The Meaning of 666, The Reason for the Riddle

[Alfred Persson]

I will prove the following two propositions:

1) 666 is a biblical allusion to a man’s name in the Old Testament: Adonikam.

2) The Holy Spirit inspired this Riddle to strengthen the faith of the generation alive in the End Time that will see Adonikam rise to become the Antichrist Beast.

We solve riddles by heeding its details, and spotting any double entendre hinting at a solution. For example, Samson’s riddle (Judges 14:14) contained the solution, honey eaten from the carcass of a lion (Judges 14:8-9, 18):

So he said to them: “Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet.� Now for three days they could not explain the riddle. (Jdg. 14:14) NKJ

The word “lion� in Hebrew (ʾarî) is almost identical to an Arabic word for “honey� (ʾary).-Wolf, H. (1992). Judges. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, p. 468). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

Lets Solve the 666 Meaning:

Here is wisdom. 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. (Rev. 13:18) KJV

John said 666 is the number OF a man, not the number of a name. That’s double entendre, 666 springs from the man, 666 exists because of what the man is or does, it is not his name in code. We must pay attention to the detail with strictness, John insisted we COUNT to arrive at 666, that is one half of the equation. To solve the riddle we must deduce the missing half of the equation that equals 666 and then determine what man caused that calculation to exist, for it is “OF� him. Therefore Gematria, numerology, symbolic meaning, etc. are completely irrelevant.

Lets review other details to find what else is implied in the wording:

This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. (Rev. 13:18) ESV

Christians seek wisdom in scripture, therefore John’s call for it must involve the Bible. Adonikam is the only Bible name of a man 666 and a calculation point to that everyone (3588 � ho) understanding the Bible can find. Once directly (Ezra 2:13) and once after a calculation (Neh. 7:18) subtracting Adonikam’s father who must have had the same name, so 667-1=666 still points to Adonikam. The only man directly causing 666 to exist and also the calculation resulting in 666 to exist, is the man Adonikam. As John thus says he is the Beast, 666 is the number OF the Beast also:

The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six. (Ezr. 2:13) KJV

The children of Adonikam, six hundred threescore and seven. (Neh. 7:18) KJV

Having these two verses point to the same name is like having “two witnesses� establishing the matter (Deut. 19:15).

Adonikam alone is the elegant solution, it alone assembles John’s puzzle following all his requirements and still satisfies his expectation anyone with Bible wisdom will discover the one name he had in mind when he penned this riddle.

Not so Kabbalistic Gematria. The pieces just do not fit, and regardless how it is tweaked, so many names are produced it will never satisfy John’s expectation only one name will result and the probability the reader will pick the name John had in mind is infinitesimal.


Continues on my site:
http://endtimenews.net/666-meaning/[/url]

[Alfred Persson]

Adonikam alone is the elegant solution, it alone assembles John’s puzzle following all his requirements and still satisfies his expectation anyone with Bible wisdom will discover the one name he had in mind when he penned this riddle.

Just as significant is the fact that from MONDAY we can make a couple of anagrams and it often defeats folk to find them. So John is giving a pointless puzzle to be pointlessly solved hundreds of years later. What has the beast to do with it all? Does it mean we have been given a beastly word puzzle?

It cannot surprise us that the misnamed Revelation throws up nonsense, like the limericks of Edward Lear.

Its not pointless to me, in fact its genius:

The Holy Spirit inspired this Riddle to strengthen the faith of the generation alive in the End Time fighting against unprecedented apostasy (2 Th. 2:3-4; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 4:2). and mockery of God’s Word the Bible (Jude 1:18; 1 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:3). Adonikam’s name will be the actual name of the Beast that rises and the solution indicates both Providential Preservation and Inerrancy of Scripture are true, as both 666 and 667 are correct and God prevented copiests from reconciling the number as modern textual critics are wont to do.

[Alfred Persson]

Adonikam alone is the elegant solution, it alone assembles John’s puzzle following all his requirements and still satisfies his expectation anyone with Bible wisdom will discover the one name he had in mind when he penned this riddle.

Just as significant is the fact that from MONDAY we can make a couple of anagrams and it often defeats folk to find them. So John is giving a pointless puzzle to be pointlessly solved hundreds of years later. What has the beast to do with it all? Does it mean we have been given a beastly word puzzle?

It cannot surprise us that the misnamed Revelation throws up nonsense, like the limericks of Edward Lear.

Its not pointless to me, in fact its genius:

The Holy Spirit inspired this Riddle to strengthen the faith of the generation alive in the End Time fighting against unprecedented apostasy (2 Th. 2:3-4; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 4:2). and mockery of God’s Word the Bible (Jude 1:18; 1 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:3). Adonikam’s name will be the actual name of the Beast that rises and the solution indicates both Providential Preservation and Inerrancy of Scripture are true, as both 666 and 667 are correct and God prevented copiests from reconciling the number as modern textual critics are wont to do.

[liamconnor]

[Replying to post 7 by Alfred Persson]

You suppose he would use symbolic names, but why? The challenge is not to count to a symbolic name, but to the name.

So he uses a symbolic clue to a non-symbolic name? It is possible. I simply am skeptical of all attempts to decode Revelation.

[marco]

Its not pointless to me, in fact its genius:

Well we each have our own ideas of what constitutes genius, I suppose.

The Holy Spirit inspired this Riddle to strengthen the faith of the generation alive in the End Time fighting against unprecedented apostasy (2 Th. 2:3-4; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 4:2). and mockery of God’s Word the Bible (Jude 1:18; 1 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:3). Adonikam’s name will be the actual name of the Beast that rises and the solution indicates both Providential Preservation and Inerrancy of Scripture are true, as both 666 and 667 are correct and God prevented copiests from reconciling the number as modern textual critics are wont to do.

From Kings we learn: "the weight of gold which Solomon received every year was 666 talents of gold...." Perhaps it's not such a bad number.

If the Holy Spirit was the author of the riddle then he hasn't strengthened Marco's faith at all. And if the Beast is truly devious, he will by now have read about this solution to the riddle and use another name in the interests of concealment.

Do you really accept all this fanciful intrigue? Has God nothing better to do?

[McCulloch]

I've quoted JP Cusick's blank post. Removing the original quote.

I see this as another demonstration as to how Bible prophesy can be so useless and misleading.

You say it strengthens faith - but how?

It does not give any info on how to live a better life, it does not tell how to improve our character.

What that really does is just to condemn so future person based only on their name, and that name is to expose the person as antiChrist, and are we to look for that name in English or in Hebrew or in just any language?

In the Gospel Jesus declares that people will not believe a person risen from the dead - so it would be presumptuous and sinful of anyone to believe a person to be antiChrist based on their name?

[JP Cusick]

I will prove the following two propositions:

1) 666 is a biblical allusion to a man’s name in the Old Testament: Adonikam.

2) The Holy Spirit inspired this Riddle to strengthen the faith of the generation alive in the End Time that will see Adonikam rise to become the Antichrist Beast.

I see this as another demonstration as to how Bible prophesy can be so useless and misleading.

You say it strengthens faith - but how?

It does not give any info on how to live a better life, it does not tell how to improve our character.

What that really does is just to condemn so future person based only on their name, and that name is to expose the person as antiChrist, and are we to look for that name in English or in Hebrew or in just any language?

In the Gospel Jesus declares that people will not believe a person risen from the dead - so it would be presumptuous and sinful of anyone to believe a person to be antiChrist based on their name?

[Alfred Persson]

[Replying to post 7 by Alfred Persson]

You suppose he would use symbolic names, but why? The challenge is not to count to a symbolic name, but to the name.

So he uses a symbolic clue to a non-symbolic name? It is possible. I simply am skeptical of all attempts to decode Revelation.

Not a symbolic clue, its double entendre. I've sharpened the argument on my site:

Here is wisdom. 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. (Rev. 13:18) KJV

The Genitive (“OF�) is the double entendre. 1) 666 is the number OF a man; 2) 666 is the number OF a name (Rev. 13:17); 3) 666 is the number OF the Beast.

The solution:

1a) 666 is OF the man because he has 666 children (Ezr. 2:13).
2a) 666 is OF the name because it generates the equation that results in 666. In Nehemiah 7:18 Adonikam is said to have 667 children, therefore its deducible the list began with Adonikam’s father who must also be named Adonikam. So the “count� or “calculation� which is “OF� this name is 667-1=666, pointing to the same man Adonikam his son (Neh. 7:18).
3a) 666 is OF the Beast because John said so (Rev. 13:18).

The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six. (Ezr. 2:13) KJV

The children of Adonikam, six hundred threescore and seven. (Neh. 7:18) KJV

Having these two verses point to the same name is like having “two witnesses� establishing the matter (Deut. 19:15).


So symbolism isn't involved. Just as with Samson's riddle, double entendre provides the data that identifies the name.

[liamconnor]

[Replying to post 16 by Alfred Persson]

So if this prophecy is correct, then we need only keep an ear out for someone named Adonikam?

[Alfred Persson]

Its not pointless to me, in fact its genius:

Well we each have our own ideas of what constitutes genius, I suppose.

The Holy Spirit inspired this Riddle to strengthen the faith of the generation alive in the End Time fighting against unprecedented apostasy (2 Th. 2:3-4; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 4:2). and mockery of God’s Word the Bible (Jude 1:18; 1 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:3). Adonikam’s name will be the actual name of the Beast that rises and the solution indicates both Providential Preservation and Inerrancy of Scripture are true, as both 666 and 667 are correct and God prevented copiests from reconciling the number as modern textual critics are wont to do.

From Kings we learn: "the weight of gold which Solomon received every year was 666 talents of gold...." Perhaps it's not such a bad number.

If the Holy Spirit was the author of the riddle then he hasn't strengthened Marco's faith at all. And if the Beast is truly devious, he will by now have read about this solution to the riddle and use another name in the interests of concealment.

Do you really accept all this fanciful intrigue? Has God nothing better to do?

Incorrect, the Beast exalts himself above everything called God (2 Th. 2:3-4) and so would purposely choose Adonikam to be his name, if he doesn't have it at birth.

When everything said about the Beast is considered, its clear he denies God is God, not that God doesn't exist. He blasphemes (insults) "His name" (Deity) "His dwelling" (not above everyone else) and "them that dwell in heaven" as inferior extraterrestrials". (Rev. 13:7) With the Dragon (Satan) the "god of forces" (Dan. 11:36-39) he will claim he defeat God.

The Antichrist is a special kind of atheist, while denying God exists he claims to be above the God of the Bible, who he says is his inferior. "He opposes [the concept of God among humans claiming they were Extraterrestrials] but "exalts himself" above all of them claiming to superior to them all:

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
(2 Thess. 2:4 KJV)

[marco]

The Antichrist is a special kind of atheist,

I find it fascinating that you are so wise in the ways of Satan and what you call the Antichrist. Do atheists of any sort oppose everything that Christ taught, or are we just talking about those atheists who preach hatred of one's neighbour and disaster to the meek and those who mourn?

I think there are many rewarding areas in science and the arts that provide more profitable employ than wasting time on the rubbish that is Revelation. I always thought it was called Revelation ironically because it isn't. So did Luther.