616, not 666

According to a recent story in Canada's National Post, recent research has revealed that the number initially associated with Satan was 616, not 666 [thanks to Alex for the link].

...a recently deciphered ancient biblical text revealed that 666 is not the fabled Number of the Beast after all.

A fragment from the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament, dating to the Third century, gives the more mundane 616 as the mark of the Antichrist.

Ellen Aitken, a professor of early Christian history at McGill University, said the discovery appears to spell the end of 666 as the devil's prime number.

I find this new information very compelling. I was raised in Muskegon, Michigan, where the area code is 616. My high school had the highest drop-out rate in the nation when I was there. The smells from the paper mill and foundries were putrid, and the local acid-rain fall-out from the foundries made quick work of automobile paint finishes.

Aside from the beautiful beaches and our friends and families, many of us thought of the place as a living hell.