On February 7 & 8, the Newport SDA Church in Newport Washington will be hosting a live event on the Mark of The Beast. There are several excellent speakers participating!
—Interview—
Hi Steve. You have an upcoming symposium in February titled, “What to do when the mark of the beast is enforced?” What is that about?
Thank you, Gerry, for this interview. It is much appreciated. Our symposium will occur inside the Newport Washington Seventh-day Adventist Church during the weekend of February 7-8. The focus of the weekend is exactly what the title suggests: What should God’s people do when Sunday is enforced by law? Also, what do they need to know? What will be happening at that time, both outside and inside our church? What will the devil throw at us? How can we prepare for the latter rain, for the loud cry, to face persecution, and for the time of trouble? These meetings will go beyond theory and will be very practical. Typically, when Adventists discuss publicly the mark of the beast, we limit our arguments to identifying what the mark of the beast is as we seek to spread the truth about the Sabbath. This is proper and necessary, but our symposium will go beyond what we normally do. This time, our focus will be the people of God, which will make our symposium unique.
Who are the speakers for this event?
Tim Saxton (Administrative Director of White Horse Media), Jay Gallimore (former president of the Michigan conference), Ron Kelly (pastor of the Village SDA Church in Berrien Springs, MI), James Rafferty (former Co-Director of Light Bearers Ministry), and yours truly.
That sounds like a great line-up. How were they chosen?
It was a very prayerful process. Tim Saxton and I feel very strongly that God has been leading White Horse Media to develop this event, that its potential for enlightening, impacting, instructing and helping Adventists worldwide to prepare for the loud cry is enormous, so we wanted God to lead us directly in picking balanced, godly, tried-and-true, well-known speakers to enhance this event. There were a few other speakers that wanted to come (such as Ed Reid and Ivor Myers), but their schedules would not allow it. So, we kept thinking, praying, and making phone calls to specific individuals we wanted to invite. One by one, our line-up took shape. The capstone was when Neville Peter (who has performed at the White House and at Carnegie Hall) was able to fit our weekend into his schedule. We are very excited, and solemn, about this event.
How did the title come about?
For many years various White Horse Media speakers have focused on the identity of the mark of the beast, and on the growing evidence (from Time magazine, ABC, CNN, and Associated Press news reports) that the movement to enforce Sunday is gaining steam. Especially is this true in light of the growing climate change movement. Pope Francis’ monumental encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si, recommends that the entire world keep Sunday as part of the solution to earth’s environmental woes. Momentum is building. My associates at White Horse Media and myself have been watching these events carefully.
Then Tim Saxton developed a message called, “10 Things to Know when the Mark of the Beast is Enforced.” One Sabbath afternoon at our Newport Church, he gave this presentation. Attendance was sizable from our Newport church and from other churches in the area. The Holy Spirit’s presence was deeply felt. As I listened to Tim’s talk, I was deeply convicted that White Horse Media should move forward with preparation for an entire weekend event on this topic which we would film, record, and live stream. That’s how it started, and now all the details have come together. We strongly believe God is leading in this.
I assume that you get a lot of questions about end time events as you travel around. Will some of those questions be answered in the symposium?
Yes, I do. Yet most of my presentations in Adventist churches and in public venues are evangelistic in nature, with the questions dealing with those topics, and with world events. But this symposium will be different. Now we are focusing on God’s people, and on what they should know and do. Thus I anticipate a different set of questions from what I am normally asked. On Sabbath afternoon, February 8, as part of our symposium, all of the speakers will be on a panel where we will take questions from those in the audience, and from online viewers. The entire event will be LIVE streamed, and very exciting. I hope many of your Fulcrum 7 readers will tune in.
What significant prophetic markers do you see in 2020?
I’ve already mentioned the climate change movement. This topic was front and center at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Massive protests are being planned by this movement to increase pressure on lawmakers to ACT NOW to cut carbon emissions. We see Sunday lurking in the shadows of this movement. There is already talk of Sunday being enforced as a “low carbon day” to lessen business operations, greenhouse gasses, and thus global warming, which will supposedly help decrease weather-related disasters worldwide. I have written a new easy-to-share pocketbook entitled, Climate Change: Is it the End of the World? about to be available from White Horse Media, which explains all of these things.
Then there is the May 14 milestone when world leaders will meet with Pope Francis for a “global pact.”
Next, as we all know, 2020 is an election year. Many candidates are already talking about how they will make combatting climate change one of their key concerns. Disasters are increasing. Recently we’ve witnessed unprecedented Australian wildfires, major earthquakes in Puerto Rico, and the Taal volcano threatening to blow in the Philippines. These kind of things will surely increase, which will spur climate change activists to step up the pressure on lawmakers to pass laws to solve this problem. During an election year, lawmakers and candidates are increasingly subject to listening to public pressure. Again, Sunday laws lurk just beneath the surface of that pressure. At White Horse Media, we clearly see the writing on the wall. We expect that natural disasters will increase, that pressure will keep building, and that soon the very thing that Adventists have predicted for so long—the arrival of national and global Sunday laws—will be staring us in the face. This is why we feel compelled by the Holy Spirit to have our symposium to awaken Adventists everywhere and to inspire them to prepare for the loud cry of the third angel (see Revelation 14:9-12; 18:1-4).
What are you doing to spread the word?
First, the Newport Church has notified our local conference to send our information to pastors and local churches. Next, we have developed one dedicated web page, www.whitehorsemedia.com/mark-of-the-beast-enforced so that Adventists worldwide can easily share this link through email and social media. On that dedicated page is a player where each meeting will be streamed. So, its very easy. People can share the link, then go there and watch the symposium LIVE when it occurs. It will also be recorded so that those who miss it can watch it later. On that page people will also see a flyer that explains the event. Truly, God has led in the technological capabilities that are at our fingertips. He is preparing His world for the loud cry. Now is the time for us to act, to stand up, to be counted, to get ready, and to spread His truth.
Any final thoughts?
Yes. Time is surely running out, and now is the time for us seek Jesus, and to prepare for the soon coming crisis. There is no doubt in mind that we will see the mark of the beast enforced in our lifetime. It is “even at the doors.” When it hits, Adventists worldwide will suddenly find themselves in the midst of the final storm. God is seeking to prepare us for those difficult and exciting days. We need to understand His message that we are to give to the world, the shaking that will occur within our church, what the devil’s strategies against us will be, what it will be like when the latter rain falls on the faithful, how to help other Adventists that will be fleeing from the large cities, and the importance of trusting Jesus fully when we can’t buy or sell. I’ll close with these inspired quotes:
And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
“Son of man, what is this proverb that you people have about the land of Israel, which says, ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision fails’?
“Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will lay this proverb to rest, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.” But say to them, “The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision" (Ezekiel 12:21-23).
The Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve Him not. While the observance of the false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state, contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God's law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator. While one class, by accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers, receive the mark of the beast, the other, choosing the token of allegiance to divine authority, receive the seal of God.
Heretofore those who presented the truths of the third angel's message have often been regarded as mere alarmists. Their predictions that religious intolerance would gain control in the United States, that church and state would unite to persecute those who keep the commandments of God, have been pronounced groundless and absurd. It has been confidently declared that this land could never become other than what it has been—the defender of religious freedom. But as the question of enforcing Sunday observance is widely agitated, the event so long doubted and disbelieved is seen to be approaching, and the third message will produce an effect which it could not have had before. GC 605
In every generation God has sent His servants to rebuke sin, both in the world and in the church. But the people desire smooth things spoken to them, and the pure, unvarnished truth is not acceptable. Many reformers, in entering upon their work, determined to exercise great prudence in attacking the sins of the church and the nation. They hoped, by the example of a pure Christian life, to lead the people back to the doctrines of the Bible. But the Spirit of God came upon them as it came upon Elijah, moving him to rebuke the sins of a wicked king and an apostate people; they could not refrain from preaching the plain utterances of the Bible—doctrines which they had been reluctant to present. They were impelled to zealously declare the truth and the danger which threatened souls. The words which the Lord gave them they uttered, fearless of consequences, and the people were compelled to hear the warning. GC 606
Thus the message of the third angel will be proclaimed. As the time comes for it to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them. The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of enforcing the observances of the church by civil authority, the inroads of spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power—all will be unmasked. By these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these. GC 606
May God grant us the privilege of having a part in that final, glorious work.
Steve Wohlberg is the Speaker/Director of White Horse Media and the author of the new book, Climate Change: Is it the End of the World? A new study guide, What to Do When the Mark of the Beast is Enforced: 10 Things to Know, will soon be available from White Horse Media. www.whitehorsemedia.com. 1-800-782-4253.