It is evident also that the “Man of Sin” closely resembles the “Beast” of Revelation:

2Th 2	Rev 13; 17
2Th 2:3. The falling away must come first.	Rev 17:13,11. A harlot will be seated on the Beast, who goes into perdition.
2Th 2:4. He exalts himself against God.	Rev 13:4,5,8,12. The world worships the Beast, who speaks blasphemies. All the dwell on the earth except the faithful shall worship it. The false prophet ensures this.
2Th 2:4. He sits in the temple of God, claiming to be God.	Rev 13:6. It blasphemes God’s name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
2Th 2:7. The mystery of iniquity is already at work.	Rev 17:5. The harlot is called mystery, the mother of the abominations of the earth.
2Th 2:8. The Lord Jesus shall destroy him with the breath of His mouth, and bring him to naught by the manifestation of His coming.	Rev 17:14; 19:15. The Lamb shall overcome the Beast with the ten kings. Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp sword.
2Th 2:9. His coming is according to the working of Satan, with all powers and signs and lying wonders.	Rev 13:13. He doeth great signs, that he should even make fire come down from heaven: it was given to him to give breath to the image of the Beast, that it should speak.
2Th 2:10. With all deceit and unrighteousness in them that are perishing, because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. For this cause God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie.	Rev 13:14. He deceives them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs.

This comparison leaves little doubt that the Man of Sin and the Beast refer to the same power.

When the leaders of the Jews sought to contain the new movement led by Jesus of Nazareth, they used every subtle form of attack they were capable of. When these failed, they had to fall back on crude methods which involved using all the organized powers of religion and state to get him crucified.

With Jesus himself out of the way they next found that the hard facts of his resurrection, and of the transformation it wrought in his apostles, showed their problem to be still unsolved.

Now open persecution only seemed to make the movement prosper more than ever. But the old resources of craft and cunning were not used up completely. And so a deliberate attempt was made to wreck the new “sect” from within. Nowhere is this stated categorically in the New Testament, but the implication of numerous passages is very persuasive:

Galatia: To the Galatians Paul speaks of “false brethren” who had secretly infiltrated the churches, so as to enslave again (to the Law) those who had been made free by Paul’s own preaching (Gal 2:4,5). These agents had apparently been planted in the brotherhood, so as to work slowly and steadily either to draw believers back to the Law or, failing that, at least to create internal dissensions that would weaken the whole community and thus its appeal to others. Even Peter was practically won over to this philosophy (vv 11-14).

It soon became obvious that Paul — intelligent and resolute — posed the greatest single obstacle to their “satanic” objectives. And so the person and the claims and the worth of this great apostle to the Gentiles must be attacked also, as part of the overall plan of these subversives.

Corinth: In Corinth these enemies had some considerable success, in characterizing Paul as weak and contemptible as to his physical qualities (2Co 10:9,10; 11:6). By contrast, the leader of the subversives, called “Satan” by Paul himself, continues to present himself as polished and personable and wise and authoritative — the natural candidate to replace Paul as the leader of the ecclesias (2Co 11:22,23)! Such a sustained campaign of character assassination called forth from Paul the unusual expedient of a prolonged self-defense (2Co 11:13 to 12:12).

Jerusalem: Even in Jerusalem lies were being systematically spread about Paul, that he was teaching all Jews to forsake Moses and all the customs (Acts 21:20,21). While not true as to particulars, it had just enough plausibility to be accepted by gullible new converts. The faceless men who sought to pervert Paul’s work and keep the first-century ecclesia in bondage to the Temple and the priests had evidently been diligently at work in Jerusalem practically from the beginning. (It could not have been Paul’s open enemies among the Pharisees and Sadducees who told such lies, since their stories would have had no chance of being believed. This campaign was plainly carried on secretly, by whisper and innuendo, in the midst of the ecclesias.)

Rome: From Rome Paul wrote to the Philippians (Phi 1:15-17) of those who preached out of envy and strife, trying to add additional affliction to the bondage Paul was already suffering. It is clear that certain “believers” were finding malicious pleasure in preaching the gospel with some special emphasis, probably — because their work would only be another source of worry and vexation to Paul. Such were fulfilling the serpent’s role, by good words and fair speeches deceiving the simple (Rom 16:17,18).

Other hints of the same organized subversion are to be found in:

Eph 4:14: “the sleight of men” (a phrase used for deliberate cheating at games), “and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive”;

Col 2:4: “lest any man should beguile you with enticing words” — another plain allusion to the serpent in the garden.

Titus 1:14: Titus was warned not to give “heed to Jewish fables… that turn from the truth”, preached by the deceivers of the “circumcision” group (see also vv 4,9,10).

1Ti 4:1,2: Timothy was likewise warned of false teachers (“seducing spirits”, Paul called them), speaking hypocritical lies, and fostering undue concern for dietary matters.

Hebrews: The entire letter is a learned and reasoned attempt to forestall drift back to the Mosaic institutions and the synagogue system, a drift encouraged by this organized call of opposition in the very brotherhood.

It is plain, then, that there was a subversive, “Satanic” element at work in the ecclesia of Paul’s day: a group (with perhaps a formidable leader) who professed faith in Christ, but whose hidden agenda called for a “return to Moses.” This group (and its leader?) claimed apostolic authority that was rightly the province of Paul and the twelve, and they worked within the ecclesia, or the spiritual “temple of God” (2Th 2:4), being accepted as believers in good standing. It might be assumed that either some of their number actually had Holy Spirit gifts (“all power and signs and lying wonders” — v 9), or else deceived the simple-hearted into thinking they did. They systematically and subtly taught the “lie”, that men could be justified only by keeping the law of Moses.

It is reasonable to suppose that Paul actually had his eye on some apostasy current in his own time, and which had already shown its hostile attitude toward him in very effective fashion (v 7). Otherwise, it becomes very difficult to explain the immediacy and seriousness with which he describes the “man of sin.” These Jewish pseudo-Christians, along with their leader “Satan” (Paul’s “thorn in the flesh?”), were imposters; while professing the gospel, they had not really “received the love of the truth” but instead “had pleasure in (promoting) unrighteousness” (vv 10,12). Paul was using every ounce of his faith and energy to hinder this destructive work (v 6), but Paul would not always be with them: when he would at last pass from the scene, the Judaizers might be expected to flourish almost without restraint (v 7).

Therefore the same Paul who hoped and prayed for the return of Christ in his own lifetime (consider 1Th 4:15, for example) could also expect that the Lord when he appeared would overthrow and destroy this wicked pretender (2Th 2:8; cp 1:6-10). That Christ did not return during Paul’s day or even during the final years of the first century is no reflection on Paul’s faith or understanding: what else should he have done except look for his Lord’s coming? And the fact is, that the first-century “man of sin” (and his adherents) will be destroyed by Christ at his coming — being raised from the dead to stand before the judgment seat.

Appendix

There have been many forerunners, or advance messengers of the Anti-Christ:

1. Cain, the originator of religious war, who slew his righteous brother (Gen 4:4-8), when Cain’s religious deception had been uncovered.
2. Lamech, who boasted himself even against God — so great was his power, or so he thought (Gen 4:23)!
3. Nimrod, the first great “world-ruler”, who began the history of Babylonian power (Gen 10:8-10).
4. Balaam, the false prophet who for material gain seduced God’s people into immorality; the “anti-Moses”, so to speak (Num 31:17; 2Pe 2:15; Rev 2:14).
5. Goliath — the “man of sin”, closely associated with the number six, the representative terrorist, the “anti-David”, who opposed God’s Anointed (1Sa 17).
6. Antiochus Epiphanes, the devastator of the Sanctuary of God.
7. Nero, the great first-century persecutor of the Christians, certainly regarded as “anti-Christ” by those who suffered under his rule.
8. Mohammed, the “false prophet”, a deceiver and “Satan-adversary” in his own right, even though hostile toward the Catholic Church.

A first-century Man of sin (as outlined in Lesson, Man of sin, first century) can scarcely be the complete fulfillment of the words of Paul. The letters to Thessalonica are so dominated by the theme of Christ’s second coming; and the Judeo-Christian “man of sin” of Paul’s day has long passed from the scene (along with his adherents). So it is reasonable to expect that another “man of sin” will be a dominant element in the prophetic framework of the last days. There is one system, the Papacy, that is eminently “qualified” to fill this role, as the Notes on the Text which follow should demonstrate. The question remains, however: Is there a transition, and a discernible link, between the first-century “man of sin” and the Roman Catholic apostasy?

Zechariah 5 offers such a link: Some of its connections with 2Th 2 are set out below:

Zechariah 5	2 Thessalonians 2
“This is their iniquity in all the land” (v 6, RV mg).	“The mystery of iniquity doth already work” (v 7)… “with all deceivableness of unrighteousness” (v 10).
“A woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah (v 7).	“Sitteth in the temple of God” (v 4).
“He cast her down into the midst of the ephah: and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof” (v 8, RV).	“That which restraineth” (v 6, RV)…”there is one that restraineth now” (v 7, RV).
“This is Wickedness” (v 8, RV).	“Then shall that Wicked be revealed” (v 8).

Zec 5 appears to be a prophecy of the evils of Judaism which were manifested in New Testament times, corrupting the early ecclesias, and which eventually became firmly established in the Roman Catholic church, along with many pagan ideas.

In its immediate context, Zec 5 presents a false worship in a detailed contrast to the true worship depicted in Zec 4. Zec 5 has the house of wicked women and unclean birds in the land of Shinar (Babylon) (vv 9,11), whereas Zechariah 4 has the true house of God, the true temple (v 9), wherein are the anointed ones (v 14) and the lampstand (v 12). In the picture of the false worship, the flying roll or scroll (v 3) is a “curse” which “declares innocent” (“naqah” — not “cut off” as in AV) those who steal and swear falsely. The dimensions of this scroll of wickedness (20 cubits by 10 cubits) (v 2) are the precise dimensions of the holy place of the temple and tabernacle, indicating again the nature of this worship: a deliberate parody of that which is true.

The scroll, then, represents wicked teaching, which releases men and women from their obligation to obey God’s laws. Such teaching, with a Jewish flavor, may be traced in the Pharisees’ use of “Corban” — a legal fiction that effectively released a man of his obligation to his parents (Mark 7:6-12). By some similar misapplication of law Pharisees enriched themselves by “devouring widows’ houses” (Mat 23:14) and swearing falsely (v 16). This same attitude was carried forward into the early church and became part of the Roman Catholic apostasy. So-called saints are alleged to have accumulated large excesses of virtue which could be transferred, at a price, to sinners. The clerics, from the pope down to the parish priest, claimed the power to excuse on God’s behalf sins of lying, stealing and so on at the confessional. Hence the links between Zec 5 and the Man of Sin.

Then there is the ephah (v 6), a unit of measure. This aptly portrays Judaism in New Testament times, where everything became a matter of measure, of keeping rules and regulations, rather than of developing a character pleasing in God’s sight. Again this entered the early ecclesias and became fully developed in the Roman Catholic church. Col 2:20-22 warns against making religion a matter of rules and regulations which results only in fleshly pride when they are kept. In 1Ti 4:3 Paul prophesied of the time to come when apostasy would make rules about “forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats”, these are examples of the kinds of rules and regulations which Roman Catholicism invented so that the keepers of those rules might be considered as especially virtuous. The idea of a religion of “measure” comes out in other ways too: the idea that, after attending church, the rest of one’s time is one’s own; and the idea that after a fixed sum of money has been handed over, the rest is one’s own to use exactly as one pleases.

Zec 5 is thus a portrayal of apostasy, not so much in its false doctrines as in its iniquitous practices. Hence its use in 2Th as the background for the Man of Sin prophecy. It is noteworthy that in Zec 5 it is a woman who goes to Babylon (Shinar) and builds a house there. The connection with the woman of Rev 17 is obvious. Note also the stork, the unclean bird; the “Babylon” of the Apocalypse is “a cage of every unclean and hateful bird” (Rev 18:2).

Indeed, without trying to trace actual historical links, the essential unity of the two false systems (apostate Judaism of Christ’s day and modern Roman Catholicism) is perfectly evident:

• Both are heavily dependent upon the sanctity (or presumed sanctity) of special places and special, “holy” buildings.
• Both appeal to tradition and antiquity.
• Both encourage the ideal of a spiritual “elite”, set apart and elevated above the mass of ordinary believers.
• Both teach the doctrine of “Salvation by works.”
• Both have specially consecrated priests, dressed in distinctive garments, offering incense and “sacrifices.”
• Both have well-developed machinery for extorting vast amounts of wealth under religious pretence.

As the great false religious system of the first century was destroyed by divine edict (in AD 70) so the great false religious system of the Last Days will be destroyed — by Christ in his coming in power and glory.

What is the “mark of the beast”?

The answers to such a question depend, of course, on who or what is first identified as the “beast”. In the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation, many Protestant expositors so identified the Pope of Rome. This led, more or less logically, to the identification of the beast’s “mark” as the cross or crucifix, which figured so prominently in Roman Catholic worship.

In modern times, as attention turned to a possible Last Days “beast” yet to be revealed, much has been made in certain circles of computer-generated “bar codes”, or Universal Product Codes, variants of which can now be imprinted on or even implanted in people.

Perhaps a latter-day Arab/Moslem “beast” will arise in the Middle East, to defeat Israel and to subjugate the Jews, and to be in turn destroyed by the coming of Christ. Assuming this, then can we determine a Biblical basis for identifying the “mark” of such a “beast”?

“Marks” in the OT

• Gen 4:15: Was this a visible mark for all to see, or merely a divine pronouncement, to all, of vengeance to come upon anyone who harmed Cain?
• Exo 13:9.
• Deu 6:6,8; cp Deu 11:18: These were highly figurative commandments of God, to the people of Israel. His Laws were, symbolically, to be written upon their hearts (cp Pro 3:3; 6:21; 7:3; Song 8:6), but not necessarily literally upon their hands and foreheads. That is, they were to remember and do all that He had said! However, the ritually-inclined Hebrews soon proceeded to write certain passages upon little scraps of parchment and place them in leather boxes called “phylacteries” (Mat 23:5), which were strapped to their arm and around their forehead before morning prayers.
• Eze 9:3-6: This divine marking (reminiscent of Cain’s) was a mark of favor or protection. As such, its purpose ties together with the “sign” or “symbol” of God’s Law figuratively placed upon the forehead and arm of the faithful Jew. That is, those who truly kept God’s Law, and were thus “grieved” for the detestable things done by wicked men in God’s Temple, would be specially marked out by God and preserved through the coming divine judgments. Was this “mark” literal and visible? Not likely, as it was put upon certain individuals by angels, and angels would be the only ones who needed to “see” it.

The “Mark” of the Saints in Revelation

• Rev 7:3,4; cp Rev 9:4.
• Rev 14:1.

(3) Rev 22:3,4.

The mark, or seal, upon the foreheads of God’s servants is the name of God and His Son. In other words, these servants who kept God’s Law would be marked out by Him: His Name would be upon them, and they would belong to Him, and be safe. So this Revelation usage corresponds to the OT passages cited previously.

The “Mark” of the “Beast”

With the foregoing Biblical evidence, we can reasonably expect that the “mark” of the “Beast” will be a crude parody of the true divine mark. It will be a sign (not necessarily literal and visible) by which those who worship the Beast and keep his laws will be “guaranteed” his protection!

• “He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark (charagma: a scratch or etching) on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark (charagma), which is the name of the beast or the number of his name” (Rev 13:16,17). There is certainly a religious significance to this “mark” (see Rev 13:15), but there is also a commercial significance: Today wealthy Arab nations have organized economic monopolies and even boycotts against other nations who have financial dealings with Israel. Is this the shape of things to come?
• Rev 14:9-11.
• Rev 20:4: In addition to economic boycotts, oppressive laws are being reported in Muslim nations against those who disregard the Koran and seek to hold to and practice other beliefs, such as Judaism and various forms of Christianity. Saudi Arabia is the home of Islam’s most sacred shrines. That country now executes “criminals”, those “guilty” of any of a long list of offences against Islamic law, by beheading!

Thus Arab oil-producing cartels and the uncompromising practice of Islam are two possibilities for the “mark” of the beast. Note that Islam is enforced upon all subjects as a way of life, as a political code, and not just as a “religion” in the more liberal Western sense. Where it has the power, Islam is a system which permeates every part of society.

Last Days Persecution by the Beast

In the Last Days, when the Beast overruns Israel and tramples down Jerusalem, he will probably make every effort to force his religion upon the Jews — in short, to make his “mark” (Rev 13:18; 14:9-11; 20:4) upon them in place of God’s “mark” (Exo 13:9; Deu 6:8; 11:18; Eze 9:3-6; Rev 7:3,4; 9:4; 14:1). It is not hard to envision the brutal measures — such as economic boycotts, threats and, in the extreme, beheadings — by which the practices of Islam could be forced upon all their subjects. There is, in fact, the hint that such public executions will be carried out in the great public square of Jerusalem, in front of the “Wailing Wall” adjacent to the Temple Mount (cp the “street” or “wide place”, the one great open square, of “the great city… where also their Lord was crucified”: Rev 11:7,8).

It is possible that a resurgence in the practice of Judaism (which may include the rebuilding of a Jewish temple) will precede the last and successful Arab invasion of Israel. If this proves to be the case, then the Arab defeat of Israel might lead to one of two things:

• An Arab attempt to totally destroy and demolish every vestige of Judaism by the most brutal means, or
• A more insidious Arab effort, to infiltrate and undermine the worship of the Jewish Temple by an amalgamation, in its precincts, of Judaism and Muslim principles and practices.

Either approach will spell trouble for the Jewish Christian remnant that will be developed by the Last Days preaching of “Elijah” (Rev 11:3-6). These new believers may find themselves squeezed between two systems (“orthodox” Judaism and militant Islam), both antagonistic toward the religion of Jesus. The dual persecutions of the Jewish followers of Jesus Christ in that day may, in fact, parallel (and exceed!) the dual persecutions of the Jewish believers in the first century, who were caught in a vise between the “orthodox” Judaism of Caiaphas and Annas, and the political oppression of the Roman overlords like Pilate (cp Heb 10:32-34).

Jezebel (a Zidonian, and an Arab!) and Ahab (an apostate Jewish “puppet” king) joined forces in an unholy “mixed marriage” to persecute Elijah and the righteous remnant in Israel in his day. So it is possible that a latter-day Arab “Jezebel” (Rev 2:20; cp Rev 17;18) and a latter-day Israeli “Ahab” will similarly join in persecuting the Jewish converts of the latter-day “Elijah” in the Land.

In such a time and place, it will be extremely difficult for a faithful remnant to maintain their faith in the One true God and in His Son. But such a fierce oppression as will be their lot will last no more than 3 1/2 years (Rev 11:2,3; cp Rev 12:6; 13:5; Dan 7:25; 12:7). And those who maintain their faith, their godly “mark” on the forehead, even to the point of death, will rise from the dead to receive a crown of life.

“Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God” (Rev 7:3).

“Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads” (Rev 14:1).

Those who bear in their foreheads the name of the Lamb and of his Father have the “mark” of the Lamb. They are deliberately contrasted with the people who bear, on the right arm or the forehead, the “mark of the beast” (Rev 13:16-18).

The Lamb is of course Christ. In an especially poignant scene of the Apocalypse, he is pictured as “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain” (5:6; cp 5:12; 13:8). The “Lamb” Jesus is the Passover Lamb, slain for the sins of the world (John 1:29; 1Co 5:7), bearing ever after in his body the marks of his sacrifice (John 20:25-28).

The original Passover lamb was slain in Egypt, and its blood used to mark the lintels and doorposts of the houses of the believing Israelites. Succeeding generations of Israel would readily recognize such a mark as approximating the Hebrew letter “He”, which almost by itself spells the name of God: Yod He, or YAH. It is no great stretch of the imagination, therefore, to see that every faithful house in Egypt had the name of the Father marked over its doorway, written in the blood of the Lamb! And the name of the Father, “Yah”, is — of course — the name of the Lamb too: “Yah-shua”, or Jesus!

Now, in the Book of Revelation, there are marked out, not houses, but individual men and women, each sealed, not upon the door, but in the forehead (the “door” of the mind) with the “mark” of the Lamb. These are the individuals who have opened their minds to the message of God, who have directed their thoughts into the ways of His Laws. These are they who have been touched by the blood of Christ, who have been baptized into his name and the name of his Father. These are they who, wherever they are — even in the grave itself — will be protected in the Last Days from the “Angel of Death” and will be delivered from the “Egypt” of slavery and sin. Listen to what the Lord and King Jesus promised to those who keep his word and do not deny his name:

“Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem… and I will also write on him my new name” (Rev 3:10-12).

Such is the “mark” of the Lamb! Wear it thankfully, and never seek to erase it, or hide it. It will mean your life in the age to come.

• Hosea: The LORD loves Israel despite her sin.
• Joel: Judgment precedes Israel’s future spiritual.
• Amos: God is just and must judge sin.
• Obadiah: Sure retribution must overtake merciless pride.
• Jonah: Divine grace is universal in its sweep.
• Micah: Bethlehem-born Messiah will be mankind’s Deliverer.
• Nahum: Doom is to descend on wicked Nineveh.
• Habakkuk: Justification by faith is God’s way of salvation.
• Zephaniah: The Day of the LORD must precede kingdom blessing.
• Haggai: The LORD’s Temple and interests deserve top priority.
• Zechariah: The LORD will remember His people Israel.
• Malachi: Let the wicked be warned by the certainty of judgment.

Who are the “nations/enemies round about”?

• Jos 23:1,2: All the Canaanites, and Moab, Ammon, and Edom.
• Jdg 2:14: Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Canaanites, Midianites, Amalekites, etc.
• 1Sa 10:1: Ammonites (1Sa 11); Philistines (1Sa 14); and Amalekites (1Sa 15).
• 2Sa 7:1: Zobah, Philistia, Moab, Syria, Edom, Ammon, Amalek (2Sa 8-10).
• 1Ki 4:31: Same as above. Also, Tyre and Ethiopia.
• 2Ki 17:15: Edom, Moab, Ammon, Syria, and the Canaanites — whose abominable fertility rites Israel imitated.
• 1Ch 22:9: Same as 1Sa 10:1; 2Sa 7:1; and 1Ki 4:31 above.
• Neh 6:16: The Arabians, Ammonites, and Ashdodites (Philistines) (Neh 4:7).
• Jer 25:9: All the Arab peoples, including Egypt and the Medes (see the full list in Jer 25:19-25).
• Eze 5:4,15: Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia (Eze 25), Tyre (Eze 26-28), Egypt (Eze 29,30), Assyria (Eze 31).
• Eze 36:4: See list above, but esp Edom (Eze 35).
• Joel 3:11,12: Specifically mentioned are Tyre, Zidon, and Palestine/Philistia (Joel 3:4); and Egypt and Edom (Joel 3:19).
• Oba 1:16: Edom esp (Oba 1:1), but all of Obadiah is similar to Jer 25 (see above).
• Zec 12:2,6: Specifically, Syria, Tyre and Zidon, and the Philistines (Zec 9); Egypt and Assyria (Zec 10); and Egypt and the Canaanites (Zec 14).
• Zec 14:14: Same general context as Zec 12 above.

In most of the above, the immediate context answers the question: “Who are the ‘nations round about’?” In a few instances, the answer comes from the wider context (ie, the section of a few chapters in which the passage is found).

When looking for a Last Days application, it makes sense to interpret the “nations round about” with reference to their proximity to Israel, which obviously is the point of reference of the prophets. Also, it makes sense to take those people who occupy those same geographical areas today as the logical successors of the peoples mentioned in the Bible. Such an interpretation harmonizes with a major Bible theme begun in Genesis: that God’s chosen seed (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes of Israel) would be in almost perpetual conflict with those neighbors (and relatives!) nearest to them (Lot, Ishmael, Esau, etc) over the ownership of the special Land which God promised to them.

The practical implications for us? When studying Bible prophecy, look first to the Middle East, not to Europe. This may require, for some, a rethinking of their personal views on Last Days events. It would be wrong to reason: ‘The Arabs can’t be the intended peoples, because they don’t fit into my prophetic scenario.’ It may be the scenario itself that needs changing!

Nebuchadnezzar, the ancient king of Babylon, need not have feared a recurrence of his bad dreams if he had only accepted the inevitability of the Kingdom of God on earth.

If Nebuchadnezzar had only learned the lesson of his first bad dream — of the terrible image that was finally destroyed by the stone cut from the mountain, but not by human hands (Dan 2) — he would have had no reason to worry. But the more he thought about the God of heaven setting up a kingdom that would never be destroyed and grinding all human kingdoms to powder, the more he thought about the integrity and stability of his own kingdom. Perhaps he also pondered the make-up of the terrible image, a head of gold and feet of part iron and clay.

If his kingdom was to last, it must have cohesion. It must be united, purged of all opposing ideas and forces — it must be of pure gold, not fragmented bits of different metals, as the image in his vision. Then it would be indestructible. This was the lesson which Nebuchadnezzar wrongly learned from his dream.

So, in keeping with the character of all tyrants, he reacted in rebellion to the God of heaven instead of submission. As if to challenge the intent of the Divine message, he now built his own image [notice the connection with Rev 13:14,15], an image of pure gold. The dimensions of the image are given in the Babylonian numbering system of six: six cubits wide and 60 cubits high. (Or, quite literally, a multiple of six’s high. It could almost be said that the number of the Babylonian image was “666”! [Rev 13:18]) In any case, it was an image associated with the number six.

This image was to be the focus of the empire. A great Babylonian music festival was instituted with new music composed for an array of instruments, at the sound of which all peoples were to bow down before the image. There were, incidentally, six instruments in all. And bowing down to the image was not an option.

“Then the herald loudly proclaimed, ‘This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace’ ” (Dan 3:4-6).

All seemed well until it was discovered that certain people in the empire refused to bow down. Some of the king’s counselors came forward with this important statement…

“But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon — Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego — who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up” (v 12).

Thank God for the Jews! The Eternal Jew, he is God’s witness [Isa 43:10; 44:8; Rev 11:3?] that He is God! This is the reality that has stood in the way of all world rulers: “there are some Jews!” They were and are the one nation that will remain separate from all the others. All human plans will, sooner or later, be interrupted by God or His eternal purpose through His people.

The reaction of Nebuchadnezzar to their refusal was predictable. He was filled with rage and heated the great furnace [was this the same furnace used in the forging of the great image?] seven times hotter than before. There had been extreme reactions before against God’s people when they stood apart, from Pharaoh king of Egypt, and there would be again with a whole host of oppressors of God’s people, including Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein.

The reply of the three Jews is a classic study in faith:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Dan 3:16-18).

These three courageous men had a song in their hearts. It was a hymn that had been written down years before by the prophet Isaiah:

“…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze… All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they are right, so that others may hear and say, ‘It is true.’ ‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen…You are my witnesses… that I am God’ ” (Isa 43).

Indeed, they did not need to defend their position before some pagan king who was only ruling because the God of Israel allowed it, or to plead their cause before some gold image. They served the Living God who could rescue and deliver. They were His witnesses. Someone had to stand for truth and this was their moment.

They were prepared to stand whatever the outcome. “Even if he does not…” indicates their acceptance of the sovereign will of God in this matter. It is not for us to decide just how God will respond; He has His own reasons. It is for us to accept the outcome, whatever it be, to His glory.

“We will not serve or worship…” was their calm and confident reply. They would stand on the commandment that said, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exo 20:3). They served a living God who had the power to save, who rules in the kingdoms of men giving them to whomsoever He wills. Why then bow down to an image made by man’s hands?

Well, by this time Nebuchadnezzar was backed into a corner. Furious, he commanded that the three Jews be thrown into the furnace. The flames were so hot, the soldiers who threw them in perished from the heat. Then the king was in for the shock of his life.

“These three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, ‘Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?’ They replied, ‘Certainly, O king.’ He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods’ ” (Dan 3:23-25).

The king commanded the Jews to come forth from the fire as he and his advisors crowded around inspecting them.

“They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched… there was no smell of fire on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God’ ” (vv 27,28).

As always, there are some important lessons to be learned from these accounts.

The statement made to the ancient king of Babylon, “there are some Jews…”, is as arresting and insightful today as it was then. We have a few million Jews surrounded by at least one hundred million hostile Arabs or Moslems today. There is the miraculous return of hundreds of thousands of Jews from the north and south in literal fulfillment of prophecies made over 2,500 years ago. The “Jewish Problem” is not going to go away. They continue to be the living witness to an eternal divine plan.

How far are we away from the time when some power in the Middle East [perhaps another “Nebuchadnezzar” of “Babylon”?] will seize control and institute some international focus as the means of consolidating his rule? Religion could well be the focus, or some personality cult. There could well be a new “image” to bow down to; a worldwide boycott for those who are different [Revelation 13:16,17?]; and a new “furnace” awaiting those who refuse.

And some will refuse. The Bible continues to assure us, even in 1991, that those who refuse to bow down have nothing to fear. We can still serve this same Living God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He has the same power to save and rescue. His plan is alive, His invitation is current. If forces close around our personal liberties to serve Him, He has promised to be near each one of us through the presence of His Son, Jesus Christ — who is available to be “our man in the furnace” today!

Our individual challenge is to take a stand with all of God’s people, including the Jews. We must be prepared to give up our life if it is God’s will, knowing that He is able to save us eternally through the promised resurrection from the dead, and to make us part of His eternal kingdom that will soon be established on the ruins of the kingdoms of men.

Clyde Snobelen

Isaac Newton was born about 350 years ago, in 1643. Though he possessed probably the greatest scientific mind of all time, Newton believed that his expositions in the spiritual realm far outweighed in importance his scientific discoveries of the physical world. Yet his religious writings have been permitted to languish in obscurity and neglect. Today, the greatest part of his historical-theological manuscripts are hidden away in the Jewish National Library and University Library in Jerusalem. Newton believed firmly in the literal Second Coming of Christ and the return of the Jews to their Land. He refuted the “orthodox” opinion that the Judgment is to be accompanied by the literal burning up of the earth. His determination to reconstruct the ancient teaching of the first century church caused him to reject many commonly received church teachings: for example, he saw the “devil” as a term expressing the lusts of the flesh as manifested in various forms.

On the Importance and Significance of Prophecy

Giving ear to the prophets is a fundamental character of the true Church. The authority of councils, synods, bishops, and presbyters is human. The authority of the prophets is divine and comprehends the sum of religion, reckoning Moses and the Apostles amongst the prophets. And if an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel than what they have delivered, let him be accursed.

Daniel was in greatest credit among the Jews, and to reject his prophecies is to reject the Christian religion. For this religion is founded upon his prophecy concerning the Messiah.

For Daniel’s prophecies reach unto the end of the world; and there is scarce a prophecy in the Old Testament concerning Christ which doth not in something or other relate to his second coming.

God gave the Apocalypse [Revelation] and the prophecies of the Old Testament not to gratify men’s curiosities by enabling them to foreknow things, but that after they were fulfilled they might be interpreted by the event, and His own providence, and not the interpreters’, be then manifested to the world.

Search the Scriptures thyself. By frequent reading, constant meditation, and earnest prayer, enlighten thine understanding if thou desirest to find the Truth — to which, if thou shalt at length attain, thou wilt value above all other treasures in the world by reason of the assurance and vigour it will add to thy faith, and steady satisfaction to thy mind which he only can know who shall experience it.

On the Return of the Jews to their Land

It may perhaps come about not from the Jews themselves but from some other kingdom friendly to them.

The return from captivity and coming of the Messiah and his Kingdom are described in Dan 7; Rev 19; Act 1; Mat 24; Joel 3; Eze 36; 37; Isa 60,62,63,65, 66, and many other places of Scripture. The manner of the return I know not. [This was written 300 years ago!] Let time be the interpreter.

On the Millennium as the Fulfillment of the Promises to Abraham

The Kingdom of God on earth involves the coexistence, during that period of one thousand years, of mortals and immortals, the latter in glory as the children of the resurrection. Seeing then this Kingdom outlasts the Millennium in so vast a disproportion of time and its end after that is nowhere predicted, we may well conclude with Jeremiah that it shall last as long as the ordinances of the sun and moon and stars; with Daniel, John and the other prophets that it shall stand for ever and ever, and with Luke that it shall have no end.

This was God’s covenant with Abraham when He promised that his seed should inherit the land of Canaan for ever; and on this covenant was founded the Jewish religion as well as the Christian; and therefore this point is of so great moment that it ought to be considered and understood by all men who pretend to [ie, profess] the name of Christians.

Appendix:

“The temporal distance of Newton’s conception of the Jewish Restoration from his own time is startling. While Finch thought the conversion of the Jews would begin in 1650, Mede at a date no later than 1715, William Lloyd by 1736, and his own erstwhile protégé Whiston by 1766, Newton saw it as centuries away. There can be no doubt that his vision of the return of the Jews was strong. Few intellectuals of Newton’s day could match the vigour of his faith in this prophetic event. Nevertheless, there is no sense of apocalyptic urgency. While the otherwise similarly-minded Whiston preached the nearness of the end, the imminence of the Jewish Restoration and toured the English resort towns with a model of the Millennial Temple, Newton stayed at his desk, communed with his books and worked and reworked prophetic treatises that few in his own lifetime would read. However, while he did not think apocalyptically about his present, he did see an intensely apocalyptic period focused at the end of time. Implicit in this eschatological profile one can also see Newton’s inherent religious radicalism. By contending that the true Gospel would not be widely preached until the end, he marginalizes the Reformation and distances himself from the mainstream Protestantism of his day. This belief even leads Newton to read Rom 11 differently: the time when “all Israel shall be saved” was not the time when the converted Jews would be added to already believing Gentiles. Rather, for Newton this referred to the moment at the end when all Israel — Jew and Gentile alike — would convert together to true Christianity. Unlike many other Christians, Newton refused to place Jewish faithlessness over Gentile Christian unbelief. Moreover, Newton’s prophetic world was a very private one. Unlike so many others of his age, there is no direct political context for his belief in the return of the Jews, no discussion of mercantile interests and no evidence of involvement in efforts to convert the Jews in his time.

“It is difficult to estimate the impact of Newton’s published writing on the return of the Jews. While it would be wrong to argue that his influence was great, conservative Protestants nevertheless saw him as an important prophetic authority and recent scholarship has demonstrated that his published Observations — which includes a detailed section on the return of the Jews — was a chief source for fundamentalist exegetes of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. And, while it is not overly lengthy, the section on the return of the Jews in the Observations is one of the fullest and most detailed articulations of his views on this subject. Nor must we overlook the secondary albeit likely more important influence he exerted through theological disciples such as Whiston, who published several works that deal with the Jewish Restoration. In both cases Newton’s exegesis merged with a prophetic tradition that helped create during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the religious and political climates that paved the way for the resettlement of Jews in Palestine — the longed-for vision of the Restoration. Newton would have approved.” (Stephen Snobelen, “Isaac Newton on the Return of the Jews”)

“About the time of the End, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the prophecies, and insist on their literal interpretation in the midst of much clamor and opposition” (Sir Isaac Newton, 1643-1727).

(From Caribbean Pioneer)

The prophecy of Obadiah is the shortest book in the OT. Briefly, it recounts how Edom is to be brought low (Obad 1:3-9,16), on account of its treachery against Israel in the day of Israel’s calamity (Obad 1:10-14). And it promises that “the day of the LORD” (Obad 1:15) will reveal God’s judgments upon all nations — at the same time that there will be salvation in Zion and Jerusalem for the faithful remnant (Obad 1:17-21).

The country of Edom (called Idumea in the NT) extended from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea, and was bounded on the east by the Arabian Desert and on the west by the land of Judah. It was a mountainous district with average elevation of about 2,000 feet. Its wild and rugged character is described in Obad 1:3,4.

This was the land occupied by Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites, after the death of his father Isaac (Gen 36:6-8). There his descendants, cousins to the Israelites, built cities literally in solid rock, in almost impregnable positions. They became rich by controlling and traveling the trade routes between Egypt and the East. Even in modern times, the ruins they left behind — as at Petra — stand as stark and magnificent testimonies to their power and achievements.

There is a long history of enmity between Edom and Israel, beginning with the bitter rivalry between the twins Esau and Jacob (Gen 25:19-34; 27:1-40; etc), and continuing all the way through the OT, until the time when Herod the Great, the hated Idumean (or Edomite), used his Roman connections to gain ascendancy over the Israel of Jesus’ day.

And the same enmity continues to our day, in the struggles between the Arabs — of Palestine and Jordan and Saudi Arabia — and the Israelis, over the ancestral lands which they both claim.

Outline

1.	Judgment on Edom: Obad 1:1-14
	a)	Edom’s destruction announced: Obad 1:2-7
	b)	Edom’s destruction reaffirmed: Obad 1:8-14
2.	The Day of the Lord: Obad 1:15-21
	a)	Judgment on the nations but deliverance for Zion: Obad 1:15-18
	b)	The Lord’s kingdom established: Obad 1:19-21

Initial Fulfillment(s)

Who is Obadiah? When, and in what circumstances, was the prophecy first given? There are no details about the prophet himself; “Obadiah” is a common name signifying “the servant of Yahweh”. And no time period is definitely specified in the prophecy itself.

Given the lack of a definitive date, several different times are possible as the initial context of Obadiah’s “burden” upon Edom:

• Judgments upon Edom for participating in a cowardly attack upon Israel in the days of David, when the king and his forces were occupied in Syria. This “stab in the back” — from a people who were near of kin to Israel (cp Deu 2:4,5; 23:7) — was swiftly answered by a punitive raid by David’s armies, led by Abishai (1Ch 8:12), Joab (1Ki 11:15,16; Psa 60 title) and David himself (2Sa 8:12-14).
• About 200 years later (c 860 BC) another “Arab” invasion of Judah was repelled by faithful king Jehoshaphat (2Ch 20). This confederacy included Edom along with Moab and Ammon.
• During the reign of Hezekiah (c 720 BC), the Edomites gave enthusiastic support to the irresistible Assyrian invasion, and were utterly callous in their treatment of the desperate refugees from Israel and Judah (cp Isa 21:11,12; 34:5-10; 63:1-6; Joel 3:19).
• And finally, the prophecy could be dated as late as 588 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon devastated Jerusalem and its Temple, and once again men of Edom — like loathsome jackals or vultures — joined in to pick the bones of their cousins (cp Jer 49:7-22; Lam 4:21; Psa 137:7; Eze 25:12-14; 35:1-15). In favor especially of this possibility is Obad 1:16, which pictures Edom “drinking [from the holy vessels?] upon my [God’s] holy mountain” (cp Jer 25:15-26, esp v 21): So far as is known, none of the earlier attacks upon Israel in which Edom took part resulted in the actual capture of God’s temple mountain.

The Last Days Fulfillment

But even if we cannot be certain which of Edom’s many atrocities upon Israel provoked the tongue, and pen, of Obadiah — it seems certain that we are intended to read Obadiah’s prophecy as a Last Days prophecy as well: Obad 1:15,17,21.

Such language can only be absolutely fulfilled with the return of Christ and the establishment of God’s Kingdom. Seen as a Last Days preview, Obadiah’s words corroborate certain details of the general picture:

(a) This Edomite enemy will be a member of an alliance: Obad 1:11. Edom is a member of the 10-nation Arab alliance described in Psa 83.

(b) The controversy of the Last Days will concern God’s holy mountain, mount Zion. There the enemies of Israel, including Edom, will rejoice over her: “Just as you drank on my holy hill….” (Obad 1:16).

And there also will God bring retribution upon these blasphemous enemies: Obad 1:15-17. This observation lends credibility to the idea that the last great conflict in and around Jerusalem — a conflict which will bring on the literal Return of Christ — will be a religious conflict, between two peoples desperately struggling to lay claim to the same “holy places”.

(c) At this point the prophecy dramatically changes tone. The people of Israel are saved from their adversity and are spiritually regenerated. They receive back the Land promised to their fathers, to its fullest extent, and the rescued and redeemed state of Israel becomes the nucleus of the Kingdom of God: “But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy… The house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; the house of Esau will be stubble, and they will set it on fire and consume it. There will be no survivors from the house of Esau… Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the LORD’s” (Obad 1:17,18,21).

Territorial Expansion

Obad 1:19,20 go into detail as to which lands the redeemed people of Israel will recover and occupy:

• People from the Negev will occupy the mountains of Esau.
• People from the foothills will possess the land of the Philistines.
• They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria.
• Benjamin will possess Gilead.
• This company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan will possess the land as far as Zarephath.
• The exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the towns of the Negev.

Certain of these territories (ie, Samaria and Ephraim and part of Philistia) were conquered by modern Israel in 1967. [Will some of this territory be returned as a result of the current “Peace Process”?] Zarephath, in southern Lebanon, is increasingly coming under Israel’s influence since the incursions of 1982. But other territories (ie, Gilead and the mountains of Esau) remain today in Arab hands.

Will Israel, as presently constituted, conquer all these lands prior to the return of Christ? Or will Israel need to suffer a serious defeat, losing the very lands which it now possesses (together with its own sovereignty?) before a chastened remnant will repent and turn to God?

In short, is Obad 1:19,20 being fulfilled right now, or do they await a future fulfillment?

The order of Obad 1:17-21 suggests an answer: First, there must come a deliverance to mount Zion (v 17), and not just a military victory such as in 1948 or 1967: “But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy [or ‘there shall be holiness’: AV], and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance.”

And so this “deliverance” will of necessity involve “holiness” — and for this there must be true repentance and forgiveness of sins. Only then will Israel — ie, a renewed and glorified remnant of Israel — go forth to possess all the lands promised to the fathers (cp Gen 15:18-21; Exo 23:23; Deu 1:7; 11:24; Jos 1:4; Psa 72:8), as detailed in Obad 1:19,20.

This last territorial expansion will never be set back or thwarted in any way. Why? Because “Deliverers [‘saviours’: AV] will go up on Mount Zion… and the kingdom will be the LORD’s” (Obad 1:21).