666—The mark, the number, the name of the beast

"Then it hit me. There is no 6:66! And with that thought I also realized, There is no evil!!"

By Pamela K. Martin

Many millennium watchers are close students of the book of Revelation in the Bible. Some believe that as the world inches toward the year 2000, we can expect to see the fulfillment of the prophecies in this book of the Bible. One of the entities described in Revelation is the "beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon" (Rev. 13:11). This beast is said to bear a number—666—which for many people symbolizes the ultimate evil.

In this article, the author explores how overcoming beliefs about this number and its evil associations led her to a higher understanding of God and His total goodness.

Years ago, before I began the study of Christian Science, I had a very deeply rooted belief in and fear of evil. One of the main reasons for this fear was a problem I had with my infant son. He would sometimes wake up at 3 a.m. screaming and thrashing in a violent and uncontrollable manner. I was very frightened by these episodes and mentioned them to my co-workers. They promptly told me that this sounded like the early stages of demonic possession and that the 3 a.m. hour was intended to mock and defile the Trinity.

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666—The mark, the number, the name of the beast

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