What's the meaning of the "mark of the beast," or the number 666?
Q: What is the meaning of the "number of man," or the "mark of the beast" called "666?"
A: The closest Urantia Book reference to that number comes from the following paragraph:
"The grand universe number of your world, Urantia, is 5,342,482,337,666. That is the registry number on Uversa and on Paradise, your number in the catalogue of the inhabited worlds. I know the physical-sphere registry number, but it is of such an extraordinary size that it is of little practical significance to the mortal mind." (15:14.8)
Perhaps this number, which ends in 666, was revealed to John and all that he recorded were the last 3 digits.
There are no magic numbers. The universe is logical, not magical. Some numbers have significance because they refer to universe realities, but numerology and the magic associated with numbers is superstition based. The "mark of the beast" is a figure of speech signifying our evolutionary animal origin. It's referred to in the following paragraph which describes the gradual spiritual purging and purification we experience as we move through the mansion worlds following death.
The experience on this sphere is the crowning achievement of the immediate postmortal career. During your sojourn here you will receive the instruction of many teachers, all of whom will co-operate in the task of preparing you for residence on Jerusem. Any discernible differences between those mortals hailing from the isolated and retarded worlds and those survivors from the more advanced and enlightened spheres are virtually obliterated during the sojourn on the seventh mansion world. Here you will be purged of all the remnants of unfortunate heredity, unwholesome environment, and unspiritual planetary tendencies. The last remnants of the "mark of the beast" are here eradicated. (47:9.1)
Xerpi
