# The Number of the Beast... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 25, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812 "2010-03-25T23:27:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DickP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DickP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DickP)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/1 "2010-03-25T23:27:58Z")
I remember hearing something on the radio a few years ago to the effect that biblical scholars had determined that Satan’s zipcode isn’t 666, but some other number. Anyone know anything about this? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/2 "2010-03-25T23:41:36Z")
[moderating] Thread moved from General Questions to MPSIMS. [/moderating] Not sure about the zipcode, but I know that 668 is the neighbor of the beast. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/3 "2010-03-25T23:43:26Z")
Some of the earliest copies of The Bible give the number as 616. > **[Number of the Beast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_the_Beast#616)** > > The number of the beast, 666 in most manuscripts, is associated with the Beast of Revelation in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. > Number of the Beast also may refer to: Itr seems that 616 was given in the earliest known manuscript, and this has only recently been deciphered. Perhaps that’s what you heard. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/4 "2010-03-25T23:52:26Z")
A papyrus text fragment from the Oxyrhynchus site in Egypt, dating to the 2nd century A.D., gives the Number of the Beast as 616. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/5 "2010-03-25T23:54:12Z")
I recall they did a bit on this on **Radio Lab** a while back…maybe that’s where you heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/6 "2010-03-26T01:45:39Z")
Topeka KS zip codes begin with 666, and that’s where that crazy-ass Fred Phelps and his family live, so as far as I’m concerned it IS the devil’s zip code! ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/7 "2010-03-26T02:15:17Z")
867-5309 ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/8 "2010-03-26T04:28:17Z")
Forgive me for this – > **[666 and Other Numbers of the Beast](https://www.beliefnet.com/news/1999/12/666-and-other-numbers-of-the-beast.aspx)** > > Some Additions to the Book of Revelation... The Austin Lounge Lizards have a wonderful song on what’s it’s like being a neighbor of the Beast. Since these are the people who know what’s going to happen to [banjo players,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVrhaYjyLVo) you can guess what this one’s about as well. Heck, see if this works: [Neighbor of the Beast on Lala](http://popup.lala.com/popup/360569466652727188) If that doesn’t work go directly to [lala.com](http://lala.com) and search for this entry. Any Austin Lounge Lizards CD is worth your time and money. ---
**Author:** ![Baraqiyal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/9 "2010-03-26T04:50:02Z")
My “Living Bible” from 1971 mentions that some manuscripts read 616 rather than 666, so I’m not sure why this is considered a recent discovery. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/10 "2010-03-26T05:09:27Z")
616 is the area code for Grand Rapids, Michigan, and surrounding areas. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/11 "2010-03-26T05:16:05Z")
> [@Baraqiyal](#): > > My “Living Bible” from 1971 mentions that some manuscripts read 616 rather than 666, so I’m not sure why this is considered a recent discovery. Every once in a while, the media trots out something that’s been known for years as a new earthshaking discovery. Now here’s the usual explanation for the difference- The writer had Nero in mind as either The Beast or a model for The Beast. Nero Caesar in Hebrew is spelled N-RO K-S-R, which is 616 using the Hebrew alphabet as a number code. It’s also spelled N-RON K-S-R, which is 666. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/12 "2010-03-26T08:07:41Z")
> [@ThisSpaceForRent](#): > > 867-5309 I just have to say that this post/user name combo made me snicker (and yes, I do get the reference, and thanks just so much for this morning’s earworm). I have nothing to add except that about 10 years ago, I noticed that a good friend had 666 as a portion of her license plate (in Germany, incidentally). I mentioned it to her and her husband and said that many Americans would think about requesting a new license number, and was intrigued that neither one of them had any idea what I was talking about – this number of the Beast thing isn’t a universal superstition. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/13 "2010-03-26T09:01:17Z")
> [@shantih](#): > > I have nothing to add except that about 10 years ago, I noticed that a good friend had 666 as a portion of her license plate (in Germany, incidentally). I mentioned it to her and her husband and said that many Americans would think about requesting a new license number, and was intrigued that neither one of them had any idea what I was talking about – this number of the Beast thing isn’t a universal superstition. No, not universal at all. 666 is well-known in the UK as “The Number of The Beast” (BWA-HA-HA!), but I’ve never heard of anyone taking it at all seriously – it’s just a reference from horror films and heavy metal albums. I think that, before the _Omen_ films, it was a pretty obscure bit of biblical trivia – which is what it probably still is in many other countries. I think I’m right in saying that the Rapture’s pretty much unknown outside the US, too. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/14 "2010-03-26T09:14:53Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > I think I’m right in saying that the Rapture’s pretty much unknown outside the US, too. Which is odd as it originated in the British Isles- Irish Plymouth Brethren theologian John Nelson Darby (father of Dispensationalism), Scottish Prebyterian-turned-Catholic Apostolic Church founder Edward Irving, and Scottish visionary Margaret MacDonald all contributed to the doctrine’s development in the 1830s. > **[Rapture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture)** > > The Rapture is an eschatological (end-times) concept held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Christians who are still alive, together will rise "in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." > Many different timelines have been asserted which tie to ideas of a seven-year Great Tribulation (e.g. pretribulation, midtribulation, prewrath, and posttribulation raptures) and to a ... > **[Margaret MacDonald (visionary)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_McDonald_(visionary))** > > Margaret MacDonald (1815–1840) was a Scottish visionary. > Margaret MacDonald was born in 1815 in Port Glasgow, Scotland and died around 1840. She lived with her two older brothers, James and George, both of whom ran a shipping business. > Beginning in 1826 and through 1829, a few preachers in Scotland emphasized that the world's problems could only be addressed through an outbreak of supernatural gifts from the Holy Spirit. In response, Isabella and Mary Campbell of the parish of Rosneath manifes... ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/15 "2010-03-26T09:55:50Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Which is odd as it originated in the British Isles- Irish Plymouth Brethren theologian John Nelson Darby (father of Dispensationalism), Scottish Prebyterian-turned-Catholic Apostolic Church founder Edward Irving, and Scottish visionary Margaret MacDonald all contributed to the doctrine’s development in the 1830s. Yes, but they evolved past the Crazy. Let’s hope we get there too someday. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/16 "2010-03-26T10:59:38Z")
[666 - Numbers of the Beast](http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/666.htm) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/17 "2010-03-26T12:00:03Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Which is odd as it originated in the British Isles- Irish Plymouth Brethren theologian John Nelson Darby (father of Dispensationalism), Scottish Prebyterian-turned-Catholic Apostolic Church founder Edward Irving, and Scottish visionary Margaret MacDonald all contributed to the doctrine’s development in the 1830s. > > [Rapture - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture) > > [Margaret MacDonald (visionary) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_McDonald_(visionary)) Ah, yes… eschatological doctrine in minor non-comformist churches of the 19th century. Down our way we speak of little else. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/18 "2010-03-26T12:48:26Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > 616 is the area code for Grand Rapids, Michigan, and surrounding areas. Including Ada, MI, which is the home of Amway. 'Nuff said. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/19 "2010-03-26T13:54:11Z")
> [@Dragwyr](#): > > Including Ada, MI, which is the home of Amway. > > 'Nuff said. > > 🙂 You…I…That was my joke! I’m always amazed at what is an original thought anywhere else, just isn’t on The Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812/20 "2010-03-26T13:59:42Z")
I once bought a few items and the total came to $6.66. The cashier was horrified and tried to get mw to buy something else to changw the total. I refused and counted out six dollar bills, six dimes and six pennies and handed them to her. She was literally shaking, either from fright or being pissed off. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-of-the-beast/533812.md?page=2)