666 – MARK OF THE BEAST
This is going to be a two part series because of the nature of the subject so we can get clarity. For we shall be looking at the beast, mark and number 666 from a very broad perspective.
Rev.13: 11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Such a scary number that is most preached about, when men are to scare others into submission to their religious faith.
Men have said it’s the computer bar codes on products, others an individual that shall rise up on the face of the Earth, microchips in human bodies, like the current Bill Gate vaccines, and yet others, maybe the Idi Amin Dada of Uganda, Henry Kissinger, Hitler, Saddam Hussein when they were alive, Barack Obama etc. etc, then, manifesting as the Anti-Christ. But just what is this Number 666?
Let me quickly say this, if this Number 666, is that of the beast, the antichrist, then the first person to have revealed the Antichrist is king Solomon. You want to know why? Look at it.
1 Kgs. 10: 14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, 666” You see it?
Could it have being that king Solomon was the dreaded Antichrist we are looking for? So there must be something beyond what we see in the scriptures.
Anyway, let us start with this scripture.-666.
Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast. Rev. 13:17 speaks of the name of the beast. It has, then, a name. It also speaks of the number of its name. Its name, then, is some number.
(Rev. 13:17) is the number of a man, and that number is six hundred and sixty-six.
It is, plain that the number six hundred and sixty-six is the number of the name of the beast, and this is the man’s name. Six hundred sixty-six is English.
John did not write in English, hence those words in English will not give the word we seek. “666” are the Arab characters for the numbers, and Roman Numerals.
Look at this;–
Diocles Augustus (Dioclesian) = ……. DCLXVI. (666)
C. F. Julianus Ceasar Atheus (the Apostate) = ….. DCLXVI. (666)
Luther — HEB? = 200+400+30+6+30 = … 666
lpostathv (the Apostate) = 1+80+70+6+1+300+8+200 = .. 666.
HEB (Roman, sc. Sedes) = 200+6+40+10+10+400.. 666.
HEB (Romanus, sc. Man) = 200+40+70+50+6+300 = .. 666.
Neron Caesar = 50+200+6+50, and 100+60+200 = ….. 666.
If the number means the Anth-christ, so how many Anti-christs do we have here right now? Because more than one person has their name’s numbered up to 666.You see what I mean?
Again in the NT in Acts 19: 25 we are told
“Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth “
The Greek word for wealth here is “EUPHRIA” from which when translated totals 666. Just like Solomon’s wealth was 666.
Note again, that out of all the 2,000 Greek Nouns of the NT, there is only one word that has this numerical value, 666, the word is PARADOSIS translated as TRADITION.
“Why do thy disciples transgress the TRADITION of the eiders…” Matt. 15:2.That is 666.
So we see that wealth and tradition equals 666.Anti-christ?
And of course we do know that wealth and tradition were the two great ‘corrupters of the Roman Church, which have also crept into the Pentecostal Churches today and now in the Apostolic movement if you will.
Now, while wealth corrupts in practice and honesty, tradition corrupts in doctrine.
So you see, there is a lot more in the language of the Bible to the application of the number 666 than just a man’s name.
It is completely figurative and speaks more to carnal man as opposed to the spiritual man in Christ.
THE BEAST AS POLITICAL GOVERNMENTS OR A GROUP OF PEOPLE.
The application of the word “BEAST” to political government is clearly seen in the book of Daniel.
Dan.7: 1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.
2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
Now see the meaning. “THESE GREAT BEASTS, WHICH ARE FOUR, ARE FOUR KINGS, WHICH SHALL ARISE OUT OF THE EARTH” (amongst mankind) Dan 7:17. And these four beasts are the four successive political world powers of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome.
Evidently, however a careful comparison of the image of Daniel’ chapter 2 and that of chapter 7 shows that they are the same except that they are only represented in chapter 7 in their beastly characteristics. So you have the head of Gold – LION Babylon (Ezk. 17:3, 7, 12, 15) describing the greedy and predatory power of the king of Babylon. (2) Silver – a BEAR – Medo-Persia (A less majestic and more ponderous creature than the Lion). (3) Brass – LEOPARD – Greece. (4) Iron-dreadful, terrible-diverse beast – Rome.
From the above we can see that the use of the word BEAST which in Hebrew means – alive, hence raw (flesh) strong, company, congregation, life, multitude, troop etc and in Greek, a dangerous animal (venomous wild beast), destruction etc, speaks of a fierce, destructive, strong political or religious power that is resisting the course of Christ in the world.
In 1 Cor. 15: 32, Paul said, “ If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not?
This I believe to mean a group of people revealing their Antichrist qualities against the Gospel.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE “SEVEN HEADS” “TEN HORNS” and “TEN CROWNS”
Rev.13:1 ¶ And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Throughout the Bible “HEAD “is a symbol of AUTHORITY, whereas “HORN” is used as suggestive of a DESTRUCTIVE POWER and CROWNS are the badges of royal dominion. And again, SEVEN and TEN are commonly acknowledged as Biblical symbols of completeness. Meaning that the whole picture speaks of the complete destructive power of Satan that he exerts over the nations and tongues through men.
THE NUMBER OF HIS NAME: 666-REV.13:17-18
Rev.13: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. (KJV)
For us to understand the “NUMBER of the NAME” of the “Beast” we have to understand the biblical application of numbers.
The Hebrews for instance used the arithmetical and the various Mathematical computations as addition, subtraction, multiplication etc. in doing transactions, wherein the numbers are spelt out. The Jews started using some extent, the alphabetical letters as symbols of numerical figures, sometime after the exile to Babylon, but it is a fact that this usage does not appear even in post-exile Hebrew Bible manuscripts.
In Hebrew, numbers above ten are a combination of words e.g. twelve (two and ten-Gen.l4:4) 20 is a plural of ten while 30 is a plural of words derived from three etc.
On the other hand, in the NT Greek scriptures, numerals are generally expressed in words.
The number of the beast in question is in words in the Sinatic and Alexandrine manuscript, but in John’s original manuscripts of the book of Rev. it may have been expressed by three Greek letters Khi (x = Six hundred) xi (Sixty) and Digamma (S=Six). “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred three score and six” Rev. 13:18.
Since the bible is a book of both history and prophecy, it becomes necessary to understand that numbers given therein may either be literal or symbolic. The context is what usually reveals in which sense a number is used. Again, some numbers often appear in the bible in an illustrative, figurative or symbolic sense than others, therefore an understanding of this significance is vital to an understanding of the context.
Most people have believed the Beast to be Caesar Nero of (AD 54-68), the sixth king from Julius (49-44BC), while others said it is Galba (the “seventh king”) after Nero’s death, as his name added up 666, who was replaced by Otho after only a very little while. And that everything got fulfilled in AD70.
Irenaeus, himself said the word is lateinov, the letters of which have the following numerical values: l 30, a 1, t 300, e 5, i 10, n 50, o 70, v 200; and if these be added together, the sum will be found to be equivalent to the number of the beast 666.Speaking of the Latin empire.
So we can see that this beast is the Latin kingdom or empire; therefore, if this observation be correct, the Greek words signifying the Latin kingdom must have this number. The most concise method of expressing this among the Greeks was as follows, ‘h latinh basileia, and that is the way it is numbered:-666.
No other kingdom on earth can be found to contain 666. This is then h sofia, the wisdom or demonstration.
A beast is the symbol of a kingdom; THE beast, was the LATIN kingdom; and ‘h latinh basileia, being shown to contain, exclusively, the number 666.
But, It is said that the number of the beast is the number of a man; consequently the numbered beast must be A MAN, that is, it must be represented elsewhere in the Revelation under this sign, for in no other sense can an empire be denominated a man. This therefore, it is not the ten-horned beast, rather the two-horned beast, or Romish hierarchy; which, on account of its preaching to the world its most antichristian system of doctrines, and calling it Christianity, This is why we read of the beast that had two horns Which speaks of religious and political power.
Rev.13: 11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(The Roman Empired)
Buying and selling
Therefore the meaning of the whole passage is that, those whom the false prophet does not excommunicate, or put out of the confines of his Church, have the mark of the beast, that is, were loyalist of the Pope system, or such that were actively or passively obedient to his Latin idolatry. Those also escape his ecclesiastical power of expulsion that had the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
To have the name of the beast is evidently meant then, that such a person was being a Latin, i.e., in subjection to the Latin empire, and, consequently an individual of the Latin world; therefore those that have the name of the beast, were in subjection to the Latin empire, secular or spiritual.
Or the name of the beast”
That is, the “mark” referred to was either the name of the beast, or the number of his name. The meaning is, that he had something branded on him that showed that he belonged to the beast–as a slave had the name of his master; in other words, there was something that certainly showed that he was subject to the authority of the Pope then.
There have been numerous specified acts more particularly designed to control the business of “buying and selling” then. It was common in Rome to prohibit, by express law, all traffic with who were seen as rebels against the authority or Rome.
Thus a canon of the Lateran council, under Pope Alexander III., commanded that no man should entertain or cherish them in his house or land, or traffic with them.–Hard, vi. it. 1684.
The synod of Tours, under the same Pope Alexander, passed the law that no man should presume to receive or assist the heretics, no, not so much as to exercise commerce with them in selling or buying. And so, too, the Constance council, as expressed in Pope Martin’s bull.–Elliott, iii. 220, 221.
Bishop Newton, in his work rightly said , “dissent from the stated and authorized forms; they are condemned and excommunicated as heretics; and in consequence of that they are no longer suffered to buy or sell; they are interdicted from traffic and commerce, and all the benefits of civil society.
So Roger Hoveden relates of William the Conqueror, that he was so dutiful to the pope that he would not permit any one in his power to buy or sell anything whom he found disobedient to the apostolic.
Same with the canon of the council of Lateran, under Pope Alexander III., made it worst against the Waldenses and Albigenses, to suffer the pain of anathema,(one that is cursed by ecclesiastical authority) such that no man should have anything to do with them in his house or land, or exercise traffic with them.
Same goes for The synod of Tours, in France, under the same Pope, that no one should as much as hold any communion with them, not so, in selling or buying; that, being deprived of the comfort of humanity they may be compelled to repent of the error of their way,.”
In the tenth and eleventh centuries the severity against the excommunicated was carried to so high a pitch, that nobody might come near them, not even their own wives, children, or servants; they forfeited all their natural legal rights and privileges, and were excluded from all kinds of offices.
The form of excommunication in the Romish Church is to take lighted torches, throw them upon the ground with curses and anathemas, and trample them out under foot to the ringing of the bells.
It is in this and similar ways that the false prophet terrified the Latin world, and kept it in subjection to the secular and spiritual powers.
The Hebrew letters of Balaam amount to 666; a type of the false prophet, whose characteristic, like Balaam’s, will be high spiritual knowledge perverted to Satanic ends.
The number 6 is the world number; in 666 it occurs in units, tens, and hundreds. It is next neighbuor to the sacred 7, but is it is separated from number 7 by an impassable gulf.
It is the number of the world , as the world was created on the 6th day of the creation week, but given over to judgment; hence there is a pause between the sixth and seventh seals in the Book of Revelation, and the sixth and seventh trumpets.
The judgments on the world are complete in six; by the fulfillment of seven, the kingdoms of the world become Christ’s.
As 12 is the number of the Church,(the kingdom of God ) so 6, its half, symbolizes the world kingdom broken. The raising of the six to tens and hundreds (higher powers) 666, indicates that the beast, notwithstanding his progression to higher powers, can only rise to greater ripeness for judgment.
Thus 666, the judged world power, contrasts with the 144,000 sealed and transfigured ones (the Church number, 12, squared and multiplied by 1,000, the number symbolizing the world diffused in every way by God; as 10, is the world number, raised to the power of three the number of God).
So, essentially this wasn’t talking about our days, though we shall do the application as it affects us today in the second session.
Therefore, it wasn’t just a prophecy to be fulfilled now but has been fulfilled.
Besides, the book wasn’t necessarily dealing with the unbelievers but yours sincerely, a religious organization and systems that will want to subject you unto themselves. Don’t be afraid of the man in the street; be afraid of the religious institutions that can arrogate power and the authority of Christ to themselves to rule you instead of building you up.
In subjection to that which is not of Christ authority, you are also taking the mark of the beast or its name. More on this in the nest session.
But in the light of the fact that the message of Revelation is of and from Him “…which is, and which was and which is to come… “Rev. 1:4, the historical evidence alone cannot suffice, for it is a book of continuous fulfillment in all ages and ages to come. We shall be dealing more with its present day application in the nest session.
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To be continued…