The Mark of the Beast

Today we tackle three questions that have seemingly plagued the followers of Christ from the beginning: 
1. What are the signs that the world is going to end soon?
2. When is the world going to end?
3. What is the mark of the Beast?

I have your attention now, don’t I?

1. What are the signs that the world is going to end soon?

Many will come in the name of God and they will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. There will be an increase in warfare and increases in famines, plagues, and natural disasters.

2. When is the world going to end?

Some people rely on tabloids, others have used things like the Mayan calendars, and others have used cryptic messages from deceased “prophets”. Others read the prophetic literature of the Bible and offer interpretation. Some people look at disasters in the world or their own feelings to tell them when the world will end.

We have lived at the end of the world for some time. We are used to it. As long as there has been a world, someone has been insisting it was about to end. But with the passing of December 21, 2012, we are entering an apocalypse desert. Gone are the days when the end-of-the-world was expected every year or so. We have no pending doomsdays waiting. Sure, there’s the Yellowstone Volcano, which could blow at any minute. There are even solar flares that might wreak all kinds of havoc next year, but they lack specificity. Hard dates are hard to find: In 2036, around April, an asteroid is scheduled to be near the Earth. And then there is Nostradamus who set our end time for 3797.

3. What is the mark of the Beast?

“And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.” Revelation 13:1

A most solemn warning is given to people who worship the beast: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.” Revelation 14:9,10

If you worship the beast and receive his mark you will receive the wrath of God. So it would follow that it is important to understand who the beast is so you can avoid worshiping him. First, the beast is not a wild animal like a tiger or a lion. He is not a literal animal. Second, the beast is not a person, a country, or a human organization. The Beast is Satan claiming to be God. He will appear to be God. But he is not God. He is the great deceiver.

When Satan comes to earth in a visible body he will be glorious, impressive, attractive and charismatic. The beast will speak in a melodious voice and will have friendly, loving eyes. He will be gentle and kind. His appearance will dazzle and charm people. He will be extremely powerful. They will be entranced and drawn to him. They will have an almost irresistible desire to worship 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 on the forehead, 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. – Rev. 13:16-17 (RSV)

Futurist views of eschatology hold that the rise of a worldwide currency will be a hallmark of the End Times. Under this view, the prophetic statements in Revelation 13:16-17 are taken to imply that the one way in which the Antichrist, the Beast or Satan, will acquire and exercise power over the Earth is via control of currency. This power would be acquired by "the Beast" by requiring all people to receive the Mark of the Beast in their right hands or foreheads in order to buy or sell, making survival for those refusing more difficult.

We can not address the mark of the beast without acknowledging the Number of the Beast. The number is 666 in most manuscripts of the New Testament, and in modern translations and critical editions of the Greek text. Although Irenaeus (second century) reported several scribal errors of the number, there is still doubt by some theologians about the original writing, as some recently discovered third century early manuscripts of Revelation read 616. This topic is a source of contention for many church groups and theologians. Most scholars contend that the number 666 is a numerical coded entry that refers to the Roman Emperor Nero. 616 was a coded entry for Nero as well derived from using his Latin name.

What does the number mean? Futurist contend that the number would be a number that all currency would be based upon (and you thought the metric system was hard?). Exact interpretations vary widely and many now refer to more current technologies:

-Some interpret the mark as a requirement for all commerce to mean that the mark might actually be  
  an object with the function of a credit card (e.g. implanted RFID tags)
-Some propose that the mark of the beast may refer to a social security number or card
-Others suppose the mark to be a microchip or a tattooed barcode on the human body

Some who take a contextual view of the Book of Revelation identify the Mark of the Beast with the stamped image of the emperor's head on every coin of the Roman Empire: the stamp on the hand or in the mind of all, without which no one could buy or sell. New Testament scholar Craig C. Hill, a Methodist, says, "It is far more probable that the mark symbolizes the all-embracing economic power of Rome, whose very coinage bore the emperor's image and conveyed his claims to divinity. It had become increasingly difficult for Christians to function in a world in which public life, including the economic life of the trade guilds, required participation in idolatry."

The ‘mark’ is also seen as an ironic contrast with the Jewish institution of tefillin – bible texts worn bound to the arm and the forehead during daily prayer. Instead of binding their allegiance to God to their arm and head, these places are instead taken up with the people's allegiance to the Beast.

When it comes to these cryptic prophecies of the future here is what I know:

1. Signs that the world is going to end soon

There is global warming, rising gas and energy prices, shortages of food and water, disasters on land and sea. There are new diseases and economic uncertainty. Terrorist activity is increasing and banks are failing. There are rumors of war, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, war, famine, poverty, and more. We are surrounded by the signs or so we think. The conditions in the world have been getting progressively worse for many years. How do we know when things have gotten so bad that the world is soon going to end? That has been the story for years, for generations, for centuries. And Jesus said these are things that will always be with us. What are the signs? In reality I don’t think any of us really know and I suggest you beware of anyone telling you that they know!

2. When is the world going to end?

There is only one way we can be certain about when the world is going to end. There is only one reliable, accurate source to find the answer to “When is the end of the world going to be?” – God. God is the only one who actually knows the future. So simply put – I do not know. And I do not think you can trust anyone who tells you that they do know.

3. What is the mark of the Beast?

Experts can’t agree: I am not an expert. Therefore, I do not know.

But do not despair. Here is what I hope you can gain from our time together: The disciples asked two key questions at the start of this conversation with Jesus: 1) When will these things happen? 2) What will be the sign that they are about to be fulfilled?

We still ask these same questions. Every generation has lived with a belief that this was the time. From the first century on, every generation has believed that the ‘signs’ pointed to right now. What we have missed is the answer that Jesus gave to the questions that very day. And even there, there are conflicting answers. There are two perspectives to the answers that Jesus gave that day:

1) Events (or signs) that Jesus described came to be in 70 AD when the temple was destroyed
2) Some events (or signs) are yet to happen.

But I want you to consider these things that Jesus also taught us and put them into this discussion:

Christ will return again
Satan (the opposer) will try to trick you
Victory is already won – it is yours to claim - God wins
How you live your faith today matters – so get on with it!

We like the disciples are so caught up in all that is going to happen (or might happen and that is called worry) that we miss the moments that are in front of us. Jesus was far more concerned with what needed to be done by You and I in the intervening moments than what was to happen at a future date or to put concern over what happened in your past.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34 NIV

On the ‘to do’ list of faith – Today is now, tomorrow is yet to come and it is not promised. So what are your worried about?

It's like a man who takes a trip, leaving home and putting his servants in charge, each assigned a task, and commanding the gatekeeper to stand watch. So, stay at your post, watching. You have no idea when the homeowner is returning, whether evening, midnight, cockcrow, or morning. You don't want him showing up unannounced, with you asleep on the job. I say it to you, and I'm saying it to all: Stay at your post. Keep watch." Mark 13:32-37

When we begin to ponder the end times and all that it might mean, I believe Mark approaches this subject with the same message he has had for us every week – Live your faith! When it comes to matters like these, hear the words of Jesus, “Stay at your post. Keep watch.” “Let those who have ears, hear”