The Mark of the Beast - 666 or 616?

[kyredneck]

"A fragment from the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament shows that the number of the Beast of Revelation 13 is 616. Ellen Aitken, a professor of early Christian history at McGill University, states that “the majority opinion seems to be that it refers to [the Roman emperor] Nero.”[1] The early fragment supports the view that Revelation was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and whether the number is 666 or 616, the number is a reference to Nero and not some end-time antichrist figure....."

"...The fragment supports the reading of some Greek New Testament manuscripts that read 616 instead of 666. Why would someone making a copy of the Revelation scroll make such a number change? “Perhaps the change was intentional, seeing that the Greek form Neron Caesar written in Hebrew characters (nrwn qsr) is equivalent to 666, whereas the Latin form Nero Caesar (nrw qsr) is equivalent to 616.” A Latin copyist might have thought that 666 was an error because Nero Caesar did not add up to 666 when transliterated into Latin. He then changed 666 to 616 to conform to the Latin rendering since it was generally accepted that Nero was the Beast. In either case, a Hebrew transliteration nets 666, while a Latin spelling nets 616. Nero was the “man” and either 666 or 616 was his number."

The Mark of the Beast - 666 or 616? - The American Vision

 

[ChristB4Us]

Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Regardless if the number was 666 or 616, it will be a mark that one can only buy & sell by during the great tribulation.

The consequence for taking that mark to buy & sell in order to survive in the coming New World Order is the lake of fire.

Revelation 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

They are using a biochip in Europe to buy & sell BUT it is not the mark of the beast yet until that mark becomes the only means to buy & sell in the coming New World Order.

 

[Charlie24]

"A fragment from the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament shows that the number of the Beast of Revelation 13 is 616. Ellen Aitken, a professor of early Christian history at McGill University, states that “the majority opinion seems to be that it refers to [the Roman emperor] Nero.”[1] The early fragment supports the view that Revelation was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and whether the number is 666 or 616, the number is a reference to Nero and not some end-time antichrist figure....."

"...The fragment supports the reading of some Greek New Testament manuscripts that read 616 instead of 666. Why would someone making a copy of the Revelation scroll make such a number change? “Perhaps the change was intentional, seeing that the Greek form Neron Caesar written in Hebrew characters (nrwn qsr) is equivalent to 666, whereas the Latin form Nero Caesar (nrw qsr) is equivalent to 616.” A Latin copyist might have thought that 666 was an error because Nero Caesar did not add up to 666 when transliterated into Latin. He then changed 666 to 616 to conform to the Latin rendering since it was generally accepted that Nero was the Beast. In either case, a Hebrew transliteration nets 666, while a Latin spelling nets 616. Nero was the “man” and either 666 or 616 was his number."

The Mark of the Beast - 666 or 616? - The American Vision

So what you're telling us, ky, is that God allowed a lie to exist in His Word.

That would mean that God has the power to speak the universe into existence, but He doesn't have the power to keep His Word pure for us down through the centuries.

There are some apparent mistakes in the Scripture, over the centuries most of them have been explained, but some still exist. I can show you some of them along with the one you have presented.

It's just a matter of time before the existing ones will be explained, unless the Lord returns first.

If we can't trust God's Word to be pure by faith, then let's just chunk it in the can and forget about it.

Not trying to start an argument, just my 2 cents worth on the matter.

 

[kyredneck]

???! @Charlie24. In lieu of this rambling bunch of hot air you just posted, kindly tell us what the lie is.

 

[Charlie24]

???! @Charlie24. In lieu of this rambling bunch of hot air you just posted, kindly tell us what the lie is.

IF, ky, if God allows for the mark of the beast to be 666 in Scripture, but it's actually 616.

What would we call that?

It's a matter of trusting God that His Word is pure and faultless.

This goes for anything or anywhere we may place doubt on the authenticity of the Bible.

Professors and various nay-sayers are continuously throwing fault at the Scripture.

I'm not trying to get into an argument, just pointing out that their supposed errors don't exist.

 

[kyredneck]

IF, ky, if God allows for the mark of the beast to be 666 in Scripture, but it's actually 616.

What would we call that?

We’d call it you need to read the article and you’d understand.

 

[Charlie24]

We’d call it you need to read the article and you’d understand.

That's fine. No matter what I say my point will not be understood.

I'll just let it go.

 

[37818]

Most Greek mss. χξς
The primary Byzantine. εξακοσια εξηκοντα εξ
WH Critical Text. εξακοσιοι εξηκοντα εξ

 

[canadyjd]

"A fragment from the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament shows that the number of the Beast of Revelation 13 is 616. Ellen Aitken, a professor of early Christian history at McGill University, states that “the majority opinion seems to be that it refers to [the Roman emperor] Nero.”[1] The early fragment supports the view that Revelation was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and whether the number is 666 or 616, the number is a reference to Nero and not some end-time antichrist figure....."

"...The fragment supports the reading of some Greek New Testament manuscripts that read 616 instead of 666. Why would someone making a copy of the Revelation scroll make such a number change? “Perhaps the change was intentional, seeing that the Greek form Neron Caesar written in Hebrew characters (nrwn qsr) is equivalent to 666, whereas the Latin form Nero Caesar (nrw qsr) is equivalent to 616.” A Latin copyist might have thought that 666 was an error because Nero Caesar did not add up to 666 when transliterated into Latin. He then changed 666 to 616 to conform to the Latin rendering since it was generally accepted that Nero was the Beast. In either case, a Hebrew transliteration nets 666, while a Latin spelling nets 616. Nero was the “man” and either 666 or 616 was his number."

The Mark of the Beast - 666 or 616? - The American Vision

I had a Greek prof bring this up in Seminary. It is very interesting.

Part of the “code” of using numbers related to Hebrew language, if I remember correctly, was that government officials wouldn’t realize John was pointing to the Roman Emperor as the anti-Christ.

Much of the confusion concerning the understanding of Revelation is folks don’t realize John does not write in chronological order, he writes in repeating themes.

So, he writes of the things that are, the things that were, and the things that are to come.

Since symbolism is so strong in the book, people just let their imaginations “fill in the gaps” and force all sorts of modern political nation state relevance when none was intended.

peace to you

 

[kyredneck]

No matter what I say my point will not be understood.

MY point by posting the article is that an apparent discrepancy in the scripture has been satisfactorily resolved.

There are several other points from the article I could have emphasized, like the dating of Revelation, but I didn't.