Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #30 of Revelation, chapter 13, and I am going to be reading Revelation 13:15-17:

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. 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: 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.

I will stop reading there.  We have been discussing Revelation 13 for several weeks.   In verse, after verse, after verse, God describes the judgment on the house of God (the churches) during the 23-year Great Tribulation period that concluded on May 21, 2011.

The image of the “beast” (another name for Satan who had been loosed to rule in the churches) is found in the corporate churches, the outward visible entities that are found in the nations of the world – the Lutherans, the Catholics, the Episcopalians, the independent or house churches – and they have taken upon themselves this image of the beast.  Satan is the “spirit” that has been set up and established in the midst of the churches, as God’s Spirit left the churches at the beginning of the Great Tribulation on May 21, 1988.  Only Satan’s spirit remained in the churches over those 23 years and the churches took on the characteristics of Satan.

What is the chief characteristic of Satan?  He is a liar.  He is the father of lies and he told Eve lies in the Garden of Eden in order to deceive her into eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.  He was successful and Adam and Eve did eat of the fruit and, as a result, Adam and Eve began to serve Satan.  He had won that spiritual battle over them.  If they had been obedient to the command of God, they would have continued in service to God, but since they disobeyed God and did the bidding of Satan by transgressing the Law of God, then Satan began to rule over mankind.  Since mankind had been given rule over world, therefore, Satan was given the rule over the nations of the world; if he ruled over man and man ruled over the nations, then Satan must rule the nations.

At the cross Satan was bound for that figurative “thousand years” and then the Bible says that at the time of the end he must be loosed for a “little season.”  And he was.  As soon as he was loosed, he straight way went into the churches and took his seat as the “man of sin” in the temple.  In the Bible, to “sit” means “to rule.”  He was sitting and “shewing himself that he is God” and exalting himself “above all that is called God, or that is worshipped.”  His desire and his pride was to be like God and, finally, at the end during the period of the 23-year years of the “little season,” he can show himself that he is God and he receives the worship of mankind in the churches which the Lord Jesus Christ had established. 

This is what is going on in Revelation 13 as this image is made to the beast and it goes on to say in Revelation 13:15:

… 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.

We have talked a little bit about the image “speaking,” and that word “speak” is translated as “preach” in some places and that fits with the fact that the image of the beast is the corporate churches; there are preachers there and they are now emissaries of Satan and, therefore, each Sunday during this period when Satan is in the churches, it is Satan’s “ministers of righteousness” that are preaching.  It says of them, in 2Corinthians 11:13-15:

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Notice it says that they are “his ministers;” they are not God’s ministers.  They are Satan’s ministers.  God is not being done service by these pastors that remained in the churches once God ended the church age.  The elders are not doing service to God when God has declared that the church age is over.  None of the church authorities are doing service to God because they are operating without the official blessing and authority of God.  That authority had been removed, as God stripped it from them at the end of the church age in May 1988.  Now the pastor and the elders and deacons are still operating and performing their roles.  They are still preaching and exercising authority within the congregations under the power and authority of Satan during the Great Tribulation period.  Therefore, they are his ministers and not the ministers of God.

As Revelation 13:15 says:

… 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.

This immediately reminds us of what we read in the Book of Daniel.  Turn back to Daniel, chapter 3, and I am going to read a good portion of this chapter.  It says in Daniel 3:1-6:

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. 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. 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. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 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: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

There are many similarities here to what we are reading in Revelation 13 concerning the “image of the beast” that has the power to speak and whoever does not worship that “image” should be killed.  This historical record in the Book of Daniel talks of King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonians, who is a type and figure of Satan, as we learned in Isaiah 14:4:

That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

Then in that context of the parable against the king of Babylon, it says in Isaiah 14:12-14:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

We could compare those statement with 2Thessalonians 2 as it describes the “man of sin” taking his seat in the temple and it would be a very close match because the “man of sin” is picturing Satan and the king of Babylon, here in Isaiah 14, is picturing Satan.  The king of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar, had previously had a dream that Daniel interpreted by the wisdom of God, in Daniel 2, but now in the very next chapter in Daniel 3, it is no surprise that Nebuchadnezzar suddenly wants to make an “image” of gold.  In his dream, Daniel had said that the image was related to Nebuchadnezzar, so this image of gold is a very personal thing to this king.  We could understand that he is very closely identified with this image in his mind, because he wanted people to bow down and worship the image and this is, basically, bowing down to the king in his sovereignty.  So it is decreed that everyone, with no exception, must bow down to the image of King Nebuchadnezzar when the musical instruments begin to sound.

Now this is a very interesting side note about the musical instruments.  They are mentioned four different times.  We read in verse 5: “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.”  Six musical instruments are mentioned by name and four different times God repeats the list of the musical instruments, but three times six musical instruments are listed and one time only five musical instruments are listed.  So when we add them up, it is “6 + 6 + 6 + 5 = 23,” which this has everything to do with the Great Tribulation.  The actual duration of the Great Tribulation in God’s “times and seasons” worked out to be an exact 23 years, so by listing the musical instruments in the way He does (by omitting one instrument in one of the four times they are mentioned), God is emphasizing that this is picturing the time of the Great Tribulation.  During the Great Tribulation, the “king of Babylon,” Satan, will make an image.  That is exactly what we are reading in Revelation, chapter 13, a chapter that is totally involved in describing the Great Tribulation, in which the beast has an image made to him.  This confirms that we understand the “image of the beast” correctly; Satan is typified by that beast; Nebuchadnezzar typified Satan and he is making an image.  We read at the end of Revelation 13:15:

…and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

Now what was the consequence in the land of Babylon long ago if someone had dared to refuse to worship the image of the beast?  We read about that in Daniel 3:6:

And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

The reference to “hour” is also not a coincidence because God likens the Great Tribulation to “one hour.”  So when the musical instruments began to sound, it signals that they must bow down, bend the knee and submit to the king of Babylon and worship him.  At this point, let me read, again, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4:

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

This is what it is all about and this is what King Nebuchadnezzar, in his pride and arrogance, desires: “I want to be worshipped.  Bow down to me.”  To bow down and to bend the knee and prostrate oneself is to be in submission to the person or to the thing before which you bow.  In our verse, it is the “image of the beast,” and if you do not worship the “image of the beast,” there is only one commandment for you: you shall be killed.  That is what Revelation 13:15 declared.  That is also what King Nebuchadnezzar decreed – if anyone would not fall down and worship, that same hour they would be thrown into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Going back to this historical account, some of the Chaldeans noticed that there were three Jews that refused to bend the knee.  It says in Daniel 3:8-18:

Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.  There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar in hisrage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 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. 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.

From this we can see that there were true believers in Babylon.  These three young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were faithful to God; they were faithful even under the threat of death.  They were willing to die rather than to bow down in submission to an idol, the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had made.  They picture true believers that will not serve the “image of the beast” during the time of the Great Tribulation.  God’s people are basically saying, “Very well.  You say I will die, but I will still do things God’s way.  My God is able to deliver me, if it be His will, but I must do the will of God, no matter what the consequences or what dangers there may be, even unto death.  But I must be obedient to the will of God.  I cannot deny the Scripture and I cannot deny the commandments and God has commanded that we not bow down to any other god.” 

Let me read, in Exodus 20, where the Ten Commandments are listed.  It says in Exodus 20:2-5:

I am JEHOVAH thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 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: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I JEHOVAH 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;

There is no question at all, according to the Law of God, the Bible.  Bowing down to that golden image would have been an act of idolatry or idol worship.  It would have been in direct contrast to what the Bible commands.  Were there Jews that did bow down to the image?  More than likely, because there were thousands of Jews in Babylon and even though it does not directly speak of others, we can speculate that there were many captives in Babylon from other nations, including Jews.  In all likelihood, if these Jews were not truly saved, they are going to just think of self perseveration and they are going to do whatever the king wants them to do.  (“If you want me to bow down to this image, then I will bow down.”)  More than likely, the individual would justify it in his own mind: “This does not mean anything.  I am not truly worshipping, but I am just trying to stay alive.”  The person would reason that way, but the true believer cannot reason that way.  God’s Word is too important to him.  He cannot deny the Word of God.  He cannot go against the Word of God.

You know, in the churches this is really what the professed Christians wanted the child of God to do; instead of “making waves” or “making a big deal” about a woman teaching men in Sunday School or about a single man being a deacon or about the pastor being divorced, and so forth.  Their attitude was, “Why do you not just go along with it and try to fit in with everyone else in the congregation?  We will be so much happier.  We will be content.  We will be that one body that will worship God in unison – we will have unity in spirit.  Why do you have to cause trouble?  Why do you have to keep mentioning these doctrines when you see a problem in the church?  Just let it go!”  That was the attitude of the churches, especially over the course of that 23-year Great Tribulation period.  They just wanted us to go along with things and stop annoying the pastor and elders about these little points of doctrine: “Let us just bow down and fall on our knees and submit to whatever we are hearing.  This is a reasonably faithful church and it would be hard to find a better one.  It is comfortable and it is a nice building and more people are joining our congregation.”  No – the true believers, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refuse to submit and refuse to compromise and refuse to bow the knee to the image.