THE MARK OF THE BEAST by tonabamiro @ 2013-02-01 – 14:30:17 Revelation 13:16-18 King James Version (KJV) 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 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. The mark of the beast is Chi (khee) Xi (Xee) S (Stigma), a sort of elongated S. These are the 22nd, 14th and an obsolete letter of the Greek alphabet (intermediate between the 5th and the 6th), used as numbers; denoting respectively 600, 60, and 6; 666 as numeral – six hundred and sixty six (taken from the Strong Exhaustive Dictionary of the Bible, Hebrew and Greek). The letter Stigma is from a primary root (to stick, i.e prick) a mark incised or punched (for recognition of ownership) i.e figuratively (a scar) of service. Stigma denotes “a tattooed mark” or “a mark burnt in, a brand,” translated marks in Galatians 6:17.(1) it is probably that the apostle refers to the physical sufferings he had endured since he began to proclaim Jesus as Messiah and Lord (e.g at Lystra and Philippi), (2) It is probable too, that this reference to his scars was intended to set off judazaizers upon a body-mark which cost them nothing. Over against the circumcision they demanded as a proof of obedience to the law he set the indelible tokens, sustained in his own body, of his loyalty to the Lord Jesus. This is also taken from the Strong Exhaustive Dictionary, Hebrew and Greek. The phrase it is a number of a man might simply mean “it is a human computation.” The number six might signify the tendency of man to fall short, to fall short of t he glory of God, to fall short of God’s perfection, after the “fall.” Hebrew and Greek letters were also used as numerals, the mark of the beast reproduced either his name or the number formed by adding together the numerical values represented by the letters of his name. By the Sibyllane Oracles the number of the name of Jesus is 888, one better than perfection each time, each of the three times. Each number 666 can be looked at from the three temptations which Jesus overcame, each time, thereby, in his case 888 is above perfection each time, and the three things the woman saw in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Some scholars believe the number 666 serves to identify the Roman Empire with the chaos monster, from which the portrait of the dragon and the beast is drawn in the book of Revelation. Primal Chaos, Tehom Qadmonah, in Hebrew is 666. In some Mss manuscripts the number of the best is transcribed as 616. Both numbers 666 and 616 might actually point to different viewpoints of the same truth God is trying to pass across to us. However, I think the number 666 in a way, represents thetemptation the woman had in the garden of Eden, concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The woman has been described, in a sense, as the unconscious part of Adam by many notable Theologians, for example Annick De Souzenelle, the French Theologian. The unconscious part of Adam is the female part of Adam, that ruled by darkness, and controlled by Satan. So the number 666, to me represents those who want to live by the law, rather than those who want to live by the faith of Christ (888). They represent those of the circumcision, those who want to live by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or those who (without actually knowing it) live by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, rather than those who live by the tree of life. At the very end of the book of Revelation, the tree of life appears again, for those who overcome.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 11:00:54 +0000
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