What is the Mark of the Beast?
The mark of the Beast is a parody of the “seal of God” that the followers of the Lamb have received, marking them as belonging to God’s people (Rev. 7:2, 4, 5, 8; 9:4). The followers of the Lamb, many of whom are killed “for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God,” are described as people who “had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands” (Rev. 20:4). In contrast, Christians who are “marked … with a seal” (sphragizōmen) or have the “seal” (sphragis) of God on their foreheads (Rev. 7:4; 9:4).13 In Revelation 14:1, John states that the followers of the Lamb had “his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”
The expression “seal of God” is based on Ezekiel 9:1–11 where a “mark” is mentioned as a sign of the physical protection of the righteous remnant in Israel. Here the prophet sees a man with a writing case who is asked to scour the city for people who share the prophet’s broken heart over the abominations perpetrated in Israel and his grief over the impending doom. Those who exhibit such response are to be marked with a taw (a letter that had the shape of an X in the archaic cursive script) on the forehead. This mark on the most visible part of the body served “as a distinguishing mark to separate the righteous from the wicked” and, as a mark of ownership, as “Yahweh’s signature, his claim on those who were citizens of the true kingdom of God.”
The mark on the foreheads of the believers in Revelation—the “seal of God,” which is the name of Jesus the Lamb and the name of God the Father—is a symbolic portrayal of the fact that they belong to the true and living God and that they can be assured of the authenticity of their faith and of the spiritual protection of their salvation. Furthermore, the seal and name of God encourage and empower true believers to remain loyal to Jesus Christ even in the midst of immense political and social pressure. Some end-time “specialists” suggest that the “mark of the Beast” is 666 and that in the last period of history the world’s population will be branded with this number (perhaps invisibly or in connection with credit cards), which would allow the state to control all economic transactions. Some suggest that the kind of technology that makes this possible is available only today, which (allegedly) “proves” that we live in the end times. This belief misses the point that social control was possible, and practiced quite successfully, even in antiquity. New technology only changes the ways in which social control is encouraged or enforced. John speaks about realities that were already threatening his readers in the first century.
The expression “mark of the Beast” is a symbolic way of describing the state’s measures that are designed to ensure that people submit to compulsory idol worship. The background may be the branding of slaves (as a sign of being property) or the branding of soldiers and devotees of particular pagan cults (as a sign of being faithful followers). Christians have the “seal of God” on their foreheads, which means that they live under God’s sovereign authority who assures them of spiritual protection in the midst of persecution.
Schnabel, E. J. (2011). 40 Questions about the End Times. (B. L. Merkle, Ed.) (pp. 202–203). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional.
