The Islamic 666 Revisited

The Islamic 666 Revisited By [email protected]

At present many people are studying about how Islam may fulfill the prophecies over the Fourth Beast of Daniel, as well as at least one of the beasts of the Book of Revelation. In this article, we will see evidence that Islam may fulfill at least one aspect of the 666 as well. Even though there is a great deal of evidence to support the idea that Islam may be the Fourth Beast, we cannot say conclusively that Islam is the fulfillment of all of the beasts of the Book of the Revelation, or that Islam is the only fulfillment of  the 666. Other suggested fulfillments of the 666 include barcodes and the Internet, and other suggested fulfillments of the beasts of Revelation include the Catholic Church and the United Nations. Additionally, there are questions about the possibility of a secret link between Islam, the Catholic Church and the United Nations. There is much evidence to support all of these theories, and only time will tell which of these theories is correct. While it seems intelligent to be educated and aware of how Islam may fulfill the prophecies in Daniel and Revelation, we also need to be careful not to be ‘blown about by every wind of  doctrine,’ but to remain open to the possibility that YHWH may not have shown us everything as of yet. Although it may have a great deal of merit, the Islamic 666 theory is not without some problems. Chief among these problems is that the face value of the text calls for the beast to be a man (not a religion), whose ‘number’ is 666.

Gilyana (Revelation) 13:18  18 “Here is wisdom: Let the one having reason count the  number of the Beast, for it is the number of a man, and its  number is 666.” 

The Aramaic Peshitta spells out the 666 in longhand, “six hundred and sixty six” (‫)ומספרו שש מרות וששים ושש‬.

Here is wisdom. To whom there is reason compute number of the beast, because number of man is, and number six hundred and sixty six.

‫כאן היא החכמה מי שיש לו תבונה‬ ‫יחשב את מספר חית הטרף כי מספר‬ ‫של אדם הוא ומספרו שש מרות‬ ‫וששים ושש‬ .

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The Peshitta did not originally contain the books of 2 nd Peter, 2nd John, 3rd John, or Revelation, and therefore the Book of Revelation was ‘backwards translated’ from the Greek. Therefore, it is possible that the original spelling of the 666 may may not have been in longhand, but may have been in gematria (numerical symbolism).

The Greek Text Some of the Greek texts do not spell out the 666 longhand, but instead represent the numerical value 666 using gematria. Gematria is a numerical coding system by which the letters of certain alphabets are assigned numerical values. Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek all use gematria.

Reading from left to right, the first Greek letter, χ (pronounced “chi”) has a numerical value of 600. The middle Greek letter, ξ, is pronounced “xi”, and it has a numerical value of 60. The third Greek letter, ς, is pronounced “stigma”. Although its numerical value has changed since the first century, back in the first century, the stigma had a numerical value of 6. We might also note that the stigma has a literal meaning of  “scar, mark, or badge of service”. The numerical sum, then, of  Χξς, is 600 + 60 +6 = 666. Proponents of a Greek inspiration point out that Yochanan (John) wrote the Book of the Revelation on the Island of Patmos.

Gilyana (Revelation) 1:9  9 I, Yochanan, both your brother and companion in the  tribulation and kingdom and patience of Yeshua Messiah, was  on the island that is called Patmos for the word of Elohim and  for the testimony of Yeshua Messiah.

Back in the first century, the lingua franca (everyday language) of Patmos was Greek. Since Yochanan was sent to minister on Patmos, it seems reasonable that Yochanan would have both read and written at least some Greek. However, it seems unlikely that the Book of Revelation was inspired in Greek, since the Revelation is written in a grammar that is correct in Hebrew and/or Aramaic, but which is highly grammatically incorrect in Greek. What seems more likely is that the Greek text is a translation of a Hebrew or Aramaic original.

The Bismallah (the Name of Allah) The Islamic 666 hypothesis tells us that Yochanan was not intending to record the literal number 666 in Greek ( Χξς), but that he was attempting to record a heavenly vision that he saw in Arabic. According to the Islamic 666 theory, the image that Yochanan was shown was the ‘Bismallah’ (the “Name of Allah”), shown below.

If we flip the Bismallah (the Name of Allah) diagonally, note the similarity to the middle character (xi) of the hand-written Codex Vaticanus, which is believed to be the oldest known Greek manuscript, dated circa 350 CE. The line above the xi (under the words “A.D. 350”) in the Codex Vaticanus is allegedly not an underline, but is part of the hand-written text. According to the Islamic 666 hypothesis, while the original inscription was in Arabic, since these particular  Islamic and Greek letters resemble each other, the image was eventually recorded using Greek letters, along with some extra symbols.

In Islam, crossed swords are commonly used to denote conquest. Therefore, if  we add crossed swords to the left of the middle character (xi), and remember that the stigma on the right has the meaning of ‘mark,’ we get crossed swords, the Name of Allah, and the word ‘mark’ ( Χξς).

ς

(mark)

One can easily see the similarities between the crossed swords, the Name of  Allah (flipped) and the stigma, compared with the image recorded in the Codex Vaticanus.

According to the Islamic 666 theory, the Greek letters do not have to be identical to the Arabic Bismallah. That is because (according to the theory) Yochanan originally recorded the Bismallah as a drawing of what he saw in the vision (and perhaps he was aware that it was in Arabic, and perhaps he was not). The Arabic letters were then put over into Greek at the same time the Hebrew and/or  Aramaic manuscripts were put over into Greek. According to Revelation 13:18, the Mark of the Beast is supposed to be found both on the head, and on the right hand. Below is a picture of a Hamas headband. Islamic jihadists typically wear these kinds of Bismallah (‘Name of  Allah’) bands both on their foreheads, and on their right arms. This would be significant, as the Hebrew word ‘yad’ ( ‫יד‬ַ ) means both ‘hand’ and ‘arm’.

One can also see these marks ( Χξς) in the Chechin (Islamic) revolutionary flag, here flipped diagonally.

Departing from the Text There is much to recommend the Islamic Beast hypothesis. The main problem with the Islamic 666 hypothesis, however, remains that it asks us to depart from the face value of the passage, which tells us that the number of the Beast is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

Gilyana (Revelation) 13:17-18  17 “and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the  mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom: Let the one having reason count the  number of the Beast, for it is the number of a man, and its  number is 666.” 

If the number 666 is actually a picture that Yochanan saw in a vision and recorded (whether in Arabic or in Greek), it still does not accord with the face value of the passage.

Gilyana (Revelation) 13:18  18 Here is wisdom: Let the one having reason count the  number of the Beast, for it is the number of a man, and its  number is [insert image].” 

How do we count the number of an image? We cannot. That part of the Islamic 666 hypothesis does not seem to make sense. Is the ‘wisdom’ to know that we are to calculate the gematria of the Bismallah? That is circular reasoning. If we calculate the gematria of the Bismallah, we get the Bismallah. By that line of reasoning, we could insert anything (including a Greek 666, or a Roman papacy), and it would seem to prove itself. Nonetheless, we are left with a striking similarity between the two images.

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ς

(mark)