what if i was to tell you that the issue surrounding the mark of the beast has already started and unfortunately most people don't see it yet so what is the issue surrounding the mark of the beast let's find out the reason why a lot of people don't see it is because prophecy has taken a step back from the minds of believers it is frightening to see the amount of christians that shun the book of revelation and even shun prophecy the word of god was written to inform you and with the way the world is changing
if you look at the bible you will see that everything that is happening is literally prophesied in the bible so i ask you this today if anything like what the book of revelations says is going to happen in the world if the two witnesses are going to come to the earth if the antichrist and the false prophet are going to rise up in this world if something like the mark of the beast will be introduced in the world if there will truly be a time that no one can buy or sell without the mark isn't
it wise for you and i to study it isn't it in our best interest for us to understand it revelation 13 14-17 speaks of the mark of the beast but for us to understand the mark of the beast we have to go back into time at a point in eternity isaiah saw the fall of satan isaiah 14 12-14 how art there fallen from heaven o lucifer son of the morning how art thou cut down to the ground which did weaken the nations for thou hast said in thine heart i will ascend into heaven i will
exalt my throne above the stars of god i will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north i will ascend above the heights of the clouds i will be like the most high god did not move from his throne he only needed to send the archangel michael against lucifer and the end of it was that lucifer was defeated and along with the angels who joined in his rebellion they were cast out of heaven revelation 12 7-9 and there was a war in heaven michael and his angels fought against the
dragon and the dragon fought and his angels and prevailed not neither was their place found any more in heaven and the great dragon was cast out that old serpent called the devil and satan which deceiveth the whole world he was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him pride captured the heart of lucifer he wanted to be exalted he wanted to be worshiped he saw the adoration and praise that god received and he wanted it for himself the fall of lucifer is the first part you need to know the second
is the temptation of jesus whilst he was on earth the devil tempted jesus christ in three separate endeavors the three areas lucifer tempted jesus was with the three areas he tempts people now also he wanted jesus to create bread out of stone in order to satisfy his own hunger then he wanted jesus to jump from a pinnacle and tempt the promise of god which says that angels will come to his rescue so he will not fall and lastly he wanted to tempt jesus to kneel before him in exchange for the kingdoms of the world this
last one is the one we will be focusing on luke 4 5-8 and the devil taking him up to a high mountain showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and the devil said unto him all this power i will give thee and the glory of them for that is delivered unto me and to whomsoever i will i give it if thou therefore will worship me all shall be thine and jesus answered and said unto him get thee behind me satan for it is written thou shalt worship the lord
thy god and him only shalt thou serve what did the devil want from jesus he wanted him to worship him and kneel before him and what is the central issue of the mark of the beast it is worship revelation 13 verse 15 to 17 and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed and he causeth all both small and great rich and poor free and bond to
receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads and that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name this is why i am saying the issue regarding the mark of the beast has already started because simply put the issue regarding the mark of the beast is an issue of worship and the issue of worship started when satan wanted to exalt himself above the most high in the end times the mark of the beast will be a literal mark
that people will put on their foreheads and right hands which will signify who they worship the mark of the beast has not arrived yet but the central issue which is a contention of worship has already started we are living in the book of revelation and the book of revelation speaks to our generation and it's calling each and every one of us to make a decision and commit to whom we will worship in the life of every human being there is a yearning to worship in god's plan the object of your worship is a sovereign decision
that one has to make for themselves in our context as children of god when we give our life to christ we have made the decision to worship him however if people don't make such decisions to give their life to christ they end up with another object of worship before we expand we must know and acknowledge our object of worship is jesus christ the son of the living god philippians 2 verse 9 wherefore god also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of jesus every knee
should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth the enemy uses the old tricks which he tried with jesus to present the kingdoms of this world to you it won't be on the same scale as jesus nonetheless it will be tempting that is why you see people worshiping stuff worship their jobs worshiping the followers on social media is what you will worship god is calling you today to make a commitment to make a decision who you will worship god is calling us to be faithful god is calling his people
to not compromise on the word of god to seek righteousness to seek holiness to depart from all unrighteousness to depart from all iniquity to stand strong in the name of jesus christ to understand that no matter what the world may throw at us no matter the persecution we may face in life we will be victorious because god has highly exalted him god has highly exalted the name of jesus christ and if we are in christ we are victorious if we are in christ there is no defeat if we are in christ the victory is ours
through the name of jesus but as the children of god we must take a stand we as the end time church must not waver in our faith so i call on you church of jesus christ to stand up and be counted and make commitment just like the joshua and say other people in this world may worship other gods but for me and my house we will serve the lord but for me and my house we will praise the lord but for me at my house we will worship the living god through the only door that
we have been given and that door is jesus christ there is no other way we can be saved except the name jesus there is power in that name there is hope in that name there is healing in that name when you are in trouble call on him when you are alone call on him every knee shall bow at the name of jesus this should teach us that worshipping god is our spiritual act of service to the father and we must do it with all our heart and might a little wonder when the lord released the
law through moses the first commandment says that you must not have any other god but me exodus 23. the rest of the first four commandments also address our devotion to the almighty father jesus christ also echoed this in the days of his earthly ministry matthew 22 37-40 worship is everything it is a form of valuing and treasuring a person that is why god seeks to occupy our hearts and the devil contends for the same place but it is left for us who we worship because it is left to us who we allow into our hearts
god wants to occupy our hearts so he will empower us to truly love him love others and love ourselves this is what the true worship of god will achieve in us and for us but the devil contends for our heart so that there can be a manifestation of hedonism egoism and materialism in us all of which amounts to vanity we all need to choose god every day by allowing his holy spirit to permeate our being the beast whose aim is to promote the interest of the devil will compel everyone to receive a mark by which
they will be identified with the beast this is not going to be optional as many that refuse to accept the mark of the beast will not be able to buy or sell the central issue is that of worship the two beasts would want all of humanity to focus on them so that they can become the object of worship the beasts want to restrain everyone from worshiping the one and only true god people will be face to face with the option of having to choose who exactly they will serve either god or the devil at this
point no one can pretend to be serving god while he or she is not because you have to choose between two options which will clearly reveal your stand it is all about worship that is the central theme it is amazing that in the next chapter after the revelation of the two beasts john saw three angels that were sent by god to evangelize the eternal gospel revelation chapter 14 verses 6 through 7 records the mission of the first angel thus then i saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach
to those who dwell on the earth to every nation tribe tongue and people and saying with a loud voice fear god and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come and worship him who made heaven and earth the sea and springs of water the first angel brought the everlasting gospel not just for a set of people but for all the inhabiters of the earth note that the first angel proclaimed that the inhabiters of the earth should fear god and worship him notice again that wonderful seven letter word worship so the battle
is that of worship the beasts want to become the object of worship to achieve this they will encourage the mark of the beast the angel also warned the inhabiters of the earth about the judgment of god asking them to fear god and direct their worship to him this is the reason believers must take their stand and refuse to direct their worship to none other but god the message of the third angel is also similar to that of the first angel revelation chapter 14 verses 9 through 10 relates it thus then a third angel followed them
saying with a loud voice if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand then he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of god which has poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb the third angel reiterates that anyone that worships the beast will incur the wrath of god for god to have sent two angels out of three to declare
that he is the only one who is worthy to be praised then the matter of who to worship is a serious one the battle of who to worship predates the creation of the world it all started from heaven before the existence of humanity the devil has always tried to usurp the worship that should be directed to god for himself remember that the devil asked jesus to bow down and worship him with a promise to give him all the glories of this world but jesus shut his mouth with the word of god
