666 And The Mark Of The Beast

What is the importance of 666 and the Mark of the Beast?

There are many prophecies in the Bible, but perhaps the most solemn of all is the one that speaks of the time of the end and gives us the warning of the consequences of taking the “mark of the beast.” Revelation 14:9-11 “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

With everything we can see happening in the world like global pandemics, it is not hard to see that the end of this earths final days are drawing near. And so it is of the utmost importance therefore that we study the prophecies of Revelation and Daniel (which has many keys to unlocking the prophecies) to determine and understand exactly what is involved with the number 666 and the mark of the beast, so that we can ensure that we will not be deceived.

Jesus gave the visions of Revelation to John, so that he could write them down for God’s people to take heed and know what to expect. Revelation 1:1 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:” Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

Jesus continually emphasized the need to beware of deceptions. Luke 21:8 “And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.” Matthew 24:24 “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

Revelation clearly shows that those who take the mark of the beast or 666, the number of his name, were deceived and unaware that they were taking them. Revelation 19:20 “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

666 and Mark of the Beast symbols

To be able to decipher the meaning of 666, the beast and the mark, we need to understand how to determine what the symbols in Revelation mean. The key to understanding the book of Revelation is found in noting that over two thirds of the verses in Revelation either quote or allude to passages found elsewhere in the Bible. By referring back to these other passages, we are able to obtain the full picture of what the verses in Revelation are telling us.

There have been a myriad of books written that give private interpretations of Revelation, and they all come up with different ideas. The only real way to find the true meaning is to let the Bible interpret itself. The prophet Isaiah explained how the Bible should be used to interpret itself. Isaiah 28:10 “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” This means that we need to match scripture with scripture. If we want to find out what something means, we must check it with other areas of the Bible that are talking about the same thing, or where the same phrases are used. God clearly wanted us to understand this book, and has given us all we need to do that in His Word.

The symbols used in Revelation are explained elsewhere in the Bible or in Revelation itself. The following examples relate specifically to the mark of the beast prophecy that we are looking at:

Dragon = Satan. Isaiah 27:1 “In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.” Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

Beast = Kingdom/political power/government. Daniel 7:17 “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.” Daniel 7:23 “Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.”

Heads = Major governments/powers/rulers/kingdoms. Revelation 17:9-10 “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.”

Horn = King or kingdom. Daniel 7:24 “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.”

Crown = Glorious ruler/rulership/king. Proverbs 16:31 “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.”

Hand = Deeds/works/actions. Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”

Forehead = Mind. Ezekiel 3:9 “As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.”

Mark = Sign or seal of approval or disapproval. Ezekiel 9:4 “And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.”

Seal = Sign or mark of approval or disapproval. Romans 4:11 “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:”

Lion = Jesus/Powerful king i.e. Babylon. Revelation 5:5 “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” Ezekiel 32:2 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations…”

Bear = Destructive power Medo/Persia. Proverbs 28:15 “As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.”

Leopard = Greece. Daniel 7:6 “After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.”

Waters = Inhabited area/people/nations. Revelation 17:15 “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”

Earth = Uninhabited area/nation. Opposite to Waters.

Fire = Holy Spirit. Luke 3:16 “John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:”

White = Purity. Revelation 3:5 “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”

White Robes = Victory/righteousness. Revelation 19:8 “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

Red/scarlet = Sin/corruption. Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

Wine = Blood/doctrines/covenant. Luke 5:37-38 “And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.”

Angel = Messenger. Luke 1:19 “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.”

Babylon = Apostasy/rebellion/confusion. Genesis 11:9 “Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”

Time = 360 days. One year in the old Jewish calendar. Daniel 4:32 “And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.”

Times = 720 days. Two years in the old Jewish Calendar. Revelation 12:14 “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”

Day = Literal year. Ezekiel 4:6 “And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.”

Pure Woman = True Church. Jeremiah 6:2 “I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.”

Harlot = Apostate church/religion/doctrines. Jeremiah 3:6-9 “The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.”

Now that we have looked at many of the symbols relevant to this prophecy, it should also be noted that Revelation is not to be read in a contiguous manner, as the same things are repeated in different chapters, but viewed from different perspectives, and therefore each one builds on the previous. For instance, the seven Churches in Revelation looks at things from the religious point of view. The seven Trumpets look at things from the political point of view etc.

The book of Revelation is written in a symbolic manner, and you often find that stories that it refers to in the Old Testament, where things happened literally, were actually ‘types’ of things that would later happen spiritually. For example Revelation speaks of Babylon. The literal Babylon of the Old Testament was a pagan nation who enslaved the Israelites, worshiped idols and worshiped their king as a God, used sacred objects that they had captured from God’s temple for secular purposes, and were overall seen as evil in the Lord’s eyes. When it refers to Babylon in the last days, it is talking about spiritual Babylon, specifically applying this to an apostate Church – one that blasphemes God, uplifts man above God and follows traditions, instead of the true Word of God.

It should also be noted that times depicted in Bible prophecy work on the ‘day for a year’ rule as we are told in Ezekiel 4:6 “… I have appointed thee each day for a year.” and Numbers 14:34 “After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year…”

Is Satan the Beast of Revelation?

There is a common misconception that when the Bible refers to the mark of the beast, that the beast is Satan. As previously noted a beast in prophetic terms is a religious, political or regal power. Revelation clearly shows that there is a distinction between the devil and the beast. Revelation 20:10 “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” The devil did, however give power to the first beast of Revelation. Revelation 13:2 “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

The Three Angels messages

Before the mark of the beast is given and God’s people sealed with the mark of God, there is a message that goes to all of the world, given by three angels (symbolic for messengers).

Revelation 14:6-7 “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

Revelation 14:8 “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

Revelation 14:9-12 “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

The First Beast of Revelation

Most Christians are unaware that there is more than one beast spoken of in Revelation. There are actually two prominent antichrist beasts, the first beast of Revelation 13:1 “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” And the second beast listed in Revelation 13:11-17, which we will look at shortly.

The first beast also directly relates to the fourth beast or “little horn power” described in Daniel 7:3-8 “And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” It also correlates to the “combination” beast in Revelation 4:7 “And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.”

The four beasts of Daniel 7 and the combination beast of Revelation 4 had the following attributes. They were like a lion (Babylon), a bear (Medo-Persia), a leopard (Greece) with four heads (Alexander's four generals that took over when he died suddenly) and some dreadful, terrible beast (the Roman empire) that had ten horns. Verse 23 says, “The fourth beast Rome shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.”

Verse 24 goes on to give more detail and tells us that “the ten horns out of this kingdom (the Roman Empire) are ten kings (divided Europe) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first (papal Rome was a religious/political power which was given the seat of government in Rome when the Roman Caesar Constantine, moved to Constantinople), and he shall subdue three kings.” The beast that subdued three kingdoms is called the little horn in Verse 8 and history shows that as predicted, Papal Rome destroyed three of the ten kingdoms of divided Europe. It wiped out of existence the Vandals the Heruli and the Ostrogoths. Verse 25 says this little horn power would speak great words against the most High God and oppress God’s people and most importantly it states that he will think to change times and laws.

In Revelation 13, John in his vision sees the same thing that Daniel saw. It says that a beast (kingdom government or political power) with seven heads (total beast heads in Daniel 7) and ten horns rises out of the sea (populated area) with a crown upon each horn (ten kings) and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. Verse 2 goes on to say the beast was like unto a leopard and had the feet of a bear and mouth of a lion (same four beasts) and that the dragon (Satan) gave this beast his power, his throne, and his vast authority. Verse 3 through 6 then states that one of the seven heads had received a fatal wound causing death but his deadly wound was healed and all the world would wonder after the beast and they worshipped the dragon which gave power to the beast and they worshipped the beast also. The beast was allowed to make proud claims that were insulting to God, and it was permitted to have authority for 42 months. Daniel 7:25 says, “a time (1 year) and times (2 years) and the dividing of time (half a year = total 3.5 years * 12 Months = 42 months)” which equates to the same period of time. Bible time works in lunar months which = 30 days * 42 months = 1260 days and using the day for a year rule = 1260 years. It opened its mouth and uttered blasphemies against God and blasphemed His name and His residence, that is, those who are living in heaven. Verse 7 states that it was also allowed to fight against God’s people and defeat them, and it was given authority over every tribe, nation, language, and race. Speaking blasphemies means that it is speaking things that infer that it has the authority of God, or is God on Earth. When Jesus healed the man at the temple, and told him that his sins were forgiven, the Pharisees accused Him of blasphemy – as only God can forgive sins. Luke 5:21 reads, “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” Today in the Roman Church they allege that every Priest can forgive sins. Jesus did have the authority to forgive sins, as He is the Son of God, but this means therefore that any man/priest who claims to have the power to forgive sins is blaspheming God. It also means that any religious system that elevates one man to its head, and considers him to be God’s representative on Earth – and in fact goes as far as to claim that he is God on Earth, is definitely blaspheming God.

Revelation 12:17 says that “the dragon was wroth with the woman [The true Church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which KEEP the Commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Satan hates those who keep the commandments of God, especially the Sabbath, because that commandment is the SIGN that we are God’s people, and recognise him as the Creator of Heaven and Earth. Those who receive the mark of the beast or 666, the number of his name, will be those who chose to follow the traditions of man above the commandments of God. In effect a line will be drawn between those that follow the commandments of God and those that follow the traditions of man. In relation to traditions Mark wrote the following. Mark 7:6-9 “Jesus answered them, How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! You are hypocrites, just as he wrote: 'These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me. It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!' You put aside God’s command and obey human teachings." And Jesus continued, "You have a clever way of rejecting God’s law in order to uphold your own teaching.”

The prophecy in Daniel 7:25 showed that a power would arise and “think and try to change times and laws.” There is only one commandment that is both a time and a law and this is the fourth Commandment. “Remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy.” In several places in the Bible it says that keeping the Sabbath is a sign between God and those who love Him and keep His Commandments, that we belong to him and that it is God that we worship. With this being the case what would Satan desire to do? Since keeping the Sabbath, and on God’s Holy day is a sign that it is God we worship and belong to, then it becomes obvious that Satan would endeavour to undermine God and change the day so that we are no longer keeping the fourth Commandment.

What does the prophecy mean when it says a Beast power?

A beast, as already stated is a kingdom, government or a political power. In 321 A.D. Constantine who was a pagan became Caesar in Rome and when he begun to see the balance of power shift from paganism to the Church he passed the first law enforcing Sunday worship. This meant that Christians began observing the day on which to worship God, on a day that had previously only been used by the pagans to worship the sun god. Two years later Constantine joined the Roman Catholic Church and began mingling paganism and Christianity. In order to control the eastern and western half’s of his empire, he moved his empire from Rome to Byzantium by building a new city there, which he named Constantinople and transferred his headquarters over to Constantinople leaving Rome vacant. As a result the Papacy moved in and sat on the throne of Caesar and so the Church took over Rome. This explains what is meant when the Bible says, “and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” The dragon as previously stated is the devil. In the Vatican there is a tapestry on the wall about 75 feet long, and underneath the tapestry it say’s “The donation of Constantine to the Pope” What did he donate? He donated the city of Rome and the Church became a kingdom (beast). It was no longer just a religion it was now also a political power.

The Bible also tells us that the “little horn” (antichrist beast power) of Daniel 7:25 would “think to change times and laws.”

One of the most notable changes implemented by the papacy was the changing of the day of worship that God had implemented, the seventh day Sabbath, with Sunday worship. Its second change to the commandments of God, was their removal of the second commandment (thou shalt not bow down to idols), because this commandment would have impeded their ability to successfully amalgamate paganism, with its prolific idol worshipping, into the Christian church. The church in fact highly encouraged idol worship, and simply took many of the pagan idols and renamed them with Christian names like John and Peter. So as not to change the number of commandments, they split the ninth commandment into two.

The papacy go so far as to say that the action of changing the Sabbath to Sunday, without any scriptural grounds is the ‘Mark’ of their authority, showing that they have the power to override even the institutions of God. “Sunday is our mark or authority...the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact.” (Catholic Record of London, Ontario, September 1, 1923).

For many centuries, Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper on Passover, the anniversary of when Jesus celebrated it, on the fourteenth day of Abib, or Nisan, the first month of the sacred year. The apostate church then issued a decree that Christians should not be found “Judaizing” by keeping God’s holy Passover, but should substitute pagan EASTER (spelled “Ishtar” with a silent “h”) instead. Easter is celebrated amid symbols of fertility, sex, rabbits and eggs, and is known to be of wholly Pagan in origin. Thus, by DECREE, backed up by force of arms, the Roman Church enforced the changing of “times and laws” on those who, submitted in fear of their lives.

This is another example that the Roman Catholic system, which openly claims that by its own authority it can put tradition above scripture, is the first beast of Revelation, and the Little Horn power of Daniel 7, also called the antichrist. Revelation 13 states that he the beast power would blaspheme God, and as discussed, the Papacy allege that every Priest can forgive sins. The Bible shows that no man on Earth can forgive sins. As for power, in times past Henry IV of Germany offended the pope and was excommunicated and dethroned. He had to stand barefoot in the snow for three days to pay penance before the Pope would pronounce forgiveness. Elizabeth I defied the Pope and he sent word to all Catholics in England not to obey the Queen. During the middle ages every kingdom had a bishop sitting next to and advising all of the kings and queens. Royalty had to go along with the decrees and directions of the Pope, which came via the bishops, because if they didn’t the Pope would excommunicate them. The people were taught that if they were part of a kingdom who was excommunicated from the Roman Church, then their sins would not be forgiven and they would go to Hell, which meant that any King or Queen, who was excommunicated, would be overthrown by their people. Verse 7 says the beast would fight against God’s people and defeat them.

“Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western emperors was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked him to rule over them; and thus… commenced the temporal sovereignty of the popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of Caesar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages” (American Catholic Quarterly Review, April, 1911)

It is a matter of history that the Roman Church murdered and tortured between 50 and 100 million people for being heretics (choosing for oneself what to believe) during the dark ages. All this is a matter of history and can be read in your local library, just look up ‘Inquisition’. Many of these deaths were for keeping the Seventh day Sabbath and why so many Churches today now keep Sunday. The true Sabbath day was nearly murdered out of existence as shown in this re-enactment of a true story on a Death in Red Square. Select the following for very comprehensive detail on who is the antichrist.

Benito Mussolini signs the concordat The new pope had no real power until 1929 when Benito Mussolini of Italy signed the concordat in Rome giving back to the pope, 108 acres of the old city, (the Vatican) and they once again became a religious political power. In the picture to the left, Benito Mussolini reads his credentials prior to signing the Lateran Treaty on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III. Cardinal Gasparri (seated), signed on behalf of Pope Pius XI. As a result, as the Bible predicted, “the whole world wondered after the beast.” American Presidents and dignitaries from many nations on Earth have bowed before the pope, but they have never bowed before the head of any other Church. No other religious leader in the world commands the audiences of world leaders the way the pope does. No other religion has political ambassadors assigned to them.

In 1562 the Catholic Archbishop of Reggio openly declared that their tradition now stood above scripture. This is what he wrote. “The authority of the Church is illustrated most clearly by the scriptures, for on one hand she recommends them, declares them to be divine, and offers them to us to be read, and on the other hand, the legal precepts in the scriptures taught by the Lord have ceased by virtue of the same authority. The Sabbath, the most glorious day in the law, has been changed into the Lord’s Day. These and other similar matters have not ceased by virtue of Christ’s teaching for He says that He has come to fulfill the law, not to destroy it, but they have been changed by the authority of the Church.” (Gaspare de Posso, Archbishop of Reggio, Council of Trent).

On occasions the pope wears a triple tiered crown, which signifies that he is the king of Heaven and Earth and Purgatory. This of course is obviously wrong. There is a King of Kings and His name is Jesus Christ our Lord. He is King of Heaven and King of Earth and of course there is no purgatory, the Papacy invented that so that their followers would pay them money to get their dead relatives out of Purgatory and into Heaven.

So many people in protestant churches today are not even aware that they are following the traditions of man, by going to church on Sunday and not keeping the Seventh day Sabbath of the Lord. Also many in the Papal Church are ignorant of the scriptures, and believe they are doing the right thing by following their churches doctrines and traditions. Just because someone is a member of the Roman church does not mean that they are evil, or necessarily not saved. There are many genuine people who love God with all their heart who are simply ignorant of the fact that they are defying scriptural truths.

Up till the 15th century, common people had no access to Bibles and hence were at the mercy of the doctrines taught by the Papacy. They had no way of checking for themselves if what they were being taught was correct, and only a few groups of people around the world actually had and copied the Holy Scriptures by hand and held to the genuine doctrines in the Word.

However with the invention of the printing press and the resulting explosion of Bibles accessible in the common language from Protestant sources, it became readily apparent to those who could then study the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation in particular, that Bible prophecy identified through the use of symbols a persecuting apostate entity generally known as antichrist. Following is the Bible criteria for the beast/antichrist power.

What are the criteria for the first antichrist beast power?

Following is a summary of the prophetic criteria for the antichrist beast power, which is the first beast of Revelation 13 and the fourth beast of Daniel 7. Select this link to see Charts.

It would be geographically a small nation (a little horn)
It would rise to be a great power after the fall of the pagan Roman Empire after 476 A.D.
It would be headquartered in the city of seven hills (Rome)
It would rule over many people, nations, and tongues (it will be universal)
It would claim authority over all kings
It would be a religious/political entity - a political city-state ruled by a priest-king
Its priest-king would make great and blasphemous claims
It would claim it had power to change the holy times and laws of God as a mark of its authority
It would be an apostate (non-scripturally based) church that makes the nations drink her cup of apostate doctrine
It would be a “mother” church, with apostate daughters coming from her
It would be a persecuting power, killing the faithful saints of Jesus Christ as heretics
It would hold uninterrupted power and authority for 1260 years following the fall of pagan Rome
It would suffer a deadly wound that would end 1260 years of dominance and persecution
It would be revived after the deadly wound, and all the world would wonder at its revival

In this “Historical” interpretation, the antichrist was clearly not merely a single individual; it was a system of apostasy and persecution that would hold control over God’s people for over twelve hundred years.

The early protestant reformers, such as John Wesley, John Huss, Martin Luther, John Calvin, as well as the translators of the King James Bible, Charles Spurgeon, Sir Isaac Newton, and many others all clearly stated that the fourth beast or “little horn” power of Daniel 7 that also correlates to the first beast of Revelation could be identified as the false system of religion, and persecuting power found within the papal system. The non-biblical (antichrist) doctrines instituted by the Papal system had replaced many scripturally based doctrines with traditions of man. During the dark ages millions of people were tortured and killed as ‘heretics’ for not bowing down to all of the precepts of the Roman church. They all clearly saw that this church fitted precisely and fulfilled every point of the prophecies. It was a ruling “beast power” that had arisen out of the Roman Empire, had spoken great words against God, had made war on the saints and had received a deadly wound which was now healed.

The inevitable conclusion of those who studied these prophecies in the scriptures, before and during the Protestant Reformation, was that there was only one entity in the world that fitted all the above characteristics for the antichrist beast power.

The truths that the scriptures revealed through prophecy was the reasons that the Papacy was so violently opposed to the scriptures being available for everyone to read for themselves. There was such a stir created during the reformation that the Fifth Lateran Council 1512-17 A.D. resorted to strictly forbidding anyone to publish any book without prior censorship, and also prohibited anyone from preaching on the subject of antichrist.

Many of the early Protestant reformers met their death, burnt at the stake for preaching that the papal system was the antichrist, and that people should follow only the doctrines taught in the Holy Scriptures and not those imposed by the Papal rule.

What was the Churches response to being identified as the Antichrist?

The Papacy, in response to the protestant recognition that they were none other than the antichrist beast power of Daniel and Revelation, schemed to produce a counter interpretation of scriptures, that would point the focus of the prophecy away from the Catholic Church and onto someone else. They commissioned a Jesuit priest by the name of Francisco Ribera to write one of the counter interpretations. This interpretation was called “futurism” because it projected the timeline of the prophecy right down to the end of time, and claimed that the antichrist would be one man, a dastardly individual who would go into a rebuilt Jewish temple and claim that he was God. As there is absolutely no scriptural backup for this interpretation, Ribera simply took a section of Daniel 9’s 70 week prophecy (this is a beautiful Messianic prophecy that accurately, to the season predicted when our Saviour Jesus Christ would be baptised, when he would die and when the gospel message would start to go to the gentile nations) and threw it down to the end of time. The one week (symbolic for seven years), which in Daniel’s prophecy correlated to Jesus’ death for our sins and confirmation of the covenant with the people of God, and turned this into the coming of an antichrist at a nondescript period in time. There are absolutely no prophecies in the Bible where part of it is removed from the rest. When a prophecy says 70 weeks (using the prophetic day for a year principle) this is always a contiguous period of time, in this case 490 years. If a prophecy says 2300 days, then it relates to a contiguous period of 2300 years. Ribera turned the week where Jesus began his ministry, confirmed the covenant, died for our sins, rose again to forever put an end to the animal sacrificial system into a seven year period of tribulation (yes Revelation does speak of a terrible time of tribulation, but it does not state anywhere that it is seven years) and the coming of one person who will be the antichrist.

This prophetic interpretation initially had no effect, as the protestant world was well aware of the truths of the scripture, and in no doubt whatsoever as to the true identity of the antichrist beast power, being the Papal system. However over several centuries, through numerous people reading Ribera’s interpretation and it getting picked up by one person after another, and eventually getting into the footnotes of the Schofields Bible, and then Hal Lindsey popularising it with his book the “Late great planet earth” and then finally finding its way into the fictional series, which most Christians accept as fact, the “Left Behind Series”, one of Satan’s greatest triumphs has taken place. He has managed to deceive the majority of the Christian world into looking for a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, an antichrist who will be an individual, and also a secret rapture that will whisk away all of God’s people before a seven year tribulation. (The secret rapture idea was first invented in 1830, but again much of the Christian world believe this idea, even though it directly contradicts what the scriptures teach about the loud, audible, visible second coming of our Lord). The idea of seven years of tribulation, with a rapture away of the Christian’s, but then a second chance for anyone who then realises that there really must be a God, because all the Christian’s have disappeared, in another extremely dangerous deception that Satan has managed to propagate, because some people may put off making a decision to follow the Lord, and as there will be no second chances they will miss their opportunity to be saved. The Bible makes it clear that once probation closes there will be no second chances. Just as it was when Noah went into the Ark and the door was closed, there was no more opportunity for people to change their mind. Their fates where sealed. The Bible clearly shows that the same thing will be the case before Jesus comes. Luke 17:26-30 “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”

The Second Beast of Revelation

The second beast is described in Revelation 13:11-17 “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 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: 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.”

Following the time line of the prophecies, we know that the first beast received its deadly wound in 1798, which means that the second beast, which came out of the Earth (meaning a previously sparsely populated area) must have arisen sometime around this year. The prophecy says that the beast had two horns like a lamb, meaning that initially there was a distinct division between two types of leadership. In this case a separation between religious power and political power. Lamb like qualities implies that it had to be a Christian nation and Revelation 12 shows that it was a nation where God’s people fled to in order to escape the persecutions.

Revelation 12:14-17 “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

There is only one major political power in the world today that meets all of these criteria, and that is the United States of America. A nation that still calls itself “Christian” even though they have banned the displaying of the “Ten Commandments” in schools. This was the place where many of the fleeing Christians made home, to escape the persecutions in Europe. It also arose and officially became a nation at a time that would match the prophecy. It is a country that was discovered, not conquered. It was a haven for civil and religious freedom.

The prophecy in Revelation 13 goes on to say that the beast “spake as a dragon”, meaning that at some stage the nature of the beast would change, and it would begin to exercise the same powers as the first antichrist beast. This means that it will cause (enforce by law) people to worship the papal power. It will make an image to the first beast, and it will persecute and kill anyone who does not bow down to it. It will cause everyone to take a mark in their right hand (symbolic for their actions) or in their forehead (symbolic for their thoughts, or decisions) and anyone who does not take their mark will be persecuted and not be permitted to buy or sell.

This prophecy predicts that anyone who does not take the mark of the beast will be victimized or killed. Then it goes on to speak of those true followers of God, who do not take the mark of the beast, but have the Seal of God. Revelation 14:12 “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

It is interesting that the differentiating factor is that those who are saved will be “keeping the commandments”, and that the “Mark” of the papal system is that they changed the fourth commandment, the Sabbath to Sunday.

We don’t know what the catalyst will be that precedes this uniting of religion and state. There will be some sort of cataclysmic event, whether it be a natural disaster, a meteor a world wide economic crash, an unprecedented escalation of terrorism in the world or something similar we don’t know. What we do know is that something will transpire that will make all of the leading churches of the United States unite on some common ground, putting aside doctrinal differences, and that they will influence the government to enforce decrees to exalt Sunday sacredness in a desperate effort to create peace. They will enforce the day of worship (Sunday) instituted by the papal system, and hence will unwittingly make an image to the first beast, for the Mark of the Papacy's authority was to make up its own laws and change the Sabbath to Sunday. It seems evident then that the religio-political system, when it comes to power will enforce, upon consequence of death, the observance of worship on the counterfeit day, the day on which the pagans worshipped the sun god. It will be more than just nationwide though, as God’s people are now in all corners of the world, this means that there will be a world government, with one single religious leader at the head. Does the UN push for a New World Order, and their suggestions that the Pope should be viewed as the religious head of all churches ring any alarm bells?

When there is strife, turmoil, terrorism or economic disaster in the world, the call for unity and harmony will probably sound attractive to anyone who is not aware of the warning God has given us in His prophecies.

It has been suggested that most of the major wars in Earths history have been financed or influenced by the Jesuit order, whose prime aim is to bring the papacy into world domination.

The final part of the prophecy is obviously still yet to be fulfilled, and it is the part that we need to ensure we fully understand, so that we do not unknowingly take the mark, and be doomed to eternal destruction.

Those that stay true to the Bible based teachings and keep the Ten Commandments have the following promise to look forward to. Revelation 20:4 “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

What is 666 and the mark of the beast?

We have established that the mark of the first antichrist beast power is its blatant disregard for authority of God and claim that they have the authority to override scripture, which they prove by the fact that they changed the fourth commandment Sabbath day of God to Sunday by their own authority. In other words, the Roman Catholic Church’s act of changing the Sabbath to Sunday is the “mark of the beast.”

A Bible published in the 1800’s had the following footnote, which depicts what Christians at that time understood that the ‘Mark’ was all about reads as follows: “Ver. 16. A mark. Submission to the rites and ceremonies of the papal communion. In their right hand. By active obedience to the papal power. Or in their foreheads. By outward profession of its doctrines and infallible authority” (The New Testament: With Commentaries, References, Harmony of the Gospels and the Helps Needed to Understand and Teach the Text. 1895. New York and St. Louis. N.D. Thompson Pub. Co., p. 530).

The Origin of 666

The Babylonians used the sexagesimal (base-60) number system from which comes 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute, 360 (60x6) degrees in a circle and 60 degrees in each angle of an equilateral triangle etc. 360 divided by 10 = 36 and 6 * 6 = 36.

The Babylonians worshiped gods associated with the sun, moon, planets and stars and were the principle developers of astrology as we know it today. And because of this, pagan priests wore amulets called “Sigilla Solis” or “Sun Seal” which symbolized 36 constellations.

In this system the Babylonians worshipped 36 gods, which included the sun god, which they believed to be the father of all gods and supreme over all. Babylonians believed that numbers had power over the gods they worshiped and so assigned numbers to each of them believing this gave them power over them. They assigned consecutive numbers to each of the 36 lesser gods, and then added these numbers from 1 to 36 and assigned the total to their sun god. The number 1 was assigned to the sun as it was considered the father of all gods and hence the male deity. The number 2 was assigned to the moon and was the female deity. The numbers 3 through 36 were assigned to the various stars and constellations and were considered the children of the sun and the moon god. And what was the total of the numbers from 1 to 36? It is 666 which is also assigned to the sun being the father of all their gods. So the calculation is this:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 + 16 + 17 + 18 + 19 + 20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + 24 + 25 + 26 + 27 + 28 + 29 + 30 + 31 + 32 + 33 + 34 + 35 + 36 = 666

The Scholar Murl Vance wrote the following in his book “Trail of the Serpent.”

“In the astrological religion of Babylon, every god had his sacred number or numbers which were often used in place of the god's name. These numbers indicated the god's place and power among the astrological gods...

Going deeply back into Babylonian astrology we find the real reason for the sanctity for the number 36. The Babylonians divided each of the 12 houses in the zodiac into three rooms, making 36 in all. They then divided the entire remainder of the sky into 36 constellations, and appointed the ruling god of each constellation to rule over one of the 36 rooms of the zodiac. Since the spirits of the departed were believed to go to and dwell in the stars - a teaching still much alive today, there was therefore not a spirit in the heavens, not a star in the sky which was not represented in the 36 rooms of the zodiac, and to swear by the number 36 was to swear by every god in the heavens above, as well as by all the spirits of the departed. The 36 gods were called decans because each ruled over 10 degrees of the zodiacal circle and over 10 days of the 360-day year.

The seven planets or the 7-headed astrological dragon ruled over the 36 decans and over them all, as we have noted, ruled the sun, 'the father of the gods.' It was natural and inevitable that since the summary number of the numbers from 1-36 is 666, this number (called the Grand Number of the Sun), should have been assigned to the sun-god as the cosmic god who not only ruled over all the other gods but also was their heavenly parent. Herein lies the reason for the 'Solar Seals' in use before the time of Christ as amulets to ward off any evil that might come from the 36 decans.” (Vance, pp. 26, 27)

Number of the beast amulet The Babylonians saw their gods as being predominantly evil and feared that one of them may strike them down. So they made these amulets with a 6 * 6 matrix with the numbers 1 through 36, which today are called numeric matrixes magic squares.

And so the design of these amulets was to protect them from being struck down using the so called magic power. They believed that the power of these amulets was increased by arranging the numbers 1 through 36 in such a way that the total any given row, column or diagonal was 111, and therefore the sum of all six rows or all six columns was 666. This was intended to give more protection including from the sun god since this god's sum was present on the amulet.

The following from Murl Vance explains why the Babylonians needed to carry the amulets with them:

Solar seal amulet with the number of the beast “...as to why anyone should use the number 666 lies in the very nature of pagan idolatry, which is ... nothing but disguised demon worship. The principle behind all demon worship is fear, and the worship is nothing more than an effort to placate the evil one. Since in the fear religions, all misfortune, sickness, and death are the result of the operation of evil spirits, the worshiper, knowing by his conduct that he is not on God's side and therefore cannot expect, as long as he continues in open rebellion, to have his prayers for help addressed to God answered, turns to the only other supernatural power available to him, Lucifer himself.

One characteristic stands out in any of these fear religions: the worshiper ever tries to stay in the good graces of his god by revering or wearing some symbol representing that god. Not only does he offer his most cherished possessions - perhaps his own children - he must ever, to avoid disaster, have on his person some object in which the spirit of his god dwells, he must carry his god around with him. This is the principle behind all charms, amulets, and magical objects ever found in pagan idolatry.” (Murl Vance, Trail of the Serpent. Pages 108-109).

Scripture says this number is now the number of a man at the head of the beast power being the Papacy. Why? For example, from Babylonian sun worship, the Papal Church are responsible for the birth of the sun god being given to the Son of God, and they created a doctrine of a three in one god, which is purely a pagan concept that denies the Father and Son and so is antichrist. See 666 and the number of the beast for detailed information, and is the Trinity true or false for the shocking truth about the Trinity that most just assume is correct.

Isn’t the mark of the beast 666?

	V=5		F=0		D=500
	I=1		I=1		E=0
	C=100		L=50		I=1
	A=0		I=1
	R=0		I=1
	I=1
	U=5
	S=0
	___		__		___
Total	112	+	53	+	501	= 666

The Papacy now deny Vicarius Filii Dei was ever a Papal title but this question and answer from them says otherwise.

Question: “What are the letters supposed to be in the Pope’s crown, and what do they signify if anything?”
Answer: “The letters inscribed in the Pope's mitre are these: Vicarius Filii Dei, which is the Latin for Vicar of the Son of God. Catholics hold that the Church which is a visible society must have a visible head. Christ, before His ascension into heaven, appointed St. Peter to act as His representative. Upon the death of Peter the man who succeeded to the office of Peter as Bishop of Rome, was recognized as the head of the Church. Hence to the Bishop of Rome, as head of the Church, was given the title ‘Vicar of Christ.’ Enemies of the Papacy denounce this title as a malicious assumption. But the Bible informs us that Christ did not only give His Church authority to teach, but also to rule. Laying claim to the authority to rule in Christ’s spiritual kingdom, in Christ’s stead, is not a whit more malicious than laying claim to the authority to teach in Christ’s name. And this every Christian minister does.” — Our Sunday Visitor, (Catholic Weekly), April 18, 1915, thirteenth question under "Bureau of Information,” p. 3, (on page 2 appears “sanctions for the editor” from Pope Pius X, dated May 17, 1914; from the Apostolic Delegate, John Bonzano, dated April 27, 1913; and from J. H. Alerding, Bishop of Fort Wayne, Ind., dated March 29, 1912).

Does God have a mark?

We need to remember that there is more that one mark spoken of in Revelation. As well as the mark of the beast, God’s people will also receive a mark or seal. Revelation 9:4 “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.”

Everyone will get something that will signify whether they worship the Creator of Heaven and Earth or if they worship the deceiving Antichrist Beast power. Everyone on the planet will be marked; either they will have the Seal of God or the Mark of the Beast. It is obvious then that what we are dealing with is not a computer chip placed under the skin, or a credit card or one of the other numerous popular interpretations. The fact that everyone gets a mark blows holes in these theories – because God’s people are given the seal of God by the angels Revelation 7:3 “Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”

It is quite possible that to prevent the people who don’t take the mark of the beast from buying or selling that there will be something that is only given to people who accept the mark of the beast that will allow them to carry on their normal activities. On the other hand it may be that anyone who does not bow down to the false system of worship will have all of their bank accounts frozen. This is happening even today with suspected terrorists – without a judge, jury or trial their assets are being frozen.

What is the seal of God?

There are numerous scriptures that mention the seal of God. Here are just a few:

John 3:33 “He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.”

2 Timothy 2:19 “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

Isaiah 8:16 “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.”

1 Corinthians 9:2 “If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.”

Ephesians 1:13 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”

Revelation 7:2 “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,”

Revelation 7:3 “Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”

Revelation 9:4 “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.”

What is a literal seal and what is it used for? A royal seal contains three things, the persons name, their title or claim to authority, and lastly, the region of their rule. Elizabeth II, Queen of Britain, Wales and Scotland for example. What is the purpose of a Royal seal? The Bible tells us clearly:

Daniel 6:15-17 “Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.”

This shows that the seal of the King is a statement that his decree is not to be changed. Also a seal and a sign are synonymous, as demonstrated in Romans 4:11 “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:”

The seal of God is in His law, so clearly this is a symbolic seal, not a literal one. The fourth commandment states Exodus 20:10-11 “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” This shows that God (name) is the Creator (title) of Heaven and Earth (realm).

Is it any wonder that this commandment was the focus of the enemy, and that he wanted it changed?

The fourth commandment (seventh day Sabbath), which the Papacy has endeavoured to set aside, is the only precept of the Ten Commandments that points to God as the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, and hence distinguishes Him from all of the false gods. The Sabbath was instituted at creation to commemorate his creative work and direct the minds of men to the only true and living God. It was instituted as a day of rest and a day to worship our creator.

The one thing that Satan wants and does NOT deserve, the thing that belongs only to the Creator, is worship. Isaiah 14:12-14 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Is it any wonder then that the aim of Satan’s attacks is on the one commandment that perpetuates the truth of God’s creative power, His beautiful Sabbath day. This commandment also of course points to our redeemer, Jesus Christ. John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

This is why there is a distinction made between those who worship the beast and receive his mark, and those who keep the Ten Commandments and receive the seal of God. Revelation 12:17 “And the dragon was wroth with the woman (church), and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

The seal/sign of the fourth commandment is further clarified in the following verses. Exodus 31:13 “Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.” And Exodus 31:16-17 “Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.”

The Sabbath of course did not relate only to the Jews, it was instituted at the time of creation. The true Church of God is called Abraham’s seed or Spiritual Israel. Galatians 3:29 “And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Jesus told us that He was “Lord of the Sabbath” and also reminded us that the commandments were perpetual. Matthew 5:17-19 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

The Criteria for the Mark of the Beast

In summary, the mark of the beast will have the following attributes:

The Mark of the Beast is not obvious, it is deceptive. Revelation 19:20 “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”
The mark will be received on the forehead, which represents the mind or decisions, or on the hand, which represents the actions Revelation 14:9 “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,”
The three angels reveal a comprehensive message from God before the second coming of Jesus Christ to all the world to help people understand the mark (Revelation 14:6-16).
Those who worship Jesus Christ as the Creator will not get the mark Revelation 14:7 “Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” But which God and His Son do we worship as there are many false doctrines on who the Father and Son are. It is a 3 in 1 god that are not 3 gods but 1 god, that is, the Trinity, or is it just 3 gods, which is tritheism? Or is it a real Father and Son who live in you by Their Holy Spirit? Thus the very presence and power of God in you! Can you worship a false god and not get the mark of the beast? Of course not! It has to be the true Father and Son. This is the biggest deception of all where many will be deceived and lost. So please do not assume. The majority have always been wrong in Scripture. Only 8 were saved in the time of Noah! Read the truth on the Trinity and decide what is truly biblical truth.
Those who keep all of the Ten Commandments will not get the mark Revelation 14:12 “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
The mark comes from the beast, which represents the Papacy.
The warning against the mark will be given with a loud voice, thus it must be clear and easy to understand Revelation 14:9 “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,”
The mark involves a specific sin against God Himself, for those who receive it will drink the wine of His wrath Revelation 14:10 “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:”
The mark has something to do with the changing of God’s law Daniel 7:25 “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”
666 is not the mark of the beast, but it is the number of a man (the representative of the beast power). Revelation 13:18 “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.”

Taking note of the Biblical criteria for the antichrist, and the mark of the beast, it seems apparent that the idea of computer chips, tattoos, credit cards or bar codes are all merely fables. The real marks, whether it be the mark of the beast or the seal from God are of a far more spiritual nature. They relate directly to our love and obedience (or lack of) to our Creator, the one and only true God and for His son Jesus Christ, the co-creator who took on human flesh and died so that the separation between God and man that was initialised by the sins of Adam and Eve could forever be repaired. That through the redeeming blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we could repent and have our sins forgiven, and once again come into a restored (marriage) relationship with our creators. The things that decide which mark we get are our decisions, faith and thoughts (in the forehead) and our actions (in the hand) and who we choose to worship.

We find in Daniel chapter 3 that King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold image with dimensions that were equal to 666 that he commanded all to worship. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not disobey God’s commandment and refused to obey the king. Since these faithful three refused, the king threw them into a blazing furnace that was heated seven times hotter than usual. The King in amazement said, “Why do I see four men walking around in the fire? They are not tied up, and they show no sign of being hurt and the fourth is like that of the Son of God. Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! They disobeyed my command and risked their lives rather than bow down and worship any god except their own. There is no other god who can rescue like this.” As a result, the king promoted these faithful three to higher positions in Babylon. This is an excellent example of obedience to God and one He has given us, which is a parallel of the Mark of the Beast issue in Revelation 13 and 14 that demonstrates how we need to respond in end times, that is we should obey God rather than man and not worship the Beast. So do we worship God on the day specified by the Papal beast power and get the mark of the beast or on the day God commanded and receive the seal of God? Do you desire the “praise of men” more than the praise of God? Or do you have the FAITH and COURAGE to obey God’s Commandments, even if you were to lose some of your friends or even your job?

Select 666 and the mark of the beast for more reading or what is the mark of the beast for the origins of that mysterious number 666.

Watch Excellent Prophecy Seminars Online

If you would like to watch an online Prophecy Seminar that reveals who the little horn of Daniel 7 and the Beast of Revelation 13 is that changed the Sabbath to Sunday, you will find Revelation Reveals the Antichrist very enlightening. You may want to start about 17.5 minutes in to bypass singing items etc. You can also watch Histories Greatest Hoax on the truth about the Sabbath and ideally should be watched first. There is also an episode covering 666 and the mark of the beast. To watch more from this and other Prophecy Seminars you will find the Prophecy Code here. Be prepared to discover many mind blowing, lost Bible truths.

666 Mark Of The Beast

and the mysterious beasts of Revelation 13