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This is a weird one to be posting right around Easter time, but I'd really appreciate some insight.
Revelation 13:18 - 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.
Now I know the first inclination of some jokers will be to say that 666 is the number of some "Illuminati" conspiracy organization, or of Damien Thorn (*fictional antichrist) from the classic movie "The Omen", but I'm being serious here. The Bible clearly states that a person of understanding should be able to count the number of the beast and understand it's meaning. It wouldn't say that if it didn't mean it.
Obviously, we're supposed to be able to understand what 666 means in at least some capacity. I've heard someone say to me before that the number is based on the fact that man was created on the sixth day of creation, therefor six is the number of humanity, and that three sixes therefore represents an unholy trinity of man based on the fact that three is (obviously) the number of persons in the Holy Trinity. From this interpretation, it would seem to indicate that 666 represents a man lifting himself up falsely as god and promising salvation to the whole world through a false gospel, all the while dominating them as a tyrant. However, this doesn't cover the whole idea of the number in the chapter as pertains to the rest of humanity.
If you read the earlier parts of chapter 13 in Revelations, it is abundantly clear that the number 666 is to be used as a mark on anyone/everyone who worships "the beast and his image" (antichrist, I'm assuming). Also, the chapter tells that no one can buy or sell anything without the mark in the world under the antichrist, and in the next chapter it is made clear that anyone having the number of the beast will not enter into the Kingdom of God. All of this leads up to the question - what really is the mark of the beast? What form will it take?
Some have surmised that it is a form of RFID chip implanted into the hand and even forehead. Already, such chips are indeed being implanted and used in modern society to replace credit cards, with numbers on them enabling buying and selling. With the globalization of the economy and the fading use of plastic in favor of implants, it may be that the number of the beast is a form of computer code used in economic transactions. This would be an easy way to shut off buying or selling to anyone that did not have such a mark inside of them, and could be implemented by a world leader as a form of identification with his person. All of this is just speculation, of course. It could be a bar code, a tattoo (like in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany), an actual supernatural mark left my evil itself, or just a lack of salvation serving as a mark of Satan's ownership.
Either way, I'd like some insight into the number 666 and, while you're at it, any good interpretation of Revelation 13 in total would be great. Will people be forced to take the mark, effectively ending your salvation if you get caught and "tagged"? Will it be the ultimate choice between good and evil as to whether or not you receive Satan's mark? Will those unbelievers who have received the mark have the opportunity to become Christians? If so, will they need to be "unmarked"? I know that this is a lot, but It's probably good to know, considering the implications.
Revelation 13:18 - 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.
Now I know the first inclination of some jokers will be to say that 666 is the number of some "Illuminati" conspiracy organization, or of Damien Thorn (*fictional antichrist) from the classic movie "The Omen", but I'm being serious here. The Bible clearly states that a person of understanding should be able to count the number of the beast and understand it's meaning. It wouldn't say that if it didn't mean it.
Obviously, we're supposed to be able to understand what 666 means in at least some capacity. I've heard someone say to me before that the number is based on the fact that man was created on the sixth day of creation, therefor six is the number of humanity, and that three sixes therefore represents an unholy trinity of man based on the fact that three is (obviously) the number of persons in the Holy Trinity. From this interpretation, it would seem to indicate that 666 represents a man lifting himself up falsely as god and promising salvation to the whole world through a false gospel, all the while dominating them as a tyrant. However, this doesn't cover the whole idea of the number in the chapter as pertains to the rest of humanity.
If you read the earlier parts of chapter 13 in Revelations, it is abundantly clear that the number 666 is to be used as a mark on anyone/everyone who worships "the beast and his image" (antichrist, I'm assuming). Also, the chapter tells that no one can buy or sell anything without the mark in the world under the antichrist, and in the next chapter it is made clear that anyone having the number of the beast will not enter into the Kingdom of God. All of this leads up to the question - what really is the mark of the beast? What form will it take?
Some have surmised that it is a form of RFID chip implanted into the hand and even forehead. Already, such chips are indeed being implanted and used in modern society to replace credit cards, with numbers on them enabling buying and selling. With the globalization of the economy and the fading use of plastic in favor of implants, it may be that the number of the beast is a form of computer code used in economic transactions. This would be an easy way to shut off buying or selling to anyone that did not have such a mark inside of them, and could be implemented by a world leader as a form of identification with his person. All of this is just speculation, of course. It could be a bar code, a tattoo (like in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany), an actual supernatural mark left my evil itself, or just a lack of salvation serving as a mark of Satan's ownership.
Either way, I'd like some insight into the number 666 and, while you're at it, any good interpretation of Revelation 13 in total would be great. Will people be forced to take the mark, effectively ending your salvation if you get caught and "tagged"? Will it be the ultimate choice between good and evil as to whether or not you receive Satan's mark? Will those unbelievers who have received the mark have the opportunity to become Christians? If so, will they need to be "unmarked"? I know that this is a lot, but It's probably good to know, considering the implications.