ABC Science Online: Why 666 is a devil of a day

Today one of my friend asked me, "what date is today?". I said, "it's 6th June". Then my friend said, " you know today is devil's day & it's very bad day". I told my friend, " do not worry, it's just belief of few christians & some other peoples as well". "Everyday is good. It all depends on how live your day", I said. I was just reading ABC Science Online and found an article on 666.. So thought of sharing with all.
Excerpts from ABC Science Online:


Today is the sixth day of the sixth month of the year 2006. Boil it down and you've got 666, the number of the beast according to the Bible's book of Revelation, which prophecies the end of the world.

"...The mythology of 666 goes back to chapter 13 in Revelation, the apocalyptic final book of the New Testament, which states "Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast ... his number is six hundred threescore and six"...."

"...Macquarie University's Professor Max Coltheart, an Australian cognitive neuropsychologist, says being superstitious about 666 doesn't necessarily add up to a delusion...."

"...."If you believe something that people around you don't believe in, and there's no evidence for it, that's a good working definition of delusion," he says.

"If it's in the Bible someone might call that evidence."

Six is the first perfect number (Image: iStockphoto)
Associate professor of anthropology Phillips Stevens of the University at Buffalo in New York, says fears of 666 are actually based on a misinterpretation of the Bible.

He says the beast referred to in chapter 13 isn't Satan but several entities.

"Biblical scholars have pointed out there are several beasts in chapter 13 and elsewhere, and they all refer variously to Rome, Roman emperors and Roman cults of God and emperor worship," he says.

"John of Patmos ... was writing to other persecuted Christians in code."..."

Perfect numbers

Six also has significance because it is the first perfect number, says Bigelow.

Perfect numbers, which are rare, are the sum of their factors, for example, 6 = 1 + 2 + 3 and it can be divided by one, two and three.

The next perfect numbers are 28 (1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14), 496 and 8128.

The last time the 666 combination occurred was in 1666, the year of the Great Fire of London.

However, it also marked the year in which Sir Isaac Newton published his Law of Gravity, leading it to be dubbed the Annus mirabilis.

Wanna read it completely? click here.

(Excerpts drawn from: www.abc.net.au)