“[The Beast] required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.” (13. 16-18)
When you read Revelation, 1) start with what John is talking about in the context of Revelation, 2) then go back to what it means against the backdrop of the OT, 3) then you look at John’s historical context, and 4) last you make the application to today.
In the OT book of Ezekiel, people are marked for destruction or salvation. This is probably what John is alluding to. The mark is an indication of whose you are. If you belong to Jesus, you need not fear being “tricked” into taking the mark.
666? Probably a reference to Nero. Caesar Nero in Aramaic has the number value of 666. Nero was one of the worst persecutors of Christians in history, and so he embodies the kind of Satanic opposition that Christians face in the world.
Not being able to buy or sell anything without the mark? Probably a reference to the imperial edicts that forbade commerce for those who were unwilling to say, “Caesar is Lord”. It represents the persecution and marginalization of Christians as they try to live for Christ.
But it brings to light one of the most common pitfalls of interpreting Revelation: running immediately to current events and modern technology. This misses the meaning.
Ever since microchip technology has been available, Christians have speculated that the Mark of the Beast is not far away. The logic goes like this. Humans are being biochipped. That sounds like the mark of the beast in the book of Revelation. If the mark of the beast is here, then so must the rest of the end times. If the end times are here, we better get our act together!
But is this really the motivation that we are supposed to have to get our act together? Aren’t we meant to live every day in light of eternity? Aren’t we supposed to live under the sobering reality that at any moment you could stop breathing? If you need some kind of doom to motivate you to change, then go to the Internet and read about people your age who die every day.
You will die. This means that now, while you have breath, you must live for Christ.
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