The Mark of The Beast (666) | Revelation 13:15-18 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Study Series)

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

Revelation 13:11

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

Revelation 9:20

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

Revelation 22:21

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

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

moment and look at one verse with me in Revelation 7 verse 3.

Revelation 7:3

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

Acts 14 · chapter mention

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

Acts 14:16–17

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.