Why did I think there might be something to that? The backstory is that the ancient Sumerians and Babylonians used a number system based on 360, in turn based on the approximate number of days in a year. 360 happens to be very easy to work with mathematically, much more than 365/366. It is evenly divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 — every single digit but the number 7 — as well as many common multi-digit numbers (10, 12, 15, …). A number system built on 360 has many practical uses in construction, science, astronomy, and probably astrology. It is because of the ancients’ use of 360 that today we have 360 degrees in a circle, 60 minutes in an hour, etc.

Trivia note #1: The number 360 happens to be the sum of 60 x 6. Those dimensions, 60 x 6, are the dimensions of the giant idol that Nebuchadnezzar created (Daniel 3:1). So in the book of Daniel we find one possible intersection with the Babylonian number 360 and its relation to the number 6.

Trivia note #2: The numbers 6 and 36 have intriguing relationships, which may very well have been known to the Babylonians. The number 36 is 6 × 6; add up 1 to 36, you get 666. Of course, we find 666 in the book of Revelation, which is the New Testament companion to the Old Testament book of Daniel. That was interesting, but I didn’t know what to make of it.

Seventh-day Adventists, and others, have traditionally looked to numbering systems (gematria) to find a value of a name that would equal 666. Notably, Uriah Smith used this method in the book Daniel and the Revelation, based on numbering a Latin title of the pope, “Vicarius Filii Dei.” This has become the traditional Adventist view. However, I was surprised when I learned that Ellen White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, never wrote about the meaning of 666, even though she was a contemporary of Uriah Smith.

Because of the absence of information in Ellen White’s writings, which I believe to be inspired, I have tried to keep an open mind on this subject. Others have noted that the papal title in question seems to lack much support, while proponents of this theory have offered counter-evidence (see Wikipedia; a long article on Aloha.net; an article by Robert Correia; and examples of various other numbering systems that yield 666).

I recently purchased a book, Sacred Number, by Miranda Lundy. It’s part of a series produced by Wooden Books, which typically I’ve found inspiring because of my interest in art and mathematics. This particular volume contains lots of useful and interesting observations, if you don’t mind the discussion of pagan, occult, and new age beliefs. Although I didn’t find it as useful as the other books in the series, on the very last page there was a table of various number series. Along with Fibonacci, there were lists of triangulars, rectangulars, and many more. What caught my eye were the final numbers, the 36th numbers, in the triangular and rectangular number series: 666 (triangular of 36) and 1260 (rectangular of 36).

Obviously 666 and 1260 would stand out to anyone familiar with Bible prophecy, and the book of Revelation in particular.

Perhaps I’m going to disappoint you by telling you I still don’t know what significance, if any, this has. But if you are curious, there is a chart of how triangulars and rectangulars are calculated here. Basically with a triangular series, you are building a pyramid, and the triangular value of n is the number of building blocks in the pyramid when the base is n blocks wide. With a rectangular you are building a block where the height is always one block more than the width; the rectangular value of n is the number of blocks in the building, based on the base which is n blocks wide. I worked out the formulas myself (you ought to be proud, it took me a while), and here they are:

The triangular of n = n × (n + 1) ÷ 2

So in this case, the triangular of 36 is calculated as 36 × 37 (= 1332) ÷ 2 = 666. Oddly enough, 1332 is close to another prophetic number, 1335 (Daniel 12).

The rectangular of n = n × (n − 1)

Thus the rectangular of 36 is calculated as 36 × 35 = 1260. Note: Other sources define this series essentially as n = n × (n + 1). In that case, 1260 is the rectangular of 35, not 36.

So there you have it — no conclusions, but something to ponder on!

PS: One last trivia item: Computer systems using Base 36 (36 numerals, instead of 10) use the numbers 0 through 9, and then the letters A through Z. It just so happens that our standard numbers and alphabet have a total of 36 characters!

* * *

My flight departed on Sunday, April 20. It was a long flight, but mostly uneventful. I traveled from a regional airport in Marion on a small plane (18 seats or so), to St. Louis where I caught a larger plane (an MD-80, I think) to Atlanta, where I caught an even larger plane (a 767 I think) to Copenhagen. I managed to sleep quite a bit, and this seemed to help me adjust to the time zone change, which was 7 hours.

Flying over Denmark was quite interesting. Looking down I could see all these little farms, bunched together in oddly-angled shapes, not like the large one-mile square tiles you may see in the western U.S., but not too different perhaps than the smaller farms in New England. Denmark and Sweden are both covered in farmland.

My flight arrived in Copenhagen the next morning, Monday, April 21. Theresa Nybo was there to meet me at the airport. She had brought her dog Max along, and this was my first time meeting him. He is a big fluffy white dog (there is a picture of him below). After a little shopping in Malmö, we were on our way to LifeStyleTV.

I have several longtime friends working at LifeStyleTV: Claus and Theresa Nybo, Daniel and Antonella Pedley, and Richard and Roxana Ramont. It was great to see all of them again. It was also neat to see their facilities — which are extremely modest compared to what we have at 3ABN. Still, what they do with what they have is quite amazing.

Daniel at his workstation:

Claus:

The LifeStyleTV master control:

Their cool OS X based server rack:

Dan and Jennica:

Torleif:

Huldah:

Andrea:

Max — always ready to play:

The guys’ “dorm” — where I stayed:

My room:

A couple times a day I walked this 10-15 minute journey from the dorm to the LifeStyleTV center (the Nybos’ home):

On Tuesday I worked in the Nybos’ garden, mulching the berry bushes and other things. I miss the garden I had at my previous residence, so it was a fine way to spend the morning. Later I went with a group to a place called the Hallesberg Stones. These are statues and carved stones created in the 1800s by a Swedish farmer. One set of stones contains writing and pictures related to the Bible, including Old Testament chronology, the Fall, and prophetic symbols with interpretations. LifeStyleTV was planning to use these as a springboard for doctrinal presentations.

The badly eroded mountain of sculpture at the Hallesberg farm:

This stone depicts Bible chronology:

This one depicts the Fall:

This one shows the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension:

This one is full of prophetic symbols — the Lamb on Mount Zion, the King on the white horse, the woman riding the beast — along with dates and explanations:

A stone face:

On Wednesday I led morning worship for the group, in which I talked about how God has led all types of people into the unity of the Adventist message, and how that unity in the truth is so important for a ministry such as LifeStyleTV. Later Theresa took me to look at a castle in the area. Later I helped prepare lunch (tofu squares with tartar sauce), which I didn’t get to eat. Instead, I had lunch with the Pedleys. Their children are so cute!

A Swedish castle — this one remains a private residence:

The Pedleys:

Thursday I flew to Stockholm, where I met up with my good friend Ellen. That evening we visited the Vasa Museum, where a large warship that was raised from where it sank, is on display. It was really fascinating. Later we walked around the downtown area called Gamla Stan, ate out at a Korean restaurant, and had some sorbet and oat-based “ice cream” for dessert. On the way back we stopped by the Royal Palace. I spent the night at the church headquarters, in an apartment shared by a new friend, Ronnie.

A church in Stockholm:

The warship at the Vasa Museum (photo: Ellen Kim):

Ellen:

One of the many canals in Stockholm — it’s built on a series of islands (photo: Ellen Kim):

Ellen and me:

A street:

Moi (photo: Ellen Kim):

On Friday Ellen and I visited some shops in the morning, and then I was on my way back to Malmö. But the bus that was taking me to the airport kept crashing! Computer crashing, that is. The monitors were locked in an endless cycle of Windows XP booting and crashing with an error message. Tsk, tsk. If only they had Mac OS X.

Windows XP: Where do you want to go today?

Back in Malmö, I enjoyed a tasty haystack lunch at the church. Then I joined other workers from LifeStyleTV handing out fliers in the community, inviting them to an upcoming event with Louis Torres. Later, back at the Nybos’ home, we had a tasty fruit smoothie supper. And then we discussed Bible verses related to baptism, which Claus was gathering for his sermon the next day in Malmö.

Saturday morning found us at the Malmö church. The program was good. Theresa interpreted the sermon in English for several of us. After the very nice fellowship lunch, I joined the Ramonts and Pedleys for a walk in the park with their families and some friends. Later, back at LifeStyleTV, we had a birthday supper for Andrea, and then played a fun game, “Four on the Couch,” that I had never played before (the guys won, haha!).

On Sunday the Nybos took me for a little drive to the beach. On the way we saw a sheepdog herding competition. It was quite fascinating to watch. The dogs did such a good job, but the sheep were just a little too stubborn. We had a great time at the beach. The Nybos’ dog Max met some new friends. It was a beautiful beach, with white sand. There were swans out swimming on the water.

Sheepdog competition (the dog is crouched to the right of the sheep pen):

Another Swedish castle:

I thought this was funny — the “Badhotell” (it actually translates to the “bath hotel” — it’s near the beach):

Claus and Theresa, with Max:

The beach is lined with these concrete bunkers from WWII:

White sand:

A creek flowing into the ocean:

Flowers at the beach:

Later I traveled with some of the other workers at LifeStyleTV back to Malmö. Jonathan, Jennica, and Huldah gave me a tour around the city. In the evening a couple of us watched a David Asscherick training video that had been taped at the Bible Institute in Norway. This was my last full day in Sweden.

Banner at the church advertising the meetings with Louis Torres:

Jonathan, Jennica, and Huldah enjoying their falafels:

The Turning Tower in Malmö:

This is a small dam in a park area; the small black things are faucets — quite clever:

On Monday I took a bus, and then a train, which took me to the airport in Copenhagen. With the benefit of the reverse time zone changes, I arrived home the same day, at around 9:00 pm. It was great to be home again!