Expert: Rev. Stuart Woodward - 1/24/2008

Question
What is the mark of the beast? What does the 666 mean? And can a non-christian escape being marked? I have people in my family who believe in God but do not serve Jesus.

Answer
Hello Xiao Dong,
Thank you for your question. The Mark of the beast is referred to only in book of Revelation. It is mark that the Beast (an anti Christ figure) forces upon people either on their forehead or right hand. Without it they are forbidden to buy or sell. See Rev 13:11-17. The wrath of God is eventually revealed against the beast and those who bear his mark and worship his image. See Rev 16:2. See also Rev 19:19-21.
Revelation is apocalyptic literature written in vivid imagery, some of it symbolic and some of it literal. It is not always easy to know which is which.
What the mark of the beast will be in the end time we do not fully know. It clearly is a method of economic control and oppression. The technology now exists for such a thing to happen. Some credit card companies are already experimenting with the possibility of implanting an identification code for credit in the skin! Beyond this it is not possible to know exactly what the mark is or indeed who the beast is. Every generation has tended to identify the beast with someone of their own time.
It is clear that we must try to avoid bearing that mark and certainly avoid worshipping the image. Some believe that the whole matter is much more subtle. Some think the beast is the force of capitalism and we bow to its image when we adopt the materialistic and profit driven attitude to life. During the cold war many identified the whole thing with the spread of communism. When John wrote most saw it all in terms of the power of Rome. We must be vigilant but beware of adopting simplistic interpretations.
666 is the number of the beast. In reality some think that this number is a mistranslation and the number should be 696. I have no idea if there is any weight behind this. If the number is 666 then some see it as the number that is absolutely short of perfection which would be represented by 777. Thus it becomes the number of man centred thinking  - humanism. My best advice is one of caution. Over the years I have heard many very sincere and godly men claim to have discovered exactly what all this means and time has shown their interpretation to be wrong. It is right to take these matters with proper care but not to be fanciful and gullible.
As for your family who believe in God but do not serve Jesus I can only urge you to pray for them and witness to them graciously. According to the bible only fools do not believe in God. Even demons believe in God. Life and hope centre in realising that God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ and accepting the merciful grace of God made possible through His death at Calvary.
I hope my comments are of some help. Many books have been written on these subjects and still the issues are unclear. I pray that God will continue to guide and lead you into all truth by His Spirit.
Stuart Woodward