What does the “mark of the beast” / 666 mean?

“Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.” Revelation 13:18

This question has been discussed and debated throughout church history and one’s interpretation of this passage depends significantly on whether one believes that these events took place in the first century (the Preterist view), or whether they describe events yet to come (the Futurist view).

One of the chief reasons that people hold to the Preterist view is that the book of Revelation was written originally to a first century audience. There are fairly clear indications that the author of Revelation had the ancient Roman Empire in mind. For example, many scholars argue that the “seven heads” of the beast represent the famous “seven hills” which ancient Rome was built upon. The ten horns would then represent ten kings, which matches well with the ten ancient Roman Caesars. One king is described as “one who was, is not, but will be again.” This fits with the famous ancient myth about Nero, which said that he would return from the dead to lead an army from the East in an attack on Rome.

Regarding the number itself, some early manuscripts render it 616, but most agree that 666 is the original number. There are different interpretations of what the number is meant to signify: (1) Gematria – assigning numerical values to letters of the alphabet to create a code; (2) Length of Reign – the number revealing the duration of the beast’s rule; (3) Symbolism for the Anti-Christ – whereas 777 represents perfection/completeness, 666 would represent incompleteness and a contrast to the perfection of God.

Preterists often propose that the name “Nero Caesar” adds up to 666. Some base this on a belief that Revelation was written before 70 AD, during Nero’s reign. However, most scholars believe Revelation was written in the 90s, after Nero, and in that case the numerical reference to “Nero Caesar” could be a code for the Roman emperor, Domitian, whose rule was similar to Nero’s in that he strengthened the emperor cult, calling himself “lord and god.” Understood in light of the reborn Nero myth, it makes sense how Nero’s name could be code for all godless Roman emperors.

From this perspective, the “mark of the beast” would be related to Rome’s economic domination of the entire known world (from Britain to the Far East). Roman coins were “marked” with the image of the emperor, but what would the phrase “on the right hand and forehead” mean? Interestingly, many zealous ancient Jews would literally bind portions of the Torah upon their forehead and arms (called phylacteries or tefillin; based on Deuteronomy 6:8; 11:18) during daily prayer. Thus the “right hand and forehead” could be a metaphorical reference to people’s allegiance to the beast rather than to God. The problem with the “mark” isn’t its connection to an economic system, but rather that the specific economic system is tied to a rejection of the true God and the embrace of idolatry. This fits with Jesus’ teaching that “one cannot worship both God and money.”

The other major perspective is the Futurist view which tends to be a more literal approach. In this perspective, the “beast” – or the anti-Christ – has not yet appeared, but when he does, he will become a leader who facilitates world peace. He will also initiate a unified international economic system which uses literal markings on people’s right hand or forehead that allows them to buy and sell—perhaps some kind of computerized identification system. If this were so, then anyone who refused to accept this mark would have great difficulty buying basic goods. In that case, it seems quite likely that any Christian who refused would be a target of persecution and possibly martyrdom, and we would experience the same type of persecution and death that many Christians faced during the first three centuries of the Christian faith.

In and of itself, the first-century oriented Preterist view doesn’t necessarily leave out an additional Futurist component. There are times when biblical prophecies have a double-fulfillment pattern, with both a short-range and a long-range reference (e.g., many have argued that the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 referred to Hezekiah in the short-run, but also to Messiah Jesus in the long-run). A double-fulfillment dynamic is possible where a figure parallel to Nero, along with a parallel economic-based code, play a future role prior to Jesus’ return.

Recommended Resources

• “How Should We Interpret the Book of Revelation?” in Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology by Greg Boyd and Paul Eddy