Perhaps no book in the Bible has been as debated, interpreted, reinterpreted, misinterpreted, fought over, and fraught over as the Book of Revelation, and understandably so.

Much of the debate centers around the rapture; Will there be a rapture? Will the rapture come after the tribulation, or will it be before the tribulation? Will all God’s people be raptured or is it only a partial rapture?

The Antichrist is a much debated topic as well; Is the Antichrist already here? Who is the Antichrist? Will there be more than one Antichrist? There is debate over the symbology. People debate if the book should be taken literally, figuratively, or a combination of the two.

Some believe Revelation was fulfilled in AD70 with the destruction of Jerusalem and culminated with a spiritual second coming of Jesus, while most believe the events described in Revelation are yet to take place. Some have used Hebrew gematria to calculate the number of the beast and determined that Nero will return to power in the end times. Some have calculated the number to represent other tyrants in history, while still others try to calculate the number to determine if one of today’s world leaders could be the beast.

There is also a lot of speculation on the mark of the beast, and today that is what I wanted to focus on.

I have opinions on most of the topics mentioned above, but I am not going to sit here and tell you that I have interpreted Revelation and I know what it all means. I am not going to tell you that I understand the book of Revelation, or that I have figured out all of the symbology. I am not even going to say that I know what the mark of the beast is.

However, I am going to tell you what it is not.

What the Mark of the Beast is Not

The mark of the beast is not something that can be given to you unawares.

There have been, and are, many conspiracy theories floating around about the mark of the beast and how there is a secret plot to inject or implant the mark of the beast slowly over time in people without their knowledge. So, here is what the mark of the beast is not: It is not a marking agent hidden within the COVID vaccine, or any vaccine for that matter, it is not debit cards or microchips inserted into the skin, and it is not a cashless society. At least it is none of these things in and of themselves done in secret.

Sure, some of those things could be the tool which is eventually used by the beast to mark people, but a person cannot unknowingly accept the mark of the beast through secret implementation. It will be a conscious and willful acceptance on the part of the participants, and if you accept it, you will not be able to plead ignorance. You are not going to be able to say you did not know what you were doing or what somebody else was doing to you. This will be your choice and the consequences of your decision will be your responsibility.

No One Can Buy or Sell Without The Mark

All of these theories revolve around one single Bible verse, and as many of us understand, you cannot interpret passages of scripture by taking one verse away from the others and interpreting it by itself and out of context. Here is the verse in question:

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.¹

You can certainly see how false prophets can use this verse to frighten people into believing the mark of the beast could slowly and secretly be introduced to the public through a cashless society using a microchip implanted in the hand or debit cards as currency, especially if you take this one verse out of context.

Let’s read on to see what the false prophets are not telling us when they quote this one verse.

What Does the Book of Revelation Say

There is much more to obtaining the mark of the beast, and you really need to read all of Revelation 13, and more, to get a better grasp on this. But the first clue does come from the verse quoted above. Did you notice where the mark of the beast will be located? The mark will be on the hand and on the forehead. The forehead symbolizes thought, and the hand symbolizes works. We’ll come back to this briefly  a couple of times later.

Now, let’s look at Revelation 13:4:

⁴ And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” (ESV, emphasis mine)

Revelation 14:9,10:

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, (ESV, emphasis mine)

And now Revelation 20:4:

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (ESV, emphasis mine)

We see a pattern develop, people actually have to worship the beast to get its mark of approval. We see in the last quote that those who do not worship the beast will not receive its mark. When a person worships the beast, by default it means they have rejected Christ, and this is a purposeful act.

This is where we come back to where the mark is located and what it symbolizes. The mark will be on the forehead and the hand. True worship of the beast will be in your thoughts and in your actions. (Whether there is a literal mark on the hand and forehead, or if this is just symbolic of a person’s thoughts and actions is not something we will discuss here). The person who accepts the mark of the beast will be fully committed to the beast in his mind, body, and soul. This will be no tacit agreement.

But we must still be careful because, while the mark of the beast cannot be accepted unknowingly, people will be tempted by the beast, especially if they are in a weakened state, into worshiping him, and many will fail. The beast will be cunning and powerful and it will use deception to turn people over to his side. Jesus warned us that during the eschaton there would be false prophets performing great signs and wonders to lead God’s people astray.²

However God’s people will be protected.

The Seal of the Lamb

God’s people are also marked during the end times, and this seems to be forgotten sometimes when people read the book of Revelation and get to chapter 13, or when they listen to the false prophets who promote these conspiracy theories. I am talking about the Seal of the Lamb.

² Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, ³ saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” ³ (Emphasis mine)

And:

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.⁴ (Emphasis mine)

It’s interesting to note here that the Seal of the Lamb is just on the forehead and not on the hand, because it is the belief in God that will seal the saints, there is no way a person can earn the Seal. Our clothes will be made clean in the blood of the Lamb.⁵

I don’t believe the 144,000 quoted above is to be taken as a literal number, I believe it represents fullness, and what it comes down to is this: During the end times people will have a choice to make. They can either accept Christ and receive the Seal of the Lamb, or they can reject Christ, worship the beast, and receive the mark of the beast.

The One Who Endures to the End Will be Saved

The Seal of the Lamb will protect God’s people but it will still be a period of pain and suffering. Many who do not worship the beast will be killed outright, and some will be starved to death because they will be unable to buy and sell, and some in their weakness may falter, but as Jesus told us, the one who endures to the end will be saved.⁶

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1. Revelation 13:16,17 ESV ↩︎
2. See Matthew 24:24 ↩︎
3. Revelation 7:2,3 (ESV) ↩︎
4. Revelation 14:1 ESV ↩︎
5. See Revelation 7:14 ↩︎
6. Matthew 24:13 ESV ↩︎