616 or 666: Which is the devil's number?

[RMDY]

I'm in a discussion with a guy who pulled a bunch of 'contradictions' probably from some athiest website and it included the mark of the beast as being 616 instead of 666. He's trying to discredit me preaching Jesus and I need help and understanding about this whole matter. Please help me.

 

[Aesjn]

I used to have it but I deleted her number, sorry.

 

[Deba]

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. Rev 13:18

 

[AngCath]

Some ancient copies of Revelation say 616 instead of 666. That being said, the overwhelming evidence is that 666 is the correct number which is, as just about everyone agrees, code for "Nero Caesar."

 

[RMDY]

Well, I'm locked in a spiritual battle with him with many people watching on the sidelines and some people supporting him, and he dropped this bomb on me, which if I can't defend against, would silence me and discredit Christ amongst many many people. So please, I ask for your prayers and for helping in dealing with this...


This is what he said to me:

"Btw, this is what you listen to. Contradictions of the bible

Who incited David to count the fighting men of Israel?

(a) God did (2 Samuel 24: 1)

(b) Satan did (I Chronicles 2 1:1 )

==================

In that count how many fighting men were found in Israel?

(a) Eight hundred thousand (2 Samuel 24:9 )

(b) One million, one hundred thousand (IChronicles 21:5)

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How many fighting men were found in Judah?

(a) Five hundred thousand (2 Samuel 24:9 )

(b) Four hundred and seventy thousand (I Chronicles 21:5 )


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God sent his prophet to threaten David with how many years of famine?

(a) Seven (2 Samuel 24:13 )

(b) Three (I Chronicles 21:12 )

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How old was Ahaziah when he began to rule over Jerusalem?

(a) Twenty-two (2 Kings 8:26)

(b) Forty-two (2 Chronicles 22:2 )

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How old was Jehoiachin when he became king of Jerusalem?

(a) Eighteen (2 Kings 24:8 )

(b) Eight (2 Chronicles 36:9 )

====================

How long did he rule over Jerusalem?

(a) Three months (2 Kings 24:8 )

(b) Three months and ten days (2 Chronicles 36:9 )

====================

The chief of the mighty men of David lifted up his spear and killed how many men at one time?

(a) Eight hundred (2 Samuel 23:8 )

(b) Three hundred (I Chronicles 11: 11)


====================

When did David bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem? Before defeating the Philistines or after?

(a) After (2 Samuel 5 and 6)

(b) Before (I Chronicles 13 and 14)

======================

How many pairs of clean animals did God tell Noah to take into the Ark?

(a) Two (Genesis 6:19, 20)

(b) Seven (Genesis 7:2). But despite this last instruction only two pairs went into the ark (Genesis 7:8-9)


=====================

When David defeated the King of Zobah, how many horsemen did he capture?

(a) One thousand and seven hundred (2 Samuel 8:4)

(b) Seven thousand (I Chronicles 18:4)

===================

How many stalls for horses did Solomon have?

(a) Forty thousand (I Kings 4:26)

(b) Four thousand (2 chronicles 9:25)

====================

In what year of King Asa's reign did Baasha, King of Israel die?

(a) Twenty-sixth year (I Kings 15:33 - 16:8)

(b) Still alive in the thirty-sixth year (2 Chronicles 16:1)

====================

How many overseers did Solomon appoint for the work of building the temple?

(a) Three thousand six hundred (2 Chronicles 2:2)

(b) Three thousand three hundred (I Kings 5:16)

=====================

Solomon built a facility containing how many baths?

(a) Two thousand (1 Kings 7:26)

(b) Over three thousand (2 Chronicles 4:5)

====================

Of the Israelites who were freed from the Babylonian captivity, how many were the children of Pahrath-Moab?

(a) Two thousand eight hundred and twelve (Ezra 2:6)

(b) Two thousand eight hundred and eighteen (Nehemiah 7:11)


====================

How many were the children of Zattu?

(a) Nine hundred and forty-five (Ezra 2:8)

(b) Eight hundred and forty-five (Nehemiah 7:13)


====================

Did Joshua and the Israelites capture Jerusalem?

(a) Yes (Joshua 10:23, 40)

(b) No (Joshua 15:63)

====================

Jesus descended from which son of David?

(a) Solomon (Matthew 1:6)

(b) Nathan(Luke3:31)

====================

How did Simon Peter find out that Jesus was the Christ?

(a) By a revelation from heaven (Matthew 16:17)

(b) His brother Andrew told him (John 1:41)

=====================

When Jesus met Jairus was Jairus’ daughter already dead?

(a) Yes. Matthew 9:18 quotes him as saying, “My daughter has just died.”

(b) No. Mark 5:23 quotes him as saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death.”

=====================

Did Herod think that Jesus was John the Baptist?

(a) Yes (Matthew 14:2; Mark 6:16)

(b) No (Luke 9:9)

=====================

According to the Gospel of John, what did Jesus say about bearing his own witness?

(a) “If I bear witness to myself, my testimony is not true” (John 5:3 1)

(b) “Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true” (John 8:14)

=====================

Did Judas kiss Jesus?

(a) Yes (Matthew 26:48-50)

(b) No. Judas could not get close enough to Jesus to kiss him (John 18:3-12)

=====================

Did Jesus bear his own cross?

(a) Yes (John 19:17)

(b) No (Matthew 27:31-32)

=====================

(a) Yes(Matthew27:50-5 1;MarklS:37-38)

(b) No. After the curtain was torn, then Jesus crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last (Luke 23:45-46)

=====================

Did Jesus say anything secretly?

(a) No. “I have said nothing secretly” (John 18:20)

(b) Yes. “He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything” (Mark 4:34). The disciples asked him “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given” (Matthew 13: 1 0-11)

=====================

Where was Jesus at the sixth hour on the day of the crucifixion?

(a) On the cross (Mark 15:23)

(b) In Pilate’s court (John 19:14)

====================

What was the exact wording on the cross?

(a) “This is Jesus the King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:37)

(b) “The King of the Jews” (Mark 15:26)

© “This is the King of the Jews” (Luke 23:38)

(d) “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (John 19:19)

====================

Did Herod want to kill John the Baptist?

(a) Yes (Matthew 14:5)

(b) No. It was Herodias, the wife of Herod who wanted to kill him. But Herod knew that he was a righteous man and kept him safe (Mark 6:20)

====================

Who was the tenth disciple of Jesus in the list of twelve?

(a) Thaddaeus (Matthew 10: 1-4; Mark 3:13 -19)

(b) Judas son of James is the corresponding name in Luke’s gospel (Luke 6:12-16)

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(a) Adam was told that if and when he eats the forbidden fruit he would die the same day (Genesis 2:17)

(b) Adam ate the fruit and went on to live to a ripe old age of 930 years (Genesis 5:5)

===================

(a) God decided that the life-span of humans will be limited to 120 years (Genesis 6:3)

(b) Many people born after that lived longer than 120. Arpachshad lived 438 years. His son Shelah lived 433 years. His son Eber lived 464 years, etc. (Genesis 11:12-16)

===================

Would you like me to keep going? I have plenty more where that came from."

 

[PaladinValer]

Oh for crying out bloody loud.

If you really, truly, and honestly believe that you are struggling with "Satan with people" because of that so-called "bomb," then we have a problem.

The Bible isn't a literalist manifesto. Its written revelation, full of esoteric wisdom; some easy and some not.

Satan isn't behind anything in what you post. Its people. Stop giving the evil one credit when he deserves none. If anyone is behind those passages, it is God Himself. After all, He's the one who inspired their creation.

Those are not "bombs;" they are contradictions. Worthless ones at that, because they get all the Biblical literalists all in a bind and prevent them from getting what is actually the real gist of those passages.

You don't need prayers for deliverance. You need to stop reading the Bible with a literalist mindset and start learning about the Bible so that you can read it with a multitude of mindsets.

 

[Alizera]

Why do you care about what this other person believes in the first place?

 

[PaladinValer]

Why do you care about what this other person believes in the first place?

I have a serious issue with anyone who screams "Satan" about issues of Biblical contradiction and people pointing them out. It doesn't behoove the Church or Christianity in general when we allow fellow adherents to imply a "Satanic struggle" with people who point out that, under a literalist-only interpretation of the Holy Book, the Bible contradicts itself.

 

[AngCath]

My response to those contradictions is that yes, the Bible contains factual contradictions, historical errors, and refers to things we simply do not know about. These are all problems when we have a library of books written over a 1000 year period in multiple languages BY HAND.
I second what PV recommends, get a good annotated study Bible (one of the variety of NRSV annotated preferably) and/or a good commentary, talk to your priest, and learn about the Bible and the people who produced, compiled, edited, and transmitted the Biblical texts over time.
Something you might look into is whether EFM (Education for Ministry) is active where you live - it does two years of Biblical study on par with a seminary education and is designed specifically for creating an educated laity.
As Anglicans we believe the Bible contains all things necessary for salvation. We do not believe that this means it is inerrant regarding history, science, etc.

 

[RMDY]

I have a serious issue with anyone who screams "Satan" about issues of Biblical contradiction and people pointing them out. It doesn't behoove the Church or Christianity in general when we allow fellow adherents to imply a "Satanic struggle" with people who point out that, under a literalist-only interpretation of the Holy Book, the Bible contradicts itself.

Actually, I didn't say whether or not Satan had to do with my struggle.

I just said a guy pulled a bunch of quotes in an attempt to silence me and I called this a spiritual battle, because it has to do with spirituality. There were other things he was trying to do, such as saying the bible has changed over time (by invoking an english translation rather than a greek). And so forth. I am confident that I will be able to make a defense against him and have looked over all the quotes he took from the N.T. and I am able to deal with those.

 

[Jazmyn]

Cut & paste arguments deserve cut & paste responses.
Skeptics Annotated Bible: Index of 'alleged' Contradictions
Annotated Skeptic's Annotated Bible
or tell him to do a search in here:
Skeptic's Annotated Bible Refuted