666,999 & 2012

I have had a repressed memory of an accident that happened during 1999 in December. We were sleeping that night when mom felt the ground shaking- I guess we experienced a terrible earthquake that alarmed the whole family & the whole country as well.


Of course, the earthquake acted like a faulty tectonic drift, & it was somehow faint compared to the other places that not only destroyed some buildings and houses, but some lives too. I was barely a conscious then, but I even remember mom shouting my little brother's name who was still asleep while the walls are closely falling in. That night, after the earthquake, my family composed a little prayer to thank God for protecting us from the short but alarming catastrophe.

So the reports came in the early morning & the earthquake sure made a mess in different regions before it gets away. The thing that caught my attention the most was about the accident in terms of astronomy-thingy, which talked about the relevance of the year 1999 to the number 666. It scared me to death watching that segment, & being a nine year old that time, I sure did believed that the two sets of numbers has an odd significance.

Today, it's September 9, 2009... 9/9/9. At first I thought it was a lucky day too, cause last year we anticipated August 8, 2008. China can proved that to us, right? As I typed in those three numbers, the events that happened in the year 1999 suddenly got into me, further increasing my anxiety.

What if 999 was almost similar to that of the past disaster? Is 999 of today the same with 666? Why is 666 bad anyway? Furthermore, is the date 12/12/12 relevant to the end of the world (based on the upcoming movie 2012)?

They say that the number 666 (as found on the book of Revelations 13:11-18) is defined as the number of men, or the unholy trinity- Satan, the false prophet & the Antichrist.

The start of chapter 12 says that the first dragon was Satan, & was slain by the angels above. So when Satan, in the form of that first dragon, was casted out, he then transformed into a second dragon. As it was said on the verse, it was defined as the beast that is coming out of the earth; it has two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon.

Based on my understanding & research, it was actually more like a fake god, a fake follower or that guy's simply bad news! That whoever has the mark of those set of similar numbers, is more likely a follower of Satan, a false prophet whom I imagine is like the person who shouts 'the end is near!' in televisions or claims that he is the true god, or the antichrists which is a group of people who, obviously, hate Jesus Christ.

So in my epiphany just now, I think what happened on December 13, 1999, was just associated with the numbers 666 because we actually tend to over rationalized our faith. In a multiple-choice type of question, it can probably look something like this:

What is the sum of 9 & 8?
A. 17
B. Infinite! Because when you translated the number eight into greek, it means something like the infinite symbol... blah blah blah
C. 17? (lol)
D. None of the above. 9 & 8 cannot be added together, for the law of.. blah blah blah
(By the way, if I have to choose between those choices, I choose letter C. cause it cracked me up a little... I know, brain concussion again)

You see what I mean? Filipinos tend to over rationalize sometimes, including me, of course... it helps us somehow but it can also causes us to our downfall.... & by downfall I mean the pre-exam test on Course Audit due to over rationalization lol. Seriously though, 1999 was a great year amidst the tribulation the world has received.

For it is said in the book of John 16:33 that we live in a world full of tribulation: but don't fret, guys, for God have overcome the world. 1999 was just one of the million examples of why we live in a fallen world... & it was our fault from the start, the reason why there are sufferings too. However, if you look upon Jesus Christ's sufferings, how He offered Himself so that we could be cleansed from our sins, it was more than painful than any of the things we have experienced... & all we need to do is to hold unto Him in good times & bad times. Have faith!

So who is this man who has that mark of the number 666? Will he cause so much tribulation to the point that we'll suffer in the end, then?

Good point. As I was reading some of the forums & some sites about the number 666, some people said the Bible actually was referring it to Nero, the emperor during those times. Because Christians were being persecuted before (they actually thought of them as witches & then they'll burn their head on top of a post... a lamp post actually), they tend to give people & things some codes. Like the name Jesus Christ who can be translated to a number 888, or to others, as a fish (that's why you see the fish symbol). Nero was referred too as a follower of Satan, a false prophet & an antichrist.

During our times, well, not really our times... more like our grandmother's grandmother's grandmother's times (lol), Adolf Hitler with his famous Swastika was symbolized as the man with the mark of 666 because of what he did during those years of Jewish slavery & persecution. In the Philippines, I'm not sure, but I recently read something about Marcos having that mark.

Even though Nero, Hitler or Marcos was considered as the man with the 666 mark by some people, somewhere down the line we have to consider the fact that they are merely just mortal sinners just like us too.

God isn't SELECTIVE, guys. Sometimes we have a misconception about God having that personality but it's not true at all. As it is said on Psalms 103:2-5, God doesn't categorize our sins according to how we categorize it. A SIN IS A SIN when it comes to God.. no matter how low or severe a sin was.

We tend to judge people... condemning them to the point of terminating them. I'm telling you now, that your sins are equal to their sins, no matter how much destruction it may or may not bring. Again, A SIN IS A SIN, people.

So, in my own conclusion, we are therefore just like the emperor Nero, or Adolf Hitler or our former president Marcos who committed a lot of sins that almost affected many people or nations. You know what, if we sin, our God is also affected... & He is bigger than anything you could've imagine, so just think about it... we are the ones who categorize our sins... not Him.

So to sum it all up again, anyone can be a potential owner of the mark 666. It doesn't talk about one person only... it talks about MEN- 666 as the number  of MEN. So all the people in this world can either be a follower of Satan, a false prophet & an anti-christ if he did not accept Christ as His own personal Lord & Savior? Yes. 666 is just a number, but I tell you what... for me, 6-6-6 is actually SIN-SIN-SIN! It rhymes, doesn't it?

So what happens on December 12, 2012 then?

 I'm not against the movie 2012 whatsoever... cause I'm sure gonna watch the movie myself too lol. It seems an interesting way to predict whether 2012 is the end of the world, but to tell you the truth... I'm not really sure about it.

In fact, no one even knows about it except God (Luke 9:25). How are those other souls going to be saved then? Well, God promised us in Revelations that He will not permit His second coming until the word has spread throughout the nations.

So there's still time? There is... but don't be complacent. He can come anytime, as long as His love is foretold to all the people in all the nations of this world. That is our purpose then... to spread the word, or spread the LOVE of our God. Amen!

& don't be afraid to even say that SIN-SIN-SIN word... because even though we try to be 666 people sometimes... the word 999 still exist! What does it mean? SALVATION-SALVATION-SALVATION! Now isn't that wonderful? :)

Shaping in, shipping out, Aldrinne :D