Dr. Thomas Keene reminds us that the mark of the beast isn’t a code to crack—it’s a symbol of allegiance. In Revelation, symbols serve the story, pointing us to the deeper contrast between the kingdom of Christ and the counterfeit kingdom that opposes him. Rather than getting lost in speculation, we’re called to see what these images reveal about who we follow.
The following is a transcript of the video above.
In Revelation 13, what does the Mark of the Beast mean?
There are many symbols, metaphors, and pictures in Revelation that receive considerable attention, but perhaps the most prominent is the mark of the beast. Any current event becomes a kind of litmus test for what the mark of the beast might mean.
A rule of thumb whenever you’re trying to figure out what this symbol means in the book of Revelation is first to make sure that whatever it means, it still means something for the book of Revelation. Like the narrative of the book still works. And positively, what that means as you’re trying to figure out what a symbol is or how it is used is how it functions narratively? And narratively, the mark of the beast is very simple. It signifies, demonstrates, and publicly marks out those who belong to the beast. And so, as we think about the mark of the beast, the more important question is not 666. The more important question is, who is the beast? What does the beast represent? And the beast seems to represent this kind of counterfeit kingdom, along with the dragon and some of the other symbols in the book of Revelation. You’ve got the kingdom of Christ, which is run, ruled, and sovereignly governed by The White Rider, Jesus. Who brings all things to justice, but then you have this counterfeit kingdom, this counterfeited trinity, the beast, the dragon, and the false prophet, which are constantly trying to draw the people away from Christ. In many ways, the dragon, the beast, the false prophet, they mimic and they imitate; they try to look as close to the kingdom of Christ as possible while at the same time being completely anti-Christ, completely opposed to everything that Jesus does. So that’s how the narrative works.
Why is 666 an appropriate number in that narrative? And the reason 666 is appropriate in that number in the narrative is simple. It’s not seven. There are a number of ways in which to make the mark of the beast; you can tally up the math and try to make it fit the alphabet of a certain kind of Caesar. I’m not actually against all of those. But I think there’s a more basic, a more fundamental guideline for understanding who the beast really is and what his mark means. Seven is the number of perfection. 10, the number of perfection. And any time Revelation wants to sign to you wants to show you the perfection of the kingdom of Christ, it shows you a pattern of three, three sevens, three tens, sevens—these things. Demonstrate the perfection of the kingdom that is to come. By contrast, this counterfeit kingdom is thrice short of perfection. It looks so close and yet it is perfectly the opposite of what everything that the kingdom of Christ is supposed to be. The significance of 666 is that it’s not 7.
