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666
What are some differing beliefs concerning 666 and its
Biblical meaning?
The link between this number and the
global power found in Revelation is undeniable, even though it is only found
once in the entirety of Scripture.
In Revelation 13:18 it states, "Here is wisdom. Let the one who has understanding count the
number of the beast; for it is a man's number, and his number is 666" (HBFV).
In
the end time, those who are not easily identifiable as obeying the devil's rule
over the earth will not have the power to buy goods or make a living (verse 17).
There are many speculations, almost as
old as the Bible text itself, regarding the meaning of 666 or to whom it is
referencing.
The
Apostle John wrote Revelation around 95 A.D.
The
Catholic Church states that Irenaeus (130-202 A.D.), an early church
"father," wrote about whom this number might reference.
He stated
that the Greek word "Lateinos,"
when given their corresponding Greek values and added up (30 + 1 + 330 + 5 + 10
+ 50 + 70 + 200), equals 666.
The
word itself means "Latin man."
Bullinger, in his monumental book
entitled "Number in Scripture," states that the ancient Romans used
only six letters of their alphabet in their numeric system.
The
letters they used were I, V, X, L, C and D (the letter M, according to
Wikipedia, was not assigned a value in Roman times).
If
we add up the value assigned to all these letters (I =1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50,
C = 100 and D=500) we arrive at the number 666.
Another
theory, discussed by the IBSE, states that many scholars believed that 666
referenced Nero Caesar as his name, written in Hebrew, adds to this total.
Here is something to consider. God is
the Being who assigns a human number, 666, as an identifier on the Beast.
Biblically,
the number 6 represents man's incompleteness or imperfection, as it is one less
than seven, which represents God's wholeness and perfection.
So,
why wasn't a single 6 used to denote the Beast?
It
could be that three 6's are used to demark something that is far more than just
humanly imperfect. They are used to signal something that is exponentially
evil.
The
one-world system set up in the End Time will be both terrifying and
breathtaking.
For
true Christians, meaning those who have faith, obey God and keep his
commandments (Revelation 14:11 - 12), it will be a time of martyrdom.
For
the rest of humanity (at least for a short time) the world will experience its
greatest prosperity (read Revelation 18:9 - 19).
Make no mistake, however, the Beast
will be the unchallenged head (Revelation
13:4) of a world-ruling system meant to
exalt and worship him.
Obedience
to him will be enforced on an unprecedented scale.
It
is such a system, ruled with the attitude of a ravenous wild animal, which God
seeks to warn us about through 666 in the Bible.
Trivia related to the number 666
Highway 666 in the United States was renumbered to Highway
491.
This
was done because it was suggested that the high rate of accidents on the street
was due to Satan.
Others
conjectured, however, that the high accident rate was likely due to people
trying to steal the highway signs and sell them online at places like EBay.
An
American city in the state of Louisiana petitioned, and had changed, their
phone area code from 666 to 749.
Three
sixes, however, are considered lucky in China, where they are commonly
displayed in shop windows.
The
pronunciation of the number 6, in Chinese, sounds like the word used for
"easy" and "smooth." It is usually repeated three times for
maximum effect.
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