Revelation 13:16-18 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, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 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, There has been so much conjecture about this number that it in and of itself has grown a cult following. The suspicions about the exact meaning of the number has led to many wise and learned men to identify men’s name using numerology. Some so silly as to place a numerical value to the alphabet A=1… Z=26. English wasn’t even used at the time of this writing.

My personal favorite is 6 is the number of imperfection and 3 the number of man, so 666 is 6 repeated 3 times therefore 666 is the imperfect man. Isn’t that all of us?

What is obvious to me is the total focus upon the number and not so much about the issue addressed in the previous verses. No one will be able to buy or sell without the mark. Forget about the 666 for a moment and focus on the gravity of the method of payment. It has only been in recent years that man has been able to buy and sell without using money itself in a transaction.

Power outages brought this issue into focus for me at a local store. I had cash but they could not take it. Cash was useless and it is becoming more and more useless. The only place these days where businesses do a cash only basis is in transactions that are suspicious if not openly illegal.

How far off are we from a time when cash itself will no long be accepted?

Once again, focus, the signs of the times indicate that the time is growing shorter.

Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

And we ought to be about doing our Father’s will rather than fretting over the meaning of numbers.

Proverb 15:25 The Lord will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.

Today as I sit down to write I am thinking back to Sunday school and a comment made during class. I made a comment about past attitudes and behaviors. I did not frame it to be my behavior but common behavior. Then this comment was made.

“That’s arrogant.”

Today I can see the possibility that this comment might have been directed at me. It was after all about my past behavior. The old insecure and still arrogant man I was would have immediately taken a defensive posture, perhaps even striking back. I can even now see the looks of the eyes of others in the room and wonder if they had seen it that way. But then I did not.

In that place of security of the believers I did not see it. God framed my window, restricting my ability to see things any other way. The conversation Sunday was not hindered by pride, it flowed with grace and enlightenment. None of that would have happened if I had taken offense.

It would be arrogant of me to take credit for this change in me, after all today I can see the alternative. There still lies within me the capacity for error even if the inclination is towards right behavior. Praise God for the work of His hand. Praise God for the correcting nature of His Word. Praise God for the thirst I have to read and consume His Word.

Praise God in all things, even if you do not recognize His hand for three days.