Throughout history, there have been many suggestions about what is the Mark of the Beast. Some have said it was the imprint of Nero’s head on Roman coins. Others claim it will be barcodes, microchips in the hand or forehead, or even a literal mark resembling the number 666.
But does the Bible actually tell us what the Mark of the Beast is? Yes, it does. Let’s explore what Revelation reveals and what it means for us today.
Bible Verses About the Mark of the Beast
The book of Revelation contains several passages that explain the Mark of the Beast.
Revelation 13:15–17 says
“He [the second beast of Revelation 13] was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast [the first beast of Revelation 13], 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.”
Revelation 14:9-13 adds more to the picture. It tells us,
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”
Revelation 15:2-4 illuminates the mark of the beast further. Here John records,
“And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.”
Although there are two other references to the Mark of the Beast in Revelation 16 and 19, it is the last one, in Revelation 20 that helps us to understand further what is the mark of the beast today. In verse 4 it says,
“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
Features of the Mark of the Beast
From these passages, we can identify key features of the Mark of the Beast
The Mark of the Beast is implemented after the second beast of Revelation 13 gives the first beast of Revelation 13 power to be ‘resurrected’ or healed from its deadly wound (Revelation 13:12-15)
The Mark of the Beast is implemented after an image of the first beast of Revelation 13 is made
The Mark of the Beast is given to those who worship the image of the first beast of Revelation 13 as opposed to the worship of God,
Those who don’t receive the Mark of the Beast are persecuted through removing their ability to buy and sell, and eventually killing them.
Those who receive the Mark of the Beast receive the cup of God’s wrath, are tormented and don’t rest
- Those who don’t receive the Mark of the Beast have patience, are called saints (they have accepted the forgiveness of Christ), keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and they rest from their own labours. They also sing the song of Moses which recognises the marvellous works of God, God’s justice, truth and holiness.
- Those who do not receive the Mark of the beast are faithful witnesses of Christ and the word of God, even under pain of death.
We know that the Mark of the Beast is also associated the last power on earth. So who is the last power?
The Beast of the Mark of the Beast
Revelation 13 describes two beasts. The first beast, depicted in Revelation 13:1-10, is a composite creature made up of a lion, bear, leopard, and a beast with ten horns. This imagery is reminiscent of the visions recorded in Daniel 7:1-8, which describes four beasts representing successive earthly kingdoms that rule over God’s people until the end times.
The Daniel 7 vision builds on the earlier vision found in Daniel 2, and the visions of Daniel 8 through 12 add further details. These visions reveal how God will fulfil His covenant first given in Genesis 3:15, where He promised to send a Messiah to crush Satan and restore humanity to their pre-fall state. God provided prophetic events and timelines to help His people understand where they were in the salvation story.
The Empires in Daniel’s Visions
The prophetically significant empires of Daniel are represented as metals in Daniel 2 and beasts in Daniel 7 and 8. According to these visions, the first kingdom is Babylon (Daniel 2:38); the second is Medo-Persia, with Persia becoming the dominant part (Daniel 8:20; Daniel 11:2); the third is Greece (Daniel 8:21; Daniel 11:2-3); and the fourth is Rome, which rose through peace-keeping efforts (Daniel 8:25).
Rome is the empire that succeeded Greece. Although not named explicitly in Daniel, Rome is identified from Biblical descriptions and historical records. It became the dominant superpower in 168 B.C. The Bible indicates that this Roman influence would persist until the return of Jesus, though not necessarily in its original Pagan political form.
The Transition from Papal to Papal Religious Power
Rome initially emerged as a Pagan political power that conquered the world. Over time, it transitioned into a Christian authority known as the Holy Roman Empire (the Papacy). Daniel 7:7 notes that this beast was different from its predecessors, emphasizing its transformation into a religious power. The Roman Church mirrored the corruption and wickedness of the Roman civil power, with leaders often motivated by greed and pride.
By the early 500s A.D., the Roman Church had gained significant power and authority and was declared the mother of all churches (the Universal or Catholic Church). Influential European kings capitulated to the Church’s authority, merging political and religious power.
The Bible indicates that the last power embodies the full spirit of the antichrist, which means to replace Christ. The Roman Catholic church teaches that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ. Vicar is short for vicarious. This is essentially saying that the Pope acts as Christ on this earth; not in the way that we should all emulate Christ, but rather as Christ’s replacement or antichrist.
When we look at the role of the Catholic priest in the church, they claim to forgive sins and provide absolution from our sins. When Jesus tells a paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you,” the religious leaders reasoned in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:5-7)
Jesus’s claim to be able to forgive sins was a claim of divinity. The scribes, who didn’t believe that Jesus was God, knew this and thus accused Jesus of blasphemy. The Bible clearly indicates that the only one who has the real power of forgiveness is God himself. To assume the role of Christ in the forgiveness of sins is to take on the mediatorial role that is Christ’s alone (1 Timothy 2:5).
Just like the prophecies of Daniel 7 and 8 and Revelation 13 indicate, the Roman Catholic church would be a blasphemous one. It would specifically magnify itself to and stand up against the Prince of Princes (Jesus Christ) (Daniel 8:11, 25). The Roman Catholic church opens “his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven” (Revelation 13: 6).
One of the ways it does this is by seeking to “change times and laws” (Daniel 7:25). There is one set of laws that the Roman Catholic church has attempted to change that has the biggest implications for God’s people and they are the Ten Commandments. In their summary of the Ten Commandments, the Roman Catholic church has removed the second command that forbids worship of idols and they have modified the fourth commandment which commands us to remember the seventh-day Sabbath. They tell us that we are to worship on the first day of the week – Sunday.
Beyond the religious errors of the Roman Catholic church, for it to fulfil the prophecies it must also be a significant worldwide political power and religious power.
If you look at the reach of the Roman Catholic church in the political realms of today’s society it is quite alarming. The majority of the world’s governments were represented at the inauguration of Pope Francis. Furthermore, world leaders such as the presidents of Russia and the Ukraine, and Israel’s leaders look to the Pope to help bring about peace. The Pope has presented at U.S. Congress, the UN summit, the EU parliament, and, more recently, at the G6. No other religious or political figure has this amount of pull across the governments of the world.
This reach extends to private enterprises. CEOs and other leaders of big business, from Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates to the head of Pfizer and the World Bank all have personal meetings with the pope.
Then we turn to the religious sphere. One recent commentator said that Pope Francis is the bridge between all religions. Over the last few decades, the Roman Catholic church has achieved unity with protestant Christianity, the Orthodox religions, Islam, and eastern religions. All the major religious figureheads of the world look to the Pope as the ultimate spiritual leader of the world.
What is the Mark of the Beast today
The Mark of the Beast is something that fulfils the criteria outlined in Revelation (mentioned above). It is interesting to note that the Beast is an antichrist power – which means it seeks to act as a replacement for Christ and His word.
There is one truth in the Bible that has been most under attack throughout the history of this world and it is righteousness by faith in Christ. Righteousness by faith promotes the idea that God, through Christ, is alone responsible for our perfect creation and perfect recreation or salvation (or sanctification). There was nothing that any human could do to add to God’s work except to rest in Him. It was to restore the understanding of righteousness by faith that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenburg.
A true understanding of righteousness by faith allows us to rest from our own labours and let God do the work. It takes away the torment and fear of never measuring up. It is the means of having a true saving relationship with Christ who is God.
There is one thing that the Bible specifies as being a sign of our acceptance of righteousness by faith: seventh-day Sabbath worship. In Exodus 31:13 it says, “Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” And again in Ezekial 20:12 it says, “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”
God’s people were told to rest from all their labours on the Sabbath as a spiritual and literal rest in God (Exodus 20:8-11). They were also told to not buy and sell (Nehemiah 10:31). Moreover, as a representation of how important it was to learn to rest and trust in God, God told His people, “Everyone who profanes [the seventh-day Sabbath] shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people” (Exodus 31: 14).
Keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath commemorates the creation of God – His marvellous works. It also recognises the justice and mercy of God towards all people (even the stranger within the gate). Moreover, it is a clear recognition of His innate holiness because He alone can sanctify a day (Genesis 2:1-3).
The Mark of the Beast also includes a sign that mirrors that of God’s sign of righteousness by faith. The change of the Sabbath from the seventh day (Saturday) to the first day (Sunday) is in direct contradiction to the message of righteousness by faith. It is man’s attempt to use his works to make something righteous. In other words, keeping of the Sunday is a sign of righteousness by works.
The Bishop of London in 1923 stated in The Catholic record: Volume XLV,
“The Church is above the Bible; and this transference of Sabbath observance from Saturday to Sunday is proof positive of that fact. Deny the authority of the Church and you have no adequate or reasonable explanation or justification for the substitution of Sunday for Saturday in the Third—Protestant Fourth— Commandment of God.”
Cardinal Gibbons in his book Faith of the Fathers, in talking of the “infallible authority” of the Roman Catholic church in interpreting the scriptures, stated:
“Now the Scriptures alone do not contain all the truths which a Christian is bound to believe, nor do they explicitly enjoin all the duties which he is obliged to practice. Not to mention other examples, is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify” (p. 97).
By suggesting that it can make the first day of the week (Sunday) sanctified, the Roman Catholic presumes that it can finish the work of our salvation or re-creation or sanctification. The church will eventually demand the same allegiance to itself as God is entitled to. Thus the instruction that God has given regarding the seventh-day Sabbath is transferred by the church to Sunday and legislation will be passed which will enforce Sunday worship.
Sunday-worship is not currently associated with the Mark of the Beast, but when it is enforced as a sign of allegiance to the Beast it then will be.
Many may feel that enforced Sunday observance is unlikely because of the number of people who do not associate with the Christian faith. However, the Bible never said that people who receive the Mark of the Beast would do it with conviction. When you are facing the option of complying or dying some people will receive it in their hand (their actions will comply even if they don’t agree) and some will receive it in their forehead (they will be convicted that it is the right thing to do).
Many Christians also feel that it would seem ridiculous that Sunday, the day on which majority of Christians worship, will one day be enforced as part of the Mark of the Beast. However, Matthew 24:24 tells us that the final powers of the earth would seek to deceive even “the very elect” of the church. What better way to deceive them than on a sign that is anti-righteousness by faith – Sunday worship?
So many faithful Christians have been deceived on this very point and have not given their full allegiance to the God of Creation. They do not see that the question of Sunday versus Sabbath worship is a question of righteousness by faith in Christ alone.
It is when Sunday worship with be enforced as part of the Mark of the Beast that the distinction between the seventh-day Sabbath and the first-day observance will be brought to the forefront of the battle between Christ (and His people), and the Beast (and his people).
Conclusion on What is the Mark of the Beast today?
The Mark of the Beast is not enforced today. We do know that it will be associated with the passing of a law that goes against the commandments of God and in particular the seventh-day Sabbath. This will be in the form of a Sunday law. We do not know what else the enforcement of the Mark of the Beast entails, but those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus will not need to fear receiving the Mark of the Beast.
Hebrews 4:9-11 calls us to enter into God’s rest, ceasing from human works and learning to trust entirely in God’s divine provision to redeem us. Let us search the scriptures today so that we may be sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13) who enables us to be among those who “keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12).
