1. What is the first part of this great threefold message, as we learned in our study last week?
A great, positive, “everlasting gospel” message to the world to bring men back to God. “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Rev. 14: 7.
NOTE.— All positive Christian truth is implied in this message. If heeded, it would lead from all error to the eternal verities of God. It would sever the church of Christ from her senseless, hoary traditions, from her bondage to dead hands and from “scientific” delusions, and would clothe her with the beautiful garments of truth and salvation.
2. What is the second part of this great threefold message?
A sad announcement of the consequences of rejecting the first message: “Babylon is fallen, . . . because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Verse 8.
NOTE.— “Babylon” means “confusion,” caused by false standards, errors, traditions. The gospel message, if received, would have healed all these divisions. Failing to receive the divine remedy, as shown last week, Babylon turned to the world for help, and the sad announcement is made that she is guilty of fornication with the world, and is fallen.
3. What warning does the Lord send against this result of Babylon’s fornication?
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever, and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” Rev. 14: 9-11.
4. To whom does the warning come?
To “any man,” therefore every man, every soul.
5. Against what is it uttered?
Against the worship of “the beast,” the worship of the “image” of the beast, and against the reception of the “mark” of the beast.
What Is the Beast?
6. What beast is meant?
“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns.” Rev. 13: 1.
7. What was the beast like?
“And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion.” Verse 2.
NOTE.— It will be seen, by the student of prophecy, that this beast is the successor of the three first beasts of Daniel 7,—the lion, Babylon; the bear, Medo-Persia; and the leopard, Grecia. This beast of Revelation 13 is therefore the same beast power, successor of Grecia, and identical in part with the nondescript beast of Daniel 7 in both phases, but with some additional features.
8. What is the character of this beast?
“And upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.” “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God.” “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.” Verses 1, 5-7.
WHEN THE CURTAIN FALLS ON THE DRAMA OF THIS WORLD'S HISTORY
9. Whence does the beast receive his authority?
“And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat [literally, “throne”], and great authority.” Verse 2.
10. Who is represented by the dragon?
“The great dragon, . . . that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan.” Rev. 12: 9.
11. Has the devil any power to give world dominion?
“The devil, taking Him [Jesus] up into an high mountain, showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto Him, All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be Thine.” Luke 4: 5-7.
NOTE.— We may not stop now to study all that is implied in the devil’s statement. Jesus twice calls him “the prince of this world.” John 12: 31; 14: 30. It was no temptation to Christ if there was no possibility of Satan’s power to give the kingdom. Suffice to say that under God the dominion belonged to man. Gen. 1: 28. When man fell, he yielded himself and all in his possession to Satan, and so the devil is prince of the world de facto, while Christ is King de jure. In other words, Satan has temporal possession by usurpation; Christ will sometime reign eternally. “The servant [slave of sin] abideth not in the house forever: but the Son abideth ever.” John 8: 35.
12. What, therefore, does the beast represent?
Church-and-state government.
NOTE.— No purely secular government will persecute; it has no reason or desire so to do. It does not meddle with the religion of its subjects, the relationship solely between them and God. A church separate from civil power can not persecute, howsoever much it may desire; it has not the power. There must be some union of the two, and this union God designates as a beast.
13. How extensive is this beast power?
It had “seven heads.”
NOTE.— “Seven” denotes completion, and here refers to the seven forms of government, or dynasties, through which Satan has worked and will work to the end against God’s truth and people. God does not permit the evil spirits to use their supernatural power against man except with man’s consent; but the devil has ever used humanity to oppress the children of God. The head, the seat of the brain and intellect, is what determines the character of the thinking thing it is upon. The beast represents the dominant church-and-state kingdom of the world. Each head—for they are successive—determines the character of the beast during the life of the head.
These heads began with the first oppressor of God’s people, when their kingdom was overthrown, and they went into captivity to Babylon. From that time to the application of the prophecy of Rev. 13:1-10, world empire has passed through five of its seven phases, as follows: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, pagan Rome, papal Rome. In all these, religion has been in the purview of the state. In the first four, the state has dominated the ruler or king representing divinity. In the fifth, diverse from all before it, the church dominates the state. Neither form is of Him who declared, “My kingdom is not of this world.” A government which claims to represent Him while exercising such tyranny is guilty of blasphemy.
Worship—True and False
14. What is the demand of this beast, and how many will eventually yield to its demand?
It demands “worship.” “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him,7whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Rev. 13: 8.
15. Who alone should be worshiped, and what is truest worship?
“Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Matt. 4: 10.
16. What, then, has the beast always demanded?
Service, obedience to its laws even tho those laws are contrary to God’s laws.
NOTE.— Even so Babylon demanded that all should bow to the golden image, and refusal so to do meant death in the fiery furnace. Daniel 3. Medo-Persia demanded worship for the king, exalted by law to the throne of Deity. Refusal meant death in the lions’ den. Daniel 6. So with the decree obtained by Haman to destroy the Jews; it was because “their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.” Esther 3: 8. Thus has it ever been.
17. What does the beast under the fifth head do to those who will not worship it?
“It was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.” Rev. 13: 7. “He . . . shall wear out the saints of the Most High.” Dan. 7: 25.
18. How long will it exercise this high-handed power?
“And power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” Rev. 13: 5. “And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Dan. 7: 25.
NOTE.— It will be seen that the beast of Rev. 13: 5-7 is identical with Daniel’s fourth beast dominated by the little horn. The little horn is identical with the fifth head of the beast. They are both of the same character, do the same work, exist as dominating, persecuting powers the same period of time.
19. In what power are all these and other specifications fulfilled?
In papal Rome, the fifth head of world dominion in succession from Babylon and the overturning of the kingdom of Israel.
NOTE.— Let us discriminate between the Roman Catholic Church and the Papacy. The former is corrupt, ambitious, intolerant, but she has many souls in her fold who know naught of the ambition, the intolerance, but who truly know God and His Son Jesus Christ; who are Christians despite the error and corruption which exist, but who know no other way, having been taught that any other way is the way of death. God recognizes their purpose of heart. But the Papacy, that union of church and state devised and carried out by ambitious men, before whose wicked assumptions thousands were put to death for conscience’ sake, is not of God, tho so averred in every moment of its history.
20. Of what did Jesus warn His disciples?
“They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” John 16: 2.
21. What is the image to the beast?
It is a union of church and state, to be formed in this government, represented by the two-horned beast (Rev. 13: 11-17), with its lamblike horns symbolic of Christ (Rev. 5: 6), and its ultimate laws of a dragonic or satanic character (Rev. 12: 13).
22. What, then, is the meaning of God’s warning by the message of the third angel?
That to yield to or serve any authority whatsoever, contrary to God’s law or service, is to incur His just wrath against the most heinous of sins.
23. What class will be developed by this great threefold message, whose character is opposed to that of the beast-worshipers?
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14: 12.
24. What is the next event?
The coming of the Son of Man to reap the harvest of the earth. Verse 14.
