Join us as we delve into the profound and complex prophecy of the Mark of the Beast as depicted in Revelation 13. Discover the characteristics and implications of the beast’s control over global economics and spiritual allegiance. This episode unpacks the prophetic significance and its potential manifestations in our own world.
Reading the Bible carefully, it says, He causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond slave or enslaved, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. The extent of this control. He causeth all, small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, all of them. Everybody has to have the mark. Boy, what a dilemma this is going to bring to Christians, the believers in the tribulation. This whole system could be enforced in a relatively short period of time.
SPEAKER 01 :
Revelation 13 thunders with a vision of the end. A beast rises from the earth, speaking like a dragon. Fire falls from the sky. An image is given breath. The whole world is swept into deception, and the demand is clear. Worship the beast or die. Receive his mark or be cut off from buying and selling. It is the nightmare of human history and the judgment of God upon a rebellious world. Wow, this is not speculation. This is prophecy. And today, David Hawking takes us straight into the terrifying reality of the mark of the beast, right here on Hope for Today. Hope for Today We’ll open the Word in just a moment. First, if you’re looking for a daily shot of strength from God’s Word, well, check out Meditations in the Psalms. That’s our daily devotional written by David, and it’s right there on the homepage of davidhawking.org. These aren’t fluffy inspirational quotes. No, what they are is straight, unfiltered truths pulled from the Psalms every day. Each daily devotional drives you back into the Word to the God who is our refuge, our shield, and our song. And the best part, the Meditations in the Psalms devotionals every day are completely free. Check it out right there on the homepage, Meditations in the Psalms at davidhawking.org. Let’s open up Revelation chapter 13 once again. We’re focusing on verses 11 through 18, and here’s David with day three of The Mark of the Beast.
SPEAKER 03 :
You want to break this down? First of all, the characteristics of this second beast in verse 11 and 12. Verse 13 to 15, the counterfeit of miraculous signs that he will do. And third, the control which he will bring through this mark of the beast in verse 16 and 18. Revelation chapter 13, verse 11 warns us of what’s coming. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth. And he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke like a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them who dwell on it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 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 that had the wound by a sword and did live. And he hath 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. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and enslaved, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads, and that no one, no man, might buy or sell anything save or accept he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. 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. Well, let’s take a look at the control which this beast will bring, verses 16 to 18, and probably the thing you’re all waiting for is the mark of the beast and what it means. I want you to notice four things. Look at the extent of this control. Once again, reading the Bible carefully, it says, He causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond slave or enslaved, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. The extent of this control. He causeth all, small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, all of them. Everybody has to have the mark. Boy, what a dilemma this is going to bring to Christians, the believers in the tribulation. Everybody has to have it. Now, the evidence of his control, of course, is this mark in their right hand and in their forehead. Turn back to chapter 7, verse 3. The devil seems to counterfeit everything. In chapter 7, verse 3, concerning the 144,000, it says, Look at chapter 14, verse 1. And I looked, and lo, a lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000, having his father’s name written in their what? Foreheads. So here we have in society a counterfeit of the mark of God. A mark in their right hand or in their forehead. Should we talk about the mark? I have a friend who is with MasterCard. And He told me about a banker’s convention or seminar they had dealing with the severe credit card and economic problems that all these credit cards have brought to America. As you know, it’s an enormous debt line that has to be figured in to all of their plans for it. There’s a sense in which, of course, they all want you to run up your cards as high as you can, the full maximum. There’s a sense in which they want to do that. There’s also a sense in which they don’t want to do that. You see, it’s like a catch-22. At some point, it backfires, and then comes great economic disaster. But as long as they can keep this under control in some way, they feel that it’s not a bad deal, all this debt in society. My definition of debt is that if you can’t pay a bill you owe in 30 days, you’re in debt at least at that point. I think also the standard definition of debt in this country ought to be reinstated. And that means that your liabilities are greater than your assets. Now, that’ll bring great hardship to a lot of people, I know. But, you know, when you really think about how are we going to solve this thing, it’s an enormous problem. But anyway, at this convention, they talked about the proliferation of credit cards. And, of course, a lot of people from Visa and MasterCard and Citibank and others, they’re trying to find a solution to this problem from a human perspective. And it was proposed, my banking friend told me, who runs the MasterCard department, says that it was proposed that they have an international credit card. In the United States, the question was, what would it be based on? The suggestions were the Social Security number. But the proposal that won the most interest was that it would be based on your birthday, because everybody has a recorded birthday. The exceptions, even in third world countries, would be rare, whereas a social security system would leave a lot of people out. So what would be the best way to enlist or enroll all the peoples of the world in some sort of international system? And they decided that probably your birthday would be the way, some way to figure that out. And apparently the idea is so interesting that there’s committees now of various kinds of credit card systems that are working together to pilot the program, if you please, in the United States. I mean, where else? So we pilot the program with some sort of a combination credit card that includes everything. and everybody, and to see if that won’t help solve the problem. Now, this supposedly will help all the computerized programs. They can immediately find you and know what you’re doing wherever you are. And you could be on the other side of the United States trying to use your card, and they would immediately, within seconds, know how much is in your account and whether you had the money to pay for it or not. Folks, it doesn’t take any brains to see that this whole system could be in force in a relatively short period of time. A lot of Christian people say, well, this is far down the line. No, it’s not. First of all, we already do it with animals. And it’s so easy with laser, we can do it to human beings, and it can easily be done. It is being tested in several cities using a mark in the hand, and you put your hand under infrared little light that’s set up on a store, and immediately your account is on the screen, and they know how much money you have. They know whether you can buy or sell, or buy this item and walk out of the store with it. So they’re testing that now in some isolated communities, and it’s really on the horizon. Now, the problem is, if you’re a Christian and you know what the passage teaches, I mean, I don’t know about you, but even going in a Knott’s Berry Farm or Disneyland, I don’t like them stamping my hand. Does that make you nervous? Then you come back through and you have to put it under there, you know, and so forth. I don’t know. It just makes me nervous, you know. Folks, I don’t think there’s any question about it. Contrary to previous generations thinking this was an illustration, an allegory, I don’t think there’s any question about it. I think it’s literal. I think there’s going to be a mark in the forehead and a mark on the hand, and it’s going to control the economic position of all of the world. It’s going to be there. It’s a serious day, isn’t it? And with computers, they can easily, in terms of information, create this. Now, the effect of this control is very important to understand. Verse 17, no man might buy or sell. Boy, these Christians are going to suffer, aren’t they? The Christians don’t take the mark. They can’t go down to the grocery store and buy or sell. There’s going to be a lot of serious issues being created. because of this. You’ve got to have it or you can’t buy or sell. So it’s an economic control. It’s a way of getting people to support the world system, the world government, and to keep track of everybody. Now the explanation of this mark or this control is what causes people trouble, and that’s in verse 18. First it says, here is wisdom, and it’s almost like God’s humor there, because none of us can figure it out, so evidently we’re not wise. Here is wisdom. You say, wow, I can’t even get close to it. There are some manuscripts that read 616, but the majority is certainly 666. 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… The little word a in front of man is always misleading. There is no Greek particle listing a or and. It’s a number of man. And when you read it that way, it’s a little different interpretation than the number of a man. And all the way through church history, people have been trying to figure out which man this was. Now, first of all, both Hebrew and Greek do have numerical equivalence to their letters. You need to understand that. In Hebrew, the first 10 letters go up to 10. Then they go by tens. 10, 20, 30, 40, up to 100. Then they go to 500 as the top number. For instance, my name in Hebrew is an equivalent of 14. The name David. Yeah, praise God. Not close to 666. But you know, everybody’s trying to figure out everybody’s name. And I suppose that if you made a list of all these and then you put your name, if you have a Hebrew name especially, and you put it on the chart that came out 666, that you would probably go for counseling tomorrow or something. I mean, that would be a little frightening. The letters in Hebrew, Greek, and I might add in Latin also have numerical equivalence. Also in archaeology, you should know this, that we have discovered the use of numbers in identifying people in archaeological evidences, on pottery, on various artifacts, where they actually use the numerical equivalence of the alphabet to determine who the person was. It was kind of a method of hiding the person, and only those who knew the code, you know, would know who the number was. Now, Roman numerals… I don’t know if you thought this through, all add up to 666. Interesting. Arabic numbers from 1 to 36 add up to 666. But I say to you, I don’t think that has anything to do with this. I don’t think it has anything to do with it at all. First of all, it’s a number of man, which means in the text, it is contrasting it with a number of who? God. It specifically tells us there’s no reason to say the number of man, because he just got through saying, count the number of the beast. And you could say his number is 666. It amused me a few years ago on the Israeli license plates, they have three numbers. And they were in rotation. And the year that I was there in Israel, all the license plates had 666. Man, I tell you, they’re guys almost writing prophecy books while they were touring in Israel, saying, hey, it’s here. Of course, the next year it was 777. So, you know, goodbye idea. The Bible’s clear it’s a number of man. Now, why do we emphasize that? Because it is in contrast to the number of God. The number of God is always seven. In all Hebrew understanding rabbinical literature, God is perfect. Seven is perfection. Seven, seven, seven. Why, even Christians in the early church said the three sevens indicate the triunity of God. Now, I’m not making a big deal over this. I’m simply trying to tell you how people through church history have looked at it. 666 has always been to church history students and scholars as the number of man and a little less than the number of God. It has always represented the pagan world systems of this world. Always. I do not believe it’s referring to a particular person. Maybe it is and we just don’t know it, but I don’t believe that. I believe that’s misleading. I believe the point of the number is not to become fascinated with an actual number, but to understand it’s a number of man, that this whole system will be characterized by a mark, an economic block, and you’ll have to have it, and the whole system bears a whole counterfeit. to what God is and what he will do. And it’s always one step less than what God is. God is 777. Man is 666. I went through my commentaries in Revelation. I have over 40 of them, and they’re just all kinds of views. But I think they’re misleading. I think the fact is that we’re talking about a very real economic control that’s going to come to this world, and people are going to have to have this mark, and it’s the number of that pagan system. And it’s going to be obvious to believers that that’s what it is, because in the book of Revelation, no believers take the mark, and all unbelievers, take the mark. Now, how interesting. There’s no crossover. You say, oh, I’m worried. I hope I don’t take the mark. If you’re a true believer in Christ, according to the Bible, you will never take that mark. So it’s going to, you know, relax on that one, but it’s going to be something obvious to the people living in the tribulation. They will know very definitely. By the way, remember that Jesus said tribulation believers also know the day and the hour. We church age believers don’t know, but tribulation believers will know. As a matter of fact, when they see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, then they can count right on the nose, 1260 days. They will know the day. They will know how it’s going to be organized. So there will be some obvious evidence that this mark is definitely not of God, and the believers will not take it. And for that… they will be killed. I don’t know about you, but in the light of what’s happening in our world, if you didn’t know the Lord, I’d start getting concerned, real concern. You know, unbelievers try to bury their heads in the sand when it comes to Bible prophecy. Well, my friends, it’s getting a little tough to do these days. You got to stop ignoring it. Jesus Christ is coming soon. Are you really ready? Jesus said, therefore, be ready for an hour that you think not the Son of Man cometh. Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of Man cometh. Are you ready? One of my favorite illustrations, the little boy went to his grandparents’ home. They had a big old grandfather’s clock in the corner of the room, and this little boy loved to sit in front of that clock and watch it especially at 12 noon, go through its 12 ding-dongs. You know, dong, dong, dong. One day while he was sitting in front of the clock, something happened in the mechanism of that clock, and it kept going. As he was counting, you know, 10, 11, 12, and it kept going.
SPEAKER 1 :
13, 14, 15.
SPEAKER 03 :
Little boy panics. He runs into the kitchen and says, Grandma, Grandma, it’s later than it’s ever been before. You know? Well, that’s the way I feel about what’s happening in our world. It’s later than it’s ever been before. And it’s time to make sure we’re ready. Let’s close with prayer. Father, we want to thank you and praise you that you’re in control. This whole world is no friend. You said it’s an enemy of yours. Its system, its way of thinking, its conclusions, its philosophies of life. And it’s against you. And Lord, a lot of us are trying to live in a world. We want to do what they want to do, think the way they think. We’re impressed with how they say things and do things, how they dress, how they appear, how they talk, their values. We’re so far out of it and far from the way of the Lord. God, I pray that you’d give us discernment in these difficult days to walk with the Lord, to be dedicated to you, to commit our lives unto you, knowing that soon our redemption draws nigh. Lord, I pray for the believers. You told us to watch and pray. A lot of us are far from what we should be. Oh, God, bring us back. You pled with your people in the light of prophetic events to turn unto the Lord and seek him with all their hearts. God, may we do that, we pray. I pray for those in our audience who are not ready, and they know it, who do not know that if the Lord came right now, they’d be caught up to meet him in the air. Or if they went out from this meeting and died in an automobile crash or some other means, that they wouldn’t be with the Lord. Oh God, I pray that you’d cause them to turn to the Lord before it’s too late. that they might run to the Savior and confess their sin and realize that he died on the cross to pay for their sin and rose again from the dead, that they might live forever with him. Lord, by your Holy Spirit, draw us to Jesus before it’s too late. May we cry out to God to save us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SPEAKER 02 :
Have you given your heart to Him? We’d like to pray for you right now. Open your hearts, please, as we pray. Lord, You know who’s listening and who isn’t. And I pray for those that have never settled their relationship with You. O God, I pray that through Your powerful Holy Spirit, as they put their faith and trust in the finished work of our Lord, who died for our sins and rose again from the dead, ascended to heaven and is coming back. Lord, if they will believe in you, you have told us in your word that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. I pray, friends, that you give your heart to Him right now.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. Amen, David. Friend, this is hope for today. If you just prayed to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, or maybe you’d like to know more about what it means to be a Christian, according to God’s Word, the Bible. Well, let us send you a free booklet by David called What Is Christianity? and a free Bible study by mail to know for sure what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ or to have a new walk with Jesus Christ. You can get these resources by calling 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And again, these resources, What Is Christianity? and the Bible study by mail, free if you’re not yet a Christian or if you’re new to the Christian faith. And David will be back in just a moment to close out today’s lesson. First of all, we want to tell you about resources that will help you get the absolute most out of our current study in the book of Revelation. We have David’s original sermon outlines and notes for each message in our current Revelation series. You know, these are great for following along through the series and then into the future when you want to review or share it with others. Discover and experience Revelation. Revelation in a deeper, more encouraging fashion with our Revelation radio series on MP3 and David’s message outlines and sermon notes. You know, Jim, the Revelation series sermon notes pack is just $10. That’s sermon notes for each message in the entire series, 48 messages altogether. And you can purchase or download at davidhawking.org or receive them by PDF CD when you call us. And then you can save and store all your learning in our current series with the Revelation radio series message pack. All 48 messages on MP3 format, download or MP3 CD, just $30. Or on DVD, a special price this month for the DVD set, $50. You can order these resources by calling 875-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also order online at davidhawking.org. And just before David returns, if you’d like to consider supporting this ministry with a financial gift… You can send your gift to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO7OAKS, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. Or call us in the U.S., 1-800-75-BIBLE. In Canada, 888-75-BIBLE. And Bible, again, by the numbers 24253. And our website again, davidhawking.org. Well, once again, here’s David.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, thanks for listening, friends. Our teaching is centering in Revelation 13. There’s so much here. And the two leaders, world leaders, that are going to affect the world in the tribulation period, One we know as the Antichrist. He’s the first beast, and the second beast is very deceptive, and he’s the false prophet. So one controls the politics of the world. The other is controlling the religions of the world, and ecumenical religion is going to be the theme of the day, and everybody’s going to have to join together. Well, I’m thankful that the rapture’s coming before that day, and we’ll all be in heaven who have come to know the Lord. We have a whole booklet called Security of the Believer. Boy, that’s powerful. And we have another one I like a lot called We Need a Savior. And boy, is it powerful. These booklets are inexpensive and easy to read. God bless.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, thank you, David. And if you’d like a copy of Security of the Believer or We Need a Savior, the booklets David just mentioned, ask for them when you call us or look for them online on our website, davidhawking.org. Well, tomorrow David moves into Revelation chapter 14. Be sure to join us then right here on Hope for Today.
