Revelation 13:11f: "Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon . . . . And he performed great and miraculous signs . . . in the full view of men. Because of the signs . . . he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived . . . . He also forced everyone . . . to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666."
In John's apocalyptic book, we find the account of the beast coming forth and performing miraculous signs that impressed the inhabitants of the earth. Although the beast desired to present himself like the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, in reality, the speech of the beast condemned him as a dragon of evil. Despite his wickedness, the beast was able still to deceive humanity into worshipping him over the true LORD, due to his demonstrative power. He also mandated that everyone must receive his mark of distinction, the infamous mark of the beast, 666.
Whereas this story is not the easiest to conceptualize, it nonetheless has relevance for us today. The distinguishing characteristic of the beast is his quest to usurp power and authority from the LORD for his own self-adulation. He performs mighty acts to convince people to worship the image he has crafted, and he dictates that everyone must have his mark. This mark of the beast is in outright rebellion to the name of God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Lamb, that had been inscribed on the foreheads of the elect. Thus, the beast is not unlike the wicked man of Job 15:25-26 that "shakes his fist at God and vaunts himself against the Almighty, defiantly charging against him with a thick, strong shield."
We can see why 666 would be the chosen number of rebellion. Since the number 6 has been a number historically assigned to man, its trifold repetition could be seen as man's attempt at rebellion against the triune God (i.e. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit). If 7 is seen as the number of perfection or completion, then one could see the possibility that 777 may be the number that God would define as His own. 666 is the number that the purveyors of evil would use to stand in rebellion to the Lord Almighty. The number displaces the name of God with mankind's attempt to assert his own divinity.
When we think of what the number 666 represents (i.e. quest for self-lordship over the Triune Lord), it is not surprising that many already have the mark inscribed on their foreheads. True, this number is not visibly evident to the physical eye; nevertheless, the number is there, for it is the testament to the rebellious heart that is within man's soul. Many people today have the distinguishing mark that would identify them as modern-day antichrists (those who refuse to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ).
The book of I John tells us that antichrists are present today on the earth propagating the lie of self-aggrandizement: "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist-he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also."
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