Archaeologists believed, theres also a very practical reason why John chose Megiddo as his battle site. In his time, it was the base for one of the most brutal armies in the eastern Mediterranean, the Romans sixth legion. We know that the Romans located their camp here, the camp for the sixth legion, then continuing the job that ancient Megiddo always did, throughout history, protecting the area, controlling the post, controlling the traders. The sixth legion were known for their brutality and ruthlessness in battle. They would have abused all the known names that we know the Romans did against subduing populations, crucifying them. They crucified people all the way from the coast to Jerusalem. So where better to place a battle between the forces of good and evil than at the headquarters of an army whose reputation cause fear across the empire. John realized that any major battle fought for control of this region or control of the world is going to have to unfold Megiddo. It had been so crucial in previous battles, from his point of view there was no reason to suppose that it wouldnt be crucial in upcoming battles. If Johns aim in Revelation is not to predict the end of the world but to attack the Roman empire using contemporary events and ancient apocalytic tradition, then perhaps we can look differently at the most famous prophecy of all, 666, the number of the beast. If the beast means the emperor, then what did John mean by its number. The ancient world loved puzzles, the common trick was to use numbers to disguise a name. In the Greek and Hebrew alphabets every letter had a corresponding number, so if you added up the total value of the letters in your name, you had a numerical code. But for John this game is deadly serious, he gives the puzzle in reverse, he gives the number and advise his audience to work back to the name. He writes in Revelation, Let him who has understanding, calculate the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six. For historians, the answer seems obvious. Now the best explanation is that John is thinking of the emperor Nero, and if you write the name Nero Caesar in the Hebrew alphabet, they will end up 666. The 666 seems to be an ancient code linking the emperor Nero with the number of the beast. But a collection of recently deciphered documents has caused doubt on whether 666 is really the number of the beast afterall. One hundred years ago, a group of British archaelogists digging in an ancient Egyptian city made a fascinating discovery, not buried treasure but waste paper, in a rubbish pit thirty feet deep. This vast hoard was brought back to Oxford where ever since has been cleaned, catalogued and translated. Then in 1999, identified from fragments was a Third-century extract from the book of Revelation. Closer examination revealed that the worlds infamous number was not what it seemed, the number here clearly state 616 as the number of the beast. If the number of the beast is 616, then it doesnt add up to Nero. It suggests that Johns real target was someone else altogether. By applying the same rules of the number game a new figure emerges, another Roman emperor. Caligula was Emperor from 37 A.D. to 41 A.D., and Caligula in fact is a nickname, his proper name was Gaius. Now if you take Gaius Caesar and change it into Greek letters we get Gaius Kaisar, given a numerical value to each of the letters of that name we end up with 284 for Gaius and for Kaisar, 332 so that gives us 616. The reason why John would see Caligula as the beast lies in the controversial decision made by the Emperor during his short reign. Caligula ordered a statue of himself to be put in the Temple of Jerusalem. This was a blasphemy to the Jews because the temple was dedicated to the worship of their One true God. So if Revelation isnt a prophecy about the end of the world but an attack on Rome, where does that leave Johns visions. Few scholars deny that John had visions. Indeed visionary experiences are so common in other faith, but in Johns case they could have served to inspire his flock. Johns vision was within a Christian tradition but it does seem to have many features that parallel that of Shamans to other cultures. A Shaman is somebody who can go into a controlled trance, who is able to travel to other worlds or other realms in order to recieve a message and then return in order to give that message or to heal somebody. And John, like shamans in many cultures, has a message which he communicates to others, it isnt something for him alone, its a message for the community.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 02:01:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015