There was an important passage I discovered in my readings of a branding of those Jews who refused to follow the commands of the king and worship idols.
The mark of the beast first comes to mind as we see the imagery.
26 He was not content with his uncounted licentious deeds, but even continued with such audacity that he framed evil reports in the various localities; and many of his friends, intently observing the king’s purpose, themselves also followed his will.
27 He proposed to inflict public disgrace on the Jewish community, and he set up a stone on the tower in the courtyard with this inscription:
28 “None of those who do not sacrifice shall enter their sanctuaries, and all Jews shall be subjected to a registration involving poll tax and to the status of slaves. Those who object to this are to be taken by force and put to death;
29 those who are registered are also to be branded on their bodies by fire with the ivy-leaf symbol of Dionysus, and they shall also be reduced to their former limited status.”[8]
30 In order that he might not appear to be an enemy of all, he inscribed below: “But if any of them prefer to join those who have been initiated into the mysteries, they shall have equal citizenship with the Alexandrians.”
Chapter 3
…he ordered that all should promptly be gathered into one place and put to death by the most cruel means.
The king’s intention was to mark with a brand, leave only the rite to slavery, demanding the soul be committed to the false god Dionysus.
Who is Dionysus?
Ancient Greek religion, Dionysus is the god of wine-making, orchards, fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivities, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theater. He was also known as Bacchus for a frenzy he is said to induce called baccheia. His wine, music, and ecstatic dance were considered to free his followers from self-conscious fear and care, and subvert the oppressive restraints of the powerful. His thyrsus, a fennel-stem sceptre, sometimes wound with ivy and dripping with honey, is both a beneficent wand and a weapon used to destroy those who oppose his cult and the freedoms he represents. Those who partook of his mysteries were believed to become possessed and empowered by the god himself.
So if the Jewish people did submit to the king’s demand of receiving the mark, it appears they would sever their relationship with God Almighty and succumb the insanity of Dionysus who is Satan.