“But as for you, continue in the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced [holding tightly to the truths], knowing from whom you learned them, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:14-17 AMP
The dominant end times belief of the American church right now is called Dispensationalism. While a robust breakdown and critique of it isn’t necessary, for today’s study we want to discuss the prevalent belief within Dispensationalism that’s caused much harm to the modern church.
It’s the erroneous belief that the number of the Beast, 666, is a literal mark on one’s forehead and hand. The issue of the number of the Beast has had some rather unfortunate – and comic – consequences. When I was a kid I heard that it was Ronald Reagan’s name…thus, he was the Beast of Revelation. When I first moved to Greenville, South Carolina in 1994 the grocery store chain Bi-Lo, now extinct, came up with a Member’s Card that you scanned at checkout in order to get discounts. That was a new thing then, by the way, eradicating the old reliance on coupons that my mother’s generation cut out of newspapers.
Anyway, there was a barcode on the back of the card and it had something like sixteen numbers. Someone took the time to figure out the square root of these numbers, or whatever hocus-pocus he did, and figured that the real number was, you guess it, 666. Apparently, anyone who was using the card was going to hell now. That subject was all the rage on the local talk shows for a little while. And this was, one supposes, only applicable if you weren’t already going to hell because you unwittingly voted for Satan’s spawn during the ‘80 and ‘84 election (Reagan).
These are just two examples that I remember. They’re indicative of the fallacious cottage industry that’s cropped up ever since the crockeist crock of all bad theology, 666 as an accidental acceptance of hell, itself the spawn of the Dan Brown of Christian eschatology, Dispensationalism. This doesn’t mean that everyone who believes in the Left Behind theory of end times is an unsaved heretic. On the contrary, one’s erroneous understanding of end times won’t damn them insofar as their dependence on Christ alone, through faith alone, is genuine.
The early church had all sorts of problems on this front too. They thought Jesus was coming right back – as in, maybe in a few months, possibly next year, but certainly not much longer than that. They were selling their homes, giving all their stuff away, and hanging out…you know, worshipping, praying, and, well, not working. They had to be rebuked because of that, yes, but that didn’t mean they were unsaved.
Bad end times theology does have consequences, yes, but not damnable ones for the most part.
You see, the problem with the whole 666 thing is that people fall prey to thinking that they can “catch evil” as if it’s a cold or a stomach bug. Going to the store and using something with the number 666 is no more evil than eating Devil’s food cake. As Jesus said, it’s not what goes into our belly that’s the problem, it’s what comes out of our hearts (Matthew 15:11). In all, we don’t “catch” evil accidentally. Sin isn’t like inadvertently eating something we’re allergic to. Evil is in us, which is to say, it’s in the flesh. We’re evil because we desire to be our own gods and determine right and wrong by the standard of our own choosing, not God’s (Genesis 2:17).
The whole thing comes down to us conveniently forgetting (or suppressing) the fact that Eve listened to the Serpent question God’s integrity. The point of evil isn’t something we do; it’s the question “did God really say?” The latter leads to the former and not the other way around. Fish don’t learn to swim like humans do; because they’re fish, they swim. We sin because we want the blessings of God, but not God. To entertain the question of Genesis 3:1 (did God really say?) leads invariably to the catastrophic proclamation that God is a liar (Genesis 3:4-5). All false religion is predicated on, first, the question of God’s word/law and then the belief that there is truth outside of Him.
Thus, 666 isn’t a mark on our head and hand in the literal sense. It’s a belief in a false way, a false gospel, and then the actions that follow.
Another way to see this is that being integrated beings, not automatons, we do what we truly believe. Want to see what someone believes? Watch what they do…especially when they don’t get their way. Sin and evil are in the world due to our determination to disobey the Lord. The actions and consequences that follow are because we’re all fugitives from justice. This means, therefore, that being saved is to move in the opposite direction of disobedience to the word of the Lord (Romans 12:1-2). Salvation by faith alone is marked in real-time by the repentance of sin and then the grateful and loving process of discipleship (sanctification) that inevitably follows. The mark of the Beast is the insistence on false worship and the deeds they inspire. All forms of false belief have forms of godliness in them but, and here’s the thing, they’re counterfeits. They’re in the ballpark, so to speak, not the genuine article (John 8:44).
Because we’re created beings, made by God for fellowship with Him (Genesis 1:27), we will all worship something/someone (Joshua 24:15). Like a fish swimming, our nature is worship. That’s the key to understand Christianity and false belief; it’s the basis for figuring out what idolatry is and why it’s so evil. It’s the key to really understanding the 666 issue. Men aren’t seeking God; false religions are proof of men, in rebellion, running from Him and counterfeiting His truth.
Idolatry is seen in the simple question: what is ultimate? Who or what is the final authority in life? All of us will ascribe ultimacy to either the true God or a false god or thing. God is holy, holy, holy – the thrice seven as the number of completion, so 666, in biblical imagery, is the thrice number of counterfeit.
This said, contrary to popular belief, modern secular America is not neutral Romans 1:20). She’s hostile to God and actively suppressing the truth about Him. She’s awash in the idolatry of the state; the Beast of Revelation is the state that demands that Christians live in its world and keep their faith to themselves. The Beast has been Rome. It’s been Stalin and Hitler and Mao and Castro. It’s been the state governors’ demanding that Christian churches close during COVID. The Beast is the state that claims ultimate power. The Beast is the civil magistrate that rejects the clear meaning of Romans 13:4.
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God [granted by His permission and sanction], and those which exist have been put in place by God. Therefore whoever resists [governmental] authority resists the ordinance of God. And those who have resisted it will bring judgment (civil penalty) on themselves. For he is God’s servant to you for good. But if you do wrong, [you should] be afraid; for he does not carry the [executioner’s] sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an avenger who brings punishment on the wrongdoer.”
Romans 13:1-2, 4 AMP
The Beast rewords this just like the Serpent in the Garden. It says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For ultimate authority exists in your elected officials, in Washington, in the people. We, the State, are the people and we are the final authority. Therefore whoever resists State authority is guilty of treason. Sin is crime against the State. God’s people, his church, may meet on Sunday but the State has the sword and ultimacy. Hopefully, your religion makes you better citizens of the State and we allow worship only so long as it does good for the State.
This is the new meaning, according to the Beast, of the separation of church and state. Authority is in the state, not God’s word. This is 666 writ large and many of us have it tattooed between our eyes.
To that end, colleges have become secularism’s seminaries, and the professors and teachers are their high priests. Notice the idolatrous/messianic language used by politicians and academics. Promises of security and blessedness abound…all of them outside of the true God. Listen closely and you’ll hear the Enemy’s voice: all these I’ll give you if you worship me (Matthew 4:8-9).
If the Tempter tried that on Jesus Christ, why do we think he won’t do the same thing to us?
All forms of idolatry are attempts to escape the knowledge of judgment against our rebellion. All forms of religion and philosophy outside of Christ are, to be sure, 666 in that they erect methods and structures to answer man’s deepest needs. All forms of false belief remove Christ from His throne (in our hearts) and replace Him with self, state, pleasure, or some other false god. All forms of false belief start with dismissal of the authority of God’s word and end with elevating, falsely and rebelliously, our own.
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