Number of the Beast Is 616, Not 666
At Future Perfect we don't give much coverage to religion or theological controversies and the like. But this story is interesting, given the popularity of apocalyptic preaching and literature these days (witness the Left Behind phenomenon).
This is also a good follow-up to a previous post in which we cited a story reporting that, "Thousands of previously illegible manuscripts containing work by some of the greats of classical literature are being read for the first time using technology which experts believe will unlock the secrets of the ancient world."
That story said that among the treasures already discovered by researchers from Oxford University were previously unseen writings by classical giants including Sophocles, Euripides and Hesiod.
"Invisible under ordinary light, the faded ink comes clearly into view when placed under infra-red light, using techniques developed from satellite imaging."
The latest news on this topic goes like this:
"A newly discovered fragment of the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament indicates that, as far as the Antichrist goes, theologians, scholars, heavy metal groups, and television evangelists have got the wrong number. Instead of 666, it's actually the far less ominous 616.
antichrist, prophecy, end-times, revelation, Bible, New Testament, left behind, gematria, Caligula, religion, Christianity, 666, beast, theology, archaeology, manuscripts, history, apocalypse, fundamentalism, evangelicalism, evangelicals, news, dispensationalism, scripture, scriptures, scrolls, classics, literature, numerology, superstition, Greece
This is also a good follow-up to a previous post in which we cited a story reporting that, "Thousands of previously illegible manuscripts containing work by some of the greats of classical literature are being read for the first time using technology which experts believe will unlock the secrets of the ancient world."
That story said that among the treasures already discovered by researchers from Oxford University were previously unseen writings by classical giants including Sophocles, Euripides and Hesiod.
"Invisible under ordinary light, the faded ink comes clearly into view when placed under infra-red light, using techniques developed from satellite imaging."
The latest news on this topic goes like this:
"A newly discovered fragment of the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament indicates that, as far as the Antichrist goes, theologians, scholars, heavy metal groups, and television evangelists have got the wrong number. Instead of 666, it's actually the far less ominous 616.
"The new fragment from the Book of Revelation ... is part of a hoard of previously unintelligible manuscripts discovered in historic dumps outside Oxyrhynchus in Egypt. Now a team of expert classicists, using new photographic techniques, are finally deciphering the original writing.
"Professor David Parker, Professor of New Testament Textual Criticism and Paleography at the University of Birmingham, thinks that 616 ... is the original. He said: "This is an example of gematria, where numbers are based on the numerical values of letters in people's names. Early Christians would use numbers to hide the identity of people who they were attacking: 616 refers to the Emperor Caligula."
antichrist, prophecy, end-times, revelation, Bible, New Testament, left behind, gematria, Caligula, religion, Christianity, 666, beast, theology, archaeology, manuscripts, history, apocalypse, fundamentalism, evangelicalism, evangelicals, news, dispensationalism, scripture, scriptures, scrolls, classics, literature, numerology, superstition, Greece
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