What is the mark of the beast?

Where it comes from

In Revelation 13, John sees a beast that forces everyone to take a mark on the right hand or forehead, so that "they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark." The chapter ends with the famous number: "That number is 666." Revelation is full of symbols, so the question is what this one stands for.

Three ways Christians read it

Many evangelicals expect a literal mark under a world ruler before Jesus returns. Others read it as Rome under Nero: spelled in Hebrew letters, "Nero Caesar" adds up to 666, and some early copies of Revelation even read 616, which matches another spelling of his name. Others see it as a picture of any power, in any age, that demands the loyalty that belongs to God alone.

Why a hand and a forehead

In Revelation 7 and 14, God's people carry his name on their foreheads. The mark of the beast is the dark copy of that. In the Old Testament, God's words were to be tied on the hand and forehead (Deuteronomy 6:8), meaning what you do and what you think. So the mark is about worship and allegiance, not a tattoo or a chip on its own.

You cannot take it by accident

Revelation describes people choosing to worship the beast. A vaccine, a bank card or a barcode is not a hidden act of worship. If you are worried you might have it, that worry itself shows your heart is turned toward God, which is the opposite of what the mark means.

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. 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., Revelation 13:16-18