>>754071
>Who bore "Nero Caesar" on them, and when did people who refused the mark get banned from buying and selling?
I take it as meaning wide spread ostracism in general. Not some literal mark. They refused to play along with the Roman system. Christians were actually called "atheists" and considered revolutionaries and couldn't get a break anywhere, because they refused to participate in much of anything the rest of society did. None of their events, feasts, wouldn't worship their gods or Caesar, etc.. They were an easy scapegoat especially when Nero finally blamed them for the fire in Rome. Because everyone hated them to begin with.
And he murdered them in the thousands, and literally lit the streets of Rome at night with the bodies of flaming Christians. If that's not apocalyptic imagery, or "beastly", I don't know what is.
Lastly, first and foremost, the Apocalypse is a letter of comfort. Not just a prophecy, but something to give hope in this trying time. That they have to be patient and God would win in the end. It would have been cruel (and deceptive) to say "this must take place soon" and have it not even apply to them.
Here's another thing I dislike about typical evangelical teaching. That Constantine was the "downfall" and the beginning of the end of apostolic Christianity. They invent all kinds of conspiracies around him. But it was victory. This tortured church eventually conquered the heart of Rome. It was the beginning of something good.