THURSDAY
Yesterday we saw the scene of the people of God (144,000) in heaven (Mt. Zion) with Jesus (The Lamb). We saw that the people of God have the name of God written on their foreheads. This is the meaning of the sealing from chapter 7. Continuing on, then, we come to what is known as the mark of the beast. We are going to focus on verses 9-13 as we talked about the judgment of God last week (vv. 6-7) and we will talk about Babylon and its fall in the coming weeks (v. 8).
Revelation 14:6-13
The Messages of the Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
9 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, 10 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. 11 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.”
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
The people of God will be delivered from God’s perfect, final judgement against evil. However, those who worship the beast and its image and receive its mark will not. They will also experience the judgment of God. If you’re familiar with Christian theology of the end times, you’ve likely heard of the mark of the beast. The mark of the beast is first mentioned at the end of the previous chapter.
Revelation 13:16–18 (ESV)
16 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, 17 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. 18 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.
Some interpret the mark of the beast to be a literal thing that is revealed in the literal (usually 7 years) tribulation to come in the future. This thing or mark threatens one’s ability to participate in the market, as the text suggests here. In such cases it has been speculated that the mark of the beast could be credit cards, cell phones, microchips, vaccines, or other things like that. Many people have been concerned about unwittingly taking the mark of the beast and therefore aligning with the beast and facing condemnation, as verse 10 indicates those who take the mark of the beast will face the wrath of God. This has led to a great deal of speculation around numbers and sequences of numbers that could possibly add up to 666. This is of course a possible view if you adopt the more literal, futurist interpretation of Revelation.
However, I think the literal view, again, is less likely for a number of reasons. First of all, the mark of the beast is presented in contrast to the seal of God. The mark of the beast will be on the right hand or the forehead of those who take it, which is where the Shema of Deuteronomy 6 is to be bound as a symbol of devotion and commitment to God. Conversely, the angel will seal the servants of God on their foreheads (7:3) and God’s name and the Lamb’s name are written on the foreheads of God’s people (14:1). I’ve never heard of someone who literally thinks that God will write his name on the foreheads of his people. This signifies that believers belong to God. Also, the number 666 is most likely a reference to Nero. Hebrew, ancient Hebrew at least, didn’t have numbers. Instead the letters of the alphabet corresponded to numbers (A=1, B=2, etc.). If translated into Hebrew, the letters for Nero Caesar add up to 666. As further evidence when translated to Latin, it transcribes the number 616, which is a variant reading in some ancient Latin manuscripts. So this is likely a cryptic designation for Nero who famously blamed and persecuted Christians for the fire of Rome. By extension, then, this refers to any Roman emperor after Nero who persecutes the church.
It could, however, also be a designation for humanity. “The number of a man” can just as well be interpreted “the number of humanity.” God’s perfect number is seven and three sets of seven (we have already seen John’s proclivity to using 3 sets of 7 to describe God’s perfection) is perfection. If 777 is God’s perfect number then 666 is humanity’s incomplete, fallen state without God, therefore, evil and wickedness. This would also allude to humanity being created on the 6th day. The 666 and taking the mark of the beast would be the worship of humanity and the kingdom of humanity (the empire of Rome for John’s first audience). Thomas Schreiner writes on this, “Wherever human government takes on divine pretensions, we find 666 instead of 777—the totalitarianism of human government that deprives people of human rights, that insists on absolute devotion and allegiance.” (Schreiner, Revelation, p. 490)
Either of these two options are great options and they point us to the same idea, which fits nicely within the book of Revelation and means something to its first readers. If it is a mark to be taken in the end times, like a microchip to purchase goods, this would have no meaning to John’s first audience. Believers would be ostracized from the trade guilds if they didn’t pledge their allegiance to the emperor or the empire. Conducting business would be difficult and costly, if not impossible. Yet John is encouraging the believers not to worship and pledge their allegiance to Caesar even if it comes with an economic cost.
Also, verses 12 and 13 are the application of this section and essentially the application of the whole book. The believers at the seven churches are being called to endure the persecution of the Roman empire, the pressure of the Roman culture and remain faithful to the gospel amidst the false teachings in the church. It’s vitally important to keep this in mind as we go through this book. This book is primary a call to faithful discipleship to Jesus. It’s communicated in a rather creative, dramatic fashion, but that is the point nonetheless.
This is also the point of the mark of the beast. Christians can be sealed with the name of God and the Lamb on their foreheads. Or they can be marked with the name of Caesar and Rome on their foreheads. You cannot belong to both, ultimately. So which one is it? Will you take the name of God that comes with eternal rewards or will you take the name of Caesar that comes with immediate convenience and luxury in this world? This is the question John is posing to his audience.
This is also the question John and the Spirit are posing to us today. Are we sealed with the name of God on our foreheads? Do we belong first and wholly to God, even if comes at the cost of suffering or persecution? Or are we willing to take the mark of the beast and belong to our country or our political leaders first? Is our allegiance to Jesus or to our president? Is our allegiance to America or to the kingdom of God?
Ironically, as so many Christians have been paranoid about unwittingly accepting the mark of the beast, they have been committing the actual sin this text is warning us about. This text warns against nationalism*, all the while Christian nationalism** has been festering within our churches. Christians know the pledge of allegiance better than they know the gospel or the Apostle’s Creed. They celebrate their candidate more passionately than they worship God on Sunday. They know the persecutions of their political party more than they know the persecutions of Christians around the world. They refer to their unsaved fellow Americans as we and us but the believing immigrants as they and them. They care more about getting their candidate elected than they do about Jesus being glorified through loving their neighbors and sacrificing for them. They hope more in their political power to correct problems in our country than they hope in Jesus’ return. They are more bothered by people who don’t stand for the national anthem than they are concerned for Christians who don’t worship in church. They are more allegiant to their political party than they are to their church community. They adopt and promote beliefs from their political party and political figures that conflict with the clear teaching of Scripture.
So, have you taken the mark of the beast and given your allegiance to America or the president or your party over your allegiance to Jesus and his kingdom?
*Nationalism defined as, identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests especially to the exclusion or detriment of other nations.
**The belief that America is a Christian nation and the government has a responsibility to keep it that way. This definition is from Paul D. Miller.