THE NUMBER 666 - The Mark of the Beast - A common theory about 666 is that it was the numerical total for the name Nero Caesar, a Roman emperor who persecuted Christians. Tradition says Nero had the Apostle Paul beheaded about 64 or 65 A.D. Numbers are often used symbolically in the Bible, the number 7 representing perfection. The Antichrist, a man, has the number 666, which continually falls short of perfection. The letters in Jesus Christ supposedly total 888, which goes beyond perfection. Bible scholars agree that the mark of the beast will be a recognizable sign of those who have voluntarily chosen to follow the Antichrist.

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The Number 666

What Is the Mark of the Beast?

Explore the Mark of the Beast and What the Number 666 Signifies

by Jack Zavada 

The Mark of the Beast

The mark of the beast is the sign of the Antichrist, and is mentioned in Revelation 13:15-18:

“The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

“This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.” ( NIV)

The Number of the Beast: 666

It seems there are as many interpretations of this passage as there are Christian denominations.

Some believe these verses refer to a tattoo, a brand, or even a microchip implant. Theories also abound about the number 666.

When the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation, about 95 A.D., numerical values were sometimes assigned to letters as a sort of code.

A common theory about 666 is that it was the numerical total for the name Nero Caesar, a Roman emperor who persecuted Christians.

Tradition says Nero had the Apostle Paul beheaded about 64 or 65 A.D.

Numbers are often used symbolically in the Bible, the number 7 representing perfection.

The Antichrist, a man, has the number 666, which continually falls short of perfection.

The letters in Jesus Christ supposedly total 888, which goes beyond perfection.

Recently, many claim, that the implant of medical or financial electronic ID chips are the mark of the beast.

Others point to credit or debit cards.

While those items may be an indication of what is to come, Bible scholars agree that the mark of the beast will be a recognizable sign of those who have voluntarily chosen to follow the Antichrist.

The Mark of God

The phrase "mark of the beast" is found only in the book of Revelation, but a similar mark is referenced in Ezekiel 9:4-6:

“And the Lord said to him, ‘Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.’ 

“And to the others he said in my hearing, ‘Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.’" (ESV)

In Ezekiel's vision, he saw the people of Jerusalem struck dead for their wickedness, except those bearing the mark of God on their foreheads. The mark identified those who were under God's protection.

A Sign Versus a Seal

In the end times, the mark of the beast will be a sign to identify those who worship and follow the Antichrist.

By contrast, those who worship and follow Jesus Christ will bear the seal of God on their foreheads to protect them from the coming wrath.

Bible References to the Mark of the Beast

Revelation 13:15-18; 14:9, 11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; and 20:4.

Also Known As

666, 666 the number of the beast, 666 Satan, 666 beast, beast 666.

Example

The mark of the beast on the forehead or right hand may be literal or may symbolize allegiance of thought and action to the Antichrist.

Jack Zavada

Introduction

Created and manages and blogs at Inspiration-For-Singles.com

Published several books about Christian lifestyle topics

Contributes to numerous self-growth and Christian-based websites

Former newspaper reporter, technical editor, and public relations director

Experience

Jack Zavada is a Christianity writer. Jack began his 45-year career as a police and government newspaper reporter and Associated Press wire editor. He later served as a technical editor at the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL). Other positions held include being a publications editor and a communications director.

As a writer, Jack focuses his work into three genres, Christian lifestyles, self-help, and western fiction. H contributes to several Christian-focused websites including Bible-Reflections.net, SelfGrowth.com, LivingWordBaptist.net, JustMeCatholicFaith.com, and WZAKClevland.com. Jack created, manages and blogs at his website Inspiration-For-Singles.com. The site also serves as a platform for marketing his self-help eBooks. He also writes and publishes western fiction under the pen name of Calder Boone.

Education

Jack Zavada earned a Master Arts (M.A.) in English Composition and a Bachelor Science (B.S.) in English literature, both from Illinois State University.

Awards and Publications

Hope for Hurting Singles: A Christian Guide to Overcoming Life's Challenges (Pine Cone Press, 1st edition, 2017)

Outsmarting Loneliness (Pine Cone Press, 2012)

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THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST - One option for solving this biblical riddle is gematria, the idea that numbers have symbolic meaning. While some have called gematria a tool for speculation, it actually derives from an ancient convention in languages like Greek and Hebrew where letters of the alphabet are used to represent numbers. But gematria is not limited to just Revelation; the New Testament contains several other symbolic figures. When it comes to 666, one gematria explanation is that the number represents Nero Caesar. The Greek Neron Kaisar adds up to 1,005, but when the name is transliterated into the Hebrew letters nrwn qsr, the sum is 666.

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The Number Of The Beast

What You Need to Know About the Number of the Beast

MICHAEL S. HEISER/BIBLE STUDY MAGAZINE

This would mean 666 is a symbol for the abominable Baal, the dark lord of the Old Testament world—satanic power in New Testament thinking.

If there's one part of the Bible virtually everyone has heard of, it's 666—the "number of the beast."

And if there's one thing no one can agree upon, it's what that number stands for.

We find the number in Revelation 13:18, "Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast. It is the number of a man. His number is six hundred and sixty-six." 

The wording here is important: John tells readers that the number needs to be "calculated," which means there must be a hidden meaning behind it.

But how do we calculate it?

Calculating Symbolism

One option for solving this biblical riddle is gematria, the idea that numbers have symbolic meaning.

While some have called gematria a tool for speculation, it actually derives from an ancient convention in languages like Greek and Hebrew where letters of the alphabet are used to represent numbers.

But gematria is not limited to just Revelation; the New Testament contains several other symbolic figures.

The 153 fish of John 21:11 could be interpreted as ancient symbolism for the church, the body of Christ and the Old Testament sons of God as analogous to believers in the church.

The Greek word for "dove," like the dove that descends on Jesus at His baptism, has a numerical value equivalent to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, thus symbolizing the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8).

Calculating 666

When it comes to 666, one gematria explanation is that the number represents Nero Caesar.

The Greek Neron Kaisar adds up to 1,005, but when the name is transliterated into the Hebrew letters nrwn qsr, the sum is 666.

Nero Caesar also would explain the variant number of the Beast (616) found in some New Testament manuscripts.

Transliterating the Latin Nero Caesar into Hebrew, nrw qsr, yields 616, suggesting John may have been thinking of the well-known Nero Redivivus myth when writing about the beast (i.e., that Nero would rise from the dead to destroy Christians).

The gematria solution presents three major problems: it could be viewed as cheating with the spellings (the usual Hebrew spelling for Caesar is q'st, not qsr, although the qsr form does exist).

It assumes that readers knew Hebrew well enough to do the transliteration from Greek back into Hebrew.

And, perhaps most tellingly, the early Christian commentators who knew of the Nero Redivivus myth never identified 666 with Nero.

Ancient Sudoku

There is another possibility: 666 is a magic square.

From very ancient times, philosophers and mathematicians were fascinated that the numbers 1–36 could be arranged in squares so that each row and diagonal would add up to the same sum (the same principle as modern Sudoku).

One magic square has four rows and two diagonals that each add up to 111.

The six lines of 111 = 666.

Each magic square in ancient Jewish and Greek tradition was also associated with a celestial body.

In the case of the 666 square that body was the sun, which was associated with Zeus, the highest god in the Greek pantheon.

Zeus was often associated with Baal and the mythological north (tsaphon) of Canaanite religion.

Most relevant to the Beast of Revelation is Baal's (and Zeus') title, "lord of heaven" (Baal-shamem).

It is possible that the "abomination of desolation" (shiqquts-shamem) in Daniel 9:27 is a play on Baal-shamem, since the Old Testament writers sometimes substituted words that meant "shame" or "abomination" into proper names that formerly contained "Baal" (e.g., Mephibosheth, Ish-Bosheth).

This would mean 666 is a symbol for the abominable Baal, the dark lord of the Old Testament world—satanic power in New Testament thinking. 

Article courtesy of Bible Study Magazine published by Faithlife Corporation. Originally published in print, Vol. 4 No. 5.

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