Esther and The Mark of the Beast

Being a Christian in a Hostile World

As Christians, we find that we are always caught between two worlds. On the one hand, we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Yet, at the same time, we are living in this world. The ever present challenge before us is, how do we live as citizens of the kingdom of heaven while we are living in a world that rejects heaven’s rule? Christians have struggled with this question for two thousands years and have come up with a variety of answers. If you want to see the classic treatment of this question, check out Richard Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture.

While Niebuhr outlines several different positions, most Christians vacillate between two: withdrawing from culture (what Niebuhr calls “Christ against culture”) and compromising with culture (what Niebuhr calls “Christ of culture”). Both of these responses are based on a fear of culture and both involve abdicating our mission and responsibility as Christians.

In reflecting on this, I believe that most suburban Christians (of which I am one)—even those who are theologically conservative—have gravitated towards compromise with the culture. We have sold out in very subtle ways. I believe this is because we have forgotten that the world is hostile to the kingdom of God.

Meaning of the term “World”

Before I go on, let me clarify one point. The Bible uses the term “world” in several different ways. In one sense, the world refers to God’s creation. In this sense, the world is good, but fallen. This is the world that Jesus came to redeem. God so loved this world that He gave His only begotten Son. Since God loves the world, so should we. Jesus is about the mission of saving the world, of making all things new. As Christians, we are called to join Him in this work of loving and redeeming the world.

Another way the Bible uses the world is to refer to the anti-God system, or, what might even be called “The present evil age.” In this second sense of the term “world”, we must recognize that we are at war with the world. It is opposed to God. It is in this sense of the term “world” that James reminds us that “friendship with the world is hatred towards God.”

Obviously, there is some overlap in these two terms. The world is God’s good creation, but it is fallen. In its fallen state, it is hostile towards God. Our mission is to redeem the world by “taking every thought captive”, etc..

In using the term “world” primarily in this second sense, I believe that many of us have forgotten that the world is a hostile place. If we are faithful to our God, we will find that the world opposes us. Here is where Esther and the Mark of the Beast fit in.

Esther and 666

What in the world does Esther have to do with 666, the mark of the beast? A great deal. In the story of Esther, we find a Jewish girl struggling with maintaining her Jewish identity while living in the Persian Empire. At first, in order to get along, she hides her identity (Esther 2). She doesn’t reveal to anyone her nationality. As long as she does this, she is safe from harm. However, there comes a point when she must decide; is she a Jew or is she merely a Persian? In order to get along successfully in her world, it seems she must be a Persian. If she identifies herself with the people of God, then that could mean death.

The Mark of the Beast

Here is where the story of Esther connects with 666. In Revelation 13, we meet the Beast (actually 2 beasts, but our focus is on the second). This is one of the most familiar and scary parts of the Bible. The beast comes to power. No one sees him for the hideous creature that he is. He deceives everyone. Then, we read these words:

Revelation 13:16-18 ⁶ He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, ¹⁷ so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. ¹⁸ This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.

Doesn’t that give you chills? The mark of the beast has been grist for the rumor mill throughout the ages. In recent years, people have speculated that the mark would be a bar code imprinted on our hands, or a computer chip implanted under our skin. Some groups are suspicious of Social Security numbers and cards, suspecting that they may be the mark of the beast.

People enjoy talking about the mark of the beast and offering up conspiracy theories in the same way that they enjoy a good ghost story. It is sort of fun to be spooked a little. However, if we focus on some sort of physical fulfillment of this prophecy instead of interpreting it in light of Scripture, we will miss the point. The result will be that we fear a false danger while the real danger goes undetected.

The idea of having a mark on one’s hand and head is not novel to the book of Revelation. In Bible days, slaves often bore the mark of their masters. We also find a similar symbol in the Old Testament in the book of Deuteronomy. The first person to command us to have a mark on our hands and our head was not the beast, but Moses.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 - ⁶These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (NIV)

When the Pharisees of Jesus day read this, they took it literally. So, they wrote the law of God on little scrolls and put them in boxes on their hands and heads called phylacteries. Every evangelical commentator would say that the Pharisees missed the point. I know of no Christian who believes we should literally write the law of God on our hands and head. God was not telling the Israelites to put little scrolls on their heads and on their hands. Rather, he was saying that the law of God was to be in all their thinking (head) and all their actions (hand).

Given this understanding of Deuteronomy, we now have a biblical framework within which to understand this symbol in Revelation 13. God is not warning the early church (or us) against barcodes and computer chips. He is warning us that the beast will demand that we think and act like the beast. If we do not think like the beast and act like the beast, then we will not succeed in the world.

So, we have two different systems for living. You can either think and act biblically (Deuteronomy 6) or you can think and act like the world (Revelation 13). The problem is, the world is hostile to the kingdom of God. So, in order to get ahead in the world (Revelation 13:17), you must accommodate yourself to the culture of this world. This is what Esther was experiencing. If she obeyed Deuteronomy 6, she would never get ahead and possibly even die.

We experience that same tension much of the time. Even though we are citizens of the kingdom of God, we are tempted to live as citizens of this world because we long to be comfortable, safe, and enjoy the good things this world has to offer. To be faithful to God often involves sacrifice and standing in opposition to the world.

Jesus warned us of this in John 15:18-19:

John 15:18-19 - "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (NIV)

James tells us of this same problem in James 4:4

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (NIV)

This is a very long way of saying, we should not be surprised to find it difficult to live out our faith in the current age. Remaining faithful to our citizenship in heaven will always involve sacrifice. It will always involve hardship. However, we can live a life without compromise and with great joy because we know that the Beast does not win. Jesus does. When Jesus wins, we share in the victory.