The Mark of the Beast (666)

Dissidents Guide to Revelation, Part 36

Two Beasts Arriving

How are Gods people corrupted and led astray? How is it that the people who claim the name of Jesus are so often led astray and pursue the power and glory of Babylon, instead of embodying the humble presence of Jesus in our world? This is a part of what John is addressing in chapter 13.

When we reach this chapter, we find that there is not one single enemy to be defeated. This is not the result of one evil leader, one powerful strong man who we can point to and say “we have located the problem!”. Instead, John almost forms an unholy trinity of a dragon and her two beasts, each with their own part to play and their own methods of influencing the people away from embodying the lamb and towards embodying Babylon. John separates the descriptions of the two beasts, one arising from the water (verses 1-8) and one arising from the earth (verses 11-17), with a pause and a meditation for his audience:

Revelation 13:10
“If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword they will be killed.”

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

The Beast from the Sea

The first beast arrises from the sea, which, if read in tune with the messages of sailors and merchants, is perhaps a reference to the activities of the marketplace. The beast is made of a variety of animal parts all coming together in one body, like the markets of Rome (the robbers of the world, as they were often called) which hocked wares from all across the known world. This beast has power and even a throne on which to rule, given by the Dragon (the personification of Babylon’s evil, often referred to as the devil). In this system the seats of commerce were often also the positions of greatest authority, as they still are today, and they have the power to lead the people down the path of the dragon.

But it also refers to the rulers of earthly empires. All except those allegiant to the Lamb bowed down to this beast, and he made war against them. John tells us that he was wounded in the head but did not die. This is typically taken to have two meanings: First, it is a reference to Genesis 3:15, where we are told that the serpents head will be crushed, the ultimate ending that Israel had hoped for Babylon, the worlds oppressor. Second, it seems to be a reference to Nero, who had died but was rumored to one day return and ascend to the throne again .

I have already written about this in an earlier post, here’s a short excerpt:

That part is likely a reference to a conspiracy theory that was popular in the late first century^[2] that Nero had not actually died, but that he had gone into hiding and was plotting to return to usurp the throne with a vast army and resume his reign as emperor.

The Beast from the Earth

The Beast from the Earth is a deceptive figure that acts like the Lamb, but serves the Dragon. He compels all people in the worship of the first beast and deceives the masses with counterfeit miracles and imposing the infamous "mark of the beast."

This beast makes extra effort to convince the allegiant that he is one of them, clothing himself in lambness, convincing them to follow him and ultimately defrauding all who are deceived into his service. And furthermore, he compels all who follow him to wear the public marks of their service, causing them to advertise their loyalty, in a way, which puts pressure on all who have not pledged their allegiance to Babylon to do just that.

This is what is known as The Mark of the Beast, and in this way, the pressures that the second beast places upon society to conform or be left out is powerful tool of assimilation, extraordinarily effective at forming people towards the dragon and Babylon.

The Mark of the Beast

The “mark of the beast,” often a source of speculation and conspiracy, is described as a requirement for engaging in economic activities (Revelation 13:16-17). In John's time, participating in the imperial cult was mandatory for social and economic inclusion. Trade guilds were typically devoted to a specific god who must be honored in order to receive membership. Refusal could mean social ostracism or worse, and one would assume that devoted ones would carry some form of public mark, perhaps a piece of jewelry or a stamp. But also, what we have here seems to be a parody of the instructions of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 to symbolically bind the commands of God in their hand and to place them between the eyes.

Sidebar: I wrote a song about this idea ten years ago called Deuteronomy Six, if you’d like a musical meditation on the idea, click here:

“Calculate the Number of the Beast”

This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666. (Re 13:18)

John ends his description of the beast from the earth by calling for some class participation, he wants them to “calculate the number of the beast” (v this would be accomplished through a process called gematria. In Ancient Greek there were no numbers, only letters of the alphabet that each have a numerical value (like we understand Roman numerals today). So John is inviting them into a bit of musing, using the number he has provided, to try and guess who John is talking about.

Interestingly, McKnight and Matchett point out that the word translated from the greek as beast or wild thing is the word thērion which has a numerical value of 666. This, like several other passages that we have already studied, also seems to be a reference to the king of Babylon himself, Nebuchadnezzar, in Daniel 4:28-33:

King Nebuchadnezzar… said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven…you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.”

The King of Babylon became the beast because he claimed the power of God, but was merely a man. Certainly the number 666 contains a call to look back into Johns world in order to recognize the beasts in our midst today.

But with that said, many scholars have pointed out that there are variations of both the name Nero and Domitian that also add up to the same number. Here’s a word from Revelation for the Rest of Us:

“This was likely all great fun for the first readers of Revelation. Calling someone 666 requires imagination—as well as flexibility. That number can be used for any of the anti-God beastly powers that design strategies for death and destruction. Like Babylon, 666 does not point to one person at one future moment in history but to all political tyrants who have the powers to establish the way of the dragon and oppress Team Lamb.”

A Call to Discernment and Faithfulness

John’s message to the seven churches, and to us, is a call for discernment. He invites us to read between the lines (V9-10 “whoever has ears, let them hear”) of what he is saying and ask ourselves:

“Who is like the beast today?”
”Who is pressuring us to conform to the powers of this world, rather than the subversive power of the Lamb?”
”Are we aligning with leaders and systems that exploit, oppress, or deceive under the guise of righteousness and religion?”

The book of Revelation is not a prophecy of doom or a cryptic puzzle to solve. It is a mirror held up to each of us, challenging us to examine where our true allegiances lie—are we with the Lamb, committed to His way of self-giving love, or have we unwittingly pledged ourselves to the ways of Babylon? The choice is before us every day, and it requires vigilance, discernment, and above all, faithful allegiance to the Lamb, who conquers not by force, but by love.

Next, we will look at The AntiChrist, in order to see what John has in mind.