Bible Numbers 2.0

The Vision In Revelation

(可 惜 這 頁 沒 有 中 文 繙 譯)

(Special Correction Note: The discovery posted previously in July 11, 2019 missed one Chinese character in the text. The source of the problem was the compressed zip file downloaded from The Word Project. Revelation 2:27 has an incorrect Chinese character the browser displays as hexadecimal E02F (marked in red below):

Rev 2:27 他必用鐵杖轄管他們、〔轄管原文作牧〕將他們如同戶的瓦器打得粉碎．像我從我父領受的權柄一樣．

Since this was not recognized as Chinese by my program, it was dropped in the numeric conversion. The missing character is 窰. This changed everything. Providentially, this error led to improvement and something better.)

Introduction

Given the accelerating climatic pressures, the massive environmental declines and the current political economic and technological state of the world, it would be remiss and inappropriate if the Bible did not give humanity more warning. Piecemeal end time prophecies are helpful, but a general overview would be more to the point. But God has not been silent. There is one final major numeric study to put everything into perspective and wrap up God’s work in world history.

This study ends with the longest numeric section discovered to date. It spans the entire vision of the Apostle John, which is almost the entire book of Revelation. (It spans 389 verses, and 13039 words in all twenty-two chapters.) This is from the Chinese Union Version of the Bible. (For the numeric study on Revelation in the original Greek, see: Revelation: A Book For Our Time.)

As mentioned before, the number system for the Chinese language was only discovered in 2019 with the use of a computer. Before computers, this simply would not have been possible. One could say God arranged it this way so that the book of Revelation would receive new prominence at the end of the age.

The numeric passage begins in Revelation 1:8 with God declaring Himself, and ends in 22:13 with Jesus' angel repeating God’s statement in 21:6 in a more complete form. These two verses bracket the entire vision. What is before and after these verses are introductory and wrap up and not really part of the vision itself.

Preparing The Text

The Chinese Union Version was not translated from the original languages of Hebrew and Greek into Chinese. It was a translation from the English Bible into Chinese with reference to the original languages when necessary.¹ As such, the CUV is a translation of the English understanding of the Bible at that time. It is an interpretation, not a direct translation.

Because the CUV is an interpretation and not a translation, it should not be considered as something set in stone like the Hebrew and Greek. As seen in three of the previous studies from the Chinese Bible, some changes are necessary. The focus is on amending a few verses about God, since God is all important, rather than on creating an entirely new translation.

A)As before, the first change has to be replacing 神, and 主 神 with 上 帝, the proper title in Chinese. This is done in all cases, except in verse 7:2 where the original Greek has no definite article with the word θεος.

B)The opening verse of the vision, Revelation 1:8, is amended to follow the Greek. (See the previous study.)

C)The closing verse of the vision and a brief section about God in Revelation 21:6 are also adjusted to follow the Greek. (See the previous study on Revelation 22:13.)

D)In Revelation 19:1, the Western term for God’s name in Chinese 耶和華 is also replaced with 上帝.

E)Comments/explanations in these brackets 〔〕 are removed since they are not part of the translation.

F)Where God speaks, the first person pronoun 我 is replaced with 朕 a pronoun exclusive to emperors (Rev 1:8, 4:1, 21:5, 21:6, 21:7, 22:12, 22:13). This is done to give greater glory to God, and also to account for the added emphasis in the Greek when the first person pronoun εγο (ego) is used. [See previous study: God Imperial Sovereign.]

G)The missing word 窰 is put in Revelation 2:27.

Although these appear to be major adjustments to the text, they represent only a tiny fraction all the words in the Chinese translation.

The Yin & Yang Of Chinese Numbers

(See: Alphanumeric Substitutions for converting Chinese to numbers Numerics Gematria.)

The numbers for Chinese are based on the Big-5 arrangement of the characters for display on computers. Two bytes could accommodate 65535 characters. The first character 一 (one) was placed in position 42048 (not sure why), and succeeding characters were placed after it. Everything below 42048 was meant to cover Western alphabets, numbers, punctuation, or left empty for the future.

The zero position is 42047, one position before the very first character. The Big-5 position of any character minus the zero position, gives the numeric value of that character.

As computers became more widespread and more Chinese texts were converted into digital formats, it became necessary to add characters that were missed. Scholars eventually wanted all characters added for historical purposes. Some of these extra characters were tacked on to the end of the Big-5 arrangement or inserted into spaces that had been left empty, but others were put in positions below 42048. As a result, written Chinese is the only language where there can be negative numbers.

The character 窰 in Revelation 2:27 is one of these characters. It's Big-5 decimal position is 36432. Subtracting the zero position gives it the value -5363. Maybe its just coincidence, but the opposites of Yin and Yang are also a major part of Chinese philosophy and culture. No other surviving civilization developed such a concept. It seems appropriate that written Chinese would also have negative numbers.

For this numeric study, the zero position in Big-5 is 41795 to accommodate the Greek letters Alpha and Omega. Characters like 窰 would still be negative. (Greek letters are actually embedded in the Big-5 character set.)

Numeric Coincidences

The vision in Revelation is about the impending end of human history. It is not a vision describing God, Jesus, heaven, or spiritual teachings. The number and type of features should not be expected to equal or be similar to those found in Exodus 34:6-7. Nevertheless, God’s signature should appear to authenticate the entire vision.

Why does the vision only have 389 verses? One more verse would make 390 and be divisible by thirteen. 389 is a prime number with no other factors other than itself and one. Perhaps it is because of Revelation 1:8. The positions of the first and last, or Nth and Nth last characters would always add up to 390. (Any number that is a multiple of thirteen less one would share this characteristic.)

Or perhaps it is because the Chinese numbers for 389 are 三八九. Since these characters have nothing to do with Greek letters like the actual text, the default Chinese conversion to numbers is 21, 12, and 6. The sum of these numbers is thirty-nine (3 x 13).

For the full number conversion of the passage see the plain text file (67 kb): Revelation Vision Chinese Numbers.

Chapter Coincidences

Totals for each chapter:

1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8
1053049 2677609 2063981 1116103 1175522 1494929 1235586 980285

9       10     11      12      13      14      15     16
1588335 856833 1657132 1353906 1437205 1879500 710838 1554330

17      18      19      20      21      22
1453558 2321971 1933310 1358656 2136001 910396

Revelation 1:8 lists several complementary opposites. The idea of high and low are similar complementary opposites applied here. Chapter two has the highest total: 2677609. Chapter 15 has the lowest total: 710838. Chapter two introduces the first of the seven churches. Chapter 15 introduces the seven bowls of wrath. The total of all chapters from two to fifteen is 20227764 (2² x 3 x 23 x 83 x 883.) The factor of 23 indicates the prophecy is about the fate of the human race since the average human has 23 pairs of chromosomes.

A better relationship between high and low will be seen in the section on the verses. This is because the chapter divisions are more arbitrary than the verse divisions.

1.The numeric total of the vision: 32949035 = 5 x 7 x 41 x 22961.

1.1Even though the first and last chapters are incomplete, the vision does span all 22 chapters (22 = 2 x 11). The number eleven shows the one God who is Alpha and Omega. The factors of 22 add up to 13, and this points to God’s name in Hebrew.

1.2Since this vision was given to Jesus by God, the numbers from God’s name should be in it. There are only twenty-two chapters, so only the first three letters of God’s name can count through the chapters.

Letter from God’s name: 10     5      6
Count:                  10     15     21
Chapter total:          856833 710838 2136001

Total: 3703672 = 2³ x 7 x 66137. SF: 66150 = 2 x 3³ x 5² x 7². SF: 35 = 5 x 7.

1.3.1The first half of the chapters (1 to 11):

710838 856833 910396 980285 1053049 1116103 1175522 1235586 1353906 
1358656 1437205 

Total: 12188379 = 3 x 7 x 461 x 1259.

1.3.2The last half of the chapters (12 to 22):

1453558 1494929 1554330 1588335 1657132 1879500 1933310 2063981 
2136001 2321971 2677609 

Total: 20760656 = 2⁴ x 7 x 185363.

(The twenty-two chapter totals are also split evenly with eleven that are odd, and eleven that are even. But aside from this balanced distribution, there is no numeric coincidence.)

1.4Five chapter totals are divisible by 7 or 13: 9 + 13 + 14 + 20 + 21 = 77 (7 x 11).

Verse Coincidences

2.There are 389 verses in the vision (nf). The lowest valued verse is Revelation 12:8, 21416 (nf). The highest valued verse is Revelation 20:4, 263117 (nf).

but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for 
them in heaven. (Rev 12:8)

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment 
was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded 
for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had 
not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark 
on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned 
with Christ a thousand years. (Rev 20:4)

2.1The total defeat of Satan and his allies is contrasted with the triumph of the saints. Revelation 12:8 is also the verse in the middle of the vision. It is the 195th verse (3 x 5 x 13). The factor of 13 assures us God has ordained Satan's defeat.

2.1.1The triumph of the saints is the 338th verse in the vision. (338 = 2 x 13 x 13. SF: 28 = 2 x 2 x 7.) Satan's defeat may not be much comfort to believers who suffer, but two factors of 13 double our assurance on the victory of the saints. The two 13s are also related to God’s name. He has sealed our victory with His name. Take comfort in this.

2.1.2The total of all the verses, from the beginning of 12:8 to the end of 20:4 is 12609751 = 7 x 11 x 29 x 5647. SF: 5694 = 2 x 3 x 13 x 73. SF: 91 = 7 x 13. What are the chances of such a marvelous coincidence?

(N.B. The lowest plus the highest: 21416 + 263117 = 284533 (23 x 89 x 139). Twenty-three is the number of paired chromosomes in the average human. Clearly the prophecy is about the human race.)

2.2The totals for the first verse of each chapter (1727289; nf) and the totals of the last verse of each chapter (1666569; nf) by themselves have no feature. But putting the two together does (first and last): 3393858 = 2 x 3 x 13 x 13 x 3347. The two thirteens show this is God’s plan.

2.3First and last verse: 56938 + 25473 = 82411 = 7 x 61 x 193.

2.4.1Of the 389 verses, take only the odd positioned verses: 16240798 = 2 x 7 x 1160057.

2.4.2Take the even positioned verses: 16708237 = 7 x 13 x 89 x 2063.

2.5Of the 389 verses, fifty-five are divisible by 7. This is exactly the average expected. But forty-one verses are divisible by 13. The odds would suggest only 30.

2.5.1If these fifty-five totals divisible by 7 are added together there is an extra factor of seven: 4472083 = 7² x 11 x 8297.

2.5.2If these forty-one totals divisible by 13 are added together there is an extra factor of thirteen: 3177200 = 2⁴ x 5² x 13² x 47. SF: 91 = 7 x 13.

2.6The letters of God’s name in Hebrew can be run 7 times through the verse totals without overshooting the number of verses.

a) Letter from the Hebrew.          b) Count.
c) Verse total found.

a) 10    5      6     5      10     5     6     5     10    5     6
b) 10    15     21    26     36     41    47    52    62    67    73
c) 81991 110941 70526 136204 111735 23359 79339 70946 92662 83932 105316

a) 5     10     5     6     5     10    5     6     5     10    5
b) 78    88     93    99    104   114   119   125   130   140   145
c) 40847 178144 89224 97492 64053 60449 53042 45731 95056 92045 86374

a) 6     5      10     5     6     5
b) 151   156    166    171   177   182
c) 71206 130795 116311 43864 70219 45304

Total of line c): 2347107 = 3 x 7 x 111767.

2.7Beginning with the first verse total and taking every Nth verse after, the following values of N produce sequences divisible by 13:

50 101 116 128 141 157 164 175 182 186

The sum of N: 1400 = 2³ x 5² x 7.

2.8Find verses where the Nth and Nth last paired together are divisible by 13.

a) Nth Item:       44     47     49     56     86     90     139
b) Value:          89159  79339  158480 119683 94288  86940  79725

c) Nth Last Item:  346    343    341    334    304    300    251
d) Value:          140668 91377  43137  70962  107849 49794  72024

There are exactly seven of them.

The sum of line a) 511 = 7 x 73.

The sum of line c) 2219 = 7 x 317.

Sum of positions (a + c): 2730 = 2 x 3 x 5 x 7 x 13.

Word Coincidences

3.1There are 13039 characters: 13 x 17 x 59.

3.1.2The number of digits in these 13039 characters: 47655. If the minus sign is included: 47656 = 2³ x 7 x 23 x 37.

3.1.3Highest and lowest valued words (饈 and 窰 respectively): 20588 + −5363 = 15225 = 3 x 5² x 7 x 29. SF: 49 = 7². SF: 14 = 2 x 7. (For the curious: 饈 sau4 xiu1 - to eat; to offer; a meal; 窰 yiuh4 yao3 - a brick furnace; a coal shaft; a cave [for human dwelling]).

3.2Divide the 13039 words into 221 segments of 59 words each.

3.2.1Odd positioned segments of 59 words: 16486043 = 7 x 61 x 38609.

3.2.2Even positioned segments of 59 words: 16462992 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 x 7 x 13 x 3769.

3.3.1Odd positioned segments of 767 words: 17319428 = 2 x 2 x 7 x 439 x 1409. SF: 1859 = 11 x 13 x 13.

3.3.2Even positioned segments of 767 words: 15629607 = 3 x 3 x 7 x 248089.

3.3The 10th, 5th, 6th and 5th characters opening the prophecy:

10   5    6    5
1546 6238 2960 6238

3.4.1Total of 6689 odd valued characters: 15859779 = 3 x 13 x 406661.

3.4.2Total of the positions of these characters: 43679103 = 3 x 13 x 17 x 65881.

3.4.3Total of 6350 even valued characters: 17089256 (nf).

3.4.4Total of the positions of these characters: 41335177 = 13 x 17 x 53 x 3529. SF: 3612 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 7 x 43.

3.5.11689 characters had values that were prime numbers. The total of these characters: 4143113 = 13 x 318701.

3.5.22378 characters were divisible by seven. The total of their positions: 15550678 = 2 x 11² x 13 x 4943.

3.5.31305 characters had values divisible by 13. The total of their positions: 8550646 = 2 x 13 x 19² x 911.

3.5.4The positions of these characters together: 8550646 15550678 = 24101324 = 2² x 13 x 269 x 1723. SF: 2009 = 7² x 41.

3.6There is one character with a negative value. This is the 1401st character of the vision. It is the 11669th word from the end: 11669 = 7 x 1667. It serves as a unique marker. The first 1400 words total 3576756 and have no feature. Add the 1401st word, which is a negative number: 3576756 - 5363 = 3571393 = 7 x 510199. This means the last 11668 characters is also divisible by 7: 29377642 = 2 x 7 x 2098403.

3.7.1266 (2 x 7 x 19) words appeared only once.

3.7.249 words appeared 7 times.

362 827 885 896 1035 1060 1155 1413 1548 1662 1681 2056 2092 2227
2432 2557 2677 2743 3364 3463 3709 3739 3896 3950 3957 3984 4095
4150 4237 4249 4361 4383 4385 4405 4618 4991 5134 5135 5934 6012
6156 6803 6940 6953 7542 7681 8038 8710 8712

3.7.2.1The lowest valued word that appeared seven times is 362. The highest valued word that appeared seven times is 8172. The lowest plus the highest: 9074 = 2 x 13 x 349. SF: 364 = 2² x 7 x 13.

3.7.2.2Beginning with the first in the above list, take every other after:

362 885 1035 1155 1548 1681 2092 2432 2677 3364 3709 3896 3957 4095 
4237 4361 4385 4618 5134 5934 6156 6940 7542 8038 8712 

Total: 98945 = 5 x 7 x 11 x 257. SF: 280 = 2³ x 5 x 7.

3.7.3Fourteen words appeared 13 times (308 382 412 699 818 954 1171 1196 2921 3376 5166 5743 7057 7179).

3.7.4One word 為 (wai; To enfold; to carry in the arms or bosom or lap; to hold tight; to hide; for sake of) appeared 77 times.

3.7.4.2The character 印 (yan; To print; an official seal; impress; print; mark [seal impressed]; seal; a stamp; to tally, agree; a surname.) with a value of 777 appeared 26 times.

3.7.4.3Word 1911 的 appeared the most, 727 times. (dik; Target; work; clear; true; sign of the possessive; of.) 1911 (3 x 7 x 7 x 13) was the year the Chinese republic was declared, ending three thousand years of rule by emperors and kings.

3.8The two characters for God’s name in Chinese (上帝) appear 96 times in the vision. Ninety-six is not divisible by 7 or 13. But 96 is 2⁵ x 3, and the sum of the factors is 13. Perhaps the number related to God’s name is hidden on the second level because this is a Chinese translation of Revelation.

a) Number of appearances.
b) Position of first character 上.
c) Position of last character 帝.

a) 1 2  3   4    5    6    7    8    9    10   11   12   
b) 1 58 627 1081 1434 1485 1854 1876 1882 1896 1966 2383 
c) 2 59 628 1082 1435 1486 1855 1877 1883 1897 1967 2384 

a) 13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   
b) 2483 2575 2780 2903 2918 3363 3731 3958 3994 4019 4095 
c) 2484 2576 2781 2904 2919 3364 3732 3959 3995 4020 4096 

a) 24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34
b) 4164 4201 4283 4723 4942 5387 5398 5576 5912 6020 6077
c) 4165 4202 4284 4724 4943 5388 5399 5577 5913 6021 6078

a) 35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45
b) 6101 6109 6202 6379 6398 6515 6543 6773 6972 6981 7513
c) 6102 6110 6203 6380 6399 6516 6544 6774 6973 6982 7514

a) 46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56
b) 7584 7691 7701 7780 8050 8116 8173 8178 8192 8334 8351
c) 7585 7692 7702 7781 8051 8117 8174 8179 8193 8335 8352

a) 57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67
b) 8414 8583 8635 8648 8699 8798 8941 9012 9587 9613 9805
c) 8415 8584 8636 8649 8700 8799 8942 9013 9588 9614 9806

a) 68   69    70    71    72    73    74    75    76    77
b) 9930 10355 10575 10661 10679 10702 10735 10830 10879 10977
c) 9931 10356 10576 10662 10680 10703 10736 10831 10880 10978

a) 78    79    80    81    82    83    84    85    86    87
b) 11032 11091 11385 11499 11856 11895 11917 11931 11933 12053
c) 11033 11092 11386 11500 11857 11896 11918 11932 11934 12054

a) 88    89    90    91    92    93    94    95    96
b) 12181 12202 12521 12545 12681 12737 12788 12832 12947
c) 12182 12203 12522 12546 12682 12738 12789 12833 12948

3.8.1The sum of line a) has no feature. But the total of line b) does: 705861 = 3³ x 13 x 2011. It must be remembered this is from a translation, and not from the original languages. Thus it should not be expected that both lines would have coincidences.

3.8.2The first occurrence of 上帝 is in character positions 1 and 2. The last occurrence is in positions 12947 and 12948. The sum of these numbers is 25898 (2 x 23 x 563). Twenty-three shows us the prophetic vision is about humanity. Going deeper with the sum of the factors (588) we see God behind the vision (588 = 2² x 3 x 7²). And going still deeper, this is confirmed with the sum of these factors: 21 = 3 x 7.

3.8.3The forty-ninth (7²) appearance of 上帝 is in positions 7780 and 7781: 15561 = 3² x 7 x 13 x 19.

3.8.4Add up the positions of every 7th appearance of 上帝: 194663 = 7 x 27809.

3.8.5The position of the God’s name in Hebrew.">twenty-sixth appearance of 上帝: 8567 = 13 x 659 = 672. SF: 2⁵ x 3 x 7.

3.8.6Use 上帝 to divide the vision into 96 sections.

List of the 96 section totals.
128798 1497239 1243039 899068 128321 956019 32217 5420 26941 220024
1086035 316471 231946 497452 298996 26694 1233075 910671 455325
93695 108925 169631 168985 75812 219157 1032642 622728 1097629 17781
428152 824402 265105 129519 33562 11831 219485 444239 53039 255274
62772 553962 572091 45230 1319331 150973 268577 18018 187633 660132
190002 140816 10026 41036 346778 24918 139957 420516 142901 37780
133978 220274 365690 158520 1316810 62741 471683 306784 1153694
559912 220339 55507 61008 100453 268450 111352 263856 146408 150966
752619 284356 819544 118991 38824 27932 0 275692 326996 47145 848449
36920 360384 146124 97751 112596 252537 238125

(Each section does not include 上帝.)

3.8.6.1Fourteen (2 x 7) of the sections are divisible by seven:

3       10     20    22     36     38    47    65    70     74
1243039 220024 93695 169631 219485 53039 18018 62741 220339 268450

79     85 88    89
752619 0  47145 848449

Fourteen (2 x 7) are divisible by thirteen.

13     19     26      28      33     42     44      47    51
231946 455325 1032642 1097629 129519 572091 1319331 18018 140816

60     62     74     85 90
133978 365690 268450 0  36920

If the section with a total of zero is not counted, there would still be thirteen sections in each group.

3.8.6.2One of these segments actually has no words at all and has a total of zero. This is because in the Chinese, Revelation 21:3 ends with 上帝, and 21:4 begins with 上帝. This marks and sets these two verses apart. The RSV of these two verses is given below.

and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the
dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall
be his people, and God himself will be with them; (21:3)

he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be
no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more,
for the former things have passed away." (21:4)

It is comforting that in the Chinese, God Himself marks His promise in these two verses. The total for these two verses in Chinese: 199901 = 13 x 15377.

3.8.6.3Beginning with the first section total, and taking every Nth section after, the following values of N produce sequences divisible by 13:

7 29 33 37 41

The sum of N: 147 = 3 x 7 x 7.

3.8.6.4Beginning with the Nth section and taking every Nth after, only one value produces a sequence divisible by 13. That value is 26.

3.8.6.5Divide the 96 section totals into groups of two. Take the odd positioned pairs (first pair, third pair...)

Total of the odd positioned pairs: 16690960 = 2⁴ x 5 x 11 x 13 x 1459.

Total of the even positioned pairs: 16021243 = 7 x 2288749.

3.8.6.6Only two section totals are divisible by 7 and 13. These two are the 47th and 74th sections. Their totals are uniquely related. Their factors go a step further.

47th section total: 18018 = 2 x 32 x 7 x 11 x 13. SF: 39 = 3 x 13.
74th section total: 268450 = 2 x 52 x 7 x 13 x 59. SF: 91 = 7 x 13.

An interesting coincidence is that these two positions, 47 and 74, are like mirror images. Their sum is 121 (11 x 11), and there are exactly 26 (2 x 13) totals between the two.

3.8.7The Chinese title for God consists of two characters, 上帝, with the values 276 and 2191 when Greek is included. In the passage, 828 characters have values below 276. The sum of these characters: 209222 = 2 x 13² x 619.

272 characters have the value 276: 75072 = 2⁶ x 3 x 17 x 23. But 96 of these appearances of 上 are associated with the title. This leaves 176 that are not. The total of these 176: 48576 = 2⁶ x 3 x 11 x 23. Twenty-three appears in both cases because 276 is divisible by 23.

The vision has 6445 characters between 276 and 2191 in value. Their total: 6881628 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 13 x 31 x 1423.

96 characters have the value 2191: 210336 = 2⁵ x 3 x 7 x 313. (Since 2191 is divisible by 7 this total is naturally divisible by 7 as well.)

5398 characters have values above 2191: 25572777 (nf).

It would be nice if all categories of characters (less than 276, equal to 276, between 276 and 2191, equal to 2191, or greater than 2191) had consistent coincidences, but two out of five is more than the odds would suggest.

The number of characters from the two categories with coincidences together total 7273 (7 x 1039). The total of these characters: 7090850 = 2 x 5² x 13 x 10909. SF: 10934 = 2 x 7 x 11 x 71. SF: 91 = 7 x 13.

It would seem God’s Chinese title is intimately bound up in the vision.

The Vision In 3 Dimensions

4.The 13039 characters of the vision can be presented visually in three dimensions (17 columns, 13 rows, and 59 layers). The layers of the block are filled in the order indicated by the layer number. Each layer is filled row by row from top to bottom. Each row is filled from left to right.

Slowly pass your mouse along the bottom, or right 
edges of each layer to riffle through the block.
(N.B. Javascript must be turned on or this might
look very messy.)