From: "Terry Blanton"
I *did* find it interesting that the bad guy (according to Hebrew Gematria) went from Nero to Caligulia.
Yes. But that is most of the problem with "616" being the substitue for 666, or so it would seem. Nero makes more sense, historically. Caligula reigned only 3 years and never really had a chance to persecute Christians as there were none ! at least not in Rome and going by that name yet - and he probably never would have even heard of the few dozen or hundred in Turkey (Asia minor) - while Nero was notorious for same, but that was probably exaggerated, as the timing was not right for him either. Mostly both of them killed everyone they didn't like, no matter why.
Gaius "Caligula" died in the year 41, at an early age, and though all agree that he possessed excess decadence, madness, cruelty, extravagance and megalomania beyond reason - the timing is not good for him to be the subject of this warning.
BTW here are some tidbits from the web-
Caligula was prematurely bald and so sensitive about his lack of hair that it was a **capital crime** for anyone to look down from a high place as he passed by. Sometimes he ordered those with a fine head of hair to be shaved. Several became appetizers for lions, who probably didn't care for the long hair either.
From the Emperor Augustus he inherited the family affliction forepilepsy and madness. He was caught in bed with his sister Drusilla at an early age. His famous father Germanicus, his mother Agrippina and all his brothers were either killed or starved to death by the Emperor Tiberius, who Caligula eventually helped to kill and take over rule.
Nero was Caligula's nephew andwas also a chip off the old murderous block - and by then there were enough Christians around for him to indulge in offing his share, but probaly far less than the later Emperors.
