What does 666 mean in the bible?

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What of the 666 talents paid to Solomon by Sheba? Always thought it represented “perfect” corruption or three fold of the same.
 
Studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls and early Bible texts show that the number of the beast is actually 616.

Would try and find the source where I read that from but too busy right now, but if anyone is interested it’s a quick Google search.
 
This is known as the “Number of the Beast,” and we see this in the book of Revelation…

Revelation 13:15–18[15]" And it was given him to give life to the image of the beast, and that the image of the beast should speak; and should cause, that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast, should be slain.
[16] And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand, or on their foreheads.
[17] And that no man might buy or sell, but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
[18] Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six."

The beast is the Antichrist, and this number is the symbol of the beast.
 
+As Christians . . . and in most particular as Catholics . . . we go to Sacred :bible1: Scripture . . . as taught as the . . . ** infallible** . . . Holy Word :bible1: of God . . . by the Magesterium of our wonderful Catholic Church . . . to seek out the answers to such questions . . . the passage below contains the true answer to your question as taught by the Catholic Church in Sacred :bible1: Scripture . . .

THE HOLY :bible1:BIBLE
Revelation 13:15-18

[11] And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns, like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon. [12] And he executed all the power of the former beast in his sight; and he caused the earth, and them that dwell therein, to adore the first beast, whose wound to death was healed. [13] And he did great signs, so that he made also fire to come down from heaven unto the earth in the sight of men. [14] And he seduced them that dwell on the earth, for the signs, which were given him to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make the image of the beast, which had the wound by the sword, and lived. [15] And it was given him to give life to the image of the beast, and that the image of the beast should speak; and should cause, that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast, should be slain.

[11] Another beast: This second beast with two horns, may be understood of the heathenish priests and magicians; the principal promoters both of idolatry and persecution. [16] And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand, or on their foreheads. [17] And that no man might buy or sell, but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18] Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six.​
God bless . . .

. . . all for Jesus+
. . . Sweet Spirit of our Holy God+
. . . guide and direct+​
 
Samson01 said:
Some Sacred Scripture have footnotes like the NAB St. Joseph’s that say otherwise.
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:bible1:
That we henceforth be no more children,
tossed to and fro,
and carried about with every wind of doctrine,
by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait
B]to deceive …
- Ephesians 4:14

+The thoughts of men are all over the place . . . * this has been the case since the fall of mankind* . . .and some of the footnotes in the NAB have been discovered to clearly be individual men’s unfounded opinions which aren’t in harmony with Church teachings . . . this is one of the sharp criticisms of the NAB translation . . . fortunately . . . we have our Holy Mother Church who has entrusted the clear truths of Sacred Scripture itself to us for reading and study for our edification and enlightenment . . .

:bible1: 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice …
. . . :coffeeread: . . .
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
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Article 2 - THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION
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81
Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit.
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Article 3 - SACRED SCRIPTURE
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104
In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it ** not** as human word, "but as what it really is, the Word of God."

**
In the sacred books,
the Father who is in heaven
comes lovingly ❤️ to meet his children,
and talks with them.**
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:bible1: “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand …” Psalms 139:17-18b​

:bible1: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8​

:bible1: “So shall **my word **be that goeth forth out of **my **mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which **I **please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto **I **sent it.” Isaiah 55:11​

:bible1: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but **my words **shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35​

. . . all for Jesus+
*. . . thank You Blessed Lord+
. . . thank You Sweet Spirit of our Holy God+
. . . thank you Holy Mother Mary+
. . . thank you Holy Mother Church+​
*
 
Here is what the Aquinas Study Bible has sites.google.com/site/aquinasstudybible/home/revelation/rev-1/rev-2/rev-3/rev-4/rev-5/rev-6/rev-7/rev-8/rev-9/rev-10/rev-11/rev-12/rev-13
13:16-18 The False Prophet will cause many people from every class and status to receive the mark of the beast, and without it no one can buy or sell anything. The infamous number 666 is
the number of the name of the Antichrist. Most languages has a number value for every letter in their alphabet, and there are numerous ways to reckon the number six hundred and sixty-six, so much so that it would be very timely to cover all the possibilites. For anyone who is interested in a resource that covers a lot of the calculations, I recommend the book “The Contributions of British writers between 1516 and 1830 to the Interpretation of Revelation 13:16-18”, especially chapter 8.
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Perhaps the reckoning of the number really depends on what language St. John had in mind, whether he meant to reckon it from the Greek language in which he probably originally wrote the book of Revelation in, or whether he had Aramaic or Hebrew in mind. And since Scripture is inspired by God, it could very well be possible that the number is to be reckoned in a language at the time of the Antichrist and not a language from the time St. John wrote the Revelation. Perhaps this number is meant to be fully revealed at the time when it will be more beneficial to Christians to know its meaning.
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As for me I favor the Greek word αρνουμε/ARNOUME, which means “I am denying.” It is orthographically identical with ARNOUMAI. E and AI are pronounced the same way in this era. This word appears to have first been suggested by St. Hippolytus (170-236AD) in his treatise On the End of the World, and then later suggested by Primasius around 550AD. The word has the numerical value of six hundred and sixty-six and is calculated as such…
A= 1 R= 100 N= 50 O= 70 U= 400 M= 40 E= 5 Total 666
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Just as the sealing of the 144,000 on the forehead is not a literal mark, so the mark of the beast will not be a literal mark on the right hand or forehead, but the right hand is to be understood as the works of the hands and the forehead is to be understood as the confession of faith. I think the key to understanding this more fully is when St. John tells us in his epistle, “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God. This is the spirit of antichrist, of which you heard that it was coming, and now it is in the world already (1 Jn 4:2-3).” The mark of the beast is not meant to be understood as the proper name of the Antichrist, but it is concerning the “spirit of Antichrist”, which means to deny/ARNOUME Christ. The mark of the beast is already in the world because people receive it by denying Christ. This mark has always been around, but in the Great Tribulation the denial of Christ will be required in order to buy or sell, which will be a test for Christians who will be faced with the dilemma of either denying Christ in order to the get bare necessities, or to confess Him and face serious financial times as well as heavy persecution.
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Here are some other calculations…
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In Greek: Teitan, which τ three hundred, ε five, ι ten, τ three hundred, α one, ν fifty,— which taken together become six hundred and sixty-six. (St. Victorinus)
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In Latin: DICLUX, which letters are reckoned in this manner: since D figures five hundred, I one, C a hundred, L fifty, V five, X ten,— which by the reckoning up of the letters makes similarly six hundred and sixty-six. (St. Victorinus)
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In Hebrew: Nero Caesar (or Caesar Nero) was NRWN QSR.
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St. Thomas Aquinas Sum Theo 3.63.3 said,"The ‘character of the beast’ may be understood by opposition, to mean either the obstinate malice for which some are assigned to eternal punishment, or the profession of an unlawful form of worship.
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I’m afraid my theory is a bit more boring. Seven (7) was the perfect number as far as I’m aware, and 6 falls short of 7. So 666 simply means the anti-Christ will be a man, short of perfection in body, mind and soul.

Oh, he’ll seem to have all the answers, with the devil right behind him, and empowered by advanced technology into the bargain.

But he’ll still just be a mere man.

I think that’s all it represents. Pretty boring, huh?
 
LemonAndLime said:
Studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls and early Bible texts show that the number of the beast is actually 616.

Would try and find the source where I read that from but too busy right now, but if anyone is interested it’s a quick Google search.
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I think you mean the Oxyrhynchus Papyri from Egypt - the DSS after all do not have any direct connection with Christianity. And yes, while some fragments found there do have the variant (there was also one which has ‘665’), all that tells us is that this particular variant existed. The jury is still out on whether “six hundred sixty-six” or “six hundred sixteen” is the original reading.
 
Bob_Crowley said:
I’m afraid my theory is a bit more boring. Seven (7) was the perfect number as far as I’m aware, and 6 falls short of 7. So 666 simply means the anti-Christ will be a man, short of perfection in body, mind and soul.

Oh, he’ll seem to have all the answers, with the devil right behind him, and empowered by advanced technology into the bargain.

But he’ll still just be a mere man.

I think that’s all it represents. Pretty boring, huh?
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Eh, “six hundred sixty six” it is and not “six-six-six,” but still, good point.
 
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