"The two beasts of Revelation 13:
---and the second beast out of the earth, which will make an image to the first beast, meaning a Christian-but-really-pagan religious system enforced by enormous political power.
This second beast forces people to receive a mark:
It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.
Q: So what is this mysterious mark, our acceptance of which determines whether we will be allowed to buy or sell?
A: The mark being in the forehead or the hand symbolizes whether a person accepts the doctrine, teaching, or worldview behind the mark.
If someone does accept the teaching or doctrine, the mark is said to be in the forehead, the center of reason and critical thinking.
If the person rejects the teaching or doctrine, the mark is on the hand, which symbolizes action; in that case, the person has accepted the mark only to be allowed to buy and sell, to participate in the money economy."
David Read/Fulcrum7
