Revelation 13:16

Revelation 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. Revelation 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. Revelation 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. Revelation 14:1 it would seem that the ‘Father's name' was the mark imprinted upon the followers of the Lamb.