Lesson 18
13:3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but
its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth followed
the beast with wonder.
One of the heads seemed to have a mortal wound. A better
translation is given in the ASV ― “And I saw one of its
heads as though it had been smitten unto death.” The phrase
“as though it had been smitten” simply means that the head
was portrayed as having been slain. It does not necessarily
mean that the head only appeared to have been slain.
Remember Revelation 5:6– “I saw a Lamb [Jesus] standing, as
though it had been slain.” The lamb had been slain and was
portrayed as such.
Did the wound kill the entire beast or just the head?
Later, in verse 12 we find out that it kills the entire
beast ― “its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose
mortal wound was healed.” That is, the entire beast dies
when one of its heads dies. Whatever this beast is (and we
will discuss that point in just a moment), it is
inextricably linked to its seven heads (as we would
expect). If, as we have suggested, these seven heads are
the emperors of Rome, then this beast is something that
lives and dies with them. We have wondered before whether
the focus of these judgments is Rome itself or these early
emperors of Rome. This detail supports the latter view.
Which emperor is depicted by this head that is slain? To
help us answer that question, we once again turn to our
angelic commentator in Chapter 17. In Revelation 17:8 we
read:
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend
from the bottomless pit and go to perdition; and the
dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the
book of life from the foundation of the world, will marvel
to behold the beast, because it was and is not and is to
come.
That verse tells us that the first beast “was and is not
and is to come.” Here in verse 3 we see a head on that
beast that dies but is then healed, and from verse 12 we
know that it was the beast itself that died and was healed.
What sort of beast could be said to have died and then come
back to life? And whatever sort of beast it was, the
statement in 17:8 that it “is not” suggests that when this
vision was received, the beast had already died, but had
not yet come back to life. What is this beast?
The answer is that this first beast represents Rome (no
surprise there), but it does so from a particular
perspective — the beast depicts Rome as a civil persecutor
of God’s people, which reached it heights in the first
century under Nero and Domitian. How do we know that? Two
reasons. First, the description of the beast tells us that
it is a persecutor, and second, the focus on its heads is a
focus on the emperors of Rome. Putting those together, we
see a beast that depicts the Roman persecution from the
standpoint of the Roman emperors, that is, from the
standpoint of the Roman civil authorities. The government
ordained by God had gone bad and turned against the people
of God. The first beast denotes this rogue Roman
government.
In a moment, we will meet a second beast in this
chapter, and we will see that it is also a persecutor. In
fact, the second beast will kill those who refuse to
worship the first beast. There is no doubt that the
descriptions of these beasts overlap, and that both show
Rome as a persecutor, but as we will see when we get to the
second beast, they do so from different angles.
If our view of this first beast is correct, then the
death of the first beast meant an end or at least a
dramatic drop in persecution by the civil authorities, and
the resurrection of the beast would mean a sudden
reappearance of that persecution.
Did that happen? Yes. Recall our earlier comments about
Nero and Domitian. Tertullian said that Nero was “the first
emperor who dyed his sword in Christian blood,” and
Eusebius wrote that Domitian “finally showed himself the
successor of Nero’s campaign of hostility to God. He was
the second to promote persecution against us.”
This image of the beast coming back to life has an
interesting historical parallel. After the death of Nero in
A.D. 68, there were many rumors that he had in fact not
died but rather was planning to return and retake Rome.
This belief came to be called the Nero Redivivus Legend.
The earliest written version of the legend is found in the
Sibylline Oracles, which claim that Nero did not really die
but fled to Parthia, where he would build a large army and
return to Rome to destroy it. At least three Nero imposters
emerged to lead rebellions. The first, who sang and played
the lyre and whose face was similar to that of the dead
emperor, appeared in A.D. 69 during the reign of Vitellius.
Sometime during the reign of Titus there was another
impostor who appeared in Asia and also sang to the
accompaniment of the lyre and looked like Nero. Twenty
years after Nero's death, during the reign of Domitian,
there was a third pretender. Domitian himself was regarded
by some as the Nero Redivivus.
Why would Nero Redivivus have been so frightening? What
sort of persecution occurred under Nero? What sort of
person was Nero? Suetonius tells us the following about
Nero:
He castrated the boy Sporus and actually tried to make a
woman of him; and he married him with all the usual
ceremonies, including a dowry and a bridal veil, took him
to his home attended by a great throng, and treated him as
his wife. And the witty jest that someone made is still
current, that it would have been well for the world if
Nero's father Domitius had had that kind of wife.
We are also told that Nero married his step-sister and
that he murdered or had murdered his step-father, his
mother, and his wife. He first tried to kill his mother,
Agrippina by putting her aboard a boat that had been
constructed to collapse, but after she survived, he had her
hacked to pieces by his soldiers. (It tells us something
about Nero’s mother that he was cheered by the Romans when
he returned to Rome after the deed was done!) He took the
wife of his closest friend (Otho) as his mistress and later
kicked her to death when she was with child. In A.D. 64, he
set fire to Rome so that he could rebuild it, and when
suspicion turned on him, he blamed the Christians, who all
knew were anticipating a fiery end of the world. As one
modern historian puts it, “The belief that the fire had
been started deliberately became so prevalent that Nero was
forced to point a finger away from himself. He singled out
the strange eastern cultists called Christians.” Tacitus
describes Nero’s subsequent persecution of Christians in
this way:
Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered
with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and
perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the
flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when
daylight had expired.
In short, it would be difficult to find a greater enemy
of God and of God’s people than the Roman emperor Nero —
and the rumor of the day was that this great enemy was
about to return.
Chaos and civil war followed the death of Nero. Nero
wasn’t alone in death: The Julio-Claudian Dynasty fell with
him. When Nero came to power in 54, there were six other
males who traced their heritage back to Augustus or
Claudius. These men all died during Nero’s reign. Nero’s
death left a political vacuum that many rushed to
occupy.
Initially, the leader of the Spanish rebellion, Galba,
was the accepted replacement. But the sole basis of his
regime was his soldiers’ support, and when they turned
against him in January 69, he was murdered. Nero’s friend
Otho attempted to take Galba’s place, but he was
immediately challenged by the legions on the Rhine, who
wanted their commander, Vitellius, installed as emperor.
The German legions invaded Italy and toppled Otho in April.
In Palestine, the war against Jewish rebels was coming to
an end, and the troops there proclaimed their general,
Vespasian. Another invasion of Italy followed, Vitellius
was removed, and Vespasian became emperor in December 69,
thus becoming the fourth Roman emperor in 12 months.
So what then are we saying? The beast is Rome as a civil
persecuting power. That beast came to the forefront under
Nero, but when Nero died, so did the beast, as the
persecution temporarily subsided. When Revelation was
written, the beast was still dead, which also fits with
history. This book was written during a lull in the
persecution that occurred during the reign of Vespasian.
Later, though, the beast would come back to life under
Domitian, who was in a sense Nero Redivivus. Tertullian
called him “a limb of the bloody Nero.” Domitian
represented a new beginning of persecution against God’s
people. He was the eighth king.
4 Men 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?”
In this verse we see two of the most horrible images in
this entire book: dragon worship and beast worship.
Ralph Waldo Emerson: “A person will worship something,
have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid
in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will
out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts
will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore, it
behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are
worshipping we are becoming.”
If we worship the dragon, then like the dragon we will
become. If we worship the beast, then like the beast we
will become. And have no about it ― dragon worship and
beast worship are alive and well today!
As we have already discussed, this dragon is Satan who
was the driving power behind Rome against the church. He
had given his authority to Rome so that it would attack the
church on his behalf.
And why did they worship the beast? Because it had died
and come back to life! It was unstoppable! What we see here
is a ghastly parody of Jesus, who truly died and came back
to life. Like Pharaoh’s magicians, Rome is saying, “Look!
We can do that, too!” In fact, this a theme that runs
throughout this book, although it does so right beneath the
surface. Barclay describes the question “Who is like the
beast?” as a grim parody of the great question “Who is like
thee, O Lord, among the gods?” in Exodus 15:11.
Just imagine this scene from the church’s viewpoint. It
must have almost seemed to them that even God was powerless
to stop this beast. What hope did the church have against
such a powerful, unstoppable beast? Would it ever be killed
once and for all? Would it always come back from the dead?
Could it ever be stopped?
The situation looks bleak, but the very next verse
should provide hope to an alert reader! (If you don’t see
why verse 5 provides hope, then it is time for a
review!)
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and
blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority
for forty-two months; 6 it opened its mouth to utter
blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his
dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 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
tongue and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will
worship it, every one whose name has not been written
before the foundation of the world in the book of life of
the Lamb that was slain. 9 If any one has an ear, let him
hear: 10 If any one is to be taken captive, to captivity he
goes; if any one slays with the sword, with the sword must
he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of
the saints.
Verse 5 tells us that this resurrected beast has
authority for 42 months. Now that we know what the symbol
means, this statement provides a reason to rejoice. A
period of 42 months (or 3½ years — a broken seven) tells us
that this situation was temporary. The beast might seem
invincible, but God is telling us in verse 5 that all is
not as it seems! Jesus died and rose from the dead, never
to die again. That will not be true of this beast from the
sea! Jesus is a 7! This beast is a broken 7! (Keep that
thought in mind as we inch ever closer to verse 18.)
The resurrected beast is pictured as haughty and
blasphemous. Domitian, who required that he be addressed as
“Our Lord God Domitian,” fits the bill on both counts.
Remember the coins we looked at that described Domitian as
a son of a god and that pictured his own infant son as a
deified world conqueror reaching for 7 stars.
The resurrected beast makes war on the church and is
pictured as actually conquering them. This is exactly the
same situation we saw in 7:7 where the beast (Rome) came
out of the bottomless pit and conquered and killed the two
witnesses (the church). Here, as in Chapter 7, we are
simply being shown the situation from the beast’s
perspective. Rome thought it had defeated the church and so
is shown here as defeating them — but things are not what
they seem!
What is meant in verse 8 by the phrase “every one whose
name has not been written before the foundation of the
world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slain”? (A
parallel passage appears later in 17:8.) Does this mean
that those in the book of life were predestined for
salvation before they were even born, and that those not in
the book were predestined for damnation before their birth?
Of course not! How could it? The entire Bible screams out
against such a heinous concept. It is not God’s will that
anyone should perish! (2 Peter 3:9) It would seem difficult
to reconcile that fact with the idea that God predestined
the vast bulk of mankind to damnation before the world was
created! A Christian should be repulsed by such an idea!
Why proclaim the gospel if the Book of Life has already
been filled up? And what about Revelation 3:5, which talks
about God blotting names out of that book?
So what then is meant by verse 8? Paul tells us exactly
what it means in Ephesian 1:4-6 ―
According as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without
blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the
glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved.
God’s plan was that there would be a book of life and
that those in his eternal kingdom would have their names in
that book — and that was God’s plan from before the
foundation of the world.
We earlier discussed what it meant for God to mark his
people as his own special possession, and that mark is tied
to having one’s name marked or recorded in the Book of
Life. The Old Testament closes with a beautiful description
of this idea in Malachi 3:16-17 ―
Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to
another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book
of remembrance was written before him for them that feared
the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be
mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up
my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own
son that serveth him.
One of the greatest Bible scholars I ever knew was
Marion Williams, and here is what she wrote next to Malachi
3 in the margin of her Bible (which I now have): “No matter
how lonely this life, how far from loved ones and friends,
think on this splendid, magnificent truth: Almighty God
says of us, ‘This one is mine’ — the ultimate recognition,
the ultimate friendship.” Yes, God has a Book of Life. Yes,
God has a Book of Remembrance. And, yes, that is the book
you want to be in!
And what is meant by verse 10, which says, “If any one
is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if any one
slays with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.”
This verse is made up of two quotes — one from Jeremiah and
one from Jesus. In Jeremiah 15:2, the prophet was told to
tell the people that those destined for death would go
forth to death, those destined for the sword to the sword,
those for famine to famine, and those for captivity to
captivity. The idea there was that there is no escape from
the decree of God. But verse 10 also quotes Jesus in
Matthew 26:52 that all who take up the sword will perish by
the sword. There are at least three lessons in this
verse.
First, Christians must accept the consequences that
occur in this life from following Christ. We know those
consequences will involve persecution, and part of taking
up our cross is accepting those consequences.
Second, Christianity can never be defended with physical
force. As Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:4, our weapons
are not carnal. Barclay: “It is an intolerable paradox to
defend the gospel of the love of God by using the violence
of man.”
Third, verse 10 ends by listing the weapons that are
available to a Christian — steadfastness and loyalty. The
Greek word translated steadfastness or endurance does not
mean passive endurance but rather means courageously
accepting the worst in this life so that we can turn it
into glory for God. The Greek word translated loyalty or
faith means fidelity that never wavers. Those were the
weapons that Christians used in the first century to
conquer the mighty Roman empire, and those same weapons
will still conquer the strongholds of Satan today. Remember
again 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 ―
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the
flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing
into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when
your obedience is fulfilled.
Was the church at war with Rome? Yes. Are we at war
today with the godlessness that threatens to engulf us?
Yes. Are our weapons carnal? No. Our weapons are steadfast
endurance and loyalty to Christ. Nothing on earth can
defeat us while we wield those weapons!
11 Then I saw another beast which rose out of the earth;
it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12
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.
The first beast arose from the sea. In verse 11, we meet
a second beast that arises from the earth.
Why are there two beasts? One reason is that (as we will
soon see) each beast depicts Rome from a different
perspective, and God wanted to show us two different
perspectives. But is there a symbolic reason for having two
beasts? Perhaps. Earlier, we saw the church depicted by two
witnesses, and in our study of the seven heads followed by
an eighth there were two that stood out — the one that died
(Nero) and the eighth (Domitian). I think the use of two
beasts in intended to focus our attention on the two
witnesses (the church) and on the two great persecutors of
the church (Nero and Domitian). Which pair will
prevail?
The use of two could also be intended to focus our
attention on the two dynasties of Roman emperors that are
involved here. The first, the Julio-Claudians, started with
Augustus and ended with Nero. The second, the Flavians,
started with Vespasian and ended with Domitian. Is it a
coincidence that the deaths of Nero and Domitian marked the
ends of their respective dynasties? I think this historical
fact is another reason why God shows us two beasts.
The first beast depicted Rome as a persecuting power.
What does this second beast depict? As we always do, let’s
consider the clues.
The first thing we see about this beast is that it rises
from the earth. This part of the beast’s description
stresses the human origin of this beast. In verse 18 we
will see that it is given a “human number.” This second
beast is man-made. It is a beast made with human hands.
If you want an interesting Bible study exercise, trace
through the Bible the concept of things made or not made
with human hands. In Daniel 2:45, the great stone that
represents the eternal kingdom of God (the church) is
described as a stone that “was cut out of the mountain
without hands.” Also, recall:
• Acts 17:24-25 God that made the world and all things
therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is
worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing,
seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all
things.
• 2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building
of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens.
• Colossians 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with
the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the
body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of
Christ.
• Galatians 1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the
gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
There is a sharp line drawn in the Bible between those
things made with human hands and those things that are
not.
We will see other clues about this second beast in later
chapters. In 16:13 and 19:20, the second beast is called
“the false prophet.” That clue tells us that this beast is
religious in nature, but when combined with the first clue
we know that it is a man-made religion; that is, it is a
false religion.
Verse 12 gives us yet another clue. This second beast
causes men to worship the first beast. The first beast was
focused on the Roman emperors as civil persecuting
authorities, and so this second beast causes me to worship
those Roman emperors.
Finally, verse 11 tells us that this second beast looks
like a lamb but speaks like a dragon. It is a wolf in
sheep’s clothing. What is it that shows up as a wolf in
sheep’s clothing? Matthew 7:15 ― “Beware of false prophets,
which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they
are ravening wolves.” (And again, we see the parody of this
beast trying to portray itself as Christ, the true lamb who
was slain.) It is also possible that verse 11 says that
this lamb spoke like a serpent. If so, it would be pointing
us straight back (yet again) to Genesis 3.
So, having considered the clues, what does this second
beast depict? It depicts Rome, but from a different
perspective than did the first beast. The first beast from
the sea portrayed the civil persecuting side of Rome. This
second beast from the earth portrays the perverted
religious side of Rome.
These two aspects of Rome were just two sides of the
same coin. They worked hand in hand to stir up persecution
of the church. History tells us that the first beast (civil
persecution) was likely worse under Nero than under
Domitian, but the second beast (perverted religion) was
likely worse under Domitian than under Nero.
13 It works great signs, even making fire come down from
heaven to earth in the sight of men; 14 and by the signs
which it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast,
it deceives those who dwell on earth, bidding them make an
image for the beast which was wounded by the sword and yet
lived; 15 and it was allowed to give breath to the image of
the beast so that the image of the beast should even speak,
and to cause those who would not worship the image of the
beast to be slain.
Throughout this book, that which is genuine and from God
has been accompanied by that which is false and from the
earth, and the signs and wonders from God are no exception.
Here we see that the beast also had signs and wonders, but
of course they are just the false signs and the false
wonders that even today generally accompany a false
religion. Paul described such signs and wonders (and
confirmed that they were false) when he described the
lawless one (Domitian) in 2 Thessalonians 2:9 — “Even him,
whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power
and signs and lying wonders.” Verse 14 also confirms that
these were false signs — they deceived those who dwell on
the earth.
Stephen Benko in his book Pagan Rome and the Early
Christians (page 128) writes that “certain elements in the
official Roman religion were based on magical principles”
and that “magic was an accepted form of religious piety.”
History tells us that the Roman priests were both
ventriloquists and magicians. Originally ventriloquism was
a religious practise. The name comes from the Latin phrase
meaning to speak from the stomach. The noises produced by
the stomach were thought to be the voices of the dead, who
took up residence in the stomach of the ventriloquist. The
ventriloquist would then interpret the sounds, as they were
thought able to speak to the dead, as well as to foretell
the future. Roman priests used ventriloquism to make it
appear as if statues of Roman emperors were speaking. An
example of such a person may have been Elymas the sorcerer
in Acts 13:8 who had influence over a Roman proconsul. And
you remember what Paul said to him in verse 10 — “O full of
all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil,
thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to
pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
Verse 15 says that this second beast would kill those
who refused to worship the first beast. The magistrate and
Roman religious hierarchy had the power to impose death on
those who refused to confess Caesar as Lord. Hailey: “This
put the Christian in the position where he must confess
either Christ or Caesar as Lord, thus choosing between
immediate death and a few added years of life before
eternal death.”
As an aside, we rightly include confession as a step in
God’s plan of salvation, but I wonder sometimes if we fully
appreciate its importance. We make the good confession
prior to our baptism (as we should), but when we do we
should think back on those prior times when the one making
that confession was making a choice between Christ and
Caesar with a sword held at his throat.
As another aside, the idolatry pictured again and again
in this book points directly at Rome and these false
religious practices. Those who think the villain in this
book is Jerusalem have trouble explaining all of these
references to idolatry.
16 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, 17 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. 18 This calls for wisdom: let him
who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for
it is a human number, its number is six hundred and
sixty-six.
Verse 16 tells us that the beast marked his own people.
Just as God marked his people in Chapter 7 to indicate that
they were his, the beast marks his people in Chapter 13 for
the same reason. God knows his people. Satan also knows his
people. Everyone on earth then and everyone on earth today
is wearing one mark or the other. Each of us belongs to
someone.
Verse 17 tells us that no one could buy or sell without
the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of
its name. When we discussed the letters to the seven
churches in Chapters 2-3, we discussed the economic
persecution that Christians suffered at the hands of the
pagan guilds. A confession that Caesar is Lord was often
required before one was allowed to buy or sell. Those who
refused to make that confession were perceived as
unpatriotic and suffered severe economic hardships.
Verse 18 is one of the most famous verses in the Bible,
ranking up there with John 3:16. It has entered the public
consciousness to a greater degree than any other verse in
this book. People who can’t even name the four gospels can
still tell you more than you care to hear (from them,
anyway) about 666.
Verse 18 begins with a call for wisdom, and yet that
verse has spawned a great deal of foolishness. Did you know
that the modern barcode is the mark of the beast and an
indication that we are living in the end times? Some say
so. The two bars that denote ‘6’ appear at the beginning,
middle, and end of every barcode found on the back cover of
most books. Terry Cook in his book The Mark of the New
World Order writes that “the entire [UPC barcode] system is
very deceptively designed around the infamous numerical
configuration, Biblically known as 666, the mark of the
Antichrist or devil.” Mary Stewart Relfe in her book The
New Money System 666 writes that “the Prophet John
identified this Cashless System of Commerce 1900 years ago
as one in which business would be transacted with a 'Mark'
and a Number; the Mark will obviously be a Bar Code; the
Number will be '666;' the combination of the two, about
which you will read in this book, will be an integral part
of the '666 System.” Ridiculous? Yes, extremely so, but
sadly not uncommon when it comes to explanations of
666.
Verse 18 tells us that the number of the beast is 666, a
human number. What does that mean? The number 7 means
perfection. By contrast, the number 6 means imperfection.
The number 6 denotes something that had fallen hopelessly
short of perfection. Man was created on the sixth day, and
he fell from perfection. The number 3 is the number of
divinity. Thus, three 6’s depict something that has fallen
hopelessly short of divine perfection. It had aspirations
of being a 777, but it fell far short.
Does that symbol accurately describe this beast? Yes! No
symbol could describe it any better! This beast represents
the false perverted religious side of Rome. It represents
the man-made Roman religion that worshiped the creature
rather than the creator. God is 777! Rome is 666! It is a
beautiful symbol that shows the stark contrast between God
and his creation. Nothing man-made can ever be a 777.
Hailey: “666 stands for the complete and total failure
of all human systems and efforts antagonistic to God and
His Christ ― all are doomed to ultimate and complete defeat
and failure.”
But can this really be all there is to 666! Surely it
must be something more than that! We need to view this
symbol in the proper perspective. The 666 symbol is just
another symbol in this book full of symbols. It may stand
apart from the other symbols in modern consciousness, but
it does not stand apart from them in the text. Yes, 666 is
a wonderfully descriptive symbol, but there are many other
wonderfully descriptive symbols in Revelation. We must
remember that this book was primarily intended to provide
comfort to the first century Christians who were suffering
intense persecution by Rome. If our interpretation of the
book ignores that fundamental fact, then our interpretation
is almost certainly wrong. The church needed to know that
Rome was a 666! (Let’s keep all of this in mind as we get
closer to discussing the 1000 year reign with Christ in
Revelation 20.)
And the church needs to understand today that there are
many, many 666’s in our own world. We are surrounded by
man-made churches, man-made religions, and man-made
philosophies ― and all of them are just 666. There are many
so-called churches today that should have 666 printed on
their signs out front because they are a man-made church
proclaiming a man-made gospel. Nothing made by man can ever
be a 777. And on that great last day, the last thing you
want to rely on is a 666. “Neither is there salvation in
any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) That name
is 777!
Next week we will consider another possible significance
for 666.
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