<p>13:16 <em>And he causes all, the small and the great and the rich and the poor and the free and the bondservant, to be given a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead</em>- The beast system will insist that all people receive the mark in their foreheads (Rev. 13:15,16; 14:11). This was an allusion to the way slaves were branded with a mark of ownership. And so in the very last days it will intensely cost to have the stigmata, the marks / brand, of being true servants of Jesus. It will cost and hurt to really believe His words, that we cannot serve two masters. This is why those who are slaves of others are pictured here as all becoming slaves of this beastly coalition. <br />We either receive the mark of the beast and ultimately face torture and the wine of God&rsquo;s wrath; or we refuse it and face Babylon&rsquo;s wrath (Rev. 13:16,17; 14:9,10). Now is the time for self-examination.</p>