Monday, 03 August 2009 02:00 | and posted in New Testament Letters
Revelation is a tragic example of how Christians can completely misinterpret the Bible. Popularised as a “road-map” of the end-times, traditional interpretations of Revelation have missed the politically subversive and damning critique of empire contained within its pages. One of the most obvious examples of this misinterpretation is that of the Beast’s mark* and number (666) found in Rev 13:16-18.
Beasts throughout the Bible are hideously twisted creatures that represent how far removed human empires are from God’s dream for humanity.** At the heart of any these empires is economics. If you can control people’s money you can control them. Therefore, the Romans setup an economic system whereby when you went to the market to buy or sell goods you first needed to give an acknowledgement that Caesar was your Lord.
All who offered worship to Caesar entered the market-place.
All who entered the market place received a mark.
Revelation calls this mark, the mark of the Beast.
Imagine if every time you or your parents went to a supermarket or corner shop or market place you had to worship a foreign leader before you were allowed to go in and buy food. Would you do it? If you didn’t where would you get food from?
When people are starving, naked and desperate they are usually more willing to compromise. They become less resistant to the rule of a foreign empire and more controllable...
But for John it's more than just about who we worship it's about the imagination and courage to change things. Empires misuse power. They kill all who resist and they encourage economics whereby the rich and privileged become richer while the poor become poorer. Accepting the mark was like giving up. It was the same as saying we cannot imagine another way to do this accept by going along with Empire's violent methods. It was like declaring that Empire, not Jesus, had won.
And John says, in no uncertain terms, do not accept the mark.***
The mark is anti-kingdom. Anti-Jesus. Anti-christ.
John says that people who refused the mark of the beast had another mark placed on them by God. I don't think John meant a physical mark, instead I think he's playing on the idea. He's saying that in God's kingdom there is an alternative economy at work. As Christians we are called to live in a different economic reality to that of empire.
I am incredibly challenged when I contemplate what John's message to the Church would be today. Would he say: "Refuse to buy products that were made in sweat-shops or were unfairly traded or whose production caused damage to the environment. By doing these things you are participating in Empire's abuse of power. Do not accept the logo of the beast." How many Christians would not be branded in this way?
That's the challenge of Revelation and it is not an easy or comfortable message. But it's a challenge we miss if take Revelation's chat about the mark of the best to concern a future event when in reality it's already happened...
P.S. You all want to know about the number of the beast as well don't you??
Well, drum roll please… 666 refers to Nero Caesar.
Letters in Hebrew all had a numeric value, and the letters of Nero Caesar add up: nrwn qsr = 50 + 200 + 6 + 50 + 100+ 60 + 200 = 666. Of course, as John said (Rev 3:18), it took some calculation but many in his original audience would have got there. John was using Nero Caesar as a example of the evil of the Empire.
FOOTNOTES:
* The mark of the Beast is mentioned in Revelation 13:16; 14:9-11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4
** In Revelation 13 both beasts represent the Roman Empire.
*** Check out Revelation 14:9-11 as an example of this.
