Mark of the beast

A backgrounder on the “mark” | Jonathan Gainey

When the book of Revelation was written, emperor worship was in full swing. The emperor at this time was Domitian.

Domitian demanded that he be addressed as “God,” even by his wife.

Ephesus was a very important city during Domitian’s reign. It was a city in which many citizens of that era would do their shopping, and without being able to shop in Ephesus, a person and his or her family would be without many of their basic human needs. Before a person could shop, he or she was required to declare that Domitian is God at the public altar.

Once a person declared the deity of Domitian, he or she was required to participate in festivals, give an incense offering, and make sacrifices in honor of the deified emperor.

Other requirements included recognizing that the emperor was the provider of life before drinking from public water fountains.

By practicing all the requirements of paying homage to the emperor, the person was considered to have taken on the “mark” of the emperor. To accept Domitian as God and to follow his requirements was to take on the “mark of Domitian.”

The Jews of Domitian’s time nicknamed Domitian “the beast.”

Domitian also had a 35-foot statue that would be presented by his representatives wherever he went. This statue would be rolled out into the street and all the people present would pay homage to it by saying in loud voices, “Our Lord, our God, you alone are worthy of praise and honor and power.” The statue depicted a very muscular version of Domitian - who, in reality, was very obese.

Those who accepted Domitian as God were allowed to shop freely in the market place as they were considered to have taken the “Mark of the Beast.”

“And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no respite day or night - these who pay homage to the beast and to his image and whoever receives the stamp of his name upon him” (Revelation 14:11).

Writer: Capt. Jonathan Gainey was born in Jacksonville, FL in June, 1969. He has been married to Staci, the daughter of retired Salvation Army officers, for twenty years and they have four children ages 18, 16, 12, and 4. Jonathan was commissioned as an officer in June of 2002, and is currently serving in his third appointment in New Bern, NC, USA. He is working on a Masters of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is the creator and manager of the Flocks Diner website, where his passion for learning and teaching is expressed and shared through writing and a weekly podcast.

4 Comments to Mark of the beast

1. Captain,

   Thanks again for your research and insight. We recently did a study in our community on this very subject. We used a lot of resources that people could get from the local library (just in case they are skeptical of the Bible) and found your information to be absolutely accurate.

   It is interesting when history back ups a proper look at certain Scriptures and shatters the false ideas we have created for a doom and gloom, escapeism, end-time theology.

   I have thought that we should really look at the letter of Revelation not as the end-times so much as the in-times, specifically that it was a real place and time people were in.
Cory Harrison on March 12th, 2009

2. Interesting historical analysis, Johnny. But, if I could play “devil’s advocate” (pun intended), I’d contend that when he was writing the Revelation, John used a contemporary illustration to demonstrate a spiritual danger. By taking the mark of Domitian, citizens of Ephesus were pledging allegiance to the emperor and in fact deifying him. But in the same way, Scripture warns of future (and present) times when engaging in similar behavior signifies a similar allegiance or accepting the mark of the beast.

   Worship of anything or anyone other than the Almighty God is idolatry and has been warned against ever since Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets. By doing so, one buys into the lies of Satan. In essence, someone who engages in such idolatry is in effect taking the mark of “the beast,” Satan who is the father of all lies (John 8:44).

   I don’t know that you’re intending to weaken the danger of taking the “mark of the beast” as recorded in Revelation, but I wanted to share some of my thoughts.
Rob on March 12th, 2009

3. Rob,

   I agree completely. This article is an attempt to bring the writing of Paul into its historical context. The implication for us today, is to realize that we also pay homage to many beasts in order to be accepted. And we do this by giving to another that which only belongs to God–our devotion and worship.

   Thanks.

   Johnny
Johnny Gainey on March 12th, 2009

4. History repeats itself. In fact, it keeps repeating itself in cycles, with every new cycle coming closer to the ultimate extreme the prophets depict. Here’s a literary experiment: I wanted to describe, in a way understandable to laymen, what the End Times would be like if they were to arrive in the near future. The result is a free e-book, Walkabout: The History of a Brief Century. The Mark of the Beast is a central theme in the book, based on my background in electronic payment systems.
Gregory Greene on March 17th, 2009

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