What is the Mark of the Beast on the Forehead vs the Hand?

[Hobie]

We see what Revelation says of the Mark of the Beast and his image..

Revelation 14:9-10
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

The book of Revelation uses symbols to teach spiritual lessons. The use of the word hand is symbolic for our works and the forehead is symbolic for what we believe, because its the part of the mind where decisions takes place and moral choices are made. Those who are condemned in the end will either have the Mark of the Beast on their forehead or on their hand.

The conflict is between the religious/political entity of the Antichrist as we see in Revelation 13, where Satan, represented by the Dragon, empowers the beast to enforce its false worship which is symbolized by a mark, a name, which is represented by the number 666, on the foreheads and hands of their followers. Thus, we can see the mark, name, and number of the beast, represent the nature of the false worship promoted by them, whether in the mind (forehead) or actions (hands) of the followers.

Revelation 13:4
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

So you have the true worship of God, and the false worship of the Dragon and the Beast power and its supporters. In other words, those who have the mark on their forehead will be worshiping the Beast and its Image which is rising. They will stand up for the false worship of the apostate entity and follow it by doing what it asks, or really are deceived and believe its false doctrines and teachings. Those who have the mark on their hand may not be truly worshiping the Beast but they follow it nonetheless, they may even be speak against some of its teaching or false worship, but their works will be in line with the beliefs and practices of the Dragon and the Beast power. As they say you may talk the talk, but do you walk the walk..

James 1:25
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

The context of the text reveals the difference between those who have the Mark of the Beast as they follow it and its Image and the Dragon behind it, and will find themselves losing eternal life, and those who truly follow God and will be in His kingdom.

 

[mattfivefour]

Respectfully, my friend, I think the English translations have opened up a bit of confusion regarding the "or" in Revelation 14:9 and this has led you down a false trail.

In English the word "or" can certainly be interpreted as a disjunctive: in other words one thing or the other, a choice between two things. This has led you to view there being a difference between receiving the mark on your forehead or receiving it on your hand. But the original Greek makes it clear that there is no difference in effect of whether you receive it upon the forehead or upon the hand.

The Greek clause reads this way: "... καὶ λαμβάνει χάραγμα ἐπὶ τοῦ μετώπου αὐτοῦ, ἢ ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ..." In English it literally reads "... and received a mark upon the forehead of him or either upon the hand of him ... " The word ἢ (pronounced ay) can be rendered by a number of English words, especially "or" ... but not necessarily "or" in the disjunctive sense, by which I mean not in the sense of one thing as opposed to another. In the particular grammatical context of the above phrase, a Greek-speaker of John's era would have understood it in an alternate rather than disjunctive sense-- that is to say, the mark could equally be received in one of two places (the forehead or the hand) with no differentiation between the two locations in terms of significance.

Here's a modern example: let's say you're at the office and someone borrows the storage locker key from you to get some supplies. You could tell that person, "When you're done you can give me the key back or leave it on my desk." There's no difference in significance between the two alternate locations for return of the key: you're simply giving them a choice of where to return it. In the same way, John is merely stating that the mark (which, by the way, means an engraving or an impressed mark) can be received on either the forehead or the hand. In no way does the location indicate any difference in significance (any more than the location of the return of the key in my example.)

It is very dangerous to try to build doctrine on an interpretation of a word, especially when that word is in an isolated verse. Bible truths are never found in dark corners but always out in the open where they will eventually be seen at the exact moment the Holy Spirit chooses to reveal them to us ... along with all of the other scriptures that support the thing He has finally shown us.

I hope this helps.