Hi WatchtheAshes --
You did know, didn't you, that the word ANTI CHRIST does NOT appear in the socalled Apocalypse of Yohanon (whoever he was) the Levite (aka Book of
Revelation) ?
There are beasts and whores and dragons and even a False Prophet, but NO AntiChrists.
Also, you did know, didn't you, that only a mere HANDFUL of ancient textual manuscripts exist today to be able to be used as source materia for this
strange book (which quotes more from the 7-Tamid Psalms and weird Greek Targum paraphrases from Aramaic versions of the major Prophetic writings (and
Daniel) than from the writer's imagination - and that the earliest papyri (e.g. P46, P47, P73) fragments DO NOT MATCH the later Greek texts very
closely?
Here they are (for what they are worth): read 'em and weep:
l. Codex Sinaiticus - Aleph (c. AD 360) - more or less 'complete'
2. Codex Ephraemi-Rescriptus - C- (c. AD 330) Fragment (chapter 3:20 - 5:14 absent; chapter 8:9 - 9-16 absent; chapter 10:10 - 16:15 absent except
for 2 small verses 11:3-4; chapter 16:3 - 18:2 absent; and chapter 19:5 to 22:2 absent - in other words LARGE chunks are missing.
3. Codex Alexendrinus - A - (c. AD 370) - more of less 'complete'
In other words it is one of the WORST attested MSS collection in the whole New Testament with very very few Manuscripts to consult.
Having said that, you did know, didn't you, that chapter 13 contains variant material in terms of the Number of the Beast Which Is the Number of a
Man?
Codex Ephraemi (c. 330 AD) , the Latin Tyconius, P115 (c. 270 AD) & Papyrus Oxyrrhynchus #4499 (c. 240 AD) reads: 616 = (NRO QSR)
Codex Sinaiticus & Alexendrinus - (c. 360-370 AD)
reads: 666 (= NRON QSR)
For a beginniner's Overview to this MSS Conundrum see the Wikipedia 'Baby Explanation':
en.wikipedia.org...
If anyone wants to do their own Hebrew Gemmatrial config, here are the values : use Vav for Long O and Yud for the ee sound if you get stuck.
Aleph = 1
Beth =2
Gimmel =3
Daled =4
He =5
Vav =6
Zayin =7
Chet =8
Tet = 9
Yod =10
Qaph =20 (final Qaph = 500)
Lamed =30
Mem =40 (final mem = 600)
Nun =50 (final nun =700
Samek =60
'Qayin =70
Phe =80 (fiinal phe = 800)
Tsadeh =90 (final tsadeh = 900)
Quph =100
Resh =200
Shin/Sin =300
Tav =400
Remember to put your candidates in Aramaic letters and NO vowells, people!! Oh, and NO cheating !
