Few symbols hold more dread than the number 666 (six hundred and sixty six, not three 6's). It is well known among both Christians and unbelievers alike. It is used to denote anarchy and satanism in rock bands, it is found tattooed on some supposed "antichrist" in popular movies, and has been attached to more diverse entities than any other. In its "mark" form it has been associated with all manner of objects and ideas. Throughout history it has been associated with the Pope, Rome, even the Latin language itself. In the 1960's and 70's it was Social Security numbers. In the '80's it became bar codes. In the '90's it was everything from computers and the internet, to chips implanted under the skin. What form this mark will take in the 21st century is anyone's guess.

Gematria

The Bible says that the wise will be able to calculate the number of the beast. Now, "the wise" is a term used to denote believers. . .and this is certainly a clue as to how it must be done. But what is there to "calculate" about a number? Usually a number IS the answer! Below we will explore what calculations may have been meant. The code used here is probably one based on gematria, the practice of using letters to denote quantity. This practice was fairly common in ancient times (Roman numerals for instance). A number, then, could be "calculated" from a word. In our alphabet for instance my name (Doug) would be 47 (phew!) : 

Since those times many interesting combinations have been suggested that point to any number of individuals, institutions and even objects. . .  

• COMPUTER - using a base of 6 (where a=6 , b=12 , c=36, . . .) you can get 666.
  
• RONALD REAGAN - has 6 letters in his first, middle, and last names. . . 666.
  
• Other famous people: Prince Charles, Henry Kissinger, Hitler, Himmler, Santa Clause, Kennedy
  
• THE POPE - the Pope's title: Vicarius filii Dei which is "Vicar of the Son of God". The Roman numeral count of this title is: 5+1+100+1+5+1+50+1+1+500+1= 666 (also of note is the fact that "Vicar" is the root form of "vicarious" meaning "in place of" or "Anti"...thus the Pope's title is literally "Antichrist".)
  
• LATIN - The earliest calculation of this number is the word lateinos, which is Greek for "Latin" It was the Latin world, kingdom, church, language, clergy, prayers etc. that "marked" the Roman Catholic church.

The key of course is to figure out what the original audience would have used to calculate the number. Because John was writing to Jews (and because using common Greek would have been rather obvious) we can safely assume that the number is to be calculated using the Hebrew alphabet.

666 or 616?

One more point before we move on. In most Bibles at the verse where the number of the beast is given (Revelation 13:18) there is a footnote that says the following: Some manuscripts read 616. 616? Where did that come from? Is it an error? Or was the copyist trying to put down what he knew John meant by 666? There is a possible clue in the languages used.

In the Latin manuscripts we find the number 616 in verse 18 rather than 666 (some KJV still use this in fact). Here is where we find, I believe, the most interesting thing about this number. Just suppose for a moment that this is no error, that the Latin copyist wanted to accurately translate the meaning of 666 and not just the actual number used (this is the same as translating any language after all, so long as you know the meaning of both words in both languages you can translate them over). Is there a name (for it is the number of "a man" - not a device, institution, or language) that fits both numbers? And if there is, does that person fit the context of Revelation?

Caesar Nero

His official title was Neron Caesar (written nrwn qsr in Hebrew) the letters of which, if added together, equal 666.

The Latin form of the title (which drops the final N (50) of nrwn) would equal 616, thus fitting the alternative reading. Of how many other "nominees" can this be said? Nero certainly fits the context of the chapter and of the book of Revelation:

• he was the first emperor to persecute Christians (and he did so savagely)
• he was the 5th emperor (head) of Rome (the Beast)
• he fits the first century timeline and would have been relevant to the original audience
• he was even known among his contemporaries as a "beast"

John expected believers to be able to identify this person. Don't be fooled by prophecy fanatics that try to wriggle every possible entity into the number of the beast using bizarre and arcane methods of arriving at their conclusion. It was not meant to confuse, but rather to inform. Nor is it a number that had to be riddled out with a computer. Preterists think that the believers who saw the beast had no trouble identifying him.