APOCALYPSIS- FUTURE REVEALED

STUDY 2

The Mark of the Beast Issue

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. Revelation 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Introduction The parallels between Daniel 3 and Revelation 13 are striking. In this lesson we will examine carefully the story in Daniel 3 and consider a few of the general parallels to Revelation 13. However, in a later study we will examine in much greater detail the parallels between Daniel 3 and Revelation 13, and how they impact our day. Revelation 13:16, 17 16 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: 17 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. Notice in verse 17 that those who cant buy or sell are those who have one of three things: the mark, name, or number. What is the little two letter word separating these three items? Or. The mark is neither the name nor the number. These are three separate items. Revelation 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. his number is 666 The mark of the beast is not 666 at all! It is the number that will help us identify this beast. Revelation 13:11-18

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11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 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. 16 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: 17 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. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. There are two beasts mentioned here. The lamb-like beast that speaks as a dragon (verse 11) and the first beast in verses 1-3. Lets chart what the Bible says before we ask ourselves what it means. 1. Vss. 11,12 There are two beasts 2. Vs. 14 The lamb-like beast makes an image to the first beast 3. Vs. 15 He commands the world to worship the image to the beast 4. Vs. 15 Those who refuse to worship are threatened with death 5. Vs. 16 This is a worldwide event. All 6. Vs. 18 This is connected in some manner with 666 Daniel 7:17, 23 17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. Beast = king / kingdom (nation, power) The Bible says beasts represent kings or kingdoms. With this key, we can know the two beasts in Revelation 13 represent two kingdoms. They build an image and command the world to worship it. If people refuse, they will not be able to buy or sell and eventually they will be threatened with death. This is the scene

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surrounding the mark. Daniel 3:1-6 1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits 1, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: 6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Daniel 3 describes an event that is very similar to what will happen in the end of time as mentioned in Revelation 13. Parallels with Revelation 13: 1. Vs. 1 There is a powerful kingdom: Nebuchadnezzar, king of the most powerful nation of the time, Babylon. 2. Vs. 1 He builds an image 3. Vs. 1 He bases the size of this image on the six system. Sixty cubits high and six cubits wide. Very similar to the 666 of Revelation 13. 4. Vs. 4 He gathers all the peoples, nations, and languages. 5. Vs. 5 He commands them to worship the image. 6. Vs. 6 Those who refuse to worship will be killed.

Paralels
mandatory worship image to the beast death penalty all, worldwide 666 number of the beast

Revelation 13
v.12 v.14 v.15 v.15 v.18

Daniel 3
v.3-5 v.1 v.6 v.4 v.1

1 1) cubit - a measure of distance (the forearm), roughly 18 in (.5 m)

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The identical six features of the mark of the beast as described in Revelation 13 are presented here. This illustrates a principle of how to interpret the Bible. In the book of Revelation God can say volumes in a few verses by using Old Testament (OT) stories to illustrate last day events. Thats why in Revelation we see so many OT words and names. Of the 404 verses of Revelation, 276 of them contain quotations from the OT. God uses these OT stories to illustrate last day events. So when we read in Revelation about an image being set up by a kingdom and everyone is commanded to bow down, the Bible student is reminded to go back and read this OT story. Daniel 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. From head to toe, Nebuchadnezzar used gold to make this image. Last time in Daniel 2 (study 1) we read about an image (statue) being described. The image was made of: The head of gold represent - Babylon The breast and arms of silver represent - The Medes and Persians. For the king Nebuchadnezzar, it wasnt a good news to the king that his empire would one day be overthrown by a weaker nation. One day, the king decides to tell the world what he thinks about the image of Daniel 2. He arranges to build his own image, but he makes it entirely of gold from head to toe (Daniel 3). Nebuchadnezzar is declaring, I will not fall! Notice the significance. Nebuchadnezzar takes a symbol God used to teach truth in Daniel 2 and he twists the truth. Yes, he makes an image that looks just like the one in Daniel 2. Yes, he makes the head of gold. But where God used other metals to teach there would be four major empires, Nebuchadnezzar distorts this by making the entire image of gold. So the first thing we learn here from Daniel 3 is that the mark of the beast and the image has something to do with taking a truth of God and changing it a little so it no longer teaches the truth, but is a counterfeit. The next thing we see in Daniel 3:1 is that this image is built 60 cubits high and 6 cubits wide. The Babylonians were the ones who developed the sexidecimal system2 where there are 60 seconds to a minute, 60 minutes to an hour, 360 degrees to a circle, etc. This led them to believe the number 6 had magical properties. Therefore, pagan worship had the number 6 intertwined with it. In fact, the number 666 can be dated back to ancient Babylon as a number used to worship their pagan gods. This
2 http://education.ed.pacificu.edu/charlesm/courses/mathsci/numsys/numsys.html

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underscores the fact the king was basing this counterfeit image on pagan worship and not the worship of the true God. This indicates that the mark of the beast will take a truth of God and counterfeit it and the counterfeit will be based upon paganism and not the true worship of God. The king commands all the leaders of his empire to gather on the plain of Dura (Daniel 3). There he has erected this 90 foot high image(1 cubit = roughly 18 in) . He tells everyone they must worship when the band strikes up the music, or they will be thrown into a burning furnace. But there are three men who refuse to bow down. When they are brought before the king they tell him that their trust is in the God of heaven. Daniel 3:16-18 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Their answer We are not careful means we are not full of care and worry. If God wants to deliver us, He can. If not, then we still will not worship your image. Here is why they wouldnt bow down before the image. Exodus 20:4-6 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. The second commandment forbids it. What we learn from this is that the mark of the beast has something to do with a powerful kingdom passing laws that command people to worship in a way contrary to Gods commandments. What should we do when put into a similar situation as these three men? Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

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If men commands something that is contrary to the word of God, than we ought to obey God before men. Daniel 3:19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. This is the way Satan always works. He makes law keepers appear to be lawbreakers. Daniel 3:21-25 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. The ones that bound and threw them into the fire were the ones that died. God has sent His Son to save them. Jesus came to save each one of us. John 3:16-17 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. Have you ever considered what would have happened if they had compromised and bowed down? They would not have had the opportunity to meet the Son of God. It is during the trials, when we are tempted to compromise, that we come closest to Jesus if we remain faithful to Him. Daniel 3:28-30 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's

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word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon. By being faithful, people from around the kingdom learned of the true God. And as a bonus, these three men are each promoted. You see, God honors those who honor Him.

The Mark of the Beast Issue Summary

1. The mark is not 666. (Revelation 13:17, 18) 2. Powerful kingdoms will lead the world to establish the mark. 3. The mark is associated with worship of a symbolic image which represents counterfeiting a truth of God. 4. The counterfeit worship will be based upon ancient pagan worship. 5. All the world will be commanded to follow this false worship. 6. The false worship will be contrary to Gods commandments. 7. While the majority will compromise, there will be a faithful few who will stand loyally for God. 8. God will deliver them out of the furnace and they will not be hurt. 9. They will gain a precious experience with Jesus through this. In a future lesson we will look into this more deeply. We will study who the beast is and what the mark is specifically.

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