Tag: 666

The Number of His Name

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy” (Rev 13:1). John stood on the shoreline of Judea looking westward across the Mediterranean Sea and saw a beast rise from Rome, “the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power” (v. 2). And he had told us earlier that the dragon is the devil, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan” (12:9). The devil gave this beast its power, and worship of either is the same, “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast” (v. 4).

John also saw a second beast, “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” (v. 11). It’s this second beast that forces the mark, “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, 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” (vs. 16-17).

However, “the name of the beast” and “the number of his name” (v. 17) concerns the first beast. It’s one beast but three—a leopard, a bear, and a lion. It’s a three-part entity or tri-entity. As with one god in three co-equal persons, six hundred and sixty-six is one number in three equal numbers 6=6=6. The number of his name is three or tri- because “Trinity” is his name and this number is in his name.

Later, John saw a woman riding this beast, “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” (17:3-6). Of course many identify this woman as the Roman Catholic Church. She tortured and murdered millions of people to establish the Trinitarian beast carrying her.

Furthermore, she is “THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS.” About 500 years ago Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation which wasn’t a reformation at all but a birth after its own kind—multitudes of Protestant churches playing the harlot just like their mother. All of them worshipping this Trinitarian beast and the dragon.

Israel and Judah both “played the harlot” (Jer 3:1,6,8; Exe 16:28, 23:5,19), and it was for that reason Judah was sent to Babylon. Jeremiah wrote of God’s people, “But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them” (Jer 9:13-14). They were walking after a false god they had been taught for generations, and the pattern has repeated. For hundreds of years we’ve been taught a false Trinitarian god. And as they were carried away captive to Babylon, so it will be in these last days, “great Babylon came in remembrance before God” (16:19), “MYSTERY, BABYLON” (Rev 17:5).

Upon the beast’s heads is “the name of blasphemy [blasphēmia 988]” (v. 1). The Greek noun blasphēmia and verb blasphemō mean “speak against” as Christ Himself used it: “the blasphemy [blasphēmia 988] against the Holy Ghost [breath] shall not be forgiven unto men … but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost [breath], it shall not be forgiven him” (Mat 12:31,32), “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth [blasphemō 987] against the Holy Ghost [breath] it shall not be forgiven” (Luk 12:10).

The beast’s very name “Trinity” is “the name of blasphemy” (v. 1), because tri- or 3 speaks against what Christ and His apostles taught, that God is one and that God is Christ’s God: “The Lord our God is one Lord” (Mar 12:29); “thee the only true God” (Jhn 17:3); “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mat 27:46; Mar 15:34); “I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God” (Jhn 20:17); “Christ is God’s” (1Co 3:23); “But to us there is but one God, the Father” (1Co 8:6); “the head of Christ is God” (1Co 11:3).

The beast is fast, strong, and ferocious. Like a leopard it can’t be outrun, and like a bear it can’t be overcome. Its roar, like that of a lion, is terrifying: denying the Trinity is said to be the blasphemy which will never be forgiven; those leaving the church never were really saved; those outside Trinitarian churches are Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and cults. Its roar tests who we fear more—God or the beast.

The Tri-Part Beast

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy” (Rev 13:1). In this vision, John stood on the shoreline in Judea looking toward the west across the Mediterranean—the “great sea” (Dan 7:2). It was westward in Rome where this beast arose, “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority” (Rev 13:2). It’s three different kinds of beasts yet one beast—a tri-part beast. And since the dragon gave this beast his power, therefore either of them are worshipped the same, “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast” (Rev 13:4). And we were told earlier that the dragon is the devil, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev 12:9). Therefore, worship of this beast is worship of the devil.

Daniel wrote, “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” (Dan 12:8-10). The wise will understand and John gave that understanding, “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” (Rev 13:18).

“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” (Rev 13:17). There are three either/or equivalents: the mark or the name or the number. Since the number of the name “Trinity” is tri- or three, therefore to “count the number” would be to count the three digits in “six hundred threescore and six.” And since an entity is a being, then a three-part being is a tri-entity or a trinity. If the beast is in fact the tri-part God of the Trinity, then its seven heads would be the seven main Trinitarian organizations: Roman Catholic Church, Reformed, Anglican, Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, and Baptist. Therefore, “the name of blasphemy” upon each of its seven heads is the name “Trinity” upon these seven religious groups.

The Greek mysterion in “MYSTERY [mysterion 3466], BABYLON THE GREAT” (Rev 17:5), means “hidden.” Hidden within Babylon past is Babylon present, “the beast that was, and is not, and yet is” (v. 8), “it once was, now is not, and yet will come” (NIV). Three beasts from the past form again into one great fourth beast, “And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another” (Dan 7:3), “The first was like a lion” (v. 4), “a second, like to a bear” (v. 5), “another, like a leopard” (v. 6), “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast” (v. 7), “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth” (v. 23). This fourth beast is what John saw rise from Rome that would be the former three but in one. Hidden within three kingdoms of the past is the fourth kingdom of today.

This tri-part beast came up from the abyss, “the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit [abyssos 12]” (Rev 11:7), “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit [abyssos 12]” (Rev 17:8). And that’s where the devil will be cast during the Millennium, “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [abyssos 12] and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit [abyssos 12]” (Rev 20:1-3). The source of this beast is the devil from the abyss.

God’s people worshipped beasts in the past, “And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things” (Rom 1:23). And the beast itself is a trinity, “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion.” It’s extremely fast like a leopard that can’t be outrun, extremely strong like a bear that can’t be fought, and its roar is extremely fierce like a lion that can’t be faced. It can only be overcome by the Lord.

Just what is the terrifying roar of this beast? Its cry is manifold: even questioning the doctrine of the Trinity is the danger of blasphemy against the Spirit for which there will never be forgiveness; if we deny it, we’ll be shamed, labeled a heretic, and deemed as never truly saved; we can’t understand the Scriptures on our own; anything disagreeing with it is new, and if it’s new it’s not true. Its roar tests us—whether we fear it, or fear God. Will we listen to the doctrines of men, or the doctrine of Christ, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (Jhn 18:37 NIV)?