Revelation 13. Of course, in our study through this chapter, we've learned about two beasts. Hopefully you remember that as we've been going through it. Two beasts. The first beast that we found in verses 1 through 10. If you look at verse 1, he's described as the beast that rose up out of the sea. And as we've looked at the first part of this chapter, we learned that even though the power of this beast seems to have existed throughout history, and we would say that even in the governments of history that have been opposed to God and that have oppressed God's people, it seems like we can also identify this beast as that personal and final antichrist of history. And we can say that because there's other passages in both the Old Testament, Daniel, as well as the New Testament, like 2 Thessalonians, where we find similar descriptions to this beast and they are put in terms of that Antichrist. And so that's the first beast that we considered in verses 1 through 10. Then, starting in verse 11, we found a second beast. And we learn about him all the way from verse 11 through the end of this chapter. But he's described a little differently than that first beast. He's described as the beast that rises up from the earth. And that's stated there in verse 1. And the power of this beast seems to reflect the spirit of not governments, but organized false religions. Again that are deceptive and really throughout history have captivated the hearts of people all throughout this world But also again here in Revelation this beast also seems to be very personal in nature And he's even described later on in Revelation as the false prophet and so we kind of get that that sense of organized religion even in that phrase and of course this false prophet This second beast will do all that he can to bring the entire world to worship that first beast, the Antichrist. And if you remember from last time, one of the main ways that he'll do this is by bringing spirit and life to an image of this beast. And we learned a little bit about that image last time. Now, even though this image can also be seen almost as its own entity. Of course, you have the dragon in chapter 12, you have the Antichrist's first beast in chapter 13, you have the false prophet's second beast. It almost seems like there's a fourth entity, but really, this image to the beast is actually closely aligned with both beasts because he sort of extends the ministry and the activities of both of them as he serves them. So this image is sort of an extension of both of the beasts and even of the dragon, the devil himself from chapter 12. So as we come to the final verses of this chapter, The next thing that we can learn about this false prophet and the image that he made is, we could say, his precept and really his precepts. So just his laws, if you will. And of course, there's going to be a lot of different laws that they will make. But the precepts of this false prophet and his image involve what is perhaps one of the most well-known things in all of Revelation, not just to Christians in the church, but even outside the church. And that is, title of our lesson, the Mark of the Beast. the mark of the beast. And so we're going to read verses 16 through 18, where we're told again that he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark, a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads, and that no man might buy or sell, save or accept he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. And his number is six hundred three score and six, or just six hundred sixty six, six, six, six. Now, just like we saw last time in verse 15, which is where we ended, the way this is put in verse 16 is that it's the image that causes these things. So we know that obviously the false prophet is the one that got the people to make this image. But it's the image that is causing these things. And of course, this image as an extension of the beast is doing this according to the will of the beast. If you look back at verse 15, it was actually the image of the beast who will cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. So just the way it's put, obviously, again, the false prophets actively involved with this. The first beast, I'm sure, is also actively involved. But this This image that can speak, that is given spirit and life by the false prophet, is going to be the instrument that causes as many as will not worship him should be killed. And much in the same way, if you look at verse 16 again, it's the image of the beast that causes all to receive this mark of the beast. Now, why does this activity of deception move from the false prophet in the first verses that we've looked at here to the image of the beast? Can't really say for sure, except maybe to stress just the supernatural character of these demands. That is, the people who are worshiping the beast will want to receive this mark because it's coming out of a mouth of an image that they made that can now speak and seems to have some kind of life to it. And so it's just going to stress the supernatural character and nature of these laws and these demands. And so there in verse 16, we're first given what we can call is the notice of the mark, the notice of the mark, the very first mention of this particular mark in this chapter, where in verse 16 we're told that he, again that image of the beast, causeth or is causing all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive this mark in one of two places, in their right hand or in their Now, we will learn more about this mark of the beast in the following verses, but I still think in this verse, and even through the word that is used for mark, we can still learn something about the point of this mark, the very point and purpose of it. The word translated here for mark is actually found seven more times in Revelation, so a total of eight times is this word, used for Mark in Revelation, and it's only used for the Mark of the Beast. So anytime you find that word Mark in Revelation, it's always indicating the Mark of the Beast. The Greek word is karagma, and I listed there on your lesson guide all of the different references where you will find the word for mark that refers always to the mark of the beast. Eight times total in Revelation. Now, in ancient times, this kind of mark, a chirogma, was often a tattoo. A tattoo in the skin of someone who was either a slave, or maybe even a soldier, or even a follower of a particular religion. And of course, they would show their devotion if they were part of this religion, or maybe it was sort of a brand. They did this out west of cattle. They probably still do this out west on cattle. They put their brand on there saying that this cattle belongs to me. Well, they would do that to slaves. They would do that to soldiers. They would even do that to devotees of particular religions. But even though it may have been taken in a forced way, I mean, I don't think that the soldier or the slaves really had much say in the matter, but sometimes it was taken in a voluntary way. Someone who would devote themselves to the worship of a particular false god, they would say, I want this mark to show not just ownership, but allegiance. I am this God's follower, this false God's follower. And so that will be the case for this mark as well. However, this does seem to be another way that the beast will try to counterfeit things that God himself will do for his people. And of course, one of the things that we've already found in Revelation is that God puts a seal on his people, a spiritual seal on his people, and we find this elsewhere in Revelation. If you remember from back in chapter seven, you don't need to turn there, but in chapter seven, which was the interlude for the trumpet judgments. It's basically saying, well, who in the world is going to be able to survive some of the things that will take place in this world? Well, God shows that it will be those who are sealed by the Lord. In chapter seven, verse two, God sends an angel and he is said to have the seal of the living God. And he and others had the responsibility to seal the servants of God in there foreheads. So we see some similarities, but also some real significant differences. In Revelation, the seal that we find is something that identifies and secures those who belong to God. And those are those who already believe in the Lord, or even perhaps those that are going to believe in the Lord. I have the references there that describe the seal of God. in chapter seven, chapter nine, and then also in chapter 14, which we'll get to, Lord willing, next week, we see this seal again on God's people. This is also, I have a reference there from Ezekiel 9. There's an echo here of the seal and mark of the faithful that is found in Ezekiel 9. And I think some of the things that we learn from the seal of God in Ezekiel that we can transfer to the seal of God here in Revelation is that it's a spiritual seal. It's not so much that people who believe in and belong to God will walk around with, you know, a mark on their head, on their forehead, but rather this is an indication that God is sealing them and securing them even to his own, to his own angels. But the mark of the beast will be his attempt to mimic the seal of God. And so we kind of see another counterfeit here going on in Revelation 13. The mark of the beast is going to be a mimic, a counterfeit of the seal of God, though it's completely different. Completely different as to its character, as to its kind, and it's even indicated by the use of a completely different word. Again, we mentioned that there's only one word for mark that deals with the beast, and then there's the word for a seal, which is used for God's people. You don't see them mixed up. One belongs to the beast, the other belongs to God, but one is clearly more authentic than the other. One is clearly the true seal, if you will, but it's one that is spiritual to God's people. And so through this mark, through this demonic mark, if you will, those who are brought to worship the beast will physically show physically show in different ways that they believe in him and belong to him. And so when it comes to the people of the mark, it is clear that it will apply to everyone who does not belong to God. That's what this mark of the beast is all about. Again, it's going to be for who? All, verse 16, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond. And of course, we would add to that those who do not believe in the Lord, right? Because they will not receive the mark of the beast. Now, here we have six descriptions of mankind. Small, great, rich, poor, bond-free, of course, they're in pairs as well. But it refers to the classes and conditions that people possess in this world. Small and great refers to the positions and even powers of men and what they do. So obviously the beasts would be great, right? And pretty much from their perspective, everybody else is going to be small. But there's going to be kings and there's going to be others. So small and great powers of men. Rich and poor refers to the possessions of men and what they have. Free and bond refers to the privilege of men and who they are, whether they're actually, again, slaves or they're free men. There are some other places in the Bible that describe people in this way, and some of the commentators will refer to these. One passage is Psalm 49, 1 and 2. It has a few of these classifications referred to. But whatever they are, whatever condition a person is in, we know from Scripture that ultimately that condition is by the hand of God himself. What makes the difference between someone who is small and great, rich and poor, free and bond? Ultimately, we know that there are things and circumstances in the affairs of mankind that happen, but ultimately, all things come from the direction of the hand of God. And so whether you're small or great, rich or poor, free or bond, there's nothing intrinsically moral about those things or immoral about those things. Those are just circumstances, conditions that God and his providence have brought to mankind for different reasons. And so ultimately, this is who we are. We're either small, great, rich, poor, free, bond, but I wonder, Because it's mentioned here in chapter 13, I wonder if the beast might even try to use these differences that have existed in this world and still exist in this world to bring the world to worship him. I wonder if the beast, and the false prophet, and even this image, will try to promise unity and equality to the world if they just show their allegiance to him as the solution for all of these differences, the solution for all of these distinctions. Because isn't that something that even in society today, people are always trying to Make everybody equal, right? And say, well, it doesn't matter if you work harder and have more money. Well, you ought to be able to pass that on to other people. I mean, just think of what's going on with the election there in New York City, where I think the most prominent mayoral candidate, who calls himself a socialist, but in the way he's speaking, it is quite Marxist and very communist, where he wants a better redistribution of wealth. What does that mean? Take from the rich and give to the poor. Try to make everybody equal, but in doing so, basically you make everybody poor. Because there's no one that's going to be rich or want to stay rich when that happens. And so, again, we're going to see this particular beast probably say, you know what? All of these distinctions that the God that seems to have been in existence and through his providence in this world has brought upon you, if you just come to me and show your allegiance to me, I will make all those distinctions and all those differences disappear. And yet, is that gonna happen? No, because once again, who's on top? We've got the beast of the sea and the beast of the earth, and of course, we also got this image that is speaking for them. And so those who will be deceived by these beasts will ultimately believe them and commit themselves to the beast and they'll receive this mark of the beast. And then of course, in verse 16, we find more about the places where this mark will be. Again, it will either be placed in their right hand or in their left hand. foreheads. And so it almost seems like there's going to be some kind of choice available in order for the world to show their allegiance to the beast. And they would do so in a very personal, but also in a very physical way. Of course, the right hand, all throughout the Bible, and even in modern language, the right hand is considered to be the hand of power and the hand of strength. And don't tell the left-handed people that you know this, right, Pat? Don't tell the left-handed people about this. But for the most of the people in the world, The right hand is the hand of power and strength. And so, to have the mark on your right hand may indicate one's full service to the beast. That is, I'm gonna use all my strength, I'm gonna use all my power, I'm gonna use all that I have, all that I am, in service of the beast. So, put it there, right? They have a choice. So whether a person is free or bond, remember those two distinctions that we saw earlier in this verse? Whether you're free or bond, now you're going to serve the beast. you're going to live to serve the beast. The forehead is the other option. This is often used as a symbol of belonging to someone, or identifying with someone, or devotion to someone. We find it all the way back in the Old Testament. If you remember where God told his people to put the law, put his words, not just in your hearts, but have it on your heads, and of course the priest would literally put phylacteries and things of scripture on their foreheads to show their devotion and identification and their belonging to the Lord. And so that's something that we see throughout Revelation. We see that something is written or placed on the forehead to show that you belong to them, that your mind is focused on them. Some of the verses that you find the forehead as a symbol, back in chapter seven, chapter nine, I think I put these on your lesson guide, but we've looked at some of these before. But I wonder if someone has a choice, hand or forehead. Those who might want it on their forehead is just to show the beast their full submission to him. And so whether this was someone who's great or small, again, they're distinctions, now both, no matter how great you were in this world, you're going to show that you are below the beast and you are submitting to him and his will. And I just have to wonder if the kings, the 10 kings that we learn about here in Revelation and even back in the book of Daniel, I wonder if those kings will have it right there on the forehead. to show their voluntary submission to the authority and the power of the Antichrist, saying, we belong to you. Our minds, our hearts, our lives, our sacred honor, if you will, belong to you. So again, different places for different people. But even though there will be both deception involved here, And I think even some demand involved here. We need to remember when it comes to the mark of the beast, those who receive it will do so ultimately personally and actively. That is, no one will receive the mark of the beast against their will. And no one will get this mark accidentally. Instead, they will deliberately and definitively take the mark. And that is something that we see in Revelation as the point of no return. In fact, we're not far from this. We'll look at this in a couple of weeks. But if you look at chapter 14, verses 9 through 11, what happens to those who have the mark of the beast? Verse 9, the third angel followed them saying with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast and his image and receive his mark on his forehead or in his hand, that's what we have referenced here in chapter 13, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God. which is poured out without mixture into his cup of indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." Clearly this indication that you are believing in and belonging to the beast is something that is done though. You might experience Deception or even demands to do it Ultimately you are responsible for taking it and it is truly the point of no return for those who belong to the beast This is also an indication where God's judgment will be on these people we saw this back in the trumpet judgments and Remember there are some who don't have the mark of God the seal of God in their lives And and so there's a process in time where people will receive this mark, but ultimately they will be judged by the Lord So then after the notice of this mark in verse 16 we see in the next verse verse 17 that we read the necessity of the mark the necessity of the mark of the beast. And this will be part of the pressure campaign, if you will, by the beasts to bring the whole world into compliance with this precept of taking the mark. Verse 17, and that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark. So this shows us that the dominion of the Antichrist and the false prophet will not just be political, It won't just be religious, it will also be economic and commercial as well, and truly in a worldwide fashion. And so for those who do have the mark of the beast, in some ways, or at least for some time, they will experience commercial freedom. Commercial freedom, that is, they'll be able to buy or sell according to their needs, and probably even more than likely according to their wants. When we get to chapter 18, we're going to see the wares of the merchants of Babylon and how basically it's just anybody could get whatever their heart desired. And I think that's kind of the indication here. We'll be able to get whatever we want because we bear the mark of the beast. Now, in ancient Rome, trade guilds or trade unions were a common practice. But the guilds of ancient time were quite different than the unions of today because each ancient trade guild would have their own patron god or goddess. And so if you wanted to participate in the guild, you would have to participate in the worship and devotion of that false god. I mean, if you think about what Paul was, Paul was a tent maker or a leather worker, and they had a leather workers guild. And the leather workers guild would have a patron, not saint, but a patron devil. a patron idol, and they would go to that temple, and they would worship, and they would have feasts, and they would have social events, and all of these things, and so if you really wanted to succeed in your trade, you had to devote yourself to the worship of that false god. In fact, in the time when the New Testament was written, many Christians had to separate themselves from these guilds. because you could not swear to the Lord as your God, and swear to Caesar as Lord, or even as these false gods as your Lord. And so Christians would separate from them, and they suffered. They suffered socially, and they suffered economically. They became outcasts, even in the trades that they were involved in. There might be a reference to this kind of social ostracism back in chapter two, verse nine, when Jesus says to the persecuted church in Smyrna, he says, I know your works and your tribulation and your poverty, but you're rich. And so it might very well be that part of the persecution was because they were not going to be part of these guilds anymore, and they weren't going to be a part of the worship of these false gods anymore, that they became very, very poor economically. And yet Jesus reassures them, you're not poor, you're rich. you're richer than anyone else in this world, because you have me, you have Christ. And so on a much greater scale, it seems like this will be the case again. And this also might be referenced in chapter seven, when we were talking about the great tribulation and how John sees the great multitude that came out of the great tribulation. In chapter seven, verse 16, it says that those who have the seal of God, those who belong to him, they shall hunger no more, Neither thirst anymore. And again, maybe that is gonna be part of it coming up here, right? Because they will not bow to the mark of the beast or the beast himself. They're not gonna be able to buy. They're not gonna be able to sell. They're probably gonna have to do a lot of scrounging to get whatever they can in order to just survive. But it means that for those who do not have the mark of the beast, they will experience commercial hardship. and that may lead them to their imprisonment and even to their death. Again, they shall hunger no more and they shall thirst no more. Commercial hardship, we'll get to that other part, commercial hardship. There is some historical precedent for this too, which you just probably saw. During a period of Jewish persecution, And of course, we know that God's people have been persecuted since the time that they were God's people, right? The most recent one is just over in Israel now, right? The persecution of Israelis and Jews continues. But about 200 years before Jesus, in Egypt, There was a period of great persecution on Jews, and that's recorded in a book that is part of the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha is sort of the writings that Jews wrote between the two Testaments. They're not inspired. They're not part of the Word of God. But some of them are real records of history, of what actually took place during the silent years, the 400 silent years between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Well, in the book of 3 Maccabees, They also divided in chapters and verses, but this is what it says. And I want you to think about the Mark of the Beast when you read this. That actually happened 200 years before Christ. It says in 3rd Maccabees 2, verses 28 and 29, all Jews shall be subjected to a registration, this is in Egypt, involving a poll tax and to the status of slaves. So basically they're saying, whatever you were, You're not that anymore. You're gonna be slaves here in Egypt, just like you were, you know, during the pharaohs of Egypt. He says, those who object to this, you don't like that idea, you're gonna be taken by force and put to death. But those who are registered are also to be branded on their bodies by fire with a mark, the ivy leaf of this false god, Dionysus. So again, a similar thing that history is going to repeat itself. And this may not be the only time or case where something like this has happened, but this is gonna happen again to all of God's people and not just those who would be Jews. But even if something like this happens to the Christians alive during the time of the beast, they will still have the promise of Jesus. You remember what Jesus said in Mark 10, 29 and 30, Jesus says, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the gospels, but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions, but in the world to come, eternal life. And so whether you're God's people in the past, or the present, or yet the future, persecutions may come, persecutions may go. This persecution may be the most extreme that the world has ever seen on God's people, and yet they still can count on eternal life through Jesus Christ their Lord. But then when we come to the rest of verse 17, we learn about what we could say is the nature of this mark, the nature of the mark of the beast. Again, in order to buy or sell, one will need to have this mark. But if you look at verse 17, it also says, or the name of the beast or the number of his name. Now, depending on the underlying Greek manuscripts that translators would use, this may either describe two different ways to identify with the beast or three different ways. Really, the majority of manuscripts, and even the older manuscripts, don't have the first or. So you can even put it this way, that in order to buy or sell, you'll need to have the mark, which is either the name of the beast or the number of his name. So again, there might be two ways to identify with the beast or three ways to identify the beast. I think the majority of manuscripts show that there's probably two, but either way, people will again have a choice. You can either have it on your hand or your forehead, or you can have it these ways. Now, the mark, as we've already looked at, the chirogma, if you will, may just be the common sign or symbol that will be used by the people to identify them as devoted to this beast. And again, we mentioned about the ivy leaf back in the persecution there in Egypt, right? There might be some kind of identifying mark. that the beast is going to want. Maybe it's sort of a picture of that image, if you will. Of course, today, there are simple signs and symbols that are used for all kinds of identification, right? For political identification, I'm not too sure of too many people that have tattooed the Democratic donkey or the Republican Elephant, but maybe there are, I don't know. But, you know, people would identify with these because they have these things. Or, of course, with President Trump, the MAGA. I've seen that tattooed on somebody, all right? So, I'm not sure why, again. But common sign symbols for political, religious identification, and sometimes they even have them tattooed on their body, which means it will last until they die, all right? It's gonna be with them forever. But this mark may just be, not just a sign or a symbol, it may just be the name of the beast, since we see it here in verse 17. Since, again, that first or is not in either the majority or the oldest Greek manuscripts that we have. And again, people today still mark themselves with the names of those who are important to them. I always enjoyed the art of, the name escaped me. Angie, help me out. Who's the artist I like? Norman Rockwell, right? He's kind of funny with the characters that he does. And probably the funniest one that I like is that he's got this old picture of this Navy guy, rough neck Navy guy, sitting in a tattoo parlor. And he has I heart, you know, like they do. And he has a lady's name. and then that one's crossed out, and then another lady's name, and that one's crossed out, and then another lady's name, and now he's having another lady's name put on there. It's important that these people are going to be important to you for your whole life. Otherwise, it's not worth getting it tattooed. Right. So but that's that's kind of the case here. This may be what goes on. So many of the followers of the beast will just want to show their commitment and allegiance to the beast by having his actual name tattooed on our bodies. I love The Beast, whatever his name is, the Antichrist, that's pretty scary to think about, but they will be like a sports enthusiast or a political enthusiast. Think about what people will do to their bodies in the name of sports. It was always kind of a crazy thing in Broncoland, Denver area. But they always had this guy in the dead of winter, in the middle of a football game, and all he had on was a barrel. You've probably seen that guy maybe on TV from time to time. That's it. And so, again, people are crazy. They'll put paint on their bodies. They'll do all sorts of things to show their enthusiasm. Well, that's going to be the case here. Some will want to show their commitment and allegiance to the beast, and they may not want to have it on their hand that they can hide, but they're going to want to put it right there on the forehead. Everybody knows who they belong to and who they believe and who they live for. But it does seem like there is another option that will still be recognized as the mark of the beast. And that is put here as the number of his name. The number of his name. Now, in ancient times, it was not an uncommon practice to associate numbers with names in sort of a code-like fashion. So it really would become a puzzle in which a person's name is concealed by a number. There's actually a well-known inscription that was preserved in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. And of course, if you know anything about Pompeii, that's the city that was directly under Mount Vesuvius. And in AD 79, when the eruption took place, it was just saturated with dust and debris and ash to the point where it preserved the entire city of Pompeii. And they've actually done excavations, and they've actually uncovered places of cavities, if you will, where they're kind of empty spots in the ash. And they were like, what was here? And so they would fill it with plaster and they realized that these were empty spaces that had been filled with people's bodies. And that's why you can actually see how people were reacting and responding in real time to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. So there's a lot of things that have been preserved in Pompeii from 2,000 years ago. Well, there's an inscription. And I look to see if you can actually see this inscription somewhere. I don't think you can. Just over time, things have kind of deteriorated. But this is a well-known inscription that has been attested to for, well now, 2,000 years. The inscription states this. I love her. It's kind of like the I heart on the arm, right? I love her. whose name is, instead of giving the name, he gives her number. I love her whose name is 545. So obviously the guy was kind of a, probably a love struck school boy and perhaps maybe a little shy and didn't want everybody to know what her name was, but he still put it on there. And actually it's three Greek letters and Yet he disguised the girl's name in an intentional way. And it's actually based on something known as the ancient practice of gematria. And I don't know if I'm pronouncing that right. Gematria. Could be gematria, I guess. But I'm going to say gematria. It can be done in languages where numbers are associated with the letters of alphabets. We don't do that in our language. I mean, we know what a 1 looks like, and a 2 looks like, and a 3 looks like. But in the languages of Hebrew, and Greek, and even Latin, the letters stood for numbers. So, for example, in Hebrew, Aleph, right? That's where we get the alphabet, the alephbet. So, you have the alpha. The very first letter stood for 1. In Greek, alpha stood for one. In Latin, the A stood for one, and so forth. So you had A1, B2, C3, D4, and you'd go on up. You'd get up to 10. There were certain letters that stood for the tens or the hundreds, and even up to 1,000 and even more. And so you could write out a number by using letters that added up to that number. Now, that would be hard to do math, I would think. But that's how they used it. Now, if you've ever seen Roman numerals, you kind of get the idea. It's not the same thing, but it does kind of give us a sense of how it was done. And so I even remember in school, they were teaching us how to do addition and subtraction and things like that with Roman numerals. It didn't stick, but it was done. But that gives you an idea of what Roman numerals were for. And so really to get the number of a person's name, you'd add up the numerical values that were associated with all the letters of that name. So my name, Steven, right? S-T-E-P-H-E-N. Each letter would have a value. You'd add those up, and then you would put that value in its numerical form, also in letters. So it might just be three different letters. Did you know that you could do this with just about any name in Hebrew, Greek, Latin type of thing? You can actually do this with the name of Jesus, as some have done. Here is the name of Jesus in Greek. which is what the New Testament was translated into. The Greek name for Jesus is Iesus. Now, in English, Jesus is one, two, three, four, five letters, all right? In Greek, it is six letters. Each letter corresponds to a value, to a number, and you can see it here. The Greek letter iota, which is the first letter in Jesus' name, is 10. Is 10, there you go. The second letter of Jesus' name, Ada, is 8. And you can go on down the list. So Sigma is 200, Omicron, 70, Upsilon, 400, and then the final Sigma is 200. All right? So you add them all up together, and what do you get? Math in public, right? Not doing it in public. I already did it. There you go. It is 888. The Greek letters would be Omega, pi, eta. So you add them up, Jesus's number, the number of Jesus's name is 888. And some have noticed that the number eight is significant in the life of Jesus. Now, just because you can do this with any name and any word in the Bible doesn't mean that there's some kind of secret code. because the only name that has a number in the Bible is, not the name of Jesus, is actually the name of this beast. And so that's something to keep in mind. We're not looking for secret codes or anything like that. This is the only place in the Bible where you find it, and it's only about the beast. But there is some historical precedent there, so that we can notice that. Now, even though the mark mentioned in these verses could just be the number of the beast's name, It could also be a second or a third option to identify with the beast. So again, someone might say, well, I just want the mark, I want the name emblazoned on me, or I want the number. And maybe they're more mystical, all right? Maybe they're more religious. Maybe they're more the devotees of the false prophet, or maybe even the priests of the false prophet. We don't know. But there's different options in different places. But no matter what, it is the number of the mark that is the focus of the next verse, the last verse of this chapter. Because then we're told, and this is sort of this voice that we've already heard in chapter 13. It could very well be the voice of the Lord saying, Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. 666. So in this verse, we're first given what we can say is the summons about this mark. Again, with the phrase, here is wisdom. Now, that particular phrase is similar to what we found already in this chapter back in verse 10, where, again, the voice says, here is the patience and faith of the saints. So the question is, what does this mean? What does here is wisdom mean? If you look back at verse 10, the word here seems to point to the circumstances. that are described in the text that God's people will go through that will require real patience and faith. Basically, the trials of faith, right? This is what you're gonna go through, and this is why you need patience and faith. And so, unlike some, here in verse 18, I also think that here is wisdom points to the text itself. That is, God is about to give his wisdom about the beast. That is, he's gonna tell us something about his name. And he's gonna tell us something about his name through the number of his name. And so that's the wisdom of God. God knows that. We don't. And so he's about to tell us this. Now, some suggest that this phrase, here is wisdom, really means this demands wisdom. Or it's also translated in some translations, this calls for wisdom. But I think that's a little redundant with the next phrase, he who has understanding, right? So obviously we know that someone's going to need wisdom to be able to do this reckoning, this calculation of the number and the name of the beast. But I don't see it as being redundant. I think that God is actually about to tell us something that we would otherwise not know, because he has all wisdom. And what does God want us to know? According to his own wisdom, here's wisdom, He's going to reveal to us the number of this beast, which is the number of his name. And so, again, the common series of numbers that we're familiar with is 666. In the Greek, it is chi, xi, and stigma, which is actually a rare letter. It isn't really used in Greek in the New Testament, but it is here. And so in the Greek text, it actually has those three letters. It actually has chi, Xi and stigma. And the Xi, some have noticed, it kind of looks like a serpent, doesn't it? Kind of like a little squiggly mark, if you will. Some have noticed that. I don't think that has anything to do with it, but some have noticed that. So what basically this seems to mean is, in some way, the actual name of the beast can be added up to the number of 666 using that practice of gematria that we mentioned before. And of course, when you put something like this in the Bible, it's gonna lead all kinds of people to try to figure out this name, and they've done so throughout history and in all kinds of different ways. And actually, you can go all the way back to the days of one of the early church fathers, Irenaeus. who lived from 125 to 202. So if we believe that the book of Revelation was written in 96 AD, Arrhenius was alive maybe just a generation or two after Revelation was written. And he started making suggestions as to what name could actually have this number. So it shows us that even by the time of Irenaeus, the church didn't know what was being described to John here. They didn't know the name of the beast who would have this number. And yet, still, some believe that the original audience would have known what John was talking about, or even who John was talking about. So if they did know that, I wonder how, in just 50 years or so, Irenaeus wouldn't have known, especially something that is so significant. But they would still consider this name to have referred to some contemporary figure that would also serve as a symbol of the Antichrist himself. Now, there's really two main prominent suggestions, though others have looked up for other names to associate with the beast. Of course, one of the big ones was Hitler, right? And many have noticed that his name, and I forget how they would add it up, also could be added up with this way. Perhaps the most prominent suggestion is that the number refers to the name Nero Caesar. But they would say it is in the Hebrew language. And so what they would do is they would take Nero Caesar and they would transliterate it into Hebrew and then the letters in Hebrew they would add up and it matches 666. And again, that's probably one of the most prominent suggestions of the name of this Antichrist, the name of this beast in church history. And so as one writer says, the Antichrist basically would be a Nero-like figure. And so they're not saying that he is the Antichrist, but the Antichrist will be someone like Caesar Nero of the past. Another suggestion, and this one is actually by Irenaeus himself. He thinks that the number refers to Rome as a whole. since the word Latinos in Greek matches the number. And really, you hear Latin, right, in Latinos. Latin is Roman. Latinos in Greek really means a Roman man. a Roman, a Roman man. And there's, again, some very prominent theologians and commentators that would look at this way. I think Albert Barnes says, it has to be Latinos, okay? So basically they're saying that this beast is going to be a Roman man, okay? And someone from that setting, from that lineage, if you will. Whether these suggestions are right or wrong, it's clear that we just don't know. Not until it actually happens. Maybe this was something known in the past, or maybe it's just going to be something known in the future. It's hard to say for sure. I personally think that it refers to a name that will yet be known in the future, and to identify the beast of the future, but only by those, again, if you look back at verse 18, but only by those who have been given understanding by the Lord at the time they meet him. The reason why we don't know this for sure is, first of all, because he's not around yet. And if he was around, then God himself would give the wisdom and the understanding and the knowledge that God's people would need to know in order to identify him, know the number of his name, to not be deceived by him. And again, this phrase, understanding, seems to point back to Daniel chapter 12, where it said that the wise will understand. And back there, it actually refers to knowledge of the end times that God will give to his people. So the wise will understand when God gives them that understanding. And so it may be that God will give a special understanding to believers during the time of this beast that they will be able to use to identify him and not be deceived by him. And they're actually urged to do so. They're saying, count the number of the beast. And I think it's similar to what we're told to do in 1 John 4. Try the spirits to see whether they're of men or of God. And so in the same way, try this man. Look at his name. Is it this number? But then we're last told about the significance of this number, and we're told that it is the number of a man. This can also be just said the number of man. This seems to mean that no matter what the beast and his allies are able to do, God's people need to remember he's still a man. He may be possessed by the devil himself, but he's still just a man. Now, some take this phrase to show that the number of the beast's name is just a symbol for his fallen human nature. As Grant Osborne puts it, the number would just be the ultimate number for humanity and rebellion against God. And basically they would say it was never meant to identify an actual person. I don't see it that way, but some do see it that way. But either way, again, as Grant Osborne puts it, this is seen as a critical point of the passage this number of his name. And John is calling on his readers to exercise extreme care and divinely guided wisdom in interpreting this number. And that should be the case for us and really for the whole church. We're not to use speculation, but instead seek for divine understanding at the time when we will need it most. And with that, we end our look at both of these beasts and the image of the beast in Revelation 13.