SeniorSeeker
Active member
Worshiping The Image
As we have touched on all through this quarter, the final test in the last days deals with the question of worship (Rev. 14:1-12). All humanity will be split into one of two camps: those who worship the Creator, the One who made the heavens and the earth, and those who worship the beast and his image. Even though this sequence in the prophetic picture has yet to unfold, one could argue that, even now, all the world is divided into one of two camps: those who are faithful to the Lord and those who are not. There is no middle ground either: we are on one side or the other.
With this in mind, the story of the three Hebrew boys in the book of Daniel becomes quite relevant. It is not just a dramatic story of a supernatural rescue of those faithful followers of YHWH. It becomes, instead, a symbol, a type, for the test of worship that will come upon the world just before the second coming of Christ.
Read Daniel 3 Compare the worship of the image there with the worship of the image in Revelations 14 . What can we learn from this story that can help us under- stand the issue regarding the mark of the beast?
The second commandment, the one forbidding idolatry (Exod. 20:4-6), was at issue here; the fourth commandment (Exod. 20:8-11), the Sabbath commandment, will be the outward issue in the last days. How interesting that these both are commandments that were changed and tampered with by the beast power itself (Dan. 7:25). Both commandments are tied in directly with worship; the second one forbids the worship of idols, while the fourth one shows why one should not worship idols, and that is because the Lord of nature, not nature itself, is the One who created and redeemed them (Deut. 5:12-15).
Exodus 20:4-6 "You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
Daniel 7:25 "He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time."
Deuteronomy 5:12-15 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
In both cases, too, there is an earthly political/religious entity that wants the worship and fealty owed only to the Lord, and in both cases this power is willing to resort to violence in order to get that 'worship.'
Think through what it means to
As we have touched on all through this quarter, the final test in the last days deals with the question of worship (Rev. 14:1-12). All humanity will be split into one of two camps: those who worship the Creator, the One who made the heavens and the earth, and those who worship the beast and his image. Even though this sequence in the prophetic picture has yet to unfold, one could argue that, even now, all the world is divided into one of two camps: those who are faithful to the Lord and those who are not. There is no middle ground either: we are on one side or the other.
With this in mind, the story of the three Hebrew boys in the book of Daniel becomes quite relevant. It is not just a dramatic story of a supernatural rescue of those faithful followers of YHWH. It becomes, instead, a symbol, a type, for the test of worship that will come upon the world just before the second coming of Christ.
Read Daniel 3 Compare the worship of the image there with the worship of the image in Revelations 14 . What can we learn from this story that can help us under- stand the issue regarding the mark of the beast?
The second commandment, the one forbidding idolatry (Exod. 20:4-6), was at issue here; the fourth commandment (Exod. 20:8-11), the Sabbath commandment, will be the outward issue in the last days. How interesting that these both are commandments that were changed and tampered with by the beast power itself (Dan. 7:25). Both commandments are tied in directly with worship; the second one forbids the worship of idols, while the fourth one shows why one should not worship idols, and that is because the Lord of nature, not nature itself, is the One who created and redeemed them (Deut. 5:12-15).
Exodus 20:4-6 "You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
Daniel 7:25 "He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time."
Deuteronomy 5:12-15 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
In both cases, too, there is an earthly political/religious entity that wants the worship and fealty owed only to the Lord, and in both cases this power is willing to resort to violence in order to get that 'worship.'
Think through what it means to