THE MARK OF THE BEAST

Many speculative interpretations have been given to the Bible’s teaching about the “Mark of the Beast” found in Revelation 13. This writer is convinced that it was a symbol. The Book of Revelation is set forth in “signs and symbols.” Of this there can be no dispute. It is not to be read with wooden literalism. The Greek word translated “signified” or “communicated” in the FIRST VERSE literally means to set forth in signs and symbols. So the first verse of Revelation reveals how to read and interpret it.

The book even makes explicit reference to its symbolic nature. Revelation 12:1-18 expressly says that “A great SIGN appeared” referring to the woman and the dragon, In Revelation 1:20, John himself interprets the “seven lampstands” for us by revealing that they represented the seven churches to whom Revelation was written. They were not literal lampstands.. This is symbolic literature. You don’t read symbolism the same way that you read historical narrative like the Book of Acts or the Gospel of John. That must be kept in mind when you read Revelation.

Some people think they have figured out all of the signs and symbols, but no one has with absolute certainty. The Book of Revelation was written FOR us, but it was not written TO us. It was written to first century believers—specifically seven churches in Asia (Revelation 1-3). Therefore, its original audience would have understood the signs and symbols, but no one today fully understands them.

This does not mean, however, that there is not great value in reading and studying the Book of Revelation. The New Testament is a book of principles to guide us in the Christian life and to focus on Christ. When you read Revelation correctly, you read it devotionally to bring you closer to Jesus. And, when studied from that vantage point, it is easy to see what the point of the book is.

The “Mark of the Beast” was some kind of symbol dealing with persecution of various kinds, particularly economic persecution, in the first century. Christians were persecuted greatly by the Roman Empire during that time. John was writing to them to warn them and encourage them to stay faithful to Jesus, no matter what they had to endure. To say that believers were under tremendous pressure would be an understatement.

I do not believe that there is any basis for interpreting the mark of the beast as something that is still to come in the future or something that could happen now in our day. What would that have meant to first century Christians? How would the nature of the world today have encouraged or warned believers who lived 2,000 years ago? No, the farthest thing from John’s mind would have been a computer chip or some other sort of implant or literal “mark” in our day. I don’t believe that is the way to interpret this at all.

Rather than seeing it as literal and futuristic, we should note that believers during that time were being pressured and persecuted to give their commitment and service and dedication to a temporary, worldly empire in Rome rather than eternal allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. They were being told that they must worship the emperor, and if they refused, then they would be persecuted and ostracized, and would experience financial and social repercussions from which they would not recover on this earth.

Rather than a microchip, or a barcode, or a tattoo of some kind, or any literal marking, the mark of the beast had religious and social implications for the people to whom the Book of Revelation was originally written. Rome was a pagan society that was opposed to a religion like Christianity, or even Judaism for that matter. Christians, especially, were persecuted severely under the Roman regime of that day. Believers in Jesus were told to worship the emperor, forced to make a decision between the eternal and the temporal. Between God and the world.

There were religious aspects to Caesar’s rule. He saw himself as a god and his imperial cult was threatened by the advancing cause of Christ. The way he chose to handle the situation was to persecute and try to eradicate Christianity. Citizens under Roman rule were required to participate in various rituals and sacrifices that were completely pagan in nature. Refusing to take part in what the empire wanted meant that one was marked for specific and prolonged persecution. It could have literally meant the loss of life for believers. It was a serious and scary time. Christians were viewed as disloyal to the emperor, which brought on his wrath.

While it is a sin to worship and love money, no one can survive without it in some form. That was true then as it is true now. Economic oppression was not as immediately painful as physical persecution, but in the long run, it would mess up one’s life tremendously. John writes that those not possessing the “mark” would not be able to buy or sell. If someone is not able to buy things or at least have someone buy things for them, they will not survive, generally speaking. Food normally has to be bought. Necessities have to be bought. One of the ways that Rome wanted to get at Christians was to deny them the ability to do this.

Remember that in the first century Roman Empire, coins bore the image of Caesar because he thought he was a god. Commerce was controlled by the royal cult. There were religious overtones to far more about the Roman Empire than most people realize. Peter, John, Paul, and the rest of the apostles, as well as all of the Christians of the first century—well, it is shocking to learn and consider all of the pressures that they faced.

Consider also that there was a different kind of seal that had already been mentioned back in Revelation 7. It was the “seal of God” and it was placed on the forehead of those who followed Christ. But did the believers get a literal mark on their foreheads? Does this teach in some way that believers in the future will have a literal mark on their foreheads? Again, I am convinced that it was a reference to the fact that those who follow Christ belong to God and have given ownership of their lives over to Him. Everyone belongs to either God or the devil. There are only two sides. And that is one of the basic, overall points of the Book of Revelation. One side or the other. There is no fence to straddle. There is no middle ground. Jesus said, “He who is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30).

So the “mark” of God would refer to the fact that God will see His people through, no matter what kind of persecution they endure. Even if they lose their lives, they will receive eternal life in heaven with Him (Revelation 2:10). The protection of God is not earthly and temporary, although sometimes God brings about that kind of deliverance. But the only kind of deliverance that He promises us is eternal deliverance, regardless of what we face here in this life. And that applies in principle to us today as much as it did to them back then.

So the “beast’s mark” would represent an identifier of those who follow the devil. And there are many identifiers of those who follow the devil rather than God. Worldliness and a refusal to give our lives completely to Jesus would be the most obvious ones. Rome was not just a non-Christian Empire, it was an ANTI-Christian empire. It was against everything that Christianity stood for.

If all of this is true—and obviously, I am convinced that it is—then who is the beast and what is the significance of the infamous 666 number? No one knows for sure, of course. Scholars have debated this for centuries and virtually no two in-depth Bible students agree completely on what all of these symbols mean. But the “beast” referred to a man and 666 was “his number” (Revelation 13:18).

Responsible Bible study recognizes that we do not have to know what something does mean in order to know what it does not mean. And if 666 refers to something in our day or something that is still coming in the future, then what was its significance to people 2,000 years ago? Remember when interpreting the Book of Revelation—and we cannot stress this enough—that the book was written to people in the first century who were facing real issues and persecution. If we view the beast from the sea (Revelation 13:1-10) as representing, not a literal beast, but a man involved with the Roman Empire in symbolic language, then that fits what the believers were facing.

Of course, someone may ask, why all of the symbolism? But if the book is about Christianity overcoming its enemies, and its enemies were in power at the time that it speaks of, then the book was written in code so that only Christians would understand its meaning. It would have only accelerated the persecution if it fell into the hands of the Roman authorities and they could understand it.

When it comes to the number 666 (Revelation 13:18), I believe it is important to know about the ancient practice of “gematria.” While none of this is something you have to know to go to heaven, nor do you have to know it to get the point of Revelation and read it devotionally to help you focus on Christ, if you are going to try to give a reasonable interpretation of what some of the signs and symbols mean, then it is important to know gematria where letters correspond to numerical values.

I believe the Book of Revelation was written before the fall of the temple in AD 70, which would mean that Nero Caesar was the emperor at the time. Historically, we know he hated Christians and persecuted them mercilessly. That is something you learn from history books. Interestingly, when the name “Nero Caesar” is converted into Hebrew and the numerical values are added, the amount is 666. This makes perfect sense to me in that, since John was writing to encourage believers who were living under an emperor who wanted to destroy them and their religion, he identified Nero in code without bringing further charges of treason and further persecution upon them.

Of course, only God Himself knows for sure what all of those symbols mean. But I do believe the people to whom they were written knew what they meant. The Book of Revelation, in other words, does not contain literal directions or descriptions of life for 2025 or beyond. It was relevant to whom the people it was written, a message of hope and encouragement. If we read it focused on Jesus, which is the way to read the Bible, then the point we see is still applicable. Christ triumphs over all of His enemies. So trust in Christ and be on the winning side. No matter what happens to you in this life, you will ultimately prevail through Jesus.

What we have presented here means that these things were fulfilled in the first century and referred to events that the people who were the recipients of the Revelation of John were facing and experiencing. Doesn’t that make more sense than to think that John was writing to give them a description of things that would happen 2,000 years after they were all dead and gone? I believe that this interpretation moves it from fanciful speculation today.

The prophecy “experts” are always “identifying” the mark of the beast and the number 666, and they contradict each other and always have these things referring to different events that are happening now will, according to them, happen sometime in the future. We are always “living in the last days” with “prophecy being fulfilled right before our eyes” and the Book of Revelation is always going to be fulfilled “soon.” And it’s been that way for two hundred years. For example, consider throughout your lifetime how many people have been identified as the “antichrist.” It’s always someone different, depending on what is going on in the world. The fact is, they cannot agree among themselves and they are always wrong because the Book of Revelation was written for us, but not to us directly. We are the secondary audience, not the primary one.

I could be wrong, of course, in my interpretation of all of this, because no one on earth today knows for sure what all of those signs and symbols mean. When it comes to 666, for example, it corresponds perfectly to Nero Caesar, when using the numerical values to which I have referred, but that is certainly not the only way it could have been interpreted. That is assuming that those numerical values are what John had in mind. Which we do not know for sure because he did not tell us.

God did not, in fact, tell us what all of the symbols in revelation mean. Which means it is not something that you have to know to go to heaven. But rather than letting that cause you to stay away from the Book of Revelation, I believe it encourages you to read it. Because when the pressure is off of trying to figure out all of the signs and symbols that no Bible teachers have ever agreed completely on, then you can read it as a part of the love letter of Jesus Christ to you. It becomes less “spooky” and confusing when we look for the overall point. And the point is that Christ is on the throne, no matter what is going on down here, and we will be saved by Him no matter what. Keep your attention focused on Jesus, in other words, not on trying to figure out things like the mark of the beast. There is nothing wrong with studying it, and seeing what you believe. But it is easy here—very easy—when dealing with such matters that appeal to our curiosity and our emotions, to get distracted from Jesus and obsessed with things like Bible prophecy and the mark of the beast. Please don’t make that mistake.

This interpretation—of an historical fulfillment of these things rather than it referring directly to things in our day—makes the message of Revelation and all of the things in it a timeless message in principle that applies to believers everywhere at all times. The devil is out to destroy us, but he cannot win if we have a Savior named Jesus and we stay focused on Him. Regardless of what we know or don’t know about the symbolism, we get the point and that is what matters.

    Bryan Dewayne Dunaway