Beast's Real Mark Devalued to '616'

National Post ^ | Wednesday, May 04, 2005 | Chris Wattie

[West Coast Conservative]

Satanists, apocalypse watchers and heavy metal guitarists may have to adjust their demonic numerology after a recently deciphered ancient biblical text revealed that 666 is not the fabled Number of the Beast after all.

A fragment from the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament, dating to the Third century, gives the more mundane 616 as the mark of the Antichrist.

Ellen Aitken, a professor of early Christian history at McGill University, said the discovery appears to spell the end of 666 as the devil's prime number.

"This is a very nice piece to find," Dr. Aitken said. "Scholars have argued for a long time over this, and it now seems that 616 was the original number of the beast."

The tiny fragment of 1,500-year-old papyrus is written in Greek, the original language of the New Testament, and contains a key passage from the Book of Revelation.

Where more conventional versions of the Bible give 666 as the "number of the beast," or the sign of the anti-Christ whose coming is predicted in the book's apocalyptic verses, the older version uses the Greek letters signifying 616.

"This is very early confirmation of that number, earlier than any other text we've found of that passage," Dr. Aitken said. "It's probably about 100 years before any other version."

[Capn TrVth]

"665" Neighbor of the Beast Bump!

[Salamander]

616 was simply adjusted for inflation.

[explodingspleen]

It seems with all the anti-christs floating about the liberal churches, supply is exceeding demand and the value of anti-christs is dropping.

[The Red Zone]

Quite curious why no instances of this "Wal-Mart price of the Beast" got into later copies of the bible. Especially in a book which exhibits remarkably little difference in available manuscripts, and which in fact threatens to curse anyone who alters it.

I'd think the 616 version is bogus.

[HowardDeanScream08]

I don't doubt it, but I bet the literalists are going to have a field day in their efforts to skewer it. I'll go ahead and make the call on words and phrases that will be used to describe the discovery and to dismiss it.

"deception"
"fraud"
"anti-Christian"
"secular humanist(s)"
"evil"
"science"
(and "evil scientists")
"infallible Word of God"
"godless"

Some others may figure it makes no difference, the new translation of the number, but I'm banking on at least a little caterwalling.

I also figure I will be called things like "atheist" or "secular humanist" and a variety of other epithets, but that's cool, because I know I'm not. I'm a Christian.

Let's see what happens.

[goes to press 'Post'.]

[The Red Zone]

I think history and theology militates against the 616 interpretation. Now if someone were to turn up a cache of, say, a few dozen ancient bibles that render the number this way, then the argument could be revisited.

[Slings and Arrows]

Sniff?

[Slings and Arrows]

the discovery appears to spell the end of 666 as the devil's prime number.

666 was NEVER the devil's prime number. It was the devil's composite number.

[Slings and Arrows]

the discovery appears to spell the end of 666 as the devil's prime number.

666 was NEVER the devil's prime number. It was the devil's composite number.

[Slings and Arrows]

Sorry about that - had a little slam-fire on the "Post" key.

[beaver fever]

REGULAR LOW PRICE 666!

MANAGERS SPECIAL 616! (while supplies last til 31 04 05)

[chemicalman]

Now they have to go back and re-do the Damien movies.

[RichInOC]

No, 666 is still the number of the Beast. 616 is just his area code.

[HowardDeanScream08]

Snort?

[Slings and Arrows]

666 number of the beast

668 neighbor of the beast

DCLXVI roman numeral of the beast

666.000 number of the high-precision beast

1010011 binary number of the beast

$665.95 retail price of the beast

$656.66 Wal-Mart price of the beast

Phillips 666 gasoline of the beast

Route 666 way of the beast

666 F oven temperature for cooking roast beast

666K retirement plan of the beast

666 mg recommended daily requirement of beast

6.66% 6 year CD rate at First Beast Bank ($666 min. deposit)

Lotus6.66 spreadsheet of the beast

Word66.6 word processor of the beast

666i BMW of the beast

666.HG.6666 URL of the beast

IAM 666 license plate of the beast

WD-666 spray lubricant of the beast

66.6 MHz FM radio station of the beast

666 KHz AM radio station of the beast

[Slings and Arrows]

Evidently, your disconector is a bit to short in relation to your sear.

Let's leave my personal life out of this.

[Flyer]

6.66% tax on the beast

[chemical_boy]

Great Now I have to get another tatto corrected...first it was a new girlfriend and now this. Guh