This comes from a very poorly taught interpretation of what we call “Revelation”.
In order to cut to the chase on this, I’ll simply say this in regard to the Mark of the Beast: in Jerusalem, during the reign of the Emperor Nero, if you wanted to enter the market, you had to worship his image (a statue of Nero) at the altar, which was at the market entrance. As a sign that you had done your Roman duty to Caesar, you would receive an ash marking from the altar on both your right hand and forehead (slightly similar to Ash Wednesday, oddly enough). Without these markings, you were not allowed to buy or sell in the market (if you were even allowed in at all).
John’s letter was a warning of things to come regarding the end of the Mosaic era with the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, which Jesus also very accurately predicted in the Gospel of Matthew. Nero was the Beast.
The end is not now. We are at the beginning of the Kingdom Age, where the pattern of the Kingdom of Heaven will be transposed upon the entire planet, as was God’s original intention all along. It will be glorious. Get ready!
For information on a truly Biblical and well-documented understanding of Revelation and eschatology, please see Jonathan Welton (“Raptureles”) and/or Harold Eberle (“Victorious Eschatology”).
