The Image and the Mark of the Beast
This subject was/is introduced in DOC Volume Seven. However, this article provides additional research worth consideration. Taking a step back, it is appropriate to examine what Yahushua said, as recorded by Mark.
“Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Bring me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s.”
Mark 12:15-16
Please note that the word “image” above is the same Greek word used by John in Revelation as follows,
“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 whosever receiveth the mark of his name.”
Revelation 14:11
It is interesting to note that in both cases, the word image (eikōn) is used relative to fiscal matters. It is also obvious that Yahushua was not talking about a large idol-like statue that is often equated with Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (image). Here, Yahushua is talking about the face/resemblance of the Roman emperor, Caesar. Coins were not only used for trade and commerce but were also used as an authority power-statement: 1) a declaration of who was in power over the subjects who used said coins, 2) a sort of forced worship, and 3) a forced method of commerce. Since the time of the Persian Empire, most sovereign governments (kingdoms) have a coinage (currency) that is recognized by that government and is the basis for trade and commerce within that government’s (kingdom) domain. Although people within a particular kingdom may acquire coinage (currency) from a foreign government, said foreign coinage is not backed by the local government. In modern times, the most common currency coveted around the world, for the past century or more, has been the U.S. dollar, formerly backed by gold, now backed by the SDR. And, although the U.S. dollar is coveted and often accepted by local merchants around the world, due to its past stability and exchangeability, it is not endorsed by non-US governments for local use.
The penny (denarius) mentioned in Mark’s Gospel was very different from Hebrew coins, as Yahushua well knew, and he drew a remarkable distinction between the two. Hebrew coins never etched “images” of people or animals, in keeping with Jewish law (Exodus 20:4). This also touches on the Hebrew belief that mankind was created in the image of YHVH, which speaks the message that people are to submit/give themselves to YHVH, and to worship YHVH alone. Things/money (with human images), the less important elements of life, the imposition of taxes by earthly kings/leaders, etc., are often imposed upon men but is not the ultimate plan for humankind. Believers live in this world but are not of this world (John 8:23; 17:14, 16; 18:36; James 2:5; 4:4).
Yahushua knew the evil intent (hope of entrapment) of those asking about paying taxes (Mark 12:15-16) and thus asked for a “penny” (rather than a Hebrew coin), knowing what human image would be on it (possibly Pontiff Maxim). By doing this he could avoid the intended entrapment and teach a dual lesson; “…render (give back) unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and (give back) to YHVH the things that are YHVH’s.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7) For what shall it profit (benefit) a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give (ransom/buy) in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36-37). For Yahushua said in another place, “…You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13, serve means to be a slave; mammon means wealth). Along the same line of thinking Apostle Paul said, “…to whom ye yield yourselves to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey…” (Romans 6:16). In other words, a believer’s main focus of their comings and goings in life must be on the kingdom of YHVH (Matthew 6:33) not on mammon.
The pursuit of mammon dulls/desensitizes the spiritual senses (Revelation 17:2) and also makes believers the servants of mammon and participants in the collective sins (fornications; harlotry, incest and idolatry—the sin of Israel when the prophet referred to her as the daughter of Babylon—Psalms 137:8; Isaiah 47:1; Jeremiah 50:42; 51:33; Zachariah 2:7) of that kingdom. To pursue the inebriating wine (riches, delicacies, mammon) of Mystery Babylon, places one within the “city limits” of Mystery Babylon, not a place one wants to be when the judgment of YHVH is poured out upon her (Revelation 18:4), and dulls one’s clarity of judgment and discernment. Demarcation lines become blurred and one’s declining spiritual condition is often ignored.
It is believed by some that the oldest/first coin was a gold (electrum) coin minted in Lydia, Asia Minor (Modern day Turkey) around 600 B.C. +/-. If so, it was contemporary with the daric, which was a Persian gold coin. Which ever coin was actually minted first does not alter the fact that the Persian Empire was the first empire to mint coins and with human and animal images on them. The usage of the English word drams found in 1 Chronicles 29:7 is believed to be an anachronism since David’s reign was believed to be between 1048 and 1007 B.C. +/-. However, its use in Ezra 2:69 would be more historically aligned with its actual use. Prior to 600 B.C. +/-, most everything that was bought or sold was done so by use of weights, the oldest form being the shekel (a system of weights/balances, as early as 3,000 B.C., possibly 180 grains of barely .35 troy ounces) and the talent (another system of weights/balances, 27 kg +/-, with corresponding units of value; later, in the NT, is was 58.9 kg). One Attic talent had a purchasing power in 2004 of approximately $20,000 USd.; Solomon received 666 gold talents per year. One talent was divided into 60 mina; each mina was divided into 60 shekels.
If one examines each government issued (stamped/printed) coin/currency, one can easily discover its image, mark and/or name. Furthermore, it is quite easy to identify which king, emperor, or president is/was in power during each mint as well as the name/identity of its empire, kingdom and/or government.
In summary, from the context, it is easy to understand how coinage/currency can easily be identified as John’s image and mark in Revelation, since both the fall of Mystery Babylon and the Mark of the Beast revolves around economics (trade, buying and selling), the “E” in the RPE. In modern times (the 21st century), the shekel & talent has been replaced by coinages/currencies, presently revolving around the SDR (Special Drawing Rights), an International Reserve Asset, developed by the IMF to benefit the 186 participating members/countries, formerly backed by gold and the U.S. dollar. But now that there is a broader free market and more volatility in the market, the IMF has devised a system that is now based on a basket of four key international currencies (the Pound Sterling, the US dollar, the Japanese Yen and the Euro). Although Muslim countries are currently involved with the IMF/SDR, the growing hate (Revelation 17:16) for the IMF/SDR is becoming apparent and they will attempt to destroy her, most likely through and by the OIC. They are already speaking out against and planning to subvert or displace the IMF/SDR for a real asset backed (gold/oil) currency system.
Another parallel (Genesis 10:10; 11:4, 6) between Babel (later, the Babylonian Empire) and Mystery Babylon is the “world unity” that can be found in today’s present world, with the exception of the growing hate found in a growing global power, the OIC. The PRE (and the LLP force driving the PRE), has been personified (depicted) in various ways throughout history. However, in modern times, one can easily argue that it has currently developed into the UN (and NATO), currently as the “P” of the PRE; into the World Council of Churches (WCC) or the World Council of Religions (WCR) or the World Council of Religious Leaders (WCRL), or all three, since they all have identical agendas that support the UN and the IMF and that the UN and the IMF directly or indirectly prop them, as the “R” in the PRE; and lastly into the IMF/SDR, currently as the “E” of the PRE. Thus, when the OIC topples Mystery Babylon, the IMF, the UN and the WCC (or WCR and/or the WCRL) will fall with her. Keep in mind that the OIC is the only intergovernmental organization that adheres to just one religion (Islam) and YHVH will put a hate in their hearts for the HARLOT. While members of the OIC are also members of the UN and the IMF, their growing dislike, distaste and resentment of the PRE (which includes the WCC) is growing and becoming more audible and visible around the world, in spite of their double tongued rhetoric—a deceptive beguiling trickery that most of the world will fall for.
Foot Note One:
The earliest shekels were a unit of weight, used as other units such as grams and troy ounces for trading before the advent of coins. Coins were invented by the early Anatolian traders who stamped their marks to avoid weighing each time used. Early coins were money stamped with an official seal to certify their weight. Silver ingots, some with markings were issued. Later authorities decided who designed coins. Herodotus states that the first coinage was issued by Croesus, King of Lydia, spreading to the golden daric (worth 20 sigloi or shekel), issued by the Persian Empire and the Silver Athenian obol and drachma. The Aramaic spelling tekel appears with a symbolic meaning in the writing on the wall during the feast of Belshazzar, according to the Book of Daniel.
A shekel is a gold or silver coin equal in weight to one of these units. It is especially the chief silver coin of the Hebrews. The shekel was common among western Semitic peoples. Moabites, Edomites and Phoenicians used the shekel, the latter as coins and weights. Punic coinage was based on the shekel, a heritage from Canaanite ancestors. Silver Tyrian shekels are thought to be the infamous thirty (30) pieces of silver" in the New Testament, as was probably used to pay the temple tax in Jerusalem.
Modernly, the word is used informally for "money". Since 1980, the shekel has been the currency of the modern state of Israel, first the Israeli shekel, then (since 1985) the Israeli new shekel.
Croesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 546 BC until his defeat by the Persians in about 547 BC. The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Hellenes, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J.A.S. Evans remarked, "Croesus had become a figure of myth, who stood outside the conventional restraints of chronology." Croesus was renowned for his wealth — Herodotus and Pausanias noted his gifts preserved at Delphi.
In Greek and Persian cultures the name of Croesus became a synonym for a wealthy man. Croesus' wealth remained proverbial beyond classical antiquity: in English, expressions such as "rich as Croesus" or "richer than Croesus" are used to indicate great wealth. The earliest known such usage in English was John Gower’s in Confessio amantis (1390).
The coins bore the likeness of the Phoenician god Melqart or Baal, accepted as the Olympian Herakles by the Greeks and derided as Beelzebub by Jews in the time of the Seleucids, wearing the laurel reflecting his role in the Tyrian games and the Ancient Olympics. These coins, the size of a modern Israeli half-shekel, were minted in Israel, but were required to bear this image by the Romans to avoid accusations that the Jews were given autonomy. They were replaced by First Jewish Revolt coinage in 66 A.D.
The Tyrian shekel weighed four Athenian drachmas, about 14 grams, more than earlier 11-gram Israeli shekels, but was regarded as the equivalent for religious duties at that time. Because Roman coinage was only 80% silver, the purer (94% or more) Tyrian shekels were required to pay the temple tax in Jerusalem, but were exchanged by moneychangers in the temple for coins with the approved priestly image.
Foot Notes Two:
The word penny (i.e., dēnarion—Greek transliteration) means a denarius (or ten asses): - pence, penny [-worth].
The word image (i.e., eikōn—Greek transliteration) means a likeness, that is, (literally) statue, profile, or (figuratively) representation, resemblance: - image.
The word mark (i.e., charagma—Greek transliteration) means a scratch or etching, that is, stamp (as a badge of servitude), or sculptured figure (statue): - graven, mark.
The word worship (i.e., proskuneō--Greek transliteration) means to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.
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