It helps in debates like this to have an agreed-upon version of the scripture. 
The scriptures were all written in one language, but like the problem of translating Mommar Gaddifi’s name (30 variations) it comes in when translating that 2000 year old text into modern english.
In my opinion, Christians do all agree on one thing: Christ will come back one day. The rest, realistically, is minor details.
I’ve heard say the antichrist is really Charles Nelson Reilly.
I just HAD to post here as this is my 666 post.(it’s not me, really!)
cmkeller wrote:
So … can any of the Grecophiles out there tell us what the numerical equivalents for the Greek letters were?
Numerics - A mathematical revelation in Scripture
Alpha 1 Iota 10 Rho 100
Beta 2 Kappa 20 Sigma 200
Gamma 3 Lambda 30 Tau 300
Delta 4 Mu 40 Upsilon 400
Epsilon 5 Nu 50 Phi 500
Digamma 6 Xi 60 Chi 600
Zeta 7 Omicron 70 Psi 700
Eta 8 Pi 80 Omega 800
Theta 9 Koppa 90 Sampsi 900
Note: Digamma, Koppa, and Sampsi became obsolete, but they were kept around for the numbering system.
Try as I might, though, I can’t get any transliteration of “Neron Caesar” to add up to 666, so I may be getting something wrong. Any help?
I found a site that gets to 666:
Nero 666
Unfortunately, they play with the numbers in unexpected ways:
The Greek is given (correctly) as KAISAR NERON
(kappa alpha iota sigma alpha rho nu epsilon rho omega nu).
However, where I would transliterate that to QSR NRN
(qoph same resh nun resh nun) (Hebrew having no vowels), they call the first alpha an “ah” and insert the Hebrew character he picking up 5 points and for the second alpha they use the Hebrew aleph, picking up a 1.
I fail to see how they justify changing an alpha to an “h.” And changing the second alpha to an aleph violates two principles: using the same letter to translate the same letter and using aleph (a glottal stop, not even a vowel) to represent alpha.
This next site comes up with a different method that (excepting my ignorance regarding the treatment of waw as the letter “o”) seems to be more reliable. (Of course it uses some really strange name games to hang the 666 number on poor old John Paul II, as well.)
WILL THE BEAST OF THE END-TIMES BE NERO CAESAR WHO ADDS UP TO 666?
A site that gets to Nero = 666 in the same manner as the previous is Feedback #10
Just about everyone who really cares who the “666” indicates is heavily into discussing Fundamentalist/Pentacostal Christianity, (either affirming its truth or attacking it), so most of these sites have a certain amount of additional discussions on those sorts of topics.
I’d love to, DJ; however, the big-time fundamentalists have made a big-time deal, on this very board even, about how the church fathers used the Roman system at the same time they were using another system. I am, of course, referring to time-keeping, but you should see the point.
i have it in my head somewhere (and no, there’s no cite along with it) that in variant manuscipts, the number is something other than 666–let’s say 664, for the sake of argument. there is also a variant spelling of nero caesar that works out to that number. considering the problems that nero caused the early christians, i don’t think it’s anything other than that.
Achernar:
The Hebrew version:
Nun = 50
Reish = 200
Vav = 6
Nun - 50
Kof = 100
Sameh = 60
Resh = 200
Bear in mind that Hebrew does not have any letters designated as vowels…in modern Hebrew, the vowel markings are placed under or around the letters. The “Vav” in “Neron” often silently accompanies the vowel sound “O” or “OO.”
Chaim Mattis Keller
Arrrr. So the whole 666 thing isn’t part of Greek numerology at all? Something don Jaime said made me think that it is. So what did I post that list for? Ugh.
lilah, my recollection is that the alternative in some manuscripts is 616. I know the New English Bible has a footnote on the subject, but my copy of the NEB is at home.
Tom:
Which left us to come up with our own. I think my favorites have been:
Kissinger (A=6, B=12, C=18…)
and
Ronald Wilson Reagan (# letters in each name = each digit).
As the preceding passage indicates, John is talking about money. Money being valued numerically, John is making the point that you will recoginze the Anti-Christ because there is a number associated with him – and does seem to be making a play on the imperfectness of “6.”
I’ve read enough books about this, and one of them said that it has to do with bar codes. Supposedly, the first, middle, and last “numbers” which don’t actually have numbers beneath them are the 6,6, and 6.
It will be like a smart card, only on your right hand, so no one can steal it.
Oh yeah sure. Only bar codes were really big back then and required two camels to move them around so they didn’t use them much.:rolleyes: