Mark of the beast (666): Turning stones into bread
Matthew 4:3 "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."
Matthew 4:1-3 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."
This context of this passage was at the beginning of the ministry of the Son of man, when he was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. Notice that the tempter knew to come at a person's weakest point, after Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights to tempt him. What exactly did the tempter wanted to achieve in this? He presented a version of the Scripture to the Son of man hoping that he would agree with his doctrine. In verse 3, Satan was actually making a reference to:
Deuteronomy 9:9-11 "When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water: 10 And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. 11 And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant."
This passage was Moses who fasted forty days and forty nights when he went up to the mount to receive the tables of stone from the LORD. Moses was a foreshadow of Jesus Christ who went up into the wilderness and fasted the same forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was a hungred. Moses fasted, and at the end of the forty days and forty nights, he received two tables of stones, even the tables of the covenant from the LORD which was written with the "finger of God" (v. 10).
Exodus 8:19 "Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said."
The context of this verse was in the time of Exodus, when Moses and Aaron confronted the Pharaoh according to the words of the LORD "Let my people go", only to be met with the Pharaoh's stubborn refusal. Then, according to the words of the LORD by Moses, Aaron stretched out his rod and smote the dust of the land and brought forth lice throughout the land of Egypt. Pharaoh's magicians tried to duplicate God's miracle with their enchantments but failed to do so. Hence, in Exodus 8:19, they said, "this is the finger of God", referring to a miracle of God which they could not achieve by their own earthly wisdom. Hence, if Jesus was truly the Son of God, he could surely command the stones with his finger to be made bread, to which the Son of man replied:
Matthew 4:4 "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
The words in this verse was Jesus quoting from:
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 "And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live."
Notice in verse 2 that the Bible compares the forty days and forty nights where Jesus was led up to the wilderness and fasted, to the forty years whereby the the children of Israel was made to wander in the wilderness for their murmurings against the LORD (Numbers 14:33-34). God made them wander in the wilderness, each day for a year, to bear their iniquities until their carcasses should fall, that they should not enter the promised land. God did this to humble them, and to prove them, and to let them know what was in their hearts, whether they would keep his commandments, or no. Furthermore, God suffered them to hunger, and fed them with manna (bread from heaven), that he might make them know that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Yet, there was the Devil tempting the now hungred Jesus, saying:
Matthew 4:3 "... If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."
The Devil was tempting the Son of God with these words, that instead of living by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, use his finger (finger of God) to perform a miracle to turn the stones into bread, and live. In this, the Devil was offering Jesus another way to live. That was the Devil's gospel, that instead of living by every word of God which is to save the soul, man shall continue to live in his natural body by turning stones into bread. This goes along with his promise to Eve in the garden of Eden:
Genesis 3:4-5 "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
Notice the parallel between "stones be made bread" (Matthew 4:3) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In both cases, the Devil promised that man shall live by these things. What are "stones"? Think about:
Genesis 11:1-4 "Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly... Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." (Count: 46 words)
In Genesis 11, the whole earth was of one language and one speech, and those were the words spoken by the people in Babel. Their plan is to build a city and a tower with bricks, whose top may reach unto heaven. Notice there are exactly 46 words spoken. The human genome consist of 46 chromosomes. Also, notice the word "brick" in this passage. Bricks are stones made with hands. All forms of the word "brick" (brick, bricks, brickkiln) are found exactly 14 = 7 + 7 times in 13 verses in the King James Bible i.e. pattern of the number 77 and 13. But in Acts 7:48, we read that God would not dwell in temples made with hands. Peter compares our 46 chromosomes body to "lively stones" by which the temple of God are built up:
1 Peter 2:5 "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."
Think also the words of John the Baptist:
Matthew 3:9 "And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."
With this understanding, consider again what the Devil means when he said unto Jesus "... If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." (Matthew 4:3). I submit to you that it is in the Devil's plan to raise up children for his earthly kingdom, just like unto God who is able of stones to raise up children unto Abraham. I submit unto you that it is in the Devil's plan to alter our genetics, to turn stones into "bread" that will give life to our sinful flesh. I submit to you that it is in the Devil's plan to develop a solution for the "first death", to overturn God's judgment to man in Genesis 3.
Revelation 9:5-6 "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them."
The Bible tells us in this passage that the days will come when man shall seek death, and he shall not find it. He has a desire to die, but death shall flee from him. The context of this passage is after man has received the mark of the beast. Therefore, one of the things that the mark of the beast will do is to alter the genetics of man so that his physical body will no longer die. The mark of the beast will be to turn stones into "bread" for the sinful flesh. The mark of the beast will be the Devil's solution to the first death. Anyone who dares to stand in the way of sinful men's only hope for eternal life must be prepared to be persecuted and killed as what the Bible tells us.