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:
16. to receive ] Lit. that they give them.
a mark ] The word for “mark” is not the same as in Gal 6:17, but the image is, as there, that of the brand put upon slaves to identify them; pagan devotees sometimes received such a brand, marking them as the property of their god. In the so-called Third Book of Maccabees (which, stupid as it is, has perhaps some historical foundation) we are told that Ptolemy Philopator ordered the Jews of Alexandria to be branded with an ivy-leaf, the cognisance of Dionysus. One may compare also the sealing of the servants of God in chap. 7, and Rev 14:1.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And he caused all – He claims jurisdiction, in the matters here referred to, over all classes of persons, and compels them to do his will. This is the second beast, and, according to the interpretation given above, it relates to the papal power, and to its claim of universal jurisdiction.
Both small and great – All these expressions are designed to denote universality – referring to various divisions into which the human family may be regarded as divided. One of those divisions is into small and great; that is, into young and old; those small in stature and those large in stature; those of humble, and those of elevated rank.
Rich and poor – Another way of dividing the human race, and denoting here, as in the former case, all – for it is a common method, in speaking of mankind, to describe them as the rich and poor.
Free and bond – Another method still of dividing the human race, embracing all – for all the dwellers upon the earth are either free or bond. These various forms of expression, therefore, are designed merely to denote, in an emphatic manner, universality. The idea is, that, in the matter referred to, none were exempt, either on account of their exalted rank, or on account of their humble condition; either because they were so mighty as to be beyond control, or so mean and humble as to be beneath notice. And if this refers to the papacy, every one will see the propriety of the description. The jurisdiction set up by that power has been as absolute over kings as over the feeble and the poor; over masters and their slaves; alike over those in the humblest and in the most elevated walks of life.
To receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads – The word here rendered mark – charagma – occurs only in one place in the New Testament except in the Book of Revelation Act 17:29, where it is rendered graven. In all the other places where it is found Rev 13:16-17; Rev 14:9, Rev 14:11; Rev 15:2; Rev 16:2; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:4, it is rendered mark, and is applied to the same thing – the mark of the beast. 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 a coin.
Applied to people, 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 of a soldier on whom some mark was impressed denoting the company or phalanx 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.
Most of us have seen such marks made on the hands or arms of sailors, in which, by a voluntary tattooing, their names, or the names of their vessels, were written, or the figure of an anchor, or some other device, was indelibly made by punctures in the skin, and by inserting some kind of coloring matter. The thing which it is here said was engraven on the hand or the forehead was the name of the beast, or the number of his name, Rev 13:17. That is, the name or the number was so indelibly inscribed either on the hand or the forehead, as to show that he who bare it pertained to the beast, and was subject to his authority – as a slave is to his master, or a soldier to his commander. Applied to the papacy, the meaning is, that there would be some mark of distinction; some indelible sign; something which would designate, with entire certainty, those persons who belonged to it, and who were subject to it. It is hardly necessary to say that, in point of fact, this has eminently characterized the papacy. All possible care has been taken to designate with accuracy those who belong to that communion, and, all over the world, it is easy to distinguish those who render allegiance to the papal power. Compare the notes on Rev 7:3.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 13:16
He causeth all to receive a mark.
Soul-marks
The words he causeth clearly ascribe this operation to the second beast. If it had been the first we might imagine that some outward mark or sign was meant, for that beast deals with the visible and outward. But this one stamps an image on the souls of men; this writes a name on all their inward thoughts, which afterwards expresses itself in their common daily acts. Men fancy, when they read and talk of some great tyrant-power which has established itself in their country or their age, that they are reading and talking of something which is far off from them. They can comment upon it, measure its effects, calculate the chances of its continuance or of its fall. If any complain of it as bad in its origin or immoral in its practices, wise persons will whisper, But it does not hurt you. You can buy and sell happily under the shadow of it. Your gains are not seriously lessened. You incur no great risks of loss. And all the time these wise persons are not aware that they themselves, as well as those with whom they are conversing, have received the mark of this power on their foreheads and their right hands; that the image of it is graven in their hearts; that they are showing in these very discourses of theirs that they bear the name and character of that which they are excusing. (F. D. Maurice, M. A.)
Animalism: the mark of the beast
The question that I want to ask is this, Whoever the beast is, what makes him a beast? What is the bestial element in him, whoever he be? And the answer is not far to find, Godless selfishness, that is the mark of the beast. Wherever a human nature is self-centred, God forgetting, and therefore God-opposing (for whoever forgets God defies Him), that nature has gone down below humanity, and has touched the lower level of the brutes. Men are so made as that they must either rise to the level of God, or certainly go down to the level of the brute. And wherever you get men living by their own fancies, for their own pleasure, in forgetfulness and neglect of the sweet and mystic bonds that should knit them to God, there you get the image of the beast and the number of his name. And besides that godless selfishness, we may point to simple animalism as literally the mark of the beast. He who lives not by conscience and by faith, but by fleshly inclination and sense, lowers himself to the level of the instinctive brute-life, and beneath it, because he refuses to obey faculties which they do not possess, and what is nature in them is degradation in us. Look at the unblushing sensuality which marks many respectable people nowadays. Look at the foul fleshliness of much of popular art and poetry. Look at the way in which pure animal passion, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the love of good things to eat and plenty to drink is swaying and destroying men and women by the thousand among us. Look at the temptations that lie along every street in Manchester for every young man after dusk. Look at the thin veneer of culture over the ugliest lust. Scratch the gentleman and you find the satyr. Is it much of an exaggeration, in view of the facts of English life to-day, to say that all the world wanders after and worships this beast? (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The number of his name.—
The number of the name
It is indeed remarkable that the seer should speak at all of the number of the name of the beast. Why not be content with the name itself?
1. St. John may not himself have known the name. He may have been acquainted only with the character of the beast, and with the fact, too often overlooked by inquirers, that to that character its name, when made known, must correspond. No reader of St. Johns writings can have failed to notice that to him the word nam is far more than a mere appellative. It expresses the inner nature of the person to whom it is applied. No man could know the new name written upon the white stone given to him that overcometh but he that receiveth it. In other words, no one but a Christian indeed could have that Christian experience which would enable him to understand the new name. In like manner now, St. John may have felt that it was not possible for the followers of Christ to know the name of antichrist. But this need not hinder him from giving the number. The number spoke only of general character and fate; and knowledge of it did not imply, like knowledge of the name, communion of spirit with him to whom the name belonged. (W. Milligan, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 16. And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark] To ascertain the meaning of the mark which the two-horned beast causes all orders and degrees of men in the Latin world to receive, we need only refer to Re 14:11, where the mark imposed by the two-horned beast is called the mark of his name. The name of the beast is the Latin empire: the mark of his name must therefore be his LATIN worship: for this very reason, that it is the two-horned beast, or false prophet, who causes all descriptions of persons to receive it. Now it is well known that the continual employment of the Latin clergy is to enforce the Latin idolatry upon their flocks. The mass and offices of the Church, which are in Latin, and contain the sum and substance of their idolatrous worship, are of different kinds, and abound in impious prayers to the Virgin Mary, and the saints and angels. In a word, the LATIN worship is the universal badge of distinction of the LATIN Church, from all other Churches on the face of the earth; and is therefore the only infallible MARK by which a genuine papist can be distinguished from the rest of mankind. But the two-horned beast causes all to receive this mark:-
In their right hand, or in their foreheads] Right hand in Scripture language, when used figuratively, represents the physical power of the person of whom it is spoken; and when applied to God designates a signal manifestation of Divine power against his enemies, and in behalf of his people. See Ps 17:7; Ps 20:6; Ps 21:8; Ps 45:3; Ps 45:4, c. The reception of the mark in the right hand must therefore mean, that all so receiving it devote the whole powers of their mind and body to the propagation of the Latin worship, and to the eradication of all they denominate heresies out of their Church. But some receive the mark in their foreheads. By any thing being impressed upon the forehead, is meant the public profession of whatever is inscribed or marked upon it. See Rev 9:4; Rev 14:1; Rev 22:4, c. The mark of the beast being received on the forehead, therefore, means that all those so marked make a public profession of the Latin worship whereby it is evident to all that they form a part of the Latin Church. Many may be marked in the right hand who are also marked on their foreheads, but it does not follow that those marked on their foreheads are also marked in their right hand; that is to say, it is not every individual that complies with the Latin worship who, to the utmost of his power, endeavours to propagate his religious system. Hence the propriety of the words, “He causeth all-to receive a mark in their right hand, OR in their foreheads.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
No particular character is here to be understood, but only the general imposition of the Romish faith upon all sorts of persons. His mark was nothing else but either the profession of his faith and religion, or a vowed subjection to his commands, which we know is the practice of the papacy where it obtaineth in any country.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. to receive a markliterally,”that they should give them a mark”; such a brand asmasters stamp on their slaves, and monarchs on their subjects.Soldiers voluntarily punctured their arms with marks of the generalunder whom they served. Votaries of idols branded themselves with theidol’s cipher or symbol. Thus Antiochus Epiphanes branded the Jewswith the ivy leaf, the symbol of Bacchus (2 Maccabees 6:7; 3Maccabees 2:29). Contrast God’s seal and name in theforeheads of His servants, Rev 7:3;Rev 14:1; Rev 22:4;and Ga 6:17, “I bear in mybody the marks of the Lord Jesus,” that is, I am His soldier andservant. The mark in the right hand and forehead implies theprostration of bodily and intellectual powers to thebeast’s domination. “In the forehead by way ofprofession; in the hand with respect to work and service”[AUGUSTINE].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor,
free and bond,…. Men of all ranks and degrees, states and conditions, within his jurisdiction; this refers to the beast, and not to the image:
to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; or “that they might give themselves marks”, as the Complutensian edition reads; which is an allusion either to the custom among the Romans of imprinting marks upon their servants and soldiers, by which they might be known to whom they belonged; servants had them in their foreheads i, and soldiers in their hands k; or to the usages of the Jews in binding their phylacteries upon their arms and foreheads, to put them in mind of the law of God, and their obedience to it; or to the practices of the Heathens, in putting the mark of the god they worshipped upon their bodies; Maimonides l says, it was a custom with the Gentiles to mark themselves with their idols, showing that they were their bought servants, and were marked for their service: the sense is, that some received the mark in one place, and some in another: those who were obliged to receive the mark in the right hand seem to be the clergy, such who entered into holy orders; who lifted up their right hand, and swore and vowed allegiance to the pope, and testified they were ready to defend and support his religion and interest; and who in their ordination are said to have an indelible character impressed on them: and those who received the mark in their foreheads are the common people in general, who one and all have the same impress upon them; which may intend either the sign of the cross in baptism, or rather their open confession of the Popish religion, which they as publicly avow and declare as if it had been written on their foreheads.
i Apulei Metamorph. l. 9. Ausonii Epigram. l. 15. Seneca de Ira, l. 3. c. 3. k Aetius apud Turnebi Advers. l. 23. c. 12. l Hilchot Obede Cochab. c. 12. sect. 11.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He causeth all (same use of as in Rev 13:12; Rev 13:15). Note article here with each class (the small and the great, etc.).
That there be given them ( ). Same use of after as in Rev 13:12; Rev 13:15, only here with indefinite plural (second aorist active subjunctive), “that they give themselves,” as in Rev 10:11; Rev 12:6; Rev 16:15.
A mark (). Old word from , to engrave, in Ac 17:29 of idolatrous images, but in Rev. (Rev 13:16; Rev 13:17; Rev 14:9; Rev 14:11; Rev 16:2; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:4) of the brand of the beast on the right hand or on the forehead or on both. Deissmann (Bible Studies, pp. 240ff.) shows that in the papyri official business documents often have the name and image of the emperor, with the date as the official stamp or seal and with as the name of this seal. Animals and slaves were often branded with the owner’s name, as Paul (Ga 6:17) bore the stigmata of Christ. Ptolemy Philadelphus compelled some Alexandrian Jews to receive the mark of Dionysus as his devotees (III Macc. 3:29). The servants of God receive on their foreheads the stamp of the divine seal (Re 7:3). Charles is certain that John gets his metaphor from the (phylacteries) which the Jew wore on his left hand and on his forehead. At any rate, this “mark of the beast” was necessary for life and all social and business relations. On the right hand, that is in plain sight.
Upon their forehead ( ). Accusative with , though genitive just before with (hand). See already Rev 7:3; Rev 9:4 (genitive ). Only in the Apocalypse in N.T.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
A mark [] . The word occurs frequently in Revelation, and only once elsewhere (Act 17:29) on which see note. commentators find illustrations in the brand set upon slaves by their masters, or upon soldiers by their monarchs, and in the branding of slaves attached to certain temples. Herodotus describes a temple to Hercules at the Canopic mouth of the Nile, and says : “If a slave runs away from his master, and taking sanctuary at this shrine gives himself up to the God, and receives certain sacred marks upon his person, whosoever his master may be, he cannot lay hand on him” (ii., 113). In the treatise “concerning the Syrian goddess” falsely attributed to Lucian, it is said of the slaves of the temple, “all are branded, some upon the wrist and some upon the neck.” Paul, in Gal 6:17, applies the word for these brands, stigmata, to the marks of Christ ‘s service which he bears in his body. In 3 Macc. 2 29, we read that Ptolemy Philopator required all the Jews of Alexandria to be registered among the common people; and that those who were thus registered were to be marked [] on their persons by the ivy – leaf symbol of Dionysus (Bacchus). In Lev 19:28, the Israelites are forbidden to make cuttings in their flesh for the dead and to print marks [ ] upon themselves.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And he causeth all,” (kai poiei pantas) “And he makes (causes or requires) all,” all people on earth, he influences all by means of recrimination, death threats.
2) “Both small and great,” (tous mikrous kai tous megalous) “Both the small and the great,” the high and the low, learned and unlearned, rich and poor, as they follow Satan to their common judgment, Rev 6:14-17; Rev 20:11-15.
3) “Rich and poor,” (kai tous plousious- kai tous ptochous) “Both the rich and the poor,” the plutocrats and paupers – – from all levels and walks of life, where all are depraved and sinful, Rom 3:9-23.
4) “Free and bond,” (kai tous eleutherous kai tous doulous) “Both, free men and the slaves,” those in debt and those out of debt – including all, excluding none.
5) “To receive a mark in their right hand,” (hina dosin autois charagma epi tes cheiros auton tes deksias) “In order that all men should be given over(yielded) to receive a mark upon their right hand,” signifying total commitment of service and loyalty to him as their demon master, Joh 3:18.
6) “Or in their foreheads,” (e epi to metopon auton) “Or upon their forehead,” signifying that he and his administrative power would be over them, head over them. These are given over to that reprobate mind, will, or disposition of their own long pursued choice, against the word, witness and call of God until it is too late, Pro 1:22-30; Pro 29:10; Rom 1:24-32; 2Th 2:9-11.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(16, 17) And he causeth . . .Better, And he [i.e., probably, the second wild beast, and not the image, as in the latter clause of the last verse] makes all men, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, that they should give them a mark upon their right hand or upon their forehead: (and) that no one should be able to buy or to sell but he who has the mark, the name of the wild beast, or the number of his name. We have read of the sealing of the servants of God in their foreheads (Rev. 7:3): we shall hear of it again (Rev. 22:4); the power of evil also has its mark or stamp. As slaves received a brand or mark in their flesh, betokening to whom they belonged, so in the spiritual conflict there is on the side of good and of evil a brand or mark. St. Paul spoke of such marks in his own body that proved him a slave of Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:17). In the same way the subtle false prophet, the abettor of world-power, seeks to impress a mark on all, on the penalty of complete social exclusion. It is utterly unnecessary to take this brand of evil literally, any more than we took the seal of Christ literally. That seal we understood as spiritual, in the faith and in the character; this evil brand we must interpret in like manner. It surely means the acquiescence in character and action to the principles of this tyrannical world-power: the right hand is the symbol of toil and social intercourse; the forehead is the symbol of character, as time is ever writing its awful tale upon mens brows. There have been days when mens faith has been read only too plainly by a hostile world, and when their simple trust in Christ caused Christians to be suspected, and when men cast out their name as evil, and when the mark of the beast was worn and gloried in everywhere. We might cite from the history of the past numberless such epochs. But are we sure that the days are gone? Are we sure that it is easy for simple, unaffected goodness and genuine faith to gain all it might gain? Are we sure that honesty, guilelessness, utter and strenuous truthfulness are not weighted in the race of life? The days of the future may bring intenser forms of this tyranny, as the days of the past have shown them; but the days of the present may afford us illustrations of how readily men may lose, lose much and lose terribly, rather than succumb to fashions which violate honour and dishonour Christ. But we read of more than a mark here: we read of a name, and the number of a name. What are we to understand by these?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. And he That is, the living and supreme image.
Causeth On this word, here and in the previous verse, we may note, 1. The entire body of Romish clergy find their own supremacy over the people to be identified with the absoluteness of the pope over themselves. And hence a common self-interest makes them a unit. An intense rivalry thence arises, to raise the pope to the highest point of supremacy. Thereby the pope becomes the primal causative spring of all persecutions to maintain the papal power. 2. But when charged with these persecutions, the papist replies that it is not the spiritual power, but the temporal magistracy, that really executes the punishment. The priest condemns, and the magistrate inflicts. The pope, therefore, does not execute; he causeth others to execute the heretic.
A mark Slaves, soldiers, and sailors were often marked by masters and sovereigns in token of ownership. Note on Gal 6:17. Ptolemy Philopater ( 3Ma 2:29 ) enrolled the Jews of Alexandria as soldiers, and had them branded with the ivy of Bacchus with hot iron. And Philo says that some idolaters had their bodies branded with hot iron as an indelible mark which could not be obscured by time. The mark was branded, says Augustine, sometimes on forehead to denote profession, sometimes on the hand to denote activity of service.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and that no man should be able to buy or to sell except the one who has the mark, even the name of the beast or the number of his name.’
The mark on the right hand or on the forehead can be compared to the phylacteries (small leather boxes holding a portion of the Law) worn by the Pharisees (applying literally Deu 6:8) signifying their submission to God and His Law. This mark of the beast too is a sign of submission, to Rome and the Emperor, and to Roman law .
It parodies the mark given to the people of God and the marking with His name (Rev 7:3; Rev 14:1; Rev 3:12). By this those who receive it acknowledge the Emperor and Rome as having total rights over them. Slaves were commonly marked on their foreheads as a sign of ownership and religious devotees would often deliberately receive some kind of mark to demonstrate their loyalty to their god, so the idea was not uncommon.
There is no reason to assume that this mark is any more physical than the seal on believers, it rather represents submission to the beast and his claims. To bear the mark of the beast was, to the early church, to have sacrificed to Roma and the emperor. To them this bore a stigma that went beyond any other.
But later, under Roman rule, all men would require a certificate that they had sacrificed to the Emperor’s image, and it is quite possible that the idea, or some other device, was first used under these early Emperors. Those who had no certificate could (as indeed could those who refused to sacrifice to the emperor) be excluded from normal life by zealous officials or personal enemies, and even denounced by those of other religions (compare on Rev 2:9), and it would affect their abilities to trade through the guilds which themselves had religious connotations. These certificates themselves were a ‘mark of the beast’ and had to carry the official ‘brand’. But such exclusion was quite possible simply for being recognised as a proscribed Christian, a situation applying officially at least from the time of Trajan.
But through the ages this has always been a way by which despots could control people, by utilising control of the means of trade and sources of sustenance. The beast continually reveals his beastliness. And when Christians find themselves suffering as a result of such activity they can take comfort in the thought that it is confirmation that they do not bear the ‘mark of the beast’. That any future anti-Christ would apply similar methods goes without saying. There is nothing new under the sun (Ecc 1:9).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rev 13:16-17 .
.
, . . . The first , just as Rev 13:12 ; the second (Rev 13:17 ) has a different relation to the , which is to be regarded as repeated before it, in so far as here an immediate determination of the object is lacking.
John describes how the entire number of worshippers of the beast, [3379] who recognize one another by a mark which certifies that they belong to the beast, hinder the intercourse, required even in business with respect to their daily life, of saints who have not received that mark of the beast.
. Deceived by the second beast unto the worship of the first beast (Rev 13:14 ), the dwellers on the earth put a mark upon themselves; they receive it willingly. [3380]
. Zll. and Hengstenb. unjustly resist the acknowledgment [3381] that the idea contains an allusion to the heathen custom of branding slaves and soldiers, and thus of designating that they belong to the same master. It is just concerning this that the treatment refers, and not with respect to a counterpart of Deu 6:8 ; for the of the worshippers of the beast is to mark them as such, and to render them distinguishable as of the same nature, but in itself by no means contains an admonition of a service of the beast to which they are bound. The reminiscence of the Gentile custom is the more natural here, as the worshippers of the beast are partners in the Gentile-Roman Empire. The , however, is not the bringing together by a “confession,” [3382] but it is the definite external mark indicated in both its forms in Rev 13:17 , which is attached either to the forehead or the right hand, and thus in places most readily presented to the eyes; for, since it is intended only for visibility, whether it be attached to the one or the other place is a matter of indifference. [3383] Inappropriately, Hengstenb. says: “The forehead is the most suitable place for the confession” (? Rom 10:10 ), and the right hand comes into consideration “as the instrument for action.” But just because the parallel assertion . . does not allow any other reference than to the convenient visibility of the mark, the . . . . . also cannot have any deeper reference. The right hand is mentioned because this must manifest itself especially in daily use.
The nature of the signature contained by the is definitely expressed in Rev 13:17 : , , i.e., either the express name by which the beast is known, and. therefore written in letters, or the number which gives the numerical value of the letters contained in the name. [3384] In every respect perversely, Coccejus says that the is the law, the the Catholic Church, and the . unwritten tradition.
[3379] The specifications . . . ., . . ., exhaust in a perceptible way the idea of the . Cf. Rev 6:15 , Rev 11:18 , Rev 19:18 .
[3380] Cf. Rev 14:9 ; Rev 14:11 , Rev 16:2 , Rev 19:20 , Rev 20:4 .
[3381] Grot., Ebrard, etc.
[3382] Against Hengstenb., who yet himself remarks that the confession has an impulse for an external sign.
[3383] Cf., on the other hand, Rev 7:3 .
[3384] Cf. De Wette, etc.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
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:
Ver. 16. All both small and great ] Emperor and else. The pope having by his nephew persuaded the king of Bohemia, Maximilian (afterwards emperor), to be a good Catholic, with many promises of honours and profits, intimating the succession of the empire, which else he should hardly obtain, was answered by the king, that he thanked his Holiness, but that his soul’s health was more dear to him than all the things in the world. Which answer they said in Rome was a Lutheran form of speech, and signified an alienation from that See; and they began to discourse what would happen after the old emperor’s death. (Hist. of the Coun. Trent, p. 418.)
To receive a mark ] The Popish clergy say, that in their ordination they receive an indelible character. They may choose whether they will have it in their foreheads (where it cannot be hid) or in their right hands, where they may either hide it or show it as they think good. See Trapp on “ Rev 7:3 “ The mark common to all the Popish rabble is, St Peter’s keys branching out itself in every antichristian doctrine and idolatrous practice. I can never sufficiently admire (saith Mr Heyrick) the speech of blessed Luther, who though he was very earnest to have the communion administered in both kinds contrary to the doctrine and custom of Rome, yet he professeth, If the pope, as pope, commanded him to receive in both kinds, he would but receive in one kind. It is a general rule among the best, that what the pope commands, as pope, though it be good or indifferent, as to pray, read, lift up an eye, hand, to wear black or white, &c., it is a receiving of the mark of the beast, &c. (Mr Heyrick’s Serm., p. 108.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 13:16-17 . Detection was inevitable, for the very coins were stamped (Mat 22:19 ) with the head of the Csar, the gods, or Rome itself, and the prophet apparently expected that genuine Christians would refuse to sanction idolatry and condone blasphemy by handling such emblems of profanity ( cf. Ign. ad Magn. 5, , , ). Only abject, servile devotees of the cultus will stoop to that! Irenus has a similar allusion (iv. 30. 2) to those who carried money “cum inscriptione et imagine Csaris”. . This highly figurative allusion is to the habit of marking soldiers and slaves with a conspicuous tattoo or brand ( cf. Lucian, Dea Syra ; 3Ma 2:29 , where the Alexandrian Jews are branded with the mark of Dionysius; also on Gal 6:17 ); or, better still, to the religious custom of wearing a god’s name as a talisman ( cf. Deissmann, 349 f.). The general sense of the prediction is that the faithful will be shut up to the alternative of starving or of coming forward to avow their prohibited faith, so subtly and diabolically does the cultus of the emperor pervade all social life. Another solution is to think of the or red stamp, which was essential to all documents of exchange (Deissmann, 240 f.); it consisted of a red seal with tho emperor’s name or effigy. Ramsay ( Seven Letters , pp. 106 f.) takes the whole description as a symbolic and rather sarcastic way of referring to a boycotting demand that every Asiatic Christian should somehow “stamp himself overtly and visibly as loyal, or be disqualified from participation in ordinary social life and trading”. Probably the passage is a figurative and unqualified expression for conspicuous loyalty to the Imperial cult. In Ep. Lugd. the devil is said to work against Christ by “excluding us from houses, baths, and markets, and also by forbidding any one of us to appear anywhere”.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
he. i.e. the second beast.
both. Omit, and read “and” before “the rich” and “the free”.
small, &c. = the little, &c. (Note Figure of speech Polysyndeton. App-6.)
bond. App-190.
to receive. Literally in order that (Greek. hina) they may he given (the texts read plural).
mark. Greek. charagma. First of eight occurances in Rev. See Act 17:29.
in = upon. App-104.
in = upon. App-104., with texts.
foreheads. Texts read singular.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
he causeth
Antichrist the person is to be distinguished from the “many antichrists” 1Jn 2:18 and the “spirit of antichrist” 1Jn 4:3 which characterizes all. The supreme mark of all is the denial of the Christian truth of the incarnation of the Logos, the eternal Son in Jesus as the Christ Joh 1:1; Joh 1:14.
(See Scofield “Mat 1:16”).
The “many antichrists” precede and prepare the way for the Antichrist, who is “the Beast out of the earth” of Rev 13:11-17 and the “false prophet” of; Rev 16:13; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:10. He is the last ecclesiastical head, as the Beast of Rev 13:1-8 is the last civil head. For purposes of persecution he is permitted to exercise the autocratic power of the emperor- Beast.
(See Scofield “Rev 19:20”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
both: Rev 11:18, Rev 19:5, Rev 19:18, Rev 20:12, 2Ch 15:13, Psa 115:13, Act 26:22
rich: Job 34:19, Psa 49:2
free: Rev 6:15, Rev 19:18, 1Co 12:13, Gal 3:28, Eph 6:8, Col 3:11
receive: Gr. give them
a mark: Rev 14:9-11, Rev 15:2, Rev 19:20, Rev 20:4, Zec 13:6
or: Rev 7:3, Exo 13:9, Deu 6:8, Deu 11:18, Eze 9:4, 2Ti 3:8
Reciprocal: Lev 19:28 – print Psa 144:8 – their right hand Isa 51:23 – Bow Dan 3:10 – hast made Rev 13:17 – mark Rev 14:1 – having Rev 18:11 – the merchants
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 13:16. Mark is from CHARAGMA, which Thayer defines, “a stamp, an imprinted mark,” then explains it to mean, “of the mark stamped on the forehead or the right hand as a badge of the follower of Antichrist.” Of course the branding which John saw was symbolical of something that would not be seen with natural eyes. The invisible fact concerning those who imitated the beast was their guilt. God could see it and the detectives of the pope had some way of recognizing it.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 16.
Verse 16: He compelled the people of all stations small and great, rich and poor, free and bond to submit to the edict of emperor-worship–which symbolized the mark of the beast. This visional mark was an evil emblem of submission to emperor-worship. It was the stigmatic badge of the beast stamped in their right hand, or in their forehead, signifying a binding oath of loyalty. All who conformed to the imperial orders received the mark of the beast, personified in the Roman emperor–the Neronic anti- Christ.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 13:16. The mark is originated by the beast, that is, by the first beast, but is imposed at the instigation of the second. At the same time, however, it must be noticed that it is freely accepted by those who receive it (comp. chap. Rev 14:9), and that, probably for the purpose of bringing out this, the word give is used. The Son freely receives what is given Him by the Father, the devil what is given him by God, the beast what is given him by the dragon, the adherents of the beast what is given them by the beast. The mark itself is the travesty of that impressed by God as His seal upon His own (chap. Rev 7:2). It is made upon the right hand or upon the forehead, the former being that part of the body upon which soldiers, the latter that upon which slaves, received their mark. The followers of the beast own the beast as their captain and serve it as its slaves. What the precise nature of the mark was we are not informed, although from the following verse it would appear to have been either the name of the beast, or the number by which that name might be expressed. From chap. Rev 14:1 it would seem that the Fathers name was the mark imprinted upon the followers of the Lamb.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The mark symbolizes allegiance designating what Lord they followed. ( Rev 7:1-8 ) Christians, who would refuse such a mark, would find themselves excluded from society and be boycotted economically.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
13:16 {23} And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive {24} a {b} mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
(23) The third point is a cruel exercise of power, as was said before, usurped over men, in this verse: and over their goods and actions, in the next verse. For he is said, to bring on all persons a cruel slavery, that as bondslaves they might serve the beast. Also he is said to exercise over all their goods and actions, an abuse of indulgences and dispensations (as they term them) among their friends and against others, to use most violent prohibitions, and to curse, even in natural and civil, private and public contracts, in which all good faith ought to have place.
(24) That is their consecrated oil, by which in the ordinance
(as they call it) of confirmation, they make servants for themselves, the persons and doings of men, signing them in their forehead and hands. They make the sign left by Christ, see Rev 7:3 and the ordinance of baptism useless. For whom Christ has joined to himself as signified by baptism this beast challenges with his greasy consecrated oil, which he does not hesitate to prefer over baptism, both in authority and value.
(b) The mark of the name of the beast.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The second beast also implements the marking of beast-worshippers. We should probably interpret "all" to mean all classes rather than all individuals since John mentioned six classes of people: social, economic, and cultural. However taken together these three groups comprise the entire population. This marking corresponds among unbelievers to the sealing of God’s servants in chapter 7. It probably will begin early in the Great Tribulation shortly after the sealing of the 144,000. [Note: Thomas, Revelation 8-22, p. 180.] Those who receive this mark will do so willingly. [Note: Düsterdieck, p. 381.]
"The choice of right hand or forehead is presumably for conspicuousness. It could not be hidden. It may also be meant as a travesty of the Jewish custom of wearing phylacteries (little boxes containing extracts from the Bible) on the left hand (or forearm) and on the head." [Note: Morris, pp. 172-73.]
The mark of the beast is evidently a brand-like mark, similar to a tattoo, that will identify beast-worshippers and will enable them to buy and sell. Beale viewed it as "figurative of the ways in which the state keeps check on whether people submit to compulsory idol worship." [Note: Beale, p. 715.] It probably connects with ancient customs. Domestic slave owners sometimes branded their slaves with their mark. [Note: Plutarch, Pericles, 26; Herodotus, 7.233.] Those bearing the mark of the beast show by their mark that they are his followers. Sometimes Roman soldiers branded themselves with the mark of their general if they were particularly fond of him. [Note: Lucian, De Syria Dea, 59; Herodotus, 2.113.] Those devoted to the beast will take his mark. The same Greek word translated "mark" (charagma) also described the seal attached to legal documents that bore the name of the emperor and the date. A less literal view understands the mark as "John’s way of symbolically describing authentic ownership and loyalty." [Note: Johnson, p. 532.]