(Chapter
20)
A Glance at the Imminent Future
Where dose all this lead? Does the Sabbath carry some cataclysmic implications for everyone in the not-so-distant future? Indeed it does! The Bible tells us that a religio-political super power will govern all nations. This power will enact laws that will demand all people, in all countries, to keep Sunday sacred or be killed. This is when no one will escape. All must decide who they will serve.
Just as God's seal, the Sabbath, shows that we are His when we keep it out of love for Him, so the keeping of Sunday will show that we are not God's, but instead opposed to His government.
The mark of opposition to God can be received in either the head or in the hand. Receiving the mark in the forehead means that all who accept it at that time will knowingly make a conscience choice to disobey God by willingly keeping Sunday as sacred. To receive the mark in one's hand means that the person knows what is right but, rather than endanger his personal safety, tries to serve God undercover. He therefore futilely attempts to obey God at heart, stifling the dictates of his own conscience while outwardly conforming to the dictates of man by keeping the counterfeit Sabbath.
In contrast, God's seal can only be received in the forehead
because the Sabbath must be so much a part of every fiber of our
being that we could not condone Sunday sacredness even by implication
through our actions or words. The Sabbath must be so ingrained in the
heart and in the life that it would be easier for us to die than to
trample on the Sabbath or any of God's fair and loving laws.
Just as the test for the three faithful Hebrews (Daniel 3) was about who they would worship—God or the golden statue, an institution of man—so it will be for us. Who will we choose to worship? As Nebuchadnezzar's decree extended to all peoples, tongues, tribes and nations, and was enforced at the cost of life itself, so it will shortly be for us as well.
God will have a people who will be faithful to Him, though the price will be great. Yet just as was the case with the three faithful Hebrews, God will be with those who must walk through the fire. He has promised:
"...Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God...thy Saviour...Fear not: for I am with thee...Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen..." Isaiah 43:1-3, 5, 10.
Jesus is gently calling to you. Have you heard His voice? He says, "I know the path is not easy, for I have walked it too. I know the cup is bitter, but I have tasted its bitterness for you. The cross is heavy, but I will take its heaviness for you if you will follow Me." He tenderly says, "Come, My child, I cannot bear to not have you with Me where I am. I have paid the price. The gift is yours; the mansions in Heaven are for you, so please do not turn away. Heaven is not Heaven if My loved ones are not there." Will you accept Christ's invitation? He is calling to you, dear child of His. What will your answer be?
All rights reserved. Copyright © 2006 by J. Lee