Question Thirty-One
What Is The Meaning Of 666?
The mysterious number of the beast comes from this scripture:
“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.” Rev 13:18
Notice the wording here. “Let him that hath understanding.” In the Greek it more literally reads “Let him who has a mind calculate or figure it out.” In other words, the meaning of the 666 is not obvious, bur requires mind and understanding to comprehend.
The 666 has been traditionally linked to the mark of the beast. Many think that a great world dictator will arise and force all but the redeemed to receive a mark in their forehead or right hand and somehow the number 666 will be a part of that mark.
Others have reduced various names to a numerical value and have tried to identify the beast this way. Historically the most common interpretation has been Nero who persecuted the early Christians. On the other hand, those who see the beast as appearing in the present or near future have identified him with quite a number of powerful people including most recent U.S. presidents.
In our last chapter we came to the unusual conclusion that the beast and the mark are not future events or tied to one point in history, but they have always been with us. This also applies to the 666. This number has been with us all along.
The orthodox translation has misled many people into thinking the number just applies one man for it says it is “it is the number of a man.” “Of a man” comes from the Greek ANTHRŌPOS and it rarely refers to one individual and often refers to a group of men or mankind in general.
The question then that we need to ask is this. What possible link is there to 666 and powerful unjust and unearned authorities who seek to control the lives of others? Obviously the number 666 doesn’t control anyone so we must look for the meaning behind this number. Since it is linked to the beast we must ask where this beast came from. John says saw the beast “rise up out of the sea.”
Now water has ever been a symbol of the emotions so this symbolic language is telling us that the beast gains this great power through manipulating emotion.
All sales training tells us that people are rarely sold through reason, but instead one must appeal to their emotions to sell them.
So what do the emotions have to do with the sixes? For thousands of years the seat of the lower emotions have been identified with the solar plexus and the solar plexus is governed by the number six. The higher emotions of spiritual love have been identified with the heart but these lower emotions, which fear outer authority, are a part of ourselves that can be controlled and manipulated.
The three sixes thus represent three areas of life that are controlled by the beast through great authority manipulating the emotions.
* Control over the physical (the first 6)
* Control over the emotional (the second 6)
* Control over the mental by negation (the third 6)
Through manipulating our feelings the powerful authorities of the world seek to replace the voice of the inner spirit with their own and control our actions, our feelings and our thought process.
The encouraging thing is the very next verse tells us how to escape the mark of the beast and the 666. It tells us that the redeemed who have escaped the mark have the “Father’s name written in their foreheads.” Rev 14:1
In other words, correct thinking from God is in the forehead, or the thinking processes of those who escape the mark of the beast is in harmony with Spirit. To escape the mark we must not allow others to control us through emotions but must think for ourselves and maintain a link with divine spiritual thought so we can break free of unjust control over our lives. Then we can truly comprehend the great words of Jesus:
“You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
Copyright 2014 by J J Dewey
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