It's a Buy or Sell Mark It

[Locutus]

Austin Farrier has some interesting things to say in his book "The Revelation of St John Divine, Commentary on the English Text":

"The restriction of the right of commerce to Roman citizens, or other privileged class was a well known instrument or Roman policy"

​

It is my contention that John's statement in Rev 13:16 was in effect during the war of 66-70 AD if not somewhat before as the "mechanism" was already in place.


Rev 13:16 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

 

[Locutus]

Objections to the "mark" having a 1st century AD application is the misunderstanding of who John is naming the Whore of Babylon based on Rev 18:15 & 17 where "merchants and ship masters" are mentioned:

Rev 18:15 The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,

Rev 18:17 for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every ship master and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance,

The claim is made that the merchants and sailors are not tied to Israel of the 1st century but to latter day Rome (the Roman Catholic Church) and or a prosperous European nation or even the USA.

However, these "arguments" all miss the point that Israel was heavily into trade by both land and sea:

Applebaum in his "The Jewish People in the First Century" has this to say "the participation of Jews in Mediterranean trade is well attested. Jewish sailors and traders traveled as far as Spain and Alexandria. The Jews engaged in Maritime enterprise so sufficiently that they organized "guilds" of shipowners to protect themselves from maritime loses."

Jeremias in his book "Jerusalem in the time of Jesus" stated "The national capitol influenced commerce in two ways. It drew trade towards Jerusalem by promoting business transactions, and it provided a ready market for trade because of the heavy demand for luxury clothing, jewelry etc., a demand met by foreign trade"...which consisted of "food supples, precious metals, luxury goods and clothing materials.

Israel's importance as a world trader was the reason that Herod the Great built the artificial sea port city of Caesarea.

It is well known that Syrian and Jewish traders had a large share of foreign commerce under the Roman Empire.

So the description of 1st Century Israel fits well with the description of the whore with the loss of such a great market as Israel:

Rev 18:15 The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning,

 

[Nehemiah6]

It is my contention that John's statement in Rev 13:16 was in effect during the war of 66-70 AD if not somewhat before as the "mechanism" was already in place.

If that is your contention, then Satan should already be in the Lake of Fire (with the Beast and the False Prophet), and everything else should be hunky-dory in this world. But since this is not the case, continue to promote your fantasies, if that makes you happy.

 

[Locutus]

Where does it say in the bible everything will be "hunky-dory" Rory?......

 

[MattforJesus]

Austin Farrier has some interesting things to say in his book "The Revelation of St John Divine, Commentary on the English Text":

"The restriction of the right of commerce to Roman citizens, or other privileged class was a well known instrument or Roman policy"

It is my contention that John's statement in Rev 13:16 was in effect during the war of 66-70 AD if not somewhat before as the "mechanism" was already in place.

Rev 13:16 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Rev 13:11 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.
Rev 13:12 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.
Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev 13:14 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.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.

Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Dan 8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
Dan 8:24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
Dan 8:25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand(witchcraft).

Was there recorded in Roman history,or by anybody,that there was a man back in the first century that could harness the power of nature,and do miracles,and shared this power with another man,who made fire come down from heaven,and did great signs,and wonders.

1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
1Ti 4:4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
1Ti 4:5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

An occult interpretation of the Bible,the new age movement,that was not even around in the first century,and will occur in the latter times,which is now.

Dan 11:36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
Dan 11:37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
Dan 11:38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

Yea,there was not a man that could do those things in the first century,and gave this power to another man.

A man that did not acknowledge any god,but honored the God of forces,or the power of nature as his higher power,and could harness the power of nature,and do miracles.

Yea,there was no such man,but in the future there will be,for the devils will be cast to earth,which the earth becomes the habitation of devils,and they will deceive all people who do not love God to follow the beast kingdom,the strong delusion that God will send all who love not the truth,and the beast shall be mighty,for he gets his power from Satan.

There has never been such a man,but in the future there will be for it is the time for God to cause all people that do not love Him to follow the beast kingdom,so He can put them down,and God is going to allow the devils to have influence over them that they could not have in the past,and not in the first century.

But here it is that shall happen in the latter times,when the devils influence the new age movement,who look at Lucifer as the helper of this world,who will influence the New Age Christ,and will help the world to spiritually evolve through nature when the nations come together,and agree to try to achieve peace on earth.

Was the first century the latter times,yea,it was not,for how can somebody believe that in the first century was in the latter times,which the latter times is the last days of the last days of the last days of the last days,and very close to God putting the world down,so the first century without a doubt could not be considered the latter times.

And the new age movement is influenced by the devil,for they give heed to seducing spirits,and doctrines of devils.

God has never allowed Satan to influence the wicked of this world like He will in the future,for it is the time for God to allow the world to rebel against Him so He can put them down.

God will not give up on the world,until the world gives up on Him,so He will allow them to rebel that He would not allow in the past,and Satan will influence the New Age Christ,and that is where the miracles,and great signs,and wonders,come in.

2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

The new age movement will be the future for this sinful world,and in the future the world will only want to hear the Bible according to their interpretation,which is spiritual evolution through the power of nature,for the new age movement says,people are still evolving,and can be greater than their current position.

A lie that Satan uses to deceive people,and he used it on Eve,that she could be greater than her current position,and she fell for it.

The esoteric meaning of Lucifer,lucistrust.org,Alice Bailey,the biggest prophet of the new age movement,married to a Freemason that agreed with her occult interpretation of the Bible.

There are comments on the World Wide Web claiming that the Lucis Trust was once called the Lucifer Trust. Such was never the case. However, for a brief period of two or three years in the early 1920’s, when Alice and Foster Bailey were beginning to publish the books published under her name, they named their fledgling publishing company “Lucifer Publishing Company”. By 1925 the name was changed to Lucis Publishing Company and has remained so ever since.Both “Lucifer” and “Lucis” come from the same word root, lucis being the Latin generative case meaning of light. The Baileys' reasons for choosing the original name are not known to us, but we can only surmise that they, like the great teacher H.P. Blavatsky, for whom they had enormous respect, sought to elicit a deeper understanding of the sacrifice made by Lucifer. Alice and Foster Bailey were serious students and teachers of Theosophy, a spiritual tradition which views Lucifer as one of the solar Angels, those advanced Beings Who Theosophy says descended (thus “the fall”) from Venus to our planet eons ago to bring the principle of mind to what was then animal-man. In the theosophical perspective, the descent of these solar Angels was not a fall into sin or disgrace but rather an act of great sacrifice, as is suggested in the name “Lucifer” which means light-bearer.

This is only a summary of it,but she writes a great deal about it in her a book of many books that she has written.

The new age movement is the future for this sinful world,and they are setting up a kingdom for the worship of Lucifer,for God is allowing the world to be influenced by the devil that He never allowed before,including the first century.

Rev 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Dan 7:23 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.
Dan 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

The beast has power over all nations,and kindreds,and tongues,and the beast kingdom shall devour the whole earth,and tread it down,and break it in pieces.

The whole earth,not the then known world back in the first century,but the whole earth.

 

[garee]

The buying and selling has to do with spiritual truth . The mark of the beast (man) is 666. It identifies all who have not been born again from above.. No sign will be given he will come as a thief in the night just as in the time of Noah.Things will be going as normal buying and selling houses ,and food to eat, planes to catch, etc.. then will come sudden destruction. Not Hollywood drama . Beast with many horns or the Scorpion king arises from the dust

Its an evil generation (Adam) marked by the number 666 that seeks after a sign before they will believe.The generation of Christ walks by the faith of Christ, the faith of God.

2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight

 

[oldhermit]

Austin Farrier has some interesting things to say in his book "The Revelation of St John Divine, Commentary on the English Text":

"The restriction of the right of commerce to Roman citizens, or other privileged class was a well known instrument or Roman policy"

​

It is my contention that John's statement in Rev 13:16 was in effect during the war of 66-70 AD if not somewhat before as the "mechanism" was already in place.

Rev 13:16 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

“And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast (god, Caesar???) or the number of his name.”

The mark of the beast is nothing more than one's willingness to offer its worship the first beast. In other words, if you did not acknowledge Caesar as god you were not allowed to buy and sell in the marketplace. If you were a fisherman, a shepherd, a farmer, a craftsman, a herdsman, or any other type of merchant you were not permitted to conduct business or ply your trade if you were a Christian. Being a Christian was economically disastrous.

 

[shrume]

“And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast (god, Caesar???) or the number of his name.”

The mark of the beast is nothing more than one's willingness to offer its worship the first beast. In other words, if you did not acknowledge Caesar as god you were not allowed to buy and sell in the marketplace. If you were a fisherman, a shepherd, a farmer, a craftsman, a herdsman, or any other type of merchant you were not permitted to conduct business or ply your trade if you were a Christian. Being a Christian was economically disastrous.

That might be a rational understanding if not for the previous verses:

Rev 13:
13) And he [the second beast] 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.

When did v13 happen? When did fire come down from heaven?
Or v15? When was life given to an image of the beast?

 

[Ahwatukee]

That might be a rational understanding if not for the previous verses:

Rev 13:
13) And he [the second beast] 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.

When did v13 happen? When did fire come down from heaven?
Or v15? When was life given to an image of the beast?

Oh, I'm sure that oldhermit will come up with some allegorical apologetic for it, instead of understanding that these things are still future. They are all in for a big awakening!

 

[loveme1]

I believe a pledge of allegiance to the new world will be required for the mark to be given.. religion will be blamed for the destruction through war and then they will propose a new world order and anyone not playing ball will be killed for their beliefs. We are not to fear death of the mortal body and our Faith brings us Everlasting life if we overcome and remain Faithful unto death of the mortal.

We are all distracted and making a life for ourselves.. the evil agenda want to live forever and be gods.. they are deceived by Satan who is posing as the angel of light.

The rich people are building their bunkers to survive pending doom.. we know their is only one bunker offering survival but not according to man... only According to the Almighty through His Son.


peace and love to you all.

 

[oldhermit]

That might be a rational understanding if not for the previous verses:

Rev 13:
13) And he [the second beast] 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.

When did v13 happen? When did fire come down from heaven?
Or v15? When was life given to an image of the beast?

Are you sure you want me to answer this? It has been my experience in the past that providing you with information on a text has been rather pointless.

 

[Jackson123]

Austin Farrier has some interesting things to say in his book "The Revelation of St John Divine, Commentary on the English Text":

"The restriction of the right of commerce to Roman citizens, or other privileged class was a well known instrument or Roman policy"

​

It is my contention that John's statement in Rev 13:16 was in effect during the war of 66-70 AD if not somewhat before as the "mechanism" was already in place.


Rev 13:16 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

st John. The use St, may from catholic source. Protestant usualy use term apostle.

after the mark of the beast, than rapture and Jesus reign for 1000 years, with the saint. Now most president or King is not a saint, Jesus not reign from Mount Sion. It has been almost 2000 years since 70 AD, during 1000 years of Jesus administration Will be peace No war, now a Lot of war and refugees, isis, terrorist hungered in africa.
we are not in 1000 years Jesus administration.

 

[Locutus]

Are you sure you want me to answer this? It has been my experience in the past that providing you with information on a text has been rather pointless.

Me want to know...OHT.

 

[shrume]

Are you sure you want me to answer this?

Sure!

It has been my experience in the past that providing you with information on a text has been rather pointless.

Why has it been pointless? Because you have been unable to convince me that Preterism/a-millennialism are true?

Do you see anything anyone posts that you do not agree with as pointless?

 

[oldhermit]

Sure!


Why has it been pointless? Because you have been unable to convince me that Preterism/a-millennialism are true?

Do you see anything anyone posts that you do not agree with as pointless?

If I do this I am going to begin with verse one and go through the entire chapter. Are you still sure you want to do this?

 

[garee]

Oh, I'm sure that oldhermit will come up with some allegorical apologetic for it, instead of understanding that these things are still future. They are all in for a big awakening!

No reason to apologize for allegorical apologetics. Without parables the word of Christ speaks not. The whole book of Revelation is signified using the things seen to give us the spiritual understand of that not seen the eternal.... hid from those who seek after a signs and wonders gospel . Christ called them a evil generation .The generation of Adam natural man marked with the number 666. Not the generation of Christ the new creation. 777

What is the number of natural unconverted man, as a beast of the field (formed from the dust) if not 666 or 2/3 ?

Why the buying and selling in respect to the worldly goods and not buying and selling in respect to spiritual truth?

Pro 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.



As far as a big awakening he will come as a thief in the night on the last day (not days plural) .Not Hollywood style.

 

[shrume]

If I do this I am going to begin with verse one and go through the entire chapter. Are you still sure you want to do this?

If you want to take the time, sure!

I may not respond for awhile... We're having company in a bit.

 

[oldhermit]

If you want to take the time, sure!

I may not respond for awhile... We're having company in a bit.

Very well. Here is chapter 13.

By oldhermit

I. Who is the Sea Beast, 1-10?

There is no break in the closing thought of chapter twelve and the opening verse of chapter thirteen. These two chapters must be read as if the chapter break does not exist. In keeping with the theme of the dragon waging war with those “who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus,” the beast rises up out of the sea.
A. Is it the Dragon on the seashore or John? This is a matter of a textual variant.
“And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.”
This textual variant is really of little consequence. In most English translations, chapter thirteen opens with “And I sawstood on the sand of the seashore,” rather than “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore.” The NIV and the NASB prefer the latter rendering while translations such as the ASV, the Douay-Rheims Bible, the ERV, and the Weymouth New Testament translate it as “he stood upon the sand of the sea.” The antecedent of “he” would of course be the dragon of 12:17. The reason for the variant translation rests upon the omission of a single letter. Should it be ἐστάθη – 'I stood', or should it be ἐστάθην – 'He stood'? If the use of ἐστάθην is correct, this would suggest that the dragon stood as the one who seemed to summon the beast out of the sea. If ἐστάθη is correct then John is simply acknowledging himself as the on-the-scene witness of this rising of the beast out of the sea. The opinion among scholars is fairly split on this issue but from the continuing context of the chapter it would seem to me to be in favor of John over the dragon.
B. Who is the beast rising up out of the sea?

1. “Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.” We have already established from chapter twelve that the Sea Beast is the Roman Empire.

a. The then horns are still the tributary king of Rome; this is why they are wearing crowns. King Herod was one of these tributary kings.
b. The seven heads are still the seven hills of Rome which had become the symbol of the imperial city; “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits,and are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while,” 17:9-10.

2. The appearance of the beast is presented as that of a composite predator.

a. “Like a leopard, his feet were like those of a bear, his mouth like the mouth of a lion;” This beast is a devourer of nations.
b. “And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority.” Satan is the power behind the throne and his prey would be the Christian and Jewish communities.

3. The wounding of the beast, “I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound (no perceived hope for survival) was healed.”

a. Which head was wounded? The wound is seen on only one of the heads of the beast, not one of the horns (provinces). Since, according to chapter seventeen the seven heads were the first seven emperors, this wound was received during the reign of one of these seven rulers. Since five of them had already come and gone and one had not yet come, this only leaves the one who was reigning at the time which was Nero. This means that the Empire of Rome suffered a fatal wound during the time of its sixth emperor, and had God not healed the wound, Rome would have destroyed itself. From the time of Galba who succeeded Nero to Vespasian the empire was in a state of political chaos with three consecutive emperors within the space of eighteen months. During this time Rome was also plagued with civil war and bankruptcy. It was not until Vespasian came to power in 69AD that Rome began to recover from the brink of collapse. From this also sprang up a resurgence of emperor worship that was enforced under penalty of death.

b. What was the 'fatal' wound?

* As verse fourteen tells us, the wound was the result of warfare “the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.” The fact that he came to life simply means that the Empire regained its stability and position of world dominance and power under Vespasian.
* The fatal wound was 'healed'. This has to be the result of divine intervention. The head did not simply recover from the wound over time. Action was taken in response to the wound. The fact that it was healed speaks of divide intervention on the part of God. Without an act of God the wound would have been fatal. Rome still had a role to play in its global spread of the gospel. The Roman persecution was largely responsible for the spread of Christianity.
* The seeming indestructible nature of Rome drew a response from the tributary nations. “And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” They praise the strength and power of the beast rather than God who healed the beast.

 

[oldhermit]

4. The blasphemy of the beast

a. “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies.” Should it be 'him' or 'it'?

* αὐτῷ is dative case and both masculine and neuter gender. Since the antecedent of αὐτῷ is the beast representing not a person but a nation it would seem to be more appropriately rendered in the neuter rather than the masculine. In fact, it is so rendered in a number of English translations; Thus, “There was given to it....” Since however, the 'head' is referring to a specific ruling person, for the seven heads are kings, it would certainly seem appropriate to use 'he'.
* The source of this arrogance and blasphemy is the dragon. He is the one who empowered the beast in verse two. Satan is the one who influences the minds of the emperors.
* The arrogant words and blasphemies – In 2Thessalonians 2:3-4 Paul writes, "...that son of perdition an adversary who exalts himself above every so-called god proposed for worship, he who seats himself in God's temple and even declares himself to be God." This is blaspheming the name of God. It would seem that this is directed at this particular persecutor.

b. “And authority to act for forty-two months was given to him (it).” The authority is to execute destruction against Jerusalem.
c. “And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.” How does he blaspheme the name of God? He assigns it to himself.

* The church is here intended as the co-recipient of Nero's blasphemies. He blasphemes God “and his tabernacle, those who dwell in heaven.” The tabernacle or house of God is “those who....” The Church is the tabernacle of God whose dwelling place and place of origin is heaven. We will see this more clearly when we get to chapter twenty-one. ”Those who dwell in heaven” stand in contrast to the beast that rises out of the sea – Rome, and the best in verse eleven that came “out of the earth” (the place of the nations) is Jerusalem. Those who dwell in heaven represent the saints.
* The blasphemies are associated with persecution. The persecution of the saints is an affront to God himself.

5. “It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.” Nero persecuted Christians irrespective of nationality. Jerusalem is no longer Nero's only object of assault. Late in 64 AD Nero began his persecution of Christians. This persecution was not limited to Jewish Christians but encompassed Christians of every ethnic group – those of “every tribe and people and tongue and nation.”
6. “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

a. This is directed toward those who were the subjects of the three woes – those in Jerusalem because it speaks of those destined for captivity and those killed by the sword. When Titus besieged the city in 66AD it was on the Sabbath day during the Passover. This means the city would have been crowded with people. Josephus estimated the population of Jerusalem to be about 2,500,000 at the time the siege. When the city eventually fell, the accounts of the dead were estimated to be between 600,000 to over 1,000,000, thousands of which were crucified. Josephus placed the number 1,100,000 but the conqueror Titus believed it to be around 600,000. 95,000 captives were taken as prisoners and sold into slavery or killed in gladiatorial games. The rest died of starvation and disease. Ac
b. These are those whose names are not written in the book of life. These are said to worship the beast – Rome. Jerusalem despised Roman rule and fought against Roman domination yet, they are said to worship the beast. This seems paradoxical but the fact is that prior to the Roman Jewish war, Jerusalem was in league with Rome. Palestine was one of the tributary provinces and was ruled by king Agrippa II who's allegiance was to Rome. If you do not worship the Lamb, you worship the beast. There are no other options.
II. Who is the Beast from the Earth, 11-18?


A. “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth (Palestine); And he had two horns like a lamb...”

1. The first beast is depicted as a composite predator while the second beast is depicted as a lamb, an animal of prey.
2. “And he spoke as a dragon.” Speaks like the dragon rather than the Lamb; This makes him a false prophet as he is called in 19:20. Jesus had warned of false prophets during this time in Matthew 24:11. The fact that he “spoke as a dragon” represents an agreement of mind between Rome and Palestine who was nothing more than an instrument of Rome through which Rome exercised its power over the Jews. This is portrayed in the comparison of horns which represent power. Rome has ten and Palestine (the subordinate power) has two. The lesser served the greater.

B. “He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.” The object of this power was the Jews. The only power Palestine possessed came from Rome and the Jews were required to give their allegiance to Rome. “If you give it to the Lamb we will kill you.”
C. “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth (Jews, specifically the province of Palestine) because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” These “signs” do not suggest miracles or even pseudo miracles. These signs were demonstrations of power and authority exercised on the citizenry. Fire is a judgment figure used here as it is in many places to represent the power, in this case the power of the Jewish persecutors against those who refuse to worship the Beast or bow to his image. This is very suggestive of 2Thessalonians 2:9-12, “Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all(unrepentant Israel) maybe judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” This judgment was executed in the three woes.
D. “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast (god, Caesar???) or the number of his name.” The mark of the beast is nothing more than one's willingness to offer its worship the first beast. In other words, if you did not acknowledge Caesar as god you were not allowed to buy and sell in the marketplace. If you were a fisherman, a shepherd, a farmer, a craftsman, a herdsman, or any other type of merchant you were not permitted to conduct business or ply your trade if you were a Christian. Being a Christian was economically disastrous.

1. The symbolism of the forehead can be used to indicate the stubborn mind, Ezekiel 3:8-9. This stubbornness can be either for or against God.
2. This symbolism as it was introduced to us in Exodus 13:9 was one's consecration of the heart and mind to God. Here, this symbolism is used of those who have consecrated themselves to the beast.

E. “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.” Nero was the sixth emperor. Six is the number for man and the three-fold use of the number six simply exaggerates the fact that he was a man and not God. Those who worship him worship man.

 

[UnderGrace]

I would like to know please.

Are you sure you want me to answer this? It has been my experience in the past that providing you with information on a text has been rather pointless.