The Coming Sabbath Test

"As the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9)

God has designed the Great Tribulation to test our faith. Salvation comes through faith and God will test our faith to see where each of us will stand. A life of faith is a life of testing. God's law is higher than man's law and He seriously tests faith when we are caught between doing right (as man decrees) or right (as God decrees) - especially when the penalty for violating either law is severe. Daniel demonstrated this point when he was lowered into the lion's den. (Daniel 6) The story of Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego also demonstrates this point. These men were about to die (or so they thought) for honoring God's law and violating the king's law. (Daniel3) God's law demands a level of righteousness that no human can achieve. The good news of the gospel is that God has eliminated our condemnation if we are willing to lie by faith in Christ Jesus. This does not mean that God has eliminated His law. Instead, it means that God will cover our imperfections with Christ's righteousness if we are willing to submit to His laws that are above all other laws. (Romans 7 and 8)

Ignorance is no excuse for disobedience in man's laws. You may be caught speeding and may not even realize your error until you receive a ticket. Not knowing the speed limit is no excuse. When it comes to God's law, ignorance does not lessen the consequences of sin, but ignorance does cancel the guilt. God is much more generous than man because He knows our heart. However, God will not, under any circumstances, pardon a person who lives in a defiant state of disobedience. (Hebrews 10:26)

During the Great Tribulation, God will present His Sabbath rest to the people of Earth with the force of law. God's servants, the 144,000, will explain how God's seventh day Sabbath is not a suggestion, nor an option - it is the fourth commandment of God's law. Like Pharaoh, in Egypt, the world does not currently submit to God's law or honor God's day of rest. During the Great Tribulation, a great conflict will erupt over the issue of worship.

This contest that God has ordained will cause the people of Earth (like the Hebrews of old) to be caught between two powerful forces. If people obey the laws of men, they will receive the seven bowls of God's wrath. If people obey God's law and honor His seventh day Sabbath, the governments of the world will persecute, imprison or execute them for rebellion. This is the coming contest.

God placed the Hebrews in a tough situation to test their faith. Most of the Hebrews went back to work on the Sabbath because they lacked faith in God. These same people died in the wilderness because they never overcame their lack of faith. Believers in Christ are now the Hebrews. We are the children of God. During the Great Tribulation, God will once again set His Sabbath rest up in direct opposition to man's laws. Everyone who wants to be delivered from the bondage of sin must submit to God as a precondition to being set free. This will cause our faith to be severely tested.

When people deliberately and intentionally choose to suffer because of their faith in God, He makes their faith pure, like gold.

"This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.'" (Zechariah 13:9)

YSIC,
MidnightCry

Lucifer is well aware of the coming Sabbath test. He will use this situation to his advantage.

We are told the the devil is the destroyer. He will do away with all religious systems and all governments. He will demand that he be worshiped as God. We can conclude that if Satan does away with ALL religions, he will probably not choose a day for people to worship him that religious systems now use. He will probably pick a day of his own.

He could easily change the days of the week from seven to ten. This would cause the true Sabbath to fall on different days. Those who keep the Sabbath, would not show up for work on these days. He could easily flush out all Sabbath keepers in a hurry.

YSIC,
MidnightCry

Kira Light said:

I thought he was gonna be friendly with the pope. Isn't the catholic church one of the beasts?

Click to expand...

Greetings Kira Light,

There are four beasts that are identified in Revelation:

A lamb, a great red dragon, a leopard-like beast, and a beast with two horns.

The Lamb represents Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was slain for our sins.

The great red dragon who represents the fallen angel, Lucifer, who is also called Satan or the devil.

The leopard-like beast with seven heads and ten horns represents Babylon, which will rule as a church-state government.

The beast with two horns like the Lamb, but speaks like the dragon. This represents Lucifer in human form.

None of these represent the Catholic Church as far as I understand.

YSIC,
MidnightCry

Greetings ECR,

Have you forgotten this is the Progressive/Moderate Forum?

I love the Adventist Church, but I do not accept all of their teachings, especially on end-time prophecies. I will tell you what I think the beast in Revelation 13:11 using scripture, and then you please tell me your view using scripture. We will use the Bible only to support our views.

First of all, Daniel and Revelation go hand in hand. They are in harmony with each other. So, if Daniel tells us a destroyer king is coming, then it makes sense that Revelation would, too.

Daniel Eight tells the vision of a Ram, a Goat and a Horn power. The two horned ram represents the kings of Median and Persia. (Dan 8:20) The goat is Greece and the large horn between his eyes is the first king of Greece
(Dan 8:21) Notice the horns represent kings in this vision. Also notice that Gabriel told Daniel the vision concerns the time of the end. (Dan 8:17)

Since the two kings of Media/Persia and Greece have already come and gone, that only leaves one power to arise at the time of the end in this vision. That is the stern-faced king, a master of intrigue. He will become very strong, not by his own power, (God allows this), he will take his stand against the Prince of princes (Jesus, at the second coming), he will be destroyed, but not by human power (Daniel 23-25) Gabriel also tells Daniel to seal up the vision for it concerns the distant future. (Daniel 8:27)

The only king this could be is Lucifer. He is allowed to appear before men because they refused to believe truth. So God allows this delusion, He allows Satan to appear visibly before the people of Earth.

Paul also tells us this in 2 Thess. The lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming......the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders...they perish because they refused to love the truth...for this reason God sends them a powerrful delusion...and so all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (2 Thess: 8-12)

Isaiah also talks about this king or man that is coming. He tells us, is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home? (Isaiah 14:16-17)

I will address Revelation 13:11 in my next post.

YSIC,
MidnightCry

Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. (Revelation 13:11)

God is purposeful and orderly in the things He does. He can say alot with just a few words. In Revelation, He uses repetition and enlargement to give us more details as the prophecies build on each other.

He tells us when the fifth seal is opened, there will be much martyrdom. The number of saints that will be killed has already been decided by God. We know this because the text states,"...they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed." (Rev.6:9-11)

Why would Jesus allow his saints to be persecuted and killed? He wants to separate those that are pure in heart and love God's truth from those who are fair-weather Christians; those that just look like Christians. In America, being a Christian has been for the most part, easy. We have religious liberty. This has been a blessing, but it has also brought a curse. Many churches have become lazy, weak and in many instances, corrupt.

The fifth seal is opened and Satan personally appears upon Earth claiming to be God. Most people will accept him as God. Those killing the followers of Jesus will be told by the evil impostor that they are doing God a service.

When the fifth seal is opened, the fifth trumpet will sound. (Rev. 9:1-12). Satan and his demons are released from the Abyss (the spirit realm). The text tells us "...They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon." (Rev 9:11)

Twice in Revelation we are told about a beast that comes up from the Abyss (Rev. 11:7 and Rev. 17:8) Since Revelation 12:9 clearly tells us that the dragon-like beast is a fallen angel called Satan, we can safely say the "angel king" that ascends from the Abyss in Revelation 9 is the devil. The devil is a fallen star.

Revelation 13 tells us:

* This beast arises out of the earth, it has two horns like the lamb, but speaks like the dragon. (verse 11)

* This beast supports the global government (Babylon, the beast with ten horns and seven heads)

* This beast performs great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth to convince them of his divinity. (verse 13)

* This beast deceives millions and millions upon the earth with miracles (verse 14)

* This beast orders the people of earth to set up an image in honor of Babylon (verse 14)

* This beast gives life to the image, causing it to speak and make laws, all who refuse to worship it to be killed (verse 15)

* This beast forces everyone on earth to receive a mark (verse 16,17,18)

This is the only beast in either Daniel or Revelation that does not rise out of the sea. This beast does not rise out of people, multitudes, nations, and languages, nor does it need them for power. This beast rises our of the earth or comes out of the Abyss.

"The beast, which you saw, once was (visible), now is not (visible), and will come up out of the Abyss (and be visible to the people on earth) and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was (visible), now is not (visible), and yet will (visibly appear before the people of earth.)" (Rev. 17:8)

"The great dragon was hurled down -- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." (Rev. 12:9)

The devil was hurled into the earth and the beast in Rev 13 comes up out of the earth. He does not rise out of any existing kingdom of earth - he just appears out of nowhere. All the beasts in Daniel and the seven-headed, ten horn beast of Revelation 13 rises out of water (people, multitudes and nations) He rises up out of the earth.

The final conflict on earth is when the two angel-kings, Michael the Lamb and Lucifer, the lamblike, will do battle. The wicked followers of Lucifer will war upon the saints of Michael. There will be much loss of life. And even though it looks as if Satan is winning, he will lose in the end and his defeat will be complete.

There is alot more to this prophecy, but I am out of time.

YSIC,
MidnightCry

Greetings,

I was just wondering if anyone actually reads this stuff?

YSIC,
MidnightCry