Q: I am reading Urantia and just read your version/interpretation of what the mark of the beast is. It sounds logical IF you don’t take into account the whole account of Revelation and the book of Daniel and the beasts from the sea therein.

A:Thanks for your note to us here at TruthBook about the mark of the beast. If you are asking my opinion, it seems to me that your initial response is one you should heed; that the Urantia Book interpretation of this concept is logical.

When taken as part of the whole revelation of our planet’s history as laid out in The Urantia Book, this simple, understandable explanation of this “mark” does make logical sense. When we understand the repercussions of the Lucifer rebellion and the disastrous default of Adam and Eve, we are able to see more easily what this mark really is: “…the remnants of unfortunate heredity, unwholesome environment, and unspiritual planetary tendencies. The last remnants of the ‘mark of the beast…’ “

All of these remnants can be traced back to the Caligastia betrayal which set it all in motion; and The Urantia Book identifies Caligastia as “the devil.” So, if you want to settle your mind as to who the beast is, it is he. His calamatous actions greatly retarded mankind’s spiritual and physical progress, leaving all of us with this unfortunate “mark” which will be fully removed in our next life. In our present lives here, we all suffer in lesser or greater degree under this stain that has darkened our world.

And there are other logical and reasonable explanations in The Urantia Book about this idea, and a more logical interpretation of the book of Revelations as well, utilizing its concept of our Mansion World experience to come. For example, this one:

47:10.2 John the Revelator saw a vision of the arrival of a class of advancing mortals from the seventh mansion world to their first heaven, the glories of Jerusem. He recorded: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and those who had gained the victory over the beast that was originally in them and over the image that persisted through the mansion worlds and finally over the last mark and trace, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God, and singing the song of deliverance from mortal fear and death.” (Revelation 15:2)

And when we read Daniel and his fantastic visions, we cannot really know what he was seeing. His overall theme of the coming of the son of man greatly influenced John the Baptist, but these sea beasts and other creatures – and even the book’s authorship – might be interpreted by modern Biblical scholars in a different way. See this Wkipedia reference for some of that modern thought.

Jesus has this to say about what many regard as “sacred Scripture:”

159:4.9 “A false fear of sacredness has prevented religion from being safeguarded by common sense. The fear of the authority of the sacred writings of the past effectively prevents the honest souls of today from accepting the new light of the gospel, the light which these very God-knowing men of another generation so intensely longed to see.”

Jesus himself used Scripture liberally in his ministry, but he did not accept it all as truth; he understood that it was written by men with human flaws. He was careful to choose only those ideas which furthered his estavblishment of the kingdom, and the concept of a loving heavenly Father. Jesus always appealed to the mind of man as the “gateway” to the soul.

The point I want to make is that while there is much is Scripture that is good, and holy, and true, there is much that is not. And when we look for what is really true, we should remember that we have the gift of the Spirit of Truth to help us discern that truth – no matter where it may be found.

So, when we find a nugget of information that resonates in our logical mind as truth, we might be inclined to accept it, rather than to reject that resonance in favor of an ancient writing that was written for an ancient generation. We would do well to honor the findings of our logical mind, knowing that our mind is also influenced by that good Spirit who leads us into all truth, as well as the guidance of the Thought Adjuster.

But I cannot tell you what to believe or not to believe. and really, believing what constitutes the reality of the mark of the beast is not critical to your salvation. It is very interesting, however, and I personally find the teachings of The Urantia Book in this regard to be the most satisfying to my logical mind.

In the end, you can pray about it and ask God to guide you as you make choices about what is true and what is not.

Thanks again for writing; I hope that this reply is helpful to you.