Hello my friends,

This has been yet another exhausting and stressful week in our country and the world. So much has happened that I won't be able to cover here. I do just want to say to make sure you are taking care of yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually as best you can. I had to take a break from social media for several days this week in order to mentally and spiritually recover from the sheer weight of all that is going on and happening to others in our world. This is so important that we all do this because if we neglect caring for ourselves, we wont be able to care for others well either. Please prioritize taking care of yourself too.

With all that has been happening economically, I wanted to touch on the economic themes in the book of Revelation and the insight they can give us today when it comes to our fidelity to God and our neighbors.

RESOURCES TO DIG DEEPER

-As you might have guessed, I read a lot of Biblical commentaries. One of my most favorite commentaries on the Book of Revelation is called "Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb into the New Creation," by Michael Gorman. In this book, he has given both a guide to reading Revelation in a responsible way and a theological engagement with the text itself. He takes interpreting the book as a serious and sacred responsibility, believing how one reads, teaches, and preaches Revelation can have a powerful impact on one's own--and other people's--well-being. I highly recommend it.

-Scot McKnight and Cody Matchett have recently released their book called, "Revelation for the Rest of Us: A Prophetic Call to Follow Jesus as a Dissident Disciple." McKnight addresses the popular misconceptions about the book, explaining what John means in his use of the images of dragons, lambs, and beasts; and how the symbolism of Revelation spoke in the days of Rome and still speaks powerfully to the present day—though not in the way most people think. I am excited to read this in the near future and see what insights it hold on this complex book of the Bible.

-I know I have recommended this book several times, but it really needs mentioning here again. You'll understand why by the end of this newsletter. It's called "Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery," by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah. In the fifteenth century, official church edicts gave Christian explorers the right to claim territories they "discovered." This was institutionalized as an implicit national framework that justifies American triumphalism, white supremacy, and ongoing injustices. The result is that the dominant culture idealizes a history of discovery, opportunity, expansion, and equality, while minority communities have been traumatized by colonization, slavery, segregation, and dehumanization. Healing begins when deeply entrenched beliefs are unsettled. It is one of the most important books I have every read.

-The Bible Project also has a great, short two part series on the Book of Revelation. You can watch Part 1 here: Book of Revelation Summary: A Complete Animated Overview (Part 1)​

-Lastly, I also want to recommend "Rediscovering an Evangelical Heritage: A Tradition And Trajectory Of Integrating Piety And Justice," by Donald Dayton. It not only shows how incredibly social justice oriented early American Evangelicals were, it shows how much "end times" theology influenced the movement after the civil war that contributed to the current political and theological character of the movement today. It is both an inspirational and enlightening read. You will not regret reading it yourself.

Okay, onto today's content.

You Cannot Buy or Sell Without The Mark.​
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"The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 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 13:15-18

There is probably no other book of the Bible that carries as much mystery, intrigue, and fear for as many people as the Book of Revelation.

One of the most popular focuses of that mystery, intrigue, and fear from the book of Revelation is the “mark of the beast” and that famous number, “666."

Even in my lifetime, I have witnessed widespread speculation and even panic over what this mark may be and who “the beast” might be.

When I was growing up, the mark of the beast was barcodes, changes to our money, changes to our credit cards, or even microchips imbedded in our wrists and foreheads (another image from Revelation 13). Most recently the Covid vaccines and following health guidelines that were the ones labeled as the mark of the beast by many. Especially since some businesses wouldn’t let you “buy or sell” as a customer without your vaccine card (another image from Revelation 13).

Working in food service during my college and seminary years, I had many customers who would tweak their order if their total landed on "$6.66." here is so much fear around the mystery of that line of numbers. There is so much fear around the mystery of that line of numbers.

The natural question then is, if these things are considered the mark of the beast, who is the beast? Well the one issuing these things of course. It would be the person mandating this mark upon people. So then, anyone in a position of power would be suspect of being “the beast.” Typically, it would be given to prominent world leaders.

This naturally coincides with the speculation of who the “antichrist” is, who is said will rise at the “last days.” In many ways, in this perspective, the antichrist and the beast are treated as the same figure.

Figures throughout history from Adolf Hitler, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and various Popes have been labeled “the beast” or "the antichrist."

So what do we do with all this? There are so many layers here! How do we better make sense of “the beast” and its “mark” according to scripture, especially in times like ours?

Getting behind the Biblical Scenes

Well first, it is important to remember that the Greek word for “antichrist” appears nowhere in the Book of Revelation. In fact, it only appears in 1 and 2 John and in those books, it doesn’t refer to a specific single figure who will emerge at the end of days, but anyone who opposes Christ. The Greek word for antichrist (ἀντίχριστος) literally means “anyone who opposes Christ.” So, if you oppose Christ, you are an “antichrist.”

We can thank modern dispensational theology rather than the Bible for creating the specific mythical figure of the “antichrist.” This mythical figure is read into the Bible rather than something the Bible gives to us itself. What the Bible teaches us is that anyone can be antichrist. The greater the power and wealth a person has, the more impact their antichrist ways can have on us and our world.

Second, Revelation 13 talks about two beasts, not just one. This is really important.

Probably one of the best ways I have learned to think about this passage is through word pictures. The author is inviting us into grand imagery to make a point. He is asking us to engage our imaginations fully. The “beasts” aren’t the point in and of themselves but rather, it is what the beasts represent that is the point.

So, in Revelation 13, it is best to compare them to the word pictures used in political cartoons. In American news media for example, we find an elephant and donkey representing political parties. We even see a bull and a bear representing the stock market's trends.

In Revelation 13, the two beasts represent political authority (first beast) and political propaganda (second beast) that have become as destructive as “beasts” within the world. There is so much animal imagery in this chapter for the purposes of having the reader think of the character of those animals. All used to describe how these two “beasts” function.

For a small example, the second beast (political propaganda) has horns like a lamb, but speaks as a dragon (Rev 13:11). That is a very provocative way of presenting the silver tongues or many politicians, emperors, dictators and those who spin their narratives positively for them to present their destructive messages as altruistic and “innocent.” They look like a lamb, but speak as a dragon. The lamb is also used to represent Jesus and the dragon is used to represent Satan. So this is essentially describing a "dragon dressed in sheep's clothing."

This is exactly what the author is wanting his readers to understand. John of Patmos is talking about Rome and its ruler(s), both of which had—and continued to—cruelly oppressed powerless minority groups like them and the world through its beast like use of political power and political propaganda. Rome's entire existence was owed to a predatory economy and violent force. When we understand this, the imagery here in Revelation 13 begins to speak for itself.

Another important contextual detail here is that there were pervasive rumors during that time that the most oppressive ruler against Christians in Roman history was going to come back from the dead: Nero Caesar. This is why in Revelation 13, you’ll see the beast from the sea described has having seven heads, representing the seven prominent mountains of Rome, and one of the heads looked to have a fatal wound (Rev 13:3). Nero took a dagger to end his own life, hence the fatal wound. The claims of resurrection from Nero would have also been heard as a direct affront ancient followers of Jesus.

This beast represents the entirety of the Roman empire, which had continued to embody the beast like ways of Nero, even without him ruling. He might as well have “risen from the dead.”

This context helps us to better understand “the mark of the beast” which is 666.

As we notice in Revelation 13:12, the second beast "exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed." Notice John of Patmos makes special mention of the head wound again.

This second beast is the one who orders all the inhabitants of the earth to receive the mark of the (first) beast, which John of Patmos clearly tells us what it means in Revelation 13:17: the mark "is the name of the beast or the number of its name."

Then verse 18: "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."

So, when we apply the ancient practice of gematria, which was the practice of that time of assigning significance to the mathematical sum of the letters in a word, we understand even more of what the author is trying to convey.

For example, when you take the Greek for Nero Caesar, “Neron Kaisar” and transliterate it into Hebrew, it becomes NRWN QSR (reading right to left of course). Then when you add numerical value to each letter using gematria, you get the total of 666.

Some manuscripts of the Book of Revelation also have 616, which is the same exact process, just without the final “n” in “neron,” which is Nero. This has convinced many Biblical scholars that 666 (and 616) is most likely referring to Emperor Nero.

There is another layer to this number as well. We all know the number of God from the Bible is “7.” Especially from Genesis. The number 7 represents the number of completion or perfection. Hence God resting on the 7th day. So, 666 is a massive parody of the number of perfection. It is not just 6, but 666 repeating itself on into infinity. Where 7 represents completion, 666 represents utter imperfection.

It harkens back to the 6th day of creation in the Genesis account when humanity was created (Gen 1:24-26). Without that 7th day, the day of God’s rest, humanity is utterly incomplete. We need rest. We need celebration. We need togetherness. We need our purpose to be defined outside of what we do. We need to know who we are. We need to know that life is bigger than we can comprehend. We need to find that completion that only rest can bring.

Thus, the one who bears this mark of the beast is the one who pretends in vain to be divine, but instead embodies utter imperfection. Hence the common phrase in Rome at the time, "there is no Lord but Caesar." The god-king. Saying "Jesus is Lord" in that time would be seen as a direct affront to the Lordship of Caesar.

I was really thankful for this interpretation because it helped me understand the Bible as a whole better. Biblical interpretation isn’t about taking the words at face value and applying them to our own time. Biblical interpretation is about understanding what the authors of scripture meant in their own time, seeing what lessons they were learning and trying to convey for themselves, then seeing how those lessons might teach us about how to be wiser and more faithful in our own, very different, time.

The essential message John of Patmos is conveying here in Revelation 13 is that Rome and its rulers are “the beast.” Rome had set up an empire that was exploiting the poor and the most vulnerable through a predatory economy and violent force. This is why Rome is compared to “Babylon” all throughout the book, which was Israel's greatest enemy. Rome and its rulers were acting just like a bloodthirsty beast. Babylon reborn. It was not just imperfect, but utterly imperfect.

Whose Image Are You Reflecting?

The placement of this “mark” is also very symbolic in this interpretation. Revelation 13:16 tells us that it is on people’s wrists and foreheads.

This would hold a lot of mystery and speculation unless we take Deuteronomy 6:4-9 into account here. In this passage, God calls all people to bind God’s words on their wrists and their foreheads as a sign of fidelity and worship of God alone. The cultic power of Rome then subverts this fidelity by demanding total allegiance to itself and its ways alone, even above God. It wants all people to be bound by its words alone, not God's Word.

The Greek word we translate into the English word “mark” here is “charagma,” which means image, sculpture; engraving, a stamp, or a sign.

In the ancient world, a "charagma" could refer to a brand or seal used to signify ownership, like a brand on livestock or a seal on a document. It was a common in Roman times to mark slaves or soldiers with a tattoo or brand to indicate their allegiance or ownership. This cultural practice provides a backdrop for understanding the symbolic use of "charagma" in Revelation, where it represents a spiritual and political allegiance. Given how all of humanity is created to bear the image of God in Genesis 1:27, the mark of the beast is a grand parody of not only being owned by the beast but participating in the ways of the beast rather than God.

This right here is the essence of Revelation 13 and probably the whole book of Revelation. Who will Christians give their ultimate fidelity to? Who will Christians “pledge their allegiance” to? The beast or the lamb? The empire or the kingdom of God? Whose image with they reflect with their lives?

To be marked by the beast is to pledge allegiance to the predatory ways of the beast in such a way that you are not only marked by its practices of exploitation and violence, but you inflict that mark onto others by force as well.

It's About Fidelity

So, I don't believe the “mark of the beast” is some microchip, barcode tattoo, or vaccine. It is fidelity to the ways of the beast rather than to the ways of the crucified Lamb.

It is unquestioned allegiance. It is worship of the beast and its ways.

The beast and its mark in the book of Revelation is referring to Rome and Caesar. It’s also more than that. It is referring to any empire and emperor that embodies the beast like ways of Rome and Caesar.

It is Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s Egypt.

It is Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadnezzar‘s Babylon.

It is Herod and Herod’s Nazareth and Bethlehem.

It is Constantine and Constantine‘s Rome.

It is Hitler and Hitler’s Germany.

It is whatever empire that is ruled by a predator and their ways.

Ways that crush the poor, the sick, the hungry, the immigrant, and the marginalized.

Fidelity to the beast is freely accepted at first (Revelation 13:8) only to be forced upon all people great and small alike later on (Revelation 13:16-17).

This is why John warns the churches so fervently to maintain their fidelity to the crucified Lamb. Just as with every tyrannical beast like regime, there is an expectation to “obey in advance.”

Christians are not immune to this reality at all.

It is the Christians who supported Constantine’s Rome rather than opposed it and even persecuted Christians who resisted.

It is Christians who supported the “Christian empire” of Britain rather than opposing it and even persecuted Christians who resisted.

It is Christians who supported crusades and inquisitions rather than opposing them and even persecuted Christians who resisted.

It is Christians who supported American racism and slavery rather than opposing it and even persecuted Christians who resisted.

It is Christians who supported Hitler’s Germany rather than opposing it and even persecuted Christians who resisted.

It is Christians who supported Apartheid in South Africa rather than opposing it and even persecuted Christians who resisted.

It is any Christian who demands the empire to favor their brand of Christianity and impose it on others through force rather than holding the empire accountable to the needs of “the least of these” among us as Jesus called us to (Mt 25) and even being willing to give our lives out of love for our neighbors as he did for us.

Put simply, the mark of the beast is fidelity to the wealthy and powerful who use the empire to harm and exploit the poor and the powerless for their own benefit and even celebrating their predatory behavior as “God’s will.”

In a world that has chosen the mark of the beast, the ways of the crucified lamb, like mercy, compassion, and justice for the vulnerable and the marginalized, will be mocked as “weak” or “toxic” or even a “sin.”

If we do not see all the beast like ways in our world today and how some Christians are even raising them up as the ways of the Lamb, we are simply not paying attention.

Economic Impact of The Beast

As John’s vision will go onto describe in Revelation 18 and hinted at here in Revelation 13:16-17 the beast and its “mark” has economic implications as well.

Ancient Christians had long struggled with economic participation and their fidelity to the way of Jesus. Not only did economic involvement carry with it the expectation of fidelity to other gods, but much like today, the way the empire brought about economic prosperity was often through the use of greed, exploitation, and violence towards both people and creation itself. Guilds in the ancient world also required fidelity to gods or the emperor in order to do business through them at all.

A good example of this in another part of the Bible is Paul speaking on idol meat in 1 Corinthians 8. Most meat sold in the market was first sacrificed to false gods. So a Christian purchasing, selling, or consuming that meat or not had theological, political, and economic consequences.

In John’s vision, fidelity to the beast is directly tied to economic involvement as well. It is economic inclusion or exclusion based on one’s fidelity to the beast. With the emperor’s image engraved into Roman currency and all his theological claims of divinity throughout the empire, ancient Christians would have no problem making this connection.

It isn’t hard to make that connection with other beast like ways throughout history either. For example, the pink triangle and the yellow star of Hitler’s Germany was a clear physical manifestation of this and those who were forced to wear them suffered economic and social exclusion.

We can see such connections today as well. For example, federal funding for k-12 is directly contingent on abiding by the anti diversity, equity, and inclusion stance of this current administration. Many of the tariffs put in place can also be traced along ideological lines towards those seen as opponents, which is why they do not make economic sense. They are more about fidelity to a ruler and a particular ideology than they are about anything else.

I encourage you to read the recent posts made by political historian Heather Cox Richardson and the National Park’s alternate account on Facebook, which I believed summed up well what is currently happening economically and why.

Beasts Roar but Love Wins

But please take courage. The “beasts” always roar the loudest when they know they are going extinct. They always rage the most and are the most ferocious when they know they have already lost.

That is what we are seeing right now. Beasts clamoring for all the control and power they can because they know they are going extinct. They know they have lost. This is why they can't stand to be opposed in any way.

We who follow the way of the crucified Lamb can be encouraged that victory has already been achieved through self sacrificial love (the cross). That is why we can be boldly free to continue promoting and advocating self sacrificial love, especially for the most vulnerable among us who are the most harmed by the beasts of our time. No matter how loud the beasts roar our love must be louder.

The beasts thought they won when they crucified Jesus. Then the resurrection came. Love got the last word. The same will be true for our time as well.

No matter how violent the beasts roar, love will have the last word.

We must continue choosing fidelity to love together. We must be marked by the Lamb.