If we do not gain the victory over the Beast and his image and his mark, we will be slaughtered; we will be lost. That's why the warning of the three angels' messages of Revelation 14 is being proclaimed worldwide.

If you do not know already, there's a great controversy going on between Christ and Satan (Lucifer) which started in heaven over the law of God. Satan and a third of the angels were kicked out of heaven to this earth over this rebellion. All this is explained in detail in the book, The Great Controversy. You can get a free copy of this book by sending your request to the address given at the end of this letter.

This controversy explains the reasons for the attack and contempt over God's holy law, especially the seventh-day Sabbath, that we see manifested in Christendom today, and it's also the reason why we see in the world the genuine and the counterfeit--true church, false churches; true Christ, false Christs; true prophets, false prophets; true teachers, false teachers, true Sabbath, false sabbath, true revivals, false revivals, etc.

Thankfully, God has given us His Word to test these if they align with the Bible. Isa 8:20 - "To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

It's interesting that the song of deliverance sung by the redeemed (Rev 15:4) includes in essence the message of the first angel--"Who shall not fear thee and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest."

As I unfold the big picture, Tom, you will come to understand why it seems that we stress obedience to God in greater intensity than others. Obedience to God out of love for Him for what He has done for us is not legalism. It's loyalty. If you're an avid reader of the Bible, you've probably already discovered from Genesis to Revelation that obedience to God is very important to Him. Speaking to King Saul, the Prophet Samuel said that to obey is better than sacrifice. Because of disobedience, the Kingdom was rent from Saul and given to another (1 Sam 15).

We believe that proper worship of God involves obedience to all His commandments (Matt 15:9). It's interesting also that in the next verse (Rev 15:5) John the Revelator, saw in vision the tabernacle of the testimony opened in heaven. This is the original ark of the covenant located in the Most Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary. Inside the ark is the original moral law of ten commandments situated beneath the mercy seat.

The ten commandments are the standard of righteousness that all would be judged by (Jam 2:12). Judgment without law is absurd. In Rev 15:6 we read that just before the return of Jesus to this earth, seven angels will get the seven last plagues from the heavenly sanctuary and will pour out upon the earth as God's judgment for sin--transgression of His law! Remember as we go along that everything in the earthly sanctuary (apartments, furniture, altars, utensils, services) was a copy of the ones in heaven, and every little thing had spiritual significance as ordained by God. The plan of salvation was/is found in the sanctuary. "Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary" (Ps 77:13; Heb 9).

In Rev 15:5-6 we saw the relationships between God's mercy and justice. We saw God's standard for the judgment--His law of ten commandments. We also saw the seven last plagues, God's judgment for violation of His Holy law. This law, Tom, includes the seventh-day Sabbath! It is a sin to break the Sabbath just as it is a sin to kill, steal, lie, commit adultery, etc, for to break one commandment is to break ALL (Jam 2:10). For eons of time, God's moral law sits beneath the mercy seat in the ark of the covenant in the heavenly and earthly sanctuaries denoting that God through Christ extends mercy for its violation.

While Christ's death harmonizes God's mercy and justice, the time will come when the door of mercy will be shut forever (Luke 13:25), and God's justice (judgment) through the seven last plagues will be poured out on those who abused God's grace and rejected salvation.

Christ's death does not give us license to continue breaking God's law. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid...(Rom 6:1,15-16)". Verses 3 and 4 of Jude tell us that we are to earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints for certain ungodly men have crept in unawares who perverted the grace of our God into lawlessness. These ungodly men are those who teach that the law of God no longer applies because we are under grace.

Remember that Christ's death on the cross is not just to save us from our sins but to empower us to gain victory over every besetting sin in our lives. This is the Gospel, plain and simple. "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels (Rev 3:5)."

The plan of salvation and the solution to the sin problem are found in the sanctuary and its services (both typical and antitypical). The records of the sins of God's people would need to be taken out of heaven--blotted out--thus cleansing the heavenly sanctuary. This, Jesus would do before He returns to this earth.

Also Acts 3:19,20 show that the blotting out of sin is future. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you."

Forgiveness of sin is present; blotting out of sin from the books in heaven is future and will take place before Jesus returns to this earth. Jesus, the Sin Bearer, will not be the Sin Bearer forever because before He returns to this earth, He will place all the accumulated sins of God's people on Satan, the scapegoat, who will be cast into everlasting fire prepared for him and his angels (Matt 25:41).  "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation" Heb 9:28. The difference between forgiveness and blotting out of sin is expounded in the parable found in Matthew 18:23-35.

As pertaining to the 2300-day prophecy, it's not surprising that many in Christendom take the last week of the prophecy in Dan 9 and put it 2000 years into the future and apply the Messianic prophecy (which was already fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ), to the antichrist who supposedly would make a covenant with the Jews. There is no support in scripture for this statement. In all the Bible, there is only one personage who made a covenant with His people--God. Only a covenant-keeping God (Messiah) can confirm the covenant with many as Dan 9:27 says. See also Deut 7:9.

A child would know that when the 69th week was finished, the 70th week came. The 2000-year gap between the 69th week and the 70th week was deviously invented to take the pressure off the Church of Rome when every man and his brother were pinpointing the Papacy as fitting the description of the antichrist.

Check out the name Francisco Riberia. He was the Jesuit scholar who was responsible for concocting this appalling interpretation of scripture. From this erroneous teaching sprung forth the rapture theory that has incredibly and literally taken the Protestant world captive. A hundred years ago or so, Protestants didn't believe this. Find out how this popular teaching on the rapture of the church came about.

This is tragic indeed for now millions of people are looking to the future for some evil person to come out of obscurity and proclaim himself the antichrist. The Bible clearly indicates this power came out of pagan Rome. It is a system of false worship and false religion and is alive and well today. Both the preterism and the futurism interpretations of Bible prophecies are bankrupt interpretations because the Bible clearly teaches that the antichrist will be destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming (2 Thes 2:3-12).

Unless we correctly identify this Beast, we risk receiving its mark and losing our place in God's Kingdom. What a tragedy and a disappointment it would be for one to be preparing to be raptured away during the tribulation and finds out that it didn't happen and he is forced to go through the tribulation without a shelter in the storm (Seal of God) because he had sought and believed in false theories and teachings.

Similarly, it would be a tragedy for one who believes in the once-saved-always-saved theory thinking that grace had him covered for life. He was saved as a child yet lives a careless life in violation of the moral law of God. His mind is programmed that it matters not to live circumspectly because once saved he would always be saved. What a false sense of eternal security! In the shadows Satan smiles gleefully for he has successfully caused a Christian to turn God's grace into a disgrace (Jude 3,4).

A loving God, who wants to save the whole world if he could, made sure that He inspired holy men to write such texts as these in the Bible: Because we are under grace and not under the law, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! Rom 6:15,16. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law. Rom 3:31. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you: Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Matt 5:17,18.

Jesus thought highly of the law (Moses) and the prophets. Together with the Psalms and Proverbs, they make up the Old Testament. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus pointed out that "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." Paul, also, thought highly of the law and the prophets (Acts 24:14; 26:22,23). In fact, the only Scripture in existence when Paul wrote: All scripture is given by inspiration of God was the Old Testament (2 Tim 3:15). Contrary to what many claim and teach, Paul didn't teach that God's eternal moral law in Galatians and elsewhere in his epistles are abrogated. The law that was nailed to the Cross was the ceremonial/ritual law of animal sacrifices and the annual feast days with their corresponding sabbaths.

I find it amazing that people interpret Jesus fulfilling the law as meaning that He abolished it. Jesus fulfilled the law because He lived its principles in His life, and He is our example. Tell me, when you fulfill your marriage vows, do you do away with your marriage? When you fulfill your parental duties and responsibilities, do you do away with your kids? Jesus death on the cross did not nullify His law. Because the law could not be changed is the reason for Calvary. He died to save us from our law-breaking. He lives to make intercession for us and empowers us to keep His law. When we know God personally and intimately, it would be a joy and a delight to keep His law.

Let's get back to the big picture. Why are the end-time messages of the three angels given? Because many of the churches in Christendom are corrupted and drunk with the wine of false doctrines of Babylon. Errors are being presented as truths. They call evil good, and good evil; they put darkness for light, and light for darkness (Isa 5:20). The whole world practically is guilty of receiving the mark of the Beast. The word "Babylon" means confusion and is derived from the story of the tower of Babel.

The prophecy of Isa 4:1 is fulfilled in the Christian world today where the churches (seven women) take a hold of one man (Christ) saying we will eat our own bread (their own interpretation of God's Word) and provide our own apparel (their own robe of righteousness) only let us be called by thy name (We want the name Christians, but we don't want to obey you, God, completely. We want to pick and choose which commandment to obey per our convenience). Of these people, Jesus said: For in vain do they worship Me teaching for doctrine the commandments of men (Matt 15:9).

This text in Matthew is referring to Christians, not infidels. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. [To do the will of God is to obey His law because we love Him (Ps 40:8)]. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matt 7:21-23; Luke 13:23-28)." Notice the phrase: ye that work iniquity. Iniquity means sin or breaking God's law (1 John 3:4). Many sins today are lightly regarded and go unrebuked among Christians.

Jesus Himself taught the specifics of the moral law in His sermon on the Mount, and He enumerated the ten commandments in Matt 15:3-9. Jesus is not known to contradict Himself and neither are his disciples who also taught the specifics of the moral law. Pertaining to the two commandments of love to God and love to our neighbor, Jesus said, of these two commandments hang all the laws of Moses and the Prophets. Matt 22:40. The Amplified version says it even better--these two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.

I believe with all my heart that if the Sermon on the Mount, which expounded the spirituality of the eternal moral law, is read prayerfully and meditatively, no one would come up and say that the moral law is no longer valid. The new commandment that Jesus gave was not really new. Love to God and neighbor was around since time immemorial, but it was new in the sense that Christ was teaching his disciples a love they had not known or experienced before--how to love as Jesus loved (turning the other cheek, practicing agape love--loving unconditionally, loving the unlovely).

Tom, the laws, statutes, commandments, ordinances, judgments, testimonies, and precepts were written for the sole purpose for guarding the breaking of the ten commandments. In fact these statutes and judgments were continually being added to the book of the law of Moses and eventually the book became the Bible as we know it today. That's why I mentioned in my previous letter that the whole Bible is the ten commandments expanded and amplified. Sometimes I say that in reverse - the ten commandment law is a synopsis of the whole entire Bible.

That's also why it's incorrect to say that the Old Testament is no longer applicable because we now have the New Testament. The only scripture in the time of Jesus was the Old Testament, and He quoted from it. In fact, the book of Revelation alone mentions or refers to texts in the Old Testament 600 times. We would be lost trying to understand Revelation without the book of Daniel and vice versa.

All the scriptures testify of Jesus (John 5:39; Luke 24:27, Acts 28:23). They point to Him, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. The New Testament is concealed in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New. Christ is the fulfillment and the personification of the Law of God--the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).

Obedience is the highest form of worship. Obedience brought blessings; disobedience brought tragic consequences. Yet, in spite of the rebelliousness of His ancient people, God still extended His hand of mercy and love to them. He caused the Babylonians to afflict His people because of their sins, yet He punished the Babylonians for not showing mercy to His people.

What a God! His love, forbearance, and patience to His stiff-necked people (including us today) is incomprehensible and unfathomable to me. Sometimes I say to myself: I'm glad I'm not God. BUT, God will not forever extend His mercy to a people who willfully transgress His law. When the cup of iniquity is full, this loving, merciful, and patient God will do His strange act (Isa 28:21; Eze 33:11). He will punish and destroy through His seven last plagues. Thus, He will forever do away with sin, Satan (the instigator), and the unrepentant souls. The ashes of the wicked will be under the feet of the righteous (Mal 4:3).

Yes, you're absolutely right, Tom. The Bible does say that Christ is the END of the law, but it also says that the END of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart (1 Tim 1:5). And it also says that the END of faith is salvation (1 Pet 1:9). And James 5:11 says "You have seen the END of the Lord that the Lord is pitiful and of tender mercy." The word END simply means the goal or end result. The law points us to Christ.

The moral law, Tom, is like a mirror. It lets us see the dirt in our face. The mirror cannot clean our face. We go to the sink and wash our face with soap and water. In this analogy, the soap and water represent the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. As the mirror cannot clean our face, likewise the law cannot save us from our sins. It only points out sin in our lives. But the fact remains that law and grace go together like hand in glove. See also James 1:23-25.

We find a classic example of the relationship between law and grace as practiced in the life in the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19. He came to Christ (salvation by grace thru faith) and after he was saved, he went about making restitution to his fellowmen for, as a tax collector, he had long defrauded and wronged them (thou shall not covet, thou shalt not steal were woefully violated).

A classic example of one who failed to carry out and fulfill the precepts of the law in his life was the rich young ruler as recorded in Matt 19. Jesus told him in verse 17 that to have eternal life, he must keep the commandments of God which He enumerated. While he kept the letter of the law flawlessly, he failed miserably to carry out the spirit and intent of the law. See Ps 119:96. To him, the law was written on cold tables of stone NOT in the warm fleshy tablets of his heart. He was not converted. Love to God and his fellowmen was absent in his life. He was a classic legalist!

Going back to the big picture of the first angel's message of Rev 14. What does it mean to fear God? I will answer this, as usual, with scriptures. Prov 8:13 and 9:10 (AMP) read: "The reverent fear and worshipful awe of the Lord includes the hatred of evil; pride, arrogance, the evil way, and perverted and twisted speech I hate...the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and understanding."

Did you notice the principles of the moral law included in the command to fear God? Ex 20:20 says that when the reverential fear of the Lord is before us, we will not sin, and in Eccl 12:13 we find that the whole duty of man is to keep God's law. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man."

This is serious business, isn't it? But what if we do sin? Then we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous (1 Jn 2:1; 1 Jn 1:9). To reverently fear God and keep His commandments go together with the everlasting Gospel that's proclaimed by the first angel of Rev 14! Obedience is our love response to Calvary.

I've covered the basics of what it means to fear God. Let's now consider what it means to give glory to God. Jer 9:24 gives us the answer. I like the Amplified rendition of this text: "But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me (personally and practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character), that I am the Lord, who practices loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight says the Lord." Again, the principles of the law and statutes (righteousness or right doing) are listed here, Tom.

To know God is to know His character. A transcript of His character is His law. His law is holy, just, and good (Rom 7:12), so is God. His law is perfect, it is light, it is love (Ps 19:7; Pr 6:23; 1 Tim 1:5) so is God. His law is true, righteous, and pure (Neh 9:13; Rom 8:4; Ps 19:8) so is God. 1 John 2:3 says: "And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." To know God is life eternal (John 17:3). 1 John 2:4 says: "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."

Fearing God and giving glory to Him involve knowing Him and His character. They involve knowing God personally and intimately. This entails keeping a close watch over the avenues of our souls, our senses, that Satan might not gain access to destroy our mind, the place where we can know God and where He communicates with us. For more on this subject click on the  Battle for the Mind.

The 144,000 of Rev 7 are said to have the Father's name in their foreheads. Some denominations teach that it matters that you know exactly the name of God even the right pronunciation. When Moses asked God what was His name so he could tell the children of Israel who sent him, God told him, tell them I AM sent you.

There are other name of God mentioned in the Bible--YHWH, JEHOVAH, ADONAI, ELOHIM, LORD, JEALOUS, etc. But what does it mean to have the Father's name on the forehead? I personally do not believe for a moment that God's name is tattooed across the foreheads of the 144,000. To have God's name on our foreheads means we know and appreciate His character, and we reflect it in our lives. Incidentally, I found out that the name Jehovah is a concocted name derived by replacing the vowels of JHWL with the vowel signs of the Hebrew words ADONAI or ELOHIM. Hmmm.  CLICK on the NEXT Button to continue.

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