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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Revelation 13:15 - 13:18
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The mark of the second beast:
v. 15. and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
v. 16. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads,
v. 17. and that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.
v. 18. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.
There is a remarkable show of authority which is here described: And there was granted him to give spirit to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should die; and he obliges all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, that they impress upon them a mark upon their right hand or upon their foreheads, that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. So far the power of the beast goes by God's permission, to this extent he is God's scourge upon those that will not accept the salvation through Christ. Even the image, the copy of the first beast, this second beast caused to have the ability to speak and to exert great might in the world. He does not confine himself to any special class of people: powerful or without influence, rich or poor, free or in slavery, the beast will try to get them all into his power and to control them according to both body and soul. To do this, he sees to it that his mark is impressed, either upon their right hands or upon their foreheads. The word here used by John originally designated the imperial stamp on documents and merchandise, a red seal with the emperor's name or effigy. The mark on the hand was to indicate that the wearer would faithfully conform all his acts to the will of his master; and that on the forehead indicated that the wearer openly proclaimed himself a servant of the beast. So far did the power of the beast go at certain times that the very commerce of states and nations was controlled by it, and men could buy and sell commodities only with his permission.
So far as the explanation of this picture is concerned, the seer writes: Here is wisdom: he that has understanding, let him compute the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his name is six hundred sixty-six. Here indeed the gift of interpretation is needed if one would make absolute assertions. A great many commentators have tried to make the characteristics here given fit some individual historical person, Nero, who probably served as a type, Napoleon, and others. But if we take the features of the picture as a whole, the most probable conclusion is the following. As the first beast pictured the Roman Empire, continued in the kingdom of Anti-Christ as he showed himself mainly before the Reformation, so the second beast represents him as he has appeared since that time. Before the Reformation he exerted his power in an open and unrestricted manner; since that time he has assumed a lamb-like aspect, which has deceived thousands of people. The image of the first beast is still there, the detailed hierarchical organization modeled after that of the Roman Empire, as it has been strengthened by the Jesuits. There is a Pope, there are cardinals, there are archbishops and bishops and priests and deacons and subdeacons and a great many other officials, all fitting in with the system. There is the matter of the Inquisition, which developed its greatest power since the Reformation. There are the signs and wonders, which make such a great impression upon men. There are the two swords, the temporal and the spiritual, which the Pope still claims for himself. There are the many cases of interdict, or spiritual boycott, when congregations, cities, and states were suspended from the means of grace. There are the cases of indulgences, when the forgiveness of sins was made a matter of traffic and bargaining. There are the cases of special commercial privileges granted to individuals and to communities by papal dispensation or permission. There are many other features which apply with peculiar force to Anti-Christ and his kingdom.
Luther writes about this chapter and the preceding one: "What abominations, woe, and damage this imperial papacy has committed cannot be related now. For in the first place, the world through his book has been filled with idolatry, with monasteries, institutions, saints, pilgrimages, purgatory, indulgences, lack of marriage, and innumerable other specimens of human doctrine and works. In the second place, who is able to tell how much bloodshed, murder, war, and misery the Popes have been the cause of, both with their own wars and by provoking emperors, kings, and princes?"
Summary
In the pictures of two beasts the prophet pictures the kingdom of Anti-Christ in its two phases, before and after the Reformation, showing its great power both in gaining worshipers and in bringing misery and death upon those that refused to accept Anti-Christ's doctrines.