Christians have long worried about getting the mark of the beast. But we can only avoid getting it by not worshiping the image of the beast. Worship of that image is what symbolically marks us, either on the forehead (with full knowledge of what we are doing) or on the right hand (doing it without thought or knowledge). See Revelation 13:15-17.
Daniel, the companion book of Revelation, records many prophetic visions, but the historical stories there are included that we might better understand the prophecies.
Take Daniel 3, for example, the story of Daniel’s three friends who would not bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, despite the risk of being thrown into a fiery furnace.
If you recall, the dimensions of the king’s image were 60 cubits in height and 6 cubits in width–90 ft. tall and 9 ft. wide (Daniel 3:1). This was because the Babylonians had a sexagesimal system of measurement, which was based on sixty.
This observation strongly connects this story with the image of the beast in Revelation. As a matter of fact, Revelation 13:18 says, “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”
Man was created on the sixth day of creation week, and, therefore, the number six is symbolically recognized in the Bible as indicating the worship of man, or someone other than God. Nebuchadnezzar, in making the whole image out of gold, was proclaiming his image as a way to worship himself and the empire he had built, in spite of the dream God had given him that his kingdom would be replaced by another.
Similar to that statement “Here is wisdom” is this one in the next chapter: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). So, faithfully keeping God’s commandments, all ten of them (James 2:10), will ensure that we are worshiping God and not the image of the beast.
There’s a strong presence of the number seven, representing God and perfection, in the book of Revelation. Consider the symbolic significance of the seven churches, seven spirits, seven golden candlesticks, seven stars, seven lamps, seven seals, seven horns, seven eyes, seven angels, seven trumpets, and many other sevens found in Revelation.
This helps us understand why the Sabbath of the fourth commandment may be pivotal in the last days. Some even find it to be God’s seal, because it contains God’s name, title, and jurisdiction–three things found on the seals of important government documents, and even business letters today.
There’s a reason why God told us to REMEMBER the SEVENth day. Perhaps, it will indicate who will get the seal of God, and who will get the mark of the beast. After all, it’s about who we worship. And the Sabbath commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) tells us who, when, how, and even why we worship. It, too, is all about worship.
One more thing to point out is the list of government officials present at the dedication of the golden image: satraps (representatives), administrators, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, and magistrates (Daniel 3:2). Every form of government and law enforcement officer was gathered there. Civil and religious authorities had joined hands to mandate and enforce a religious requirement.
In the last days, we will see government officials enforcing worship again. The church and state will no longer be separate entities. There will be such a close association between them, it will be hard to see who’s in control. This is when we know that an image to the beast has been erected and soon our worship will no longer be voluntary, but dictated by the laws of lawless men, who deceive us by claiming to be Christian.
Like Daniel’s friends, if we refuse to comply with their first-day Sunday requirements, we will be considered an enemy of the state. But we know what happens in Daniel’s story. The Son of Man was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, and He’s also promised to be with us to the very end (Matthew 28:20). Knowing and loving God by keeping His commandments (John 14:14) is how we avoid getting the mark of the beast, and how we are sealed with God’s protection during the time of trouble.
To see more on these prophecies, go to these articles:
