The Number of the Beast

The Number of the Beast (666)

The number of the beast (666) is an extremely popular concept among both Christians and non-Christians. It comes from this passage in Revelation:

Revelation 13:16-18 – And it maketh all, the small, and the great, and the rich, and the poor, and the freemen, and the servants, that it may give to them a mark upon their right hand or upon their foreheads, and that no one may be able to buy, or to sell, except he who is having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is the wisdom! He who is having the understanding, let him count the number of the beast, for the number of a man it is, and its number [is] 666. (YLT)

As usual with Revelation, people tend take the phase “number of the beast” and give it a literal meaning. However, you should know from our extensive discussion on the book of Revelation that a symbolic meaning is much more consistent with the Bible. To understand what 666 means, look at these other verses:

Daniel 3:1 - Nebuchadnezzar the king hath made an image of gold, its height sixty cubits, its breadth six cubits, he hath raise it upon the valley of Dura, in the province of Babylon; (YLT)

2 Chronicles 9:13 - And the weight of the gold that is coming to Solomon in one year is six hundred and sixty and six talents of gold, (YLT)

1 Timothy 6:10 - for a root of all the evils is the love of money, which certain longing for did go astray from the faith, and themselves did pierce through with many sorrows; (YLT)

In Daniel, king Nebuchadnezzar made a gold idol that was 60 cubits high and 6 cubits wide. People worshiped this idol of gold, which is associated with the number 6. In Chronicles, Solomon received 666 talents of gold in one year. 1 Timothy says that the love of money is the root of all evil. Revelation says that the mark of the beast will be required to buy and sell items. So we know the mark of the beast has to do something with money, buying and selling, love, and evil, but we are still missing a major clue.

I discussed in my article on the Rapture that the Age of Tabernacles will bring a new world order with new laws from God directly, rather than man. Remember that a major theme of Revelation is to prepare people for the Age of Tabernacles. It therefore follows that in the new world order, buying and selling will no longer be based on money, but on love and trust. Money can be obtained through evil and hate. A political system with money can never be fair and just. However, a system that measures people’s love and trust has far greater potential to be fair. To do this, Jesus must come into play. No manmade technology can make a meter that can measure someone’s “love.” But when Jesus rules in the Age of Tabernacles after the second coming, this will be possible. Some people believe that this will be a chip in your forehead or hand. I would argue that the details of this idea are not important. It is the concept of ruling based on a hierarchy of love, not money.

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