Mark of the Priest or Mark of the Beast

The Necessity of Character

One of the tragedies of much current Biblical proclamation is the loss of the call to character. “Just believe,” we often hear, “and you’ll be justified.” That proclamation is true . . . at least essentially . . . and I hope it is preached on Sundays. Justification by faith places a person in right standing with God, but here’s a caveat: the faith that justifies is the faith that also transforms a person. By means of a person’s faith God gives a measure of character (in this context, I mean Christlike, or godly character).

Consider the necessity of character in our daily lives. Where would any of us be if our character were lost? Our parents, if we have or had good parents, raised us with love, and love is the preeminent characteristic (from the word character) of all that is good. Marriage cannot last without love. Friendships cannot last without love. Indeed, love is a type of glue that holds human beings and our relationship with God together. The Christian call is a call to the good. It is a call to Christlike character.

Two Options

The above being said, there is so much more to discover and reflect upon. The word “character” originally carried the idea of being marked by a stamping tool. (Look up the word’s etymology if you like.) In other words, our character is our mark. (People are watching you!)

There are two options for human beings here:

First we could be like Aaron the high priest that we read about in the book of Exodus. Exodus is the story of God’s people Israel being delivered from slavery in Egypt, but it’s also about God making His people holy so they could be in God’s presence. So we read about Aaron the high priest and how he was required to wear a turban on his forehead:

Exodus 28:36   “You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the LORD.’ 37 And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. 38 It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.

Since Christians are priests to God (see 1 Peter 2:5; Revelation 1:6), we also, just like Aaron, come into God’s presence marked by these words: “Holy to the Lord.” Holiness is our character – our mark. (Perhaps this is a good time to stop and reflect about the life of Jesus deep within you. How has His work on the cross and His presence made you holy? Are you different?)

The second option is revealed to us in the book of Revelation as the mark of the beast:

Rev. 14,9   And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand . . . .” (In this context, the image of hand is a way of referencing Satan’s will.)

“But Paul, I always understood that passage in Revelation literally!” a person might be saying. “I thought the mark of the beast was in future somewhere – like receiving some sort of microchip or something.” If you’ll let me respond, sometimes we read passages literally, in a sincere effort to be faithful to the text, and miss the writer’s intention. Revelation 14:9 is a great example of such an error. “Forehead” points to a person’s disposition to or away from God, and “hand” points to someone putting his or her will into action. So the mark of the beast is the mark of unbelief in Jesus Christ. I cannot overemphasize how important this point is in an attempt to understand John’s intention in Revelation. People who do not believe in Jesus have a mark that God reads. They are disposed away from God and they put unbelief into action. These two things characterize their lives.

God gives freedom

Given the above, the options couldn’t be more clear, and as we will discover more clearly in the next post, we are given a freedom to choose. “Freedom?!” a person might say. “Paul, you’re telling us that God gives us freedom?” A biblical view of freedom is absolutely essential if we are going to understand how God works in the world. Freedom makes us accountable. It also provides a framework by which godly, Christlike character can be developed. Without freedom we cannot change, for without freedom we cannot love.

More in the next post . . .