Revelation 13 | The Antichrist & 666

We unpack Revelation 13 with care, tracing how power, worship, and deception move from conditioning to coercion while calling believers to endurance and discernment. We weigh the beast as person or empire, examine the false prophet, and clarify the meaning behind 666 and the mark.

• composite beast echoing Daniel and claims of total authority
• debate over person versus empire and why both patterns matter
• mortal wound as parody of resurrection and the pull of spectacle
• God’s sovereignty over the beast’s limited time and scope
• war on the saints as proof of faith, not failure of faith
• second beast as false prophet compelling worship
• conditioning before coercion across history and culture
• signs, a speaking image, and misdirected awe
• the mark as economic control and public allegiance
• 666 as counterfeit trinity and human power exalted
• 888 as hope in Christ’s resurrection and new beginning

“Lift your eyes, change your mindset from fear to faith… focus on the One who will endure long after all other empires have fallen.”

Intro music - Toby Mac

Outro music - Blonde Maze & imallryt

Chapters

• 0:10 Setting The Stakes In Revelation 13
• 2:28 The Sea, Chaos, And Daniel’s Beasts
• 6:50 Seven Heads, Ten Horns, And Authority
• 9:14 Beast: Empire Or Antichrist
• 13:19 The Mortal Wound And Global Amazement
• 19:15 Forty‑Two Months And God’s Permission
• 24:15 War On The Saints And Universal Reach
• 27:58 Endurance, Captivity, And Faith
• 30:10 The Second Beast: Enter The False Prophet
• 35:06 Conditioning Before Coercion
• 40:36 Signs, Fire From Heaven, And The Image
• 46:54 Breath To The Image And Compelled Worship
• 49:06 The Mark, Buying And Selling, And Allegiance
• 56:08 666, Gematria, And Counterfeit Trinity
• 1:07:17 Wisdom, Discernment, And Fixing On 888

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:10

Well as always, thank you for listening in on this Bible study podcast. We're in Revelation 13, and man, do we have a lot to cover in this chapter. Now, before we begin this chapter, just a couple of thoughts. We've seen throughout the book of Revelation so far differing interpretations on several different points. And the last couple of chapters, they've been difficult in the sense of balancing those differing interpretations and viewpoints. Well, this chapter will be fairly similar in that there are different perspectives that scholars and commentators take for this very well-known chapter. Now, even for people who don't know much at all about the Bible, they're familiar with some of the verses of this chapter, especially when we get into our discussion of the Antichrist, the mark of the beast in 666. And although there are other interpretations and perspectives, I'm going to focus on two primary views as we make our way through the chapter. Now, if you've listened to some of my Bible studies, you should already know that I don't usually push my personal views onto you. Rather, I simply try to help you understand what the text is saying and introduce you to some different perspectives and then help explain why people hold to the different interpretations that they do. But I'll go ahead and warn you here, hang on, because we're going to be swimming into some deep waters in this chapter. Now in the last chapter, we saw that Satan had been kicked out of heaven. He knows that he's ultimately been defeated by Christ. And so he's down but not out. And he goes off to make war with the other offspring of the woman, which are believers. And what we're going to see in this chapter is some of the ways that he will wage war against those believers. And we left off in the last chapter with Satan standing on the seashore. And so with those few introductory words out of the way, let's jump into this fascinating chapter 13 with the first two verses where John tells us, and I saw a beast rising out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And so we notice that the scene is now shifted. Satan has moved from persecuting the woman, chasing her into the wilderness, trying to persecute the child, to now standing on the seashore. Now, real quickly, even here we have the setting of the scene, because the sea represents a place of chaos and evil. And especially to the ancient person, the sea was looked at as being unpredictable. It was destructive and frightening and chaotic. And something that's interesting, it's a little bit down the road, but when we get to the new creation in Revelation chapter 21, there is no sea. Revelation 21 1 tells us that I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. Interesting. Because if the sea here is viewed as being symbolic of chaos and evil, in the new creation we see that all chaos and evil has been removed. And I also think it's interesting that when God delivered Israel from Egypt at the Exodus, what did he divide? Or what did he move out of their way in order to bring them out of evil and into safety? But here the dragon stands on the shore, looking out to the sea, ready to call up a beast who will carry out his plan. Now I touched on this briefly in the previous chapter, but let's look again at the description of the dragon. John tells us the dragon has seven heads and ten horns, with seven diadems on his heads. And this imagery, it should immediately remind us of the prophet Daniel. In Daniel chapter seven, Daniel sees four beasts rising from the sea, each representing a powerful world empire. The dragon's description here echoes that vision, but with an important twist that we'll get to here in a moment. Now throughout this series in Revelation, I've mentioned several times that the number seven in Scripture often symbolizes completeness or perfection. And so these seven heads, crowned with seven diadems, point to the dragon's claim to complete authority, total dominion and power. And also mentioned in the last chapter, when John describes the dragon's crowns, he uses the Greek word diadama. A diadem is a royal crown, the kind worn by kings and emperors, and it represents sovereignty, this political rule and dominion. And this dragon wears the diadem, the crown of the one who rules by force. And the ten horns, as we've seen before, represent strength and ruling authority and this military or political power. And so together, this tells us Satan claims complete and unrivaled control. Now for the sake of completeness, I want to touch on another common interpretation of the seven heads and ten horns, one that sees them as more than just symbols of total authority. But some scholars believe that the seven heads represent seven great world empires throughout history that have opposed God and persecuted his people. And in this view, the heads trace a sort of a timeline of these dominant world powers beginning with Egypt, and then Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and then finally a revived empire in the end times that will be led by the Antichrist, the beasts that we'll meet in this chapter. And so the Ten Horns then would represent a final ten kingdom alliance that Satan consolidates in the last day as his ultimate attempt to destroy God's people. Now one final key difference between Daniel's vision and John's here is that Daniel saw four separate beasts, each distinct, a lion with eagle's wings, a bear, a leopard, and a terrifying tin horned beast. But here in Revelation, John sees one single creature, a beast that combines features of all four of Daniel's beasts. It's sort of a composite monster, showing that this final expression of evil draws together the worst characteristics of every oppressive empire that has ever stood against God. But one other note from verse 1 here where we're told seven heads with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. Now the word used for blasphemous here in the Greek is blasphemia, which means to speak evil of or to slander against, sort of to vilify someone, particularly against God. But the way it's used here also indicates that the beast pretends to be divine. He exalts himself above all others while blaspheming and insulting God. He elevates himself to a godlike status and openly blasphemes the true God. In Daniel, the little horn that was described there spoke with this arrogant confidence, and he spoke against the most high, and the beast here does the same. But let me back up just a bit and mention something important as we move forward in this chapter. In the prophet Daniel's vision in Daniel chapter seven, he saw four beasts from the sea, the first like a lion, second like a leopard, and then the bear, and then the fourth was a terrifying and dreadful beast. In Daniel seven fourteen, we're told that those beasts were identified as four kings and kingdoms. Daniel is told that these four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. And so when we read of John seeing almost the same vision, should we also interpret that to mean that these are also kings and kingdoms? And what's interesting is that the first three beasts are combined by John here in Revelation because it brings together all of the features of the first three beasts from Daniel. The last beast in Daniel, it's especially horrific because it has the characteristics of all three of the prior beast. In other words, it embodies all of them. The fourth beast devours and it crushes and it tramples those who resist it. And as we see here in verse 2, the dragon, which we've already identified as Satan in the last chapter, he gives his power, his throne, and his great authority to the beast. In other words, the rule of the world that belongs to Satan, the dragon, has been placed into the hands of the beast. And so just like we're told in Daniel 7 6, dominion was given to the fourth beast. And so having said all of that, the question becomes, should we interpret this beast as a person or an empire? And no surprise, there are differing views about that. Now just to make sure that we're clear here, the dragon has already been identified as Satan. We're not talking about the dragon. We're talking about the beast which rises up out of the sea and which Satan will empower to carry out his plan. And so there are two primary thoughts here. Some view the beast as an empire, while others interpret the beast as a person, namely the Antichrist. Now for those who argue that the beast is an empire, many believe the beast symbolizes the Roman Empire in the first century, with emperors like Nero or Domitian who demanded worship and severely persecuted Christians. And it is interesting that the beast John describes has seven heads, and Rome is famously known as the city of seven hills. But those who believe that the beast is an empire believe that the beast unfolds across church history as these successive and oppressive powers, often identifying the papacy or some sort of corrupt religious institution as the Antichrist system. And they believe that the seven heads represent seven empires that we've already mentioned. Again, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and then finally a revived empire in the end times, with the ten horns representing a future division, perhaps a ten nation alliance that comprises the old Roman Empire. Now just a thought on this perspective, but even if this view is correct, and the beast represents an empire or some state run government institution, it still requires a leader. It still requires a king or an emperor. Now on the other side, there are many people who believe that the beast represents an actual person, a future antichrist, a charismatic world leader heading a global empire or some sort of a coalition, and he will persecute believers during a seven-year tribulation period. And this view sees the beast, the Antichrist, as Satan's ultimate puppet. Now I want to take just a moment to go ahead and speak to something that may be on your mind, which is the identity of the Antichrist. If the Antichrist is a person, what do we know about him? And who is it? Well, that's been a source of controversy for the last 2,000 years now. And sort of to give you a flavor of that so that you know that it's not just anything recent. In the seventh century, it was popular to identify Muhammad or Muslims as the Antichrist. And around 1000 AD, there was a thought that the Antichrist would come from within the church, maybe a false pope. And so I'm telling you this, just so you understand, this isn't anything new. This isn't just a recent topic of our day. When the Black Death devastated Europe, killing about a third of the population, there was a lot of speculation about the arrival of the Antichrist. Martin Luther and other Protestants claimed that the Pope or the Papacy was the Antichrist. But of course, the Catholics struck back and accused Martin Luther of being the Antichrist. And it really sounds a lot like our modern political climate, doesn't it? And it just goes to show you that people don't change. Only the times do. But let's not stop there. Isaac Newton identified the Roman Catholic Church as the Antichrist. Some of the American colonists viewed the government of England as the Antichrist. Some people thought he would be a political leader. Others thought he would be a religious leader. When Napoleon came to power, some saw him as the Antichrist. But the bottom line is that this chapter in Revelation, it's led to wide speculation as to the identity of the Antichrist, and many names have been suggested throughout history. People like Hitler, Saddam Hussein, John Kennedy, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul II, Barack Obama, and I'm sure there's those who think that President Trump is the Antichrist. Back in his day, some people pointed out the fact that each of the names of President Ronald Wilson Reagan had six letters. And so he fit with the 666. And now you have some of these contemporary theories where people point to people like Vladimir Putin or tech leaders like Bill Gates or maybe even the deep state, you know, with some of the vaccines that are being seen as the mark, or even AI and other modern systems as being precursors. Other people, especially those in the evangelical community, believe that we'll be able to identify the Antichrist because he will rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. But the lesson here is that the history of trying to identify the Antichrist has been filled with both speculation and bias, and it's often driven by the crisis of the moment rather than a clear prophecy. And so we should be reminded to approach these topics with humility and discernment. But let's continue now reading about the beast in verses three and four, where we're told, and to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast, and they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it? And so we see that the dragon, Satan, has empowered the beast, given the beast his throne and great authority. In other words, Satan has delegated his authority to the beast to carry out his plan on the earth. Now verse three, it's one of those controversial verses, and how you interpret the beast will also determine how you interpret this verse. If you believe that the beast is a world empire or some sort of a government, then you're going to read this verse one way, but if you believe the beast to be a person, the Antichrist, you'll interpret it differently. And here's what I mean. We're told that one of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. So one of the seven heads of the beast was slain, but the wound healed, and the head returned to life. Now for those who believe this beast is an empire or a government, they're going to take this to mean that it looked like the empire, or at least a part of the state, had been defeated. It suffered a fatal wound, but it comes back to life and everyone marvels and follows after it. And I mentioned earlier that many people believe that the beast with its seven heads represents seven world empires that have ruled the earth. The sixth was the Roman Empire. The seventh and final one will be a revived Roman Empire of sorts, one comprising ten nations and headed by the Antichrist. And they believe that that's what the ten horns represent. In other words, you have a united Europe, which is why so much attention at times is given to the European economic human, the euro dollar, and that sort of thing. Or some people even give the United Nations a hard look. But what about those who view the beast as a person, the Antichrist? They believe the Antichrist will appear to have died from a fatal wound, but that Satan will raise him from the dead. And when people see this, they will marvel and follow after the Antichrist. In other words, what you would see would be a person killed, perhaps assassinated, but then brought back to life, resurrected by Satan. And the whole thing is a parody of Jesus' death and resurrection. And so the challenge will be, and the question people will ask is, well, what did Jesus do that the Antichrist can't? But some people will argue that Satan doesn't have the power of life and death, only God does. Which is why many believe that it's actually a fake resurrection, a counterfeit of the real thing. Meaning the fatal wound was only made to appear to be fatal, and that the Antichrist never really died. Now scholars debate that, and they point to the Greek construction of the verses there in the text, and argue that it's telling us that the beast really does die, which means then that the resurrection has to be a fake. It's a lie, an imitation, sort of a pseudo resurrection. But how in the world would you pull that off and really make it believable? I'll discuss that a bit more here in a few verses. But Second Thessalonians chapter two tells us the coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. And so some people think that this strong delusion that's mentioned, and the lie they will believe, is the fake resurrection of the Antichrist. And as a result, they won't turn and believe in Christ, but will follow after the beast and therefore be condemned. In Matthew sixteen, Jesus said, When it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red, and in the morning it will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening. You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. And that's why it's important to pay attention to what Christ told us would happen in the last days, so that we can be aware, so that we can see the signs. But we continue with verses five and six, which read And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. So the beast is allowed to blaspheme God and to speak arrogantly, and he will do so for forty-two months. And as we've seen in previous chapters, there's that forty-two month time period creeping up again. And I don't have time in this chapter to rehash that whole conversation, so if you missed it, go back over the previous two chapters where we discussed it in more detail. But suffice it to say that it doesn't necessarily mean forty-two months as in three and a half years. Now some people do believe that it means just that, three and a half years. And like I mentioned before, others believe it's symbolic of a much longer time. But either way, notice the phrase it was given. The way that phrase is constructed, it designates that which is given by God. God has permitted it, he has allowed it. Satan actively gives authority to the beast, but God does so passively, or by simply allowing it. So God is ultimately in control here, and he has allowed this temporary state of affairs. And the beast is speaking haughty in these blasphemous words. He's going to put himself above all else and defame and slander and dishonor God. And there are those who believe the beast, the Antichrist, will be perhaps the best and most charismatic speaker who has ever lived. I mean he'll be like a Cicero and a Martin Luther King Jr. and a JFK and a Hitler all rolled into one. And if you think about it, it sort of makes sense. I mean, if he wasn't, then most of the world would not follow him. He won't be like our politicians of the day from either side of the aisle. He's not going to be like anyone the world has ever seen before. Most of the world wants peace and leadership and stability, and the Antichrist will promise those things. But remember, it's an illusion. Satan does not reveal his true nature. I mean, if he did, again, most of the world would not follow him. But just like we're told in 2 Corinthians 11, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. And that's why Jesus warned us in Matthew 7, beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. But in verse 6 we read that the beast opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming against. His name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. And so we see that not only does the beast blaspheme against God, but also his tabernacle. The beast's mouth spews arrogant, irreverent attacks, not just against God Himself, but His name, His character and His reputation, and His tabernacle, His heavenly realm, as well as those who dwell in heaven. And the reason the beast hates God's people is that they belong to God. The beast wants absolute devotion and worship, and so he hates those who are devoted to God. But let's continue with verses seven and eight, which tell us also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them, and authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all who dwell on earth will worship it. Everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the lamb who was slain. And so we see that God grants the beast permission to persecute believers, and granting him authority over all the people. And it sounds surprising that the beast was given permission by God to persecute believers, to make war on them, and to kill some of them. Because the beast not only makes war with believers, but he also conquers them. And just to be clear here, this doesn't mean that the beast conquers believers and so they give their allegiance to the beast. It means that the beast was able to overcome believers and put them to death. And we've seen in earlier chapters, some believers are losing their lives here because of their unwillingness to compromise and worship the beast. Notice also that this isn't happening in some remote or isolated location. We're told that the beast has authority over every tribe and every people and language and nation. And this is the same verbiage that's used to describe the scope of those redeemed by the Lamb, Jesus Christ. And so what we see here is both the reign of Christ and the temporary reign of the beast are universal. In verse eight we read that, and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb. And remember that we discussed earlier that the phrase those who dwell on the earth or the earth dwellers, it's a Greek technical term for unbelievers. And we see here again that the earth dwellers are defined as everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb. And so what we're seeing is that while the beast is persecuting believers and exercising his control over the world, unbelievers will worship the beast. And although the beast or the Antichrist rule is temporary, God has allowed it. The beast gets its immediate power from Satan, but ultimately God is the one who's allowed it. Allowed the world to stand in this sort of one world empire, an evil empire ruled by Satan and administered by the Antichrist, an empire that will test believers. But let's press on here with verses nine and ten which read If anyone has an ear, let him hear. If anyone is to be taken captive to captivity he goes. If anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. So John says If anyone has an ear, let him hear. And if you remember, we saw a very similar phrase in chapters two and three, where Jesus said, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So this is meant for all people at all times. The only problem is that many people listen, but they don't hear. Just like many people see, but they are still blind. And I know we've mentioned several times about the number seven symbolizing completeness and perfection, but guess how many times Jesus used that phrase? Seven. And we're hearing the same thing here. If anyone has an ear, let him hear. And so this call to listen up, to pay attention, it's renewed here in chapter thirteen. Believers need to hear and understand what's being communicated. The beast is going to exercise his authority and control over the world. He's going to have power over believers, and many believers will be put to death, and the world will side with the beast. Not all believers will be put to death, but many will. Many will die for their faith, but we must all be ready to pay that price, to give our lives if we are called upon to do so. And so we're called upon and exhorted to know what's coming, to be ready for any circumstance, to be prepared for persecution, imprisonment, and even death. In Mark 8 34, Jesus said, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Jesus is conveying the idea that following him, it involves sacrifice and hardship, and taking up one's cross. That was a vivid image of execution and suffering in the Roman world. And so it's far from some sort of an easy path. And so we're being told here to be ready so that we're not deceived, so that we don't fall prey to the beast and his authority, so that we don't yield our lives to another. We must be ready to face the beast and what is coming. In verse 10, John says, if anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes, and if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. And so John is talking about the possibility of imprisonment and even death. And I know it can sound a little fatalistic that those who will be in prison go be in prison, and those who are to be killed, go be killed. And we see a similar thought in the book of Jeremiah, where he speaks about those who are destined for death. In Jeremiah 15 2 he says, Those who are for pestilence to pestilence, and those who are for the sword to the sword, those who are for famine to famine, and those who are for captivity to captivity. But in the context Jeremiah was speaking, he was speaking to those in Israel who were going to suffer God's judgment for abandoning God. Here we see the exact opposite, where those who will suffer will suffer because of their devotion to God. And so here, their suffering proves their allegiance to God. You know, we often hear these days that phrase, you're going to be on the wrong side of history, or I'm going to be on the right side of history. And I have my own thoughts on that motto and mantra and how it's just an often repeated political tool from both sides. But when all of this goes down, the earth dwellers, the unbelievers, will certainly see the persecution of believers and think that because they are experiencing prison and death, that they must be on the wrong side of history. But the reality is that their suffering proves their loyalty. It demonstrates their faith. In other words, they're experiencing intense persecution, not because they're evil, but because they're believers who do not yield to and worship the beast. And so, even though it may sound a bit fatalistic, we need to remember that it's happening because it's been ordained by God, and we are called to endurance, to faithfulness, even though it'll be very tempting to just give in, to join the other side, to join the earth dwellers, because we would certainly avoid a lot of suffering, a lot of pain, and we would enjoy the economic benefits. But it's way too high of a price to pay, because joining the other side, pledging allegiance to the beast, will forfeit your place in the Lamb's book of life. But let's continue now with verses eleven and twelve where we read, Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and 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. So as if the dragon and the first beast aren't enough, we now see a second beast and notice, this beast rises out of the earth. The first beast rose out of the sea. And remember that the sea represented this chaos and evil, and it was unpredictable. But rising out of the earth has more of a familiar tone. It represents something local, something predictable and stable. It's not chaotic like the sea. And so many people view this as this second beast arising from within human society and culture and institutions. And so for that reason, there's the thought that this second beast may arise from within an established and well-known institution or ideology or even religion. The first beast, it was associated with more of a political power or an empire, exercising its authority that way. But the second beast, it's associated more with a religious tone. And as sort of a spoiler alert here, when we get to chapter 16, we're going to read that this second beast is identified in the Greek as pseudoprophetes, the false prophet. And so what we end up having here with the dragon, the first beast, and the second beast is the formation of an unholy trinity. This unholy trinity mimics the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And this second beast, it plays the role of testifying to the greatness of the first beast. This second beast uses his influence and power to carry out and enforce the authority of the first beast. And so this false prophet, it wields the first beast full authority, but acts as its sort of its promoter, compelling global worship of the first beast. Notice also that this second beast doesn't just ask, it doesn't just use persuasion. He compels. He makes people worship the first beast. Verse 13 says, it exercises all the authority of the first beast and makes the earth and its inhabitant worship the first beast. And that word translated here as makes as the Greek word poyeo, which means to make or to compel. And so it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast. It emphasizes coercion or enforcement. In other words, the false prophet actively brings about or compels global worship. But a very important point here is this. Notice the false prophet here makes the earth dwellers worship the first beast. This doesn't result in universal worship of the beast. It's restricted to those people who were not believers, those people whose life is centered and focused on this world, the earth dwellers. Now there are probably those who give allegiance to the beast, and they may be doing so in order to just get along and survive in this new political and economic world. But there are others who are probably drawn to the false resurrection and to the apparent power of the beast. And so these two verses reveal a deceptive religious power that looks like Christ, but speaks with Satan's voice, and exist to redirect worship away from God and towards a false Savior. So now that we have an idea of what the purpose of the second beast is, let me discuss for a moment who or what this second beast is. And there are a couple of primary views on this one as well, but basically we seem to have two choices. The second beast is either a particular individual or some sort of a religious institution or system. So some people believe that the second beast is a literal individual who will arise during the final tribulation period. He will be a religious sort of a miracle worker, a public spokesperson for the Antichrist, and he'll perform signs to deceive the world, and he will enforce worship and allegiance to the Antichrist. The other primary view is that this second beast, this false prophet, represents a religious or some sort of an ideological authority that supports and legitimizes the Antichrist. And it appears Christlike, like a lamb, but speaks Satan's message, like a dragon, and it directs worship toward the first beast. It could even represent organized religion that's been corrupted by political power. Now, one thought that is growing within some circles is the thought that this second beast represents information control and propaganda and an enforcement of some narrative. In other words, it shapes beliefs, it defines truth and morality, and it enforces loyalty. And some of the examples would be like our media system, like the news outlets, educational ideology, some of these cultural narratives that demand allegiance. And that one's certainly not hard to imagine. All you have to do is look around. You can see that happening every day. Now none of us know exactly when all this is going to take place, but if you pay attention, just look around, you can see the chest pieces being positioned. You can see the groundwork being laid. It's like the storm isn't here yet, but you can feel the wind picking up. And so some of the modern thinking is, and I want you to pay close attention to this because it's important. Before anyone is forced to worship, they must first be taught what is normal, what is moral, what's necessary. Because conditioning always precedes coercion. People are taught what to believe before they are forced to comply. Historically and biblically, coercion never works long term without some prior normalization. So let me give you a couple of examples from history about what I'm talking about here. One example is ancient imperial Rome and emperor worship. It began with this conditioning phase. Emperor worship was first framed as being patriotic. It was a civic duty. And you had the temples and the coins and the festivals and the slogans that normalized the idea that Caesar was more than just a ruler. He was a savior and lord. And participation was portrayed as reasonable. It was harmless. And so most people complied voluntarily long before penalties existed. But then came the coercion phase. Once the worship of emperors was normalized in the culture, then refusal became suspicious. Christians were labeled as being disloyal and dangerous. Then came the economic penalties, followed by execution. But the key takeaway and the point I'm making here is that Rome didn't start with the persecution. It started with normalization. Let me give you just one more example. Nazi Germany. There was a conditioning phase with years of propaganda. You had this reframing of moral language and repetition of the mantras like it's necessary for the good of the nation. And just as Christians before in Rome, Jews were then portrayed as disruptive and dangerous. They were subhuman and they were parasitic. And by the time laws were actually enacted, many of the citizens already believed the narrative, which then led to the coercion phase, where we saw legal enforcement. It was enforced by economic restrictions and forced relocations and eventually extermination. And so again, the public had already been trained what to think before the state told them what to do. And so it's easy to see a trend where all of these new ideologies begin to perform the social role that religion once did. They now define good and evil. They create sacred values. They identify and label heresy. They demand public confession and celebration. And then they punish dissent. And all of this makes an eventual religious figure plausible and welcomed. It's not shocking. Because when these belief systems already function in sort of this pseudo-religious way, a religious leader feels natural. And I think this brings home an important lesson to remember that the false prophet will not arrive to an unprepared world. And the enforcement of all this, it may be easier than you might think. Because by the time worship is mandated, the sinners are already labeled as dangerous. And so compliance with it feels like a virtue. People will feel like they are socially doing the right thing. And any resistance, it feels antisocial or immoral. And so this second beast may not be someone who just suddenly appears. It's sort of a role that emerges naturally from a culture that's already been trained to confuse moral goodness with enforced allegiance. And so when Revelation 13 later speaks of economic sanctions and penalties and persecution, they actually appear reasonable to the conditioned citizens. But the second beast represents deceptive religious or ideological authority, whether it's personal, institutional, whether it's systemic, that appears righteous but speaks satanically, and it exists to legitimize and promote false worship. And Revelation 13 suggests that long before the false prophet enforces worship, the world will already have learned how to worship wrongly, making enforcement appear necessary, that it's moral and even good. And just remember, what one generation tolerates, the next generation embraces. And so the theological warning for believers here is not just endurance, but discernment. Faithfulness requires resisting false stories, not just false laws, because worship is shaped long before it's demanded. And one of the greatest tests that believers will have is whether they can recognize counterfeit righteousness. Because this coercion succeeds only after the conscience of the people has already been conditioned. And one of the challenges for believers will be to recognize this wrong moral persuasion when it's disguised as a virtue. And you can literally see this happening in the world even today. Now, just like with the Antichrist, where people have attempted to identify throughout history, there's also a lot of speculation about who or what the false prophet is. But no single candidate is definitive. And revelation emphasizes spiritual discernment over pinpointing individuals. But the core message is beware of deceptive religious powers that seem to direct worship away from Christ. But the false prophet has been speculated to be an apostate pope, a some Muslim imam or some New World Order spiritual guru, maybe using technology for signs like AI or holograms for the image that we'll see in verse 15. Other people have suggested it's some new movement that's going to emphasize unity at the expense of truth, or maybe even a system where look the doctrine doesn't matter, but loyalty is mandatory. But we should probably be cautious of spending too much time trying to identify either the Antichrist or the false prophet. I mean, sure, it's interesting conversation and we could all come up with a few names. But we should be very cautious in naming current politicians or pastors or popes or anyone else, because revelation, again, it's about discernment, not speculation. But the bottom line here is that the second beast, this false prophet, I think is best understood as some religious or ideological machinery or person that conditions society to give ultimate allegiance to some political power, whether that power embodies an institution, a system, or maybe again, even a final individual. But let's continue with verses thirteen and fourteen where we get more details of the false prophet and where we read. 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 beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And so we see that the false prophet will also perform great signs in front of people, even making fire come down from heaven. Now some people think that we shouldn't interpret this literally and that it's symbolic language for exacting punishment and persecution on those who resist the authority of the first beast. And they also point to the fire coming out of the mouth of the two witnesses that we read about earlier, and how that was also probably not literal fire, but symbolic language. But on the other hand, we know in 2 Kings that Elijah was able to call down fire from heaven. And we read in Luke 2 that even Jesus' disciples wanted him to do the same thing to some Samaritans, but he rebuked them for it. In Mark 13 22, Jesus predicted that. This by saying, for false Christ and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard, I have told you all things beforehand. And so it seems from a straightforward reading that Jesus may not be talking about being on guard for some symbolic language that really means punishment. After all, it's because of these signs and wonders that many people will be led astray and believe in and worship the beast. And also, if you remember back in Exodus, Pharaoh's magicians, they also did some miracles. And the Bible doesn't discount the magic that they were able to perform. It wasn't symbolic language either. The question was never did they really perform those miracles? The question was how did they perform those miracles? Through what power? Who gave them the power to do what they did? And Revelation doesn't deny the reality of the signs. The danger is not fake power, but misdirected power. But in the end, the result of these signs and wonders is that the earth dwellers are deceived. But the false prophet and the Antichrist, they want more than just the earth dwellers. They want universal worship. But those who truly belong to God will not be fooled by these signs. The earth dwellers, the unbelievers, will be. And they'll even go so far as to make an image of the beast. And making an image means that they offer worship to the beast. In Deuteronomy 4, the Bible makes it very clear that we're not to make an image of anything in creation, since nothing in all of creation can adequately capture the nature and the essence of God. In Daniel chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar required everyone to worship an image of him and then attempted to execute Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And here we see that everyone opposed to God tries to get God's people to worship an image. And just like back in the book of Daniel, what's at stake here is life and death. People in power, they're not satisfied unless all people, all ethnic groups, all languages, everyone bows to their image. They are God. Again, it's not very much different than today where it's not enough to tolerate a difference. You must embrace it, you must celebrate it. Only now all it costs you is maybe a little social standing hit, maybe a job, maybe a reputation, but here in the apocalypse it may very well cost you your life. Revelation warns that extraordinary signs, even when they're real, can be instruments of deception when they glorify power rather than truth, and they direct worship away from God. But let's continue with verse 15, which reads, 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. Now we've already mentioned that the second beast, this false prophet, will be able to perform remarkable signs, and as we read here, one of these will include the ability to make an image of the beast speak. And again, it will require people to either worship the beast or die. And so we see another possible parody here of the Holy Spirit, the breath of life. It was God's breath that gave life to the two witnesses, just like God breathed life into Adam. And we're told here that it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast might even speak. But again, just like a fake resurrection, this is probably another hoax or an illusion. And so it's most likely some act of sorcery or demonic power, much like the magicians in Egypt. Another thought, and these have changed through the years as our technology has changed, but just think what AI is already capable of producing. Soon, it's going to be very difficult to distinguish fantasy from reality. And so to the people, it may very well look just like this is really happening. But either way, notice again that this is not a situation where there's any room for so-called tolerance, where everyone has a choice to follow their own convictions. This isn't a situation where everyone is invited to worship the beast. It is absolute compulsion. You either worship the beast or you'll be executed. And so in short, the false prophet mimics the Holy Spirit's work, empowering, testifying, performing signs, but in a counterfeit form, pointing people to worship the Antichrist instead of Jesus Christ. But let's press on now with verses sixteen and seventeen, which 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. 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 six. Now before we begin talking about the number of the beast here, I want you to notice who all is required to be marked, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, in other words, everybody. It doesn't matter who you are or what social class you belong to. And we're sort of accustomed to this social class division where we have the ultra wealthy elites and then you kind of have the working poor, you know, us peasants out here. And we hear politicians argue over what system we should have, and they position themselves in one camp or the other and act like they care about you. Well the difference here is that the dragon, the antichrist, and the false prophet, they absolutely don't care about you. They don't care who you are, they don't care where you're from, about your ethnicity or your political opinions. There's no tolerance. All they care about is that you worship the beast and follow their orders and receive the mark. And this will be the same for every level of society. You won't be able to buy your way out of it. There'll be no payoffs, and knowing somebody won't do you any good. But it says that it causes everyone to be marked on the right hand or the forehead. Now this word marked it's the Greek word karagma, and it means a stamp, an imprinted mark or like a scratch or an etching. The receiving of this mark signals a person's devotion and worship of the beast. It's similar to a branding, and branding was common in the ancient world. Slaves were often branded to designate ownership, and soldiers were branded to designate their loyalty. Now there are people who believe that the mark is not literal, that it's symbolic, and it's not something that's actually visible. They argue that it's similar to God's mark that seals the hundred and forty four thousand that we discussed in chapter seven. And this mark could also be a parody of the ancient Jewish practice of wearing boxes of scripture called phylacteries on the forehead and left hand as a sign of loyalty to God. But notice this mark is either on the forehead or the right hand. Just a couple of other observations about the mark on the forehead and hand. The forehead seems to symbolize belief and loyalty and identity. The mark on the hand appears to deal more with action and obedience and participation, and so the mark represents both what you believe and how you live. And maybe another way to say that is the forehead mark denotes who you trust, the hand how you live. But when we get to this point, private belief it's no longer sufficient. Public conformity is demanded, and just like I mentioned before, by the time the mark appears, many accept it willingly, believing that it's both reasonable and necessary. But notice something else here. Revelation doesn't describe the mark. It doesn't tell us the material, it doesn't tell us the technology that's used, it doesn't describe the shape or the method of application. Nothing. And I mention this because there's been so much speculation as to what the mark actually is. That speculation, it's not just a recent trend. That's been going on also for about 2,000 years now. And every era seems to imagine the mark using its own most advanced or feared technology of the time. And so, for example, in the Roman Empire, citizens sometimes needed a certificate, the slobalis, proving that they had offered incense to the emperor. Without it, Christians could be excluded from trade. They can be imprisoned or even executed. And so many of those early Christians believed that that system, it foreshadowed the mark, even if it wasn't in the final form. And through history, you know, we had these various thoughts, you know, during the medieval period, during the Reformation as to what the mark was. And when we get to the industrial age, we started seeing identification papers and employment records and state issued numbers. And so people began to see this as the bureaucracy and having some control of your daily life. You know, then we moved to the 1970s, you know, then we have we have barcodes, and people noticed these guard bars, which are sort of the first, middle, and last bars, and they resembled 666. And the barcodes, they were required to buy and sell. They were machine readable, they were universal. And so many people believe, look, this might be the mark of the beast. But then we get to the 2000s, and we begin to see chip technology and chip implants and RFID technology. These chips, you know, they're about the size of a grain of rice. They could be implanted under the skin. You know, they're used for pets and medical data and access control, and they could theoretically enable cashless systems. And now here we are today, 2026. Digital identity, cashless systems, the talk of one world government. A lot of discussion is more about digital IDs and financial exclusion, social credit systems, cryptocurrency, and this mandatory aligning with certain ideologies and narratives. And I think the timing is perfect here that as I record this episode, that literally last week at the meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where you had many of the world's most powerful leaders assembled. And you don't have to take my word for this, you just go look it up. But the CEO of BlackRock, which is the world's largest asset management company, manages about$14 trillion worth. Their CEO, Larry Fink, said that the world needs to move faster toward digitized currencies, meaning cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or some other one, that are under a single unified blockchain. And he pitches it, he sort of sells it as being able to reduce corruption. In other words, a single digital currency used by the entire world's monetary system. And honestly, it appears that's the direction that we're ultimately heading. And once that one world monetary system is in place, how much of a stretch is it to see how those who don't play by the required rules will be excluded? If you don't bend your need to the demands of the state, you won't be able to participate in the system. And so again, every era, every age says this new system could make Revelation 13 really possible now. And they're usually right about the possibility, but they've been wrong about the finality of it. And throughout history, Christians have associated the mark with the dominant control system of their age, whether it's certificates or numbers, barcodes, chips, whatever. But scripture consistently points beyond the tool to the actual allegiance that it enforces. But those who receive a mark, those who conform to the demands of the beast and of the state, they're given means to somehow identify themselves so that they'll actually receive the benefits that they're due. And so not receiving the mark will exclude you. But having said all of that, what is the purpose of the mark of the beast? Verse 17 says, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark. In other words, the mark has a purpose. If you don't have a mark, you will not be able to buy or sell through official government channels. And what do you think the chances are of buying or selling or bartering off the grid will be? What do you think the penalty for that will be? And I mentioned back in one of the first two or three chapters in Revelation about early Christians who would have been pressured to participate in emperor worship in order to belong to and participate in any of the trade guilds. If you refused, you were not in a trade guild, and if you weren't part of a guild, it was economic suicide in many cases. An economic pressure and sanctions, it's one of the most effective ways to subjugate people, meaning it's still one of the methods of diplomatic and political pressures used by governments all around the world to punish other countries. And so God's people are going to face extreme economic hardship. They'll be excluded from the economy. And Revelation tells us what's at stake here, the high price you'll pay for receiving the mark of the beast, which is everlasting torment. And the temptation to receive the mark will be significant, and people may do it just to get along in the world, just to be able to go to the grocery store, to be able to feed your family or just live a normal life. I mean, think for a moment about the scenario where you have young children who are crying and hungry, perhaps even starving. All you need to ease their suffering is a little food. And the only thing preventing that, the only thing you have to do to stop your children suffering is to receive a mark so that you can simply go shop at the grocery store. How far are you willing to go? How long are you willing to suffer? How long will you hold out while your family starves and your children suffer? And that's absolutely terrible to even think about. But we know at some point some Christians are going to face this situation. And as scary as it is, we have to remember that this life is not the end. We can't think that this life is the most important one. And we can either choose to deal with the pain and suffering in this life through all that the beast will inflict upon us and our family, or we can deal with the pain and suffering of regret throughout eternity. But let's finish this chapter by reading the last verse again, which is perhaps the most popular and most well known verse in all of Revelation, even for people who don't know anything else about the Bible. But beginning with the last half of verse 17, we read, 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 six six six. And just like the Antichrist has created a lot of speculation trying to identify who or what he is, the number of the beast, this six six six, has done the same. So let me begin this by saying that in the ancient Greek and Hebrew languages, the letters of the alphabet also functioned as numbers. It's something called gematria. And so a person's name, for example, which was of course made up of letters, also had a numerical value. And calculating the number of the names of rulers was common back then. In the verse we just read where we're told to calculate the number of the beast, that word translated calculate that's used above, it assumes that you had familiarity with gematria, which again was the common ancient practice of assigning numerical values to letters. And one of the names that always comes up in this discussion is Caesar Nero. It's always pointed out that the name of Caesar Nero equals 666 when you add up all the numbers associated with the letters that spell his name. And that is true. However, it's only true if you write his name in Hebrew, and John wrote Revelation in Greek. So the only way you can get his name to equal 666 is by putting his name back into Hebrew and then calculate the numbers from the Hebrew letters. Another problem with identifying Nero is that there are debates over the correct spelling of his name in Hebrew. And whether it's Nero or another candidate, people will sometimes get very creative in how they spell the name so as to get it to add up to 666. And just like people have tried throughout history to identify the Antichrist, they've also attempted to get people's names to equal 666. And the usual suspects appear, like the Pope or Martin Luther, depending on which side of that debate you're on. And the reality is, is that if we change the rules of Gematria, we can make almost any name add up to 666. I mean all we have to do is some mathematical gymnastics, take the name, multiply it by seven, add four, take the square root, divide by pi, and then square that number. Well, anybody could equal six six six if we're just making up numbers. But even if Nero wasn't the Antichrist and his name didn't add up to six six six, Nero at least symbolized brutal persecution and self-deification and this imperial arrogance. And so he became sort of this template for what the Antichrist would represent, but he was not necessarily the final fulfillment. But let me shift gears here and talk about another angle to this number six six six. And you've heard me say in a few different chapters that seven is the number of completeness and perfection. Well six is most commonly thought of as the number of man or humanity, human imperfection. It's one below seven. In other words, the number seven frequently represents divine perfection and completeness. The number six is often seen as falling one short of perfection and highlights human limitations and weaknesses, sinfulness, maybe incompleteness without God. It's interesting that Adam was created on the sixth day. But Revelation tells us that six sixty six is the number of a man. But not just one six, three sixes. And so there's a thought that the number six six six is a parody of seven seven seven, which is the number of perfection, and it represents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In other words, just like everything else Satan does, it's a parody, a mimicking of the Trinity, but it's an unholy trinity. And as a satanic trinity, where rather than the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, you have Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet. And if seven, seven, seven is the perfect number, symbolizing God's completeness and his majesty, his perfection, then six six six symbolizes humanity without God, with all of our flaws and shortcomings and sin. Six six six represents the worship of humanity, of ourselves rather than God. And so it's possible that this six six six represents the final empire in all of its wickedness and the worship of the ungodly, the rebellion against God, an empire that insists on absolute and complete devotion and allegiance. And so that's the way some commentators view this 666. Now one of the key phrases in interpreting this though is where we're told that 666 is the number of a man. And that line is crucial and it's often overlooked. And it can mean a number that corresponds to a human name, or maybe even a number that signifies and focuses on humanity rather than God. 666 symbolizes the ultimate expression of human authority and self-exaltation that imitates God, falls short of God, and demands the worship that belongs to God alone. And so at its deepest level, 666 may not be a barcode or a chip or AI. It may represent human power taken to its logical conclusion, where we enthrone human reason and human authority as worshipped, and so it's humanity without God. And that's why revelation calls for wisdom, not fear. If John wanted to give a permanent, one time identification, he could have just named the person, but instead he gives us a number, a principle, a pattern. And so this allows believers in every era, in every age to test its so called leaders and its systems, its governments and its ideologies. And then we can ask ourselves, does any of this exalt humanity where God alone belongs? But I think I want to end this chapter by pointing out something else. I mentioned of course the numeric values of names using Gematria, and we know that the number seven represents completeness or perfection, and that the number six six six six six six six six represents a parody of the Trinity, a satanic parody of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But did you know that the number eight represents new beginning, regeneration or resurrection? During the flood of Noah, there were eight people saved. Circumcision for sons was to be performed on the eighth day, making the covenant this new relationship with God. Jesus was resurrected on the eighth day after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. King David was the eighth son of Jesse, the youngest, and yet he was chosen by God as king, a man after God's own heart, marking a new era for Israel. But here's something remarkable. Throughout Christian history, 888 has been understood and known as the Gematria or this numeric value of the Greek name of Jesus, Iesus. And so while the world is caught up and focused on the mark of the beast, Jesus declares victory through his name, 888, which echoes the resurrection and new beginning. And so I would encourage you, don't be like the earth dwellers. Lift your eyes, change your mindset from fear to faith. Reject the counterfeit empire of this world and the unholy trinity of Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet, and embrace the true and risen King and the eternal life that he offers you today. And so while the world may stand in fear and worry at the spooky shadow of 666, as true believers, we should fix our hearts fully on the risen Christ. So do not anchor your heart in fear or some counterfeit power. Rather than focusing on the 666, we should focus on the one who will endure long after all other empires have fallen. The eight eight eight Jesus Christos, Jesus Christ.