Religion at CH

[graham]

A little reading just led me to the idea that the seven spirits in Revelation actually represent seven churches in Asia, to whom John wanted reach out to. The Roman Empire was certainly spreading in Asia at the time Revelation was writen, ca 70-100AD and that explanation would fit with the theme of the piece as an inspirational subversive or resistance text.

[sejintenej]

A little reading just led me to the idea that the seven spirits in Revelation actually represent seven churches in Asia, to whom John wanted reach out to. The Roman Empire was certainly spreading in Asia at the time Revelation was writen, ca 70-100AD and that explanation would fit with the theme of the piece as an inspirational subversive or resistance text.

Because of the reference to the number 6*6 in the Revelation of St John the Divine as being the number of him who cannot be named that number is widely avoided. For a long time the authorities witheld the number from car number plates ......
Now we learn that there was a translation error - the number should have been 616. I wonder how the error has affected people - who is dead in room 616 when, in room 666, he or she would have been alive? How many, killed in cars with the number 616 would still be alive if it were numbered 666? We have a Boeing 777 - would it otherwise have been numbered 666?

Peeps need to know.

[jtaylor]

Damn it! I've got a 666 number plate, purchased in recognition of the plate my first car had (OGP 666P).
That first car was owned by Mark, my brother before me....his middle name was Damian. Dad was a vicar, so having a 666 plate outside the vicarage caused many a comment...

Maybe I'll have to find a 616 plate to replace it now....

J

[graham]

It may not have strictly been a translation error. If I recall correctly, the original text was probably 666 but some other texts, including some Hebrew texts have changed this to 616. It is normally accounted for as the difference between spelling NERON CAESER or CAESER NERO. Or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, both versions have been floating around for considerable amounts of time.

[sejintenej]

Damn it! I've got a 666 number plate, purchased in recognition of the plate my first car had (OGP 666P).
That first car was owned by Mark, my brother before me....his middle name was Damian. Dad was a vicar, so having a 666 plate outside the vicarage caused many a comment...

Maybe I'll have to find a 616 plate to replace it now....

J

A colleague at work had the plate BEV 1L and a friend of his had DEV 1L. The latter one was taken back by the DVLA whilst my colleague had routine run-ins with Mr Plod.

[Angela Woodford]

A third possibility is based on Isaiah 11:2 which says, “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” This could possibly explain the seven spirits of God…(1) Spirit of the LORD, (2) Spirit of wisdom, (3) Spirit of understanding, (4) Spirit of counsel, (5) Spirit of power, (6) Spirit of knowledge, (7) Spirit of the fear of the Lord. With all that said, I "lean" towards the first view, that the "seven spirits of God" refer to the Holy Spirit.

Thank you everybody! This Isaiah 11:2 interpretation seems particularly appropriate - to me - thank you Barbara.

Love

Munch