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666: The Mystery of Revelation - Maui
Attack Not a Wildfire – Across the Globe Immigrants Being Used to Destroy
Governments – Geller Reports On Palestinian Islamic Terror - Undeniable Proof
of Voter Fraud - Simon Parkes & Laura Eisenhower Intel - The Enemy Within
and more.
Research & Comments by Pastor
Gary Boyd
Aug. 31st 2023
John Whitehead makes his case for
America as a rising ‘Fourth Reich’: FBI ‘Gestapo tactics’ bear hallmarks of
that 1930s totalitarian regime - “We want no Gestapo or Secret Police. FBI is
tending in that direction.”—Harry Truman – Aug. 31st 2023 - By John
Whitehead, www.Rutherford.org - With every passing day, the United States
government borrows yet another leaf from Nazi Germany’s playbook: Secret
police. Secret courts. Secret government agencies. Surveillance. Censorship.
Intimidation. Harassment. Torture. Brutality. Widespread corruption.
Entrapment. Indoctrination. Indefinite detention. These are not tactics used by
constitutional republics, where the rule of law and the rights of the citizenry
reign supreme. Rather, they are the hallmarks of authoritarian regimes, where
secret police control the populace through intimidation, fear and official
lawlessness on the part of government agents. That authoritarian danger is now
posed by the FBI, whose love affair with totalitarianism began long ago.
Indeed, according to the New York Times, the U.S. government so admired the
Nazi regime that following the second World War, it secretly and aggressively
recruited at least a thousand Nazis, including some of Hitler’s highest
henchmen as part of Operation Paperclip. American taxpayers have been paying to
keep these ex-Nazis on the U.S. government’s payroll ever since…. https://leohohmann.com/2023/08/30/john-whitehead-makes-his-case-for-america-as-a-rising-fourth-reich-fbi-gestapo-tactics-bear-hallmarks-of-that-1930s-totalitarian-regime/
New Benjamin Fulford Warning: The US,
the West and KM About to Fall into the Abyss - Thursday, August 31, 2023 12:02
- he Khazarian mafia-controlled West is about to fall over a cliff despite
frantic attempts by its leadership to scare us back into submission with fire,
plague, war, alien invasion etc. What is interesting is that the collapse could
include the government of Xi Jinping in China and not just the West. That is
why Jews are fleeing Israel and 11,000 Chinese millionaires are fleeing China. The
other sign we are headed for some sort of earth-changing event – including
world war- is a breakdown in military communications between the West and its’
“adversaries.” China is “refusing any phone calls from Washington regarding
defense-related topics,” according to US officials. The same is true with
Russia so the situation is “getting potentially dangerous,” the officials warn.
Russia has upped the ante by getting its ally Nicaragua to kick out the Jesuits
and confiscate their assets. https://beforeitsnews.com/prophecy/2023/08/new-benjamin-fulford-warning-the-us-the-west-and-km-about-to-fall-into-the-abyss-2544716.html
Military In Control Q! - Must Video -
Thursday, August 31, 2023 10:24 - https://beforeitsnews.com/military/2023/08/military-in-control-q-must-video-2492421.html
US MILITARY NEWS: Restored Republic
via a GCR: Update as of August 31, 2023 – GESARA/NESARA worldwide – Military
arrests continuing – Gabon African nation being set free from tyranny after
coup - #0 countries to be set free from tyranny – Trump was inaugurated US
President in 2016 and has never left office. Through a Military count of
watermarked ballots in the 2020 Election it was found that Trump won in every
state with an over 80% vote. President Trump then instigated the Insurrection
Act and turned over control of the country to the US Military. An Interim
Military US Government has been running our country ever since. https://theusmilitarynews.com/restored-republic-via-a-gcr-update-as-of-august-31-2023/
Firefighter Whistleblower: Maui
Attack Not a Wildfire - Insurance Adjuster Specializing in Fires (Video) - Thursday,
August 31, 2023 4:14 - If you have had doubts about the Maui fires, this
whistle-blower will clear them up.. He exposes the TRUTH of what has happened..
https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2023/08/firefighter-whistleblower-maui-attack-not-a-wildfire-insurance-adjuster-specializing-in-fires-video-3798215.html
Breaking! Trump Declares War on COVID
Tyrants, Pledges to Stop Lockdown 2.0!! (Video) - Thursday, August 31, 2023
3:48 - Former President Donald Trump responded to Alex Jones’ exclusive report
revealing the Biden regime is gearing up for new COVID restrictions, declaring
that this time “WE WILL NOT COMPLY!” https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2023/08/breaking-trump-declares-war-on-covid-tyrants-pledges-to-stop-lockdown-2-0-video-3798210.html
Bo Polny: It's All Beginning In
SEPTEMBER!! (Video) - Thursday, August 31, 2023 3:42 - Here’ Bo and he is at
his finest and is joined by Clay and these 2 have MEGA financial Intel to
share!! The new month is going to bring NEW,MAJOR events, BE READY!! https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2023/08/bo-polny-its-all-beginning-in-september-video-3798208.html
Judy Byington: “The End” …Q~ Special
Intel Report For Thurs. 31 Aug. 2023 (Video) - Thursday, August 31, 2023 4:23 –
https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2023/08/judy-byington-the-end-q-special-intel-report-for-thurs-31-aug-2023-video-3798216.html
NTEB: Across Europe, Canada And The
United States, Illegal Immigrants Are Being Forcibly Placed Into Hotels And
Schools Displacing The Citizens There - Thursday, August 31, 2023 9:22 - You
may have not ever heard of the Cloward-Piven Strategy, but you are watching it
coming to live in the midst of the onslaught of illegal immigrants being bussed
in. The photo at the top of this article is not of a Third World nation, it is
what the heart of New York City on 6th Avenue looks like in 2023, halfway
through Obama’s Third Term. This scene is being played out in major
Democrat-run cities across the United States, as well as in the UK and Canada.
Why is this happening? It’s the Cloward-Piven Strategy being put into action,
with the intent to crash and collapse the benefits systems. If you can do that,
you can take down the nation, which is precisely the whole point. - “And he
cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is
fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul
spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Revelation 18:2 (KJB) https://beforeitsnews.com/global-unrest/2023/08/across-europe-canada-and-the-united-states-illegal-immigrants-are-being-forcibly-placed-into-hotels-and-schools-displacing-the-citizens-there-2538254.html
Simon Parkes & Laura Eisenhower:
Situation Update and Intel Report - What to Expect Next (Video) - Thursday,
August 31, 2023 3:34 - A new Intel drop from Simon!! He joins Laura Eisenhower for
this Intel filled interview and situation update! This is big, Folks, you’ve
got to see what he thinks we can expect next!! https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2023/08/simon-parkes-laura-eisenhower-situation-update-and-intel-report-what-to-expect-next-video-3798207.html
ATLAS SHRUGS: Israeli Killed, Five
Injured in Palestinian Islamic Terror Attack - Thursday, August 31, 2023 7:33 -
Palestinian terrorism against Israel has skyrocketed, since the Biden
Administration restored U.S aid to Palestinian Authority. Once again, call your
member of Congress and demand that all U.S aid to the Palestinian Authority is
stopped. The Palestinian Authority uses this ‘aid’ to pay Palestinian
terrorists to murder Jews. (Comment: The US corporate government in DC is
bankrupt. It would not appear that aid to the PA will continue because the
government can no longer print out fiat money. This fake Obiden communist
regime no longer has any sway in DC. The regime chances of starting a war in
the Middle East should no longer be a worry. It is all a charade. The US
Treasury is now in Reno Nevada and no longer exists in DC. Trump is the
Commander in Chief as he has always been.) https://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2023/08/israeli-killed-five-injured-in-palestinian-islamic-terror-attack-3671488.html
Undeniable Proof! Video Breaks Down
All the Voter Fraud of 2020 - Wednesday, August 30, 2023 20:30 - https://beforeitsnews.com/new-world-order/2023/08/undeniable-proof-video-breaks-all-the-voter-fraud-of-2020-13252.html
The Enemy Within: How a Totalitarian
Movement is Destroying America - by David Horowitz – Aug. 31st 2023
- “The Enemy Within is a book for all patriots who understand that our country
is in a fight for its life.”—MARK LEVIN - America on the Brink - A questionable
election. The president of the United States illegally impeached—twice—and
silenced. The First Amendment hanging by a thread. The national heritage under
attack. Mob violence. America is on the brink of becoming a one-party
dictatorship. How did this happen? “The Enemy Within: How a Totalitarian
Movement Is Destroying America” provides the answer. David Horowitz has been
the bête noire of the Left for decades on account of his courageous revelations
of their aims and tactics, and now he sounds the alarm: the barbarians are
already inside the gates. Horowitz lays out how we have ended up in the worst
national crisis since the Civil War. He details: • The Left’s embrace of
Critical Race Theory and Cultural Marxism—the underpinnings of their
totalitarian ideology • The decades-long infiltration of our education system
by ideologies hostile to America, our institutions, and our freedom • Why the
Obama administration marked a point of no return in the division of America
into two irreconcilable political factions • The Democrats’ unprincipled
campaign to destroy a duly elected U.S. president • Their political exploitation
of the coronavirus pandemic • Their complicity in the riots of the summer of
2020, which left twenty-five dead, injured two thousand police officers, caused
billions of dollars in property damage, and revealed the fragility of our civic
order - As Abraham Lincoln so presciently warned on the eve of America’s last
existential crisis, “If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author
and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live for all time, or die by
suicide.” In The Enemy Within, David Horowitz provides a spot-on assessment of
the threat to the American Republic and points to an escape route—while there’s
still time. – To order go to: https://www.amazon.com/Enemy-Within-Totalitarian-Movement-Destroying-ebook/dp/B08JMC47P5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1DAAIJPON3QWC&keywords=The+Enemy+Within%3A+How+a+Totalitarian+Movement+Is+Destroying+America&qid=1693494199&s=books&sprefix=the+enemy+within+how+a+totalitarian+movement+is+destroying+america%2Cstripbooks%2C809&sr=1-1
AMERICAN MILITARY NEWS Video:
Arsonist sets himself on fire while trying to burn down church – AUGUST 30,
2023 - by TIMOTHY FRUDD - Recently released footage shows the moment an
arsonist accidentally set himself on fire while attempting to set fire to a
church in Florida. The surveillance video released by the Broward Sheriff’s
Office Violent Crimes Unit shows an unidentified individual setting fire to
Oakland Park Church’s front doors. During the video, the suspect can be seen
crossing the church parking lot and pouring gasoline alongside the church’s
front doors. When the suspect attempts to light the gasoline, he barely escapes
the flames outside the first doorway of the church before lighting the second
fire and getting caught in the flames. (Comment: There are arsonists being let
into our country at the border undercover planning to do harm to our country. A
massive fire at a Louisiana petroleum refinery sent huge plumes of black smoke
into the air last week, video of the scene shows. Local officials issued an
evacuation order in response to the emergency. It was discovered a leak in a
pipe started the fire, but no one knows who started the leak. Arsonists
arrested in Greece, authorities in
Greece have arrested 79 people on arson charges after a series of wildfires
devastated the country for much of the summer. These are not wildfires; my
Intel says immigrants are being paid to do this.) https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/08/video-arsonist-sets-himself-on-fire-while-trying-to-burn-down-church/
Farmer revives the Biblical Balm of
Gilead and Temple Incense - “Is there no balm in Gilad? Can no physician be
found? Why has healing not yet Come to my poor people?” – JEREMIAH 8:22 (THE
ISRAEL BIBLE) - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - BIBLICAL NEWS - AUGUST 30, 2023 - ne
very special farmer in the Holy Land is raising rare and endangered plants in
an effort to bring back the Biblical Balm of Gilead and the Temple incense. In
2008, Guy Ehrlich was driven to recreate the Biblical Balm of Gilead, renowned
for its healing properties. Incredibly rare even in Biblical times, growing
only in the extreme heat and saline soil of the Dead Sea area, it disappeared
from the region in the sixth century. A German scientist smuggled a single
shoot out of Saudi Arabia, and some plants were at the Botanical Garden in
Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the climate of Jerusalem was too cold for the
desert-loving plants. Fortunately, before they all died, the garden sent some
to Dr. Elaine Solowey, director of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at
Kibbutz Ketura. She provided Ehrlich with a beginning for his six-acre Biblical
farm. The plants thrived in the Dead Sea climate, and his farm now has about
five thousand balsam plants. https://www.israel365news.com/375067/farmer-revives-the-biblical-balm-of-gilead-and-temple-incense/
LIFE SITE NEWS: Archbishop Viganò:
Globalism is ‘satanic’ preparation for the ‘rise of the Antichrist’ - The
former Papal Nuncio expanded on his perception of an intimate link between
globalism and Satanism. Tue Aug 29, 2023 - 11:51 am EDT - (LifeSiteNews) ––
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has once again condemned the rise of “globalism,”
stating that it prepares humanity “for the political rise of the Antichrist.” In
an August 24 interview with a French-language news outlet, Viganò commented on
the rise of “globalism” and its impact upon society. Re-issuing a denouncement
of globalism which he has consistently made, the archbishop linked corruption
in society to corruption in the Catholic Church: The element that in my opinion
needs to be made clear – for the denunciation to be complete – is the specular
relationship between the coup of the deep state in the civil sphere and the
similar coup of the deep church in the ecclesiastical sphere. The “subversive
action” undermining each sphere is “identical,” he stated, “as are the
inspiring principles that move them and the goals they set.” https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archbishop-vigano-globalism-is-satanic-preparation-for-the-rise-of-the-antichrist/
New Michael Jaco Live - Deep State
Narratives are Failing Across the Board - We are Witness to Unprecedented
Collapse - Thursday, August 31, 2023 12:04 - https://beforeitsnews.com/prophecy/2023/08/new-michael-jaco-live-deep-state-narratives-are-failing-across-the-board-we-are-witness-to-unprecedented-collapse-2544718.html
X22 Report: Biden Economic Plan Will
Be Replaced With Trump’s Economic Boom Plan! - Must Video - Thursday, August
31, 2023 14:49 - Switzerland is now cracking down on money laundering, they
will look into who owns the accounts. People cannot afford homeownership; it is
breaking down and getting worse as the rates move up. The economic stats are
manipulated and they have been for a long time to keep the illusion alive.
Trump is going to replace Biden’s failed economic plan with a boom plan. https://beforeitsnews.com/economy/2023/08/x22-report-biden-economic-plan-will-be-replaced-with-trumps-economic-boom-plan-must-video-3093918.html
FRONTLINE MISSIONARIES TO MUSLIMS
BUILD NEW PARADIGM IN MISSION STRATEGY (Part 3) - Thursday, August 31, 2023
13:33 - After a day of digging through the New Testament together, what they
came up with is: The Church is a group of baptized Believers committed to
obeying Jesus, committed to one another, and committed to doing everything they
see the church do in Acts 2:37-47. Not bad. https://beforeitsnews.com/christian-news/2023/08/frontline-missionaries-to-muslims-build-new-paradigm-in-mission-strategy-part-3-2617775.html
THE BURNING PLATFORM: CEDAR KEY,
FLORIDA: NWO Geoterrorists Morph Island Enclave Into Another “Maui Armageddon”
- Only this time a Hurricane-triggered DELUGE was geoegineered instead of a Hurricane-driven
FIRESTORM - OPERATION HURRICANE IDALIA - Submitted by Weather War Watcher – Aug.
31st 2023 - Make no mistake, the New World Order weather warriors
are at it again in Florida. Those
inveterate geoterrorists know that there’s no better opportunity to hijack the
devastating forces of Mother Nature than Hurricane Season … especially when the
globalist perps can harness those ferocious forces to inflict awesome damage on
a targeted city or state with pluperfect “plausible deniability”. Of course,
the main reason for manufacturing all of these super-dramatic weather
calamities and earth cataclysms is to produce a glaring advertisment for the
utterly fake CO-driven Global Warming narrative. However, there are also many other objectives
to carrying out geoterrorism operations such as OPERATION HURRICANE IDALIA. https://www.theburningplatform.com/2023/08/31/cedar-key-florida-nwo-geoterrorists-morph-island-enclave-into-another-maui-armageddon/
New Max Igan: A Hawaiian Holocaust -
August 2023 - Wednesday, August 30, 2023 2:36 - “The illusion of freedom will
continue for as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point
where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will take down the
scenery, move the tables and chairs out of the way, then they will pull back
the curtains and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.” –
Frank Zappa TURN OFF YOUR TELEVISION! https://beforeitsnews.com/prophecy/2023/08/new-max-igan-a-hawaiian-holocaust-august-2023-2544700.html
666: The Mystery of Revelation
by Britt Gillette
Published on: February 15, 2011
Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd
Aug. 31st 2023
Even those who have never read the
Bible will recognize it. Revered by the occult and feared by the superstitious,
it’s a number forever linked with infamy. It is the number six hundred
sixty-six. For over two millennia, this number has been used as a proxy for
Satan himself. It’s been the subject of endless speculation, hearsay, and
confusion.
And during this time, it’s been used
to justify the false identification of hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of
individuals as the Antichrist. These false identifications have only served to
confuse people as to the original, biblical meaning of the number 666, and
unfortunately, they also cause many to dismiss Bible prophecy as a mere
superstition of crackpots and conspiracy theorists.
So where does the number 666 come
from? And what does it mean?
All the speculation concerning 666
comes from a single verse in the book of Revelation. In a passage describing
the Antichrist and his world empire, we learn the following:
“He required everyone—great and
small, rich and poor, slave and free—to be given a mark on the right hand or
on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which
was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is
needed to understand this. Let the one who has understandingsolve the number of
the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666” (Revelation
13:16-18, NLT).
During the Great Tribulation, the
Antichrist will require everyone on the earth to be given a mark on the right
hand or the forehead. Those who refuse this mark will be unable to buy or sell
anything, effectively cutting them off from all economic activity – the
purchase and sale of food, water, shelter, and the basic necessities of life.
This mark will have the following
characteristics:
1) It will be the name of the beast.
2) It will be the number representing
his name.
3) It will be the number of a man.
4) The number is 666.
Let’s address each of these aspects
individually in order to gain a firm grasp of their intended meaning:
The Name of the Beast
Who is the beast? Traditionally, “the
name of the beast” is interpreted as being the name of the Antichrist, who is
clearly referenced in verses 11-18 of Revelation chapter 13 (this topic will be
addressed in depth in a later article). However, in these verses, the
Antichrist is described as a second beast who exercises “all the authority of
the first beast.” The first beast is described in verses 1-10 of the same
chapter, but this beast does not represent the Antichrist, as some believe. Rather,
it represents the world empire the Antichrist will rule.
We know this because the first beast
has “seven heads and ten horns” (verse 1), and this is a beast students of
Bible prophecy have seen before.
In the book of Daniel, we are
introduced to this being as “the fourth beast,” a global empire that will
destroy everything in its path:
“Then he said to me, ‘This fourth
beast is the fourth world power that will rule the earth. It will be different
from all the others. It will devour the whole world, trampling everything in
its path. Its ten horns are ten kings that will rule that empire. Then another
king will arise, different from the other ten, who will subdue three of them.
He will defy the Most High and wear down the holy people of the Most High'”
(Daniel 7:23-25, NLT).
Does this fourth world power sound
familiar? It has “ten horns” (Revelation 13:1) and will trample everything in
its path, probably prompting people to ask, “Is there anyone as great as the
beast? Who is able to fight against him?” (Revelation 13:4). It will also
devour “the whole world,” gaining authority over “every tribe and people and
language and nation” (Revelation 13:7).
We also learn that the Antichrist
will “require all the earth and those who belong to this world to worship the
first beast, whose death wound had been healed” (Revelation 13:12). Who is this
beast whose death wound has been healed? The wounded beast who will be
resurrected is the fourth beast in Daniel 7—the world empire of ancient Rome,
which was never completely destroyed like previous world empires. In the last
days, the Roman Empire will appear once again, and the world will marvel at its
appearance.
Daniel confirms this when he states
that the Antichrist will be a ruler from the people who destroy the Temple in
ad 70 (Daniel 9:26). The Romans destroyed the Temple, and they will have a
ruler once again in the last days, confirming that the Roman Empire must once
again exist.
The book of Revelation also predicts
this resurrection of Rome:
“Five kings have already fallen, the
sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief”
(Revelation 17:10, NLT).
The angel reveals to John that five
of the kingdoms have fallen:
1) Egypt
2) Assyria
3) Babylonia
4) Medo-Persia
5) Greece
The sixth kingdom “now reigns”:
6) Rome (John’s vision occurred in
the first century, when Rome still ruled the known world)
And the seventh “is yet to come”:
7) The Revived Roman Empire
In the last days, this resurrected
Roman Empire will rule all of humanity. Its reign will be brief, but it will be
like no other kingdom before it.
The Antichrist will require all the
earth and those who belong to this world to worship the revived Roman Empire, a
global government that will rule “over every tribe and people and language and
nation” (Revelation 13:7).
So the “name of the beast” described
in Revelation 13:17 is not the name of the Antichrist, as widely believed, but
instead, it will be a name associated with the world empire he requires the
world to worship.
The Number Representing His Name
If the mark of the beast is “the name
of the beast,” how can it also be “the number representing his name”? Ancient
Greek and Hebrew, the two languages most associated with the book of
Revelation, both used an alphanumeric system in which each letter of the
alphabet correlates with a number. What verse 18 reveals is that the mark,
which is the name of the beast, will have a numeric value that can be
calculated as the number 666. The only way to “calculate” this number is if it
appears as letters that need to be interpreted in a numerical form. Therefore,
we can say with certainty that the mark of the beast will not be a literal
brand of “666”; rather, it will be a word or a phrase that, when converted into
its numerical equivalent, will represent the number 666.
How this is properly calculated
depends on whether John originally wrote the book of Revelation in Greek or
Hebrew. Tradition says he wrote the book in Greek. However, a strong case has
been made that the book was originally written in Hebrew, then quickly
translated into Greek. Not knowing for sure multiplies the difficulty of
calculating the number of the beast, because each letter of the Greek and
Hebrew alphabets is associated with a different numerical value.
The Number of a Man
If the number 666 represents the
revived Roman Empire and not a man (the Antichrist), as traditionally believed,
then why does verse 18 say, “for it is the number of a man”? The answer is that
some translations interpret this verse as “for it is the number of humanity.”
Either way, in both cases, the verse can be interpreted as “mankind” or the
“entirety of the human race.” If this is the case, it tells us that the number
666 will not only be the name of the beast (the revived Roman Empire), but it
will also be reflective of the entire human race, especially those who freely
choose to accept the designation on their right hand or forehead.
When Daniel conveys God’s
interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the empires of the world are
symbolized in the form of a statue–a statue of a man.
“Your Majesty, in your vision you saw
in front of you a huge and powerful statue of a man, shining brilliantly,
frightening and awesome” (Daniel 2:31, NLT).
The association of this statue with mankind
and world government provides a strong indication that the mark of the beast is
more akin to the number of humanity rather than to any particular individual.
The Number Is 666
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible
associates certain numbers with an overall theme. The number six is often
associated with mankind. For instance, man was created on the sixth day.
Similarly, the number seven is often associated with perfection and rest. As an
example, God rested on the seventh day.
In contrast to the number seven, six
is viewed as highly symbolic of incompletion or imperfection. Just as man has
“fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), the number six is symbolic of
man’s shortfall of the perfection of God’s seven.
When the number six is repeated three
times in the number 666, many believe it’s indicative of Satan’s attempt to
imitate the Trinity.
The Price of Accepting the Mark of
the Beast
The Antichrist and his followers will
pay a hefty price for accepting the mark of the beast. The Bible tells us that
ALL who accept the mark will face eternal judgment for their decision. The
following verses reveal the consequences of this rebellion against God:
“Then a third angel followed them,
shouting, ‘Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his
mark on the forehead or the hand must drink the wine of God’s wrath. It is
poured out undiluted into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with
fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. The
smoke of their torment rises forever and ever, and they will have no relief day
or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted
the mark of his name”( Revelation 14:9-11, NLT).
“So the first angel left the Temple
and poured out his bowl over the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out
on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue”(
Revelation 16:2, NLT).
“And the beast was captured, and with
him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast – miracles
that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his
statue”( Revelation 19:20, NLT).
Acceptance of the mark is not a
matter to be taken lightly. Anyone who accepts the mark denies Christ in favor
of a false god. This decision, once made, is irrevocable, and the consequences
are everlasting.
However, for those who refuse the
mark, a future of eternal bliss awaits. Although they will suffer persecution
to the point of death, their steadfast faithfulness in honor of Jesus Christ
will open the door to an eternity in the presence of God.
“Then I saw thrones, and the people
sitting on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those
who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus, for proclaiming the word
of God. And I saw the souls of those who had not worshiped the beast or his
statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands” (Revelation
20:4, NLT).
These verses are clear. Under no
circumstances should anyone, especially a believer in Christ, accept the mark
of the beast. To do so leads only to ruin.
Superstition Surrounding the Number
666
The world is filled with
superstition, especially when it comes to numbers. Some feel the number
thirteen is unlucky, and they avoid anything associated with the number. For a
lot of people, the number 666 has the same effect. But God makes it clear that
we are not to fear this number. Having a license plate, a sales receipt, or a
street address with the number 666 is nothing to be concerned about. Anyone who
thinks so it attributing supernatural power to a number, and the Bible clearly
states that believers should fear God and God only:
“Do not fear anything except the Lord
Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing
else” (Isaiah 8:13, NLT).
Jesus underscores this command while
teaching His disciples not to fear persecution:
“Don’t be afraid of those who want to
kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only
God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell”( Matthew 10:28, NLT).
The things of this world are
fleeting, but the Lord Almighty, and He only, will determine our eternal
destiny. Therefore, don’t be concerned with such trivial superstitions as the
random occurrence of the number 666.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the true meaning of the
number 666 will not become apparent until the Great Tribulation, when the
Antichrist forces the world population to accept the number as a mark on the
right hand or on the forehead. Contemporary attempts to calculate this number
ahead of time as either the name of a person, human beings, or the revived
Roman Empire will only lead to frustration. Even worse, these attempts may end
up having a negative impact in that, once proven false, they will damage the
credibility of those who teach end-times Bible prophecy in general. If the
devil can convince the world that Bible prophecy is the exclusive domain of
crackpots and conspiracy theorists, then he can snatch away a valuable tool for
spreading the gospel of Christ.
In the end, it is the duty of our
generation to carefully examine the meaning of Revelation 13:16-18 and convey
an accurate historical interpretation of these verses for others. If we
succeed, the end-times generation will have the ability to properly interpret
the number of the beast. Once the Antichrist arrives on the world scene and
announces his intention to require the mark, it will become clear to everyone
on earth what acceptance of this number really means. Whether it’s the number
of an individual, a kingdom, or mankind itself, acceptance of the number 666
will be tantamount to a public rejection of Jesus Christ.
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