What is the “mark of the beast”?

The “beast” of the book of Revelation, usually identified as the antichrist, and his special “mark,” have been the subject of much speculation, often out of prejudice. During the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church identified the mark of the beast with the German reformer Martin Luther. Luther, in turn, identified the mark with the pope, and the Roman Catholic Church. In modern times, the beast has been identified with Napoleon, Hitler, Henry Kissinger, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, and many others. The mark itself is frequently identified as the social security number, or the universal product code on the labels of manufactured goods. These speculative ideas overlook Revelation’s message of comfort and hope for first century Christians undergoing persecution.

The book begins, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass” (Revelation 1:1). First century Christians facing persecution knew its message was for them. Revelation 13:16-17 says the beast “causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” The mark on the right hand or in the forehead was symbolic of giving the hand, heart, and mind to the beast. Rome attempted to unite its people religiously by requiring all to worship the emperor. Most people in the empire already worshipped many gods, but Christians refused to worship the emperor. Historical documents show that the authorities enforced emperor worship by closing the markets to those who could not certify that they had worshipped the emperor. The certification of emperor worship “marked” those belonging to the beast.

Revelation 13:18 identifies the beast: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” The “number of the beast” is “the number of a man,” and that number is 666. Numbers are significant throughout Revelation, especially the number seven, which is a number of perfection. Six falls one number short of seven, and thus is a number of imperfection. The number of imperfection is highlighted by being tripled as 666

Many early languages used letters of the alphabet as numbers, instead of the Arabic numbers in common use today. This was true of Greek, Hebrew, and Latin (which used “Roman numerals”). Using a system called gematria, the letters of a name were added according to their numerical value, giving a sum that was a sort of code number for the name. Many different names total 666 in this fashion, but the most likely identification of an individual which fits with the context of the book of Revelation is Nero Caesar. Nero, who was undoubtedly one of the wickedest men who ever lived, was a persecutor of the church, and demanded worship as a god. His name, in Hebrew, totals exactly 666.

-Bob Prichard