The Mark of the beast
The idea of receiving a Mark has been ambiguous for the start of the teaching. The focal point of this teaching comes from Revelation 13: 11-18. The idea is that in the end the beast will cause people to take a mark on either their forehead or their right hand and by doing so those who have the mark will be able to live. The text goes on to say what the mark is, it is a number of the beast or it's name. Scripture does not tell us the name of the beast but they do tell us the number and it is the number of a man, 666. For some scholars the term "a man" is of a single individual. For others, such as myself, "a man" is a general statement, meaning all man. In addition the belief about the mark has changed over time. When I first started learning about this teaching the mark was a tattoo. As technology advances the mark has become a micro chip that will be implanted under the skin of the individual.
There are a couple of problems with this teaching. First, there is a failure to understand scriptural synergy and second poor hermeneutics. The increasing teaching of this is due to presuppositions and traditional teachings. Too many people in the church believes that the authors of the Bible were writing to us today when in fact they were not. They were writing to the churches of their time. Scripture has been saved for us today and to assume that the authors understood how life today would be like is naive. To understand what the author's intent we must first look at their point of view.
Scriptural synergy in simplest terms means that in order to understand the whole of the Scriptures you must understand the individual parts and to understand the individual parts you must understand the whole. I this sounds like a lot of work but remember what Paul said to Timothy, "Study to show yourself approved." (2 Timothy 2:15). If Scripture uses a word in one area and again in another the meaning of that word does not change.
In chapters 7 and 9 of Revelation the author speaks of a seal being placed on the foreheads of the believers. In ancient times when a letter or contract/ covenant was closed it was done with a seal of the one who was sending the document. The Father has made a covenant with his children through his son on the cross. This seal is made when the person confesses Christ as Lord and God raised him from the dead. The Dispensationalist teaches that the mark of the beast is a physical mark. Well shouldn't the seal of God be a physical one as well? I know when I walk into any church I cannot look at anyone's forehead and tell whether they are a child of God or not. I do not see any seal placed there. The seal and the mark of forms of imagery.
So what is the mark of the beast? To answer that question we must look at the terms "forehead" and "right hand" from the author's point of view. To do this we need to understand historical and literary context. In two places Paul refers to the head or the mind. In Romans 12: 1-2 Paul wrights, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Paul calls his readers to renew their minds. In 2 Corinthians 10: 4-6, "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete." Here Paul is telling readers to take captive of their thoughts. In Ephesians the armor that protects the head is the helmet and this is known as the Helmet of Salvation. Paul warns believers to work out their salvation, meaning to put their faith into motion. So the forehead is a representation of how we think.
The right hand can be understood by understanding the culture of the time. In the Middle East the left hand is considered dirty. The right hand represents authority or power. When Jesus spoke of being struck on the cheek to turn the other. Commonly a Roman soldier would strike a person with the backside of their right hand. This was a manner to humiliate a person. So by turning the other cheek the person was saying, "Treat me as an equal and slap me with your open hand." People in this culture used their right hand as their dominate hand to do everything. So the right hand represents what we do, our actions.
So what is the meaning behind the number 666. The author says, "let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast." This does not mean a mathematical equation but to work out what the meaning is. Scripture says we are created in the image of God. This does not mean that God has legs and arms or a physical body as we know it. The image we are created in is made of three parts. God has three parts; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our three parts are mind, body, and spirit. In the Hebrew language numbers have significant meaning. The number 7 represents God's holiness and righteousness. Scripture says for we all have sinned and fallen short from the glory of God (Romans 3:23). What number falls short from 7? That's right, 6. So there are three parts to man and we have all fallen short, 666.
We are born in original sin that separates us from God. We all need Christ and there is nothing we can do to receive God's grace apart from confessing Christ as Lord and God raising Him from the dead. The number does not represent an individual person but all of mankind. John tells us that antichrist have come (1 John 2:18; 4:3). This is not someone who is to be expected to come. Too many people are expecting a single individual to appear who will lead the world away from the truth of the gospel and define God openly. I can tell you I have met many people who have done that already.
There are a couple of problems with this teaching. First, there is a failure to understand scriptural synergy and second poor hermeneutics. The increasing teaching of this is due to presuppositions and traditional teachings. Too many people in the church believes that the authors of the Bible were writing to us today when in fact they were not. They were writing to the churches of their time. Scripture has been saved for us today and to assume that the authors understood how life today would be like is naive. To understand what the author's intent we must first look at their point of view.
Scriptural synergy in simplest terms means that in order to understand the whole of the Scriptures you must understand the individual parts and to understand the individual parts you must understand the whole. I this sounds like a lot of work but remember what Paul said to Timothy, "Study to show yourself approved." (2 Timothy 2:15). If Scripture uses a word in one area and again in another the meaning of that word does not change.
In chapters 7 and 9 of Revelation the author speaks of a seal being placed on the foreheads of the believers. In ancient times when a letter or contract/ covenant was closed it was done with a seal of the one who was sending the document. The Father has made a covenant with his children through his son on the cross. This seal is made when the person confesses Christ as Lord and God raised him from the dead. The Dispensationalist teaches that the mark of the beast is a physical mark. Well shouldn't the seal of God be a physical one as well? I know when I walk into any church I cannot look at anyone's forehead and tell whether they are a child of God or not. I do not see any seal placed there. The seal and the mark of forms of imagery.
So what is the mark of the beast? To answer that question we must look at the terms "forehead" and "right hand" from the author's point of view. To do this we need to understand historical and literary context. In two places Paul refers to the head or the mind. In Romans 12: 1-2 Paul wrights, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Paul calls his readers to renew their minds. In 2 Corinthians 10: 4-6, "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete." Here Paul is telling readers to take captive of their thoughts. In Ephesians the armor that protects the head is the helmet and this is known as the Helmet of Salvation. Paul warns believers to work out their salvation, meaning to put their faith into motion. So the forehead is a representation of how we think.
The right hand can be understood by understanding the culture of the time. In the Middle East the left hand is considered dirty. The right hand represents authority or power. When Jesus spoke of being struck on the cheek to turn the other. Commonly a Roman soldier would strike a person with the backside of their right hand. This was a manner to humiliate a person. So by turning the other cheek the person was saying, "Treat me as an equal and slap me with your open hand." People in this culture used their right hand as their dominate hand to do everything. So the right hand represents what we do, our actions.
So what is the meaning behind the number 666. The author says, "let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast." This does not mean a mathematical equation but to work out what the meaning is. Scripture says we are created in the image of God. This does not mean that God has legs and arms or a physical body as we know it. The image we are created in is made of three parts. God has three parts; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our three parts are mind, body, and spirit. In the Hebrew language numbers have significant meaning. The number 7 represents God's holiness and righteousness. Scripture says for we all have sinned and fallen short from the glory of God (Romans 3:23). What number falls short from 7? That's right, 6. So there are three parts to man and we have all fallen short, 666.
We are born in original sin that separates us from God. We all need Christ and there is nothing we can do to receive God's grace apart from confessing Christ as Lord and God raising Him from the dead. The number does not represent an individual person but all of mankind. John tells us that antichrist have come (1 John 2:18; 4:3). This is not someone who is to be expected to come. Too many people are expecting a single individual to appear who will lead the world away from the truth of the gospel and define God openly. I can tell you I have met many people who have done that already.
