Mark of the Beast

Jesus said that “not even the Son knows the hour, only the Father.”  If we are approaching the End Times, we have unimaginable pain, destruction and death ahead of us.  If the numbers in Revelation are taken literally, the death rate will skyrocket by the end, with one third of people dying by famine, disease and war in a fairly short time.  We look forward to Jesus’ return as King of Kings, but there will be many trials and tribulations to endure first.

Revelation 13 is famous for its imagery of the two beasts, the second having the mark 666.  The Enduring Word commentary is among many that suggest the beasts are individuals, indicating Hitler may be one of them.  However, the Old Testament beasts from Daniel 7 are thought to be the empires of Babylon, Persia, Alexander’s Greece and Rome. If the imagery is consistent, the first empire in Revelation 13 must come after Rome.  I contend the beasts here are empires.

In Revelation 13, The first beast “comes out of the sea” and “resembled a leopard”, “had feet like a bear” and “a mouth like a lion”. So in some way, this new empire may be an island and resembles Babylon, Persia and Alexander’s Greece.  

Revelation 13:5-7: “The (first) beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.”

There are seven times in scripture where 42 months seems to be cited, three in Daniel, four in Revelation.  It is my contention that each month is approximately a decade, as throughout the Bible, periods of about 400 years often appear.  The Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 400 years.  It was 480 years from the Exodus to Solomon building the Temple.  King Saul and King David each reigned for 40 years, so four hundred from the Red Sea to the first king.  From the Temple to Exile was about another 400 years.  From the last prophet of the OT, Malachi, to the birth of Jesus another 400 years or so.  Interestingly, the Roman Empire lasted almost exactly 400 years after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.  These periods of 400 years don’t follow each other immediately, and likely the seven mentions in Daniel and Revelation describe some of the same times, not seven different periods.  

In Revelation 13, this beast dominates the world for (about) four hundred twenty years and then gives birth to a second beast. Both beasts blaspheme God’s authority, with the second beast appearing to have horns (power) of the lamb (Jesus) but speaking like the dragon (Satan).

Both of the empires appear Christian, which makes the first beast European.  African, Asian and South American nations never had empires that spanned the globe.  France, Spain and England did.  The first empire gives rise to the second, which honors the first.  None of France’s or Spain’s colonies became world powers.  But England and the United States fit this description very well.  Let’s look at each of these in turn over the next week. There is much more to all of this.  Then we'll examine what this may mean - if any of it is correct.