The beast's identity and the beast's number are usually interpreted by applying one of three methods: • Using
gematria to find the numbers that equate to the names of world leaders, to check for a match with the scriptural number. • Treating the number of the beast as a duration of time. • Linking the scriptural imagery and symbolism of the
Antichrist with characteristics of world leaders who oppose Christianity.
Identification by gematria In
Greek isopsephy and
Hebrew gematria, every letter has a corresponding numeric value. Summing these numbers gives a numeric value to a word or name. The use of isopsephy to calculate "the number of the beast" is used in many of the below interpretations.
Nero ,
Rome There is a broad consensus in contemporary scholarship that the number of the beast refers to the Roman Emperor
Nero. Since the 1830s, theologians like
Christian Friedrich Fritzsche,
Franz Ferdinand Benary,
Ferdinand Hitzig and
Eduard Reuss pointed the number 666 to
Nero, who was the first emperor to have persecuted Christians.
Preterist theologians typically support the interpretation that 666 is the numerical equivalent of the name and title
Nero Caesar (
Roman Emperor 54–68 AD). Written in Aramaic, this can be valued at 666 using the Hebrew numerology of gematria, and was used to secretly speak against the emperor. Additionally, "Nero Caesar" in the
Hebrew alphabet is
NRON QSR, which in standard gematria (
mispar hechrechi) is given the numbers 50 200 6 50 100 60 200, which add up to 666. In the reign of Emperor
Decius (249–251 AD), those who did not possess the certificate of sacrifice () to Caesar could not pursue trades, a prohibition that conceivably goes back to Nero, reminding one of Revelation 13:17. Preterists argue that Revelation was written before the
destruction of the Temple, with Nero exiling John to Patmos. Most scholars, however, argue it was written after Nero committed suicide in AD 68. ''Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia'' has noted that Revelation was "written during the latter part of the reign of the Roman Emperor
Domitian, probably in A.D. 95 or 96". Additional Protestant scholars are in agreement. Because some people believe Revelation 13 speaks of a future
prophetic event, "All who dwell on the earth worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8 NKJV), some have argued that the interpretation of Nero meeting the fulfillment is an impossibility if Revelation was written around 30 years the death of Nero. However, rumors circulated that Nero had not really died and would return to power. It has also been suggested that the numerical reference to Nero was a code to imply but not directly identify emperor Domitian, whose style of rulership resembled that of Nero, who heavily taxed the people of
Asia (Lydia), to whom the Book of Revelation was primarily addressed. The popular
Nero Redivivus legend stating that Nero would return to life can also be noted; "After Nero's suicide in AD 68, there was a widespread belief, especially in the eastern provinces, that he was not dead and somehow would return.
Suetonius (XL) relates how court astrologers had predicted Nero's fall but that he would have power in the east. And, indeed, at least three false claimants did present themselves as Nero
redivivus (resurrected). An
Aramaic scroll from
Wadi Murabba'at, dated to "the second year of Emperor Nero", refers to him by his name and title. In Hebrew it is
Nron Qsr (pronounced "Nerōn Kaisar"). In Latin it is
Nro Qsr (pronounced "Nerō Kaisar"). ;Nron Qsr , calculating various "names of the beast" (
Lageinos,
Teitan,
Lampetis,
Antemos) that sum to 666, and summing Jesus' name to 888 The Greek version of the name and title
transliterates into
Hebrew as , and yields a numerical value of 666, Other proponents include 16–17th-century Catholic theologians
Gilbert Genebrard,
François Feuardent, and
René Massuet. Maometis in
Greek numerals totals 666: :: Thom (1923)
Setton (1992) is critical of the idea: Muhammad was frequently defamed and made a subject of
legends, taught by preachers as
fact. For example, in order to show that Muhammad was the anti-Christ, it was asserted that Muhammad died not in the year 632 but in the year 666. In another variation on the theme the number "666" was also used to represent the period of time Muslims would hold sway of the land. He wrote that, "The Jews have ever looked forward to the Messiah as a great leader to restore the kingdom of Israel. They rejected Jesus because He did not fulfill this expectation... He will be king of a restored Israel, not only king, but the king par excellence. In Hebrew this idea could be expressed by the words (hammelek l'Yisrael), which have the requisite numerical value of 666; but in order to obtain this number kaph medial (כ) must be used in melek (king) instead of kaph final (ך)."
To Méga Thēríon Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), the English
ceremonial magician who founded the religion
Thelema, self-identified as the
Beast prophesied in Revelation and used the name (
To Méga Thēríon), Greek for "The Great Beast", which adds up to 666 by
isopsephy, the Greek form of
gematria.
Solomon’s Splendor In both
1 Kings 10:14 and
2 Chronicles 9:13 it reads: "The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents". In a 2020 paper by Bodner & Strawn, they seem to indicate that the number 666 is associated with Solomon in his downfall, as it's "an important notice of this king's wayward and unjust practices [..] and eschewing of God's law". But they also conclude that "the origin of this number is not yet clear". And: "If Irenaeus was unclear about 666 already in the second century, the twenty-first century can be no more certain." ==Mark of the beast==