616---The Number of the Beast

[Skwim]

In Revelation 13:1-2 and 11-18 we read:

The Beast From the Sea

1 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. There was a crown on each of its horns. It had an evil name written on each head. 2 This beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear’s feet. It had a mouth like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast all of its power and its throne and great authority.

The Beast From the Earth

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he talked like a dragon. 12 This beast stood before the first beast and used the same power the first beast had. He used this power to make everyone living on the earth worship the first beast. The first beast was the one that had the death wound that was healed. 13 The second beast did great miracles. He even made fire come down from heaven to earth while people were watching.

14 This second beast fooled the people living on earth by using the miracles that he had been given the power to do for the first beast. He ordered people to make an idol to honor the first beast, the one that was wounded by the sword but did not die. 15 The second beast was given power to give life to the idol of the first beast. Then the idol could speak and order all those who did not worship it to be killed. 16 The second beast also forced all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a mark put on their right hand or on their forehead. 17 No one could buy or sell without this mark. (This mark is the name of the beast or the number of its name.)

18 Anyone who has understanding can find the meaning of the beast’s number. This requires wisdom. This number is the number of a man. It is 666.
​

As noted below, 666 has become quite a significant number. Perhaps the most widely known and feared number in the entire Bible. A symbol of the Anti-Christ.

​

But maybe its bad rep is wholly undeserved.

Lloyd, John & Mitchinson, John, The Book of General Ignorance:
Everything You Think You Know is Wrong. New York. Harmony Books, 2006. p 79

​

So, what's the consequence of this age old mistake in the Bible?


.

​

 

[Mindmaster]

@Skwim, my understanding is that this 616 is sourced from only one document. While it is true that that is the number written on that document, there are no other documents that confirm it. That's to say, it is an outlier... It is more likely to be transcription error than anything else. (Occam's razor..)

 

[loverofhumanity]

To Baha'is that is referring to the year 666 AD when militant Islam began and true Islam was subverted.

CE 666 Mu’awiya proclaims as the First UmayyAD Caliph CE 666–749 UmayyAD Caliphate (Damascus)

But the Bible also proclaims Muhammad and Islam to be from God and Ali as the true successor not the Umayyad Caliphate.

 

[allfoak]

So, what's the consequence of this age old mistake in the Bible?

Hopefully the consequence is that people can see that the Bible is not a history book and stop approaching it as if it is.
There apparently are countless errors and atrocities in a book that is supposed to be flawless and holy.
Knowing why this is true is the first step in understanding the message that is hidden behind the historical narrative.

 

[Neo Deist]

So, what's the consequence of this age old mistake in the Bible?​

Nothing.

Revelation is highly metaphorical/allegorical.

 

[Skwim]

Nothing.

Revelation is highly metaphorical/allegorical.

So the number, whether 666, 616, or 1492 is inconsequential to Christian theology. Is this correct?


.

 

[psychoslice]

And its a very nice number at that.

 

[Neo Deist]

So the number, whether 666, 616, or 1492 is inconsequential to Christian theology. Is this correct?

Depends on the Christian and whether or not they are some radical extremist, or the average Joe that does not get hung up on that stuff.

However, The Number of the Beast is a kick a** Iron Maiden song!

 

[Skwim]

Hopefully the consequence is that people can see that the Bible is not a history book and stop approaching it as if it is.
There apparently are countless errors and atrocities in a book that is supposed to be flawless and holy.
Knowing why this is true is the first step in understanding the message that is hidden behind the historical narrative.

So forget what it says in black and white, but pay attention to what you can create out of it to support your theology. That about it?


.

 

[allfoak]

So forget what it says in black and white, but pay attention to what you can create out of it to support your theology. That about it?


.

So forget what it says in black and white, but pay attention to what you can create out of it to support your theology. That about it?


.

Creating a theology and using the book to support it seems kind of ridiculous.
How could i ever be certain that what i was doing was correct?
All i would be doing is making stuff up as i go along to continue to support a labyrinth of unsupportable beliefs.

That is like trying to support a theory while ignoring half the data.
It would be easy for someone to come along and poke holes in such ridiculousness.

Perhaps it should be approached from a different perspective?
The application of the teachings of the book creates its own "theology" one precept at a time.

 

[Kemosloby]

I guess it doesn't matter since nobody has the wisdom to figure out what it means either way.

 

[Tumah]

How do they know that the earliest manuscript they found has the correct version of the number? Maybe that one is mistaken and there's an even earlier one, yet to be found, with 666?

 

[Neo Deist]

How do they know that the earliest manuscript they found has the correct version of the number? Maybe that one is mistaken and there's an even earlier one, yet to be found, with 666?

The real question is, who gives a crap?

If the Beast showed up this day and age, the Southern, rebel yelling, gun toting, truck driving, rednecks would bust a cap in his ***, and then try and BBQ him over an open fire! Someone would have his horns mounted on a wall...

 

[Shrew]

In Hebrew every letter can be read as a number and vice versa.
Does anybody know what 666 and 616 mean as letters and what the words mean?

 

[Father Heathen]

I guess it doesn't matter since nobody has the wisdom to figure out what it means either way.

Or there isn't actually anything to figure out.

 

[omega2xx]

In Revelation 13:1-2 and 11-18 we read:

The Beast From the Sea

1 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. There was a crown on each of its horns. It had an evil name written on each head. 2 This beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear’s feet. It had a mouth like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast all of its power and its throne and great authority.

The Beast From the Earth

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he talked like a dragon. 12 This beast stood before the first beast and used the same power the first beast had. He used this power to make everyone living on the earth worship the first beast. The first beast was the one that had the death wound that was healed. 13 The second beast did great miracles. He even made fire come down from heaven to earth while people were watching.

14 This second beast fooled the people living on earth by using the miracles that he had been given the power to do for the first beast. He ordered people to make an idol to honor the first beast, the one that was wounded by the sword but did not die. 15 The second beast was given power to give life to the idol of the first beast. Then the idol could speak and order all those who did not worship it to be killed. 16 The second beast also forced all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a mark put on their right hand or on their forehead. 17 No one could buy or sell without this mark. (This mark is the name of the beast or the number of its name.)

18 Anyone who has understanding can find the meaning of the beast’s number. This requires wisdom. This number is the number of a man. It is 666.
​

As noted below, 666 has become quite a significant number. Perhaps the most widely known and feared number in the entire Bible. A symbol of the Anti-Christ.

​

But maybe its bad rep is wholly undeserved.

Lloyd, John & Mitchinson, John, The Book of General Ignorance:
Everything You Think You Know is Wrong. New York. Harmony Books, 2006. p 79

​

So, what's the consequence of this age old mistake in the Bible?

Only one is a mistake. Variations in mss is not uncommon, but the good scholars can determine which ones should be used. All good translations use 666, some have foot note explaining 616.

Any one who understands Biblical numerology, know 666 is the correct number. All numbers in the Bible have a symbolic meaning. For this post we only need to understand the meaning of 3 of them: 1 is God's number---God is 1; 6 is man's number---man was created on the 6th day; 7 is the number of spiritual completion---God rested on the 7th day because His creation was completed.

Man-6, without God is incomplete. Man 6, with God, 1 = 7 making him spiritually complete.

Satan has duplicated much of what God has done. God has a trinity, So does Satan: Satan, the false prophet and the anti-Christ. 666 shows the satanic triniy is spiritually incomplete.

 

[omega2xx]

Or there isn't actually anything to figure out.

Or the meanings are beyond your ability to understand their meanings.

 

[omega2xx]

Nothing.

Revelation is highly metaphorical/allegorical.

All Biblical allegories are based on literal Biblical events.

 

[omega2xx]

I guess it doesn't matter since nobody has the wisdom to figure out what it means either way.

Those who understand it will be able to identify the anti-christ, when he appears.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Isn't 616 the area code for Grand Rapids Michigan? Its amazing how accurately this ancient prophecy predicted it.