh’s magicians copy the same, Jesus being baptized by water immersion turns now to some sprinkling with water instead, death to the grave turns to immediate presence in heaven, and many, many more. These are all counterfeits from Satan because he said, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:14).”
The Bible says, “He [Satan] causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads (Revelation 13:16).” But, understand that this is not a physical mark that you, or I can see, but rather a spiritual mark for angels to see, and this mark all boils down to one major issue – Worship. Satan wants to overtake the throne of God and be the one that will sit there and be worshiped by everyone. How is he going to accomplish this? Through a counterfeit day of Worship.
To avoid the mark of the beast, we need to take a quick look at what the seal of God is. “I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them” (Ezekiel 20:12). “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth” (Exodus 31:17). In these texts, God is saying that He gave us His Sabbath as a sign of His power to create and His power to sanctify (convert and save) us. God’s sign, the seventh day Sabbath, represents His holy power to rule as Creator and Savior. Revelation 7:1–3 says it will be written upon the foreheads (minds—Hebrews 10:16) of His people. It will signify that they are owned by Him and have His character. If you have the seal of God, you will never receive the mark of the beast.
Since the symbol, mark, of God’s authority and power is His holy Sabbath day, it seems likely that the symbol, or mark, of God’s challenger—the beast—might also involve a holy day. Here’s a big clue given in Revelation 13:18, “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.”
When you look at the title of the Pope of Rome, it is “Vicarius Filii Dei” which in Latin means “Vicar of the Son of God,” and this title contains a Roman numerical value, which are: V, I, C, L, and D, these letters form the following corresponding number; there are two V’s, which letter denotes 5, six I’s denoting 1, one C which denotes 100, one L, which denotes 50, and one D, which denotes 500, thus, V,V=10; I,I,I,I,I,I=6; C=100; L=50; and D=500, the sum 666. The beast with the “mark” is the papacy. No other power in history could possibly fit these.
“You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which [Catholics] never sanctify.” James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, 93rd edition, 1917, p. 58.
“Finally, we have the testimony of Christ on this subject. In Mark 2:27, he says: ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.’ From this passage it is evident that the Sabbath was made not merely for the Israelites, but for man… that is, for the human race. Hence we conclude that the Sabbath was sanctified from the beginning, and that it was given to Adam, even in Eden, as one of those primeval institutions that God ordained for the happiness of all men.” Robert Milligan, Scheme of Redemption, (St. Louis, The Bethany Press, 1962), p. 165.
Rest assured that no one has this mark yet, but it is coming soon. Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments (John 14:15).