Beast's real mark devalued to '616'

[davidinalameda]

http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=702d14ee-4847-4c3d-90ce-46e933232df0

Satanists, apocalypse watchers and heavy metal guitarists may have to adjust their demonic numerology after a recently deciphered ancient biblical text revealed that 666 is not the fabled Number of the Beast after all.

A fragment from the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament, dating to the Third century, gives the more mundane 616 as the mark of the Antichrist.

Ellen Aitken, a professor of early Christian history at McGill University, said the discovery appears to spell the end of 666 as the devil's prime number

[Inland]

1. Crap. All my badass tattoos have got to go. nt

[whistle]

2. Quick, numerologists needed to recalculate what 616 implies...

...here is my contribution:

The anti-christ will be here on June 1, 2006 (06-01-06 or 616)

[davidinalameda]

3. that's my dad's birthday!

:evilgrin:

[whistle]

5. Better check your own body for the mark

:hide:

[MADem]

12. Only if the Antichrist is AMERICAN

Everywhere else in the world, that would be January 6, 06. Hell, that is THREE KING's DAY...beware of Wise Men bearing gifts!!!!!!!!!

[joefree1]

4. "thinly disguised political tract"

More from this article ...

"Dr. Aitken said, however, that scholars now believe the number in question has very little to do the devil. It was actually a complicated numerical riddle in Greek, meant to represent someone's name, she said.

"It's a number puzzle -- the majority opinion seems to be that it refers to Nero."

Revelation was actually a thinly disguised political tract, with the names of those being criticized changed to numbers to protect the authors and early Christians from reprisals. "It's a very political document," Dr. Aitken said. "It's a critique of the politics and society of the Roman empire, but it's written in coded language and riddles."

****
So the movement of the rapture right is really based on political movement to screw the current government?


Seating now available in the Smoking Section:
Politics, humor, death and the Devil - http://www.eDiablo.com

[SnowGoose]

6. This has been known for a loooong time.

Not that this fact makes it any less interesting. I think I first came across mention of this in an old book called "the book your church doesn't want you to read".

It is worth noting that both 616 and 666 can be made to represent 'Nero Cesar' with neumerological hand waving, and as many point out, he was none too popular with early christians.

[AllegroRondo]

8. what a coincidence - that was your 616th post.

[SnowGoose]

9. Holy cow! I didn't even notice

thank goodness I posted on another thread - I'm waaaay too busy right now to be the antichrist!

[Another Bill C.]

7. How would we read the number?

At the time of writing, the numbers would probably be in Greek or Roman. I don't think 95% of the world's population would recognize the sign. Doesn't that seem unfair?

[nodictators]

10. Maybe now the Mark of the Beast should be 1600

As a house number on Pennsylvania Avenue!

[progressoid]

11. HA HA HA HA HA

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


My world is shattered. what will I do?

[MADem]

13. Funny, that, I just had a moment of clarity!!!!

It all makes sense now!!!!

[shawn703]

14. Uh oh, that's the area code where I was born! n/t

[Mich Otter]

15. Six-six-six?

Damn, all this time I thought the mark of the beast was sex-sex-sex. 666 is a lot less fun.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[erichzann]

17. What's interesting are the comments on interpreting Revelations

I appreciate that the article takes the time to point that that it is extremely likely - in fact there is historical evidence for this, not just supposition - that Revelations was a political tract, written to speak in metaphor and parable a word of judgment and warning against Rome and the Emperor.

Jews would be familiar with the imagery and the metaphor, while gentiles would not find that track to be immediately politically subversive. To me, for as long as I can remember, even when I was more conservative in my religious thinking, this answer has always made so much more sense than believing that somehow revelations is literally describing the end of the world.