The Mark of the Beast Is No Laughing Matter

The eagerness of prophecy buffs to identify new technologies as Revelation’s “mark of the beast” has amused some writers. But the truth of what prophecy reveals is frightening indeed.

I was surprised to see some tongue-in-cheek jocularity in news articles recently about the mark of the beast.

“THE MARK OF THE BEAST?” was in all caps on the Drudge page for two days recently. It was linked to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) article on the Breitbart website, “Electronic Skin Tattoo Has Medical, Gaming, Spy Uses.” If you look at the article, you’ll see it doesn’t speak of “the beast,” but plenty of religious writers have jumped on the story as “proof” of the technology being the mark of the beast.

Samuel Ro of Forbes had a much different take on the mark of the beast in his Aug. 9, 2011, article “666: Could the Mark of the Beast Save the Euro and US Dollar?”

Ro was spoofing 666 (mentioned as the number of the beast in Revelation 13:16-18) in light of the fact that Standard & Poor’s 500 index had fallen 6.66 percent. He pointed out that in 2009, the S&P 500 had fallen to 666.79, after which the market more than doubled. So, joked Ro, “Is Satan sending us another buy signal? …

“Citing the Letter of Aristeas and Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews, the New Oxford Annotated Bible notes, ‘Those who do not bear the mark of the beast suffer economic oppression.’”

Ro doesn’t hide his disdain as he continues, “It gets weirder.”

It’s not weird—it’s true!

Revelation prophesies two “beasts” at the end of the age (“beast” symbolizes a government or religious body or its head). One of the Revelation 13 beasts is a political entity that controls world commerce. The second is a world-dominating religious power. The second beast devotes its influence to support the first.

The number and the mark of the beast are identifying characteristics by which the beast is able to permit or deny commerce to individuals. Without the number and the mark, they can’t purchase consumer goods or sell their products.

Many religious websites have picked up on the AFP news item, citing it as “the real deal.” These religious organizations are quick to interpret it as the fulfillment of prophecy. Is it?

Is this new technology the mark of the beast?

The electronic skin tattoo refers to an amazing device slightly thinner than a human hair, powered by solar energy or stray electromagnetic radiation. Capable of detecting certain brain functions, it is described by its creators as blurring the line between biology and electronics. It has a multitude of potential applications, including helping people with sleep apnea or vocal cord problems.

And, yes, it can be used for spying!

This item isn’t an implant, but rather something that stays in place for a few hours before falling off. Without doubt, it could also be implanted. So could it be the mark of the beast?

Sure it could be. But the mark could also be any number of other things! The Bible shows that the mark is an identifying characteristic. Read the words yourself:

“He [the second beast or religious leader] was granted power to give breath to the image of the [first] beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

“Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666” (Revelation 13:15-18).

The Bible gives a broad outline but not all the details

People throughout the ages have attempted to interpret both the number and the mark of the beast in countless ways, perhaps even to the point of providing nonreligious people with material to poke fun at the idea. But there really will be two beasts at the end of the age. And there will be both a mark and a number of the beast.

God has not yet made it clear what they will be. What He reveals has to do with the why, rather than the what. And there is much, much more to the subject of the beasts. You will find several articles that mention aspects of the beast on our website, such as “What Does the Feast of Trumpets Mean for Our Future?” “Three Purposes of Prophecy” and “Economic ‘Contagion’—and Bible Prophecy.”

Cecil Maranville is a minister of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. He coordinates the responses to questions our readers send to our Contact page.