Mark of the Beast 

(Editor's Note: The following is a reprint of a 16Jan98 FidoNet OPEN_BIBLE reply by Richard Clark, to a Curious Questioner. GRAPHIC illustrations and supplemental materials have also been added for your edification.)

>>>CQ> "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.

>>RC> Nope. His number is "Six  hundred  three  score  and  six." (six words) The mark is a triple "score" mark. A score is like a scar or scratch. Haven't you ever seen a score kept with SLASH marks? (Keyboards have the / "slash" mark in the lower RIGHT HAND position.) The beast will be wounded when a "sword" (Zech.11:17p) is swung at him: His right arm comes up to block the swing, and he gets slashed in his forehead, right eye, and right hand. Three score marks.

>CQ> While the number 6 is widely accepted as the number of man, it is yet, improperly, applied to "a man."

We weren't talking about the number 6, but a number an hundred and eleven times larger: "six hundred three score and six." Besides being called "a man" here in Rev.13:18p, he is also called "that man of sin", and the "son of perdition", whose name is (with 13 letters:) "Judas Iscariot". Jesus flat out called Judas: "a devil". (re: John 6:66-71)

The beast is plainly revealed as a monster, a combination of many beasts, [heb. behemoth] being mainly LEOPARD, with BEAR's feet, LION's mouth, and the seven heads and ten horns of the DRAGON of the previous chapter. (previous = Rev.12)

Although a leopard and lion have much in common, being members of the so-called "cat" family, the bear has little in common with them. Of course, they are all hunters (as Nimrod was a hunter.) The beast is MAINLY like a leopard. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?" Black skin and black spots! Nimrod (from Nimur for leopard) was an Ethiopian, the thirteenth from Adam. [13th generation with Adam as 1st.]

There is -ONE- particular thing that the bear does have in common with leopards and lions (besides the fact they are all extremely CURIOUS. :) All three have the peculiar habit of MARKING trees by SLASHING the bark with their claws! The marks on the beast are plainly BLACK SPOTS, and the beast marks trees, (men are like trees in the Bible,) with SLASH marks. Three SCORE marks!

>CQ> While many are waiting for the appearance of some great world leader (commonly known as the Anti-Christ [Ant-MessYaH]) who will force a physical mark upon them, or insert some micro-chip under their skin, they are being led like sheep to the slaughter.

Or like trees to the slashing? But no, Revelation 13:16 said nothing about "force", but rather, that he CAUSETH [-eth = 3rd person singular present indicative] them to RECEIVE the mark, not on, but IN their right hand or IN their foreheads. They CHOOSE to receive it. Well, sure, some are motivated by fear of being "beheaded" or by hunger, since they can't "buy" food without the mark. (Or bottled water! when rivers and fountains get turned to wormwood or blood!)

>>RC> The "sight of the beast" after that is only one eye, a -left- eye as you see it represented on the back of a one dollar bill above the incomplete 13-level tower of Babel. >CQ> Your analogy of the "eye" above the 13 tiered pyramid located on the back of the Great Seal of the United States of America, needs to be re-evaluated.

Anyone can see that the eye is distinctly a -left- eye. Anyone can see that there are only 13 levels, not more than 200, like the great pyramid of Egypt. Anyone can see that the angle of the sides of the truncated pyramid on a dollar are much steeper than the 51+ degrees slope of the Khufu/Cheops pyramid. And the -plants- in the foreground of the money pyramid, are nowhere to be seen on the Giza plateau in Egypt. (In fact, the money pyramid looks more like the 40-feet wide, 68-degree slope pyramids found in the land of Nimrod's people: ETHIOPIA! :)

>CQ> The USA is not representative of the false prophet...
>CQ> * 1st 2.00 * Pray for the Peace of Jer-USA-lem.

Your suggestion that the USA should be the center of Jerusalem instead of the LORD Jesus Christ is a dangerous delusion. And the USA is certainly not the false prophet who, like the beast, is a man, that will be cast alive into the lake of fire.

Looking at the first three beasts of Daniel 7, which would arise from the earth in the latter days, we see the LION of the British empire, and the BEAR of the Russian empire. Notice that the wings of the EAGLE get separated from the LION when the American Eagle REBELLED against Britain and became the united THIRTEEN states, as represented by all the thirteens with the eagle on the dollar. Thirteen in the Bible is plainly the number of REBELLION. "...the thirteenth year they rebelled."! (Wasn't the Civil War thirteen states in rebellion too?)

The USA did not remain a 13-state eagle, but became a melting-pot of the nations, with all three branches of mankind integrated together like a LEOPARD with yellow-oriental-shemite fur; with black-african (Ethiopian!)-hamite spots; and a white-european-japhethite BELLY!

Now that the USSR has reverted back to being a "friendly" (ha!) bear, the USA is becoming more and more joined to the feet of the bear. The mouth as the mouth of a (bearded) lion on the beast, plainly indicates that the man who becomes Satan incarnate will speak ENGLISH, the universal language which is spoken in EVERY major seaport, airport (and SPACEPORT?) in the world. (And the only language that was spoken on the Moon! :)

Personally, I'm not locked into the interpretation of America as a leopard. The U.N. is a mixture of peoples, and the Arabian empire is a mixture. America may yet be an eagle:

The "woman" representing Israel, in Rev.12, is given "two wings of a great eagle" to fly into her wilderness place. "But pray ye that your FLIGHT be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:" (Mt.24:20) Israeli planes are grounded by law on the sabbath!

The U.S.Air Force AIRLIFT "command" has several "wings", which have several "groups" which contain several "squadrons" which contain several "flights". (How many C-130s and C-141s are in two wings? :)

"Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD." (Obad.1:4)

The goal to put men on the moon and return them "safely"(--Kennedy) to the earth was never in doubt. The ETERNAL God of the universe who knows the end from the beginning, knew that one day rebellious Americans would mount up with wings as an eagle and plant a nest on the moon that is "among" the stars, and say to the universe: "The EAGLE has landed!" (20Jul69 17:17:40 EST - The "one small step" was a LEFT foot, 3 minutes & 40 seconds before midnight EST. :)

Apollo THIRTEEN didn't make it to the moon, and there has not been a 13th man to walk on the moon. ("superstitious"? Ac.17:22p :)

FINAL WORLD SUPER POWER

The British LION and Russian BEAR are no longer considered to be world super powers. The "good ole US of A" is presently considered to be the only (and leading) super power in the world. The lion lost its eagle's wings in Dan.7, but the LEOPARD did not lose its wings. AIR SUPERIORITY! "Who is able to make war with..."

What sort of "fowl" has "four wings"? I don't know of any "birds" that have more than two wings, but the Bible "fowl" category has more than just birds: The "bat" is "among the fowls" in the Bible. (It's not called a bird, but it is among the fowls. :) Also: "All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing..." (Lev.11:20,21p) - Flying insects are considered to be FOWLS!

The dragon fly has four wings "upon the back of it"! Fossil dragon flies with nearly three foot wingspans have been found. The popular name for a dragon fly is: "Mosquito Hawk."

The FIRST powered heavier than air flight was at Kitty Hawk North Carolina in the USA, Dec.17, 1903. The first astronaut to go up in space, Alan Shepard, (5th "moon walking" astronaut) went to the moon in the command ship Kitty Hawk. (Kitty? as in Cat or Leopard? :)

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