Revelation 13:15-18 NET, The second beast was empowered to give life to the image of the first beast so that it could speak, and could cause all those who did not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He also caused everyone (small and great, rich and poor, free and slave) to obtain a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. Thus no one was allowed to buy or sell things unless he bore the mark of the beast—that is, his name or his number. This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the beast’s number, for it is man’s number, and his number is 666.
The Mark of the Beast is one of those things that pervades the mind of many Christians, and is even a recognizable reference in secular culture. Throughout even my lifetime there has always been a buzz every couple years with the question being asked, “is this the mark!?” Before my time is was MasterCard, or Monster Energy drinks. More recently it has been things like RFID chips, the covid shot, or any number of things that people are trying to convince other that this particular thing is the mark.
But do we have it all wrong? Are we looking for something that in reality isn’t what we think it is?
Over the last several years I have had major shifts in my eschatology. Instead of looking at the book of Revelation as a step-by-step guide of everything that happens before Christ comes again (as is very popular in American Christianity in particular), I have begun to ask, “what was the purpose of the book to the original recipients, and how does that apply to me?” We have to remember the cardinal presupposition of understanding Scripture: it was written FOR US, but not TO US.
So with that in mind, what on earth could this mark even be, if it is not a literal mark that people will get in the future when the Antichrist takes over? Well…if we ask the 1st Century Christian who is like a Jew who we need sitting in our heads when we read the New Testament. So where else do we find Scripture speaking of something to do with arms & foreheads?
For this let’s go all the way back to Deuteronomy, to the famous Shema prayer.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NET, Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead. Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates.
The most recognizable outgrowth from this verse is something called phylacteries, which are small boxes that contain Scripture that Jews wrap around their arms and their head as they pray. It is a physical representation of having God’s law on their head and hands. What this speaks to (both the verse and the phylacteries), is that God’s people are to keep God’s law as the primary mover, or foundation for all their thoughts (head) and actions (hands).
This makes sense, doesn’t it? We know that the Gospel is supposed to renew and transform our minds, and also that is demonstrated by our actions and works. So now lets extend this as we should to what John is talking about in Revelation.
This means that when John is speaking about the Mark of the Beast, he is not giving the 1st Century Christians a glimpse into the future thousands of years later. What good would that be for persecuted believers in the Roman Empire. Instead, John is encouraging the Christians of his day, and our day that through our thoughts and actions we are either going to image God, or image the dark spiritual forces of this age.
Is how we think, and what we do representative of God? Or is it representative of the culture that is around us? The number 666 reinforces this, as a likely explanation is that is pointing to Nero, who was Caesar of Rome at the time. The Roman Empire worshiped the Emperor as a god, and it was by and through the Emperor that people prospered, had peace and could live a good life. But for those who follower Christ, they would be exempt from that. They would be persecuted and killed for the declaration of Christ as King. As so John here reminds and encourages Christians that those who do what they need to do to fit in to life a comfortable life are really imaging demons, rather than imaging God. They are holding the world above Christ.
So for us in our day. My encouragement is that we stop trying to ferret out what might be the mark of the beast. I think if we go with what John is getting it, then what he wrote is just as applicable then as it is now. Represent Christ in all things. Don’t be concerned if the culture rejects you, because it is fallen and of the world. Christ is our hope in life and death, and we should hold strong in our faithfulness to Him. To the end.