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Encyclopedia of Religion entry forApocalyptic NumberIn the New Testament Book of Revelation we read (xiii. 18) : " He that bath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty and six." This is what is meant by the Apocalyptic Number. It is supposed to indicate some name, since Greek and Hebrew letters were used to represent numbers. Prof. Schmiedel (The Johannine Writings, 1908) points out that in many copies of the Book of Revelation before the time of Irenaeus, that is to say, before A.D. 185, the number is given as 616. He therefore suggests that a name must be found the letters of which might in some way or other produce either of the numbers 666 or 616. He thinks that the name of the Emperor Nero meets the requirements, since it might be written N(e)ron K(e)s(a)r or N(e)ro K(e)s(a)r. The vowels e and a would not be expressed in Hebrew. The identifications are as follows : N R O N K SR 50+200+6+50+100+60+200 = 666 N R O K S R 50+200+6 +100+60+200 = 616 Prof. Schmiedel points out that the number 666 alone has produced more than a hundred other solutions. citations: Encyc. of Rel., Canney
article created 2006-04-12 , last updated 2006-04-12 |
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