Number of the beast
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The Number of The Beast (Koinē Greek: Ἀριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου, Arithmós toû thēríou) is associated with the Beast of Revelation in chapter 13, verse 18 of the Book of Revelation. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the beast is six hundred sixty-six, 666 or χξϛ (in Greek numerals, χ represents 600, ξ represents 60 and ϛ represents 6). Papyrus 115 (which is the oldest preserved manuscript of the Revelation as of 2017), as well as other ancient sources like Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, give the number of the beast as χιϛ or χιϲ, transliterable in Arabic numerals as 616 (χιϛ), not 666; critical editions of the Greek text, such as the Novum Testamentum Graece, note χιϛ/616 as a variant. There is a broad consensus in contemporary scholarship that the number of the beast refers to the Roman Emperor Nero.
Interpretations
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
The Greek term χάραγμα (charagma, "mark" in Revelation 13:16) was most commonly used for imprints on documents or coins. Charagma is well-attested to have been an imperial seal of the Roman Empire used on official documents during the 1st and 2nd centuries. In the reign of Emperor Decius (249–251 AD), those who did not possess the certificate of sacrifice (libellus) to Caesar could not pursue trades. This prohibition conceivably goes back to Nero, reminding one of Revelation 13:17.
Preterists argue that Revelation was written before the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) and 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 agree.
Because some people believe Revelation 13 speaks of a future prophetic event, "All who dwell on the earth will 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 after the death of Nero.
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").
Muhammad
Gematria has also been used with the word Maometis (Μαομέτις); which scholars have described as a dubiously obscure Latinisation of a Greek transliteration of the Arabic name Muhammad.
A leading proponent of the Maometis interpretation was Charles Walmesley|Walmesley, the Roman Catholic bishop of Rama. Other proponents include 16–17th-century Catholic theologians Gilbert Genebrard, François Feuardent, and René Massuet.
Kenneth Setton (1992) is critical of the idea: Muhammad was frequently defamed and made a subject of legends, taught by preachers as fact. For example, 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 over the land.
King of Israel
Fr. Sloet of Holland proposed the title of Antichrist as king of Israel in a letter to Pere Gallois dated May 18, 1893. 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 to obtain this number kaph medial (כ) must be used in melek (king) instead of kaph final (ך)."
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 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 unclear". And: "If Irenaeus was unclear about 666 already in the second century, the twenty-first century can be no more certain."
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 Τὸ Μέγα Θηρίον (To Méga Thēríon), Greek for "The Great Beast", which adds up to 666 by isopsephy ↗, the Greek form of gematria.
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Number_of_the_beast ]
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