It finally hit me like nothing I've realized before.
The number of the beast.
The beast is the world government, not the antichrist. The name of the beast is not the name of antichrist, but of the beast. The name of the beast is the name of the world government! The number of the name of the beast is the number of the name of the world government!
It makes sense too in that it would be a mark of loyalty to buy, trade, or sell in this world government.
The number of the beast is 666. The number of man is six, and the number of God is seven. Three sixes are man's attempt to be like God who is trinity. It is the number of the beast the last-day earthers will worship: the government they created: it will be humanistic at it's incarnation!
The sixes also represent Rome, perhaps the future capital seat of the world; as mankind marvels at it's most glorious achievement: world united government.
With this government and man's achievement being glorified, it will be none other than man glorifying himself as God. This forms the basis for everything in that future society, namely the control of wealth: buying and selling.
The mark of the beast is a counterfeit (as all Satan's things are a counterfeit) to the seal of God on his people. We find that the seal of the Holy Spirit is in fact what each of us have who are redemmed and "sealed" with the Holy Spirit. Just as our faith is proven by what we trust "mind/forehead" and by what we do by "action/hand" we are sealed by the Spirit of God as His children - adopted into His family when make Jesus not only our savior, but also our Lord.
The counterfeit is simply Satan getting humans to trust in themselves (mind) and follow that faith with action (hand/worship). The mark is not some literal mark, but is in fact one's very worship of this human system of government, man's ultimate achievement; and the only way to buy or sell or participate in that government is in fact to worship it. Maybe it is the merging of currency under the control of a world faith, the ones marked by the Holy Spirit can not take the "mark" because they do not worship the world system, nor can they. Buying and selling is mentioned as impossible without the mark as those very actions would require those participating to have the "mark" aka, buying and selling within this world government would be the measure of worshipping and glorifying the achievement - the very act itself which the government rewards.
The warning regarding this mark is for nonChristians, who will be either forced to submit to the world system, or trust God. The Christians will already be provided by God, the government no doubt persecuting them at every corner, but with the majority of believers being in Israel as that will be the only nation not part of the world government! The mark is to clear the fence-sitters, as God allows it to move the end times forward.
This is my collective view. I hope it has opened you to the possibilities to seeing the plain truth that is written. I'm still looking at it and marvelling at it's intricacy.
The number of the beast.
The beast is the world government, not the antichrist. The name of the beast is not the name of antichrist, but of the beast. The name of the beast is the name of the world government! The number of the name of the beast is the number of the name of the world government!
It makes sense too in that it would be a mark of loyalty to buy, trade, or sell in this world government.
The number of the beast is 666. The number of man is six, and the number of God is seven. Three sixes are man's attempt to be like God who is trinity. It is the number of the beast the last-day earthers will worship: the government they created: it will be humanistic at it's incarnation!
The sixes also represent Rome, perhaps the future capital seat of the world; as mankind marvels at it's most glorious achievement: world united government.
With this government and man's achievement being glorified, it will be none other than man glorifying himself as God. This forms the basis for everything in that future society, namely the control of wealth: buying and selling.
The mark of the beast is a counterfeit (as all Satan's things are a counterfeit) to the seal of God on his people. We find that the seal of the Holy Spirit is in fact what each of us have who are redemmed and "sealed" with the Holy Spirit. Just as our faith is proven by what we trust "mind/forehead" and by what we do by "action/hand" we are sealed by the Spirit of God as His children - adopted into His family when make Jesus not only our savior, but also our Lord.
The counterfeit is simply Satan getting humans to trust in themselves (mind) and follow that faith with action (hand/worship). The mark is not some literal mark, but is in fact one's very worship of this human system of government, man's ultimate achievement; and the only way to buy or sell or participate in that government is in fact to worship it. Maybe it is the merging of currency under the control of a world faith, the ones marked by the Holy Spirit can not take the "mark" because they do not worship the world system, nor can they. Buying and selling is mentioned as impossible without the mark as those very actions would require those participating to have the "mark" aka, buying and selling within this world government would be the measure of worshipping and glorifying the achievement - the very act itself which the government rewards.
The warning regarding this mark is for nonChristians, who will be either forced to submit to the world system, or trust God. The Christians will already be provided by God, the government no doubt persecuting them at every corner, but with the majority of believers being in Israel as that will be the only nation not part of the world government! The mark is to clear the fence-sitters, as God allows it to move the end times forward.
This is my collective view. I hope it has opened you to the possibilities to seeing the plain truth that is written. I'm still looking at it and marvelling at it's intricacy.
