Futurism

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Revelation
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Futurism is an interpretation of the book of Revelation which sees that the symbols refer to particular persons and events in the future. This view recognizes that the book refers to itself as a prophecy and that it contains references to events that are clearly future, most notably the return of Christ. This viewpoint is adopted by Dispensationalism and has become deeply rooted in American Evangelical churches.

Futurism interprets the beast from the sea to represent a revived Roman empire that will oppose Christians in the last days. Futurists would admit the symbolic ties to Rome and would interpret that the recovery from the fatal head wound would refer to a revival of this empire in the last days. It is usually understood that this revived empire will be ruled by the Antichrist, though some refer to the beast as the Antichrist. Futurist scholars, such as John Walvoord, identify this beast not as the individual ruler but as the revived Roman empire, noting that the reference to Rome’s seven hills and the connection to the beasts in Daniel seven indicate that the beast represents a kingdom.

Futurism interprets the beast from the earth, or false prophet, as the future head of the apostate church or as a future expression of false religion in general.

Interpretation of the mark or number of the beast is similar to the idealist view suggesting that the number six refers to imperfection, falling short of the divine number seven.

Alternative views

Aleister Crowley claimed that he was the Beast prophesied in Revelation and took the name Το Μέγα θηριον (To Mega Therion), Greek for “The Great Beast”, which adds up to 666 by isopsephy, the Greek form of gematria.

During the New Deal, some ministers identified the Congress of Industrial Organizations as a “Sign of the Beast.”  Outside of black churches, twentieth century evangelism in America tended to regard labor unions as the mark of the beast, although evangelism originally worked to eliminate class distinctions.

Some identify the Beast with a supercomputer in Brussels, Belgium. However, author Joe Musser attributes the origin of this urban legend to his 1970 novel Behold, a Pale Horse and to an ad campaign promoting the movie The Rapture  which featured the Brussels-based supercomputer. This ad campaign consisted of make-believe newspapers containing “reports” on various aspects of the movie. Musser speculates that stories subsequently run in an unnamed Pennsylvania newspaper and a 1976 issue of Christian Life magazine were mistakenly based on these ads.

Several websites identify the beast as referring to an indistinct modern-day cartel of banking organizations, sometimes referred to as the “New World Order”. The theory extends to the digitization of money and the possible use of RFID chips in humans as being the mark of the beast without which none may buy or sell. An example of this is consumer privacy advocates, Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre, who believe spychips must be resisted because they argue that modern database and communications technologies, coupled with point of sale data-capture equipment and sophisticated ID and authentication systems, now make it possible to require a biometrically associated number or mark to make purchases. They fear that the ability to implement such a system closely resembles the number of the beast prophesied in the Book of Revelation.

Various Christian anarchists, such as Jacques Ellul, have identified the State and political power as the beast in the Book of Revelation.