A third angel followed them and
said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and
receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the
wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his
wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy
angels and of the Lamb. Revelation 14:9-10
Is the mark of the beast a
literal mark that at some time in the future Christians must be worried about?
Exodus speaks of marking things
on your forehead and hand.
This observance will be for you
like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the
LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you out of Egypt with his
mighty hand…And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead
that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand." Exodus
13:9,16
The festivals were reminders that
were LIKE a sign on their hands and foreheads. They weren’t actual marks,
though the Pharisees later took it literally and put scripture on their hands
and forehead.
This “mark” indicates your
affiliation and belief.
That means that the Mark of the
Beast is the indication of your faith—what you believe in your head (mind) and
in what you do with your hands (actions/service). The Mark of the Beast is the
anti-statement to Exodus 13.
The Bible says Christians are
marked invisibly with a seal to show our affiliation with God, kind of like a
spiritual branding.
And you also were included in
Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having
believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is
a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are
God's possession—to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14
It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor,
free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless
they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its
name. Revelation 13:16-17
Some believe the Mark of the
Beast is a reference to a future computer chip in our arm to help with buying
and selling. What is wrong with a credit card imbedded in our wrist? It
actually sounds quite convenient.
Finding a new technological way to buy or sell doesn't make you a
Satanist. Now, if we must take an oath
to worship Satan before we can use this computer chip then that’s a problem.
Some nations today put your
religion on your driver’s license. This marks you and you do not receive
benefits because of your faith. Discrimination
like this happened in the time of Rome.
So the "mark" is a
metaphor for who you worship and follow, not a literal stamp, tattoo or
computer chip that believers will be asked to wear in the future. As long as our hearts are affiliated with
God, Christians have nothing to worry about.