The explicit biblical numbers 666 and 1260

These numbers occur primarily in the Bible's final Book, viz The Revelation (of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John; who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw - vv 1-2). Clearly, therefore, both numbers are of divine significance.

The first, 666, is presented as key to the riddle of Rev.13:18; as a number per se it is found to have exceptional properties; it also has powerful links with the Bible's first verse, Genesis 1:1.

The second, 1260, refers to a harrowing period of time in days - presented, intriguingly, first as such (Rv.12:6), then as "a time, times, and half a time" (Rv.12:14; also Dn.12:7!), ie one plus two plus a half years, and again as 42 months (Rv.13:5) - the two latter clearly relating to a 360-day year and 30-day month. What can possibly lie behind the emphasis provided by this interesting variety of expression?

These numbers occur in close proximity; each has a high-profile; it therefore appears reasonable to assume that they have been planted and magnified for some specific purpose. But what can this be?

VJ: 2002-01-29