(1) Now, I believe that the "Beast" is Satan. The "Mark of the Beast" therefore is SIN. The woman in the earlier post is the religious group as a whole. And God is calling the Church to Him.
(2) I personally find no prohibition in the bible for the consumption of alcohol. (personal conviction) If you believe it is wrong, then for you to would be sin.
(3) The Sabbath was set aside for man to worship God with teaching, offerings and sacrifices. Man was not made so that he could worship on the Sabbath. This was set up as a ritual reminder in the law. Now that the law was fulfilled, God is to be the center of our lives, so every day is the Sabbath. And everyone we come in contact with is to be treated as Jesus himself. That to me is the ultimate in worshipping God.
(1) If the "Mark of the Beast" is sin, then what would distinguish one from having the mark in the end since, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God?"
(2) I would agree with this. I believe the problem comes when it becomes a vice which is very easy. I have watched one of my friends slowly grow in his alcohol use and it is sad to me.
(3) You mention in a later post that Adam and Eve were "innocent" and really only a single rule of not eating of a certain tree. How can the Sabbath's purpose be to be a reminder of the law when it was actually part of the creation week, one of the things created. What law is it a reminder of? How does it remind me of any law? I believe that the purpose of the Sabbath is that it is a time set aside by God to spent time growing in our relationship with Him.
