Revelation 13:11 Then I saw another beast coming up from the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it was speaking like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence. It also makes the earth and those who live in it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.The beast that came from the sea and sat down on the earth is the Roman Empire. Now (the land of) that Roman Empire produces another beast that attempts to be God (looks like the lamb). This is the Emperor being worshipped as a god. It executes all the power of the Roman Empire and it makes everybody worship the (gods of the) Roman Empire, including himself.
13 It does great signs so that it even makes fire come down from heaven to earth in the presence of the people. 14 It deceives those who live on earth by the signs that it was allowed to do in the presence of the beast.The Roman war machine was able to let fire rain down on people. It did great signs of technique that everybody loved.
It told those who live on earth to make an image for the beast who had been wounded by the sword and yet came to life again. 15 It was allowed to give breath to the beast’s image so that the beast’s image would even speak and cause anyone who didn’t worship the beast’s image to be put to death.The image of the beast is the living human representative of the Roman Empire and its godly Emperor, such as Nero, Vespasian or Titus. This idol is not like idols of wood, silver or gold. It is a living idol that has breath and can speak and can sentence people to death if they don't worship him.
16 It forces everyone—the small and great, the rich and poor, the free and slaves—to have a mark put on their right hand or on their forehead. 17 It will not allow anyone to make a purchase or sell anything unless the person has the mark with the beast’s name or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom. Let the one who understands calculate the beast’s number, for it’s a human being’s number. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.The image of this beast is a human being, not a god. That image was put on coins. Rome forced everybody to pay with their money. They did not accept other kind of money.
So everybody who wanted to buy or sell had this image of the godly emperor in his right hand.
In those days, slaves could be marked with a sign on their hands or forehead to indicate who's property they were. Gladiators also had marks on their forehead.
You receive the mark of the beast by indeed worshiping the emperor as god. This spiritual mark is a sign that you are the property or slave of the devil. It contrasts the spiritual sign that you get on your forehead as a christian when you are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
To summarize:
- The beast from the sea is the Roman Empire.
- The beast from the land is the godly emperor.
- The image of the beast is a specific emperor ruling at the moment, having his image put on coins.
- The mark of the beast is the spiritual 'mark of ownership' you get when you indeed worship that emperor.
The most important thing about the 666 is that it's human, not godly.
Conclusion
You get the mark of the beast by worshiping the Roman Emperor as god instead of worshiping the Lamb. It is not about a chip in your arm for a future pay system. It is about breaking the laws of God and thus becoming a slave of sin. When you sin, you worship the devil and get the mark. When you keep Gods commandments, you worship the Lamb.
Conclusion
You get the mark of the beast by worshiping the Roman Emperor as god instead of worshiping the Lamb. It is not about a chip in your arm for a future pay system. It is about breaking the laws of God and thus becoming a slave of sin. When you sin, you worship the devil and get the mark. When you keep Gods commandments, you worship the Lamb.
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