“And he causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, and he decrees that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six” (Revelation 13:16-18).

      Perhaps the main curiosity Christians have about the book of Revelation is to understand the “mark of the beast,” the number 666. This is not the main purpose of Revelation by any means, but it’s understandable that something this dramatic coming upon the whole world would be of such interest. After all, knowing what this mark is would mean knowing how this will be given to every person who wants to buy, sell, or trade on the earth, which for most these times would mean their survival. This will likely be the greatest test that those alive at this time will ever face, as this will reveal some of the ultimate issues in the hearts of all people.

      For this reason, we will focus on understanding this ultimate test for the next few weeks. Understanding the nature of this test—and how the mark will come—can be helpful in understanding other crucial elements of this vision. Even more so, understanding this can help us to know how we can strengthen ourselves in the Lord to stand in these times.

      Because of the way most information is conveyed in these times—and the busy nature of most people’s lives—it is understandable that “sound bites” are the primary way we want the information packaged. That’s not necessarily wrong, except for with the things of God. As we’re told in 1 Corinthians 2:10, “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” To receive practical knowledge of the things of God, or the important spiritual truths such as this ultimate test that comes upon the whole world, sound bites are not sufficient. We must receive this knowledge by the Spirit, because the real battle is going to be spiritual. We must know these truths by the Spirit—and as deeply as He compels us to know them—if we are going to be able to resist the great evil of the times and to stand.  

      So, for a time we need to not be concerned about the form the mark is coming in, whether a tattoo, implant, etc. Far more important is discerning the beast that is giving it. Taking the mark is not the real sin here, but this is the evidence that we have fallen to the ultimate sin of “worshiping the beast” in place of God. We could phrase this as “serving the beast,” and it is intent to deceive and dominate the world in place of serving God and His purposes. This will be the ultimate test at the end.

      For this reason, knowing the manner in which the mark is going to come is not as important as discerning the beast and not worshiping it by complying with its ways. As we’re told in Revelation 13:18, “Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.” Because man was created at the end of the sixth day of creation, six is considered to be the number of man, or mankind, in numerology. For this reason, many Bible prophecy scholars have considered this beast to be the consummation of what has come out of man that seeks to have us worshiping ourselves in place of worshiping God. This could be summed up as the philosophy of secular humanism. This may be true, and it could describe the most dominant makeup of the beast, but not all of it.

      In my studies of “the early church fathers”—whom I consider to be limited to those who learned from the Lord’s direct disciples, such as Peter and John—their insight into what John saw in his vision is the most convincing I’ve found in over 50 years of study. Their perspective on this is very different from modern eschatology, and I think it has already proven to be more accurate.

      Because there is considerable conflict between modern eschatology and that of the early church fathers, this will raise a lot of questions, but they are good ones that deserve to be addressed. If we follow the Spirit that “searches the depths,” we should not ever surrender our convictions without convincing, biblical evidence. That’s what we will seek in all things. So, for the next few weeks especially, we will not shy away from things that may not fit in with what is popularly taught, but I think we will find a solid basis for at least considering them.

© 2025 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.