 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
The Soon Coming Judgment Of God Upon America and How To Escape It 39
refuse to accept the mark and worship the image of the beast. Babylon itself is a type or model of
Satan, the Antichrist. Isaiah shows this by equating Babylon with Lucifer; he writes:
That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say,
How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!... Thy pomp is brought
down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and
the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the
morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the
sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the
most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They
that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the
man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the
world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house
of his prisoners? All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every
one in his own house. (Isaiah 14:4 & 11-18 )
King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, created a type and shadow of the image of the
beast when he created the image of gold in the plain of Dura. He commanded all to bow down
and worship the beast or be killed. This act of King Nebuchadnezzar clearly shows that it is
Babylon (the US) who will create the image of the beast, force all to worship it and order a death
decree for those who refuse. Daniel chronicled the event; he writes:
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was
threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of
Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather
together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the
counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the
dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the
princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors,
the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the
dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood
before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, To
you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear
the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of
musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king
hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be
cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. (Daniel 3:1-6)
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were faithful to God and keepers of his
commandments, refused to bow down and worship the image. The king was “full of fury” and he
 |