In the last days, the great controversy will be played out, in a dramatic way, over worship. Do we worship the Creator, or do we worship the beast and its image? There is no middle ground. The first angel of Revelation 14 urges men and women to “ ‘worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV). In further support of heaven’s appeal, the third angel reveals the dire consequences of worshiping the beast: “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation” (Rev. 14:10). By contrast, those who worship the Creator are described as keeping “the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, NKJV).

 Creation is the basis of true worship (Rev. 4:11). Since God “created all things through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 3:9, NKJV), Satan hates the Creator and has attempted, through earthly powers, to change the Sabbath, the memorial of Creation (Dan. 7:25). The coming conflict over the law of God focuses on authority. If Satan can eradicate Sabbath worship, he will declare that his authority is greater than God’s authority. To accomplish this, Satan will attempt to convince or coerce the entire world to accept a counterfeit Sabbath.

 However hard it may be now to see this happening, as we have noted before, the world is changing dramatically. The COVID-19 crisis showed us that, overnight, our world can become a different place. Though we don’t know the details that lead to the mark of the beast, it’s not terribly hard to imagine. The world is very unstable, and with the amazing technology out there now, what the Bible warns about can, indeed, come to pass more quickly than we might now imagine.

 Read Revelation 13:13-17. What specific penalties are inflicted upon those who do not receive the mark of the beast?

 Those who are faithful to Christ, as opposed to following the beast and its image, will face economic penalties as well as the threat of death. Humanity remains what it has always been: corrupt, power-hungry, and violent. However much we don’t yet know about exactly how the final events will unfold, it should not be too hard to envision end-time persecution. Though written in another context completely, these words in John say it all. Talking about Jesus, John wrote that He “had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25, NKJV).