When Jesus spoke to John on Patmos the servants of God were being persecuted for their belief; John himself had been exiled to the Island of Patmos for his defense of the Word of God. It would get exponentially worse in the centuries to come. Jesus’ words were sent to encourage, comfort, and bolster faith. He revealed to them events to come to pass from that day till he would return to the earth. Now there was trouble, but soon would come joy when He would stand again on this earth and with him an assembly of saints having their Father’s name written in their foreheads. As Jesus foretold, his servants would soon be caught up in an intense struggle against a powerful, deceitful and apostate religious system. This was to be a battle between the one true God and that man of sin. It was a battle for the minds of men. Where would their allegiance lie? Today the battle goes on; we too are involved in a struggle against sin. We might ask ourselves, where does our allegiance lie?
Jesus used the example of the forehead to present this struggle. He spoke of those who had their Father’s Name written in their foreheads and those who have the mark of the beast or Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots written on their foreheads. The forehead is often used as a symbol of mental and spiritual vision, a symbol of the mind; many Bible dictionaries describe it as “the seat of understanding.” In the Scriptures the forehead was often used to make a distinction between good and bad.
Jeremiah 3:3 speaks of some who have a whore’s forehead and refused to be ashamed. In Ezekiel the angel was told to go throughout the city and set a mark upon the forehead of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that were being done in the city (9:4). He told other angels to go throughout the city and to slay all, but to come not near any man upon whom is the mark. This was likely not a mark visible to men but a marking in recognition of these individuals’ disgust and avoidance of all of the immorality and godlessness going on around them. Like Lot, they vexed their righteous souls daily upon seeing these things, and it was noted by their Heavenly Father. His law was impressed upon their minds and the Lord, who knows the thoughts and intents of the heart, knew those that were His and spared them. In Ezekiel 3 we see another example where the Lord made Ezekiel’s forehead strong against the foreheads of those whom He said were impudent and hard headed.
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Author: Larry Millay
Keywords: Forehead, Mark of the Beast, 666, Six six six, Six hundred sixty six
Bible reference(s): Exodus 28:36-38, Jeremiah 3:3, Ezekiel 9:4, Revelation 14:1, Revelation 14:8-9, Revelation 13:16-17
Source: “Written In Their Foreheads,” The Christadelphian Advocate (Richmond), April 2011, pp. 98-100.
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