You didn't answer the question.
You will have to permit me to layout the process of wisdom and understanding called for to bring revelation forth…I have made this as concise as I know how…be patient but read with the understanding you posses. Here are the questions you asked…
CrowCross asks…
“If the mark wasn't literal but symbolic as you say....how would that prevent one from buying or selling?” and
“How would the mark, being symbolic only and not literal, keep people from buying and selling?” same question essentially.
There are two realms…natural temporal realm and spiritual heavenly realm. The natural/temporal is where we live physically in our bodies on the earth…and the spiritual heavenly realm is comprised of two spiritual realms.
One is the heavens where God and His sons live spiritually and the other is the heavens where the devil and his sons live spiritually…both the light of Christ and the darkness of the devil are invisible to the physical human eye.
Just as the Lord said in John 3…
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
So in the same way “we” have not seen Christ Yahshua in the flesh…we have not seen Satan in the flesh…this is because both of these are “spiritually” discerned…or “seen”…by the eyes of our spirit. The Holy Spirit sees all things…the unholy spirit sees only what God will reveal to him…that is why he is blind to Truth.
For the sons of God, they have access to the mind of God for their discernment…their mind is set on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
However the devil and his sons do not have access to the mind of God… their mind is set on the things below, hence the term “darkness” their discernment comes from the mind of the devil and is carnal, earthly and sensual….lies and deception only and always.
This is exactly what Paul was describing in 1st Corinthians 2…he wrote…[emphasis mine]
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, [distinctly different spirits/realms]
so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, [the Spirit of God we have received…is what allows us to hear and understand what the Spirit of God is giving us.]
which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. [We speak these things God is giving us based upon “spiritual thought using spiritual words” of wisdom…not human wisdom.]
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
Paul is telling us that the sons of God operate on the Spirit of God frequency that mere humanity can neither understand nor speak. How does this answer your question?
When it comes to the wisdom and understanding of what God is giving or saying to His sons about anything…it is through that which is “…
taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words” which is not available to the unregenerate…and religious.
So…in regards to Satan, the beast, his name, his number, his mark, his kingdom etc…in order to understand any of it in Truth…one must be born again of the Holy Spirit so that they might interact with the Spirit of God directly Spirit to spirit.
Now it is in this light that we can consider Johns words in Revelation 13:18 when considering “name or number” as the motb…emphasis mine.
“Here is wisdom. [This is a reference to the spiritual “wisdom of God” that Paul was describing, not human wisdom]
Let him who has understanding [This is a reference to the spiritual “understanding of God” not human understanding. Both the spiritual wisdom and understanding that is given by God are 2 of the seven Spirits of the Lord Isaiah 11:2]
calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”
So…brother John is telling us…that it
requires the Holy Spirit in the “mature sons” of God…to access and then reveal God’s spiritual wisdom and understanding of this beast. This wisdom and understanding will be attended by the full power and authority of the throne of God in the kingdom of God in heaven and on the earth…and…thereby it is unavailable to
anyone not in Christ at this time.
I am referring to something Daniel and Paul both wrote and taught concerning Gods understanding and wisdom respectively…Daniel wrote…
“It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding.” In Dan 2:21
Paul wrote…
”Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;” (1Co 2:6-8 NASB)
In an attempt to answer your following question CrowCross…
“If the mark wasn't literal but symbolic as you say....how would that prevent one from buying or selling?” and
“How would the mark, being symbolic only and not literal, keep people from buying and selling?”
I have thoroughly explained the reality of
“combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words” that originate in the mind of God as being something only the sons of God are capable of…they see it…they see the name and number of this beast…his mark…it is here among us today and has been as far back as the Garden of Eden. It is clearly chronicled in the scriptural log we have been given…the beast and his mark are put on an open display from Genesis through Revelation.
The beast…which has always been empowered by the spirit of Satan…gives the devil control over the souls of those who live a life of rebellion and disobedience towards God in their life on the earth…humanity. It deceives them utterly…thoroughly…completely via the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life.
The motb is…the sin of those who are rebellious and disobedient in humanity due to their rejection of Gods Son Christ Yahshua.
Marty has been showing us this all along as well. Sin was here in the past…it is here in the present…and it is yet future for a time.
This beast’s “mark” has been clearly illuminated to the family of God led of His Spirit…it is the debt of sin from which they were purchased...so, the beast, his kingdom/systems, and his mark is here and becoming more apparent each day.
It has grown from a serpent in the Garden of Eden that “deceived” Eve (sin)…to what we can observe in the earth today as the beast that
“causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name…All who dwell on the earth will worship him”
Now if you do not understand this transcendent principle of scriptural truth…”
the devil is a liar and the wages of sin is death” then nothing I could ever type and post will convince you in any way to change your view…it requires the Holy Spirit to reveal Truth to your spirit…as all should do CrowCross…humble yourself before our mighty God and inquire of Him as to the truth of these realities…it is a matter of eternal life or death.
It’s the mark or seal of God described as…
”His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads” which "mark" is the Holy Spirit...that sets apart the sons of God from those who have the
“name or number” of the beast written on their foreheads CrowCross...which "mark" is his dark spirit...which explains why they live in sin.
If this was all an outward observable physical literal mark in the flesh of a man’s forehead…then the “mark or name” of the heavenly Father should be observable to you right now…it was Christ Yahshua who first bore this seal and many sons since then. It is this seal that identifies who belongs to Christ…as Paul said to Timothy…
”having this seal, the Lord knows who are His."