March 7 - Mark of the Beast

March 7 – Mark of the Beast
Revelation 13:18

“This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.”

Before I get into the meaning of the number, there is some basic information you need. The mark will be on the right hand or the forehead. This is a reminder to Jews of a sacred custom – wearing phylacteries on their left arm or forehead. A phylactery is a small leather box with scrolls of parchment containing words from the Torah. The box was bound with strips of leather and was to remind them of their covenant.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

The mark itself is a brand. It will be clearly visible. The Greek word used for ‘mark’ is ‘charagma.’ In the ancient world, religious tattooing was very popular. Whatever god you worshiped was generally tattooed on your body. This even occurred among Christians and Jews.

Isaiah 44:5, “One will say ‘I belong to the Lord;’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand ‘The Lord’s,’ and will take the name Israel.”

Now this mark is going to limit Christians. Unless we have the mark, we won’t be able to buy or sell. When the third seal was opened, people of the earth had trouble accessing basic needs – now, the mark of the beast focuses on Christians.

There is really no way to unravel the number 666 and point to whom it might be. Ancient Christians assumed it was Nero. In Hebrew, the numerical value of the letters for Nero Caesar adds up to 666. In recent times, the number has been applied to Ronald Wilson Reagan and a roundabout, strange method of mathematical computation assigned the number to Bill Gates. The list can go on and on. We are desperate to identify the name of the beast so we can be prepared.

The number six falls short of perfection (number seven). That there are three digits in the numbers points us to the unholy trinity. We can spend innumerable hours trying to figure this out and worry about it. But, all I can say to you is that when things begin to fall apart and the end of the world is at hand, we will no longer question the identity of the false prophet and the antichrist. We will know.

We are told in Revelation how to protect ourselves.

Revelation 13:10b “This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.”

Revelation 13:18, “This calls for wisdom.”

While the antichrist sets up his kingdom, Christians will be persecuted and killed. We must endure. While the false prophet is pointing worship towards the antichrist and then to Satan, Christians will be forced to choose. We must have wisdom.

James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

All you have to do is stay in contact with God. Pray, asking for wisdom, and He will give it to you.