Who or What Is the Beast?
The answer to this nearly 2000-year-old question depends on how you choose to interpret the Book of Revelation (a.k.a. the Apocalypse), the last book of the New Testament.
Near the middle of this highly symbolic book are descriptions of several strange creatures:
First, “a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads”; it is described further after being defeated by Michael and his angels in a battle in heaven: “The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world–he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Rev 12:3-18);
Second, “a beast rising out of the sea having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names… [it] was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority…” (Rev 13:1-10);
Third, “another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast…” (Rev 13:11-18).
At the end of the paragraph about this third beast, the author challenges the reader with an intriguing puzzle: “This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.” (13:18).
In order to understand this text, one must know that ancient Hebrew (like Greek and other ancient languages) did not have a separate set of characters to indicate numbers, but simply used the letters of its alphabet to represent numbers. This fact provides the basis for the ancient practice of “gematria,” in which numerical equivalents of words and names are calculated (still a popular game today!).
The basic idea is that every word has a number associated with it, obtained by adding up the numerical equivalent of each letter in the word.
This is mostly commonly done with names; thus every person has a number, the numerical value of his or her name.
There are several different ways of assigning numbers to the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, but the system most commonly used is this:
alef = 1; bet = 2; gimel = 3; dalet = 4; hey = 5; waw = 6; zayin = 7; chet = 8; tet = 9; yod = 10; kaf = 20; lamed = 30; mem = 40; nun = 50; samek = 60; ayin = 70; pey = 80; tsadeh = 90; qof = 100; resh = 200; shin = 300; taw = 400.
For example, the name “David” has a value of 14 in Hebrew (since it is written dalet-waw-dalet, which is 4+6+4); see Matthew 1:17.
The same game can be played in any language by assigning numerical values to each letter of the alphabet:
In English, for example, we could have
a = 1, b = 2, c = 3, d = 4, e = 5, f = 6, g = 7, h = 8, i = 9, j = 10,
k = 20, l = 30, m = 40, n = 50, o = 60, p = 70, q = 80, r = 90, s = 100,
t = 200, u = 300, v = 400, w = 500, x = 600, y = 700, z = 800.
Now calculate the number of YOUR name! Find the value of each letter of your name, and add them all together. You can get a number corresponding to your first name, another number for your last name, and another number for both together. You will get different results if you use longer or shorter versions of your name, or nicknames, or include middle names, or titles or suffices.
The results you want to get may also determine which numerical system you choose; for example, you can get HITLER = 666 if you choose a system in which a=100, b=101, c=102, etc.
For a more extensive introduction to Hebrew gematria, see The Art of Gematria: Hebrew Numerology.
So, Who Is the Person Whose Number Is 666?
Throughout history, attempts have been made to identify 666 with many famous people (usually one’s enemies)!
Since the Reformation (and still today!), some Protestants have tried to connect 666 with the Pope, either with the “Roman Pontiff” in general or with a specific Pope in particular. (For example, see the article by Michael Scheifler, from a Seventh Day Adventist perspective; but see also a response to this article by Mario Derksen on the “Catholic Insight” webpages.) On the other hand, some Catholics used to see a link between the apocalyptic beast and Martin Luther.
Some Democrats have tried to associate the beast with Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush, while some Republicans might argue it was John F. Kennedy or Bill Clinton (see the websites listed in the “Fun and Humorous” section above).
Most biblical historians agree, however, that the Book of Revelation is simply referring to the Roman Emperor NERO, the most “beastly” ruler of the first Christian Century:
The Hebrew equivalent of “Emperor Nero” could be written NRWN QSR (nun-resh-waw-nun qof-samek-resh in Hebrew spelling); thus, the first word is 50+200+6+50, the second word is 100+60+200, and the total is no surprise!
For more extensive discussion of the first-century Roman Empire and the historical references behind the dragon, the sea beast, and the land beast in Rev 12-13, see any good biblical commentary on the Book of Revelation.
Is the Number Really 666, or Was It Originally 616?
While most ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament have the number “six hundred sixty-six” in Rev 13:18, some ancient manuscripts contain the alternate reading “six hundred sixteen” (616), which might well be the older or original reading of this text.
A branch of biblical scholarship called “textual” criticism deals with such issues, trying to determine which variant was more likely the original reading. If the text originally said 666, how and why was it changed to 616 in later manuscripts? Or vice-versa, if the original text was 616, how and why was it later changed to 666?
The proposal that 616 is the older and better reading of Rev 13:18 was recently bolstered by some newly published Oxyrhynchus Papyri.
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri website also has a discussion of Numerology, but opposes the application to Nero.
Thanks to my friend and colleague Robert M. Royalty, Jr., Ph.D., for telling me about this new discovery and website!
The change from “616” to “666” can easily be explained, especially if the historical reference was originally to Emperor Nero.
The final letter “nun” is optional in the Hebrew spelling of Nero. Thus, NRW QSR would be 50+200+6+100+60+200 = 616.
If this was the original reading, it is easy to see how the text of Rev 13:8 would have been changed to “666,” due to its more highly symbolic value (since “6” represents lack or incompleteness, in contrast to the number “7” representing completion, the triple 666 represents evil more clearly than 616.)
