666 the Number and Mark of the Beast in Revelation.

 Continued from previous post:

Resurrection of the Beast

Of the United States, Revelation 13:12 says, He exercises all the authority of the first beast (Rome, Catholicism) in his presence.  And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal would was healed.  Just as the Pope and the Catholic Church used to exercise political and religious authority over the Western world before its deadly wound in 1798, so the United States will exercise its political and religious authority over the Western world, uniting with Catholicism and giving back to the Pope the power his position once wielded. 

The Image of the Beast

 When you look in a mirror you see a reflection of yourself.  It is not you, but it looks just like you and it mirrors any movement you make. 

Well, the beast was a political and religious power that ruled the Western world for centuries, and an image to this beast will have the same traits without being the exact same entity.  Instead of being solely the Catholic Church with the Pope wielding religious and political power, this image will be political powers, dominated by the US, backing up the Ecumenical unification of religious powers (Revelation 17:12, 13 says that the kings of the earth will give their power and authority to the beast, so it will not be just the US political power).  Combined, these political and religious powers resemble, or mirror, the works and the powers of the Catholic Church during her 1260-year reign from 538 CE to 1798 CE.  So what we will see is an unholy trinity, a joining of politics, Protestantism and Catholicism. 

 This unification is already at work in what is called the Ecumenical Movement, a movement by Christians of different denominations to overcome their differences and unite under their commonalities.  (See Appendix 1)

Mark of the Beast: Name or 666

Revelation 14:9 says, If anyone worships the beast or his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand….  We see that the mark comes from worshipping the beast or his image.

 And he (the United States) causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who had the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.  Here is wisdom.  Let him who had understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.  Rev. 13:16-18

 It says here in the part of Revelation 13 that describes the United States that the mark of the beast is either his name or the number of his name and those who refuse to worship the beast or his image will not be able to buy or sell. 

We saw in the last chapter of this book that for every true and good thing from God, Satan has a counterfeit: God has a church, Satan has a church; God has a Sabbath, Satan has a Sabbath; God marks his believers, Satan marks his believers.  And just as we saw in the last chapter that the seal of God is not a visible mark, so too the mark of the beast will not be a visible mark or stamp.  The mark of the beast on the forehead represents those who are unwaveringly committed to following the false prophet and the beast and its image.  They are “named” among the most faithful and radical followers of the beast. 

 The mark of the beast on the hand represents those who follow along simply because it is easier than fighting and dying for God’s truth.  They act a good part and are simply “numbered” among the throngs of those who follow the beast for the sake of convenience. 

We know that true and good things from God are counterfeited by Satan.  You have probably already noticed that God uses the number seven a lot when describing true and holy things (seventh day Sabbath, seven days of creation, seven churches, seven judgments, etc), so a close counterfeit, signifying those things that are untrue or unholy, would be the number six.  That is all the number 666 probably means. 

 No sane or half intelligent person would willingly use, or allow to be used, an identification as obvious as the number 666.  Satan and his followers are much smarter than that.  We will be able to recognize the false prophet by his actions and words; a number is irrelevant. 

Now that we have an understanding of who is who and what is what, we are ready to look at the sixth trumpet and the second woe.