Mark of the beast

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Mark of the beast , in other translations the mark of the beast , is a thematic unit in the Revelation of John in the New Testament of the Bible , which is mentioned several times and to which a special meaning is assigned. The first mention of the mark is in connection with the description of the beast, an end-time power that seeks to impose certain rules of conduct on all inhabitants of the earth.

Features of the mark of paint

Features of the mark of the beast are:

  1. The described animal forces the acceptance of the mark for all people (Rev 13:16).
  2. The mark can be accepted either on the hand or on the forehead.
  3. It is not the same as the number of the beast (Rev. 13:18).
  4. Whoever does not have the mark, or the name of the beast, or its number, will no longer be able to buy or sell. (Rev 13:17)

Warning of God against the mark

As a counterpart, the following chapter describes that God does not approve of the acceptance of the mark of the beast. The following warnings are given to those who accept the mark:

  1. He will be poured out unmixed by God's wine of wrath (Rev 14: 9).
  2. He has no rest day or night (Revelation 14:11).
  3. He is punished with death in the lake of fire (Rev 19:20).
  4. On the other hand, those who have not accepted it will reign with Christ for a thousand years (Revelation 20: 4).

Interpretations

American New Testament scholar Craig C. Hill explains that the mark of the beast symbolized the all-encompassing economic power of the Roman Empire; symbolized by the fact that the face of the emperor, provided with sun rays, was "embossed" on the coins. Conservative Christians of the first century therefore refused to look at, wear or manufacture coins with any kind of pagan symbolism. Therefore, it has become increasingly difficult for Christians to participate in public life through trading, buying and selling. Adela Yarbro Collins further explains that the prohibition on using the coins fulfills the requirement in Revelation 13:17 that no one can “buy or sell”.

In modern dispensationalism , the mark is interpreted as a modern technology in retail and surveillance: as a barcode , a credit card or a computer chip (RFID chip) that the Antichrist will order all people to implant. According to the American political scientist, such speculations create a connection between Christian end-time beliefs, such as that widespread particularly in the United States, and conspiracy theories .

literature

  • Ekkehardt Müller: The first and the last. Studies on the Book of Revelation. (= Adventistica. Volume 11). Peter Lang, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, Frankfurt et al. 2011, ISBN 978-3-631-61132-6 .
  • Franz Tóth: The heavenly cult. Reality construction and meaning formation in the Revelation of John. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 978-3-374-02427-8 .

credentials

  1. ↑ Bible, Revelation of John 15-16: The announcement of the seven last plagues
  2. ↑ Bible, Revelation of John 13: The two animals
  3. ↑ Bible, Revelation of John 13:17: The Two Animals
  4. ↑ a b Craig C. Hill (2002), In God's Time: The Bible and the Future , Eerdmans; P. 124.
  5. ^ Adela Yarbro Collins (1984), Crisis and Catharsis: The Power of the Apocalypse, Westminster John Knox Press, p. 126.
  6. ↑ Collins, 1984, p. 126: Adela Yarbro Collins writes: “The juxtaposition of buying and selling, as indicated by the mark of the beast, describes the fact that Roman coins usually imprinted the face of their current emperor on the coin. Not being able to buy or sell would then be the result of the refusal to use the coins of Rome. "
  7. ↑ Michael Barkun: A Culture of Conspiracy. Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America . University of California Press, Berkeley 2013, pp. 44 f.