aark (01/27/83)
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST The number of the beast, 666, is mentioned at the end of the 13th chapter of Revelation. In the 12th and 13th chapters, three "beasts" are presented: 1. The dragon. "Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads." (Rev. 12:3) This dragon is explicitly identified as Satan. The passage tells how Satan is defeated and thrown out of heaven onto the earth. 2. The beast from the sea. "And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. This beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority." (Rev. 13:1-2) 3. The beast from the earth. "Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon." (Rev. 13:11) After describing these three beasts, the passage concludes, "This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666." (Rev. 13:18) In the original Greek, the number is expressed as "six hundred and sixty and six." In Hebrew numerological thinking, 6 is the number of man and 3 is the number of God. The symbolism of 6 repeated 3 times is a human, the beast, elevating himself to be like God, to accept the worship and wield the authority that should belong only to God, as the preceding passage describes. Space does not permit me to delve into the incredibly rich symbolism in this one short passage about the three beasts, let alone the entire book of Revelation. The book is worth reading. Alan R. Kaminsky Bell Laboratories, Naperville, IL ...ihnp4!ihuxe!aark
neiman (01/27/83)
I thought the number of the beast was 780!
mcdaniel (01/28/83)
#R:ihuxe:-19400:uiucdcs:10600040:000:226
uiucdcs!mcdaniel Jan 27 22:15:00 1983
I have heard that under some numerological system,
f(Emperor Nero's name) == 666. Does anyone know any details?
Tim McDaniel
(. . . pur-ee!uiucdcs!mcdaniel)bam (02/02/83)
I tried calling the number, but it didn't go through. What are the other 4 digits?? Bam
laman (02/02/83)
To answer Bret Marquis's question as to what the other 4 digits of Satin's telephone number (I assume that is what he ment) try 4377. Turn them upside down and you will see why I think this may be it. Mike Laman sdscvax!laman
iy47ab (02/02/83)
I may be wrong, but doesn't 7734 make more sense? type it onto your calculator, then turn the calculator upside down. That oughtta do it. Lady Arwen of U.C.S.D.
norskog (02/03/83)
#R:ihuxe:-19400:fortune:6700007:000:76 fortune!norskog Feb 2 13:56:00 1983 I think that 666 is Nero's name or some other emperor's in hebrew letters.
presley (02/03/83)
For a discussion of how you can get 666 from different sources, see "The Incredible Dr. Matrix" by Martin Gardner. Here are some: Take one of the Latin titles of the Pope, 'Vicarius Filii Dei', and add up the Roman numerals (use u as v) and you get 666. Add the Roman numerals in 'Ellen Gould White', the founder of the Seventh-Day Adventists, counting w as uu or vv, you can also get 666. Letting a=101, b=102, etc., Hitler adds to 666. Let a=6, b=12, c=18, etc., Kissinger adds to 666. ------ Also a few years ago 666 came up in the Pennsylvania lottery and the people who rigged it were caught and sentenced. PS. A short trivia question: who is the shortest man mentioned in the Bible?
rosin (02/04/83)
And I thought '42' was the answer . . . In fact, I still do. A friend of mine told me of a most appropriate way she found to use the Book of Revelations. Seems back in the '60's while in college she and her friends had run out of cigarette papers. Needing something in which to roll up . . ., she picked up a small copy of the Bible and chose the most appropriate section . . . Bob Rosin
notes@zeppo.UUCP (10/17/83)
#R:ihuxe:-19400:zeppo:9300006:000:1973
zeppo!mmc Jan 28 11:09:00 1983
In Hebrew characters, Nero Caesar (ruled 54-68 CE) can be written as:
N (= nun) = 50
R (= resh) = 200
O (= vav) = 6
N (= nun) = 50
K (= qof) = 100
S (= samekh) = 60
R (= resh) = 200
Normal Hebrew orthography is doctored a bit to make things come out
right, which is not uncommon in this numerological technique. The
usual practice was to assume the desired numerical result, and then
adjust the spelling or transliteration of the input until it came out as
intended. The final "N" in Nero's name perhaps can be justified
because it is present in the normal inflection of "Nero" in Latin.
Even so, one would expect a slightly different spelling (in Hebrew) of
both Nero and Caesar.
Among other 666-isms that I have seen based on Hebrew characters are
the two following. I didn't invent them; the first is from the
counter-Reformation, and the second is much earlier. Both are more
somewhat forced, since they use Hebrew transliterations of European
names ithat no truly literate Hebraist would consider; they can be
found in several religious and theological polemics:
(1) 666 = Luther:
L (= lamed) = 30
U (= vav) = 6
L (= lamed) = 30 (inserted to make the arithmetic work)
T (= tav) = 400
R (= resh) = 200
(2) 666 = Trajan (Roman Emperor 98-117 CE)
T (= tav) = 400
R (= resh) = 200
I (= yod) = 10
O (= vav) = 6 (inserted as above)
N (= nun) = 40
Robert Graves (not the most reliable of historians) offers the
following Latin acrostic for 666 = DCLXVI:
Domitianus Caesar Legatos Xti (= Christi) Viliter Interfecit
i.e., Domitian Caesar (Roman Emperor 51-96 CE, commonly known as Titus)
vilely slew the messengers of Christ.
In fairness to Graves, he states that this acrostic came to him in a
flash of inspiration.
Similar numerological representations exist in other languages as well.
Mark Chodrow (zeppo!mmc)