Evangelist's Address

Hutt News, Volume 16, Issue 7, 15 July 1942, Page 5

Evangelist's Address

In one of the most , interesting lectures of" the series Evangelist Burnside last Sunday night at the Kva Draper Studio spoke on the subject "The Man with the Number 666 —Who is He.'" • The reference in the Bible to this mystic number is found in Rev. 13: IS, "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.'" In both the Latin, Greek and Hebrew, letters stand for numbers — thus in Latin we have "v" equaling 5, "x" equaling 10, and "c" equaling 100. and so on. The name of the man or power here referred to, when the numerical equivalents of the letters of its name are added, totals (i 6 ti. There has been much speculation over this text and some have sought to show that Napoleon, the late Kaiser, or.Hitler have names totalling 686. However there need be absolutely no doubt as to who this power is when w r e examine it in eonnectibn with the chapter as a whole. First of all liev. 13:18 shows that this' number is not only the number of a man but also that of a beast. A beast, as Dan. 7 tells us, symbolises some kingdom or political power, Rev. 13:2 describes further this beast —or this political power having as its name-number G G 6 —by saying that it received its power, it's seat (that is, the place from whence it ruled), and its great authority from the "dragon." Rev. 12: 3-5 shows that the "dragon" was the power, as inspired by the devil, which sought to slay Christ as soon as He was born. Every school boy knows that this power (as Luke 2:1 also tells us) was* pagan, or Imperial, Rome] It was Herod, a Roman governor, which sought to slay Christ at His birth, and finally it was Roman law that condemned Christ to death, Roman nails that fastened Christ to the cross, and a Roman soldier that did the nailing. Rome at that time ruled the world, having the City of Rome as its great capital. Thus the "beast" power received its power, its seat or capital, and its great authority from the hands of Imperial Rome. The second point of identification is the fact that this "beast" power is also a religious pewer; for Rev. 13:1 and verse 6 claims tliat it speaks "blasphemies" —a worci connected always with religion. The Bible defines blasphemy in two ways such as is seen also in the life of Christ when the Jews accused Hi'm of blasphemy for declaring Himself God (John 10:33), and asserting His right of forgiving sins. (Luke 5:21).

The Evangelist showed the wonders of Bible prophecy in the fact that John under inspiration- looks down the stream of time and shows the worlds domination of this power (Rev. 13:4-7) for "forty and two months" or for 1,2 6 0 days—a period in literal tifcie according to prophetic usage, Evangelist proved, of 1,260 years. V ' While RevVl3:B speaks of its persecutions during these years, of particular interest are verses 16 and 17 which speak of a world boycott to come against those who have not its "mark" upon forehead and nand —a subject, the Evangelist pi'niised with which lie will deal next Sunday night. The next verse, verse 18, which is the closing verse of the chapter, concludes by giving the beast's (that is, the kingdom's number as the number of a man— and its number is 66 6, In the three languages, Latin, Greek and Hebrew, the Evangelist gave some most interesting details, well illustrated on a large chart, proving the uncannily accurate application of this number to that of the power referred to within this most outstanding prophecy of Rev. 13. The Evangelist concluded by appealing to al.l to study more closely the Scriptures for it will be to us our guide and our shield, till that time when Christ comes to claim His own. The audience displayed great interest and much appreciation for this, one of the greatest lectures of these whole series on vital Bible Truths and a large attendance is expected next Sunday night when Mr. Burnside will take as his subject, "What is the 'MARK' of the beast, mentioned in Rev. 13:16 and 17.'"