Concept By Leslie Lyons
InfoGraphic by Landomart of Argentina (FIVERR)

Bible Study Leslie Lyons 08.20.2017

Verse 18: Here is the wisdom. Let him having reason count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. And its number is six hundred and sixty-six. (Rev 13:18)

The “wisdom” that is being shared here is being revealed from heaven from the Lord Jesus Himself. He that sits upon the throne. That “Let him having reason” means those who have intelligence and understanding. They can see what is going on inside the reformed church. As in the previous verse, it warned about “the number of its name”. Here it instructs the church on earth to “count the number of the beast”. Which is the belief and doctrine the church is putting forth (“name”) So what it is saying here is that the reformed church doctrine of “grace plus faith plus nothing” (“the beast”). Or what is the same that salvation is only obtained by the justification of faith. In that Jesus took all the sins of the world upon Himself on the cross to satisfy the Father and to prevent his anger and wrath toward sinful men and to allow them entrance them into heaven.

Here is a number that has been repeated ad infinitum or seemingly without end is; “its number is six hundred and sixty-six”. The speculation of the meaning has been interpreted in a multitude of fashions. The problem is most are interpreted by the eyes of men who live in the world. With their understanding, they associate the meaning of this verse with only things that can occur in this world. The number six is a multiplication of three. And three means the fullness and completeness of something. For example;

“For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one” 1Jn 5:7.

So “the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit”, “these three are one”. So the fullness of God is found in these three, but the sum total is only one. One is the absolute base number.

Because of the fabrication, corruption, and misinterpretation of the Word, (or the Bible), the totality of the error is described as “ six hundred and sixty-six”. This mathematical equation is simply saying to us that this belief and doctrine of the reformed church is so out of the orbit of truth.

The fullness of three is doubled and the severity is tripled, or what are the same times three. Which is the fullness (three) of the corruption. And even beyond that times a hundredfold = “six hundred”. And then times ten = “sixty”. And once again the number “six” for a total of 666. I am sure God knows the parameters of the math much more completely than I do. But in summation, I would say this is a very serious breach and injury to the Holy Word of God.

For nothing else is meant in this verse. All we need to do is look at the blueprint of the Tabernacle in the Old Testament. In the room called the “Holy of Holies,” no man could enter except for one day a year, it was so Holy. This room contained a mercy seat over the ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. So sacred is this WORD that it is guarded by two mighty angels. No man can dare enter into such a place. It is as if we could take a spaceship and attempt to fly into the sun. It would only result in total obliteration and destruction. Such is the Holiness found inside the Word or the Bible.

This verse is a serious and grim warning given to this portion of the reformed church. That they not only in error in doctrine but in error in describing the spiritual principles of His kingdom. And thirdly, the clergy is harming others by denying them what are the truths of His kingdom. They are holding the laity and the common people captive for their own selfish pride and ambitions.

And what are the commandments? They are not given to us to appease an angry and vengeful God. They are given to us so that we may share in His abundant LOVE. And when someone denies others this wonderful existence into which every human being was created, then they are breaking all the commandments. For as Jesus taught;

“and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment. And the second is like this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these” Mar 12:30-31.

As it may or may not be known, our Bible contains both a natural meaning and a spiritual meaning. For as it says that it is spiritual in the book of Hebrews;

“For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” Heb 4:12.

But as most readers of the Bible know it is also a guidebook for practical everyday living in this world. As it is said in the book of Proverbs;

“to know wisdom and instruction; to recognize the words of understanding; to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and uprightness;” Pro 1:2-3.

To illustrate this truth in simple terms, the Bible is like a chicken egg. On the outside of the egg is a hard shell. This is analogous to the Bible or what we shall call the “Word” being read and understood in natural terms. Things we can relate to and understand that exist in our natural world.

The egg shell’s function is to protect the important and precious contents contained within it which are the yolk. The yolk itself may progress into another full grown chicken producing more eggs, or the yolk may be consumed by people for the maintenance, nutrition, and growth of the body.

Although it may seem like one part of the egg has less value than the other, the complete opposite of that is true. The shell is crucial to the function and existence of the egg. Without the shell, the yolk would perish from exposure and would have no value to human beings. On the other hand, if we have just the shell and not the yolk, then the shell is nothing of great importance and is usually discarded. So we can see they are interconnected. One part exists because the other part exists.

Like the natural meaning of the Bible, the yolk of an egg is an important staple of maintenance, nutrition, and growth of the body. And this applies to people of all nations and cultures. The egg yolk is used to produce may forms of nutrition to the body. It can be boiled, fried and baked. It can be added to meat, vegetables, and flours. The end result is a plethora of wonderful foods. In the same token, the natural meaning of the Bible produces an endless stream of spiritual delights that God has given us that will go on into eternity. As God spoke in the book of Isaiah;

“so shall My Word be, which goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall certainly do what I sent it to do” Isa 55:11.

But in a spiritual sense, the shell of an egg is like a human body. The body can propagate itself into endless numbers of human beings. The body can perform uses or works. Some use rather benign and common some other uses rather complicated and rare. This is wisdom and this is truth. But the human body is different in one respect than an egg shell. It can be used for good purposes and it can be used for bad purposes. Jesus took on a human body to make known practical wisdom and prudent truth for people in this world. He took on the body of a human being and came to this world to serve others. But He plainly taught of a life beyond this world. There it is a spiritual world;

“I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” John 17:14.

Jesus spoke to those who are called to enter into that spiritual world. He gave us a spiritual Word (“I have given them”) because He was (“not of the world”). Our Bible is a spiritual hand book. It is the same book that is read by the angels in heaven, or what is called the church in heaven; “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven” Mat 6:10.

“Jesus answered and said to him, If a man loves Me, he will keep My Word. And My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him” John 14:23.

The natural and historical meaning of the Bible is only a foundation and a platform. From these principles, we are built up into a spiritual dwelling place of our creator God and raised up into eternal life.

Bible Study Leslie Lyons 8/6/2017

I was researching the word “bear” in Revelation 13:2, which says;

“And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and its feet like those of a bear, and its mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him its power and its seat and great authority” Rev 13:2.

While I was looking I came across a Scripture reference to “bear” in II Kings;

“When Elisha went up to Bethel, as he was going up in the way there came forth boys out of the city and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up thou baldhead, go up thou baldhead. And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah; and there came forth two she-bears out of the forest, and tare in pieces forty-two boys” (II Kings 2:23, 24).

What is the wisdom to be found in this short story? Or what is the moral of the story?
That children should not be disrespectful to their elders? Perhaps. But could we really imagine a holy prophet of God losing his temper and cursing silly little boys to a cruel death?. Or that two bears could kill forty-two boys before any of them could get away?

There has to be a hidden more spiritual meaning found in these two verses because this thing is just not adding up. If we take the Scripture at face value, the main character in the story is the prophet, Elisha. As a prophet, his main duty is to give revelation, or what is similar a Word of wisdom from Jehovah he has received to give to other people. So looking at the prophet Elisha he is not the source of the wisdom, but he is the vehicle or vessel in which the Wisdom is disclosed and communicated.

Much like a prophet illuminates the minds of others, our printed Word (the Bible) imparts unto us important information in which to live life by. This is a natural worldly wisdom. And in the highest sense, it illustrates the Ten Commandments of God which is the supreme and ultimate document ever written on earth. This WISDOM comes from above and is the blueprint and image of heaven itself.

So if we establish this as a truth, then the real crime of the boys was not insulting the prophet, it was insulting and mocking the Bible or the holiness of the Word itself as this is represented by “Elisha”. This is what in the Word is called “Blasphemy of the Holy Ghost” because it says in the previous verse of Revelation 13:1, “..on its heads was the name of blasphemy”. The boys called the prophet a “baldhead” meaning of course lack of “hair”. On the human body “hair” is the last thing found on the outside of the skin. The hair is even beyond the skin which is a protective cover or container to contain all the vital organs of the body essential to life. Such is the WORD or in our case the Bible. The printed text and words have a natural meaning (the skin) and a spiritual meaning (the inner organs).

Jesus taught that “But even the hairs of your head are all numbered” Mat 10:30. This confirms the truth that “hair” is the external and least significant part of the body spiritually. But regardless, to God, the very “hairs on the head” are still HOLY, because he made it a point to say His LOVE reaches out to the very extremities of our being for they are “all numbered”!. This means even to what appears to be the most distant and least of importance in the WORD is still most HOLY. As Jesus taught “For truly I say to you, Till the heaven and the earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Law until all is fulfilled” Mat 5:18. So even in the time of Elisha, there was a witness of God called the Word of the Lord. Or as they knew it, the Law of Moses. Elisha was in the process of returning purification to the WORD in the previous two verses: “And he went forth to the spring of the waters and threw the salt in there, and said, So says Jehovah, I have healed these waters. There shall not be any more death or barrenness from there. And the waters were healed to this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spoke” 2Ki 2:21-22. As we are familiar that “water” symbolizes the WORD.

So why did “two she bears” attack the forty-two boys? Because number “forty” signifies a “wilderness” where the WORD is not found. For it is said, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit up into the wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterwards hungry” Mat 4:1-2. Then to this, we added the number “two”. This signifies the two essentials of GOD. Where the WORD is not found, then neither can LOVE and TRUTH.

Since all creatures in Scripture have characteristics found in the natural world, a “bear” symbolizes great strength. But the “feet of a bear” means it is near the earth or ground from where it walks. It is similar to the image of Nebuchadnezzar, feet of clay and iron. We have established that Elisha being attacked for his lack of “hair” means the WORD in the natural sense. And that the “hair” is the greatest distance and most remote meaning of the written WORD. But since a powerful “bear” is bringing justice and silencing the accusers, this tells us even the most remote and seemingly vague part of the written Word is essential to the church. The sense of the letter of the Bible is the foundation upon which the spiritual meaning is revealed. If this foundation is out of plumb as in Amos; “He made me see this: And behold, the Lord was standing by the plumbline-wall, and a plumbline in His hand. And Jehovah said to me, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A plumbline. Then the Lord said, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of My people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more” Amo 7:7-8.

So the two verses in II Kings 2:23-24 bring us directly back to Revelation 13:5 “And a mouth speaking great things was given to it, and blasphemies. And authority was given to it to continue forty-two months” Rev 13:5. Without going into detail here, This reflects the portion of the church which is “forty”, wilderness or lack of TRUTH, and “two” the portion of the church that has the genuine truth. The old institutional reformed church will continue until the time the New Church is ready, and the old remnant will be abolished.

“All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” 2Ti 3:16.

As important as the wisdom of the sense of the letter of the Bible is in forming a firm foundation for our Christian walk on the earth, if that foundation is off center just a little, then the spiritual house that is to be built on it will not stand the test of time or of eternity. For as it written;

“Therefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envyings, and all evil speakings, desire the sincere milk of the Word, as newborn babes, so that you may grow by it;” 1Pe 2:1. (Natural sense)

“For indeed because of the time, you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again what are the first principles of the oracles of God. And you have become in need of milk, and not of solid food. For everyone partaking of milk is unskillful in the Word of Righteousness, for he is an infant” Heb 5:12-13.
(Spiritual Sense)