Your explanation of the meaning of the three 6's is right on. Perfect. I could not have written it better myself,
Until you made the mistake of thinking it is not a literal mark on the followers of Satan and the evil system. Satan's people take the mark blatantly, and the enemies of the state who do not take it become quite obvious. It will be easy to identify us and round us up as enemies of the state... to be beheaded.
And the Ezekiel mark was for the death messengers (six men as in 6) to destroy with their shattering weapons. One of them was designated to take his ink horn and mark the foreheads of those who lamented the injustice in the city. Literal or symbolic? Did "six men" kill the people or was it actually the Babylonians? Did one of the "six men" literally paint a mark on people's foreheads? Or is the prophecy symbolic? I think we all know the answer.
Likewise, the Revelation passage is filled with symbolic imagery. As with Ezekiel, what we know about prophecy is that if part of a passage is obviously symbolic, then all of it is symbolic. Otherwise, our interpretation becomes arbitrary and in error.
Be that as it may, we see the infrastructure of this control mechanism being built today. For example, I already cannot buy a "Quesarito" from Taco Bell because they will only sell it to me if I order it using their smart phone app. I can stand at the counter all day while they make them for everyone else who have a smart phone but I cannot buy that burrito. I cannot buy something with my money because I don't have a smart phone. Imagine that.
Another example: My internet router has instructions printed on it for customizing its configuration. But those instructions don't work. Why? Because that feature has been disabled. However, if you download the AT&T smart phone app, you can easily configure your router -- super duper easy. But without a smart phone, it's a slow crawl over a hundred yards of ground glass on the phone (a dumb phone) with tech support.
But AT&T will say, "We can give you a smart phone bundle for very little money! Then you can download our app and configure your router". You get the idea that they really want me to own a smart phone and be dependent upon their apps. Leverage. Force. Coercion. Make it difficult to operate without their plan. Make it easy to operate with their phone and plan.
At Sam's Club, you don't have to go through the register checkout. Just download their app and check your items out using your smart phoine as you put them in your basket. Your account will be deducted automatically and you're on your way after a brief eyeball check at the exit.
But you say, "I don't have a smart phone."
"Uh, that's unfortunate because soon, we will not have any registers in the store..."
"So someday soon, I won't be able to buy anything here without a smartphone?"
"Well, we're saving money by eliminating check-out staff to bring you better prices."
"But if I paid for membership, and have no smart phone with which to buy, what good is my membership?"
"You're in luck, we actually sell smart phones. We've got some great deals! And the app is free."
Feeling uncomfortable yet?
In China, it is mandatory to own a smart phone with the state's tracking software installed. How long before this is true everywhere else in the world? Everyone must own the tool that could enforce "the mark".
Do you own one of these tools already? Were you so worried about bar codes that you were taken unawares? Can a smart phone be used to prevent you buying or selling?
Those of you who already own a smart phone may have little idea how much pressure is being applied to people who have been holding-off buying a spy-on-you-phone. The level of coercion is enormous. "You MUST own one." Sooner or later, you will not be able to buy or sell without one.
But the phone is not the mark. Bar codes are not the mark. These are just tools that we have willingly put in the hands of our would-be masters that give them leverage over us. What are they going to use that leverage for ultimately? Thought coercion. Thought policing. Submit or we'll disable your ability to buy or sell.
Bill Gates proposes that all computers (including phones) have a unique ID (similar to a mac address), so that any message sent or posted anonymously can be tracked to its non-anonymous, individual owner. That way, "terrorists" can be identified. People who post anonymously on message boards can be identified with the content they have posted, thinking nobody would know their real identity. All of this is in the interest of public safety. And public safety is now tied to "fake news" or "misinformation". Track down the purveyors of incorrect thinking and "help" them get their minds right.
Bar codes? A bar code is just a strip of data. A bar code is nothing. Commerce and data management are nothing but codes, quadrillions of bytes of them. DNA is code. Everything is code. The clue is in the meaning of the number, to which you have already agreed is the right meaning.
It's not the technology or literal "marking". The marking is symbolic of what is going on in the mind. See Ezekiel. The Bible interprets itself. We know this. So let the Bible be its own interpreter.
The day has not yet arrived where every human being must own the means of state control, but it's close. IMO, when that day comes, then the leverage of "The Mark" will be possible and mankind will be divided by who "has the mark", i.e. correct thinking, and who has not.
Remember also that this technology can change and progress beyond a hand-held device. After all, it's just a tool and tools change but their functions remain. "The mark" is symbolic of submission to man-as-god (666). The tool of its enforcement is beside the point. The mark is on your hand or on your head, just like the Ink-Horn man clothed in linen in Ezekiel. It is no accident that there are 6 men in Ezekiel, marking and crushing skulls with their shattering weapons.
So go out and order that burrito on your smart phone. It is food for thought.
