posted on Jul, 6 2004 @ 05:33 PM
Just a couple points of fact....for those curious among you about Hebraic Gematrial sigla....and to point out the dangers of "guessing randomly in
the dark" about Manuscripts and Meanings.
The curious "marginalia" in chapter 13:18 of The Apocalypse of Yohanon the Levite ("The Book of Revelation") written around AD 68 during the
failed Jewish Revolt against Rome has in fact, TWO numbering systems, viz.
666 and 616 (two distinct MSS families were circulating in the ancient world each with a different gematria). So it depends on what MSS copy you are
looking at to determine whether the number of the "Beast" ("which is the Number of a Man") is either 616 or 666.
See Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Ephraemi (C) and the newly discovered Papyrus "P115/POxy4499" all of which prefer the gemmatrial 616 to the
more familiar 666 of Sinaiticus or Bezae or Vaticanus etc.
Significantly, P115 aligns with A and C in its textual witness, which are generally regarded as providing the best testimony to the original text of
Revelation. Thus, P115 has superior testimony to that of P47 which aligns with the text of C and together form the second-best witness to the socalled
Book of Revelation.
Deciphering the grammatical howlers in the childish Greek of the Apocalypse of Yohanon ("Book of Revelation") has been problematic for serious
researchers since the book seems to be a very crude translation an originally Jewish document written in Hebrew and Aramaic (mixed like the Book of
Daniel) quoting excerpts from the Plagues of Exodus, Joel, Malachi, Jeremiah, Hezekiel chapter 39, the Psalms, Deutero-Zechariah and Proto and Trito
Isaiah (ch 56-66).
Also: PLEASE NOTE the specific word "Anti-Christ" does NOT appear in ANY KNOWN TEXT of the so-called Book of Revelationl, despite what most
"Christians" believe. It derives from the author of I, 2 and 3 John (i.e. John the Elder, whoever he was)
Nor does the word "Anti-Christ" have anything to do with either the number 666 or 616, which is listed as the "Number of the Beast" in the
marginalia (i.e. added to the book in the margin, not orginally part of the text).
If you want to play gematria, and want a little guide, here is Wisdom:
aleph = 1 beth = 2 gimmel = 3 daled = 4 heh = 5 vav =6 zayin = 7 chet = 8 tet = 9 yud =10 kaph =20 lamed =30 mem
=40
nun = 50 samech = 60 q'ayin = 70 phe = 80 tsadeh = 90 quph = 100 resh = 200 sin/shin = 300 tav = 400
Any "solution" to the Number of the Beast would have to satisfy BOTH 616 and 666.
Nero Caesar fits the bill nicely (he was the reigning Roman Emperor during AD 67-68i.e. during the failed Revolt) and his name in Hebrew was written
variously as: NRON QSR (666) and NRO QSR (616).
Apparently the writers of the Book were trying to get believers to think they had some chance of defeating "Babylon" i.e. the Roman Empire.
They were wrong.