What does it mean?
The entire book of Revelation is mysterious: there are more allegories and symbols in it than explicit predictions. But some characters are relatively easy to decipher. For example, the image of an apocalyptic beast with seven heads is clearly a symbol of the Antichrist, who will rule the nations for a short time (forty-two months, that is, three and a half years). And another beast with horns like a lamb symbolizes the false prophet or, as St. Andrew of Caesarea says, the forerunner of the Antichrist, whose task will be to support the Antichrist’s claims to world domination with various external effects and miracles that people are so greedy for. Outwardly he will be like Christ (the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world, John 1:29 ), but in reality he will be His complete opposite.
But the number 666 , the outline of which will be applied by order of the false prophet to the right hand or on the forehead of a person, and the very method of applying this number still remain subjects of debate. Are we talking about tattoos? Or about mass microchipping of people? Until recently, some Orthodox Christians tried to discern the notorious “seal of the Antichrist” in individual tax numbers (TIN), barcodes, electronic passports, etc. Therefore, it is worth figuring out what the prophecy of John the Theologian actually says, and where our speculation is.
“You have heard that the Antichrist will come, and now many antichrists have appeared,” writes the holy Apostle John (1 John 2:18 ), and further clarifies: the antichrist is a liar who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This is the Antichrist who denies the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22 ). If we follow this understanding, then we must say that Antichrists exist in every era. And different Antichrists used different “seals,” writes Hieromartyr Hippolytus of Rome.
Antichrist and his followers Germany, 1367
He cites the example of the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century BC), who captured Jerusalem and brutally persecuted the Jews, ordering them to place altars to pagan gods in front of the doors of their houses, make sacrifices to them, and then, crowned with ivy, arrange celebrations in honor of Dionysus. He ordered those who did not want to obey to be tortured, interrogated and ultimately killed.
Obviously, Antiochus Epiphanes can hardly be called the Antichrist in the exact sense of the word (there were simply no Christians in his time), but it is quite possible to call him a predecessor.
Subsequently, the Roman emperors forced Christians, under threat of death, to make offerings to statues of pagan gods - and this act of demonstrating loyalty can also be called the seal of the Antichrist, because it symbolized the rejection of Christ.
The seal of the Antichrist is everything that leads to a conscious renunciation of Christ, one of the most authoritative spiritual fathers of the Russian Church, the “All-Russian Elder” John (Krestyankin), wrote in the late 1990s: “The seal will follow only a person’s personal renunciation of God, and not by deception. There is no point in deception. The Lord needs our heart that loves Him.” Now TIN and other electronic documents “do not pose a danger to us. But of course, this is one of the stages in preparing for future fear.”
In 2000, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (the Holy Synod is the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church in the period between Councils of Bishops, is a meeting of nine bishops who sit permanently, and five more who participate on a temporary basis. The Chairman of the Holy Synod is the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' . - Ed.) adopted a special statement regarding barcodes, which the state just at that time began to actively introduce in trade, statistics, accounting for the movement of goods, etc. This statement shows serious concern: after all, every barcode the code, which depicts numbers in the form of lines of different thicknesses, “contains three dividing lines that graphically coincide with the symbol adopted for the number “6”.”
“Thus, the barcodes, by the will of the creators of the international system for writing them, contain an image of the number 666, which is mentioned in the Book of Revelation of St. John the Theologian as the number of the Antichrist.” There was no need to use the number “6” as a dividing line, which means that “consciously or unconsciously, the developers of the global barcode system ... chose a symbol that is offensive and alarming to Christians, which looks at least like an impudent mockery.” , said the Holy Synod. Nevertheless, he called on all Orthodox people to “keep Christian sobriety” and not be afraid of external symbols and signs, because “nothing and no one can shake a person’s faith if he truly abides with Christ and resorts to the sacraments of the church.”
Battle with the Devil France, medieval engraving
None of the holy fathers believed that the seal of the Antichrist could magically influence a person and force him to renounce Christ against his will. They all understood it as “a sign confirming the conscious renunciation of Christ.”
Here is what Saint Hippolytus of Rome wrote, for example: “that seal will read: “I renounce the Creator of heaven and earth; I renounce Baptism; I renounce my service to God and join you and believe in you.” No external sign violates a person’s spiritual health unless it becomes the result of a conscious betrayal of Christ and a desecration of faith, the Holy Synod concluded, but called on the authorities to give people the opportunity to use alternative technologies without ambiguous designations.
Mark of the Beast Bible text Revelation of John the Theologian synodal translation
- And I saw another beast coming out of the earth; he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
- He acts before him with all the power of the first beast and forces the whole earth and those living on it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed; 13And he performs great signs, so that fire comes down from heaven to earth before people.
- And with the miracles that it was given to him to perform before the beast, he deceives those who live on the earth, telling those who live on the earth to make an image of the beast, which has the wound of the sword and is alive.
- And it was given to him to put spirit into the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would speak and act in such a way that anyone who would not worship the image of the beast would be killed.
- And he will cause everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one will be able to buy or sell except the one who has this mark. , or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Why is this prophecy important?
Like many other prophecies of the Bible, it is not intended to instill fear in us of future disasters, but to remind us of the need to be more vigilant and attentive, first of all, to ourselves. As the Apostle Paul so well expressed it in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, everything is permissible for me, but not everything is profitable (1 Cor 6:12 ). Anything that takes our attention away from Christ, that pushes us to abandon the truth of the Gospel, that makes a person less and less human is unhelpful - and, moreover, very dangerous. And these can be very different things. Perhaps that is why the author of Revelation did not specify what these three sixes are. We ourselves must follow the call of Christ: Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into temptation (Matt. 26:41 ).
Mark of the Beast John the Theologian about the seal of the Antichrist
It is interesting that John the Theologian wrote that they will not be killed, but “they will be killed.” In the second case, it is clear that they will kill, but it is not yet clear whether they will die or not. But how then can they be “killed”?
A Christian can die spiritually on his own through sin, through falling away from God and from the church. But this is if it is voluntary. How can you forcefully spiritually kill a Christian? Obviously, if you completely deprive him of the Church and the Communion of the Holy Spirit, then he will lose both the bread of life, which is Christ, and the source of living water, which is also Christ. And, after all, it is through them that they receive eternal life:
I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died; and the bread that comes down from heaven is such that whoever eats it will not die. In. 6:48
Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life. John 4:14
Where else is this prophecy heard?
The book of Revelation of John the Theologian is the only one in the Bible that is not read during worship. There is no clear answer to the question of why this is so; there is only an assumption (one of many) that, given the complexity of interpreting many of the images in this book, the Church chose not to introduce its flock into unnecessary temptations.
So, we will not be able to hear this prophecy from the book of Revelation during the service in the temple. But among the apostolic readings heard during the Divine Liturgy (before the reading of the Gospel), there is, among other things, a fragment from the Second Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians, which says, albeit in slightly different words, the same thing: That day will not come until it comes first there will be apostasy and the man of sin will not be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God or that is holy, so that he sits in the temple of God as God, showing himself to be God. <…> For the mystery of iniquity is already in action, only it will not be completed until the one who is now holding back is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the spirit of His mouth and destroy by the revelation of His coming, the one whose coming, according to the work of Satan, will be with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception of those who perish, because they did not receive love. truth for your salvation. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, so that they will believe a lie, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but loved unrighteousness (2 Thess. 2:3–4, 7–12).
The editors would like to thank Mikhail Anatolyevich Skobelev, Associate Professor of the Department of Biblical Studies at St. Tikhon's Orthodox Humanitarian University, Candidate of Theology, for his assistance in preparing the material.
The Bible about the mark of the beast Revelation of John the Theologian
The Revelation of John the Theologian says that those who do not worship the image of the beast will be killed. Only the Bible, when it talks about the mark of the beast, does not say how.
First, let's figure out what death is. Jesus Christ said about some people that they are already dead while they are alive. Let “the dead bury their dead,” Jesus said to one of those who wanted to follow him:
Another of His disciples said to Him: Lord! let me first go and bury my father. But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Mf. 8:21-22
Thus, Christ has a completely different concept of the living and the dead than we do. There are people who are spiritually dead while alive. Should we follow Christ in these terms? It seems that this is logical if we are talking about the Word of God and the prophecies of Jesus Christ about the end times. And if we are talking about the words of the book of Revelation, then the concept of life and death should probably be the same as that of Jesus Christ. Because these are His words that “we kill everyone who does not worship the image of the beast.”
What does the mark of the beast mean from the church's perspective?
Saint Caesarea of Arelate connects the mark with failure to fulfill the commandments when they confess and commit untruths:
“His image is his hypocrisy, namely in those people who seem to adhere to the Catholic faith, but live dishonestly. After all, they pretend to be those who they are not, and are called Christians not in true likeness, but in a false image. The apostle says about them: having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (2 Tim. 3:5), of whom a considerable number are contained in the Catholic Church. The righteous do not worship the beast, that is, they do not agree, they do not submit; and they do not receive a mark, namely a criminal mark: on the forehead for what they profess, and on the hand for what they do.”
Bishop Primasius of Hadrumet writes that the mark means unrighteous deeds and feigned piety. All this, too, is, in essence, failure to fulfill the commandments or law of God.
“The hand signifies works, and the right hand signifies feigned piety. Chelo signifies confession of faith. Since both good things suffered from deception, both receive the mark.”
Will the Antichrist directly declare that he is the Christ? Of course not. It is said that he will seduce, deceive. It is enough that he will try to replace Christ. For example, as the head of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church.
Methods of the Antichrist
It is also clear that if the Antichrist does not have state and financial power, then he cannot have such rights as to force all Christians to be chipped, digitalized or vaccinated. But it is he, and not the beast from the sea, who really has state power, who will make sure that the mark is “laid.”
It is clear that these are not his methods. The Antichrist will act within a religious framework and by religious methods. But its goal is also very insidious - to worship the image of the beast, and not God! And through this they perished spiritually, losing eternal life.
Saint John of Kronstadt said this about the need for the Church for the salvation of the faithful:
“The Holy Church, like a loving mother, constantly carries all her members in her heart and lips, intercedes for everyone before God, suffers for everyone, as if in the pangs of birth, wanting to spiritually revive and renew everyone; He even prays for the whole world and is sick incessantly.”
This is the woman clothed with the sun. Which at the end of time will be hunted by a dragon. In the first period of 1260 days, he will not yet have the opportunity to destroy her. The wife herself will run away from the dragon into the desert. But in the second period, only the earth will help her escape from the river that the dragon will send on her. The wife will be saved again in the desert, the whole Church will not perish. It is even said in Revelation that one church in Philadelphia will be delivered from the time of temptation that will come to test those living on earth. (Rev. 3:7-13) But many “of her seed” will fall into the power of the dragon.
Antichrist and the mark of the beast
On behalf of the dragon, this war with Christians will be waged by the false prophet, tempting people to create the image of the beast. But who will be the Antichrist, the beast from the sea or the false prophet - the beast from the earth?
Firstly, the Antichrist will be a Christian according to the word of the Apostle Paul. He says that there will be many Antichrists, and that they are “from among us,” that is, from Christians:
“ They came out from us, but they were not ours: for if they were ours; then they would have stayed with us; but they came out, and through this it was revealed that they were not all ours .” 1 John 2:19
Secondly, if the Antichrist sits in the temple of God, posing as God, then it is unlikely that he will be the president of any country. This is even impossible to imagine in our time.
If the beast from the sea is a king, that is, the head of an empire, then the Antichrist is a false prophet. But at the same time, he has enormous power, comparable to the power of a conquering beast.
It turns out that this is a major Christian leader who will “sit in the temple of God,” and it is also said that he intends to change the law. (Dan.7:24) Of course, not the constitution, but the Christian law, that is, Christian teaching.
And all this is, of course, incompatible in our time with this universal Christian head actually physically killing people. But he will have the opportunity to destroy them spiritually. Because if he sits in the temple of God, he is recognized and worshiped, and the grace of the Holy Spirit will leave from there. It will no longer be possible to go there and receive communion. So, it turns out, there will be a deprivation of the bread of life and the source of living water.
Inverted cross
Initially, the inverted cross was considered a Christian symbol. It was also called the cross of St. Peter - the apostle, who during the time of Emperor Nero was crucified on the cross upside down. However, in the modern world, the inverted cross is used by Satanists.
In their understanding, he is in no way connected with the Apostle Peter. The cross is turned over only to profane the Christian symbol. Thus, this sign of the Illuminati is a kind of mockery of Christianity.
Antichrist will change the law, according to the prophet Daniel
The prophet Daniel claims that the Antichrist, aka the little horn of the fourth beast, will set out to change the law:
And ten horns mean that ten kings will rise from this kingdom, and after them another will rise, different from the previous ones, and will humiliate three kings, and will utter words against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High; He will even dream of abolishing their holidays and the law, and they will be delivered into his hand until a time and times and half a time. Daniel 7:24
It is absolutely obvious that this passage from the Book of the Prophet Daniel speaks of the end times, of the apocalyptic beast from the sea with ten horns and of the Antichrist - the little horn, “that came out again, before which three fell, the same horn that had eyes and mouth speaking arrogantly, and who became greater in appearance than the rest" (Dan. 7:19)
What is the mark of the beast in simple words
Those who do not know God’s law well or believe that it can be changed to suit the times, to modernize it, will, of course, not understand anything and will accept such a change in the law by the Antichrist. But this will be the worship of the image of the beast. Because we worship our God by keeping His commandments. Because previously Christians fulfilled the law of the Zhivago God. And now some of them will submit to the law of the Antichrist, which will be the changed law of God. Such acceptance of the law of the Antichrist is worship of it, as well as worship of the image of the conquering beast, instead of worship of God.
What does the divine promise of the new covenant sound like?
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their hearts and write them on their minds” (Hebrews 10:16).
What does the mark have to do with it, you ask? And despite the fact that previously laws were “carved” in stone as an inscription. This is how the commandments of the prophet Moses were carved on stone tablets. Later they began to write on parchment. But this was also called in the language of the Bible “to write.” Then, what do the hand and the forehead have to do with it?
