Revelation Unlocked #185.

A Chiasm and The Mark of the Beast Continued.

“and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth, and sea and springs of waters.” – Revelation 14:7 NASB  “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” – Exodus 20:11 NASB

References to worship of the beast (Rev. 13:4, 8, 12, 15) come in the context of a counterfeit of the first table of the law which contained the first four commandments. The first commandment forbids worship of any other God. The second commandment forbids idolatry. The land beast tells inhabitants of the earth to set up an image to be worshiped (Rev. 13:15). The third commandment forbids taking the Lord’s name in vain. The beast excels in blasphemy (Rev. 13:6). The fourth commandment is the seal of the covenant, and Moses was told it would be a  perpetual sign/seal of the covenant. (Exodus 31:12, 16-18). The Sabbath contains the name, the territory, and the basis for God’s rule (Exod. 20:8–11). These are elements of a seal.

In contrast, the world is offered the mark of the beast (Rev. 13:16, 17). This section of Revelation is centred in the commandments of God (Rev. 12:17, Rev. 14:12) Notice how these are positioned in the chiasm below. In chapter 13, there is a particular focus on the first table of the Ten Commandments, which contains the four commandments that deal specifically with our relationship to God. 1) Who to worship, 2) how to worship, 3) the approach of worship and 4) the time of worship.

The beast and his allies, the fake trinity, counterfeit each of the first four commandments.

This counterfeit sets the stage for the decisive allusion to the fourth commandment in the first angel’s message (Rev. 14:7, compare Exod. 20:11 as in header). 

The message of the first angel contains a direct allusion to the fourth commandment of the Decalogue. This is evident for three major reasons. (1) There is a strong verbal parallel between Revelation 14:7 and Exodus 20:11(see texts in header). Both passages contain the words “made,” “heaven,” “earth,” and “sea.” They also contain a reference to the One who created. (2) Revelation 14:6, 7 contains references to salvation (Rev. 14:6), judgment, and Creation (Rev. 14:7). All three themes echo the first table of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:2, 5, 6, 11). (3) There are multiple references to the Ten Commandments throughout this section of Revelation (Rev. 12:17, 14:12, the counterfeits of the first four commandments in Revelation 13, the verbal parallels in Revelation 14:7).

These references make up a strong structural parallel. The final call of God to the world is in the context of the everlasting Gospel and contains strong references to fearing God, Judgement and worshiping the creator of the fourth commandment.

Here is a summary of the Chiastic structure of Revelation 12 -15.

A 11:19 Ark of the Covenant: Sanctuary Scene plus the Commandments

  B 12:1–2 The First Great Portent: The Pure Woman

    C 12:3–4a The Second Great Portent : The Great Dragon

      D 12:4b–5 The Male Child: The First Coming of Christ

        E 12:10–12 The Voice From Heaven: Blessing in Heaven but Curse on the Earth

        F 12:17 Keep the Commandments and the Testimony of Jesus

          G 13:1–18 The Sea Beast and the Land Beast

H 14:1–5 The Lamb and 144,000 on Mount Zion

           G´ 14:6–11 The Three Angels’Messages

         F´ 14:12 Keep the Commandments and the Faith of Jesus

       E´ 14:13 The Voice from Heaven: Double Blessing on Earth

     D´ 14:14–20 The Son of Man:The Second Coming of Christ

   C´ 15:1 The Third Great Portent: The 7 Plagues

  B´ 15:2–4 The Remnant of the Woman’s Seed in Heaven

A´ 15:5–8 The Temple of the Tent of the Testimony: The Sanctuary Scene plus the Commandments

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