Theologians
have repetitively taught people that the Anti-christ would be branded in some manner with the number 666. Hollywood
movies have portrayed that viewpoint with movies like "The Omen". However, when the original Scriptures
are studied very carefully, a new understanding or wisdom is revealed. Let's study this part of Revelation 13:18 first:
for it is the number of a man. In the original Greek, it was written "arithmos gar anthropou estin".
This translates to: "for it is the number of mankind" or "for it is a human number". Based
upon the orginal Greek text, it almost definitely does not translate to "it is the number of a man". We can
see that "the number" belongs to or is associated with more than just one person.
Now let's look at and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six. In this case, we only need to see 666 as it was written in the original Greek.
Now let's look at count the number of the
beast. The original Greek says "to arithmon tou theriou". Tou theriou attaches the number
to the beast, not the man as is routinely taught by theologians. So therefore, the number 666 will not be engraved on
a specific man, but rather it is an indicator of who the beast is. The
word beast also needs to be studied very carefully. Beast comes from the Greek word therion and literally means
wild animal, beast, wild beasts, or snake. Immediately, Genesis 16:11-12 comes to mind. The Angel of the Lord
said to Hagar, "thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard
thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him;
and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
Stay with me...it will all fall into place in
a moment. Key point to remember: Neither the beast
or the man is the dragon! It is clearly stated
in Revelation 12:9 who the dragon is: "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called
the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out
with him." Now we can begin to
see the picture more clearly. The dragon is the Devil who is also known as the Anti-christ and Satan. Therefore
the beast and the man are definitely not representative of the Anti-christ in Revelation 13:18.
So who is the beast and who is the man?
The man is simply "mankind" as was intended
in the original Greek. Romans 5:12 explains it best using the same Greek word "anthropos" for man: "Therefore,
just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all have
sinned". We are all part of mankind until we are born again. That's
why Jesus made it clear when He said, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born
again". So we can easily conclude, mankind is all of the human race that is not born again.
In order to understand who the beast is, we need
to look at Revelation 13:1-4 "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. 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. 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. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the
beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" The beast has seven heads, ten horns, is like a leopard, has the feet of
a bear, has the mouth of lion and receives power from the dragon (Satan). When the beast rises up, it comes out of the
sea. The sea is symbolic of the nations. (I believe we will see the beast really begin to show its ugly head
on April 2, 2009 at the G20 Summit in London) The seven heads are seven people that are the head of a
country, organization, government, or something of that nature. The ten horns represent 10 powerful positions, countries
or something similar. The Book of Daniel tells us the leopard represented Greece. When Greece ruled the world
nearly 2,340 years ago, they intended to force the world to convert to their elitist way of life. They had many pagan
gods, beautiful art & architecture and pompous philosophical viewpoints. The Book of Daniel also tells us the bear
represented Medo-Persia. Persia is modern day Iran. We can can all understand that symbolism. Daniel also
tells us that the lion represents Babylon or what is known today as Iraq. Now we can understand that the beast is comprised
of many people from many nations all working in alliance with Satan who gives them power to help achieve his goals.
Now, let's look closely at the number 666. In Greek, six hundred threescore and six is written as "exakosioi exekonta ex".
What's intersting is the similarities between the Greek number 666 and symbols of Islam.
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| Muslim Brotherhood Seal |
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| Gate to Baghdad, Iraq |
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