REVELATION and 666.

REVELATION and 666.
The book of Revelation is without a doubt one the most intriguing books in the Bible. Especially for students of the scriptures, this book challenges the human intellect more than any other as they try to understand the meaning of the symbols contained in it. The most famous symbol is “666”, which is the mark of the beast. However, before we look at this symbol, let’s start at the beginning.

The book of Revelation opens with these words: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him. to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass" (1:1) The first thing this shows us is a distinction between Jesus Christ and God, the Father and that they are two separate and different people. To restate this verse in clearer terms we can accurately say, “This is the revelation of Jesus Christ which was given to Him by God, the Father. And after He received it from His Father, He then showed it to His servants.”

The second thing we learn from this verse is that Jesus Christ is going to reveal to John events that will "SHORTLY come to pass." In other words, these are things that will happen in the near future. What we must keep in mind is that what was the near future for John is now the distant past for us.

In the first three chapters we read of warnings given to seven specific churches. What is interesting to note is that the church at Rome is not mentioned as one of them. The Catholic church claims that the church at Rome always presided over the entire church. The bishop of Rome is known as the Pope. The Catholic church also believes that it is the Pope who is the “Vicar of Christ” or God’s spokesman. As such, he claims the right to receive revelation for the church. They further claim that there is an unbroken line in the succession of Popes from the present day all the way back to Peter, who they say was the first Pope. The question we need to ask ourselves is, why was John receiving this revelation for the church rather than the Pope at Rome? We also need to keep in mind that at the time that this revelation was given, John was the last living apostle alive. So it appears that he, rather than the Pope in Rome, was in charge of giving direction and counsel to the church.

Another interesting thing to note about the warnings given to these seven churches is that they were concerning the need to do good works. For example, in Revelation 2:2,5 we read, “"I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."

In Revelation 2:10-11 Jesus said, "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”

In verse 9-26 He continued, “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already. hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

In Revelation 3:1-5 Jesus said, “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 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."

In none of these statements do we see Christ talking about faith being the only condition of salvation. The main emphasis of His warnings were concerned about their WORKS. In fact, it also clearly shows that the salvation of these saved saints could be lost if they did not perform adequate works. He uses such symbolic terms as removing “thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent,” “blot out his name out of the book of life,” “and [only he that] keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.” That certainly doesn’t sound like the doctrine of “once saved, always saved.”

In Revelation 3:14 Jesus Himself declared, “These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” Here is biblical proof that the Son was “the creation of God,”again showing that the Father and Son are NOT the same person. It further shows that the Son came forth from the Father, which is the opposite of what Christianity today teaches.

In the 5th chapter of Revelation we read about a book which is open. John notices that there is writing both on the inside and on outside of it. What this symbolizes is that the book contains a history of the past (the inner writings) and the history of the future (the outside writings). The past is written on the inside because it is done. When the writings on the outside has been fulfilled, then they will no longer be the future and will become part of the inside writings.

Then the first of the six seals were open. Each of these seals contained the history for a six thousand year period. I have already discussed the 12th chapter of Revelation in my articles entitled "The Bible and the Book of Mormon" in "The churches of God".

This now takes us to chapter 13 which begins with a beast, to whom the dragon, or Satan, gave his power. In verse seven it tells us "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. "

This clearly shows that in the future (at least for John), there would be an apostasy because it specifically states the the dragon was "to make war with the saints, AND TO OVERCOME THEM!" How could he overcome them and there not be an apostasy?

One time I was talking with a person who admitted that maybe in our future there might be an apostasy but she wouldn’t accept that there had been one in the past. But how can that be if there is also suppose to be a restoration of the Gospel as Revelation prophecies (14:6,7)? I further reminded this person that they believe that Jesus is “at the door” for His second coming. But there can’t be an apostasy, and then a restoration of the gospel in the future if the second coming of Jesus is at the door. Either the second coming of Jesus is not “at the door” or the apostasy and restoration has already occurred. This person couldn’t answer me because they had no answer.

In chapter 13 we next read that the first beast died, but then John wrote, "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." What I find intriguing about this beast is that "he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon." To me, it is clear that this beast was teaching a false religion. It further says, "And he [the second beast] exerciseth all the power of [i.e., which] the first beast [had]." This tells us that after the saints were defeated by the first beast, a second beast came forth who appeared like a lamb, but behaved as the first beast had done. Concerning this second beast we read, "And causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast." Image that! The second beast will make the saints worship their own enemy!

According to Revelation, this second beast will perform great miracles which will deceive even the true believers of Christ. However, John was shown a way to identify who this beast, or false religion is. He wrote, "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." Beginning in verse 16 we read that the second beast caused "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.” Here we have several clues to help us identify who the second beast is. We will see later what they mean.

Concerning Chapter 14:6-8 please take a look at Galatians 1:8 and Who is the author of the Book of Mormon

Chapter 17 starts with a “whore” sitting on many waters. We need to ask ourselves, why does John use this term to describe the woman? By definition, a whore is a woman who sells herself for money. Furthermore, what she is trading it that which should be most sacred to her – her ability to create life. When we talk about a woman bringing forth children we are also referring to a family situation. According to all Christian churches, marriage and family are the most sacred institution given to us from God. In fact, in Genesis 2:18 God Himself declared, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him AN HELP MEET FOR HIM." For John to use the word “whore” shows that this woman represents the absolute denial of the family as God designed it. The use of this word also provides us with a sense of disgust and sadness.

In Revelation 17:1-6 we read, "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”

From these verses we can assume that this false religion would have great temporal and political power, because the kings nations of the earth are made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

According to the above scripture the leaders of this religion would be dressed in purple and scarlet. Have you ever looked at the Cardinals of the Catholic church? That describes the way they are dressed, and they are the ones who chose the pope. The scriptures also say that the “whore” would be “decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. Take a look at what the cardinals wear and you will see many rings on their hands and crosses around their neck all of which are full of jewels.

This scripture also said, "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." Remember that all of this was in the future as far as John was concerned, but may very well have happened in the past as far as we are concerned. If that is true, could John be describing the "Holy inquisition?"

The "Holy inquisition" was a practice during the dark ages in which the Catholic church killed anyone who disagreed with their religious view. Girolamo Savonarola was burned in Piazza della Signoria during this period of time simply because the people of Florence loved him so much. The church therefore viewed him as a potential danger to their authority and had him executed to remove any power he might achieve for himself.

The above quoted scripture also stated, "With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication." Have you ever thought about the sale of indulgences by the Catholic church? This was a practice whereby rich people could pay a certain amount of money to be forgiven of their sins. There were many Catholic priests who strongly disagreed with this practice, including Martin Luther, and who were ordered killed because of their opposition. Have you ever heard about masses for the dead? This is where people could pay a certain amount of money to transfer a person from purgatory to heaven.

John must have marveled at what he was shown because we read in Revelation 17:7-9, "And the angel said unto me, "Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”

According to what John was shown, this church was situated in a city that sat atop seven hills. Although Rome does sit atop seven hills, perhaps John saw some other city, maybe like Moscow or Denver. But in verse 18 we read, "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth."

There can be no doubt this is Rome! Catholics believe that John is referring to the Roman empire as the beast, but at the time of this empire, almost the entire known world was part of it! How could they rule the kings of the earth when there were no kings?

And what about the phrase :"MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."? If this is referring to the Roman Empire, then the Catholics should keep in mind that Emperor Constantine the great, made THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, the church of the empire. As such they came out from THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

In chapter 18 this woman is referred to by the name of Babylon, which was the city where the Hebrews had lived in captivity and represents all that is vile and wicked. It also represents that which is against God and His people. The city of Jerusalem is often described in the scriptures as “the bride” of Jesus. Nowhere does it say that Rome is where the Lord will reside. In fact Revelation 21:9-10 tells us, "And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God."

But how can we identify who this beast is? In Revelation we read, "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."
Furthermore, we learn that everyone would be required "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."

At that time John wrote this revelation from Jesus, the most common language spoken by the people was Latin. In fact, Latin was spoken throughout most of the civilized world at that time, mostly because the Romans ruled almost all of it. Even when the Latin language was no longer used, the Catholic church continued to use it as part of their religious behavior. In Latin, the numbering system used letters from the alphabet as follows:
I = 1
V= 5
X = 10
L =50
C =100
D =500
M = 1000

With this understanding, let me quote three different Latin phrases which are used frequently by the Catholic church. In Revelation it says the mark (i.e., number) of the beast will be found “in their right hand, or in their foreheads.” On the Pope's crown (Tiara) is a phrase written in Latin which says "VICARIVS FILII DEI." Translated into English it
means "SUBSTITUTE FOR THE SON OF GOD" The position of this phrase on the Pope’s crown places it directly
over his forehead. If we look at the Latin letters of this title which are used as numbers, this is what we find: V= 5 I=1
C=100 A(0) R(0) I=1 V=5 S(0) F(0) I=1 L=50 I=1 I=1 D=500 E(0) I=1. When we add them all together they total
666.

If we subtract the number letters from this phrase, we are left with “ARSFE". If we rearrange these letters we can spell the word “FERAS,” which, in Latin, means BEAST. So, in this one title, we have both the number of the beast and the name of the beast.

The Catholic church also loves to refer to itself by the Latin phrase, "SANCTA LVX DEI," which means "Holy light
of God" If we look at the Latin letters of this title which are used as numbers, this is what we find: S (0) A (0) N (0)
C=100 T(0) A(0) L=50 V=5 X=10 D=500 E(0) I=1 Again, when we add them all together they total 666. If we
subtract the number letters from this phrase as we did the last time, we are left with "SANTAE." By slightly
rearranging these letters we can spell "SATANE," the Latin word for Satan.

Thirdly, the Pope is also know by the title of "REX LATINVS SACERDOS", which means "King of the Roman priests." Using the same method as before, we find: R(0) E(0) X=10 L=50 A(0) T(0) I=1 N(0) V=5 S(0) S(0) A(0)
C=100 E(0) R(0) D=500 O(0) S(0). Again, the sum of these numbers equals 666. Without the numbers we are left with the letters "REATNSSAEROS." These can be arranged to spell "SORSE SATANE," which means "Satan arises."

Here’s something else to think about. In this scripture concerning the mark of the beast it states "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.” Did you know that every UPC bar code found on every product sold commercially nowadays has a 6 at the beginning of the bar code, a 6 in the middle, and a 6 as the last number of the bar code? Although the time has not yet come that we are forced to take this mark in our right hand or forehead, but everywhere in the world now we are using this bar-code system to buy and sell almost everything.

What I am trying to say is, the number 666 could be in many places and have many meanings but still it is the power of Satan that is manifested in it. For this reason the scriptures warn us by saying, "And here is the mind which hath wisdom." I hope we will have the wisdom to stay alert and be ready because the time of Satan’s power is ripe and the Groom is at the door.