Mark of the Beast

It seems fairly plausible to me, that the “Mark of the Beast” indeed did mean money. As Nero was known as The Beast, and had his face marked on the coins used by everyone. “And that no one should be able to buy or sell, except the one having the imprint, or the name of the beast or the number of his name.” (Revelations 13:17 [ABP]) going onto establish that the wise will look for the number of a man his being 600 60 6.

If we expect the answer to be only in the pages of scripture, we will likely be blind to the world around us and its many nuances. Thus we will be blind to the nuances of the scripture itself. And so with that said, I suggest we interpret the fact Nero was known as the beast as a lens to understand the references and symbology.

Nero that man of the number 600 60 6, establishes himself to be the Beast in two ways we’ve just touched. This transfers onto currency as through scripture in 13:17 wherein it is established none shall buy or sell without his imprint.

Hold onto your hats, cause I’ll probably lose some of you on this next bit. We’ve established money as part of the fulfillment of Revelations 13 but we have Nero established as The Beast. Which would mean a whole bunch of problems such as the signs in revelations being present ~2000 years ago. Well, what is different about then and now? Easy.

A global economy established on a foundation of neoliberal capitalism; let the markets [capital, or wealth] decide what is good, just, moral, and correct. That is primarily what is different. The global scale, and the foolish faith in markets to achieve humanity’s ideals.

We still have a problem though. We’ve established Nero as the beast. I would actually suggest instead, we have a strong case for money itself being The Beast in the modern interpretation of the symbology. Which is actually to say we have two interpretations past and present. The past being Nero and his mark on humanity. The present being money and its mark on humanity. It could not be said that the entire world was obeying money in the past, but the known world practically obeyed Nero. Now I’m not sure there are many souls left who don’t obey money to some degree.

“And they did obeisance to him, all the ones dwelling upon the earth, whose [2has not been written 1name] in the book of the life of the lamb, of the one having being slain from the founding of the world.” (Revelation 13:8 [ABP])

I dare say we all obey money. Except those who have minimized its influence in their lives to such an extent that they are but a breath and a step away from living without.

Let’s step farther and consider the historic march of greed. We don’t need to invoke secret cults or societies to make a case here. Within the last 40 years, the top 1% of earners have seen their share of global wealth grow from around 25% in 1980 to over 45% today, while the bottom 50% own less than 10%. Wealth accumulation has outpaced economic growth, reinforcing structures where money—and those who control it—govern the flow of resources, opportunities, and even political power. There is a lot more to be said on the subject of wealth inequality and growth from the perspective of history.

I think it intuitively makes sense that the more money an entity collects, the less there will be for others which.. because some people can’t afford lunch or breakfast.. more money will need to be printed which will ultimately devalue the lowest unit currency available. So, we presently find ourselves at risk of hyperinflation if we don’t address taxation alongside the welfare state and social systems.

So, money has remained over the years much like secret societies. One may only imagine how the Roman Imperial Cult may have reorganized after the fall of the empire. These would have been the wealthiest families in the entire world second [perhaps!] only to monarchies. It is an interesting idea that they, and their families may have and perhaps continue to propagate certain ideologies or structures of power and control. They most certainly would have exerted any influence and power over the Roman church while the empire flourished. We can only muse on the ways in which they corrupted the Bible and attempted to manipulate God’s word.

I would suppose their efforts were purely to enable more power and control, some verses in Romans may perhaps make a lot more sense in that light.

If we extrapolate a bit farther and note the spirit of money. The spirit of money, I think we can all agree, is [at least partially] to collect more of it so that “I” can spend more even if only on food.

I think, if we are to read Revelations 13 through this lens, we must concede that those who worship greed shall not have their names in the Book of Life. As to what that means, I don’t dare preach or suggest because, I do not know. Nor do I have any intuition for what that could mean.

It does seem quite well to align with edicts from God. Do not covet that which belongs to your neighbour [others]. Why did I bring this up? A big incentive for many people is to have better possessions than an other. For some it is a way of maintaining superiority. For others it is a way to attract others. For those who do not covet, they have surely found the heaven within and without and they surely find they want for nothing. They indeed need no thing, they need nothing. In it they find themselves and God. It is there, in this void, that they bask in God’s love like the earth does the sun.

If money is indeed the mark of the beast, as it applies to any modern interpretation of the symbology. Then, we can presume that particular condition to be met. I dare say we know the season of His coming. I won’t dare to get into all the possible ways His coming may come to pass, or how none of us truly know.

I do dare say we are in the season.