666, the number of the Beast: Counterfeit of Creation
Study:
"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." Revelation 13:18
How many times does Revelation reference Creation?
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; vs. 3:14
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. vs. 4:11
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. vs. 5:13
And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: vs. 10:6
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. vss. 14:6,7
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. vs. 21:1
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. vs. 21:5
Why bring up Creation?
Because the Christian faith is founded on God's creative power. If God did not create... if He cannot create, then how can He recreate fallen man? If He did not create... if He cannot create, then how can He recreate this fallen world? Creation and God as Creator are such important themes in Revelation that God's response to the call to "...worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand..." (vss. 14:9-13), is a call to "...worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Creation and God as Creator is so central to Revelation that a correct understanding of 666 is only possible by seeing it in the light of Creation. What do I mean? Prophecy is largely written in symbols and 666 draws its imagery from Creation. Not sure of this? Notice the following connections Revelation makes with Creation week.
Creation Day 4
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs... And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. ... And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Gen. 1:14-19
And there appeared a great wonder [sign] in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: ... And there appeared another wonder [sign] in heaven; and behold a great red dragon... And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth...
Rev. 12:1,3,4
Creation Day 5
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life... And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
Gen. 1:20-23
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea...
Rev. 13:1
Creation Day 6
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature...
Gen. 1:24,25
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth...
Rev. 13:11
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ... And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Gen. 1:26-31
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Gen. 2:7
...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 [or breath] 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.
Rev. 13:14,15
Creation Day 7
And on the seventh [7] day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh [7] day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh [7] day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Gen. 2:2,3
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 [666].
Rev. 13:18
As can be seen from the above parallel between Creation Days 4-7 and Revelation 12 &13, 666 is clearly connected with the 7th-day Sabbath. This is not surprising as the 1st angel's message of Revelation 14:6,7 calls mankind to worship God as Creator, "...worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters...," which, as stated previously, is God's response to the call recorded in the 3rd angel's message of Revelation 14:9-13 to "...worship the beast and his image, AND receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand..." Both of these parallels, Creation Days 4-7 vs. Revelation 12 &13 and the 1st angel's message vs. the 3rd angel's message, imply that the mark of the beast and 666 are or involve a counterfeit Sabbath or day of rest!
Note on the 7th-day Sabbath:
Just in case it is not obvious... the 7th-day Sabbath of the Bible IS worship of God as Creator as it was created to be a memorial of Creation, as is clearly stated in the fourth commandment of the Ten Commandments as recorded in Exodus 20.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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. Exodus 20:8-11
Note on Creation Day 4:
In case it isn't obvious... Revelation sets up the following equivalences between objects in Creation Day 4 and Revelation 12.
by his tail)
To be continued...
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