Few subjects in the Bible have stirred as much curiosity and
intrigue as the truth of the mark of the beast.
It has not only sparked debate among Christians, but has even
captured the fascination among some in the secular world,
especially in recent years. But like many difficult
teachings in the Bible, there is much confusion generated from
this truth than understanding, more speculation than insights,
strange interpretations and imaginative connections to
modern or historical figures or events, leaving many to be
really hesitant to engage with this subject or to even come up
with reasons why it's beneficial for us to know.
But we as believers who love the Word of God have to understand
that misguided teachings or unsupported conclusions should
not deter us from approaching even a text like this with
absolute confidence and assurance.
With any part of God's Word, we have to believe that God has
something to say through it, that he wants to bless us, that
he wants to inform us, that he wants to equip us.
And that is no less true than with the truth that is before us
today. And by God's grace, we're going
to seek to unlock what seems to be a mystery for many.
But before we can even do that, we have to remind ourselves of
the context in which it is introduced.
And so you and I need our Bibles, right?
So if you have a Bible with you, let's turn to Revelation 13.
And in the latter portion of this chapter, the Holy Spirit
reveals that there is coming a dangerous duo, a duo that will
be summoned and empowered by Satan himself with unparalleled
authority, and they will dominate the world.
Revelation 13 tells us that they are identified AS2 separate
beasts. They have their own distinct
kind of profiles, yet they are working in tandem.
The first beast the Spirit shows us will be a political leader.
He will be a world dominating figure, he will be brilliant, he
will be persuasive and he will indeed have his way.
He will actually bring to fruition what many have only
theorized or dreamt about and that is a globalist regime.
He will bring the nations together under 1 banner.
But more than implementing a universal political system, this
individual who is known as the first beast will demand worship.
And this is where the second beast comes in.
Because the second beast, who is also a man, will emerge on the
scene, and he too will be a persuasive voice.
And he will compel the world to give their homage and their
devotion and their ultimate worship to the first beast.
And he will even perform signs and wonders to win the trust of
the masses. And over and over, with his
ability to communicate and the power behind his message, there
will be a compelling case for the world to begin to bow the
knee to the first beast. But there's going to be more
than just amazement. And there's going to be more
than just deception at play here to win the allegiance of the
nations. We're about to discover that
there will be cruel implementations.
There will be certain protocols and systems that will be in
place in order to pressure the people to surrender their hearts
to this evil tyrant known as the Antichrist.
And that is where we find ourselves here in Revelation 13.
Our main text is in verse 15 down through verse 18, but we're
going to read from verse 11 to refresh our memory.
Revelation 13, verse 11 reads. Then I saw another beast rising
out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb,
and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority
of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and
its inhabitants worship the first beast whose mortal wound
was healed. It performs great signs, even
making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of
people. And by the signs that it is
allowed to work in the presence of the beast, it deceives those
who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the the
beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the
beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak, and
might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast
to be slain. Also.
It causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both
free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark that is
the name of the beast or the number of its name.
This calls for wisdom. Let the one who has
understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is
the number of a man, and his number is 66 6.
Let's pray, Lord, your word calls for wisdom in this portion
of Scripture, and that's what we asked for.
We asked for wisdom, as we heard even earlier through Paul's
words. What does the Scripture say,
Lord? No matter our presuppositions or
our own ideas or our own conclusions, we pray that all
things would bow to the truth, and that Lord, you would clarify
all confusion, that you would settle any heart that is
troubled, and that Lord, we would see your wisdom in these
verses for our worship and our love for you.
We pray these things in the matchless name of your son, who
we believe to be alive and the soon coming King.
Amen and Amen. So in my personal reading this
week, I find myself in the Book of Daniel.
An amazing book for many reasons.
And early in Daniel's story, you would know this if you've read
the book, we see that King Nebuchadnezzar decides to build
a massive golden statue of himself and he threateningly
commands all his subjects to worship it.
And I just found myself earlier again this week being reminded
that this is just one of many examples in biblical history of
how humanity is capable of 1. Worshipping themselves, and two,
worshipping idols in general. So it should not surprise us
then that what we just read about the future is a man who
will have others worship an image of himself.
Now what's interesting about this image, however, is that it
stands out from all other previous idols we see in the
scriptures for one main reason. This idol, this image, this
structure of some kind, this object, we're not too sure what
it will be, has been given life. It's animated, it's receiving
breath, and it comes off as though it is alive.
Now if you've read the Scriptures carefully, you would
notice that the Holy Spirit repeatedly emphasizes the the
foolishness of pictorial or physical idols and the scorn
that is offered. A holy scorn, may I add, is that
these idols, they have eyes, but they do not see.
They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have hands, but they cannot move their feet but cannot walk,
and they have mouths but cannot speak.
So one example is from Psalm 115, four and five.
And you don't have to turn there, but listen to these
words. Listen to what the psalmist
says. Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands. They have mouths but do not
speak, eyes but do not see. And that reverberates throughout
the Scripture, even up to the Book of Revelation.
Do you remember how this holy contempt is offered towards
idols under the six trumpet judgment?
If you forgot, you can now turn to Revelation 9 and look at
verse 20 for a moment. Revelation 9, verse 20, John
writes, The rest of mankind who are not killed by these plagues
did not repent of the works of their hands, nor give up
worshipping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and
stone and wood which cannot see or hear or walk.
Nor do they repent of their murders or the sorceries of
their sexual immorality or their thefts.
So we know that idol worship is nothing new, and we also know
that it's not going to grow old. It's going to be prevalent even
in the last days. But interestingly, according to
John, the image of the Antichrist, the first beast in
Revelation 13, will in fact not be a lifeless structure.
We're told that it will have the ability to speak, and more than
that, it will somehow possess the authority to kill those who
do not worship it. Now you can imagine the
difficulty of John's immediate audience and trying to make
sense of how a mere object or idol can perform such acts.
But with modern technology today, that difficulty no longer
remains, does it? Now, whether this image will be
animated technologically or supernaturally is not entirely
clear. And whether this image will be
mass produced and forced to be placed in people's homes or
erected in key regions is not made known either.
But if we concentrate on what is clear, we can have wonderful
discussions of what this verse is conveying.
Or we can talk about how the language here reminds us of one
of the first acts that God performs in Genesis, in Genesis
27, when he breathes into the man who was formed out of the
dust, and we're told there that he became a living creature.
Telling us what that yet again in Revelation 13, we have the
Antichrist trying to imitate God.
Or we can discuss how more specifically, this is the second
beast whom we learned to be a counterfeit Holy Spirit.
And we know that the Holy Spirit, one of his wonders is
that he breathes life into the lifeless soul, right?
He regenerates us. He makes us born again.
And here we find again the anti Holy Spirit seeking to mimic the
true Holy Spirit by bringing life to something that was once
lifeless. Oh, there are so many things
that we can speak about, but allow me to focus on just one
gripping thought. And it is how the incentive to
worship the Antichrist is so different from the draw to
worship the true Christ. Look back again with me here.
John tells us that anyone who refuses to worship the image of
this beast will be executed. The moment they resist, they
will be slain, in John's word. Do you understand what that
means? That this kind of worship for
this kind of beast will be enforced.
The people will be coerced, and this will essentially promote a
devotion driven entirely by terror.
This is what this tyrant is going to produce.
And though it is true that there are consequences for those who
refuse to worship and surrender to the true God, that kind of
punishment is a manifestation of holy justice against those who
have first made the decision to reject God's grace.
Do you remember what Paul said in Second Thessalonians 18,
where early in that book, very short book, he describes the
return of Christ, the true sense of Christ's return, that He will
inflict vengeance on those who do not obey God or the Gospel of
our Lord Jesus? Notice that the main crime that
Christ will execute judgment for are against those who have made
the decision to reject the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
What's the gospel? The good news?
What's the good news about Jesus?
Grace? God's grace.
So does our God judge? Yes, but for what?
Those who have swatted away his gift?
Those who have denied him? Those who have blasphemed him?
Those who have not received freely that gift of salvation.
You see, with the true Christ Christ, judgement comes to those
who have first denied his grace. Whereas the Antichrist gives no
grace at all because Satan has no grace to offer.
Think of it this way. The Antichrist says worship me
or die. The true Christ says worship me
because I died for you. You see, the primary way our God
wins the worship of sinners, wins our love, wins our loyalty.
It's through His love. It's through His indescribable
sacrifice. No such thing exists in the
world of worship with the Antichrist.
I mean, you can even see this in the resurrection type miracle
that he will perform. Remember we studied that
together earlier in this chapter that there will be some kind of
assassination attempt and He will bring this kind of stunt
where He will make it seem as though He rose from the dead.
But notice the difference. That is clearly an imitation of
what Christ has done. But the motive is far different.
The Antichrist will do this to try to flex his power, to try to
impress the masses. It's deception.
But Christ didn't do what He did to try to impress us.
He did it to pay for something. He did it for our behalf.
He did it for something that we were lacking.
He did it out of His love. He didn't have to do it.
He chose to do it. So even in the motive of the
miracles that we see here between the true Christ and the
Antichrist are so different. And All in all, the Kingdom of
darkness weaponizes fear to when peoples worship, while the
Kingdom of God extends grace to to win sinners.
In fact, have you ever considered how the Book of
Revelation ends? This book that is clearly
dominated by future judgement, holy justice, cosmic chaos, all
these things that at 1st may terrify us.
Have you ever wondered the last words of the Book of Revelation?
Well, let's turn there. Look at it.
Revelation 22 verse 21, the signature verse to end this
prophecy is what the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.
Amen. Isn't that amazing that after
describing God's fiercest display of wrath against evil
and evil doers, the last thought that he wants the reader to
encounter before closing this prophecy is grace.
You want to know why? Because that's God's disposition
towards humanity, forgiveness, restoration, redemption.
So in the last verse of not just the Book of Revelation, but of
all the Scriptures is the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We serve a wonderful master. You know, the Antichrist seems
not to take any issue of getting worship, no matter how he can
get it. And clearly this is this is
driven by dread. Some will be deceived, some will
fall in love with this man. But in that same prophecy we
read that others will have no other choice.
At least they think they have no other choice.
And Satan seems to take no issue with cold, external, mechanical
devotion. Christ is not interested in that
kind of worship. He wants genuine, heartfelt
adoration and affection. And the way that He draws that
out of us is by pouring out His love first.
He melts the hearts of those who have turned their backs on Him.
That's how he draws US. Oh, what it this should cause us
to worship him. Imagine if Christ was like the
Antichrist. He's not.
Thanks be to God, he is not. But the extent of the Antichrist
slavish system is explained in the next verses.
Let's look at it again. So we realize that he's going to
make this image. It's a remarkable kind of
achievement, but he has other things in mind.
In verse 16 we read also. It causes all, both small and
great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on
the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell
unless he has the mark that is the name of the beast or the
number of its name. So the Antichrist in his
totalitarian regime will not only promote man worship, but
will also administer a required universal marking system.
Evidently, he's going to impose this new arrangement of personal
identification. And what that ID is going to
reveal is going to be the most important thing that one can
know about an individual at that time.
Here it is. Are you for or are you against
this new world leader? That's all that's going to
matter at this point. Are you marked for him or are
you not marked for him? And John tells us that a
person's allegiance or lack thereof will be known.
It'll be very hard to hide. It's going to be apparent.
It's going to be plan, it's going to be physical.
Now, there are two vital things that we have to try to
understand in order to get clarification of what this mark
is about. And if you can remember these
two things, you'll be a step ahead from a lot of people who
are kind of in this state of confusion about what this
prophecy really entails. 2 things about this mark.
The first thing is it's spiritual significance and the
second thing is it's physical consequences.
The spiritual significance is what we'll begin with.
Remember up to this point we have seen how pathetically
desperate Satan is to mirror God, to imitate God, to replace
God and we see it even with this mark.
Remember we've studied this chapter by chapter, verse by
verse. We we've seen that this concept
of a mark in terms of devotion has already appeared.
Do you remember how the 144,000 Jews are distinguished in
Revelation Chapter 7? If you don't go there for a
moment and look at one verse with me in Revelation 7 verse 3.
This is what the Holy Spirit says about this future group of
people, Revelation 73 reads, saying Do not harm the earth or
the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our
God on their foreheads. We know, of course, that this is
primarily speaking about a spiritual stamp, a spirit
spiritual designation. But Satan Listen wants to mock
it. This is a parody.
And more than that, if you notice in Revelation 13, he's
very specific. He wants to ensure that those
who are committed to the Antichrist are labeled in one of
two places, one the right hand, the other the forehead.
Why those two places? Well, if you and I know our Old
Testament well, then we would we would ask this question.
I think. Is there any place in the Old
Testament that reveals the idea of the hand or the the head
being connected to a form of devotion?
I see a lot of heads ironically nodding.
Deuteronomy 6. Let's turn there.
This is what is commonly known as the Shema.
This is a central instruction for the Jewish people even to
this day. But notice what is mentioned in
this set of instructions, Deuteronomy 6, beginning in
verse 4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God, the Lord is 1 You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might.
And these words that I command you today shall be on your
heart. You shall teach them diligently
to your children and shall talk to them.
When you sit in your house and when you bought walk by the way,
and when you lie down and when you rise, pause for a moment.
Every time I read this, it moves me.
Do you know why? Because it instructs families,
especially parents, that when we seek to disciple our children,
it should look more than just having a set devotional time.
I'm not against those. I think those are wonderful.
But there's something more realistic here being presented
that when we want to train our children concerning the things
of God, it should be conversational.
It should be casual on our on our Rd. trips.
We should we should talk about biblical truths as we travel.
We should be able to relate all of life to the things of God.
I believe that's more effective than anything.
You may disagree with me, but I believe to be able to show our
loved ones how we can include and we should connect all of
life, all of our problems, all of our joys to what God has
revealed about himself and to us is so effective.
Not my idea. It's here and Deuteronomy 6.
But notice what it goes on to say in verse 8.
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as
frontlets between your eyes. Where's that here?
You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on
your gates. What is this instruction all
about? It's clear the lobbying on one's
hand and between one's eyes is both symbolic and practical.
All it's really saying is God's people should be in a place
where they adopt everything that God has said to their thinking
and to their doing. In essence, it speaks of the
integration of God's voice in all of life, in our day-to-day,
internally and externally, in your thought life, in your heart
life, in your actual life. And so this is really a picture
of complete and absolute devotion.
Now, Jews today would actually take this literally and they
have those small boxes with, you know, scriptures in them, and
they would tie it around their hands and tie it around their
heads. What God's after really is that
this would be obeyed, this would be lived out, this would be
chairs, the truth of God. And what we find here in
Revelation is that this ancient and holy call to consecration is
now mimicked for an evil purpose.
Satan takes this, and he now seeks to apply to his own
worship. So imagine how a Jewish audience
especially would understand and interpret the mark of the beast
immediately. They would primarily recognize
this as an inversion and perversion of what God asked of
them. This biblical tradition that all
that you think up here and all that you do with this would be
to the glory of God, would be instructed and inspired by God.
And now I read of this evil regime that's asking to be
marked on the hand and on the forehead.
It's clear. And they would also recognize
the depth of the spiritual defiance of this.
They would see that this is a lawless system intent on
claiming what belongs to God alone, and that is again,
complete devotion. So this is deeply disturbing
because it carries spiritual significance.
So listen and you and I understanding what the mark of
the beast is about, we have to 1st answer it in this way.
It carries spiritual significance, and what the mark
of the beast seeks to do is twist what God asked since the
beginning by taking that symbolic imagery and instruction
and applying it here. However, we cannot discredit the
physical implications of this mark, which brings us to the
second point, the physical consequences.
Now you have some, and it's becoming more popular believers
who are very comfortable staying within the realm of symbolism
when it comes to the mark of the beast.
And you can make an argument for it being purely symbolic if you
stick with verse 16 alone, But that becomes virtually
impossible when you factor in verse 17 of Revelation 13.
Look at it again, the end of it, or really all of it, so that no
one can buy or sell unless he has the mark that is the name of
the beast or the number of its name.
This is undeniable. The mark of the beast is more
than just a token of loyalty. It becomes an integral part,
apparently to economic survival. Or else what do you do with
this? Are you going to symbolize this
as well? You can't buy or sell unless you
have this mark on 2 physical locations on your body.
Again, as comfortable as you would want to be to keep it
within the sphere of just. This is really a spiritual
picture. It is, but it goes beyond that.
At its core it is spiritual, but in its manifestation, it's it's
physical. And so understand the Antichrist
Empire will have complete control of how the world
conducts business, of how transactions are made, and how
people access basic necessities and supplies for daily life.
It seems as though cash and other forms of payment will no
longer be relevant because the economic standards that we have
always known will seem to disappear and be replaced by
controlled credit system. And this is what interests
people, isn't it? But here's what we have to say.
First of all, the Spirit of God tells us that mankind,
regardless of the societal status, will be subject to this
new type of organization. It's a new world order, and it's
inescapable. If if you want to be a part of
this commerce, there's only one way, and that is for you to
pledge your allegiance to this man.
You want to be a part of this economic system.
You have to worship the one who controlled it.
We've seen minuscule manifestations of this
throughout history and different forms of governments and
regimes, but it's going to have its full-fledged manifestation
here. And this is a type of
persecution. It will be crushing.
It will bring pressure to everybody on a level that
humanity has never experienced. And when you even factor in all
the loss and all the devastation due to the disasters that we've
been studying up to this point in the world during the
tribulation period, that appeal becomes even stronger.
The temptation is even heavier that there will be one man who
will contain all control over the stockpile of the nations.
And this will cause people to bow the knee, but there will be
some who will refuse, namely Christians who will not give
themselves over to this wickedness.
Those who will be saved during the tribulation period would
rather die than live to worship this wicked foe.
I want to, I want to consider a couple of thoughts when you
meditate on this vile methodology.
There are some instruction in it.
The first one to consider, at least, is that again, you can
see a difference between how Christ operates and how the
Antichrist functions. Here's a man who immediately is
willing to withhold basic goods for survival unless you are
willing to give your heart to him.
This is cruel. This is this is unimaginably
devastating. You got to think about the
children. You got to think about wives.
You got to think about the difficult decision that fathers
will have to make and many will flock to the sign up sheet,
whatever that would look like to receive this mark in order to
survive. But I couldn't help but reflect
on how God, even with those who hate him, does not treat them in
such a way. You know where my mind went when
Paul was preaching to those idolaters in Lystra in Acts
chapter 14, in a moment, because he performed a miracle in the
name of Jesus, that crowd turned and began to worship him and his
ministry team. And Paul begins to preach an
impromptu sermon to repel this idolatry.
And he wants to point him to the true God.
And in his spontaneous attempt to persuade their hearts that
the true God alone is worthy of worship, let me read to you what
he says to describe him at least in one part.
In Acts 14 verse 16 to 17, Paul says in past generations he
being God, in past generations he allowed all nations to walk
in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself
without witness, for He did good by giving you rains from heaven
and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and
gladness. What a difference.
Again, what a contrast, the tenderness of this guy,
infinitely more holy than all of us put together.
And yet Paul is addressing a group of people who, along with
many nations, have turned their backs on God and walked in their
own ways. And how did God treat these
nations that walked in their own ways?
He gave them rain and He gave them groceries, and He gave them
memories and He gave them picnics and He gave them
vacations and He gave them promotions and He gave them
fruit and a harvest. He gave them sales, He gave them
savings. This is what the true God did.
This is what the true God still does today.
To who? Those who have taken His mark?
No, those who are walking in their own way.
The reason why Paul is communicating this is so that
they would get some kind of a taste of the mercy of God, that
this is how God treats us, though we do not deserve it.
What does He have in store for those who do live for Him and
love Him? And then you read about the
Antichrist, and what does he do? You want to eat, You want to
drink. You want to feed your family?
You want to have dinner tonight? Take my mark again.
This should cause you and I to fall deeper in love with our
God. But there's another thought to
consider. This is a sobering reminder of
the foolishness of humanity's worship then and today, then and
today. Why will people worship the
beast, plain and simple, for temporary gain?
Why do people worship what they worship today instead of the
true God for temporary gain? Different era, same disposition.
And what people then in this prophecy and what people today
failed to consider is that no matter what kind of reward you
may inherit because of your allegiance to something apart
from the true God, it will cost you and I eternally, eternally.
And that is certainly the case for those here who will take the
mark upon themselves. Fast forward to Revelation 14
and look at this and verse 9 and 10 And another Angel 1/3
followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships
the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead
or on his hand. He also will drink the wine of
God's wrath poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and
he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of
the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
More on that when we get to Revelation 14, but focus on this
truth with me for now. Isn't it sad that the same ones
in Revelation 13 who took a mark so that they can be spared from
the wrath of the Antichrist, and that they can gain a little bit
for a little bit of time, will suffer eternally for it?
And those who refuse to give themselves over to the
Antichrist will indeed suffer, but will win forever?
See, Revelation 13 reminds us that the world worships that
which is temporary, but the righteous they worship the
eternal One who rewards eternally.
And that will be the grace that will stir the hearts of those
during the tribulation period to refuse to extend their hand or
to remove their hair so that they can have a few years of a
comfortable life. They will understand that though
you may kill the body, you cannot destroy the soul.
And they will have even a greater reward awaiting them at
the entrance of the shores of Eternity.
Now, I'm aware that some after hearing all this about the mark,
especially what we just said, now might experience a little
bit of fear in their hearts, especially when you consider the
consequences of this mark. This is no joke.
This is not a light thing. This is not a little stamp that
you know you put on if you want to go into some kind of event or
concert or whatever you want to call it.
This has permanent consequences. So you have people asking this
I, what is this mark? I need to know?
Give me as many details as you got.
How do I know if my loved ones don't know what the mark is and
they will take it? How do I know if I have not
already entertained a prototype of the mark or maybe the mark
slipped into my life somehow? And if any of those kind of
thoughts have ever entered into your mind, I want to provide
helpful clarification. OK.
The mark of the beast is not a vaccine.
Yeah, it's catching on a little bit.
Yeah. The mark of the beast is not a
vaccine. The Mark of the Beast is not any
type of Internet service. The Mark of the Beast is not a
day of the week that you choose to worship on, namely Sunday.
Some will understand that, maybe more than others.
The Mark of the Beast is not any of these kind of mysterious,
vague, ambiguous mediums or practices.
The Mark of the Beast will be totally recognizable.
The Mark of the Beast will be absolutely obvious.
Do you know why? Because it is inseparable from
the worship of a man. Do we understand this?
Whatever this mark is, it is a physical brand that signifies
the adoration of a single person who's asking for it.
In other words, to take this mark is to consciously
participate in a new world religion.
Let me put it more plainly. You can't accidentally take the
mark. You can't.
That is scripturally impossible. Look again at the end of verse
17. He says that is when he's
describing the mark, the name of the beast, the name of the
beast, or the number of its name.
So this is again, a labeling of some sort.
There is going to be the name of this individual on this mark or
a numbering system that stamps you as his possession.
So there's all these wild theories out there and when you
hear them, I, I, at least I've never heard somebody properly
interpret what this mark is all about.
The key feature of it is that you are demonstrating that you
are surrendering to a person. I am living for this figure.
I am giving myself over to this man.
I see him as God. I see him as my Savior.
If you understand that, you've virtually eliminated every
theory that we've heard up to this point about the mark of the
beast, because nothing has ever fit that profile.
No demands have ever been made, at least on this scale.
I'm not saying that the technology to implement it isn't
potentially developing. I think in fact it is.
I think the world is being, obviously, if we believe this is
prophecy, the world is being prepared for this man and this
duo to step on the scene and do what the Bible says they will
do. Don't get the idea that the
first beast and the second beast are just going to appear and
then put all these things into motion.
I think it's going to be much more subtle than that.
Now, we must not become sensational when it comes to
these things. And the way you and I avoid
getting into any kind of hysteria is by remaining
grounded in the Bible. Just stay in the text.
Doesn't matter what kind of dream this guy had on YouTube.
I don't know who you are. I don't know what you believe.
Who are you? Just because he speaks
confidently, just because he seems persuasive, you just stick
with the Word of God. You will not be shaken.
And interestingly, a call for wisdom is exactly what comes
next in this passage. Look again in verse 18.
This calls for wisdom. But the one who has
understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is
the number of a man, and his number is 666.
Arguably, no number has stirred the imagination of believers and
unbelievers alike as this number 666.
What do we do with 666? Those digits have appeared in
movies, music, conspiracy theories now more than ever.
And you have some who even tattooed on themselves.
I've seen it. I have no idea why you would do
that, but they do. So it's not just a Christian
cultural thing. It is becoming mainstream, and
there's so many things said about it that are erroneous.
That being said, those who are more committed to understanding
the significance of this number often appeal to a Jewish
practice called gematria. And gematria is this
interpretation method that seeks to assign numbers to letters,
phrases, sentences, words in the Hebrew.
But that's also a practice that you find in in history with the
Greek and Latin as well. So you understand how this
works. Certain numbers or certain
letters are assigned certain numbers.
And so you have to do kind of these renderings and a little
bit of math to put these together.
And these letters equate to this number.
And what that has led to throughout history is proposals
of potential candidates of Antichrist who have appeared
apparently, and all those have proven to be futile.
Why? Because no matter what kind of
historical figure you want to point to, and many have been
pointed to, none of them fit the description of the career and
the character of the Antichrist. You may have seen previews of
it, but not the full manifestation of it, not the
actual fulfillment of it. And so there are, again, some
who are at rest saying, well, you know, Nero was the
Antichrist or Napoleon was Antichrist or this president is
the Antichrist. And, and they're there, and
they'll do all these things. And they'll show you a chart and
they'll put, you know, lines together and say, you see, you
see how this is 666. Did you see what he said in this
interview? And do you see what he did here
and there? OK.
And my question is, you spend a lot of time on that.
I can see. But when you go to the Bible,
does that person fit this description?
I mean, it's very simple, isn't it?
OK, so then what do we do with 666 then?
If it hasn't been historically fulfilled, If it's still yet
future, what do we do with it? Well, this could very well be a
case of something becoming clearer and more revealing to
those living in the Tribulation period.
Here's what I mean by that. It is likely that the full
meaning of 666 will only be revealed once the Antichrist
ascends to power and the world circumstances make it
discernible. Do you remember what first Peter
one verse 10 and 11 says when Peter was telling us about the
prophets of old who are searching and inquiring
carefully about the sufferings and about the subsequent glories
of Christ, about the person of the Messiah and the timing of
His arrival? Do you remember that really
proving to us that we are on the other side of what was a veiled
mystery for even the prophets? I think there's something there
in that truth for this prophecy. What do I mean?
That in the same way that those prophets didn't have the full
comprehension of the ministry, the the mission and the man of
the Messiah until that generation lived in the day of
the Messiah. It could be said that we will
not know what 666 is all about unless you're living in the days
of the Antichrist. We'll make it much more obvious,
such as the nature of prophecy, that there are some things that
are more clear than others. And in the same way that it was
not as clear for some concerning the first advent of Christ, we
can also say that it is not as clear for the second advent of
Christ. However, there is a symbolic
lesson here. So in the Bible, from Genesis to
Revelation, there are numbers, a lot of numbers.
There's a whole book called Numbers, but there are patterns
with numbers that eventually show a message behind it that
when it's applied to a certain person or event, there's a
deeper meaning. And we'll talk more about this
at the Bible Study seminar. So for example, in the Book of
Revelation alone, we have clearly seen that the number 7
carries meaning. It speaks of completion, it
speaks of perfection. It actually speaks about God in
many cases. That is equally true with the
number six. And what number six highlights
and points to is man. Man was created on the 6th day.
Man was called to work for six days.
And there are other kind of patterns that you see,
especially in the Old Testament, that make that truth more
concrete. But beautifully, the fact that
man is 6 and God's number is 7 also communicates the thundering
truth that man falls short as 6 falls short as seven.
Man falls short of God's completion, his perfection, his
standard. So when you keep that in mind,
that 6 is imperfection, whereas 7 is perfection.
Wow. I come to Revelation.
I don't just find 6, I find 666. And what do you have with 666?
Well, an emphasis the amplification of what?
The fallenness of man, the shortcomings of man, and more
importantly of Amen. What did we learn together in
this chapter? A couple people approached
myself after one of the services and they were they were moved by
this particular point of how when we see all the key
characters in this new regime that is prophesied.
You have the dragon who's the devil.
You have the first beast who is the false Messiah and you have
the second beast who works as an anti Holy Spirit.
What does that look like? Unholy Trinity.
And now you have 666 emphasizing what the unholy Trinity at work
again, bringing the height of depravity in their efforts that
what you see here and what we've been looking at is a man who
seeks to replace God, who is holy, holy, holy.
And he is going to try with a last effort to demand worship
from the world before the true Christ returns.
So symbolically, what does this number speak about The
manifestation, the pinnacle of man's rebellion through a man
who will lead all men to defy God, who is perfect and
complete. And here's what I'm most
concerned about when it comes to discussing the mark of the
beast. I've alluded to this already
have so many people caught up and seeing modern fulfillment
and seeing was it going to be this technology or is it going
to be AI? Is it?
Listen, what the Bible wants to convey more than anything else
is immediate reflection with this truth.
It is prophecy, but all Scriptures by God for our
sanctification, our consecration, our
transformation. Isn't it interesting?
And I rarely do this, but peek over to Revelation 14 for a
moment. Look at verse 1.
John says. Then I looked and behold, on
Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with them 144,000, who had His
name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
Right after we learn about the mark of the beast, we are
reintroduced to God's mark. Do you see what's happening
here? Here's my question for you.
At the end of the service, which mark do you bear?
Do you have God's mark? You're saying what is that?
Is it the same mark as 144,000? We can debate.
One thing is certain, there is a seal in this moment available to
you. It's the Holy Spirit, and He is
accessed through faith in Christ.
So my question for you today is, is your soul marked by God?
That's more important than figuring out what this mark in
Revelation, Revelation 13 is all about.
It's if you're marked and the only way you can have your soul
sealed by God's grace and his future promise and His current
protection and His fellowship is if you repent and you believe in
the gospel. If you understand the extent of
God's grace and mercy by dying on the cross on your behalf.
That he is unlike any other God who laid down his life for your
life, who paid for your sin, who shed his blood.
I find it amazing that there are 1,000,000 today who are willing
to die for a God who didn't do anything close to what Christ
has done for us. And the invitation is now yours,
and there is no call for you to extend your physical hand or to
stretch out your forehead, your heart, by faith, as you turn
your eyes to heaven. You say, Oh Lord, I recognize
though I may not have all the answers, I recognize just how
accurate your word is that even as we read through these verses,
I can, I can sense where our world today is headed.
And before anything else, I want to ensure that I'm marked by
you. If this is where everything is
headed, I want to make sure that I am ready for your return.
If you leave with anything, leave with that.
And so today I make that invitation.
Give your life to Jesus Christ who made you, who died for you,
and who is waiting for you to receive him now.
Would you do that? Let's pray.
Father, we want to thank you for giving us answers.
Thank you for opening our minds. But Lord, we also thank you that
you've used even a text like this to touch our hearts.
And Lord, even in this, we've realized that there is no God
like you. You are not an idol.
You are not dumb, you are not speechless, You are not
immobile. You even tell us that you're
here right now and you see every heart in this place.
And Lord, for the heart that doesn't know you made a sense.
A personal call to give their hearts to you and for the
believers here, May our love for you be strengthened, and may
none of us ever be ashamed to bear the marks of the Lord Jesus
Christ to show that we belong to You and that you're the only
hope for the world. So Lord, even with this truth
about the mark of the beast, we worship you and we thank you for
giving us your word. In Jesus name we pray, Amen,
even as we sing. If you don't know Christ today,
you can speak to the Lord in your own heart and God will hear
you and he can change you where you walk out of this room in
this building a new creature. That's my prayer for you.
If you don't know Christ, believers, you know him, you
know the one in whom you believe.
Let's stand and give him our love.