O am in rusa (varianta electronica, de pe netul rusesc).
Noutatea bomba pe care o introduce este ca calugarii atoniti care au inceput miscarea anti-666 (printre care Pr. Staret Paisie) au imprumutat ideea dintr-o sursa protestanta evanghelica: iata un
cu staretul (in greaca) in care parintele pare sa recunoasca "contributia" de inspiratie americana (Mary Stewart Relfe: “The New Money System 666”, 1982, Montgomery, Alabama - in cartea-biografie a Pr. Paisie scrisa (in 1998) de ieromonahul Christodoulos la pag. 91 rezulta ca staretul atonit era intr-adevar in posesia acestei carti).
gasiti un interviu (tot in limba greaca, anul 2000) facut cu PS sa Mitropolitul Meletios de Nikopolis in care dezminteste "mitul 666". (inca mai caut varianta engleza a cartii sale... altfel ma apuc s-o traduc chiar eu din rusa)
gasiti si mentiuni despre PS Meletios), il postez pentru ca este si un rezumat excelent:
There is a huge pseudo-literature regarding the number 666 and barcode and credit cards and the internet (www=666 in Hebrew numbering, 666 is used in internet protocol that is applied in chat rooms all over the world) that was first introduced in some protestant churches in order to justify their marginal theories. These were eschatological protestant churches (
http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n1803.cfm) that were in need of proof that the end of time is at hand. So they used the ignorance of people and their technophobia and they started to make a huge conspiracy theory that at one time has mislead many people to believe them. Unfortunately several orthodox people were also affected.
Now, as for the matter of the number of 666, there is no theological basis that barcodes, credit cards, the internet, civil IDs, are "the seal" that Apostle John refers in Apocalypse.
We must keep in our hearts that there will be images of anti-christ until he actually be in flesh. The "seal" of anti-christ will be his mark on mankind as a sign of power, not as a subconscious use of a hidden symbol.
There only two orthodox Saints that have annotated the book of Apocalypse systematically and they have defined its hidden symbolic meanings.
The first one was St. Andreas, Bishop of Caesarea in Capadocy (5th century). The second one was Arethas, also Bishop of Caesarea (in the end of 6th century). These two interpretations are the basis for any other orthodox translation since then.
According to their interpretation the name "666" means that Apostle John was instructed not to mention the real name of anti-christ by God, because he did not deserved to be mentioned as a creature with a name - being absolutely impersonal/faceless as a human being. So by their interpretation, it is vain to try to resolve its meaning. They say that the true meaning of the anti-christ's name will be literally: "deny". His seal will say: "I deny the maker of the heaven and earth, I deny the baptism, I deny Christian worship, and I believe in you anti-christ".
We should notice that "666" was mentioned as the name/number of anti-christ. In the original text of book of Apocalypse this name/number is calculated to be a human number written as a Greek number: ÷îò'
In the tradition of the Church the meaning of this number is that the anti-crist has a name that deletes the name of Christ. In Greek the name of Christ is ÷ñéóôoò. If we take this word and we cross it of by making a mark of a snake over it, by making the mark of Greek letter î, we take as a result, instead of the Greek word ÷ñéóôoò, the Greek word ÷ î ò that is calculated as the number 666 in Greek arithmetic semantics. It's like anti-christ will make an effort to sponge out entirely everything that reminds of Christ on Earth, and his name will be corresponding to this work of his.
We must have in our hearts that the text of Apocalypse is never used in liturgy. The content of Apocalypse is only pictured in graphic icons on the walls of churches. This is not to be taken in light heart. There is a reason for this omission of vocal reference to Apocalypse in the liturgy. Apocalypse has not only a transcendental meaning but it is also expressed in a transcendental language. There is no way to include this language in everyday normal use, not even at the time of worship.
Nevertheless, Apocalypse is not absent from the Orthodox worship, as the throne of the bishop in the back of the Altar, with the thrones from both sides, the Altar itself, and the Lamp on the altar are also in the Apocalypse (3:2-11,5:6-14,6:9-19). The presence of Holy Relics under the Altar and the candles over the Altar are also to be found in Apocalypse (5:9). The contrapuntal way of chant is also to be found in Apocalypse (4:8-11, 5:9, 6:9).
Let's examine the passage of "666" from the bible :
"Revelation 13:15-20
15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,
17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six."
It is clear that "the mark on the right hand or on the forehead" will be "either the name of the beast or the number of his name". So "the number" is "of his name".
By saying "for the number is that of a man", St. John refers both to the "numeric" value of the number of the name but also to the numerology significance that both Greeks and Jews at St. John's time period were giving to "language" and to "words". According to this context, names of people, or words that describe human and divine realities have a numerical significance that is corresponding to the true meaning of the concepts that the language/words represent.
According to Jewish point of view (
http://jewishappleseed.org/apple/q-a.htm#what-numbers) : "Seventy in the Bible seems to be a number that symbolizes completeness and totality. When the Torah says that Jacob had seventy children, it seems to be saying that he was extremely prolific! The "seventy elders," is a theme which is repeated many times in the Torah. It seems to stand for the gathering of all the wisest people. The suffering of Tyre for seventy years is followed by its complete redemption; as the suffering is total, so will the redemption be total. When Jews study the Bible, they understand that they can read God's words on many different levels. On the simple level of the written word, numbers are just numbers. However, they are also free to look at numbers as symbols for specific ideas, like "judgement" and "totality." When they do this, it adds to their understanding and appreciation of the Holy words."
In this context St. John implies a specific significance in saying "for the number is that of a man". He implies that the number of the name of anti-christ will reveal his non-divine origin; it will reveal the singularity of his nature as a man's nature, in contrast to Christ's God-man nature. This "revelation" (because anti-christ will deceive even the faithful to bow to him) needs wisdom to be apprehended , not the mere calculation of the number!