Who and What is the Devil. | Teen Ink

Who and What is the Devil.

December 8, 2009
By Urbs2013 BRONZE, Not Listed, New York
Urbs2013 BRONZE, Not Listed, New York
4 articles 2 photos 62 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things."


For years, people have been talking about 666, the supposed number of the beast. However, due to some theories that the beast refers to Nero, one of the emperors of Rome, there have been many debates whether this is the true number. Other theories have evolved, accusing other people, like the pope, and Ozzy Osbourne.

Nero’s full name, Nero Caesar, when written in Hebrew, (Nron Qsr), using a system called Gematria, or number values for each letter, spells out 666. However, in the Greek spelling (Nro Qsr) the Gematric spelling forms 616. Further evidence suggests that this Hebrew Gematria rises from a possible conversion to Judaism. This raises the question. Is it a scribe’s error, or is it a simple discrepancy yet to be unfolded by time? I personally believe, that it is both. Perhaps, the scribe made an error that sparked this discrepancy, which has since then, spiraled outwards. Once this formula was explained, it was then applied to the Pope, a quite unlikely suspect.

The pope, who claims to be “Vicarius Filii Dei” or “A Substitute for God” may also have some significance in this matter. When translating Vicarius Filii Dei, a Latin phrase into Gematria, the value comes out to 666, as many of the letters in the title do not have a numerical value. Some people are saying that there is overwhelming evidence towards this claim, but it has yet to be seen, and the Vatican refuses to admit that the title is actually used.

Despite the Vatican’s best efforts, official Papal documents use the phrase, “I, Vicarius Filii Dei”. Is this incriminating, or is it simply a long string of mistakes and selective mis-information? That is for you to decide, and for you alone.

The idea that the Pope’s three tiered tiara has the words, Vicarius Filii Dei, is currently on thin ice, as no one has officially seen the words. The Vatican refuses to show the tiara, and has only submitted a drawing for inspection by the outside world, and drawings can be quite easily fudged.

As an aside, there have been thousands of conspiracy theories about who is the antichrist, including some ludicrous claims like Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama, Pete Wentz, and Al Gore, Ozzy Osbourne, George lucas, Pink, atheists, and some not so crazy ones. These include Marilyn Manson, Kurt Cobain, and Stan Lee, the creator of Marvel.

From this evidence, or lack thereof, one cannot incriminate anyone as the anti-christ, or determine the true number of the beast. Therefore, it must be said, without further investigation, this must be put on hold.


The author's comments:
I have always been interested in conspiracy theories, and this story is no exception. This purely subjective, and not meant to insult anyone or any group.

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This article has 27 comments.


hilhouston said...
on Dec. 15 2009 at 12:01 pm
Excellent and cool piece. This was fun to read.

Urbsfan said...
on Dec. 15 2009 at 10:34 am
Yeah, Urbs you always pick hot topics. I enjoyed reading this and learned things I had no idea about. Good job.

MikePC said...
on Dec. 15 2009 at 10:32 am
An interesting take on a long, hotly debated question. I think the whole issue is ridiculous, personally, but it's cool to read about.

david2010 said...
on Dec. 15 2009 at 10:21 am
This concept of the anti- christ in literature and history has a long line of commentary. I had to research it for a paper at one point. The article invites interesting dialogue. Good job.

pjw2010 said...
on Dec. 15 2009 at 10:13 am
This concept of the anti- christ has captured the imaginations of writers, religionists, and historians for many years. It's unusual to see a high school student writing about it. I think this is a great start to an intersting discussion.

wink2011 said...
on Dec. 15 2009 at 10:10 am
Well this is certainly intersting. You on't see articles about topics like this everyday. I enjoyed it.