Page 69 - The Mark of the Beast

of the beast, his image, and the number of his name in the book of Revelations, and when
we also read that there is a group of overcomers who have achieved victory over these
things, what is being declared is something that is universal and in which all the saints must
enter into battle and seek the victory.
The struggle against the beast nature began with Adam and Eve when they were met
by the serpent, the most cunning of all beasts, while still in the Garden of Eden. This
struggle has continued throughout all the ages of man. Because of the universality of this
struggle, and in light of God’s injunction for all mankind to subdue and rule over the beasts,
I believe that those who are seeking to identify a particular man as the beast are on the
wrong track.
You may ask, “Didn’t we read that the number of the beast is the number of a man?”
Yes, we did. But we must ask, “What man?” The Scriptures tell us that there have only been
two men who have ever lived. These are the first Adam, and the Second Adam, who is also
called the Last Adam. The name Adam literally means “man” and it occurs 552 times in the
Old Testament. In the majority of instances it is translated as “man,” and only when it is
used as a name of a person or town is it rendered as “Adam.” The corresponding word in
the New Testament is the Greek word “anthropos” and we find this word occurring 561
times.
It is in the following Bible passage that we read of these two men:

I Corinthians 15:45-49
So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam
became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then
the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.
As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are
those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall
also bear the image of the heavenly.

The apostle Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit identifies the first
Adam as the first man. He identifies Christ as the Last Adam, and he also calls Him “the
second man.” Paul further states that, though we have all borne the image of the first man,
we are now called to bear the image of the second man. As we have already discussed in this
book, not all men attain to the image and likeness of God in this age. Some stubbornly cling
to the image of the earthy.
I believe it is these two men that John has in view when he states that the number 666
is the number of a man. This makes the determination of which man it is relatively simple,
for instead of billions of men to select from, we have only two. It is very evident from the
Scriptures that the beast and His number cannot refer to the Second Man, who is Christ
Yahshua, for Christ completely ruled over the beast nature. Christ always lived to do the will
of the Father, and the Scriptures do further testify that Yahshua was the very expression of
the Father.
This leaves us only the first man, Adam, whom Paul describes as being of the earth,
earthy. How does this number 666 point to this first Adam? I believe that we can find
testimonies of this everywhere throughout both the Scriptures and nature, for God is the
architect of both of them and He has set this seal upon the flesh man. However, I will focus
upon just a couple of these testimonies.
Let us begin with the opening chapter of Scripture. We read here that the first man,