Idealist view[edit]
Idealism, also known as the
allegorical or
symbolic approach, is an interpretation of the book of Revelation that sees the imagery of the book as non-literal
symbols.
[51]
The idealist perspective on the number of the beast rejects
gematria, envisioning the number not as a code to be broken, but a symbol to be understood. Idealists would contend that because there are so many names that can come to 666 and that most systems require converting names to other languages or adding titles when convenient, it has been impossible to come to a consensus. Given that numbers are used figuratively throughout the book of Revelation, idealists interpret this number figuratively as well. The common suggestion is that because seven is a number of completeness and is associated with the divine, that six is incomplete and the three sixes are "inherently incomplete".
[52] The number is therefore suggestive that the Dragon and his beasts are completely inadequate. Another suggestion is that this number represents an individual's incomplete or immature spiritual state.
[53]
Futurist view[edit]
A
futurist view of the mark of the beast is that the rise of a
supranational currency (for example, the
euro) could be a hallmark of the
End Times and that the mark of the beast will be a sign on the forehead or on the right hand.
[54] Futurists (focused on the future) believe that the Revelation addresses primarily the
Second Coming of Christ and similar events at the time's end (1:7; 19:11–16; 22:11–12). Although many do find truth in these general assertions, this view does not take into account all historical views. (Ch. 2–5; 12:5–16).
[55]
Religious difficulties with a
world currency currently exist. According to the futurist view, to overcome the extant difficulties the Antichrist will use forced
religious syncretism[56] (i.e. amalgamations of different religions in the name of
counterterrorism and world economic stability) to enable the creation of the currency. Some interpret the mark as a requirement for all commerce to mean that the mark might actually be an object with the function of a credit card, such as
RFID microchip implants.
[57] In
Christianity, some believe the implantation of chips may be the imprinting of the mark of the beast, prophesied to be a requirement for all trade,
[58]and a precursor to the events of the second half of the
Book of Revelation.
[59][60]
From Wikipedia