6 6 6 THE NAME & NUMBER OF THE BEAST
In the relevant passages from the Book of Revelation the beast symbol represents the animal nature of domination of the strongest over the weaker ones. The Book of Revelation is an attack on those in power.. the earthly authorities.. those who were abusing their power.. and directing it in the wrong way.
And I saw another wild beast ascending out of the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb, but it began speaking as a dragon. And it exercises all the authority of the first wild beast in its sight. And it makes the earth and those who dwell in it worship the first wild beast, whose death stroke got healed (Organized religion). And it performs great signs, so that it should even make fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the sight of mankind.
And it misleads those who dwell on the earth, because of the signs that were granted it to perform in the sight of the wild beast, while it tells those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the wild beast that had the sword stroke and yet revived. And there was granted it to give breath to the image of the wild beast, so that the image of the wild beast should both speak and cause to be killed all those who would not in any way worship the image of the wild beast.
And it puts all under compulsion all persons, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the slaves, that they should give these a mark on their right hand or upon their forehead, and that nobody might be able to buy or sell except a person having the mark, the name of the wild beast or the number of its name. Here is where wisdom comes in: Let the one that has intelligence calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is a man's number; and its number is six hundred and sixty-six."
The judgments against the beast were all leveled at the three manifestations of the worldly authorities.. the authorities of government.. the authorities who were responsible for justice.. and the authorities of the state’s religion ( the wild beast that had the sword stroke and yet revived ).
Below are a selection of the denunciations against all three . . .
666 THE BEAST – Defining Passages
Whatever has come to be, its name has already been pronounced, and it has become known what man is; and he is not able to plead his cause with one that is more powerful than he is. Because there exist many things that are causing much vanity, what advantage does a man have? For who is there knowing what good a man has in life for the number of days of his vain life, when he spends them like a shadow? For who can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?
And I myself returned that I might see all the acts of oppression that are being done under the sun, and, look! the tears of those being oppressed, but they had no comforter, and on the side of their oppressors there was power, so they had no comforter. And I congradulated the dead who had already died rather than the living who were still alive. So better than both of them is the one who has not yet come to be, who has not come to see the calamitous work that is being done under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 6:10 & 4.1
What has happened to be, It had already been, and what is to come to be has already proved to be; and the true God himself keeps seeking that which is pursued. And I have further seen under the sun the place of justice where there was wickedness and the place of righteousness where wickedness was. I myself have said in my heart: "The true God will judge both the righteous and the wicked one, for there is a time for every affair and concerning every work there."
I, even I, have said in my heart with regard to the sons of mankind that the true God is going to select them, that they may see that they themselves are beasts. For there is an eventuality as respects the sons of mankind and an eventuality as respects the beast, and they have the same eventuality. As the one dies, so the other dies; and they all have but one spirit, so that there is no superiority of the man over the beast, for everything is vanity. All are going to one place. They have all come to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust. Who is there knowing the spirit of the sons of mankind, whether it is ascending upward; and the spirit of the beast, whether it is ascending downward to the earth?
Ecclesiastes 3:15 & 3:18
There is a sound of uproar out of the city, a sound out of the temple! It is the sound of God repaying what is deserved to his enemies.
Isaiah 66:6
And he proceeded to bring me into the temple, and he went measuring the side pillars, SIX cubits being the width over here and SIX cubits the width over there, the width of the side pillar…. And he went inside and proceeded to measure the side pillar of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, SIX cubits; and the width of the entrance was seven cubits.
Ezekiel 41:1
Owing to this many of his disciples went off to the things behind and would no longer walk with him.
John 6: 66
. . because we know that our old personality was impaled with him, that our sinful body might be made inactive, that we should no longer go on being slaves to sin.
Romans 6:6
Note: Romans being the sixth book of the New Testament .. Also.. the “sinful body” referes to a body of people who are teaching deceptively.. concerning matters of righteousness and Law . . To” sin” means to be in error.
He delivered righteous Lot, who was greatly distressed by the indulgence of the Law-defying people in loose conduct - for that righteous man by what he saw and heard while dwelling among them from day to day was tormenting his righteous soul by reason of their lawless deeds - God knows how to deliver people of godly devotion out of trial, but to reserve unrighteous people for the day of judgment to be cut off, especially those who go after the flesh with the desire to defile it and who Look down on Lordship. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble at the glorious ones but speak abusively. But these men, like unreasoning animals born naturaly to be caught and destroyed, will, in the things that they are ignorant speak abusively, even suffer destruction in their own course of destruction, wronging themselves as a reward for wrongdoing. They consider luxurious living in the daytime a pleasure. They are spots and blemishes, indulging with unrestrained delight in their deceptive teachings while feasting together with you. They have eyes full of adultery and unable to desist from sin, and they entice unsteady souls. They have a heart trained in covetiveness. They are accursed children. Abandoning the straight path, they have been misled. A voiceless beast of burden, making utterance with the voice of a man, hindered the prophets mad course.
These are fountains without water, and mists driven by a violent storm, and for them the blackness of darkness has been reserved. For they utter swelling expressions of no profit, and by the desires of the flesh, and by loose habits they entice those who are just escaping from the people who conduct themselves in error. While they are promising freedom they themselves are existing as slaves of corruption. For whoever is overcome by another is enslaved by this one. Certainly if, after having escaped from the defilements of the world by an accurate knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they get involved again in these very things and are overcome, the final conditions have become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them not to have accurately known the path of righteousness than after knowing it accurately to turn away fromthe holy commandment delivered to them. The saying of the true proverb has happened to them: "The dog has returned to its own vomit, and the sow that was bathed to rolling in the mire."
2Peter 2:7 & 2:17
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666 THE WORD “RELIGION” OCCURS JUST SIX TIMES
Yes . . the word “religion” actually only occurs just six times in the translation of the Bible that I’m using. It occurs sightly more in the King James version.. but I consider this to be a poor translation anyway. It is intresting to note that none of the other prophets.. including Jesus.. never mention the word “religion” at all.. almost as if it were taboo to say it.. that is apart from the book of 2Kings.. here we see it mentioned briefly on a single leaf of this big book. . . the operative word in Scripture is “righteousness”. . . .rather than “religion”… and the Bible is a book of Law.
1. So they sent word to the king of Assyria, saying: "The nations that you have taken into exile and then settled in the cities of Samaria have not known the RELIGION of the God of the land, so that he keeps sending lions among them;
2. ...and, look! they are putting them to death, inasmuch as there are none knowing the RELIGION of the God of the land."
3. At that the king of Assyria commanded, saying: "Have one of the priests go there whom you led into exile from there, that he may go and dwell there and teach them the RELIGION of the God of the land."
4. It was of God that they became fearers, but it was of their own gods that they proved to be worshipers, according to the RELIGION of the nations from among whom they had led them into exile.
5. Down to this day they are doing according to their former RELIGIONS.
6. And they did not obey, but it was according to their former RELIGION that they were doing. And these nations came to be fearers of God, but it was their own graven images that they proved to be serving. As for both their sons and their grandsons, IT WAS JUST AS THEIR FOREFATHERS HAD DONE THAT THEY THEMSELVES WERE DOING DOWN TO THIS DAY.
THE WORD “GOVERNMENT”. . AS THE ADVERSARY. . OCCURS JUST SIX TIMES
1. But when they bring you in before public assemblies and GOVERNMENT officials and authorities, do not become anxious about how or what you will speak in defense or what you will say...
Luke 12:11
2. And, after observing him closely, they sent out men secretly hired to pretend that they were righteous, in order that they might catch him in speech, so as to turn him over to the GOVERNMENT and to the authority of the governor.
Luke 20:20
3. For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor GOVERNMENTS nor things now here nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creation will be able to separate us from God's love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38
4. ..because we have a wrestling, not against blood and flesh, but against the GOVERNMENTS, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
5. Stripping the GOVERNMENTS and the authorities bare, he exhibited them in open public as conquered, leading them in a triumphal procession by means of it.
Colossians 2:15
6. Next, the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has brought to nothing all GOVERNMENT and all authority and power.
1Corinthians 15:24
FINALLY . . . THERE ARE . . SIX DENUCIATIONS AGAINST THE JUDGES
1. Earth itself has been given into the hand of the wicked one; The face of its JUDGES he covers. If not, who, then, is it?
Job 9:24
2.
And now, O kings, exercise insight; Let yourselves be corrected, O JUDGES of the earth.
Psalms 2:10
3. . . the One who is reducing high officials to nothing, who has made the very JUDGES of the earth as a mere unreality.
Isaiah 40:23
4. Her princes in the midst of her were roaring lions. Her JUDGES were evening wolves that did not gnaw bones till the morning.
Zephaniah 3:3
5. If, then, you do have matters of this life to be tried, is it the men looked down upon in the congregation that you put in as JUDGES?
1Corinthians 6:4
6. You have class distinctions among yourselves and you have become JUDGES rendering wicked decisions, is that not so?
James 2:4
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"I kept on beholding at that time because of the sound of the grandiose words that the horn was speaking; I kept on beholding until the beast was killed and its body was destroyed and it was given to the burning fire.”
“And he will speak even words against the Most High, and he will harass continually the holy ones themselves of the Supreme One. And he will intend to change times and law, and they will be given into his hand for a time, and times and half a time.”
Daniel 7:11 & :25
