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Revelation 13 · a question people ask

"unless he has that mark" (13:17). What is the mark?

In the text

The chapter says what the mark is, where it is given and who causes it to be given. What it is: "that mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name" (13:17). Where: "on their right hands or on their foreheads" (13:16). Who causes it: in the verses about "another beast coming up out of the earth" (13:11), the chapter says, "He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks" (13:16). And it says what follows from it: "no one would be able to buy or to sell unless he has that mark" (13:17). These notes say no more of the mark than these words.

The verses

“I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.”
Revelation 13:11 · World English Bible
“He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands or on their foreheads;”
Revelation 13:16 · World English Bible
“and that no one would be able to buy or to sell unless he has that mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.”
Revelation 13:17 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Revelation 13

Revelation 13: Out of the sea, out of the earth

"The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority" (13:2). And of the mouth speaking great things and the authority to make war, 13:5 says each "was given to him".

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Last reviewed October 12, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions