This is a much broader question than can be justified with a few verses from the OT. That said, a short answer to your question:
"Some have found the background for the mark of the beast in the Jewish practice of wearing tephillim or phylacteries. These were leather boxes containing Scripture passages (cf. Ex. 13:9, 16; Deut. 6:8; 11:18; Matt. 23:5) worn either on the left arm (facing the heart) or on the forehead. The mark of the beast, however, was to be placed on the right hand." (Storms, 2018, "Perplexing Passages: What Is the Mark of the Beast in Revelation 13?", https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/perplexing-passages-what-is-the-mark-of-the-beast)
To slightly expand:
In general, there are two broad orthodox eschatologies that would hold Revelation as largely symbolic. The first is postmillenniallsm and the second is amillennialism.
Postmillenialism holds that the events of Revelation have largely already occurred, with the exception of the return of Christ. (There are some small branches of postmillennial thought that believe that Christ has already returned, however this view is regarded as heterodoxical or heretical by nearly everyone else.) The most prominent writers advocating this view are probably Kenneth Gentry and Gary DeMar. The gist of this eschatology is that the church is going to grow and grow in holiness, influence, numbers, etc. until the church age culminates in the physical return of Christ who then takes ultimate dominion. Gentry's book "He Shall Have Dominion" (appropriately enough) is a good introduction to this eschatological view.
Amillennialism holds that the thousand-year reign is itself symbolic (a thousand being a common approximation in Scripture, c.f. 1 Pet. 3:8) along with much of the rest of Revelation. This is a complex and nuanced view, but is rooted in the notion of a Christ-centered biblical theology. Key writers here are G. K. Beale (who I know to be a favorite of Tom's; he's one of mine as well), Cornelius Venema, William Hendrickson, and many others. This is a MUCH more popular view than postmillennialism. As an introduction, I would personally recommend Hendrickson's book "More Than Conquerers" or G.K. Beale's shorter commentary on Revelation. There are a number of books that would provide helpful background context, such as "God Dwells With Us" by G.K. Beale and Mitchell Kim. In general, the amillennial view is deeply rooted in the belief that the Bible tells a single Christ-centered story from the beginning of Genesis until the consummation of Revelation. All of these books (postmil and amil) will provide a broader understanding of how some of the imagery in Revelation can be interpreted in the context of the Bible's broader story.
Hope that helps. |
[Insert Acts Pun Here] Posts: 13654 7/11/20 6:36 pm
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