Introductory remarks:
After Satan is cast out of heaven he will seek to do as much damage as he can and he does it through his two beasts. These two beasts are the central figures in this chapter. We will find a parallel prophecy in the Old Testament in the seventh chapter of Daniel.
"Seven personages are introduced to us by the seventh trumpet, five of whom we met in chapter 12: the woman, or Israel; the red dragon, Satan; the child of the woman, Christ; Michael, the archangel; and the remnant of Israel, that is, the 144,000 who were sealed of God and who are going to make it through the Great Tribulation. In chapter 13 the final two personages are brought before us. One is the wild Beast out of the sea; he is both a political power and a person. The other is the wild Beast out of the earth; he is a religious leader. Here is where the action is when we come to these personages. Here is revealed to us the great warfare that is going on between light and darkness, between God and Satan. It is manifested now as we draw to the end of the age during the Great Tribulation Period" (McGee).
Barnes presents points in which the two Beasts of chapter 13 resemble each other, which I think is very enlightening, so I will give it in full:
"It is manifest, on the slightest inspection of the characteristics of the Beasts referred to in this chapter, that they have a close relation to each other; that, in important respects, the one is designed to sustain the other, and that both are manifestations or embodiments of that one and the same power represented by the dragon, verse 4. He is the great original source of power to both, and both are engaged in accomplishing his purposes, and are combined to keep up his dominion over the earth. The points of resemblance which it is very important to notice are the following:
They have the same origin - that is, they both owe their power to the dragon, and are designed to keep up his ascendancy [dominance] in human affairs, ch. 12:3; 13:2, 4, 12.
They have the same extent of power and dominion.
FIRST BEAST
The world wonders after the beast, ver. 3. They worship the dragon and the beast, ver. 4; and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, ver. 8.
SECOND BEAST
He exercises all the power of the first beast, ver. 12. He causes the earth and them, which dwell therein to worship the first beast, ver. 12. He has power to give life unto the image of the beast, ver. 15. He sets up jurisdiction over the commerce of the world, ver. 16, 17.
(3) They do the same things
FIRST BEAST
The dragon gives power to the beast, ver. 4. There is given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, ver. 5. He opens his mouth in blasphemy against God, ver. 6. It is given him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, ver.7.
SECOND BEAST
He exercises all the power of the first beast, ver. 12. He does great wonders, ver. 13. He makes fire come down from heaven in the sight of men, ver.13. He performs miracles, ver. 14. He causes that as many as would not worship the first beast should be killed, ver. 15. He claims dominion over all, ver. 16, 17.
(4) The one is the means of healing the wounded head of the other, and of restoring its authority.
FIRST BEAST
One of his heads is, as it were, wounded to death; a wound that would be mortal if it were not healed, ver. 3.
SECOND BEAST
Has power to heal the wound of the first beast, ver. 12; for it is manifest that the healing comes from some influence of the second beast.
(5) The one restores life to the other when dying.
FIRST BEAST
Is wounded, ver. 3, and his power manifestly becomes exhausted.
SECOND BEAST
Causes and image of the first beast - something that should resemble that, or be the same power revived, to be made, and to be worshipped, ver. 15.
(6) They have the same general characteristics.
FIRST BEAST
Has a mouth given him to speak great things and blasphemies, ver. 5; opens his mouth in blasphemy, ver. 6; blasphemes the name of God, and His tabernacle, and His people, ver. 6; makes war with the saints and overcomes them, ver. 7.
SECOND BEAST
Speaks like a dragon, ver. 11; deceives those that dwell upon the earth, ver. 14; is a persecuting power - causing those who would not worship the image of the first beast to be killed, ver. 15.
The Two Beasts
Verse 1, "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."
LGT "And I saw a dragon coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads and upon his horns ten crowns and upon his heads [the] name of blasphemy."
"And I stood upon the sand of the sea,"
This phrase is actually the eighteenth verse of the last chapter, and it reads literally, And he stood on the sand of the sea. It was Satan that stood on the shore of the sea looking out not John. Verse 18 of chapter 12 is a transitional verse for chapters 13-15.
"And saw a beast rise up out of the sea,"
This would better read, Then I [John] saw a dragon coming up out of the sea." After Satan calls the dragon out of the sea, verse 18 of chapter 12, John observes what takes place next.
"Having seven heads and ten horns,"
The seven heads represents the revived Roman Empire that comes out of the ten-nation confederacy, represented by the ten horns. After this I saw in the night visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly, and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were broken before it, and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before which there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots; and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. (Dan. 7:7-8).
"The vision is of the end of Gentile world dominion. The former Roman Empire (the iron kingdom of 2:33-35, 40-44; 7:7) will have ten horns (i.e. kings, Rev. 17:12), corresponding to the ten toes of the image. As Daniel considers this vision of the ten kings, there rises up among them a little horn (king), who subdues three of the ten kings so completely that the separate identity of their kingdoms is destroyed. Seven kings of the ten are left, and the little horn, who is the prince that shall come of (9:26, the abomination of 12:11 and Matt. 24:15, and the beast out of the sea of Rev. 13:1-10. He will be the head of the restored fourth world empire (Beast, see Rev. 19:20). Some expositors also equate with him the willful king of 11:36-45, and the man of sin of 2 Thess. 2:4-8" (Scofield Bible).
"And upon his horns ten crowns,"
The Greek word for 'crowns' is diademata and is the badge of a sovereign. "These crowns indicate dominion or authority. In ch. 12:3, the dragon is represented as having seven diadems on his head; here, the beast is represented as having ten. The dragon there represents the Roman domination, as such, the seven hilled, or seven-headed power, and, therefore, properly described as having seven diadems; the beast here represents the Roman power, as now broken up into ten dominations which sprung up from the one original Roman power (this is the revived Roman Empire), and that became henceforward the supporters of the Papacy, and, therefore, properly represented here as having ten diadems" (Barnes).
"And upon his heads the name of blasphemy."
The Greek word for 'blasphemy' is blasphemies and it means to rant and rave about God and divine things in terms of impious irreverence. All the Roman Emperors of the past were guilty of blasphemy. They set themselves to be worshipped as gods. "Each one of these heads appeared to have a frontlet, with an inscription that was blasphemous, or ascribed some attribute to this power that properly belonged to God; and that the whole power thus assumed was in derogation of the attributes and claims of God" (Barnes). Both these beast will be used by Satan to make claims of divinity. Theime says, "This beast dictator is Satan's slave. He is the Gentile dictator of the revived Roman Empire in the last half of the Tribulation. He ruthlessly conquers three gentile nations. Then the seven other nations accept his dictatorship without a fight. (see Daniel 7:8 and 7:20). In the first half of the Tribulation, we have 10 Gentile nations - in the last half, we have a 7 nation dictatorship."
Verse 2, "And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority."
LGT "And the beast which I saw was like to a leopard and its feet as of a bear and its mouth as a mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority."
This weird looking beast presents to John a composite of what the Antichrist (the dictator rising out of the revived Roman Empire) will be like. In order to have a complete picture it will be necessary for us to look at the vision of Daniel 7.
"And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard,"
The Greek word for 'leopard' is pardalei, which is the same word for 'panther.' "Leopard is leo-pard, the lion-pard, which was supposed to be a mongrel between a panther and a lioness" (Vincent). Now we will read Daniels vision; After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads, and dominion was given to it (Dan. 7:6). This vision of Daniels represented the swiftness of Alexander the Greats conquest over Western Civilization. "This was the Graeco-Macedonian Empire. Greece was noted for its brilliance and its advancement in the arts and sciences. It was noted for its philosophy, its architecture, and its marvelous literature. The Greek language itself is a wonderful language. The empire of the beast [the Antichrist] will have all the outward culture which was the glory of Greece" (McGee).
"And his feet were as the feet of a bear,"
We now compare Daniel's vision of the Bear; And, behold, another beast. A second, like a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between its teeth; and they said thus unto it, arise, devour much flesh. "The three ribs in the mouth is a possible reference to the threefold dominion of the second empire, Media Persia, Babylonia" (Scofield).
"And his mouth as the mouth of a lion:"
Again we must go to Daniel seven for a full understanding of John's vision. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings; I beheld till its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon the feet as a man; a man's heart was given to it (Dan. 7:4). "This is a Palestinian picture of a perfect beast of prey, raging and revenging" (Expositors Greek Testament).
"The mouth of the lion is made to seize and hold its prey, and is indicative of the character of the animal as a beast of prey. John has thus brought together the qualities of activity, bloodthirstiness, strength, and ferocity, all as symbolical of the power that was intended to be represented. It is hardly necessary to say that this description is one that would apply well, in all respects, to Rome; nor is it necessary to say, that if it be supposed that he meant to refer to Rome, this is such a description as he would have adopted" (Barnes).
"And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority."
Satan empowers this awful beast to accomplish his antichristian goals. "This final dictator comes to his zenith under the dominion of Satan. The source of his power is found in Satan who raises him up, empowers and energizes him for the dastardly dictatorial job he will do. He is the closest to an incarnation of Satan that appears in Scripture" (McGee). The seat that is given to him is actually in Greek thronan, a throne. This speaks of a position of Great authority. Remember in the wilderness Satan offered Christ all the kingdoms of this world if He would worship him. This was a legitimate offer from Satan, for he is the Prince of the power of the air. When he is finally defeated he will lose his power and become an impotent sniveling coward for eternity
Verse 3, "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast."
LGT "And one of its heads was slain to death, and the wound of its death was healed: and the whole earth marveled after the beast."
"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;"
There is no personal pronoun 'I' or the verb 'saw' in the Greek, but it is understood by the context of the last two verses. This is simply a continuation of John's vision. The verb 'wounded' is actually 'slain'. Satan is not able to raise the dead; this is strictly a mockery. Satan is able to only cause death he cannot give life.
"And his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast."
Satan will cause quite a stir in the world; the world would not accept the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, but they will accept the imitation from the beast. It's a little too early to identify this beast; it will become clearer as we continue. "And his death stroke was healed" shows the blasphemous imitation of the death and resurrection of Christ. The challenge in that day will be: "What has Christ done that Antichrist has not done?" Nobody can duplicate the resurrection of Christ; they might imitate it, but they cannot duplicate it. Yet Antichrist is going to imitate it in a way that will fool the world - it is the big lie. Believers say, "Christ is risen!" The boast of unbelievers in that day will be: "So is Antichrist!" The Roman Empire will spring back into existence under the cruel hand of a man who faked a resurrection, and a gullible world who rejected Christ will finally be taken in by this forgery" (McGee).
Verse 4, "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"
LGT "And they worshipped the dragon, because he gave the authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast saying, Who is like to the beast, and who is able to make war with him?"
"And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast:"
"The beast is merely the tool of the devil for worship. Recall the fact that the devil even proposed that Jesus worship him. Emperor-worship, like all idolatry, was devil worship. The same thing is true today about self-worship (humanism or any form of it)" (Robertson).
"And they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?
Instead of worshipping the God of the Bible who really is omnipotent, the world will say, we have a real god, whom you can see, and touch; "Who would dare go to war with him?" "Worship of the devil and the devil's agent is justified purely on the ground of brute force. It is the doctrine of Nietzsche that might makes right" (Robertson).
Thieme notes: "This is a picture of the typical 'religious' person who is impressed by 'creature power'. The 'beast' will be a mental genius. He will be a person of great personal presence. Satan delegates his power and authority to him which also is attractive to 'people'. Finally, this beast dictator is able to perform miraculous deeds. The 'fancy stuff' always impresses religious types."
Verse 5, "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months."
LGT "And was given to it a mouth speaking great [boastful] things and blasphemies and was given to it authority to function forty two months."
"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies;"
The Antichrist will speak great things (megala), which means he will have a great big mouth, speaking against the deity of Christ. The Antichrist will be one with a lot of charisma; I am sure we all know people who have 'charisma'; these people seem to get whatever they go after, because they use people to their advantage, the psychologists call this 'manipulation'. Blasphemies is a word in Greek blasphemia which means to speak of God or divine things in terms of impious irreverence. "Blasphemia should be transliterated when directed toward God - blasphemies. When it is directed toward creatures, it should be translated slander" (Thieme).
"And power was given unto him to continue forty two months."
The Antichrist will only be aloud to reign his fury on people for three and one half years and then his end will come.
Verse 6, "And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven."
LGT "And he opened his mouth unto blasphemies face to face with God, blaspheming His name and His tabernacle, and the ones who tabernacle in heaven."
"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,"
The arrogance of the Antichrist is seen in his challenging God with his blasphemies. In Greek it reads pros tou Theou, meaning 'face to face with' the God. What a picture this presents of the arrogance of this created creature, standing nose to nose in defiance against the Great Creator.
"To blaspheme His name,"
To blaspheme the name of God is the unpardonable sin; this is speaking lies about our perfect God. There is no way a man can blaspheme God without denying that He is God. The name of God is who He Himself says He is in His Word, and to deny His name, is to deny His very existence.
"And His tabernacle,"
The Greek word for 'tabernacle' is skene, which means in this context God's dwelling place. In the Old Testament the Tabernacle was a temporary dwelling place for God in the Holy of Holies.
"And them that dwell in heaven."
Here he speaks against Christ and His church in heaven; further proof I believe that the Church is raptured before the Great Tribulation. I believe this applies to angels and the redeemed Church of Christ.
Verse 7, "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."
LGT "And it was given to him to make war with the saints and overcome them; and he gave to him authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation."
Daniel records this same event: I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom (Dan 7:21,22). "In the Church Age, evil is organized and cannot overcome believers. In the Tribulation, there is no pivot of believers, the Restrainer (Holy Spirit) has been removed, and now evil is organized. Organized evil overcomes believers in this age" (Thieme). "The saints (there will be saints during the Tribulation Period, although they are not of course, the Church) will be overcome by the brutal Beast. In the will of God many believers, both Jew and Gentile will suffer martyrdom" (McGee).
Verse 8, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
LGT "And they worshipped him all the ones who dwell upon the earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of the Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him,"
The 'all' that are referred to here dwelling on the earth are the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles during the last half of the seven years of the Tribulation Period. These people will fall down in reverential awe before the Antichrist. This slick deceiver will convince them all that he is a special god, and they will want to serve him. The Antichrist, as we will see, will be the most charismatic fast talking son of-a-gun, which even men like Robert Schuler and Gene Scott will envy him. This will be a time when the doctrine of self-esteem will be center stage.
"Whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
This phrase separates the believers from the unbelievers. Jesus Christ is the Lamb who was slain, and His death was pre-determined by the Father, in order to salvage mankind, before the worlds were even formed. What a wonderful picture of the pre-existence of the Son of God. If this verse doesn't prove His deity, none can. I thank God I won't be around in this day.
Verse 9, "If any man have an ear, let him hear."
LGT "If anyone has an ear, let him hear."
This is an idiom, which means that this includes everyone, who has ears, that is, anyone who is capable of hearing words and is able to make sense of these words. This has to include everyone, except the feeble minded, for we know that 'whosoever will may come.' This certainly flies in the face of those poor misguided souls who believe they were special, and that God chose them to be saved, and decided to send others to hell.
Verse 10, "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints."
LGT "If anyone [is] for captivity, into captivity he will go, if anyone with the sword kills, he with the sword [must] be killed. Here is the patient endurance and the faith of the saints."
This entire verse is inserted as an encouragement for the saints, because, God judges the earth, and He will have the final say. The saints are to relax and trust God for the final outcome.
"What John is saying here is not for you and me - at least, I hope it is not for you; I know it is not for me - because, beginning with chapter 4, Revelation is dealing with future things which are beyond the church. The church (meaning all born again believers in this age) will no longer be on earth. John is speaking to God's saints who will be in the world at that time. Remember that during the Tribulation the Antichrist will be the world dictator. Men are not going to buy or sell without his permission. He will rule the world as no one has ever ruled in the past. God is saying to those who are His own, 'Don't resist him.' To begin with, it would not do any good. The second thing is that this is 'the patience and the faith of the saints' of that time. If you are in the world during the Great Tribulation, then you are going to have to bear with patience and faith the awful trials that will be coming even upon God's children" (McGee).
Verse 11, "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon."
LGT "And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon."
"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;"
In Greek there are two words for 'another.' The first word is heteron another of a different kind. This beast is allo another of the same kind; John is saying this beast is like the first beast both are antichrist. The first beast comes out of the sea, which represents mankind, and has ten horns, representing the nations, and this beast is against Christ, Antichrist. This beast is like the first beast, but this one rises up out of Israel and is an imitation of Christ, Antichrist, instead of Christ.
"And he had two horns like a lamb, and spake as a dragon."
This Antichrist is an imitation of The Lamb of God, which has taken away the sin of the world (John 1:29). This beast comes on like a lamb but speaks as ferocious as a dragon. This beast is A wolf in sheep's clothing (Matt. 7:15). "The Jewish dictator of the nation Israel - last half of the Tribulation having come up to power from the land (Israel). He had two horns; horns represent power - civil and religious power, like a lamb (reference to Jesus Christ - this dictator is passing himself off as Messiah), but he kept on speaking like a dragon (says he is the Messiah, but he preaches doctrines of the devil/ Satan/ the dragon" (Thieme).
Verse 12, "And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed."
LGT "And the authority of the first beast he is doing before him (in his presence), and he is making the earth and those who dwell in it that they should worship the first beast, of whom was healed of his death wound."
"And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him,"
The second beast receives his power from the first beast. "The same amount of power; the same kind of power. This shows a remarkable relationship between these two beasts; and proves that it was intended to refer to the same power substantially, though manifested in a different form. In the fulfillment of this, we should naturally look for some government whose authority extended far, and which was absolute and arrogant in its character, for this is the power attributed to the first beast" (Barnes).
"And causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed."
The unbelieving remnant in Israel will do homage to the beast. They will imitate the miracles of the Lord, which will cause many to wonder and follow the beast. All throughout history there have been charlatans who claim to be able to heal and they deceive the masses; however, these beasts will be allowed to perform many miracles, just as the magicians in Egypt were allowed, and they will cause many to be deluded. It is interesting to note that only those who want to be deluded will be. We who have been saved by His wonderful grace refused to allow those 'miracle workers' any glory. I believe this is another proof that the Church will not be on earth during this time because they refuse to be deluded.
Verse 13, "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,"
LGT "And he does great signs, that he should also make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of the men."
It should always be a warning to us when men claim to have these powers; we should always say that they are liars, because God does not work in this age of grace as He did in the Old Testament times, before Jesus Christ went to the cross. Jesus predicted that men who do these things should be looked at as false prophets; this includes Benny Hinn and his like from TBN. The people who believe this tripe from that so-called 'Christian station' do so because they refuse to study God's Word. It is easier to float along and not get involved in Bible study, and just believe this nonsense from these pinheads. The only one who gets any glory from these liars is these liars themselves. "Christ promised great signs to the disciples (John 14:12), but He also warned them against false prophets and false christs with their signs and wonders (Mark 13:22). So also Paul had pictured the power of the man of sin (II Thess. 2:9). Elijah had called down fire from heaven (I Kings 18:38; II Kings 1:10) and James and John had once even urged Jesus to do this miracle (Luke 9:54)" (Robertson).
Verse 14, "And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live."
LGT "And deceives the ones who dwell upon the earth because of the signs which was given to him to work in the sight of the beast, saying to the ones who dwell upon the earth they should make an image of the beast, which has the wound of the sword and is living."
"And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast;"
The second beast performs his miraculous powers in the presence of the first beast paying homage to him as a dictator. Jesus Christ predicted this in Matthew 24:24, For there shall arise false Christs (Antichrists), and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. It is not possible to deceive the elect (believers) because they are kept by the power of God unto the last. Robertson notes: "It is a constant cause for wonder, the gullibility of the public at the hands of new charlatans who continually bob up with their pipe dreams."
"Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live."
The Greek word for 'image' is eikon meaning a character likeness. I believe that when the Antichrist sets up this image of himself in the Jewish temple, this will be the 'abomination of desolation' referred to by Daniel the prophet. When this happens we will learn as we go, that this will cause many of the Jews to turn away from this false prophet and accept the Messiah. "The first beast dictator represents a Gentile dictator who will head the new 'revived Roman Empire'. So his 'fatal wound' to his head represents the fall of the original Roman Empire. Here his 'coming back to life' represents the rise of the new Roman Empire in the Tribulation" (Thieme).
Verse 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."
LGT "And it was given to it to give breath to the image of the beast, in order that the image of the wild beast should both speak, and should make as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed."
"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast,"
This second wild beast is endowed with power to give animation to the image. The Greek word for 'life' is pneuma, which is the same word for breath and spirit. There is no power on earth that is able to give real life, save our God Creator.
"That the image of the beast should both speak,"
I believe this is more than mere ventriloquism. I believe that this wild beast image will be possessed with Antichrist's demons.
"And cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed."
This has been the nemesis of the Church throughout the ages; they have always been required to submit to Emperor Worship. The early Church in the first century paid the price of Christianity for refusing to submit to the Emperors, but that did not stop the Church; it flourished faster at that time, than in any time since. In the last half of the Great Tribulation all will be required to worship this image or die.
Verse 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."
LGT "And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, that it should give them a mark upon the right hand or upon their foreheads."
This verse leaves no one out; all those who occupy the earth at this time will be required by this wild beast to bear a mark that will be in plain sight. This mark will identify the bearer as property of the beast. Everyone will be required to give up his precious freedom.
The Greek word for 'mark' is karagma; "The word properly means something graven or sculptured; hence, (a) a graving, sculpture, sculptured work, as images or idols; (b) a mark cut in or stamped - as the stamp on coin. Applied to men, it was used to denote some stamp or mark on the hand or elsewhere - as in the case of a servant on whose hand or arm the name of the master was impressed; or a soldier on whom some mark was impressed denoting the company or phalanx (a compact body of soldiers) to which he belonged. It was no uncommon thing to mark slaves or soldiers in this way; and the design was either to denote their ownership or rank, or to prevent their escaping so as not to be detected" (Barnes).
Verse 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."
LGT "And that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, even the name of the wild beast, or the number of his name."
"The stamp (the mark) may bear either name or number of the beast. The name and the number are one and the same. They could write the name in numerals, for numbers were given by letters. Swete suggests that it was according to a sort of gematria known to the Apocalyptist and his Asian readers, but not generally intelligible" (Robertson). Theime suggests "that the number will be like a 'pin' number at the bank." McGee notes: "We are not told what the mark of the beast will be, but that hasn't stopped many commentators from telling us what it will be." I concur with McGee 100%.
Verse 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."
LGT "Here the wisdom is. The one having the understanding, let him count the number of the wild beast; for a number of man it is; and its number is Six hundred and sixty six."
The positive thing about this verse is that the beast will have a number, and this number will be 666. Volumes have been written about this verse, but I must admit that it does not have a whole lot of interest for me, because I will not be here when this beast is. Theime has the most profound solution I have yet to read: "The number of man in the Bible is 6. Here with six being tripled is a picture of man wanting to 'make himself' like the Godhead/Trinity. So this number represents the attempting to deify a man under Satan's cosmic system."
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