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666 (Six Six Six): The Devil's Number? The Number Of The Beast?

Dig this-

New Bible Fragment Reveals the Number of the Beast is Really 616
A fragment of the original Book of Revelation, written in Greek and dating back to the third century, has been deciphered using a revolutionary technique (SN reported) and has found that the number of the beast is not 666 but is in fact 616.
Refering to the writing, Professor David Parker, of the University of Birmingham says "This is an example of gematria, where numbers are based on the numerical values of letters in people's names."
"Early Christians would use numbers to hide the identity of people who they were attacking: 616 refers to the Emperor Caligula." he added. The number 666 is often refered to in sermons by fundamentalist Christians concerning the apocalypse.

(Found on forteantimes.com news page today)
 
I've mentioned this before in a thread about the Book of Revelation, but if you add up the Roman numerals, you get 666:

I - 1
V - 5
X - 10
L - 50
C - 100
D - 500

I think I'm right in saying that most academic works interpret the Book of Revelation as an attack on the immorality of the Roman and Babylonian empires. Why should this be? Well, the Jews had their homeland destroyed twice in history, first by the Babylonians, then by the Romans.
 
you guys have it all wrong. I dialed 666. Barbara Streistand answered. Mystery SOlved......
 
Some more 616ing from The church Times no less

Bible writers got the Beast’s number wrong, say scholars
By Bill Bowder

THE NUMBER of the Beast in Revelation is 616, not 666, say scholars who have been working their way through a large haul of Greek papyri discovered in a dump outside Oxyrhynchus in Egypt.

The find was made in the 19th century, but the poor condition of the documents made them mostly illegible. Recent research in Oxford on the 400,000 fragments has used new imaging techniques. Scholars talk of increasing the sum of classical texts by 20 per cent.

A scrap of the Revelation of St John, dating from about 300, has recently come to public attention, though research on it was first published in 1999. It refers to “616”. By giving numerical value to Greek letters of the alphabet, something educated Greeks enjoyed doing, they could conceal in the text (Revelation 13.18) the real target of their anger.

Until now, commentators have followed later readings that assign the number 666 to the Beast — a code that is thought by some to have referred to Nero, who persecuted early Christians.

The Revd Professor David Parker, Professor of New Testament Textual Criticism and Palaeography at the University of Birmingham, said on Tuesday that the possibility that the sign of the Beast was 616, not 666, was considered by Irenaeus in the second century, but he rejected it.

Referring to the newly examined text he said: “This adds weight to those who believe that it is a reference to Caligula’s attempt to desecrate the Temple in Jerusalem, by having his statue erected there as part of the cult of emperor worship.

“There may be a reference to it in Mark [13.14], where he refers to the ‘the abomination of desolation’. But this was overlaid by the Neronian persecutions. People believed that you could get from ‘666’ to Nero because in Greek he is the emperor Neron Caesar. And 666 is one number less than the perfect 777.

“The text is quite legible to the naked eye. It was published in 1999, but it has taken people time to catch up,” he said.
www.papyrology.ox.ac.uk
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>Source<
 
Cool thread! With regard to the “616” variant reading of the Apocalypse verse denoting the “number of the beast”, apparently this was already known about before now (hence the footnotes in some posters' copies of the Apocalypse) from its having being cited by one of the early church fathers, Irenaeus. They just hadn’t found a manuscript with the variant reading until recently. Another variant reading is “665”. The link below is to the site of the people in Oxford who have the actual fragment of the “616” variant reading (which apparently doesn’t in itself present enough evidence to warrant a replacement of “666” in our Apocalypse, so don't get the Tipex out just yet!):

http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/POxy/beast616.htm

PS The link on there to the "numerology of the beast" bit is worth looking at too, they even mention Tony Blair :D
 
Well as we approach 6/6/6 things are hotting up

The Sunday Times April 30, 2006

Mothers expect Damien on 6/6/06

Tony Allen-Mills

FOR one group of expectant mothers, their due date holds an extra dimension of dread. The prospect of giving birth on June 6, 6/6/06, has prompted talk of spawning devil children on Armageddon day.

A British self-help group that usually exchanges routine tips on parenting has turned its attention to the dangers of a date marked by the satanic symbol.

For Hollywood and the worldwide entertainment industry it is by contrast a once-in-a- century opportunity to turn evil into gold. Leading the charge is 20th Century Fox, whose remake of The Omen, the classic 1970s horror film, will appear on June 6.

The approach of the sixth day of the sixth month of a new century’s sixth year has prompted animated discussion among women participating in the website of Mother & Baby, a British parenting magazine.

One pregnant woman, Francesca Renouf, said she had been so worried that she had booked a doctor’s appointment to ensure that she would avoid giving birth on the sixth.

Others appeared to take the dangers less seriously. One woman, Emma Parker, wrote that she intends to call her baby Damien, after the satanic boy in The Omen. Another, Donna Magnante, said she would name her baby after Regan in The Exorcist.

In America the marketing of the apocalypse is well under way. Slayer, one of America’s most popular heavy metal rock groups, will start its Unholy Alliance tour, subtitled Preaching to the Perverted.

Crown Forum, a US publishing giant, has seized on 666 as the perfect date for the launch of Godless, a new anti-liberal political polemic by Ann Coulter, a prominent right-wing columnist.

And inevitably the internet is awash with frenzied doomsday debate and 666 speculation, all reflecting America’s continuing obsession with angels, devils and the possible nature of heaven and hell.

While some Armageddon believers fear that 6/6/06 will be “a day of satanic power” that may be marked by a comet hitting the Earth, others believe that the world is coming closer to what is widely known as “the rapture” — the moment the Lord calls the Christian faithful home and millions of born-again evangelicals will suddenly disappear from the Earth, leaving non-believers behind.

On one popular evangelical website last week, a “rapture index” that calculates the likelihood of the Lord’s arrival stood at 156 — which the website declared was time to “fasten your seatbelts”. By contrast, another website claimed that the Antichrist had already arrived — he is supposedly George (six letters) Walker (six letters) Bush Jr (six letters), the president whose name adds up to 666. “The violence and destruction that began when Bush first entered office is now certain to culminate in the apocalypse, as predicted in the Bible over 2,000 years ago,” warned Stephen Hanchett at isbushantichrist.blogspot.com.

The 666 phenomenon is based on a disputed passage from the Book of Revelation, which in several popular versions declares the “number of the beast” to be 666 — although some biblical scholars claim there was a mistranslation and the number should really be 616.

Either way, John Moore, the Irish director of The Omen remake — entitled Omen 666 — realised that June 6 was too good a date to miss for a film about a sinister child named Damien who turns out to be the Antichrist. “It’s a fantastic marketing gimmick,” Moore said. “We figured if we could hit this date it would make it all the more interesting.”

The only devils in Coulter’s book are abortion-loving Democrats, but that hasn’t stopped her publisher making the most of 666. Coulter, a tall blonde with a mean anti-liberal streak, is the bestselling author of How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must).

Her new book, subtitled The Church of Liberalism, is reportedly even more bilious, with chapters such as “On the seventh day God rested and Liberals schemed”, and “The holiest sacrament: abortion”.

Joining Slayer on the musical front is the cult death metal group Deicide, which calls itself “Satan’s favourite band”. Its latest album, The Stench of Redemption, is scheduled for release on what it calls “the most unholy of days, 6/6/06”.

The majority of Americans may well conclude that if the last 6/6/06 (in 1906) failed to end in apocalypse, they might survive this one, too. But the current vogue for horror films suggests that the omens for Fox’s Omen 666 may be bright whatever the release date.

Unless of course anyone notices the numerological significance of “Fox”. As one contributor to Arianna Huffington’s blog pointed out last week, F is the sixth letter of the alphabet, O is the 15th letter (1+5=6) and X is the 24th letter (2+4=6). Could Fox be the studio of the Beast?
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www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2158015,00.html

I've done a fully hyperlinked version here.
 
There is a local gym which apparently charges 666 euro per year for membership.
 
Cool. The Devil's gym!!

--------------
Well Colorado is ready - I just wish more areas had a 666 Emergency Plan:

Article Launched: 05/01/2006 01:00:00 AM MDT

denver & the west

"666" sense: Date marked with caution

While some say June 6, 2006, is a day to fear for its biblical significance, officials see little to dread.

By Howard Pankratz
Denver Post Staff Writer

With June 6, 2006, rapidly approaching, authorities in Colorado and elsewhere are carefully watching to see if that date - 6/6/06 - spurs demonstrations or violent activity.

They are aware that 666 signifies the Mark of the Beast or the Antichrist to some organizations and believe June 6 is a date that could trigger problems.

"It's been a conscious question among some of our folks, so they've been on the lookout for something," said Lance Clem, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Safety. "But they haven't seen anything."

Even so, some local police are being vigilant.

"The bottom line is that our intelligence unit is familiar with 666 and its significance, but we don't have any information about anything taking place in Colorado Springs," said Lt. Rafael Cintron of the Colorado Springs Police Department. "However, we are certainly keeping our feelers out to see if anything is happening."

Some dates and anniversaries can be calls to action for white supremacists, racists, and conspiracy and prophecy theorists.

April 19, for example, is the anniversary of the raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas; the Oklahoma City bombing; and the raid on white separatist Randy Weaver's home at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.

The Number of the Beast, 666, is mentioned in the Bible's book of Revelation and is believed by some to be when the Antichrist will exercise power over Earth.

The Internet is full of websites that predict terrible things could happen June 6.

One website warns that the "Bible Code says 2006 A.D. is the Year of the Beast" and predicts that the Antichrist will reveal himself. It also says there may be a holy war against Israel and that the United States and Russia would be drawn into a dangerous conflict as a result.

Several major law enforcement agencies in the Denver metro area have seen no signs of trouble and aren't planning to beef up manpower.

Since 1970, there have been 60 terrorist attacks on June 6, with just one in the U.S., according to the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism in Oklahoma City.

Ellis, the institute's research and program coordinator, said he has seen nothing to indicate anything bad will happen June 6.

If something does develop, Ellis does not believe it would necessarily involve neo-Nazi, white- supremacist types. Rather it could be "anarchists and anti-globalists" who are tied into the counterculture and relish "the chance to stick their thumb in the eye of the establishment," he said.

Laird Wilcox, a Kansas-based expert on domestic extremist groups, believes dates can be overemphasized. He cites in particular the concern about the year 2000.

"What I see happening is something like the millennium controversy where everybody was talking about it and then nothing happened," he said. "I think this has occurred on every anniversary. Everybody anticipates some catastrophe, and nothing ever occurs."

But Kerry Noble, a Texas businessman whose life has changed dramatically since the days he was second in command of a paramilitary religious group known as the Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord, said June 6 carries much significance to fringe groups that may be looking to make a statement.

"Numbers are important in the movement," Noble said. "So anything you could interpret as being symbolic would be even more important. So a symbolic date like June 6 of this year, being 666, would have the equivalence of a 9/11 date or an April 19 date."
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www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3770815
 
This is probably old hat now, but the "brand new news" that the Number of the Beast is 616 rather than, or more correctly in addition to, 666 represents gee-whiz journalism at its worst.

I learned this "news" in both Roman Catholic and Baptist Bible classes DECADES ago and it was VERY OLD information then.

In fact, St. Irenaeus wrote about this dichotomy in the late Second Century AD! (He suggested that the 616 was most likely a scribal error.)
 
Wouldn't the Antichrist have been more likely to have been born on June 6, 66, June 6, 666 or June 6, 1666?

And what is the advantage of June 6, 2006 over any other century - why not June 6, 1906? Or June 6, 2106?

I just don't have the patience to wait for June 6, 6666, but that will obviously be a corker.

P. S. I'm sorry to be such a spoilsport, but doesn't John's Revelation say that 666 is "the Number of a MAN"? So how does the CALENDAR creep into this one?
 
Here we go. This is in the Sun, so it must be true.

Don't want baby on 6.6.6

by VIRGINIA WHEELER
PREGNANT Melissa Parker is battling to have her baby induced before June 6 as she is terrified of giving birth to the DEVIL.

Superstitious Melissa said her blood ran cold when told her child was due on 06/06/06 or 666 — the number of the beast.

The mum of two is a fan of the Omen horror films and immediately started having nightmares.

Now she vows to do everything she can to avoid delivering on the fateful day. Melissa, 30, said yesterday: “When I got my due date I thought ‘Oh God, I’m giving birth to Damien from the Omen’.

“Every day I wake up feeling something bad will happen. I’m terrified the birth will go wrong or the child will have evil in him or her. Even worse my beautiful baby could be the devil himself — the anti-Christ.

“I like The Omen and saw an advert for the remake. Now I’m even more worried.”

Melissa, who lives with road worker partner Lee in Caversham, Berks, has been told by Royal Berkshire Hospital that her due date cannot be changed.

She said pals LAUGH about it but insisted: “Any child born on that day will be marked for life. It’s a harrowing thought.”


A hospital spokesman said: “Due dates are not 100 per cent certain. There is little we can do to change them without a Caesarean or inducing the child, which we try to avoid.

“We must let nature take its course. The baby will be born when ready, no matter what day it is.”

The figure 666 is mentioned in the Bible and many cultures believe it represents the date the anti-christ will appear on Earth.

The classic original The Omen, starring Harvey Stephens as devil child Damien, shocked audiences in 1976.

The remake, with Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, is out on June 6

source (includes photo)
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OMG, another F***w**....

Her paranoia, and anything she does to change the birth-date, will probably do her child harm - but if so, she can blame 666... :roll:
 
The classic original The Omen, starring Harvey Stephens as devil child Damien, shocked audiences in 1976.

The remake, with Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, is out on June 6
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Wicked release date! (Some high-power spin-doctor thought that one up.)
 
Of course, it might simply be publicity for the upcoming film... As far as I know, Rupert Murdoch owns both Twentieth Century Fox (who made the film) and The Sun. Cynical, me?
 
This nonsense concerning June 6, 2006 is silly enough that I'm almost tempted to turn Professional Skeptic and take the portrait of Charles Fort down from my wall and replace it with one of the Amazing Randi.

You will note, of course, that I write "almost" and merely "tempted."
 
Yup, I've seen an ad on buses which mention that the fillum comes out on 6-6-6. Good gimmick!
 
Oh please--how often do women actually give birth on their due date?
 
Only very slightly off-topic: I've long been surprised (and even a trifle disappointed) that nobody's ever tried to link the "Enron" corporation to the Antichrist.

"Enron" very easily anagrams as "Neron," the Greek name for Nero.

Now back on topic: If only thse Enron convictions had come on June 6, 2006 rather than in mid-May!
 
This gives the gematria explanation.

http://tinyurl.com/ox2h3

Davidson Professor Says Meaning of '666' Is Imperial, and Not Apocalyptic

DAVIDSON, N.C., June 1 (AScribe Newswire) -- Greg Snyder, associate professor of religion at Davidson College, explains that the meaning of the Biblical reference "666" is not as malevolent as some people fear.

Revelation 13:18 ascribes the number "666" to the beast that rises from the sea and says it is also "the number of a man." Since the second century, the number and identity of the malevolent, apocalyptic figure it supposedly identifies have been the focus of endless speculation. Low-church Protestants with an apocalyptic streak favor explanations that identify 666 with the Pope.

However, Snyder says the best explanation comes from the ancient practice of "gematria," or number mysticism. Gematria assigns numerical significance to letters of the alphabet, e.g., a=1, b=2, c=3 and so on. This can be carried out in any phonetic language, and from the ancient world, there are examples in Greek, Latin, and in Hebrew. Snyder says that transliterating the phrase ³Nero Caesar² into Hebrew characters and assigning numerical values those characters based on the rules of gematria yields 666 as the numerical sum.

"So in the Book of Revelation, the number probably refers to the nasty ruler responsible for a vicious but short-lived persecution of Christians in the city of Rome, in the years A.D. 64-65," Snyder said.

In fact, the belief that a re-animated Nero would come back from the dead is attested in other ancient literature. As such, "666" refers to something in the past, not in the future.

But the number, like the ultimate villain to which it supposedly refers, has taken on a life of its own, as sales figures for the "Left Behind" books - over 60 million copies - will attest. The next volume in the edition comes out on June 6, 2006: 06/06/06, a marketing opportunity that Snyder notes only comes along once every thousand years!

:devil:
 
crunchy5 said:
"....the meaning of the Biblical reference '666' is not as malevolent as some people fear....transliterating the phrase 'Nero Caesar' into Hebrew characters and assigning numerical values those characters based on the rules of gematria yields 666 as the numerical sum....'666' refers to something in the past, not in the future."
Click to expand...

The problem with this piece is that it presents facts which I learned decades ago in both Roman Catholic and Baptist religion classes and Sunday School, and my parents and grandparents (at least) before me, as brand-new news FOR Christians.

Millions of Christians, fully aware of the identification of the Roman Emperor with the number 666 (and the 616 variant, too) rightly or wrongly believe that the COMING Antichrist will BE Nero. (Remember that John seems to have set down his Revelation some three decades AFTER Nero's assassination. So John had no fear of a THEN-LIVING Nero.)

The article studiously ignores any mention of this.
 
maybe when John wrote it he meant to put Sick Sick Sick... a bit like the Sea Princess... that's a beast, and it's been vomitted up from the sea? justa suggestion?
 
Snyder's comments are hardly news; I remember coming across that several times while doing research for my 'Literature and the Bible' course in undergrad.
 
Hell, Mich., heats up for 6-6-6 party

Sun Jun 4, 7:04 AM ET

HELL, Mich. - They're planning a hot time in Hell on Tuesday. The day bears the date of 6-6-06, or abbreviated as 666 — a number that carries hellish significance. And there's not a snowball's chance in Hell that the day will go unnoticed in the unincorporated hamlet 60 miles west of Detroit.

Nobody is more fired up than John Colone, the town's self-styled mayor and owner of a souvenir shop.

"I've got `666' T-shirts and mugs. I'm only ordering 666 (of the items) so once they're gone, that's it," said Colone, also known as Odum Plenty. "Everyone who comes will get a letter of authenticity saying you've celebrated June 6, 2006, in Hell."

Most of Colone's wares will sell for $6.66, including deeds to one square inch of Hell.

Live entertainment and a costume contest are planned. The Gates of Hell should be installed at a children's play area in time for the festivities.

"They're 8 feet tall and 5 foot wide and each gate looks like flames, and when they're closed, it's a devil's head," Colone told The Detroit News for a Saturday story.

Mike "Smitty" Hickey, owner of the Dam Site Inn, wasn't sure what kind of clientele would show up Tuesday.

"We're all about having fun here. I don't think we're going to get the cult crowd, the devil worshippers or anything like that," said Hickey, whose bar's signature concoction is the Bloody Devil, a variant of the Bloody Mary.

Colone, meanwhile, has been in touch with radio stations as far away as San Diego and Seattle that are raffling off trips to Hell in honor of 6-6-6.

The 666 revelry is just the latest chapter in the town's storied history of publicity stunts, said Jason LeTeff, one of its 72 year-round residents — or, as the mayor calls them, Hellions or Hell-billies. But LeTeff wasn't particularly enthused.

"Now, here I am living in Hell, taking my kids to church and trying to teach them the right things and the town where we live is having a 6-6-6 party," he said.

According to the town's semiofficial Web site, there are two leading theories about how Hell got its name.

The first holds that a pair of German travelers stepped out of a stagecoach one sunny afternoon in the 1830s, and one said to the other, "So schoene hell" — roughly translated as, "So bright and beautiful." Their comments were overheard by some locals and the name stuck.

The second holds that George Reeves was asked after Michigan gained statehood what he thought the town he helped settle should be called, and reportedly replied, "I don't care, you can name it Hell if you want to." The name became official on Oct. 13, 1841.

___

On the Net:

Hell, Mich.: http://www.hell2u.com/
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060604/ap_ ... ty_in_hell
 
^ ^ Not far from me. Matter fact, it sounds like a hell of a good time. Pardon my spanish.
 
its actually my birthday on tuesday :D

imagine if i was born 06:06:06 :D

or if you were born at that time on that day :D
 
a double anti christ...hold on...wouldn't that cancel each other out....sooooo.....Nah!
 
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