Mark or Seal?

In the book, “all” means “ALL.” All those who refuse to follow the “Lamb” will render homage to the “beast” and take its “mark.” 

Discussions on the “mark of the Beast” often focus on the significance of its number, ‘666,’ We wish to understand it, and thereby avoid taking it. But to better appreciate the ramifications of taking its “mark,” it is imperative to see how Revelation contrasts the “mark of the beast” with the “seal of God.”

The “mark” is the satanic counterpart to God’s “seal.” Those who take it give their allegiance to the “beast.”

In contrast, the men who receive the “seal of God” follow the “Lamb wherever he goes.” In this way, humanity is divided into two groups: Those whose “names are written in the Lamb’s book of life,” and those whose names are not. And all who fall into the latter group are destined for the “second death,” namely, the “lake of fire.”

ORIGINAL AUDIENCE

The book was written for churches in Roman Empire when some Christians were undergoing pressure to conform to local religious practices, especially to the imperial cult with its divine honors to the emperor, the offering of incense, and other tokens of allegiance to Caesar.

In the ancient world, there was no concept of the separation of religion and state. Political ideology and religious and cultural practices were all intermingled. One’s religion was determined by his or her place of origin. The Roman government left local populations alone to practice their indigenous religions, though Rome expected all its subjects to pay homage to Caesar.

At least five of the seven cities named in Revelation featured temples dedicated to the emperor or Roma, the patron goddess of Rome itself. Citizens were free to worship traditional gods; however, on public occasions, it was expected that they would offer incense to the image of the emperor and otherwise acknowledge him as chief patron and lord.

To venerate the emperor was both a religious act and political duty. It demonstrated allegiance to the Empire. Refusal to participate constituted disloyalty, a crime against the state. Christians were taught to be law-abiding citizens, but their faith prevented them from acknowledging anyone as “Lord” except Jesus Christ. Thus, persecution by Rome was inevitable - (Romans 13:1-7).

That conflict is reflected in the Greek verbs used in Revelation for “worship.” The Greek terms employed include the verbs latreuō and, above all, proskuneō. The former denotes the “rendering of divine service” to a divine person or image. In the Greek scriptures, it is applied to priests serving in a Temple. It occurs twice in Revelation for priestly service to God.

The second verb occurs twenty-four times. It is a compound of the preposition pros or “toward” and the verb kuneō or “kiss,” hence the idea, “to kiss towards,” to prostrate oneself. Derived meanings include “render homage,” “give obeisance,” “revere,” and “venerate.” It applies to the deference and honor paid to a superior being, human or divine.

To “render homage” is to give absolute allegiance, whether to God, Jesus, or the “beast” - (Revelation 7:15, 22:3).

HUMANITY DIVIDED

In chapter 13, two groups are presented - The “inhabitants of the earth” and those who “tabernacle in heaven,” Awed by the “beast,” the first group “renders homage to the beast,” demonstrating that “their names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb.” The “slander” of the “beast” is directed against those who “tabernacle in heaven” - (Revelation 13:6-7, 12:12).

Next, the “beast from the earth” appears, the “False Prophet.” He mimics the “Lamb” and uses religious deception to encourage the “inhabitants of the earth” to erect an image of the first “beast.”

In verse 10, those who “tabernacle in heaven” are identified as the “saints,” the same group targeted for destruction by the “Dragon” - those who “keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.” Their names are “written in the Lamb’s book of life” - (Revelation 3:5, 12:17, 13:7, 14:12, 21:27).

The “mark of the beast” is the counterfeit of the “seal of God” that was received by the “servants of our God.” This group elsewhere is identified as the followers of the “Lamb.” This “sealed” company is identical to the “great innumerable multitude from every nation and tribe and people and tongue” redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

The “seal of God” identifies those who belong to Jesus. They are preserved through the coming tribulation, but they are not removed from the earth to escape it. Instead, they are equipped to endure it. Their identification with the “Lamb” spares them from God’s judicial “wrath,” the “Second Death” - (Revelation 2:11, 7:1-3, 20:6).

Men and women who “render homage to the image of the beast” are “branded” with its “mark on their right hand or forehead.” Without it, no one may participate in the economic life of society.

Anyone who refuses the “mark” is ostracized and will face economic deprivation and even execution. The “mark” is further described as the “name of the beast” and the “number of his name” - (Revelation 13:11-14:5).

SEALED BY GOD

In contrast, the men who belong to the “Lamb” have “his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.” They are found before the Throne. They have been “purchased from the earth by the Lamb.”

Anyone who “renders homage to the image of the beast” automatically takes its “mark.” In contrast, anyone who “follows the Lamb wherever he goes” receives the name of the “Lamb” and the seal of God on the forehead.

If the “seal of God” is figurative, the same holds true for the “mark of the beast.” This is how Revelation divides humanity into two groups.

God “seals” all who give their allegiance to the “Lamb,” whereas, all who render homage to the “beast” take its “mark” and have their names excluded from “the book of life.”

This connection is made clear when an angel warns that “anyone who renders homage to the beast and his image and receives its mark will drink of the wine of the Wrath of God.” To give allegiance to the “beast” is tantamount to taking its “mark.” ALL who do so will partake of God’s “wrath” - (Revelation 14:9-11).

The coming “wrath” is not a series of plagues, but the full and everlasting “wrath” “prepared unmixed” and poured out at the final judgment. Impenitent men are tormented “with fire and brimstone, and the smoke of their torment ascends unto the ages of the ages.” This is the time when the wicked are cast into the “lake of fire,” the “second death” - (Revelation 20:11-15).

The “saints” who “keep the faithfulness of Jesus” will overcome the “beast” and find themselves “standing on the glassy sea” before the Throne. There, they “sing the song of the Lamb.” In contrast to the “inhabitants of the earth,” they participate in the “first resurrection,” and therefore, they “live and reign with Christ.”

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