Please stand, if you're able, for the reading of God's word from Revelation chapter 13,
verses 11 to 18.
Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth.
It had two horns like a lamb, and it spoke like a dragon.
It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence
and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast,
whose mortal wound was healed.
It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people.
And by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast,
it deceives those who dwell on earth,
telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast
so that the image of the beast might even speak
and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.
Also, it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,
to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,
so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark,
that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.
And this calls for wisdom.
Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast,
for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
Please be seated.
Jesus warned us in Matthew 24,
if anyone says to you, look, here is the Christ, or there he is,
do not believe it.
Because he said, for false Christs and false prophets
will arise and perform great signs and wonders
so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Jesus warned us of that,
that false Christs and false prophets will arise
and perform great signs.
Last week, in the first half of chapter 13,
we saw how the first beast is that false Christ.
Some call him the Antichrist,
but he is really a sum of all the Antichrists
that arise from the time of Jesus' first coming
and till the time of his second coming.
He is the counterfeit Christ.
He is the image of the dragon,
just as Jesus is the image of the Father.
And just as Jesus received authority from the Father,
this beast received authority from the dragon.
And then today, we meet the second beast,
who elsewhere in Revelation is called the false prophet.
And this false prophet bears witness to the first beast,
performs signs and wonders,
and seals and marks the worshipers of the beast
in the same way that the spirit of God,
the third person of the Trinity,
marks and seals the people of God,
the church of Christ,
and performs signs and wonders
to verify the proclamation of the gospel.
And so in this way,
the dragon, the beast,
and the false prophet form an unholy triad.
That's a mockery and an imitation
of the true triad God.
But this false prophet not only parodies the Holy Spirit,
he also imitates the people of God
who are the witnesses of Jesus Christ.
The false prophet facilitates the worship of the beast
in the same way the church of Christ
facilitates the worship of the Son.
And this second beast,
the false prophet,
dresses up the first beast,
makes him look more plausible,
makes him look more persuasive.
He applies economic pressure upon people
to get them to submit
to the lordship of this second beast.
But the main point of this passage
is that we must remain faithful to Jesus
and resist the spiritual deception
and the economic pressure of the false prophet.
And we're gonna first talk about the speech of the beast,
and then the signs of the beast,
and then finally the mark of the beast.
First, it says in verse 11,
then I saw another beast rising out of the earth.
It had two horns like a lamb,
and it spoke like a dragon.
Unlike the dragon who stood on the sand of the sea
in chapter 12, 17,
and then rising out of that,
the Leviathan's watery chaos
that Old Testament often speaks of
in order to wreak havoc upon the earth.
And unlike the first beast
that also rose out of the sea
in chapter 13, verse 1,
this second beast rises out of the earth.
Unlike the dragon and the beast
that come from the spiritual realm of evil and chaos,
this false prophet has his origin on earth.
He is the dragon and the beast's earthly representative.
And he is particularly associated
with those who dwell on the earth.
And I've said this to you many times,
that those who dwell on the earth
is the technical phrase that John uses
throughout Revelation
to refer to people who are unbelievers,
people who do not repent of their sins
and are still living in rebellion against God.
We can see this in verse 14,
which tells us that the false prophet
deceives those who dwell on earth.
And that's the connection there,
why he rises from the earth,
to deceive those who dwell on the earth.
And the false prophet deceives people
by looking like the lamb.
He says in verse 11,
that he had two horns like a lamb.
The only lamb that's been mentioned
in the book of Revelation so far
is the lamb of God,
the slain lamb of God that we saw earlier
in Revelation chapter 5.
And that lamb representing Jesus
also had horns representing his authority.
And this false prophet,
the second beast,
also has two horns like a lamb.
And number two,
I'm not numbering one, two here.
The number two has symbolic significance
in the book of Revelation,
like all the other numbers
that we see in the book of Revelation.
In Revelation chapter 11,
if you remember the church
that bears witness to Christ
was represented by two witnesses
and also by two lampstands
and also by two olive trees.
Two is a number that represents witnesses
because the Old Testament law
requires at least two witnesses
as a basis for establishing
a legal charge against somebody.
And that gets carried over
into the New Testament.
And that's why in Matthew 18,
Jesus says that if someone sins against you
and they don't listen to you,
you have to take two or three with you
as a testimony
because that's the only way
you can establish
in the presence of witnesses the charge.
And this is also why in Luke 10,
when Jesus sent out his disciples,
72 disciples,
he sent them out two by two
to bear witness with a testimony.
And so like the two witnesses
who proclaim Jesus and his gospel
to lead people to the worship of Jesus,
this second beast with two horns
makes the earth and its inhabitants
worship the first beast.
He is the witness.
The witnesses.
He represents the witnesses
of the first beast
who also was wounded by the sword
and yet lived in another way.
He's imitating Jesus,
the Lamb of God.
And in the same way
that the two witnesses
of chapter 11
were patterned after Elijah
and the most famous scene
or miracle from Elijah's life
is him calling down fire from heaven
to burn up the sacrifice
that were being offered
to demonstrate that Yahweh,
the Lord God,
is the true God
while Baal is a false God
and an idol.
And so he is here.
The second beast,
the false prophet,
imitates that
by making fire come down
from heaven to earth
in front of people
and in so doing
he deceives the people
who live on earth.
But despite the fact
that this second beast
looks like a lamb
and imitates the church,
we know that he is not of the lamb
and we know that he is not
the true witness of God
because even though
he looks like a lamb,
he speaks like a dragon.
He says in verse 11,
Jesus warned us
in Matthew 7, 15 to 18,
beware of false prophets
who come to you
in sheep's clothing
but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
You will recognize them
by their fruits.
Our grapes gather
from thorn bushes
or figs from thistles.
So every healthy tree
bears good fruit
but the diseased tree
bears bad fruit.
A healthy tree
cannot bear bad fruit
nor can a diseased tree
bear good fruit.
This is,
this false prophet
is the wolf
in sheep's clothing
or rather a dragon
in sheep's clothing.
And as Jesus taught us,
we can recognize him
by his fruit.
And the fruit
that we have to pay
special attention to
is his speech,
what he says.
Because Jesus also said
in Luke 6, 45,
out of the abundance
of the heart,
the mouth speaks.
What comes out of the mouth
comes up from the heart.
The heart is the tree
from which the words
of our mouth come,
are the fruit.
People who make lewd comments
with their mouths
have hearts
that are filled with lust.
people who gossip
and slander
with their mouths
have their hearts
filled with hatred
and envy.
People who seem to talk
nonstop
with their mouths
often have hearts
that are filled
with social anxiety
and insecurity.
People who are critical,
frequently critical
with their mouths
often have in their hearts
pride
and ingratitude.
The things
that we say
are never mere
slips of the tongue.
They represent
what's in our heart.
They reflect
what's in our heart.
And that's the case
also with this false prophet.
He looks like a lamb
but we know
what's in his heart
because he speaks
like a dragon.
Like the dragon,
this false prophet
denies that Jesus
is the Christ,
the son of God
who came in the flesh,
human flesh,
to save us.
Like the dragon,
the false prophet
utters blasphemies
against God
and his people,
slanders the church,
says that we are not
the people of God.
The false prophet
speaks the lies
of the dragon
rather than the truths
of God.
And that's how
he recognized
the false prophet.
And this is why
it's so important
for us as God's people
to read
and study
and meditate on
and memorize
the scriptures.
Psalm 119.11
teaches us
that this is how
we live
an obedient life
and avoid sin
by storing up
God's word
in our hearts.
The false prophet's
whole purpose
is to make the beast
look plausible
and persuasive
and we will not
be able to tell
Christ apart
from the counterfeit
Christ
unless we are
intimately familiar
with the character
of Christ
and the word
of Christ.
nowadays
it's scary
how
artificial intelligence
can create
these deep fake
videos
of real people
saying things
and doing things
that they never
actually did.
I don't know if you've
seen some of those
before.
The false prophet
is a living
deep fake.
deep fake
a living deep fake
of the people
of God.
He is an impersonator
and a deceiver
and how are we
going to expose him?
By testing his words
against the word
of God.
Do his words
glorify Christ?
Please Christ
according to scripture
or do his words
lead us astray
from scripture
and to the worship
of another?
When Russia's
war on Ukraine
began
on February 24th
or 2022
I can't believe
it's already been
two years
there was a Russian
orthodox pastor
named Yonin Burden
who was
fined
$273
which doesn't
sound like a lot
to us
but in their
currency
that's over
a month
of his salary
and then he was
threatened with jail
and then tried
in a sham court
and then he was
forced to resign
from his pastorate
in his church
because he spoke
out against the war.
This is what he said
Russian soldiers
are killing
their brothers
and sisters
in Christ.
We Christians
cannot stand
on the sidelines
while brother
kills brother.
Christian
kills Christian.
We cannot
bashfully
close our eyes.
We cannot
call black
white.
The blood
of Ukrainians
is not only
in the hands
of the leaders
of the Russian
Federation
and the soldiers
who carry out
their order.
Their blood
is on the hands
of each of us
who approve
this war
or stand silent.
In contrast
the patriarch
of the Russian
Orthodox Church
Kirill of Moscow
put his official
stamp
of approval
on the war
calling those
who don't support it
as internal
enemies of Russia
and calling
patriotism
the greatest
virtue.
In the past
he has called
Putin's reign
in Russia
as quote
a miracle
of God
and that the
Russian soldiers
who die
in their war
against Ukraine
have quote
undoubtedly
committed
an act
equivalent
to sacrifice.
They will have
sacrificed themselves
for others
and therefore
we believe
that this sacrifice
washes away
all the sins
that a person
has committed.
I don't find
that in the Bible.
He's promising
forgiveness of sin
and salvation
to Russian soldiers
who die in the war
regardless of whether
they have saving faith
in Jesus Christ
or not.
But scripture
teaches us
that it's Christ's
sacrifice
not our sacrifice
that atones us.
scripture teaches
that every empire
will fall
including Russia
and including
the United States
of America.
Only the kingdom
of God
will stand forever.
Scripture teaches
us that our
ultimate allegiance
is not to
country
but to God
because they're not
one and the same.
Patriarch Kirill
might be the
highest spiritual
authority in Russia
but he is not
getting the people
to worship Christ
by saying those things.
He's getting the people
to worship
the beast
the state powers.
So don't be deceived
by the sheep's clothing.
Pay attention
to how the false prophet
speaks like a dragon.
Even in our country
don't believe
the religious leaders
who try to sell you
these messianic
intentions.
That's the speech
of the beast.
Now let's look
about the signs
of the beast.
Verse 12 says
that the false prophet
exercises all the authority
of the first beast
in its presence
and makes the earth
and its inhabitants
worship the first beast.
Since the dragon
gave his authority
to the first beast
and now the first beast
gives all of his authority
to the false prophet
the false prophet
is ultimately
exercising
satanic authority.
The dragon's authority.
And it is with that authority
that this false prophet
as it says
in verses 13 and 14
performs great signs
even making fire
come down from heaven
to earth
in front of people.
And by the signs
that it is allowed
to work in the presence
of the beast
it deceives
those who dwell on earth
telling them
to make an image
for the beast
that was wounded
by the sword
and yet lived.
This is treachery.
in the same way
that Moses
similar to the way
that Moses
did miraculous signs
in Egypt
to demonstrate
that Yahweh
is the true God
not these Egyptian gods
or Pharaoh
in the same way
that Elijah
called on fire
from heaven
to prove that Yahweh
not Baal
is God
this counterfeit prophet
does similar signs
and miracles
but not to speak
the truth
not to proclaim
the true God
but to instead
to deceive people
who dwell on the earth
to worship the beast
as God.
So this false prophet
is not unlike
those sorcerers
in Pharaoh's court
who tried to imitate
or copied
Moses' miracles
and this is
a stark warning for us
to not run
after miraculous signs.
While the signs
and wonders
that Jesus did
and later his apostles
did serve
to verify
and to show
that they were
true messengers
of God
doing God's work
and proclaiming
God's word
Jesus also often
decried those
who came to him
looking for signs
instead of paying
attention to his words
what he taught.
He says in Matthew 12
39
an evil
and adulterous
generation
seeks for a sign.
As I said earlier
we can recognize
the dragon
the beast
and the false prophet
by their speech
by what they say
not by their signs.
Deuteronomy 13
1-4
is very clear.
It says
if a prophet
or a dreamer
dreamer of dreams
arises among you
and gives you a sign
or a wonder
and the sign
or wonder
that he tells you
comes to pass
and if he says
let us go after
other gods
which you have not known
and let us serve them
you shall not listen
to the words
of that prophet
or that dreamer
of dreams
for the Lord
your God
is testing you
to know
whether you love
the Lord
your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
you shall walk
after the Lord
your God
and fear him
and keep his commandments
and obey his voice
and you shall serve him
and hold fast
to him
even if
the so-called
false prophet
so-called prophet
does signs
and wonders
if he tells you
to go worship
other gods
if he leads you
astray from Jesus
our Lord
and Savior
then we must
not follow him
I mean think about
how compelling
that would be
signs and wonders
wouldn't that be tempting
this is a warning
against our human
tendency to judge
according to
the appearance
of things
and not according
to the substance
of things
this is a warning
against our human
tendency
toward pragmatism
seeking
practical
working solutions
without considering
whether those
solutions are true
or good
how many Christians
have been led
into
unfaithful churches
because they were
attracted to
the most impressive
signs
and shows
rather than
to the faithful
preaching of the gospel
how many
Christians
have been led
to unfaithfulness
by the same
things
because we've been
asking
what works
what's popular
what's trending
rather than
asking ourselves
what's biblical
the social gospel
works
in mobilizing
people
in bringing
about some
social change
it works
the prosperity
gospel
works
it brings
thousands of
people
through the
doors of the
church
and fills
the church
coffers
but they don't
actually save
anyone
because these
are empty
signs
when we
ask
you know
what works
rather than
what's biblically
leads us to
man-centered
worship
rather than
God-centered
worship
when we ask
what works
rather than
what's biblical
we appoint
as ministers
of the gospel
people who are
gifted
but do not
meet the
scriptural
criteria
or have
the necessary
character
they might
look successful
at first
as gifted
people often
are
but eventually
abuses
and scandals
and heresies
follow
because they
don't have
the character
to weather
the rigors
and the pressures
and the temptations
of ministry
but wait
he performs
miracles
he must
be a true
prophet
not necessarily
the false
prophet
has
impressive
authority
he performs
signs
he is backed
by powerful
figures
he is very
plausible
and persuasive
but we must
not follow him
and they may
come with
consequences
it says in
verse 15
in the false
prophet
was allowed
to give
breath
to the image
of the beast
so that the image
of the beast
might even
speak
and might
cause those
who would not
worship the image
of the beast
to be slain
in the first
century
when revelation
was written
priests
of the imperial
cult
would make
literal idols
of emperors
and other gods
and demand
that people
bow down
before them
and worship
them
emperor
Caligula
even tried
to place
an idol
of himself
inside
the most
early place
of the
Jerusalem
temple
and emperor
Domitian
also set up
a colossal
statue
of himself
in Ephesus
and demanded
that people
worship him
and historians
note that
some of these
imperial cult
priests
employed
ventriloquism
and false
lightning
and other
similar signs
to persuade
people that
there is real
divinity
and deity
behind these
idols
not all of
these things
happened
during John's
day necessarily
but similar
events may
have happened
already afoot
by John's
time
and those
who refused
to join
in that
idolatry
were sometimes
slain
and often
faced dire
economic
consequences
as we see
in the following
verses
this setting
up of the
image of the
beast
is an
allusion
most likely
to Daniel
chapter 3
where the
Babylonian
king
Nebuchadnezzar
sets up
a golden
image of
himself
and demands
that all
people
and nations
and language
bow down
before it
and worship
it
and you know
the story
Daniel's three
friends
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego
they refused
to worship
the image
and when
Nebuchadnezzar
threatens them
with the fiery
furnace
and they finally
says to them
who is the
God
who will
deliver you
out of my
hands
Shadrach
Meshach
and Abednego
reply
if this
be so
our
God
whom we
serve
is able
to deliver
us
from the
burning
fiery
furnace
and he
will
deliver
us
out of
your
hand
O
king
but if
not
be known
to you
O
king
that we
will not
serve
your
gods
or worship
the golden
image
that you
have set
up
they
believe
that God
can
deliver
them
and that he
will
deliver
them
from the
hand
of the
king
Nebuchadnezzar
but even
if he
doesn't
they said
we will
not bow
down
before
your
golden
image
we know
that early
church
that was
persecuted
took
inspiration
from the
story
because if
you go
to the
catacombs
of Priscilla
which is
an underground
cemetery
that the
Romans
used
you can
see a
fresco
painting
on the
wall
of the
three
friends
of Daniel
in the
fiery
furnace
accompanied
by Holy
Spirit
in the
form
of a
dove
and
not
harmed
by the
fire
Christians
because
they were
so frequently
persecuted
sometimes
took shelter
and used
the catacombs
the tombs
as a
sanctuary
and sometimes
they worship
there
which is
why we see
and this
is the
image
that they
had
to remind
us
that we
don't suffer
alone
there are
those who
have gone
before us
who have
borne
faithful
testimony
to Jesus
in order
to enforce
the worship
of the
beast
the false
prophet
will
mark
the earth
dwellers
with the
mark
of the
beast
it says
in verses
16 to
18
also it
causes
all
both
small
and
great
both
rich
and
poor
both
free
and
slave
to be
marked
on the
right
hand
or the
forehead
so that
no one
can buy
or sell
unless he
has the
mark
that is
the name
of the beast
or the number
of its name
this calls
for wisdom
let the one
who has
understanding
calculate the
number
of the beast
for it is
the number
of a man
and his
number
is
666
this
number
has
sparked
all
kinds
of
imaginative
speculation
and
controversy
throughout
church
history
I mentioned
to you
you might
remember
this
I mentioned
to you
my first
sermon
in our
revelation
series
a few
years
ago
no not
the sermon
wasn't a few
years ago
but a few
years ago
some people
were proclaiming
that the
COVID vaccine
is the
mark of
the beast
that's
unfortunate
because our
pastoral intern
was working
for the
company
that made
one of
them
and
they were
saying
that because
the word
corona
has six
letters
so that's
obviously
the first
six
of the
666
and then
you count
up the
numerical
value of
the letters
in the word
corona
c is the
third letter
in the alphabet
so it's
number three
and so on
and then you
add up the
numbers
you get
66
can that be
coincidence
666
that is
certainly not
the mark
of the beast
a few
decades ago
when Ronald
Regan
was elected
president
some people
noted that
the winning
lottery number
in Maryland
on election
day
November 4th
was
666
that of
course
got the
conspiracy
years going
and later
some people
noted that
Ronald
Wilson
Regan
the first
middle
last name
all have
six
letters
he's kind
of a
hapless
president
because
he didn't
help his
case
when
after his
retirement
he purchased
a house
in Belle
Air
Los Angeles
with the
address
666
St.
Cloud
Road
and his
wife was
wise to
promptly
change the
address
to 668
if you
think only
Republicans
can be the
antichrist
then think
again
because it
was rumored
that John
F.
Kennedy
received
precisely
666
votes
during the
1956
Democratic
Convention
which I
looked into
and it
turns out
that he
didn't
but
doesn't
stop
rumors
from
spreading
and
also
JFK
died
of a
head
wound
like
the
beast
that
dies
of a
mortal
wound
and
some
people
have
written
books
predicting
that JFK
will come
back
from the
dead
as the
antichrist
still others
have suggested
that the
beast
is
Mohammed
saying
that
a certain
Greek
spelling
of his
name
Maometis
adds up
to the
number
666
the only
problem
with this
theory
is that
his name
is never
rendered
Maometis
in all
extant
literature
and the
numbers do
not add up
to 666
many other
names have been
suggested throughout
church history
Caligula
Domitian
Caesar
God
the
Nicolaitans
Ioanthus
Taten
Saladin
King
Charles
I
King
George
III
of the
American
Revolution
Napoleon
Latinus
which means
Latin
speaking
man
which some
people claim
Pope
is the
antichrist
Phoebus
Balaam
Oliver
Cromwell
Kaiser
Wilhelm
Hitler
Mussolini
Anwar
Sadat
and
Saddam
Hussein
among
others
this should
caution us
against
numerological
speculations
theologian
George
Salmon
suggests
some
tongue
in cheek
rules
for how
to calculate
the number
of the
beast
he writes
this is
his first
rule
first
if the
proper
name
by itself
will not
yield
666
add a
title
secondly
if the
sum
cannot be
found in
Greek
try
Hebrew
or even
Latin
thirdly
do not
be too
particular
about the
spelling
it's
really
funny
but
not
so
funny
because
it's
exactly
what's
happened
with
some
of
these
suggestions
Salmon
concludes
from this
quote
we cannot
infer much
from the
fact that
a key
fits the
lock
if it
is a
lock
in which
almost
any
key
will
fit
this
is a
wise
general
caution
against
mathematical
and
numerological
speculation
having
said
that
I'm
going to
kind of
break that
rule and
suggest to
you
that there
is
one
historical
name
however
that I
do
think
John
is
referencing
this
is not
definitive
and it
is a
bit
speculative
but because
John
alludes
to this
man
and the
legend
surrounding
him
repeatedly
throughout
the
book
I
think
the
identification
is likely
and that
man is
Nero
in many
ancient
languages
the
letters
of the
alphabet
were also
given
numerical
value
and
gematria
which is
the practice
of representing
names and
words with
numbers
was commonly
practiced by
Jews and
Greeks and
Romans
there are
many examples
literary
examples
that we
have of
names of
emperors
names
name of
Jesus
and even
name of
God
being represented
with
gematria
with using
these numbers
in other
literature
and normally
I don't think
you should use
gematria on
the number
that you see
numbers that you
see in the
Bible
but because
I think that
leads to this
kind of fruitless
speculation and
conspiracy theories
however I do
think that John
is pointing us
to that practice
here because
verse 15
says let
the one who
has understanding
calculate the
number of the
beast for it
is the number
of a man and
his number is
666
John uses many
symbolic and
figurative numbers
throughout his
book but never
not once does
he tell us in
those other places
to calculate the
number and
or tell us it's
the number of a
man but here he
tells us that to
calculate the
number for it is
the number of a
man and that
indicates that
number 666
represents a
man's name
somehow if you
transliterate the
Greek for
Nero Caesar into
Hebrew the
letters add up to
666 it isn't the
most common spelling
of Nero Caesar but
there was an
Aramaic papyrus
document that was
discovered dated to
stating the second
ear of Nero Caesar
and that's spelled
exactly that way
and that name
spelling yields
666
some people object
that John wouldn't
have used Hebrew
for Nero Caesar to
yield 666
by Gamatria if
he's writing to
Greek speakers which
he is here because
Revelation is written
in Greek that's a
fair point but
verses like
Revelation 9 11 and
16 16 where John
explicitly gives the
Hebrew name for
words like Abaddon
and Armageddon
suggest that John
did have in mind
that some of his
audience would know
Hebrew or be
familiar with Hebrew
words moreover there
are some ancient
manuscripts of this
passage in Revelation
that have variations
of this verse 18 and
that those variations
have instead of the
number 666 number
616 and if you use
Gamatria on the
Latin translation of
Nero Caesar you get
616 and I think
these variations
confirm that that's
what the original
audience and the
people had in mind
the Nero identification
is confirmed by the
fact that John as we
saw creatively uses
the Nero returned or
the Nero living again
legends that were
popular in his day
beasts to refer to
the beast who dies
who has a mortal
wound but recovers
is seen living again
for example the
Ascension of Isaiah
which is basically
fan fiction in the
style of scripture
from the first or
second century
writes of expectation
of Nero's return
saying all people in
the world will
sacrifice to him and
he will set up his
image before him in
every city the
Sibylline Oracle
which predicted the
return of Nero
called him the
great beast and that
appears to have been
a nickname that was
quite often used of
Nero because of
emperor Marcus Aurelius
also called Nero a
beast and a
Greco-Roman philosopher
Philostratus represents
Apollonius of Tiana as
describing Nero as a
beast more savage than
the wild beasts like
lions and panthers
because flattering him
makes him even more
ferocious and vicious
and he says and
Apollonius writes even
wild beasts do not
eat their own mothers
but Nero quote has
gorged himself on this
diet this is referring
to the fact that Nero
killed his own mother
so he is often referred
to as the beast John
could have simply used
the name Nero for
Gematria but he uses a
title Nero Caesar because
he has a literary and
theological reason for
why he wants the number
to add up to 666
first if you translate
the Greek word for
beast into Hebrew it
has the numerical value
of 666 by showing that
Nero Caesar has the same
numerical value as the
beast both in Hebrew
John is driving home the
point that Nero is in
fact the beast
I don't think he's saying
that Nero would literally
be resurrected and come
back to life at the end
times but because Nero