666 - The Mark of the Beast

A look at Revelation 13 - The Mark of the Beast

     Whenever I think about the Mark of the Beast.... my mind immediately goes to the youth camp in Krugersdorp, a town close to Johannesburg, South Africa. The name of this Youth Camp was Maranatha, which literally means Come Lord Jesus. It had a huge 30 ft. cross made out of white painted rocks stacked against a steep hill that lit up at night. It could be seen for miles and everyone knew about this camp because of the cross. One of my memories of this Middle school Camp experience was watching the movie “The Thief in the Night.” Even back then, it should have been R-rated because of the intense emotional trauma it caused to me and my friends who had never seen a movie, let alone something so disturbing. The primary focus of this movie was a dispensational portrayal of the rapture and what happens to those left behind. Unbeknownst to me, this was the beginning of a fear-based spirituality that would take years to undue. One thing was for sure, after watching this movie; you knew instinctively that you never wanted anything to do with the number 666. Did you know there is name for this phobia? The technical term for the fear of the number 666 is hexakosioihexekontahexphobia. That is also the longest word in the French dictionary which is ironic for the fear of 3 numbers. In Revelation 13 the land beast is famously identified as a person whose number is 666 (Rev 13:18). This is probably one of the most well known symbolic and even superstitious numbers of all time.

     Back then, I was told that the future world dictator and his supporters are expected to promote one world religion and to use computer technology to control the global economy. The big story was that a cash-less society was on the horizon and everyone who participates will have to be marked with a number. Some warned that credit card numbers or the international product code numbers were all part of the ploy of the beast to pull you in. Proponents of this scenario gained credibility by claiming to offer a strictly literal understanding of the Bible.

     It is however hard to maintain this case. Previously we have made the case that the Apocalyptic Genre requires that we read the text symbolically, not literally. This should be applied to the number 666 as well. The question is not whether to read the text symbolically, but how to read its symbolism. The issue is whether the visions of the beasts in Revelation 13 function as coded predictions concerning figures that will appear at the end of time, or whether the passage depicts threats that affect people of many times and places.

     One of the requirements for proper exegesis is to consider how the imagery would have communicated to the readers in the seven churches. Since John wrote in order to be understood by them, we must consider what meaning they might have seen in this number 666. So, are you ready? Here it comes...Most scholars believe that 666 is the numerical name for Nero Caesar. Koester says:

In John’s day they assigned numerical value to letters. The practice was not uncommon. On the level of street culture, for example, a graffiti artist at Pompeii used a number for the name of his beloved when he scrawled on the wall: "I love her whose number is 545." By the time Revelation was written, Nero was dead, but John portrays the beast as a Nero figure in order to underscore the threat that it poses. John sought to startle the Christians who thought that the best way to get along in pagan society was to accommodate its practices under the assumption that it was all quite harmless.  Through his imagery John warns, "`Beware, it is Nero all over again,' just as one might say, whenever we hear anti-Semitism, `Beware, it's Hitler all over again.*

     So, if we know that the number 666 is Nero, shall we stop trying to figure out who is the next beast? Yes and No. Yes you can stop trying to figure out who will emerge as the leader of a one-world government who marks his followers. But no, you can’t stop looking for the beast that marks his followers. The beast still brainwashes people with propaganda about “what they think” (forehead) and “what they do” (forearm). The beast parades as fame and fortune and lures you to think that you can have it all. He invites us to the altar of materialism and sexual seduction. The beast inspires its followers to embrace the belief that the Empire is Divine and complete, but the truth is the number 666 means incomplete, falling short of the complete number 777.

     Instead, may we be marked by the lamb and follow Him, the one who is the true emperor of the Earth! His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only one who is complete. In fact Jesus’ numerical # goes beyond 777, his number adds up to 888.

* Craig R. Koester. Revelation and the End of All Things (Kindle Location 1944). Kindle Edition.

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Questions to ponder:

1. Do you ever find yourself avoiding the number 666 or pausing when you encounter it? 
2. Does the idea that 666 is not a future person but rather a warning about succumbing to an ideology affect your thinking about the world we live in? 
3. How does the idea that "forehead" represents "what we think" and "forearm" represents "what we do" cause you to rethink your thoughts and actions?

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