From Sean's Gospel Topical Guide
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- 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:
- 17) And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
- And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
- Approaches interpretation from the contemporary culture of John of Patmos. It's an interesting interpretation that reminds me of exegesis I have read of Isaiah. Viewed as a prophecy of events in modern times, as is also true of much of Isaiah, it suggests that we can expect a dual-fulfillment interpretation here, just as is expected from Isaiah (and exegesis contemporary to ancient Judea, the Dead Sea Scrolls in particular, shows that the Jews understood a future apocalyptic fulfillment to some of the prophecies that have straightforward already-fulfilled interpretations), and the straightforward application from John of Patmos's time might guide us to understand what we should be expecting in modern times.
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