In Revelation 13 we are introduced to the number 666, “the number of the beast”, a sequence that would bring with it curse, pain, distance, war…
There are many explanations and thoughts about this on different theological lines. All the ones I’ve read about make sense at specific points and teach us a lot. But there is one in particular that caught my attention.
Three 6
“This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.”
Revelation 13:18
I don’t know about you, but this subject scared me a lot when I was younger. The idea of a giant being, who affronts God and brings destruction, whose main objective is to distance people from the Father and generate wars, scared me.
And that number? Why? If there are so many numerical combinations…
The explanation that most calls my attention is in Revelation 13:16-17 that describes that only with the mark on the right hand or on the forehead, which is the name of the beast or the number that represents its name, we could buy and sell. The mark would be a precondition for all trade. Something that, for many, would be synonymous with strength, autonomy, belonging, power.
This number represents the man. This sequence is about a mindset and a lifestyle.
Man as the center
“So God created mankind in his own image…God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”
Genesis 1:27 and 31
The Bible begins with The Story of Creation, where God uses 6 days to finish this work. On the 7th day He stops and contemplates all that He has made.
In the Bible, the 7 always brings the idea of perfection, of something complete and worthy of being contemplated. A place of rest and peace. Thus, the number of the beast could not be a sequence of “7”.
The number 6 has another meaning. On the 6th day, the Lord created man. The study in question brings the idea that the sequence of three numbers 6, which is the number that represents man, makes it clear that it will be a time when man will live from man, through man and for man, without desiring the presence and help from God.
From Him, through Him, for Him
This is the mentality of living for ourselves, simply depending on our strengths. Turning to our desires, our pleasures, consulting only our dreams, wills and ambitions, not seeking God’s approval or direction.
Everything that exists today is seen as relative. Everything is volatile, transient, circumstantial. Nothing is grounded. In the days we live in, the more self-centered we are, the more we are accepted and seen as strong. We take part as “empowered” and self-sufficient beings.
“…Because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
2 Corinthians 5:14,15
Do you understand why this is the line of explanation that touches me the most among all?
The more we seek to follow Jesus and everything that was taught and poured out through the cross, the more we are judged as weak and “alienated” by society, as He calls us not to live for ourselves.
To complete…
I don’t know if this is the main meaning of the text of Revelation 13. But, starting from that, I want to remind you that we are not the center of history, we are not the lords of our lives.
“For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.”
Romans 14:7
Or we decide to live our history, with our weaknesses and limitations. Or we truly live the story of God, which has real power and grace.
Glory should not be given to us, but to Him who gave us life and an identity. It does no good to turn to ourselves in order to be accepted by the world if it takes us away from God’s approval and distances us from His Kingdom.
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