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For the first time the “number of the beast” is mentioned in the “Revelation of St. John Theologian “- perhaps the only prophecy that is officially recognized by the Christian church. John describes in detail the appearance of a terrible beast that surpasses all its power demons of hell.
It will be a creature with a leopard body, bear claws and lion fangs, wrote John. The beast will rule the earth in for three and a half years, and before that he will join him the antichrist that will make many people worship the beast. Later the time of the great battle of Armageddon, in which the devilish forces will be defeated, and Satan with the Antichrist will be imprisoned for a millennium. The kingdom of Christ will thus be established on earth. About the mysterious “the number of the beast” in “Revelation” is mentioned as if in passing, however this phrase gave rise to a great many different interpretations …
Calendar panic when three sixes appear
Every time three sinister sixes appeared on the calendar, many began to expect the appearance of the beast predicted by John. However, neither in 666 nor in 1666 It happened…
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The last wave of panic swept the planet June 6, 2006. On this fateful day, pregnant women were afraid to give birth to children (especially those who watched the movie “Omen”), many believers closed in their homes and earnestly prayed, mystics glanced furtively at sky…
However, attempts to decipher the “number of the beast” using the calendar can hardly be considered true, since the text of the Apocalypse very symbolic. In addition, it has direct “tips”. So, John discusses the wisdom needed to understand everything. existing and, apparently, does this not by chance. Here, most likely a hint, a certain key to a solution, and it is available only to that person, which “has a mind.”
Attempts to decipher the “number of the beast”
For centuries, people have tried to decipher mysterious “beast number” and thus find out the name of the monster. One of the most common methods for this was Kabbalistic, which relied on the fact that during the spelling of the Apocalypse was often replaced by alphabetic letters. Therefore, the sum of the letters making up the “name of the beast” must equal to 666. However, there may be many options in this case, How do you know which one is correct?
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To decipher the notorious number, it is important to compare the written in “Revelation” with real events of history. According to early Christian tradition, the “beasts” were called Roman emperors. When Friedrich Engels tried to determine the time the creation of the Apocalypse, he carried out such a calculation: the first “beast” – this is Augustus, the second is Tiberius, the third is Caligula, the fourth is Claudius, fifth – Nero, sixth – Galba, seventh – Otho. From this Engels concluded: “Revelation” was written in the reign Emperor Galba, namely from 9.06.68 to 12.01.69 of our era.
At one time, Ferdinand Benary, a German orientalist, proposed such a hypothesis: the number 666 hides the name of the famous Roman Emperor Nero – the beast, which, as the Theologian wrote, “was and is not him. “The meaning of what has been said is as follows: when coins were minted for the eastern part of the Roman Empire, inscriptions were made on them Hebrew language. Letters representing vowels while descended, and therefore, instead of “Nero Caesar” stood “Nron Dac.” A if the numerical values of these letters are added, then it will turn out 666. However, why exactly was Nero declared apocalyptic “beast”?
Nero as the embodiment of the beast
Historical documents indicate that the hatred that Christians fed to Nero, was completely justified. Of biography of this emperor, left by the ancient Roman by the writer and historian Guy Suetonius Tranquill, it becomes clear that Nero was extremely unbalanced, cruel and immoral by man.
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If even with respect to his subjects he showed incredible cruelty, then Christians were mocked truly diabolically. Most of all, the emperor loved to watch Christians being thrown into cells to predatory beasts that tear the unfortunate to pieces. At 68 year, a rebellion broke out in the country, as a result of which Nero lost power and, calling for the help of his secretary, cut throat. It would seem that now Christians could breathe calmly …
The next Roman monarch Servius Sulpicius Galba could not bring order in the empire. In remote provinces flashed every now and then feuds. And therefore it is not surprising that in this there was a man who declared himself Nero: they say during the uprising he was only wounded and then fled east …
Such rumors plunged Christians into horror, because their fierce resurrected enemy! They attributed the resurrection of Nero to Satan himself and now expecting the end of the world. It was during this turbulent time and began to appear various “revelations” devoted to one topic: the end of the world is coming, and after the day of judgment, all the enemies of Christianity will be destroyed, themselves Christians will finally gain eternal life.
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The authors of such “revelations” (in the future the church will only one Apocalypse canonized) used a similar symbolism: they wrote about the seven kings, forty-two months of the power of the beast, and the number of antichrist. At the same time, everyone, including John, predicted the inevitable and very near end of the world … which never has come.
Why are superstitions so enduring
Why didn’t the Church put the Apocalypse into oblivion, like everyone else other similar “revelations” if this prophecy has not come true? Christian shepherds were wise people and therefore left prediction of the end of the world and the coming doomsday. It was very powerful argument that creates powerful motivation: ours – right, the time will come – and all enemies will be destroyed, the kingdom of Christ will shine on earth …
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Time passed, and this interpretation of the three sixes was forgotten. “Number they began to try on animals on other tyrants, and they were enough in any era. For example, in Russia the Old Believers considered Peter the Antichrist Great.
First, he was the “8th king,” as predicted “Revelation”. Secondly, Peter’s reforms were contrary to interests of the Orthodox Church: the king took the land from the monks, in the army canceled the post, at the court brought completely foreign customs – unusual clothes, assemblies, tobacco smoking …
The next “antichrist” churchmen declared Napoleon. By way many combinations and permutations, his name was managed to fit the famous number 666. Later, the “beast” was called Hitler …
They tried to announce the Internet to them (since www, if translated in Hebrew and make the corresponding calculations, equal to 666), as well as dollar bills having a width of 66.6 millimeters …
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In general, the number 666 affects people in a strange way. Christians try to avoid it in every possible way, and this gives rise to a lot of funny things. IN the skyscrapers of some cities are missing the sixty-sixth floor, and sixty-fifth immediately follows sixty-seventh. On the map America does not find the road 666 – as you can see, in this matter there was decided not to risk it. And here is a domestic example, so to speak: before the parliamentary elections of 2003 in the Tambov province not began to make the 666th polling station by popular demand believing voters …
And yet, according to biblical symbolism, the number 6 is purely human Firstly, on the sixth day of creation was created human. But the main thing is not even that: if the seven is directly related to Lord and the higher realms, the six is a symbol of human perfection (an order of magnitude less divine), wealth and power.
For example, in the East, documents with six are very much valued which is considered a talisman that brings happiness to its owner. In a word, that only people do not associate with the number 666!
Various interpretations of the “number of the beast” and all associated with it superstition is a classic example of how myths influence human consciousness. The gloomy symbolism of this number was invented by people, and, as often happens, the symbol went out of their control. And now some shy away from numbers considered devilish, others rejoice good luck to him, and still others are trying to unravel the name beast and calculate the date of the end of the world …
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