Revelation Sermon - 32

Revelation: The Mark of the Beast

Revelation 13:11-18

1. Introduction – This morning I want to start where John ended. This passage calls for wisdom. We need to have wisdom here.

a. Isn’t it strange, that in a passage that explicitly calls for wisdom, wisdom seems to go right out the window when we set out to interpret it.

i. We’re covering some heavy material today – important material, potentially confusing material.

1. But as we look at the beast from the earth, as we look at the mark of the beast we need wisdom.

b. In a passage that is controversial, in a passage that has been the victim of some truly terrible interpretation…

i. In a passage that has identified hundreds, if not thousands of people as the beast from the earth of Rev. 13…

1. OH, how we need wisdom and discernment as we move forward. Let’s ask God for wisdom as we seek to read, understand and apply this section of Revelation.

c. So, here’s what we’re going to do today – we have a lot to cover.

i. We’ll look at the beast’s description, we’ll look at this activities and purpose.

1. And then we’ll spend the bulk of our time this morning look at the mark of the beast, what it is, what it represents and how we are to understand it.

2. Description – Last week we saw a beast emerge out of the sea, and we saw that this beast represented political powers that ditched their God-ordained roles in order to follow the dragon.

a. And now, John tells us that a second beast appears on the scene. John says this beast came up out of the earth – and it had two horns, like those of a lamb.

i. But this beast, even though it looked like a lamb, it sounded like a dragon.

b. This is an important description, because once again this beast is imitating and mimicking Jesus.

i. Jesus, in chapter 5 is described as the Lamb that was slain. He had seven eyes and seven horns.

1. But this beast only had 2 horns…why? Maybe this beast is also mimicking the 2 witnesses of chapter 11. We see that this beast also imitates their miracles.

a. In chapter 11 we saw 2 witnesses, 2 lampstands and 2 olive trees.

c. Later on in Revelation, this beast is referred to as the false prophet – and if we put that description together with this one in chapter 13 – all of a sudden the words of Jesus are ringing true.

i. Remember in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus describes to his listeners what false teachers and prophets will look like. Do you remember what he said?

1. They will come to you as a wolf but in sheep’s clothing. This false prophet of Revelation 13 looks like a lamb, but he speaks with the same deceitful voice as the dragon.

a. This beast comes as a lamb – but he speaks with the voice of and his given authority by the sea beast and the great red dragon.

d. And here we have a complete picture of the counterfeit trinity – 3 creatures that are trying to be God – but epically fail at each attempt.

i. The dragon mimics God the Father, the sea beast mimics Jesus the Son, and the earth beast mimics the Holy Spirit.

1. As the Father gives authority to the Son, so the dragon gives his counterfeit authority to the sea beast.

a. As the Holy Spirit seeks to move us to worship the Son and the Father, so the earth beast seeks to move people to worship the sea beast and the dragon.

3. Activities/Purpose – And that is the purpose of this earth beast in chapter 13.

a. The ultimate purpose of this beast is to elicit or obtain worship for the sea beast.

i. Many commentators put it this way – the earth beast is the propagandist. He deceives through signs and wonders.

1. Not only does the earth beast mimic Jesus and the Holy Spirit – but it also mimics the church…the two witnesses, it mimics the miracles performed by Moses and Elijah.

b. The earth beast’s role as the propagandist is this…

i. To make evil look good, the demonic look divine, violence like peacemaking, tyranny and oppression like liberation.

1. Its role is to deceive in order to obtain worshippers for the sea beast and dragon.

c. Simply put, the beast of the earth has a religious role. Remember that we aren’t going to see a literal beast come out of the earth that looks like a lamb and sounds like a dragon. This is a sign, and signs point to a reality beyond themselves. So what does this sign point to?

i. If the sea beast represents political powers that are now under the dragon’s control – the beast from the earth represents religious institutions that have lost their focus.

1. The earth beast represents religious institutions that put its trust, not the power of God, but in humans.

a. This beast represents religion that seeks salvation in human systems rather than in the grace of God in Jesus.

d. Now, remember, it is those who belong to this earth, the unsaved, those who have rejected God that are being deceived.

i. Remember back in chapter 9, God displayed his mighty power, but people still refused to repent and turn from their wicked ways and turn to him…

1. So, as Paul writes in Romans 1, as a result of people reject God, God gave them over to the object of their desire.

a. He let them have the full extent of the evil they were worshipping.

e. Those who live their lives in unbelief, rejecting God, are deceived into building a statue of the first beast.

i. And just like that, we’re back in Daniel again. Last week we were in chapter 7, as the first beast from the sea was a conglomeration of the 4 beasts of Daniel 7.

1. This week, we’re in chapter 3 with Daniel’s friends – Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, better known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

a. Who, after King Nebuchadnezzar built a statue of himself, forced everyone to bow down to it upon penalty of death.

i. But these 3 refused, they were thrown into the fiery furnace…where God kept them safe.

f. And here too, an image is made, and the great propagandist deceives people into worshipping it.

i. Is it clearer now – how this beast mimics the Holy Spirit?

1. The Spirit’s role is to convict us of our sin, and to direct us into praise and worship of the Father and Son.

a. The beast from the earth, John says, will do the same thing, only he will distract, deceive and cause those who belong to this world to direct their praise and worship an allegiance toward the sea beast and the dragon.

g. The last half of Revelation 13 reinforces what the first half taught us – the main issue is worship.

i. Where’s your allegiance? Who gets your worship? Where does your attention go?

1. If its anyone other than God the Father Almighty, then it is idolatry, and idolatry is ultimately demon worship and giving worship to Satan himself.

a. The role of this beast is to elicit worship for the first beast – and to mark out those who follow its ways.

i. Its goal is to create division, in order to differentiate between those who worship the beast, and those who don’t.

4. The Mark – And that’s where the mark of the beast comes in.

a. I’m sure it’s a topic many of your have been wondering about, maybe confused by, or interested in finding more about it.

i. We’re going to spend the rest of our time this morning looking at what vv.16-18 are talking about and we’re going to try to make sense of it all. And we are going to do it all while seeking God’s wisdom in our interpretation.

b. First, let’s get acquainted with the ancient concept of marking. In the ancient world, slaves were branded to show who they were owned by.

i. Soldiers were tattooed to give public recognition of which general they were loyal to.

1. Members of religious groups and cults were marked to show which god had their allegiance.

c. In Deuteronomy 6:8, God tells the ancient Israelites to write these words on their foreheads and right hands – they were the words of the Shema.

i. In Ezekiel 9, through a vision, God instructs his angel to make all those who have repented of idolatry by putting the Hebrew letter tau on their foreheads.

1. Those marked would be saved, those not marked would be destroyed.

d. Even in Revelation, we’ve already seen this idea of marking.

i. In chapter7, John saw and angel rising up out of the east, and what did he do??? He sealed the 144,000.

1. The 144,000 – representative of all of God’s people for all time. The sealing we learned then, was the seal that comes in the form of the Holy Spirit.

e. So what does all of this mean? What does all of this have to do with the mark of the beast?

i. Well, we can’t divorce 13:16-18 from its context. We have to understand this passage in light of what’s come before it and what comes after it.

1. Before, as just mentioned, we had the sealing, hear marking, of the 144,000 – a seal that sets them apart.

a. Immediately after this passage on the mark of the beast comes 14:1 – and again the 144,000 show up – and we’re told in that chapter that they 144,000 are those who have the name of Jesus written on their foreheads.

f. What’s intended here in 13:16-18 along with 14:1…we need to see a contrast between those who have received the seal of God and those who have received the mark of the beast.

i. The contrast here once again reminds us that on this earth and this battle for our allegiance and worship – there is no neutral ground.

1. One either has the seal of God on their lives…or the mark of the beast.

a. One either has the name of Jesus written on their forehead or the name or number of the beast.

g. So, see the contrast between the seal of God and the mark of the beast.

i. We’re also told that the mark is the name of, or the numerical version of the beast’s name.

1. In 14:1, we’re told that the people of God have Jesus’ name written on their foreheads.

a. It’s not a coincidence that both the seal and the mark refer to a name.

i. So, are we to look for J-E-S-U-S or B-E-A-S-T literally tattooed on someone’s forehead? No, if only it were that simple.

h. We have to know how the ancients understood the concept of a name.

i. For us, a name is something we’re given and we are called.

1. In the ancient world, to know someone’s name was to know their character.

i. Remember back in the book of Exodus, Moses begged God to tell him his name. He wanted to know God’s name so he could know his character.

i. And while Moses was standing on the mountain, God passed by and proclaimed his beautiful name and character…

1. Name, Moses wanted to know God’s name, the name of the beast, the name of Jesus…

a. Looking for JESUS or Beast…no.

j. To know a name is to know a character – so, to display a name is to display character traits.

i. Those who have the mark of Jesus, the seal of the Holy Spirit…it means we will be like Jesus.

1. We will display his characteristics; his character is implanted in our soul.

a. Jesus couldn’t care less if you branded yourself with his name somewhere on your body…he cares that you are acting like him, thinking like him, and displaying his character through your words and deeds.

ii. To have the seal of Jesus means that his character is implanted in your soul.

k. So too with the beast. He doesn’t care about branding – to have the mark of the beast is not to have his name of number tattooed on your body.

i. The mark of the beast is not a microchip implanted in your skin – its having the character of the beast implanted in your soul.

1. It’s to display the beast’s deception and love for violence.

a. To have the mark of the beast is to worship him, give your allegiance to him, and to have his character display in your thoughts and actions.

l. Why forehead or right hand? Well, again, remember Deuteronomy 6:8 – the Israelites were commanded to place the words of the Shema on their foreheads and hands.

i. Some took this quite literally, and still today some orthodox Jews wear little boxes on their heads called phylacteries, with the words of the Shema written on them

1. But the forehead and hand were meant symbolically.

a. To think, to have your mind governed by your love for God.

i. The hand – to have your actions governed by loving God with all you’ve got.

m. Same with the mark of the beast – forehead or hand represents thinking like and acting like the beast – whose name is written there.

5. Number – So how do we get the number 666? It’s a superstitious number, people avoid it. But how are we to understand it? What does it even mean and how do we get it? I’ll explain two possible ways. You’ll be able to figure out which one I hold to.

a. Fist, John might be using the ancient practice of gematria – where letters are assigned a numerical value. A=1, b=2, c=3 and so on. Here’s a full list.

i. And based on the letters of a name – those values are added up to make a number.

1. The problem with the approach of gematria is that there is virtually no limit to who the number 666 might be referring to.

a. By adding titles, or middle names or descriptions or slightly misspelling names, you can make virtually anyone’s name add up to 666.

b. This is where the call for wisdom has been largely ignored. Nero, Domitian, various popes, Martin Luther, Hitler, Stalin, Ronald Reagan have all be associated with the number 666.

i. Reagan was associated with it because each of his three names have 6 letters.

1. JFK was once thought of as the beast because he received 666 votes at the 1956 Democratic National Convention.

a. One commentator I read showed the unlimited scope of gematria by claiming that Barney – the purple dinosaur, was the beast because the words “Cute Purple Dinosaur” adds up to 666.

c. The point is this…in gematria approach, it’s easy to make a name add up to number, but it is not easy to get a name out of a number.

i. Most likely John was referring to a first century figure – maybe Nero or Domitian. Maybe his original audience knew exactly who he was referring to, but that information has not been passed along to us.

d. So, what then do we do with this number. Treat it as a symbol, not a code to be broken. Numbers in Revelation are always symbolic, so 666 should be no different.

i. The purpose of the number is not to identify the beast but to characterize it.

1. What’s six? One less than 7. And from the beginning I’ve told you that 7 represents completeness – perfection.

e. The sevenfold Spirit of God – the wholly and complete Spirit. Jesus the Lamb – seen with seven eyes and seven horns – showing that he is the perfection and completion of wisdom and strength.

i. But 6? 6 is one short of perfection. One less than complete. Almost there, but not quite.

1. The beast from the earth mimics the Holy Spirit – the counterfeit trinity mimics the divine Trinity…but the best it can do is 6. Always falling short.

f. But why 3 sixes? Because 3 is also a number representing completeness and perfection.

i. The beast is characterized in this way – 666. Completely incomplete.

1. Trying to be God, but never getting there.

a. One commentator puts it like this, “the beast is characterized as failure upon failure upon failure.”

g. The number doesn’t identify who the beast is, but it characterizes what it is – always failing, always falling short… completely and utterly incomplete.

6. Conclusion – Listen, the mark of the beast isn’t something you can accidentally get.

a. To have the mark of the beast is to have its character implanted in your soul.

i. It’s to work in unison with the beast, to share a character with the beast and to act according to his deceptive ways.

1. In reality, we shouldn’t give to much focus to the beast or the mark of the beast because we know that his reign is limited, he is already defeated.

a. Instead we should focus on the power of Jesus and his eternal reign.

b. That’s all I can fit in today, but we’ll come back to this topic next week when we study 14:1 in depth and look at what it means to have the name of Jesus written on our foreheads.