Today, June 6, 2006 may be written as 06-06-06 or just 6-6-6, reminding suspicious or religious people of the famed mark of the beast mentioned in Revelation 13:18 as being that famously feared number. The text actually says: "Here is wisdom.

By Rev Mervin Stoddart

Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six" (KJV). In modern parlance this means that the mark of the beast is 600 plus 60 plus 6 = 666. Theologians believe that the Bible makes six the number of mankind and seven the number of God. Thus 666 could depict some unholy trinity among mankind.

Will any event occur on 06-06-06 anywhere in the world to lend credibility to the unique powers of the number 666? Time alone will tell. However, Hollywood has already ensured that the day will be significant as it will see the first showing of the apocalyptic movie called The Omen.

Furthermore, days of significance do not always carry dramatic and earth-shaking occurrences but may see the silent start of something big. Will the Antichrist prophesied by Christendom be born on 06-06-06? Will this Antichrist be revealed to the world on that day?

Although Tim LaHaye and his co-authors of the Left Behind series link the Antichrist with the 666 mark of the beast, it must be noted that the book of Revelation nowhere ever mentions the term "Antichrist". The beast, therefore, does not have to be called the Antichrist when he is revealed to humans who believe in this eschatological development.

There must have been many other dates in history to which believers in the 666 mark of the beast attached much significance since the Revelation was written circa 95 CE by John the Apostle, whose place at the side of Jesus at the Last Supper was upstaged by Mary of Magdala as per Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code. Did anything significant happen on June 6, 1006?

How about on 6-6-1906? Chances are nothing extraordinary will happen on June 6, 2006, but the mark of the beast will always be filled with fear and mystery for mankind. Already several historical personages have been branded an Antichrist because their names could somehow be made to read as 666. Jamaica's most famous Antichrist is Edward Philip George (666). Otherwise called Seaga.

America's Ronald Wilson Reagan (666) was also branded an Antichrist. It was quite intriguing that when he left the White House he bought a home at 666 St Cloud Road in California. (I think Seaga and Reagan were rulers at the same time).

Many popes have been spelled out as 666 by using the Roman numerals for their titles, and other means. The current Pope Benedict XVI is a man of 6 but in a sophisticated way. We would have to take 8, the number of letters in Benedict, and add them to the numerals (XVI) 10 + 5 + 1 = 16 to get 24; then add 2 + 4 = 6.

Some Christians believe that the number 666 or its barcode equivalent will be embedded as a chip into the forehead or palm of people very shortly as the means of exchange in a cashless society (Revelation 13:16-17). Of course, there are already schools in the USA where children simply scan their fingerprints in order to pay for lunch. It is also interesting that the number 666 forms the basis for all UPC grocery barcodes.

Thirteen is another famously feared number, especially when linked with Friday. It is interesting, therefore, that the numbers of the Revelation verse giving the mark of the beast all add up to 13 and are found in chapter 13.

The verse 13:18 if manipulated various ways will still give 13 or forms of it. For example, add the 13 and the 18 to make 31 which is 13 backwards. Of course, adding the digits of 666 gives the number for the verse in Revelation 13 for the mark of the beast. Of course, all this is coincidence, as will be the case if anything big happens on 06-06-06.

Rev Mervin Stoddart is a freelance writer out of Florida.
INMerv@hotmail.com

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