Verse 8: “And all who dwell upon the earth they are going to worship the beast, all whose names are not written in the book of life, which is of the Lamb, that was slain from before the foundations of the earth.”

Dwell upon the earth: 3v10; their allegiance is to satan and they will worship him. The beast will tell them exactly what they want to hear. He gives them short term prosperity and security. Those who dwell on the earth do not have a covenantal relationship with the sacrificial Lamb – Messiah Yeshua.

Book of life: see 3v5

Verse 9: “All who have an ear, let him hear.”

This is a phrase that was repeated at the end of each of the letters to each of the seven congregations in Asia Minor (chapter 2 and 3). This is a literary device where John is communicating to us that he is talking, here, to the believing community.

Verse 10: “All who lead into captivity will go into captivity. All who kill with the sword, with the sword he shall be killed. With this is the patience (endurance) and the faith of the saints.”

In the last days unbelieving Israel is going to flee into the wilderness. God is going to sustain the Jews there in order to bring them to faith. To flee is not God’s message to the church. We, as believers, are called to stand strong (Luke 21v19). Believers are called to endure, not to flee.

Saint – sanctified and set apart for a purpose. We need to be willing to die for our faith. (Matthew 24v9-14 – Believers are going to be persecuted because of the name of Messiah)


Verse 11: “I looked, and another beast was coming up from the land. He had two horns like the horns of a lamb, but it speaks as a dragon.”

An empire/government will rise up, out of instability, and rule the world. This empire will bring short term stability and is going to bring about the means for the manifestation of the antichrist.

This beast, rising up from the land, is the antichrist. He is going to emerge from out of this empire. The antichrist is going to create stability out of instability, and it is because of this that he will be put into power. His words are not like the words of God, but are the words of satan.

Verse 12: “And he is going to exercise all the authority of the first beast that was before it. And it brings the earth, and those who dwell upon it, to worship the first beast whose mortal blow was healed.”

The antichrist will take a leadership position over this empire. The mortal blow is referring to an empire that the world thought was totally destroyed, but it is going to manifest itself again. This empire was one that was disastrous, wicked and one that the world did not want. The world is going to stand amazed as it revives itself, and they will feel helpless against it. It has supernatural power and so the world will follow after it, submit to it and worship it.

If we live to the end of this age, there will be no sitting on the fence – we will either worship the true Lamb or we will worship the false one – the antichrist.

Verse 13: “And to this beast it was given to him to do great signs, even for fire to come down from the heavens towards the earth, before the eyes of all the people.”

God allows strong delusion, in the end, for those who refuse to believe in Him (2 Thessalonians 2v11). Satan is going to do counterfeit presentations of supernatural things. He is the father of lies and deceit. Satan’s works are going to confirm his unrighteousness. God’s works are going to confirm His righteousness.

Verse 14: “He is going to deceive those who dwell upon the earth by means of these signs, which were given to it to do before the beast. And it says to the ones who dwell upon the earth to make an image to the beast who was struck with the blow of the sword but lives.

Biblically, it is forbidden for us to make idols. Making an image is a pledge of loyalty. There will only be two ways to live – loyal to Messiah or forced to be loyal to the antichrist. False Messiah. Loyalty to the antichrist will lead to a transgression of the basic things in the laws of God.

Verse 15: “And it was given to him to put life into this image, that it might live and that it might speak. And he shall make all who will not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

When this empire first arises, it will have a very pluralistic, inclusive, attitude toward worship. Shortly after assuming power all forms of worship will be outlawed, except for the worship of himself.

Verse 16: “And it shall cause all of them, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to take the mark on their right hand or on their forehead.”

The mark of the beast. The antichrist does the exact opposite of what God desires. One of the commandments God gave had to do with the tefillin/phylacteries (Deuteronomy 6v6-8). These tefillin are boxes that house the commandments of God. During prayers these are bound to the arm and upon the forehead of the wearer. The binding on the arm is a symbolic representation
of what we do, our work. And the forehead represents the work process, our thoughts. We are to think and do according to the commandments of God. satan is a counterfeiter and wants people to put the mark where the tefillin are meant to be –
on the arm or forehead. He wants people to think of, and do, his will.

Verse 17: “For no man will be able to buy or to sell, only the one upon him is the mark of the beast, or its number, or the number of its name.”

True believers are going to be put into a situation where they are forced to depend on God – and not their own resources. God wants us to know that He is trustworthy, and He can sustain us.

Verse 18: “Here is the mind that is wise: to him who there is understanding. Let him calculate the number of the beast. For the number is 666.”

When these things come about, at that time, those who have wisdom will be able to discern the significance of that number and who it points to. Because it points to a man.