God created man from the dust of the ground, breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and “man became a living soul.” In the words of the Apostle Paul, “That was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:46-47)

God made Adam one man, consisting of the earthly creature and the spiritual together as distinct parts: body, soul, and spirit. Created on the sixth day, man is represented in the Bible by the number six. The seventh day of rest is the day of the Lord. And as the week is incomplete without the seventh day, so is man without rest until the day of the Lord. Six days of labor were given to every man to work, and six millennial days are given to mankind collectively to have dominion over the earth. Then comes rest for those whose labor was in the Lord: completion and perfection in Christ.

When the first man, Adam, whom Paul calls the earthly man, fell to temptation, he became dead to the second man, whom Paul declared “the Lord from heaven.” Thus, Adam was left to his earthly nature; his spirit and conscience were overcome by the work of sin in his flesh, and death reigned over all of his offspring.

When the conscience was awakened by the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve felt guilt; otherwise, they would not have attempted to cover themselves and hide in the garden. They were ashamed and subjected to their sinful nature.

The only hope of restoration was through death and resurrection. The old man had to be crucified, and a new one, worthy of life, had to replace him. Jesus said you must be born again to see the kingdom of God. Only through the rebirth of the Lord can anyone be made a new man in Christ and be saved from death.

Restoration requires a clear conscience; this is only possible through regeneration via the death and resurrection of Christ, in whom we die and our sins die with us, and we are given a new life.

There is a war for the soul of man; it is between the nature of the beast in our flesh and the tugging of the Spirit on our heart through the conscience. The nature of the beast will destroy any remnants of the conscience of those who serve it. God seeks our salvation before spiritual death becomes absolute. However, the Lord has said, “My spirit will not always strive with man, for he is flesh.”

Like Pharaoh, if we consistently refuse to yield to the Lord, the conscience will harden until there is no avenue open to reach the soul.

The number six is often used to represent man, and three can mean complete. The number six hundred sixty-six represents the natural man who has reached an absolute and irreversible state of the absence of God. It is a permanent state; there is no longer any interaction with the Holy Spirit. In John 6:66, we read that certain of Jesus’ disciples became offended by his teachings; they ceased from following him and never returned.

In chapter two of Daniel, it is revealed that the last kingdom on earth will be unlike any before, and it will subdue the whole earth. John also prophesied of this global system, writing that men would say, “Who is like unto the Beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

This is Satan’s kingdom on earth, ruling in the flesh of man. Nonetheless, this worldly system is destroyed by a stone cut out without hands that breaks in pieces the feet of the mingled people and nations on which it stands, and it becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth. (Daniel 2).

God destroyed the work at Babel and scattered the people when they cast him off. When the world resurrects “Babel,” the people will defy God, and each one will worship gods of their making. Satan will sit in the place of God in their hearts; the Beast rules for what will seem like a moment and is destroyed.