666: The number of the beast

The magic number of the beast been used, wrongly in my opinion, to interpret current politics using a numbering scheme. The answer should be looked up and can be found in the Bible itself.

Some basics

First, we need some background to look at this in more detail:

• Gematria: This is the most common way of understanding the number 666. Each value of the alphabet is associated with a numerical value, and if the number of values adds up to 666, he is the evil one. If this does not fit, use variants of the name or different languages like Hebrew, Latin, Greek or address this as a triple six (so Ronald Wilson Reagan was considered as the beast because his three names consist of 6 letters). As with a little patience you can map many names in history and present time to 666, this method has been very much abused, because “a lock that fits every key is not worth much”.
• Numbers: In the Bible numbers are often associated with events, e.g., Moses fasted for 40 days when he received the Law at Mount Sinai, [the people checked out the new land in 40 days](https://www.bibleserver.com/search/NIV/40 days) and because of their unbelief they had to wander in the desert for 40 years. Do you think it was a coincidence that Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert facing the challenges that Israel has to face in their 40 years of wandering? You could say that the number 40 is related to acts of faith. In the same way the number 7 refers to completion and to God as He completed the world in 7 days. On the other hand the number 6 refers to man and the man’s imperfect actions as he was created on the 6th day. See more about numbers.
• A letter: We have seen, that we should always look out for clues that are relevant to the original readers. So what would 666 mean at the time of the early church?

6–6–6: The failure of the evil trinity

The first understanding comes from the story in Rev. 13 itself, which is explained in another article. It describes the beast’s attempt to imitate the Holy Trinity of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

But for the believers, the deception does not work. Each element is assigned by a number that “classified” the effect of the imitation:

• The dragon: does he really have all the power of the first beast — no, his power is only given (for 42 months) -> 6.
• The first beast: did he really give his life out of love for people and did he really die — no, even his death was a fake because only one head was cut off -> 6.
• The second beast: did he really invite people and counsel them like the Holy Spirit — no, he only acts with fear and intimidation -> 6

So if you have counted with me, you get 6–6–6. The number of the beast. If you know God, you cannot be deceived. Stay and the love and you are saved.

The 666 in context

The number 666 has some very interesting and links inside the book of Revelation

• 666 is related to the number 8 which is the number related to resurrection (Jesus rose on the 8th day — one after the Sabbat, so on the first day of the new week or better say the first day of the new creation!!). The topic of resurrection is also prominent in the description of the first beast, but also in the sixth bowl (frogs represent the Egyptian Goddess of birth and resurrection) and in the description of the beast on which the harlot sits. There is a strong similarity between this passage describing this as need for wisdom and the need for wisdom about the beast on which the harlot sits which is later described as one of the seven heads (=kings) but also the 8th (king)!!
• The statement identifies this as a number of a man and comes directly before the mention of the 144,000 which again links forward to the New Jerusalem (the place of them to be) where the wall is measured as 12*12=144(!) units of an angel which the NIV does not translate so well, but the ESV. Even it is not really clear what this means but is shows again the difference between the beast (humanity debased) and the witnesses (exalted to position of angels)

This shows us two aspects

• This is a similar topic as Armageddon, where something impressive is shown as absolutely weak while the weak is shown as superior.
• The passage here points forward to the resolution of the secret of the 666 as the eighth king.

The eighth king

But who would be this eighth king? The story of Nero would fit this very well. He is known of killing his own mother, but on the other hand he was very popular with the people in Rome. He alienated himself from the Roman aristocracy but was very popular and even adored in the East, especially in Greece and with the Parthians. Even the first Judean war was in Nero’s time, the Jews did not think bad of him as the war was done by Vespasian and Titus, but for Christian Nero was the one who started the first persecutions and was understand by many as the Antichrist.

When Nero realized that we is about to die, there was rumors that he is going East to his allegiances. But this did not happen, he killed himself with a dagger instead when he was surrounded and the Senate declared him a public enemy. But as therefore he was not given a proper funeral, the myth spread, that he did not die at all. In the next years there were few imposters claiming to be Nero which often got major Parthian support.

This refreshed the myth of the returning Nero. As he was associated with the Parthians who were a thread to Rome, he was more seen as the judgment to Rome.

His unclear end (if he is dead or not) makes the first beast appearance a perfect resemblance of him. But also the sixth bowl refers to Nero as this could describe an attack of the Parthians.

Emperor Trajan

Since we talked about gematria at the beginning of this section, I will start with an aspect that falls into this category for the following reasons:

• It is relevant to the first readers because he lived in that time.
• He reflects the dual attack of the beast.

The person who fits the description is the Emperor Trajan, who

• lived at the time (emperor from 98–117) and is a good illustration,
• supported the persecution of Christians if they did not comply,
• but was considered one of the 5 good emperors due to his military success (under his reign the Roman Empire had its greatest extension) he established a great welfare program, had great building projects, and invested a lot in games, all of which reflected the Pax Romana,

Daniels friends in the furnace

The second reference is the story of Daniel’s friends in the fiery furnace. There are many parallels to the second beast. Here we have here a statue that people have to worship and whoever is spotted to disobey will be killed by fire. What is particularly interesting are the dimensions of the statue: 60 feet high * 6 feet * 6 feet on the base.

The interesting part is the response of the friends when they are confronted for not bowing to the statue: “We trust that God can save us but EVEN IF NOT we will be faithful”. This 666 touches the aspect of our response to oppression (non-compliant are killed or cannot buy or sell -> financial struggle). In this we are to be faithful even if God does not intervene.

But what does this have to do with the beast? We see it at the end of the story in Daniel. If the friends stayed faithful, they were preserved and “someone like the Son of God” was with them and in the end we have a happy ending. In trouble, we can be sure that Jesus is with us, and the next chapter of Revelation turns the tables on the devil’s followers, who are in serious trouble, while the believers are in good shape.

Solomons riches

The third reference to 666 we find exactly written like this in the Bible in the summary of the life of King Salomon, right at the beginning. These are the last words before the description of his catastrophic failure.

What is the story of Solomon? His story begins with the story of Bathsheba which resulted in Nathan rebuking him and losing the child out of this, but God gave him another child with Bathsheba which showed God’s love. After he was enthroned he asked God for an understanding heart instead of wealth and power. When he asked for this, he got all the power and wealth on top.

As the result, he saw God as the source of his blessing, and the blessing became more important to him than his relationship with God. In the end, this was his fall. And don’t you find it strange, that he received exactly 666 shekels of silver every year, while all the other numbers in this chapter are rounded?

Conclusion

So what is the takeaway for the first listeners and for us?

• 666 shows that the great overpowering and controlling beast is a failure and believers need not be afraid but
• need to be strong and not be overcome by fear when things get tough (persecution, fear of death and economic exclusion) and God does not show up to intervene, see the reference to Daniel.
• We should not be tempted by an attractive life when you compromise (thinking you are still following God) and try to get the best of God and the Holy Trinity as Salomon failed.
• This was illustrated in the case of Trajan in their time, who seems to bring wealth and security, but had the blood of Christians on his hands.

So today, let’s take a look at how we see the principles of the 666 and judge whether they

• follow God’s principles and will remain, or
• follow the principles of the devil, which may look tempting but will end in disaster and draw us away from God.

If you think the 666 is a computer chip that is planted, then ask yourself. But look at it from this point: What information can this chip provide that is not already available in

• Your Google search
• Browsing history
• Smartphone usage (including location tracking)
• Credit or debit card usage
• Tons of social media records?

Sources