This is what the bible says and what we go by:
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Isa_58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
It is not a day of mournful doing nothing--it is to be a delight, a joy, a day of not doing our "own thing"--a day to spend with God completely. To take our minds totally away from the things of the world and think only on the sacred. We think of God every day--this is to be totally immersed in Him. However much people say they worship every day-- it is not possible. We are to cease from work--you can't cease from work every day. We can't turn our minds to thinking only of Jesus if you are doing a delicate surgery ---we must concentrate on our jobs also in order to them do well, which we are supposed on the other 6 days. It is a day to rest our bodies and minds. A change from the ordinary ways of spending our days.
We do not go by what the rabbi's added. The days in the bible--from Genesis on--are from sundown to sundown--a day to the Jews began on the evening -- not at midnight nor at sunrise. It is how God set it up at creation. And the Sabbath is a day to celebrate God as the Creator. It is kept from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night.
Kindling a fire is not stated in the 4th commandment. No one has kindled a fire in several hundred years--and flipping a switch is not kindling a fire. Jews consider anything that creates a spark as creating fire and would rather walk up 5 flights of stairs than to use an elevator. We go up the elevator as we consider going up 5 flights of stairs work and harder on the body than pushing a button. The concept is rest. It used to take quite a bit to kindle a fire. As for the fact that others are working to keep the electricity going---"nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:" We are to control what happens in our home, not outside of it. We are, of course, to continue to take care of the sick, the elderly, and animals--those who can not take care of themselves. SDA doctors and medical workers are on as needed biases, if medical appointments and surgeries and such can be cone on another day, then that is what we do, For those who have to work on Sabbath taking care of the sick usually donate what they make on that day to the church, or they are usually paid a salary instead of by the hour. I usually was able to trade days --worked Sundays for those who wanted Sundays off and they worked my Sabbaths.
The Mark of the beast is not explained in 30 words or less. It is based on biblical definitions of what the words beasts represent in other parts of the bible, which is political powers--Daniel and Revelation are usually taken together. It tells you in Daniel what the animals represent. We believe in letting the bible interpret itself. It is best to go to where they go into this in-depth, as given above-- in order to understand the meanings of everything. Just a few thigs to consider.
Dan 7:17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
Dan 8:20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
Dan 8:21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
When dealing with prophecy we go by 1 day as a year.
Num_14:34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
Eze_4:6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Throughout the bible, a chaste woman is often portrayed as the people of God--an erring woman as one that has committed adultery, a harlot. They have left Him for others. A good woman in prophecy is the church of God, an evil one, a harlot--would be a church who has left Him.
Rev 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
In other words, this beast comes out of a heavily populated area. Conversely when a beast arises out of dry land--it would be in an unpopulated or very sparsely populated area.
The whole thing over the mark of the beast centers on one thing---worship.
Rev_14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev_14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev_14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev_15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
It is a matter of choosing to whom we will worship as our creator God. Either God or an image, a man, and then what it is that each has as a mark--their signature--of who they are and the power they have.
