The Mark of the Beast and the Seal of the Living God

The Mark of the Beast introduced in Revelation 13 has always fascinated people who study apocalyptic prophecy.  Most discussions of this topic tend to focus on that number, that 666 thing you know.  Everybody seems to know that the number 666 is associated with evil, whether they study prophecy or have never even heard of the Bible.

The number 666 impressed on your hand or forehead could look a lot like the imprint of chains.  This is an awesome and disturbing thought, that the mark of the beast could be the imprisonment that he imposes on your thoughts (forehead) and actions (hand) when you are enslaved to sin.  Jesus said he who commits sin is a slave of sin (John 8:34).  This has application to all times, not just the end times.  If that applies to you, Jesus Christ can break those chains and set you free.  I know because He did it for me!

What I would like to focus on in this post is the meaning and implications of a mark on the forehead and right hand.  Let me take you through a few verses that illustrate what these signs represent, starting with the seal of God.

The seal of the living God

And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads." (Revelation 7:2-3)

The seal of the living God is used by the angels in Revelation to stamp God's name on the foreheads of believers.  As we shall see, this is not the first time this symbolism has been used to identify believers.  This is a reference to Old Testament laws and ancient customs.

Exodus 13:9
This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a sign of God's deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt, which is to be remembered each year and taught to the children.  The right hand represents power; Jesus is at the right hand of God to exercise His power over all creation.  As such Jesus was the mighty hand of God that delivered Israel out of bondage, and He is the mighty hand that can deliver us from the evil one today.

The sign on the hand is a reminder of God's power and deliverance; the sign on the forehead is the spoken expression of God's law that is in our minds and written on our hearts.

Exodus 28:36
You shall also make a plate of pure gold and shall engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, 'Holy to the LORD.' ...and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.

The seal that the high priest wore on his forehead symbolized his sanctification to the Lord and his priestly role as intercessor for the people.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might... You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.

Deuteronomy 11:18
You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.

The greatest commandment to love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and all your soul is illustrated by His words on the forehead (love) and on the hand (service). The hypocritical Pharisees wore ornate phylacteries to outwardly demonstrate their righteousness, but they neglected to love God and impress His word on their hearts.

Revelation 22:3-4
There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

An ancient custom of slavery or servitude (including military service under some despotic rulers) was to brand slaves with the name of their master on the forehead and hand.  When we are redeemed from slavery to sin and become bond-servants of God, we are sealed with His righteousness and are labeled "Holy to the Lord".

 The Mark of the Beast

And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)

Given the background of laws and customs, it should be easy to understand that the mark of the beast is a symbol of servitude which is demanded by the Anti-Christ in order to purchase or trade.  This mark signifies that its bearer has been completely dedicated to worship and serve the evil ruler of this world, who is the bodily vessel of Satan.

How terrible and sad it is that mankind will face this kind of choice one day.

Revelation 14:9-10
Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

The act of receiving this mark will signify abandonment of God and commitment to Anti-Christ.  I don't believe that simply having an ID or number in a global system of identification will be the damning mark of the beast.  Whoever has the misfortune to be alive on earth when Anti-Christ comes into power will be fully aware that they are accepting him as their supreme master and deity before they receive the mark.

Notice that the mark is not unique to the individual, it is the name or number of the beast.  As such this mark would not be useful as an identifier, but rather to simply brand this person as the property of the beast.  There may come a day of world government and a global identification scheme may be part of that system, but when the Anti-Christ stands in the place of God, then you must refuse to worship him or take his mark on your body.

In a way, the mark is parallel to Christian baptism - it is the outward expression of an inner spiritual allegiance.  The worship and proclamation of the beast as God is what brings condemnation.

Encouragement

Notice one difference between the seal of God and the mark of the beast.  The seal of God is on the forehead only.  In the Old Testament law, we were commanded to bind the law as a sign on our hands.  The New Covenant with God is only on our foreheads (hearts).  Our hands are no longer bound by the Law of Sin and Death.  Slavery to sin and slavery to the law both bind your hands; only the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus sets you free.

We don't really have a choice to "opt-out" of a decision about whom we shall serve.  Before the bowls of God's wrath are poured on the kingdom of darkness, there will be only two choices - serving the Living God or bowing to that hideous seven-headed beast and suffering God's wrath.  The time is now to make that decision and prepare to be an overcomer in Christ.  Overcomers will be delivered from God's wrath and enjoy eternity with the One who truly loves us.