April 11: STRING-OF-CLUES (part 4)
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 the one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Revelation 13:16-17
In the sanctification process we are continually presented with clues in God’s word. The healthy exercise of our minds to gain understanding (Jeremiah 9:24) is a fundamental part of our worship of Him. His Holy Spirit’s guidance (John 16:13) is essential for the privilege of discovering deeper meaning behind each sign or symbol. The seventh-day Sabbath (Genesis 2:2-3) was established before sin slithered into the world, and it will continue throughout eternity (Isaiah 66:23). It serves as a reminder of the Creator who made us in His image. After sin came, a depth of meaning was revealed: the Creator is the only One with the power to re-create us, that is, to restore His image in us. Our sin-darkened hearts, in their damaged condition, cannot perceive the dangers that lurk behind the continual flow of temptations to live in disobedience to the God of love.
Moreover 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
This sign serves as a seal or a mark that contrasts with the mark mentioned in our opening verse. It is the LORD’s mark of character (Ezekiel 9:4) upon His own (2 Timothy 2:19; 1 Samuel 16:17), and it is visible to the angels who are sent out as reapers at harvest time (Matthew 13:30,39). Remember that He said, “Go…put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done…” (Ezekiel 9:4) The seal of God (Revelation 7:3) marks those whose actions spring from love and loyalty to Him. God marks those who choose to come into agreement with Him in their minds – symbolized by foreheads – and this choice is made manifest in the world by their actions – symbolized by the right hand. In the wholehearted worship of God, thoughts and actions are genuinely aligned to bring glory to Him. Those whom God marks are true witnesses to Him in the world.
The beast’s mark is acceptable to Satan, regardless of where it is – on their right hand or on their foreheads – for he knows that, either way, God is not honored and others are influenced to reject God’s seal. In essence, unsaved people mark themselves for destruction. In the last days, there will be those who hear and believe the truth of God’s word, but rather than lose their social and economic privileges in the world, they go along with the earthly law. This is a mark in the hand. Others, indeed many others, will refuse to believe that they are in error. They will insist that the Sabbath day was changed in spite of Scripture’s silence on the matter.
Therefore…receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. James 1:21-25