Thou Art Holier Than a June Bug in Heat

past Matthew 50. Halsted, PhD

In an article published terminal calendar week on theLAB, COVID-nineteen and The Mark of the Creature, I claimed that the mark of the animate being (666) is most likely not a physical or visible marking (Rev. 13:16). The biggest objection I received from readers had to practise with this very indicate: how could the mark exist not-physical and invisible if having the mark was what allowed people to "buy or sell" things (Rev. thirteen:17)? Wouldn't the mark need to be visible in order to practise that? Furthermore, isn't there enough evidence that the vaccine is the "number" of the brute, including a beak currently earlier the House of Representatives (6666) and the very messages "C-O-R-O-N-A" themselves? ^ane These are proficient questions, and I call up a response would be helpful. But first, we demand to start from foursquare one and practice some background work.

Letter to the Churches

First, nosotros must call up that Revelation is a kickoff-century letter to seven churches in Asia Small (Rev. ane:four, 11). Letters in antiquity are much similar mod messages—situational, personal, and contextual. To understand a letter between two people (or groups of people), you really demand to know a thing or 2 near what necessitated the sending of the alphabetic character in the first identify. In other words, you need context. In order to rightly interpret the letter of the alphabet of Revelation, we need to investigate these churches' historical situation.

Many evangelicals tend to skip over this step and jump direct to application. This is a grave mistake. If we completely detach our modern-day applications from a text'south original, historical context, we take a chance misapplying the text—sometimes in embarrassing ways. Revelation xiii:17 ("no one can purchase or sell unless he has the marking, that is, the name of the fauna or the number of its name," ESV) is 1 such text. In order to interpret it rightly, we need to know its context. We demand some historical data from the letter's fourth dimension period in order to gain clarity into its significant. Is there any such information that might shed some light on this passage? As it turns out, there is.

Worshiping the Emperor

If you want to reconstruct the historical context of Christian people living in first-century Asia Minor, you must have into account the Roman royal cult. There's simply no manner around it. The cult itself presented clear challenges to early Christians. But what do I hateful by "royal cult"?

For starters, Roman emperors were ofttimes deified after they died, becoming "gods" for Roman citizens to worship. For case, afterward Julius Caesar died, he was deified. His adopted son, Augustus, took for himself the title "son of god." ² The logic was simple. If his father became "god," then he got to exist chosen, well, you guessed information technology: "son of god."

Though it was true an emperor would be deified after he died, many Greeks living in various cities throughout the eastern parts of the empire jumped the gun; they would worship the Roman emperor while he was still live. ³ Information technology is interesting to note that this was true of Ephesus (only like the letter to the Ephesians). ⁴ The metropolis of Pergamum, likewise, had long been a hotbed for imperial worship. ⁵ Smyrna needs to be thrown into the mix as well. ⁶ The list goes on. In fact, this was also true of the other four cities to which John directed his letter. ⁷

The more despotic emperors of the outset century sought to be recognized as gods while they were yet living. Nero was i such emperor; Domitian was another. ^eight Suetonius, the well-known aboriginal historian, says Domitian demanded to be addressed as both "Lord and God" (Suetonius, Dom. 13). The situation was such that Domitian was "everywhere hated and feared" (Dom. 14).

Go on in mind that well-nigh scholars believe Revelation was written during the reign of one of these 2 tyrants. Either mode, if you lot were a Christian, you very well might have been plagued with angst, fear, and uncertainty. After all, Nero was infamous for murdering his ain mother, as well as killing innocent Christians by turning them into tar-covered human being candles to lite upwardly the dark. Suetonius tells a story of how Domitian once wined and dined his palace steward, lavishing on him kindness and generosity. Then the next solar day Domitian had him crucified. Why? Simply because he could (Dom. 11).

It is peradventure understandable, then, why other ancient texts came to refer to Nero and Domitian equally a "beast." This is documented in places like Pliny's Panegyricus, the Sybilline Oracles, and Vita Apollonii. ^nine I'd say the shoe fits.

"666": The Number of the Animate being

Years ago, I remember hearing how some had taken President Reagan to exist the end times "creature." The reasoning went like this. When you accept his full proper noun, Ronald Wilson Reagan, you can see how each name contains exactly half-dozen letters. No wave of the wand or hat-trick was needed to meet how that dreaded, mysterious number was embedded in the president's proper name. To say this is silly is an understatement. (How odd that John wrote in such a manner that only a person who was familiar with both the English linguistic communication and mod American politics could rightly interpret his message!) In order to avert embarrassing interpretations like this one (and similar ones that seem to prevail in 2020), we must deal with the text's original context. Again, y'all can't simply jump to modern application without dealing with the historical context.

Scholars often acquaintance "the number of the animal" with Nero Caesar. In that location's actually skillful reason for doing so. For instance, nosotros know from Suetonius that many people were at the time toying with the numerical values of Nero'southward proper noun (Nero 39). This practice, known as gematria, took a alphabetic character of the alphabet and assigned information technology an equivalent number. Then, for instance, in the case of Greek, the starting time alphabetic character alpha would be given the number one. The second letter beta would be understood as ii, and then on. When you take Nero's proper name (Neron Kaisar) and transliterate it into Hebrew, the event is the number of the beast: 666. ¹⁰

The Paradigm of the Beast

Recall that in Revelation "the mark of the beast" is tied closely to the worship of the beast's epitome (Rev. xiii:xv; 20:iv). Since nosotros have a pretty adept idea about the identity of the brute, is in that location any other historical data we could wait to that would link the worship of the creature'south paradigm with the worship of Caesar'southward image? Once again, the reply is yeah. From the writings of Pliny, for example, we learn how professing Christians' organized religion were put to the test by having them worship the epitome of Caesar (Pliny, Letters, 10:96-97). ^xi

The emperor's paradigm was everywhere, specially on coins. Modernistic folks are used to this. In my country, images of former national leaders are on our coin. But Rome was slightly different. Caesar'south image would exist on coins forth with his merits to divinity. Quite literally, the emperor's boast that he was in some way "divine" was etched (dare I say marked?) on money, decrees, and the like. Ane scholar observes that, "One could do little in commerce . . . without handling such a 'marking,' because allusions to the emperor's divinity appeared on many coins and even shipping bills and other documents." ¹² During this time period, involvement in local economies would accept often required some sort of participation in heathen worship. For example, trade guilds oftentimes had feasts that centered effectually the worship of idols. If you were office of the society, then your participation in these feasts would have been compulsory—that is, but if y'all wanted to be able to purchase and sell. ¹³

Buying and Selling

What, and then, can nosotros conclude almost that "buy/sell passage"? When it comes to the beast, his marker, and the worship of the animate being'south epitome, the historical data seems to exist pointing u.s. in one direction: It'due south but a reference to how the imperial cult impacted one's participation in the local economy. If the "marking" is an allusion to the emperor's merits to divinity (symbolized on Roman coins, statues, images, etc.), then a person in the first century could genuinely be said to "accept the marking of the beast" by participating in the economy at the expense of their faith in Jesus. That last office is key. In other words, at certain times and in certain locations in the empire, the only way to be a skillful-standing denizen would have been to simply curse Christ and worship Caesar's image (come across again Pliny, Letters, 10:96-97). Again, this would have been a particular problem for Christians in Asia Minor. They would oftentimes detect it impossible to make a living and worship Christ exclusively.

Of form, a person could respond past saying, "Yes, but the text says the 'marker' is placed on the 'correct mitt or the forehead.' Does this not therefore necessarily imply a physical mark?" The reply is no. Craig Keener offers helpful thoughts on this point. He notes how "the marking of the beast" in Rev. 13 acts as a parallel to the "seal" that is placed on the foreheads of Christians in Rev. 7:3-4. This "seal" actually has an Former Testament basis, namely, in Ezekiel nine, where a "marking" was said to have been placed on the foreheads of God's people (Ez. 9:1-6). Keener also points to another Jewish text of the catamenia (known as the Psalms of Solomon) that describes a mark placed on evil people. He observes how the two marks in Ezekiel and the Psalms of Solomon are conspicuously "symbolic . . . visible just to God and his angels, not to people." ^xiv And and so information technology is quite reasonable to conclude that the mark of the beast, similar the seal of the Lamb, is also symbolic.

Then is the Vaccine the 666 Marking of the Beast?

Growing up, I never heard whatever of this stuff. I reckon that nigh people in my evangelical tradition oasis't either. Only without all the background information, people are being tossed to and fro past endless speculations and fears. Sadly, some people—many of them sincere Christians—are terrified that they will be forced to take the marker of the brute (no, it's not Bill Gates) in the virtually futurity. Could it be the vaccine? Is it a calculator fleck? What if I become tricked into taking it?

With these questions in mind, let me offer a few remarks about modernistic-24-hour interval application. Get-go, the historical data does non permit the states to call back the "marker of the beast" is something you can accidentally take. It's a marking of loyalty and worship, which requires full cognitive and heart-felt awareness of what you are doing (otherwise it's not worship). If there is some time to come mark imposed on people by some nefarious person, then to accept that marker, you'll know exactly what you are doing—namely, cursing Christ and pledging devotion to his enemy. Scripture and other aboriginal writings from that timeperiod indicate the states in this direction and, quite frankly, there isn't much elbowroom on this betoken (although yous can contend me in the comments, if you lot wish).

2nd, be conscientious and wise with how y'all apply these texts. Allow me give an example. Correct now, in my own country (and information technology's been this way for a long time), a person might find it very tricky and difficult to operate within our local economies without a government-issued social security number. Let me exist every bit clear as I possibly tin nigh this: In that location is no biblical reason to recall that accepting regime-mandated social security numbers is the equivalent of taking the marking of the beast. Whatever the current consequence may be (vaccines, SSN, scrap implants, SIM cards, etc), nosotros need to exist careful well-nigh confusing our personal and/or political convictions with the meaning of a biblical text. Some public policy ideas are good; some are terrible. Just either way, unless "They" require you to forsake your faith in Jesus every bit the exclusive object of your worship, They have no relation to the mark of the beast. Once more, given what we know near the historical context of these biblical texts, the "mark of the brute" must be tied back into worship if it is to be applied properly.

To take all of these things into account allows a much-needed moratorium on all the pointless anxiety and fear-mongering. The message of Revelation beckons the states away from angst and worry. It bids us to gaze upon the slain Lamb—to worship him with loyalty, devotion, and commitment. Permit's brand Christ our focus, not endless speculations that, at the end of the day, have very little to do with the bulletin of Revelation.

*Correction: An earlier version of this post stated that the Senate had a bill before information technology, when it is the House of Representatives.

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Comments? Leave them below. Likewise be sure to read Dr. Halsted'due south earlier article, Covid-xix and the Mark of the Beast.

1. I recently saw somebody construct a numerology from the word "COVID" that goes something like this:

   C =   3

   O = 15

   R = eighteen

   O = 15

   N = 14

   A =   ane

   half-dozen     66
   

2. Floyd O. Parker, "'Our Lord and God' in Rev 4,11: Bear witness for the Late Date of Revelation," Biblica 82, no. 2 (2001): 213–14.
3. Craig S. Keener, Revelation (The NIV Application Commentary; Thou Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 37.
4. See again Parker, "'Our Lord and God,'" 213–14. See also Tae Hun Kim "The Anarthrous Yios Theou in Mark xv,39 and the Roman Imperial Cult." Biblica 79, no. 2 (1998): 221–241.
5. Mark Wilson, "The Early Christians in Ephesus and the Date of Revelation, Again," Neotestamenica 39, no. 1 (2005): 171.
6. Duane Warden, "Imperial Persecution and the Dating of 1 Peter and Revelation," JETS 34, no. two (June 1991): 211.
7. Keener, Revelation, 37-38.
8. On Nero, run into Wilson, "The Early Christians," 177–78. On Domitian, come across Warden, "Imperial Persecution," 207–viii. Fifty-fifty taking into account Warden'south cautions about overplaying Domitian'south claims to divinity with respect to the dating of Revelation, his conclusions are even so insightful. See also Keener, Revelation, 37.
9. Wilson, "The Early Christians," 185.
10. Come across how the values work in Wilson, "The Early on Christians," 184. For a helpful introduction to "666," I recommend Keener, Revelation, 354–56.
11. Keener, Revelation, 351.
12. Keener, Revelation, 352.
13. Keener, Revelation, 353.
14. Keener, Revelation, 353.

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Source: https://academic.logos.com/the-covid-vaccine-has-666-written-all-over-it-and-why-that-doesnt-matter-according-to-revelation/

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