Day 167: What marks you out? - Revelation 13 vs 16 – 14 vs 1

15 The beast from the earth was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16-17 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, 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.

Chapter 14 vs 1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. Revelation 13:16-14:1 English Standard Version

The 'mark of the beast' and the number 666 are well known even to many people who aren't Christians due to books and films that came out over the past 50 years. Some Christians suggest it could refer to a visible or invisible computerized number on (or under) our skin, to serve as an ID number which will be essential for buying and selling. Those who don't receive the mark (because of it's link to the anti-Christian government) won't be able to do business in the world's system.

Christians who believe that Revelation was written to help people living in John's own generation (as implied in vs 18) take these verses as referring to events in those days, but also something which will be true of the battle Christians face until the Lord returns. This is because Revelation uses many symbolic phrases such as the one we read in Chapter 14 vs 1. The picture of a mark or a name on a person symbolized ownership. (Slaves were sometimes branded to show who they belonged to).

Now it may be that in our generation we could reach a place where Governments begin to enforce citizens to be marked with some form of ID – but that would only be the 'mark of the beast' if it meant disowning Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. And that's a choice Christians have had to make in many places over the years ever since Jesus came into the world. Revelation 2:13 gave an example of this when Jesus said to Christians in the city of Pergamum “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”

Hebrews 10:32-34 describes what life was like for the first Jewish converts to Christ. The writer says: “Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.”

Hebrews 11:35-38 describes how even Old Testament believers suffered because they stayed true to God. It says: “Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.”

Whether there will be a physical mark or not – the words of people and their way of living will show to whom they belong. Just as you can tell if someone has been at a barbecue by the smoky smell of their clothes, so too you can tell if someone belongs to the world or to Jesus by the choices they make in life. Sadly, there will be times when the choices Christians make will result in them being rejected and side-lined in society. But, as the writer of Hebrews says, “They know there are better things waiting for them that will last forever.”