Q: Who will you worship?
A: The Third Angel’s Message demands a decision. It divides the entire world into two groups. On one side stand apostate Christians who worship “the beast and his image” and receive “his mark on his forehead or on his hand.” On the other side stand those who reject the authority of the beast; these are the saints “who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”
Note the contrast between the two opposing groups. Those who receive the “mark of the beast” follow convenient, man-made ideas and practices. They are professed Christians who choose not to follow the Bible and the Bible alone. God’s faithful Christians, called “saints” in these verses, have as their distinguishing traits: patience, obedience to God’s commandments, and the faith of Jesus.
The deciding factor is worship. Will you worship God as described in the Bible? Or will you worship man-made ideas and practices?
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Q: What then is the change of the Sabbath, but the sign, or mark, of the authority of the Roman Church—“the mark of the beast”? { GC 448.1}
A: “Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday… not from any directions noted in the Scriptures, but from the Church’s sense of its own power… People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th Day Adventists, and keep the Saturday holy.” The Sabbath was, is, and will always be on the seventh day of the week! Saint Catherine Catholic Church Sentinel, May 21, 1995
The Sabbath day was established after the six literal creation days! Back then, the only human beings alive were Adam and Eve! The Jewish nation did not exist back then!
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Genesis 2:2-3 KJV
Q: What is represented by the beast, the image, the mark? { GC 438.1}
A: In contrast to those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus, the third angel points to another class, against whose errors a solemn and fearful warning is uttered: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” Revelation 14:9, 10. A correct interpretation of the symbols employed is necessary to an understanding of this message. What is represented by the beast, the image, the mark? GC 438.1
The line of prophecy in which these symbols are found begins with Revelation 12, with the dragon that sought to destroy Christ at His birth. The dragon is said to be Satan (Revelation 12:9); he it was that moved upon Herod to put the Saviour to death. But the chief agent of Satan in making war upon Christ and His people during the first centuries of the Christian Era was the Roman Empire, in which paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus while the dragon, primarily, represents Satan, it is, in a secondary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome. GC 438.2
Q: What nation of the New World was in 1798 rising into power, giving promise of strength and greatness, and attracting the attention of the world? { GC 440.2}
A: The application of the symbol admits of no question. One nation, and only one, meets the specifications of this prophecy; it points unmistakably to the United States of America. Again and again the thought, almost the exact words, of the sacred writer has been unconsciously employed by the orator and the historian in describing the rise and growth of this nation. The beast was seen “coming up out of the earth;” and, according to the translators, the word here rendered “coming up” literally signifies “to grow or spring up as a plant.” And, as we have seen, the nation must arise in territory previously unoccupied. A prominent writer, describing the rise of the United States, speaks of “the mystery of her coming forth from vacancy,“ and says: “Like a silent seed we grew into empire.”—G. A. Townsend, The New World Compared With the Old, page 462. A European journal in 1850 spoke of the United States as a wonderful empire, which was “emerging,” and “amid the silence of the earth daily adding to its power and pride.”—The Dublin Nation. Edward Everett, in an oration on the Pilgrim founders of this nation, said: “Did they look for a retired spot, inoffensive for its obscurity, and safe in its remoteness, where the little church of Leyden might enjoy the freedom of conscience? Behold the mighty regions over which, in peaceful conquest, … they have borne the banners of the cross!”—Speech delivered at Plymouth, Massachusetts, Dec. 22, 1824, page 11. GC 440.2