There have been and still are many beliefs and thoughts on the meaning of or the Interpretation of the Mark of the Beast (666) mentioned in Revelation 16:2 and Revelation 19:20. One example of a mark is that it a form of money. If you think about it, a person usually can’t buy something without some form of money or exchange.
One thing to remember when seeking to understand any Biblical Scripture is, the Bible must and will always interpret itself. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation, 2nd Peter 1:20.
Therefore, we must use the entire Word of God, here a little and there a little, rightly dividing the Word of Truth, Isaiah 28:10 & 2nd Timothy 2:15.
If a Soul (man, woman, boy or girl) has the Seal of God as mentioned in Revelation 7:2-3 and Revelation 9:4, they won’t have to be too concerned about the Mark of the Beast. Thus, it is important to see how one (a soul) is to receive the Seal of God.
Let’s examine a few Scriptures ~
In Exodus 13:1-16 we read, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
#9. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. #10. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. #16. And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt."
Right here in what is commonly called the Old Testament we find Scripture defining the Seal of God. Basically, it deals with what a person thinks, says and does that defines them.
In Deuteronomy 6:6-8 "Moses rehearses these words with the Children of Israel, which Children all of the Saints are part of in, by and through the Precious Blood of Jesus; *These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: *And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. *And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes."
God wanted His Children to be continually meditating and talking about the instructions He gave them. The reason for this is so they would not forget His instructions, Commandments, Laws and Statutes. Because people are defined by what they say and do and how they look.
In Deuteronomy 11:18-19 we read, "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. *And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
It takes some effort to keep / maintain the observance of God’s Holy Word. The people were instructed to write His Words, to bind them upon their hands and to talk about them throughout the day. In so doing the Words of the Lord would become part of who they are. In essence, they would own them, they would become a natural part of who they are.
In Exodus 31:12-17 the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, *Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. *Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. *Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. *Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. *It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."
The generations of mankind have not ended yet therefore, they should still be observing God’s Commandments including His 7th Day Sabbath. Please notice that that God did not say that it was the Jew’s Sabbath but that it was and is, His.
The Prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 20:12 & 19-20 wrote, "Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. *I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; *And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God."
One thought to consider when thinking about the Children of Israel is: For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: *Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. *That is, they, which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed, Romans 9:6-7.
All who accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour are grafted in (adopted) to become the Seed of Israel as it is written in Romans 11:19, “The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.”
The Apostle Paul in 2nd Corinthians 3:2-3 wrote, "Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: *Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart."
The Seal of God is given to the soul that observes the Commandments, laws, judgments, precepts and statutes of God. The Seal of God is given to the soul that has accepted the Son of God as their Lord and Saviour and endeavors to live a righteous life. The Seal of God is in the Heart and is manifest outwardly so that all can see and Glorify God.
It is what a soul thinks and says that determines whether they will receive the Seal of God in their forehead; it is also what a soul does with the hands that determine whether they will receive the Seal of God upon their hand. These are the things that give one notoriety.
The souls that receive the Seal of God are the children of light, and the children of the day, 1st Thessalonians 5:5.
Now let's take a closer look at the Mark of the Beast ~
The Apostle John in St. John 8:44 said that the souls that receive the Mark of the Beast are, of their father the devil, and the lusts of their father they will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Listen to what the Apostle John said here concerning not abiding in the Truth because it is the Truth that will set the soul free from sin and death and will lead into Life Everlasting.
Praise the Word of the Lord!
The angel of the Lord in Revelation 13:18 told John, “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.”
We need to pay attention to the fact that the number of the beast is the number of a man. We will get to that a little later.
In Revelation 16:1-2 John continued and said, “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. *And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men, which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image."
In Revelation 19:20 it says that the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
One needs to take note that the beast and the false prophet were ALIVE when they were cast into the Lake of Fire ~
King Solomon said, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun,” Ecclesiastes 1:9. So, let’s see if he was right.
Now, we need to find out how to determine the number of a man. To do this we need to go to the Book of Numbers.
In Numbers 1:2-3 it is written, “Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; *From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.”
Note: It is by the number of males that are able to go for the to war (note: the males had to be at least twenty years of age) in a man’s family (his children) that determines the number of a man.
In Numbers 1:18-21 we read, "And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls. *As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. *And the children of Reuben, Israel's eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; *Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred."
If you will continue reading in the Book of Numbers you will note the mention of the Number of the Names of the Heads of various individuals. Thus, you can ascertain by the Word of God that the way one is able to establish the Number of a Man.
Remembering again what King Solomon said, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun,” Ecclesiastes 1:9.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at another Scripture that mentions the number 666 ~
If you will look in Ezra 2:13 you will find where the children of Adonikam were mentioned as being, six hundred sixty and six.
One might ask, “What about the part in Revelation where it says, “no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name,” Revelation 13:17.
Here again we can go back to what King Solomon said, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: there is no new thing under the sun,” Ecclesiastes 1:9.
You will find an example of buying and selling in the Book of Genesis where Joseph under the order of Pharaoh was set over all the land. Every one that wanted food had to come before Joseph.
In Genesis 41:39-57 we read, "And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: *Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. *And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. *And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. *And the famine was over all the face of the earth: *And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. *And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands." (emphasis on verses: 39,0,41,55,5,57)
The people during the time of Joseph did not have a Mark on their hand nor in their forehead but they did had to do as Joseph said if they wanted to live. The people of Egypt sold their live stock, their land and literally their very lives at the command of Joseph in order to preserve their lives.
The Prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 17:7-8 wrote, "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. *For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."
Mankind has been referred to as a tree therefore, if you as a tree are planted by a river of water, you will have all the nourishment needed for sustaining life.
I don’t have a clue at this point what will happen during the time when the Mark of the Beast is set in order. But this I know, The soul (man, woman, boy or girl) that is willing to obey the Lord’s Holy Written Word won’t have to worry about the buying and selling. Because their bread and water is sure in Jesus. Praise His Holy Name!
Another thought to consider is that a person’s worst enemy is an enemy that comes from within themselves, their family or their inter-circle. A couple of examples of this are found as follows:
#1) In St. John 6:70 Jesus answered them, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” Jesus was referring to Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him.
#2) In Genesis 37:26-28 we read, "And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? *Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. *Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt."
Be encouraged, let not your thoughts, what you see with your eyes or hear with your ears trouble you because our Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus by the Power of the Holy Ghost has provided a way for the Saints to over-come everything that comes against them.
Praise His Holy and Righteous Name!
Derwood A. Stewart, Minister House of Prayer Sabbath Ministries
Comments? Email us: hope@preachersteacher.org
