No I am not. I consider my self Christian and that I am outside the camps. That is not that I am against any of the camps among Christianity but to settle into one or the other at times might cause me to not look at what is actually spoken in the Scriptures to defend an camp in eschatology. So if I am outside the camps I have the luxury of not being obligated to say the things they would to defend their camps of thought. In this I have the liberty to speak the things I believe is the truth without fear of the ridicule that would come if I spoke of something that the camps do not agree with me in.
I was not laughing out loud at such an important matter as the mark of the beast but instead because you quoted me from post that would have answered the very things you ask me in you post. I have to admit that mine own wife has pointed out to me that when she reads though my post in times past I do speak(type) in an blunt/rude manner,lol. I apologize if I do or did seem that way it was not my intention but it may be an flaw of mine I need improvement on.
In such I will then try to set forth answers to these questions you ask because I do agree with you that it is very important to determine if the mark of the beast was in the past or if it is in the future according to mine own studies of Scripture and or historical testimonies of the men of the first century.
There are three important things to consider I think in evaluating this that is Rome,Israel and Christianity. I say this because he Scriptures do give an detailed account of the things that would take place in the time frame we are speaking of. That is that someone would establish an image and others being deceived would worship it. In this also those who refuse/refused to worship this image ae killed.
Now in Josephus wars 2 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/war-2.html it can be established that the Jews did not show piety towards Rome. That is that they did not see Caesar as God nor did they worship him as God instead they refused even to make sacrifice for him in the temple. The fact that they(the Jews) revolted/rebelled against Rome/Caesar should establish the fact that the Jews did not worship Rome/Caesar or it's image as God in the fist century(ad66-70). In fact it shows proof of the opposite in that they refused to do so.
The importance in this is that someone according to Scripture is to fulfill this worshiping of the image but as history shows the Jews of ad66-70 did not. Another important part of this is in that an mark is given during the timing of the image being set up and that only those who received the mark of the beast would be able to buy and sell(Revelation 13) but at that same time when the Jews revolted from Rome they minted their own coins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Jewish_Revolt_coinage , and so it can also be shown that they did not buy nor sell with the mark/money of Rome or worship it's image in the time frame of the first century ad. This should remove them from consideration of an first century fulfillment of the mark of the beast of Revelation 13.
Now if you consider the very post I gave that you quoted(#115) it gives the Scriptures that give the advice of the Apostles in the matter of the masters over them at that time(Rome) and if you consider if they stated that they should see the master over them(Rome) as ordained by God(Romans 13:1) then (if) Rome was the one who was giving the mark(at that time) then the Apostles would be saying it is fine to obey them and buy and sell with Romes mark(Romans 13:7)...
So it is not that the Apostles thought this was the beast in their times in the first century they were living in that would render the mark or image to worship but instead as Revelation 17:10 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+17&version=KJV states they were living in the time of the sixth head and that the 7th,the ten horns and the 8th were to come after that point in time(first century). So if the 7th,the ten horns,and the 8th were future tense to them in the first century then they were still under the authority of the rule of the fourth beast of Daniel and so they stated to honor it as if ordained by God at that time. (I will re-post post 115 for reference)...
I was not laughing out loud at such an important matter as the mark of the beast but instead because you quoted me from post that would have answered the very things you ask me in you post. I have to admit that mine own wife has pointed out to me that when she reads though my post in times past I do speak(type) in an blunt/rude manner,lol. I apologize if I do or did seem that way it was not my intention but it may be an flaw of mine I need improvement on.
In such I will then try to set forth answers to these questions you ask because I do agree with you that it is very important to determine if the mark of the beast was in the past or if it is in the future according to mine own studies of Scripture and or historical testimonies of the men of the first century.
There are three important things to consider I think in evaluating this that is Rome,Israel and Christianity. I say this because he Scriptures do give an detailed account of the things that would take place in the time frame we are speaking of. That is that someone would establish an image and others being deceived would worship it. In this also those who refuse/refused to worship this image ae killed.
Now in Josephus wars 2 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/war-2.html it can be established that the Jews did not show piety towards Rome. That is that they did not see Caesar as God nor did they worship him as God instead they refused even to make sacrifice for him in the temple. The fact that they(the Jews) revolted/rebelled against Rome/Caesar should establish the fact that the Jews did not worship Rome/Caesar or it's image as God in the fist century(ad66-70). In fact it shows proof of the opposite in that they refused to do so.
The importance in this is that someone according to Scripture is to fulfill this worshiping of the image but as history shows the Jews of ad66-70 did not. Another important part of this is in that an mark is given during the timing of the image being set up and that only those who received the mark of the beast would be able to buy and sell(Revelation 13) but at that same time when the Jews revolted from Rome they minted their own coins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Jewish_Revolt_coinage , and so it can also be shown that they did not buy nor sell with the mark/money of Rome or worship it's image in the time frame of the first century ad. This should remove them from consideration of an first century fulfillment of the mark of the beast of Revelation 13.
Now if you consider the very post I gave that you quoted(#115) it gives the Scriptures that give the advice of the Apostles in the matter of the masters over them at that time(Rome) and if you consider if they stated that they should see the master over them(Rome) as ordained by God(Romans 13:1) then (if) Rome was the one who was giving the mark(at that time) then the Apostles would be saying it is fine to obey them and buy and sell with Romes mark(Romans 13:7)...
So it is not that the Apostles thought this was the beast in their times in the first century they were living in that would render the mark or image to worship but instead as Revelation 17:10 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+17&version=KJV states they were living in the time of the sixth head and that the 7th,the ten horns and the 8th were to come after that point in time(first century). So if the 7th,the ten horns,and the 8th were future tense to them in the first century then they were still under the authority of the rule of the fourth beast of Daniel and so they stated to honor it as if ordained by God at that time. (I will re-post post 115 for reference)...
Your detailed reply is much appreciated. We like things Simple, because we are Simple.
Are you saying that the "Mark of the Beast" is Money?
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