What About the mark of the beast?

We've all heard various interpretations of these seemingly cryptic passages in Revelation 16 and 19. Like every other figure we find in scripture, this one has its origin in the Old Testament. My thanks go to Ken Davies for calling my attention to it.

The pertinent verses are Ezekial 9:3-5, "Then the glory of the God of Israel went up from the cherub on which it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen at whose loins was the writing case. And the LORD said to him, 'Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.' But to the others He said in my hearing, 'Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity, and do not spare.'"

We encourage you to read the context which provides the setting for this text. We read of a man in white linen with an inkhorn or writer's case whom the Lord instructs to go through the city and marking those who lamented its evil.  Who would suggest that this literally happened? It is also important to remember that historically God marked His people for deliverance. Remember the blood on the doorposts as the Hebrews prepared to leave Egypt?

What we understand is that the Lord was noting those who were His. In a similar way the unrepentant are marked for destruction. This may well be tied to the "mark" placed on Cain, but that is a topic for future study.

What we know from recorded history is that Christians were persecuted by their Jewish brethren. The mark of Old Covenant Judaism was the phylacteries they wore on their foreheads and wrists. Like so much else, they took God's instruction in Deuteronomy 6 to be physical rather than understanding its true intent. God told them to teach their children His ways. The indeed bound it on their foreheads and wrists but for the most part they did not instill the message in their children's hearts. It was this ignorance of the true nature of God and His kingdom that is ultimately responsible for their destruction.

It should be of some comfort to you that this figure doesn't refer to social security numbers, or smart chips, or retinal scans, or DNA mapping or anything else that might be suggested by doomsday prophets. Those things are all fraught with serious potential abuses and we oppose them strongly, but they have nothing to do with the fulfillment of prophecy and should not be challenged on those grounds.

The kingdom of God will be well served and better received when God's people handle His word faithfully.

© Copyright 2003 ~ Jim Wade