From the Book of Revelation    175 

middle, and last names counted together, his name has 18 letters. The verse 

which gives the numbers 616 and 666 is Rev 13:18. 

    Yet another confirmation that this is the correct interpretation is found in 

Holy Scripture. In the Old Testament, the first and second books of the 

Maccabees describe the persecution of the Jews under Antiochus Epiphanes. 

That evil man was a foreshadowing of Antichrist. Antiochus Epiphanes' evil 

deeds, torturing and killing the Jews and attacking their religion, were a 

foreshadowing of Antichrist's evil deeds, torturing and killing Christians and 

attacking Christianity. 

    Antiochus Epiphanes' name has 18 letters in it, just as Antichrist's name 

will have 18 letters. But Antiochus Epiphanes' name does not have the 18 

letters divided into three parts, as 666. Thus, Antiochus was a symbol and 

pale precursor of Antichrist, but he was not Antichrist. 

The Earth is Reaped (Rev 14) 

      `Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; 

and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of 

water.'   (Rev 14:7). 

    At the end of the 3  years of the Church's greatest suffering, God will 

judge the earth. Those who endured and stood firm, not denying Jesus 

Christ their Lord and Savior, will be saved. The souls called  first fruits for 

God and the Lamb  are given the number 144,000 (Rev 14:1 5). This 

symbolic number means that a large number of people from each of the 

twelve parts of the Church remained entirely faithful to God during this time 

of great suffering. It is not an exact number of persons who are saved and 

many will be saved who are not holy enough to be counted among these first 

fruits. 

    The number 144,000 is also mentioned earlier in Revelation (Rev 7:1 8), 

but this is a different group of persons from the first fruits. The later group, 

called the first fruits, is even holier than this earlier group. Though the 

number 144,000 is used to describe each group, they are not made up of the 

same number of persons. This symbolic number means a large number of 

persons from every part of the Church. 

    The wicked who followed Antichrist and those who received the mark of 

the beast on their forehead or right hand will be severely punished by God. 

This punishment begins on earth with the   seven bowls of the wrath of 

God  (Rev 16:1). But the punishment of the unrepentant continues even 

after their death, for ever and ever in Hell. 

     And the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have 

no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and 

whoever receives the mark of its name.  (Rev 14:11).