666 - A different perspective

reply to post by dontreally


I thought the Mark of the Beast as described in Revelations where we get the term 666 refers to the "number" of a mans name.

Back in those times little paper and pen existed so peoples names where not regularly etched in stone as that was labor intensive. Unless you were famous and rich and could afford statues and wall murals carved from stone, the alternative was to "enumirate" ones name in shorthand with numbers. If your first, middle and last name had 6 letters each then the "sum" or "number" of your name was "666." Not Six hundred and sixty six, but 6_6_6. The owner of a house might have the number of his name carved on the wall of his house so people knew who owned that house. This was the first addressing system. Made things a lot simpler.

Even today there are but few names whose "sum" is 666. One of those in recent memory is Ronald Wilson Reagan. The beast of Babylon. The Anti Christ. Whatever...

I am not saying this the one and only true meaning just that I have heard this explanation before somewhere and am relating it here for your discretion.

Revelations 13:18

Numerology is not my strong suite. To most, 666 is an evil number something or another, the mark of the beast, or some other tom-foolery.

To me, it's the number before 667.

Seriously, though, so much has been distorted over the years, and the original texts manipulated over time, that who knows what that particular scripture was supposed to say. It's been wrapped up in a horrible connotation by the religious folks, so I really doubt that is it's true meaning. I'm also a biblical scholar, so for now I'll hold my tongue.