A Date
A clue from Daniel 9:2 where number refers to years. History shows Islam getting ready to attack Constantinople in the year 666. Based on 44 BC, 666 in the Julian calendar is 622 in the Gregorian calendar (started in 1582) and the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Gibbon also had a problem with dates.
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A Thousand Years
A place to start. There is only one thousand year empire and it was a Christian one where they reigned with Christ. The Byzantine Empire. This is where you start. Will it fit with the other numbers: 666, ten horns, seven heads, and five are fallen???? The “ten horns” connect Daniel and the word number.
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A Number
A connection with prophecy. Different interpretations have led to over 60 different English bible translations. They all seem to agree on numbers. They all agree on a thousand years, 666, ten horns, seven heads, and five are fallen. Numbers can be used to connect history with prophecy which is the only way to verify the fulfillment of prophecy.
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A Sea of Marmara
A Greek fire on the Sea of Marmara, which was like a sheet of glass is a good fit with “a sea of glass mingled with fire”. Constantinople used Greek fire on the Sea of Marmara against the Islamic attack. The year was 666. Historians will never agree on this date but Gibbon got real close to it.
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A Start
A beginning. A Date. A year. Nearly every product sold today has a date. Its origin. On your mark, get set, go. A number to calculate or count. It must have meaning. A number has no meaning unless it is attached to something like a calendar. Which calendar? We have so many to choose from. Where do you begin? With history.
A Julian Calendar
A Hijri marked the beginning of Islam in 622 of the Gregorian calendar which didn’t start until 1582. Before that, the Julian calendar was in effect. The common year, 44 BC, has the Hijri in 666 of the Julian calendar. Most bible translations calculate this number. A sea of glass mingled with fire is an interesting fit.
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A Calculation
A significant difference. Fifteen English bibles count the number 666. Twenty eight calculate it. Too bad they don’t agree. It forces us to choose who got it right. How do you count a number? Calculating a number makes more sense especially if you are dealing with a date and different calendars. Our best clue is Daniel referring to number of years. We have to consider whether or not the year 666 fits with the other numbers.
A Problem with Dates
A history of Rome by Gibbon. Go ahead, pick an Islamic calendar converter and put 46 in it. You get 666. 46 is the number Gibbon used. 46 years after the Hijri year Constantinople was attacked. A date is a mark. Gibbon notes the problems with dates. There are other ways to get to 666. Stay tuned.
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A Year
A date, a beginning, a start, a mark. Nearly every product sold today has a date marking its beginning. The word “number” in Daniel refers to years. Historians are good at ignoring what may have happened in the year 666 but we do know Islam was getting ready to attack Constantinople about that time.
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A Beginning
A year or date. I started with the most famous number 666. In Daniel 9:2 number refers to years. From Wikipedia AD 666 we find the Byzantine Empire a Christian empire that would last a thousand years. What we don’t find is they were about to be attacked by a new religion, Islam. A closer look is warranted.
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