Diary: 666 MYSTERY SOLVED: IT'S ...

A sigh of relief spread throughout much of the Christian realm on June 7, 2006, because a dreaded day had passed with no discernible ill effects on man, country, or world. That day, feared by some ~ but fortunately not the majority of Americans ~ was June 6, 2006, or, as written in shorthand, 666. That number from Revelation 13:18 of the Bible is said by fundamentalist Christian fanatics to portend evil and is commonly linked to the being called Satan or to an Antichrist.

That is all nonsense.

The passage is: "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." Nowhere does that statement indicate a reference to Satan or an Antichrist and its relevance traverses verse 11 through 18. To some people Satan is a myth, to others he is a spirit and a fallen angel, and both considerations could also apply to an Antichrist. Revelation expressly says 666 is man's number; no way does it claim to be a myth's number or a spirit's number or an ex-angel's number.

This article does not pretend to vouch for the validity of that Bible passage or pretend to dispute it. It only presents what the Bible says and uses the "understanding" to come to a conclusion through the "wisdom" that is called for.

We start earlier in the Bible, at Second Timothy 3:1-7, which appears to be a perfect description of the modern religion-based Republican Party with its greed, bigotry, deceit, corruption, hatred of those who are good. But it's verse 7 that is apropos; for it says that those hypocrites will be constantly studying biblical scriptures but never coming to a understanding of what it's all about. That is so concerning the Mark of the Beast; 666.

Even so-called biblical scholars who have no affiliation with fundamentalism fail to understand the significance. One highly regarded scholar, a Roman Catholic priest and professor of religion, says it refers to the "despotic Roman emperor Nero." His "insight" doesn't make sense.

The number 6 is used because mankind came into being on Day 6 of creation, as told in Genesis. Day 3 saw the creation of trees, bushes, grasses and all vegetation. Day 5 saw the creation of all living things in the seas and those that fly above the earth. Day 6 also was the era for the creation of dogs, cats, elephants and all animals large and small that walk the surface of the earth. But 6 is designated as man's number, not the number of other earth-bound creatures, and that is why it is tripled to 666 ~ the Mark of the Beast ~ a symbol that pertains only to something humans have and other Day 6 animals do not.

It is important to understand just what "the beast" is. We know that eagles, lions and bears are beasts. We also know that they are national or political symbols; in this instance symbols of the United States, Great Britain and Russia. It is common for nations to have animal symbols designating those countries just as it is for states (California uses a bear, Oregon a beaver). Political movements use beasts as symbols; such as the United States Republican Party being identified by an elephant, the Democratic Party by a donkey. Mankind has used animals as national or political symbols since Adam left Eden, and people in biblical times knew that.

Therefore 6 designates mankind, and the tripling to 666 refers to a nation of the people (6), by the people (6) and for the people (6); in other words, a democratic republic, as defined by Abraham Lincoln. This application could not apply to Nero nor to any other dictator, only to a democratic republic, because no dictator could exercise authority over the entire earth as implied by verses 12 and 14. We have met the 666 Beast and it is us.

To understand this conclusion we have to go back to verse 11 of Revelation 13. It says a two-horned beast emerges to terrorize the earth and control human activities. The two horns symbolize the two forms of democratic republics that now lead the earth. One horn denotes the parliamentary form of democratic republics (created by Great Britain), the second horn the congressional form (created by the United States). The beast forces 666 to be put on the foreheads and hands of all who are allowed to participate with that beast. The forehead is symbolic of thoughts and philosophies while the hand symbolizes work or servitude for masters or clients. A nation need not embrace democratic principles (forehead) to be favored by democratic 666 nations. Saudi Arabia is a prime example of a nation with 666 on its hand; it is not a democratic republic but it works for and is supported by democratic nations. That has been true in the past when a democratic United States subverted nationalist movements a reported 35 times in 30 sovereign nations in order to install puppet governments that would work on behalf of the US's anti-communism hysteria such as in Chile, Iran, Haiti, throughout Latin America, Asia and Africa. The passage that no man (king) is able to buy or sell if not branded by 666 easily pertains to the economic sanctions the US and other "democracies" impose on disfavored nations. Cuba, Iran, Iraq, (before the invasion) North Korea, and other shunned nations are testament to that.

In Chile, economic sanctions were immediately imposed on that nation after it elected a man deemed to be a "socialist" by 666 nations. Following a coup sponsored by the United States and the installation of a puppet regime that worked the anticommunism campaign, the sanctions were ended and trade restored even though the military dictator murdered thousands of his fellow Chileans, many for advocating democracy. Iraq was allowed to buy all the military weapons and chemicals it wanted from the United States and Great Britain as long as Saddam Hussein's government worked for democratic nations in warring against the disfavored Iran. When Hussein stopped working for the 666 nations and openly defied them, economic sanctions were imposed following the 1991 military defeat of Iraq.

Such economic sanctions against disfavored nations appear to be the meaning of the biblical statement that no man would be able to buy or sell unless he has the mark of the beast on his forehead or on his hand.

Nothing is stated in this article to claim that the Bible condemns the United States and Great Britain for their joint foray into terrorizing the world under George W. Bush and Tony Blair, nor would it dispute such a conclusion. It only examines what is said and leaves it up to readers to reach their own conclusions. Those who dismiss Bible stories may see this exercise as a quaint coincidence; those who believe the infallibility of the Bible should worry about how they helped bring the US and Great Britain to the point of being bullies to the world. Or, maybe the 666 national designation came into biblical disfavor because God has actually heard the babbling from the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly.

But those people who claim to communicate directly with God daily and claim to know His intent and plans for mankind but cannot understand the significance of 666 should not expect anyone to listen to them when they pontificate on any biblical message that falls between the Eden tale and the offerings on 666.

Think about it.

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