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BrooklynBoy200
Guest
Is 666 the number of the devil or the number of the antichrist? Or is it the number of both of them? Because i have heard it called the number of the devil and the number of the antichrist.
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Hubriss
Guest
… who cares? It’s just a number. It’s probably been used to refer to each of those you stated.
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Malcolm_McLean
Guest
Anti-Christ.
It is the number of a man.
It’s a rather strange passage and has led to many theories. You can even make Bill Gates’ name in ASCII sum to 666, though you have to cheat slightly by adding 3 for his Roman numerals.
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GandalfTheWhite
Guest
Well, the IMO most plausible theory is that 666 stands for Roman Emperor Nero. Unless I’m wrong, Roman Catholic Church supports that view as well.
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Todd_Easton
Guest
Revelation 13:18 (NAB):
A certain wisdom is needed here; with a little ingenuity anyone can calculate the number of the beast, for** it is a number that stands for a certain man. The man’s number is six hundred sixty-six.**
A certain wisdom is needed here; with a little ingenuity anyone can calculate the number of the beast, for** it is a number that stands for a certain man. The man’s number is six hundred sixty-six.**
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Trad_Catholic_1
Guest
666 is the mark of the beast.
In chapter 12 of Revelation, a dragon battles the angel Michael. Chapter 13 then has a beast rise “out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and ten crowns upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads.” The beast serves the dragon. Men worship the dragon and the beast, which holds power and makes war on the saints.
Then a second beast comes from the earth. This one has two horns like a lamb but roars like a dragon, breathing fire and deceiving men, and killing people who don’t worship the first beast. People are marked on the right hand or forehead.
The chapter ends with the key line: “This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.”
The dragon is Satan, and the beast from the sea is understood to be the emperor Nero. The beast makes war upon the saints - St Peter and St Paul were both martyred in Nero’s deadly persecution of the early Christians. Thus, the number 666 is tied to the beast, which is tied to the dragon, and the dragon is Satan. Hence, 666 is the mark of Satan.
In Hebrew gematria, every letter has a corresponding number. Summing up these numbers gives a numeric value to a word or name. In Hebrew, adding the corresponding values “Nero Caesar” yields 666. Presumably this would be why you have to be wise or “have understanding” to reckon the number as you need to know Hebrew gematria.
The second beast is a false prophet, deceiving the people into worshipping the emperor (the first beast). This beast could refer to Domitian. Apparently, Domitian’s derisive nickname had been “The Beast”.
In addition the seven heads could be the seven hills of Rome. The “blasphemous names” on the heads could be the names o the Roman emperors proclaimed as gods.
Nero was also the sixth Caesar (Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.)
In chapter 12 of Revelation, a dragon battles the angel Michael. Chapter 13 then has a beast rise “out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and ten crowns upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads.” The beast serves the dragon. Men worship the dragon and the beast, which holds power and makes war on the saints.
Then a second beast comes from the earth. This one has two horns like a lamb but roars like a dragon, breathing fire and deceiving men, and killing people who don’t worship the first beast. People are marked on the right hand or forehead.
The chapter ends with the key line: “This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.”
The dragon is Satan, and the beast from the sea is understood to be the emperor Nero. The beast makes war upon the saints - St Peter and St Paul were both martyred in Nero’s deadly persecution of the early Christians. Thus, the number 666 is tied to the beast, which is tied to the dragon, and the dragon is Satan. Hence, 666 is the mark of Satan.
In Hebrew gematria, every letter has a corresponding number. Summing up these numbers gives a numeric value to a word or name. In Hebrew, adding the corresponding values “Nero Caesar” yields 666. Presumably this would be why you have to be wise or “have understanding” to reckon the number as you need to know Hebrew gematria.
The second beast is a false prophet, deceiving the people into worshipping the emperor (the first beast). This beast could refer to Domitian. Apparently, Domitian’s derisive nickname had been “The Beast”.
In addition the seven heads could be the seven hills of Rome. The “blasphemous names” on the heads could be the names o the Roman emperors proclaimed as gods.
Nero was also the sixth Caesar (Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.)
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ronyodish
Guest
Hi everyone,
Here is how you do it in Aramaic for Nero Caesar:
The Aramaic Alphabet with its corresponding numbers:
Alep - 1
Beth - 2
Gamal - 3
Daleth - 4
Heh - 5
Waw - 6
Zain - 7
Heth - 8
Teth - 9
Yodth - 10
Kap - 20
Lamedth - 30
Mim - 40
Noon - 50
Simketh - 60
Aeh - 70
Peh - 80
Sadeh - 90
Qop - 100
Resh - 200
Sheen - 300
Taw - 400
Nero Caesar in Aramaic is nrwn qsr
nrwn
Noon - 50
Resh - 200
Waw - 6
Noon - 50
qsr
Qop - 100
Simketh - 60
Resh - 200
Add up nrwn and you get: 50 + 200 + 6 + 50 = 306
Add up qsr and you get: 100 + 60 + 200 = 360
Add up 306 + 360 and you get 666
There is another interpretation, one that refers to King Solomon. Here is how this one is derived:
Solomon was Anointed (Christed) as king in 1 Kings 1:38-40. In 1 Kings 11, he turns his heart away from God and God tells him that the kingdom will be torn away from him, thus becoming an Anti-Christ figure. Read 1 Kings 10:14 which says: Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty six talents of gold". Plus the passage in Revelation tells us that “This calls for wisdom” and Solomon was known for his wisdom.
I think both interpretations are ok, in that the Beast/Anti-Christ/666 refers to more than one individual in history including a future one.
God bless,
Rony
Here is how you do it in Aramaic for Nero Caesar:
The Aramaic Alphabet with its corresponding numbers:
Alep - 1
Beth - 2
Gamal - 3
Daleth - 4
Heh - 5
Waw - 6
Zain - 7
Heth - 8
Teth - 9
Yodth - 10
Kap - 20
Lamedth - 30
Mim - 40
Noon - 50
Simketh - 60
Aeh - 70
Peh - 80
Sadeh - 90
Qop - 100
Resh - 200
Sheen - 300
Taw - 400
Nero Caesar in Aramaic is nrwn qsr
nrwn
Noon - 50
Resh - 200
Waw - 6
Noon - 50
qsr
Qop - 100
Simketh - 60
Resh - 200
Add up nrwn and you get: 50 + 200 + 6 + 50 = 306
Add up qsr and you get: 100 + 60 + 200 = 360
Add up 306 + 360 and you get 666
There is another interpretation, one that refers to King Solomon. Here is how this one is derived:
Solomon was Anointed (Christed) as king in 1 Kings 1:38-40. In 1 Kings 11, he turns his heart away from God and God tells him that the kingdom will be torn away from him, thus becoming an Anti-Christ figure. Read 1 Kings 10:14 which says: Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty six talents of gold". Plus the passage in Revelation tells us that “This calls for wisdom” and Solomon was known for his wisdom.
I think both interpretations are ok, in that the Beast/Anti-Christ/666 refers to more than one individual in history including a future one.
God bless,
Rony
S
seremina
Guest
Huh? Now I’m confused. I thought 666 had no Catholic support, thus its just a manmade theory. So which is it? Does the Catechism explain 666?
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ronyodish
Guest
seremina,
666 comes from Revelations 13:16-18 which says:
The Catechism has this to say in regards the Anti-Christ:
675 Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.
God bless,
Rony
666 comes from Revelations 13:16-18 which says:
Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.
The two Bible interpretations given above come from Catholic Biblical scholarship. The Nero Caesar interpretation is dominant, while the other interpretation is less known.The Catechism has this to say in regards the Anti-Christ:
675 Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.
676 The Antichrist’s deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the “intrinsically perverse” political form of a secular messianism.
The Catechism on the Beast:2113 Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Many martyrs died for not adoring “the Beast” refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God.
I couldn’t find anything in the Catechism on 666 or Six hundred Sixty Six.God bless,
Rony
J
jack_hawkins
Guest
There’s interpretations that link ‘666’ to Islam
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ronyodish
Guest
Jack,
Do you know any books, or web links on these interpretations? Are they Catholic biblical interpretation?
The Catechism says this with regards to Muslims:
I think the Anti-Christ or Beast or 666 can only be applied to those among them who have enslaved and slaughtered Christians through out the centuries, descrated the Holy Churches and Monasteries, and knowingly and willfully opposed the spread of the Christian faith.
God bless,
Rony
Do you know any books, or web links on these interpretations? Are they Catholic biblical interpretation?
The Catechism says this with regards to Muslims:
841 The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. “The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.”
While Muslims revere Jesus as a Prophet, they deny His Divinity, deny the Trinity, and I think Christ’s Redemption as well, and so in this sense, they can be considered as Anti-Christs. But, many of them are probably invincibly ignorant of the Truth of Christ and His Church, and therefore can not be culpable for rejecting Christianity.I think the Anti-Christ or Beast or 666 can only be applied to those among them who have enslaved and slaughtered Christians through out the centuries, descrated the Holy Churches and Monasteries, and knowingly and willfully opposed the spread of the Christian faith.
God bless,
Rony
T
Trad_Catholic_1
Guest
T
Trad_Catholic_1
Guest
There’s also interpretations that link ‘666’ to Ronald Wilson Reagan (note six letters in each of his three names). Makes for an amusing parlour game.
.
J
jack_hawkins
Guest
All these apply to the Mohammedans! Who turned the Hagia Sophia into a mosque? Who ripped out the icons in so many Greek churches?
I will try and find the theory. Basically 666 is considered to stand for something in Hebrew, and 786 (the Muslim Holy number) stands for the same in Arabic, something on those lines anyway.
Here it is:
Here’s a thread from another forum which I used to post one, positing Islam as the Antichrist:FFI
R
ronyodish
Guest
Jack,
Yes, what was done to the Hagia Sophia and the icons of the Greeks was a sad and cruel evil done to Christianity. They also destroyed many monasteries in the Church of the East.
I do, however, think that there are Muslims who, through no fault of their own, are inoccently ignorant of Christianity and are worshipping God and living a moral life in accordance with how they understand it. They will only be judged in accordance with what they know, and not what they do not know.
If you come across a website that goes further into this quote, let me know: The number of the Beast is 666; the number of Islam is 786. In Hebrew, 666 reads as “lillah lillah lillah”. In Arabic, 786 reads “Laillah il l’illah”
In the mean time, here is some explanation of terms and theology behind it. I am a Chaldean Catholic, and so familiar with Arabic, though not fluently.
“lillah” or more accurately “illah” is the Arabic word for god. “al illah” or to contract it as “allah” means “the God” or just “God”. When Christians in the Middle East pray to God in the Arabic language, they use the Arabic word for God: Allah.
“Laillah il l’illah” should be more accurately written as “la illah(a) illa al illah” or “la illah(a) illa allah” and means “No god but the God” or “No god but God”.
This Muslim phrase of their confession is not problematic for Christians because we also believe that there is no god but the one true God. It is the meaning of the first commandment.
Muslims, however, might incorrectly interpret this phrase against us in order to accuse us of polytheism, which we offcourse deny. We believe ofcourse that our Trinity is One God. That Christ is not a god other than the One True God, but that He is God in the flesh, of one essence with the Father, something that Muslims do not accept.
It becomes problematic for us when Muslims continue, as part of their confession, to say "Muhammadan Rasu-lul Allah” which means “Muhammed is messenger of God”. In other words, that he is a public prophet from God like the previous prophets (and they would include Jesus here) but is considered the seal of the prophets. We disagree with this, in that, St. John the Babtizer is the last public prophet who heraled the coming of the Messiah, and with the death of St. John the Apostle, all public revelation has ceased.
So, if you do find that website, let me know. I’d love to see what they are referring to.
God bless,
Rony
Yes, what was done to the Hagia Sophia and the icons of the Greeks was a sad and cruel evil done to Christianity. They also destroyed many monasteries in the Church of the East.
I do, however, think that there are Muslims who, through no fault of their own, are inoccently ignorant of Christianity and are worshipping God and living a moral life in accordance with how they understand it. They will only be judged in accordance with what they know, and not what they do not know.
If you come across a website that goes further into this quote, let me know: The number of the Beast is 666; the number of Islam is 786. In Hebrew, 666 reads as “lillah lillah lillah”. In Arabic, 786 reads “Laillah il l’illah”
In the mean time, here is some explanation of terms and theology behind it. I am a Chaldean Catholic, and so familiar with Arabic, though not fluently.
“lillah” or more accurately “illah” is the Arabic word for god. “al illah” or to contract it as “allah” means “the God” or just “God”. When Christians in the Middle East pray to God in the Arabic language, they use the Arabic word for God: Allah.
“Laillah il l’illah” should be more accurately written as “la illah(a) illa al illah” or “la illah(a) illa allah” and means “No god but the God” or “No god but God”.
This Muslim phrase of their confession is not problematic for Christians because we also believe that there is no god but the one true God. It is the meaning of the first commandment.
Muslims, however, might incorrectly interpret this phrase against us in order to accuse us of polytheism, which we offcourse deny. We believe ofcourse that our Trinity is One God. That Christ is not a god other than the One True God, but that He is God in the flesh, of one essence with the Father, something that Muslims do not accept.
It becomes problematic for us when Muslims continue, as part of their confession, to say "Muhammadan Rasu-lul Allah” which means “Muhammed is messenger of God”. In other words, that he is a public prophet from God like the previous prophets (and they would include Jesus here) but is considered the seal of the prophets. We disagree with this, in that, St. John the Babtizer is the last public prophet who heraled the coming of the Messiah, and with the death of St. John the Apostle, all public revelation has ceased.
So, if you do find that website, let me know. I’d love to see what they are referring to.
God bless,
Rony
N
NotWorthy
Guest
I’ve got it all figured out, guys.
From study we’ve found that the number 6 stands for man and rebellion, right? This comes from Agape Bible Study:
Actually, this is in response to a post by an non-catholic on this site that gave numerology to show why 66 books is the correct number for the books of the bible!
From study we’ve found that the number 6 stands for man and rebellion, right? This comes from Agape Bible Study:
Then the number 666 represents man’s (6) rebellion against the church and making 66 books out of the bible! The Protestant Canon is the Mark of the Beast! See! Easy as pie!
Actually, this is in response to a post by an non-catholic on this site that gave numerology to show why 66 books is the correct number for the books of the bible!
A
Auriel
Guest
Here is a few more weird facts about 666. 6 alone is also considered the number of carnal man, the society of man is represented by 66, the world of man is represented by 666.
Life as we know it is Carbon based: 6 protons, 6 electrons, and 6 neutrons. If you look into physics it gets funkier. The nucleus of an atom contains Quarks, there are 6 differant Quarks.
Six it seems, really is the number of man. 6 squared equals 36.
Add them up numerically, it adds back to 6. For example:
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15
+16+17+18+19+20+21+22+23+24+25+26+27
+28+29+30+31+32+33 +34+35+36 =666
If your as nerdy as I am and retain useless knowledge that is only valuable when playing Trival Pursuit, then you may be interested in knowing even though 666 is the number of the Beast, (man when his carnal nature is released), the number of Lucifer was seen as 9. Nine always returns to itself. 9x2=18 - (1+8=9) 9x3=27 - (2+7=9), etc…Nine is the number of Pride.
Life as we know it is Carbon based: 6 protons, 6 electrons, and 6 neutrons. If you look into physics it gets funkier. The nucleus of an atom contains Quarks, there are 6 differant Quarks.
Six it seems, really is the number of man. 6 squared equals 36.
Add them up numerically, it adds back to 6. For example:
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15
+16+17+18+19+20+21+22+23+24+25+26+27
+28+29+30+31+32+33 +34+35+36 =666
If your as nerdy as I am and retain useless knowledge that is only valuable when playing Trival Pursuit, then you may be interested in knowing even though 666 is the number of the Beast, (man when his carnal nature is released), the number of Lucifer was seen as 9. Nine always returns to itself. 9x2=18 - (1+8=9) 9x3=27 - (2+7=9), etc…Nine is the number of Pride.
S
spauline
Guest
R
ronyodish
Guest
Here is a piece of trivia for anyone out there:
Why do we say “Holy Holy Holy” in referrance to God in the Liturgy? Why three times, and not two times, or four times?
God bless,
Rony
Why do we say “Holy Holy Holy” in referrance to God in the Liturgy? Why three times, and not two times, or four times?
God bless,
Rony
P
patrick457
Guest
The 666 is the number of the Beast, the Antichrist.
I think it became ‘The Devil’s Number’ in popular culture because of Hollywood referring to it as such in that way in horror films.
I think it became ‘The Devil’s Number’ in popular culture because of Hollywood referring to it as such in that way in horror films.
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