John tells us in Revelation 13:16-17 that the beast, that is, the false prophet (the second beast) caused everyone “small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads.” This mark (charagme – G5480) was a license to carry on life as usual in the land of the beast (the land of the Jews). Except for Acts 17:29, this Greek word is used only in the Apocalypse for the mark given man in his forehead or upon his right hand (Revelation 13:16-17; 14:9, 11; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4), eight occurrences in all.
In Acts 17:29 Luke uses the word to record Paul’s statement to the Greeks that man ought not to perceive the Godhead, as something carved (G5480) by the art of man. In this context, then, the mark is something the false prophet has carved in the foreheads or on the right hand of men. The question arises then, is the mark literal, that is, can it be seen with the eyes and touched with our hands, or is the mark spiritual in nature, like knowing how to drive a car? Knowing how to drive is something that is “in” our foreheads that causes our hands and feet to act as they do, when we manipulate our vehicle. If this is a logical explanation, then it is the false prophet’s doctrine that was learned, believed and practiced by the folks who accepted what he said as coming from God.
I find it interesting that nearly the same phrase is found in Exodus 13:9, 16. There, the Lord tells his people that the feast of the Passover would be a memorial between the eyes of his people, and they would speak about it, remembering that “with a strong hand hath the LORD brought you out of Egypt” (see also Deuteronomy 6:8 and 11:18). Moses put the phrase in the context of “teaching” one’s children what the Lord did for his people in taking them out from under the bondage of Egypt.
In the context of Revelation 13:16 the mark, which was given folks on their right hand and in their forehead, meant the false prophet taught the Jews of his day what he wanted them to think, as that pertained to the image to the beast. This doctrine was believed and put into practice. That is, the mark was what one believed (in the forehead), as taught by the false prophet. The evidence of the mark was seen in what one practiced or did (with the right hand). If one’s life was lived in obedience to the doctrine of the false prophet, that one had the mark.
A mark is something that identifies a thing or a person. For example, in the next chapter of the Apocalypse, the 144,000 had the Father’s name written in their foreheads (Revelation 14:1). The Father’s name is a mark that identified the 144,000. In the context of Revelation 13 the mark pointed to one who belonged to the beast. Since the mark on one’s right hand and in one’s forehead referred to a mental matter that has power over what one believed and did, how would having the mark enable one to “buy and sell” and not having the mark prevent one from doing so?
In the context of first century AD Judaism, buying and selling had to do with the business of one’s faith, or how one lived as a Jew. It concerned going to synagogue, worshiping in the Temple, and participating in the memorials of the faith involved in the Sabbath and the annual feast days. If one didn’t have the mark that one was unable to buy and sell. In other words, anyone not conceding to the doctrine of the false prophet would be excommunicated from Judaism, cast out of the synagogues of the Land (cf. John 12:42-43), and no longer be considered a Jew, having no inheritance in the Land. Under such circumstances, one’s property could be seized and sold or given to another (cf. Hebrews 10:33-34). Such a Jew would have no rights, as a Jew, in the land of his fathers.
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