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Revelation 13 recalls Daniel 3 by describing how people were forced to worship an image or face death. In Daniel it was Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue, while in Revelation it is the image of the beast.
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Daniel 3:10
Hebrew Bible
8 Now at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought malicious accusations against the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music. 11 And whoever does not bow down and pay homage must be thrown into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. 12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—and these men have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods, and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”
Date: 2nd Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Revelation 13:15
New Testament
13 He performed momentous signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people 14 and, by the signs he was permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, he deceived those who live on the earth. He told those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had been wounded by the sword, but still lived. 15 The second beast was empowered to give life to the image of the first beast so that it could speak, and could cause all those who did not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He also caused everyone (small and great, rich and poor, free and slave) to obtain a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. 17 Thus no one was allowed to buy or sell things unless he bore the mark of the beast—that is, his name or his number.
Date: 92-96 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Those who do not break the covenant by false worship are to be killed (Revelation 13:15), as is the case with the maskilim [wise ones] in Daniel 11:33-35. Now it is against this background that John sees the true saints in 13:18 and 17:9 as the fulfillment of the predicted maskilim of Daniel 11:33-35 and 12:3, 10 ... Therefore, the author of Revelation sees the church of his own day as being in the situation of the loyal Jews of Daniel, who stand in the midst of 'flatterers,' and are in danger of being seduced by them. No doubt there was also a threat of persecution, but the element of theological seduction was just as evident. It is in the light of both of these elements that we are to understand the Sitz im Leben of the churches to which John is writing ..."
Beale, G. K.
The Use of Daniel in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature and in the Revelation of St. John
(pp. 300-301) Wipf & Stock, 1984
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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