(This article also includes a podcast discussion. Click the play button below, or subscribe and listen on your Apple or Google podcast app.)
To summarize my previous article on the Beast in Revelation 13:1-15 (also known as the Antichrist), his primary purpose in this world is to be worshipped. Satan will give him power to make people worship him, and the False Prophet will likewise perform signs that further drive people to worship. Meanwhile, the Antichrist will set himself firmly against God’s people, doing everything in his power to imprison or kill Christians all around the world.
Everyone alive must choose one: either you worship Christ or you worship the Beast. There is no compromise for either of these. To worship Christ means you can be captured or killed, and to worship the Beast means you stand against God and His people.
Understanding all of that, we will have a much easier time identifying what this mark can mean and how Christians should think about it today.
Old Testament hands and foreheads
The idea of the mark fuels our imaginations. With each new year, Christians try to identify what new technology or policy is actually the mark of the Beast. Before going back to Revelation, I want us to remember how God called Israel to worship Him long ago:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deutornomy 6:4-9)
Israel was called to love God so much that His word was an ever-present part of their lives. By telling them to put it on their hands or on their foreheads, whether it was literal or metaphorical, there’s no denying that they would spend most of their time thinking about their God and worshipping Him in their day-to-day lives. The idea here is clear: God wanted the absolute devotion of His people.
What is the mark?
As we saw with the “unholy trinity” of the Dragon, Antichrist, and False Prophet, the mark is another perversion of something God established. It is truly against Christ, or “Anti-Christ.” As we continue our reading of Revelation 13, we see another function of the False Prophet and how it guides the world in worshipping the Beast.
Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead… (Revelation 13:16)
Plainly put, all people will be given the option to receive a mark from this false prophet that, like what we saw in Deuteronomy, will be evidence of their loyalty and devotion to the person that people are worshipping.
Why is 666 the number of the Beast?
This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. Revelation 13:18)
This is a considerably small matter compared to the rest of this discussion, but still one worth pointing out. Throughout the Bible, we see the number 7 associated with God. It carries the idea of completeness and perfection. The number 6, in contrast, is incomplete and imperfect. It is the number of a man, and is somehow adopted by the Beast.
We may get too literal when we think the mark of the Beast is 666. Rather, this may be metaphorical in saying that all of this is another perversion of a picture of God. Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet are all in direct opposition to the perfection of God, and those who adopt that mark are taking a similar stand.
The mark may literally use the number 666, or this could just refer to the fact that people will be worshipping a man and not God. There is a surprising amount of speculation out there, but whatever we believe about a particular number, Christians don’t need to be superstitious about a series of 3 numbers because there’s much more going on here.
What’s the purpose of the mark?
If we only look at Revelation 13, we see that the mark will be required to do any form of business or purchasing in the world. Somehow, the world market will be built on using this mark as a sign that you’re allowed to buy and sell goods.
…so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. (Revelation 13:17)
The mark of the Beast is more than money
However, there’s more to the mark than buying and selling stuff. Up to this point, we may think that Christians can mistakenly take the mark of the Beast. This is why we can get so wrapped up in fear and conspiracies, thinking that a government or powerful person is trying to trick people into taking the mark. But as we read more about this mark in Revelation, we see how this is another way the Antichrist and his followers make a clear statement that they are enemies of God.
And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. (Revelation 14:9-12)
In the previous verses (Revelation 14:6-8) we see two other angels going around the world – one proclaiming the gospel, and the other announcing the fall of Babylon. Here, with this third angel, we see a clear division – those who take the mark and reject the gospel are those who will face God’s wrath in the coming judgment, while Christians are told to keep enduring.
Again, we see that this mark is an intentional choice that people will make to show their allegiance to the Beast that they worship. All who take the mark have the same destiny, and thus no follower of Christ can possibly take a mark that pledges their allegiance to the one who is anti-Christ.
What happens to those with the mark (and why Christians can’t take it)
As we continue reading Revelation, we see further reasons why this mark is little more than a pledge of loyalty to the Beast, and thus something Christians are completely incapable of taking part in.
So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. (Revelation 16:2)
As God begins pouring his judgment on the Earth, He specifically targets those who are objects of His wrath: all those who have received the mark of the Beast, which they only received as a choice to worship him and reject God. As further evidence that Christians can’t receive the mark, we are reminded in John 3:36 that God has no wrath for those who believe in Christ, thus it would make no sense that Christians would receive God’s wrath that was satisfied at the cross.
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. (Revelation 17:8)
There is a lot going on in Revelation 17. However, in the midst of it we are reminded that only those who don’t follow Christ will worship the Antichrist. Though unspoken, this is further evidence that no Christian can be tricked into aligning themselves with the Beast or taking its mark.
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” (Revelation 18:17-18)
As the events of Revelation reach their end, we are at an impending battle. As an angel tells the birds that they are in for a great feast at the end of the battle, we are called back to Revelation 13:16 and all who are marked as worshippers of the beast. This is the final showdown – all of Revelation has been leading to a great battle between Christ, the Beast, and those who worship them. We won’t see a final battle with Satan until Revelation 20, but this particular battle will end in the removal of every single enemy of God from the Earth.
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (Revelation 19:19-21)
Christ’s victory was inevitable. The Antichrist and False Prophet are captured, and all their followers who survived God’s judgment on the Earth are slaughtered in the battle.
At this point, Revelation 20 concludes with the end of Christ’s thousand-year reign and Satans final battle and defeat. Then we see the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment of those whose names aren’t in the Lamb’s Book of Life
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)
Again, all the way back in Revelation 13:8 we’re reminded that all of those who take the mark won’t be in this book, and thus their end is the Lake of Fire.
This part of our discussion makes one thing very clear: those who take the mark will worship the Antichrist and be enemies of God. Thus, no one who worships God and stands against the Antichrist can possibly receive the mark.
Is there a mark of the Beast today?
It seems apparent that the mark itself isn’t something we should fear. Whether it’s literal or metaphorical, the big picture is that people are fully aware of what they’re signing up for when they take it. They know that the Antichrist stands against God and His people, and it’s clear that the world will be clearly divided. The entire world will hate Christians – not just by making fun of them online, but directly or indirectly taking part in their imprisonment and execution. This won’t just exist in certain parts of the world, but globally. The Antichrist and his followers will be everywhere, and there won’t be any safe place for those who worship Christ.
Is that the world we see today? As of writing this article, it’s not. We can see the world slowly shifting that way, but the “last days” may not be something we actually see in our lifetime. But even if we do, it will be so abundantly obvious that no true follower of Christ will have any doubt about what’s happening. It won’t just be a small group of Christ’s followers making claims about the Antichrist or his mark – Christians everywhere will know they’re making a choice between worshipping the Antichrist or worshipping Jesus Christ.
Remember, Christians can’t take the mark of the Beast
I covered this at considerable length, but it’s important to keep this in mind. If a Christian can use a cell phone, it’s not the mark of the Beast. If they can take a vaccine, it’s not the mark of the Beast. Whatever new thing we fear is the mark of the Beast in disguise is immediately disqualified from being the actual mark.
- If you worship Christ, you can’t worship the Beast.
- You can only take the mark if you worship the Beast.
- Thus, Christians have zero reasons to fear accidentally taking the mark of the Beast.
No Christian can be tricked, bamboozled, or hoodwinked into taking the mark. The mark, whatever it will be, is little more than a membership card or a sign of allegiance. It’s part of how the Antichrist will gather his worshippers and set the world against God and His people. The mark isn’t the enemy – it’s the Beast who will be worshipped by every single person who bears his mark.
As we look forward to Christ’s victory over the darkness of this world, let’s make sure we aren’t giving in to emotion, sensationalism, or fear. Let us see Revelation as our call to stand firm in our faith today and pass down a reasonable, biblical, Christ-honoring faith to those who come after us. Let’s also look forward to the future with hope, knowing that our Savior’s victory is never in doubt.
