by contrast of those who worship the beast and his image, instead of the living God, for this is punishable by fire and brimstone. Who is the beast? It is the power on earth that asks for worship of a different kind. We find this in the chapter before – Revelation 13. This power blasphemes God and makes war against the saints – those were the ones that keep the Ten Commandments of God including the commandment about the Sabbath. All the world will worship the beast, with the exception of the saints. They will worship God. A man-made alternative has been put in place of God’s commandment. Force and deception will be used by the beast power, which is the religious power of Rome, along with the power of the USA, the image to the beast, working along side it. By these methods they will work to coerce the whole world to unite and keep Sunday. This is just what happened about 700 years ago when the great Roman Empire began to fragment. It has since been called the Holy Roman Empire. There are moves afoot to re-establish that Holy Roman Empire, but this time covering the world. Just as Sunday worship was the sign of allegiance then so it will be again. Death will be the punishment for non-compliance. Only those who follow the Lamb will be found standing faithful to the last against all opposition and hardship.
Worship of God on God’s true Sabbath day will show the world openly where our allegiance lies. It cannot be hidden. It will be open for all to see. While the world follows Sunday, the man-made worship alternative, those who love God the Creator of us all, will gladly worship Him on His Sabbath, Saturday, the seventh day of the week.
The next event in the prophecy is the coming of Jesus with His sickle to reap the two ripe harvests of the world. The angels will so gladly gather the sheaves of ripe grain, but the grape harvest will be trodden in the winepress of the wrath of God.
The Sabbath is of vital importance in the last prophecies and warnings of the Bible. It is the badge of our loyalty. It is the banner we hold aloft for the glory of God. We do not choose to keep it for the blessings and bonuses in the Sabbath for us, but for the sake of the honour of God that today is being called into question. |
