They always cautioned - "Don't believe everything you read..."

Bye-Bye Beast?

It’s a tiny fragment of papyrus, estimated at 1,500 years old, written in Greek, and a portion of the New Testament book of Revelations. This oldest known text of Revelation puts the number of the beast at 616. The long favorite code for evil, 666, is probably a translation error. Whether that’s a cause for celebration (“Yehaa! There ain’t no 666 devil beast!”) or despair (“Drat, got to reprint those heavy metal t-shirts…”) is a matter of choice. The choice determines whether such a demon is real or not.

I suppose this is another reinforcement for caution regarding translations of translations for information, especially for “Truth.” Charles Fillmore* had the best idea – go directly to Headquarters for answers and guidance. That is certainly a sensible way to avoid the pitfalls of translations of translations – relying on others for your information and decisions.

Somehow 616 just doesn’t seem as, well, monstrous as the venerable 666 (which upside down is 999.) It’s not the number or the symbol that is “evil” it’s the energy focused on it. We can create monsters out of anything. It’s easy to create a monster – diminish the presence of the Light of God. Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness doesn’t eat light. A single candle illuminates a great area of darkness. A shadow can take forms, move, and do all sorts of nifty stuff – but it is only a shadow, the result of something blocking (interfering) the light. We sometimes spend a great deal of time and energy being spooked by shadows. How much easier it is to bask in the Light.

What we think about, give our energy to, is what we create. Give 666 a lot of energy, and it’s as good a beast as 616. Or, to hell with the beast, and go straight to Headquarters!

*Charles and Myrtle Fillmore were the co-founders of the Unity School of Christianity, the Daily Word, and Silent Unity.