Number of the beast
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The Number of the Beast is a concept from the Book of Revelation of the New Testament of the Christian Bible, relating to the figure of "The Beast". The number is 666 in most manuscripts of the New Testament and in modern translations while critical editions of the Greek text (such as the Novum Testamentum Graece[citation needed]) also note 616 as a variant.
Bible
666
The Number of the Beast is described in the Book of Revelation 13:17–18. The original Greek reads:
17 καὶ ἵνα μή τις δύνηται ἀγοράσαι ἢ πωλῆσαι εἰ μὴ ὁ ἔχων τὸ χάραγμα, τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ θηρίου ἢ τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ. 18 ὧδε ἡ σοφία ἐστίν· ὁ ἔχων νοῦν ψηφισάτω τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦ θηρίου, ἀριθμὸς γὰρ ἀνθρώπου ἐστίν· καὶ ὁ ἀριθμὸς αὐτοῦ ἑξακόσιοι ἑξήκοντα ἕξ.[1]
The number is the final 3 words (transliterated: hexakósioi hexēkonta héx), meaning "six hundred sixty-six".
The King James Version of the Bible translates:[2]
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
In the Old Testament, both 1 Kings 10:14 and 2 Chronicles 9:13 state that Solomon collected "six hundred threescore and six" talents of gold each year.[3] John's reference to "wisdom" and "understanding" might also point toward Proverbs 1 and 2, where understanding, discernment, wisdom and insight are explained and advised by King Solomon. In the Greek manuscripts, the number is rendered in Greek numerical form as χξϛʹ,[4] or sometimes literally as ἑξακόσιοι ἑξήκοντα ἕξ, hexakósioi hexēkonta héx, "six hundred and sixty-six".[3][5]
There are several interpretations-translations for the meaning of the phrase "Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast" where the peculiar Greek word ψηφισάτω (psefisato) is used. Possible translations include not only "to count", "to reckon" but also "to vote" or "to decide".[6]
Although Irenaeus (2nd century AD) affirmed the number to be 666 and reported several scribal errors of the number, there is still doubt by a minority of theologians about the original reading.[7][8]
616
In May 2005, it was reported that scholars at Oxford University using advanced imaging techniques had been able to read previously illegible portions of a manuscript which stated 616 instead of the majority of texts which state 666.[9] However, the existence of manuscripts attesting to 616 has been known long before this finding, the other early witness Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C) has it written in full: ἑξακόσιοι δέκα ἕξ, hexakosiai deka hex (lit. "six hundred sixteen").[10] This, along with the translation of P115, has led some scholars to conclude that 616 is the original number of the beast.[11]
The NRSV translation for Rev 13:18 includes this translation note: "Other ancient authorities read six hundred and sixteen".
Interpretations
In Greek and Hebrew gematria, every letter has a corresponding number. Summing these numbers gives a numeric value to a word or name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
— Rev. 13:18 (NKJV)
The use of gematria to calculate "the number of the beast" is used in many of the below interpretations.
Nero
Some scholars contend that the number 666 is a code for the Roman Emperor Nero.[12][13][14][15][16][13][15][17][18][19] Charagma is well attested to have been an imperial seal of the Roman Empire used on official documents during the 1st and 2nd centuries.[20] 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, a prohibition that conceivably goes back to Nero, reminding one of Revelation 13:17.[21]
However, others believe the Book of Revelation was written after Nero committed suicide in AD 68. The 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".[22] Additional Protestant scholars are in agreement.[23] [24] Because 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), critics have noted that the interpretation of Nero meeting the fulfillment is an impossibility as Revelation was written around 30 years after the death of Nero. [25] [26] [27]
The Greek spelling, "Nerōn Kaisar", transliterates into Aramaic as "נרון קסר", nrwn qsr. The Aramaic spelling is attested in a scroll from Murabba'at dated to "the second year of emperor Nero." [28] Adding the corresponding values yields 666, as shown:
| Resh (ר) | Samech (ס) | Qof (ק) | Noon (נ) | Vav (ו) | Resh (ר) | Noon (נ) | Sum |
| 200 | 60 | 100 | 50 | 6 | 200 | 50 | 666 |
Papacy
Some Protestant Bible commentators and some Protestant Reformers have equated the "beast" of Revelation chapter 13 with the Papacy.[29] To this end, the letters of a title of the Pope, Vicarius Filii Dei (Vicar of The Son of God), are summed to total 666 in Roman numerals. The earliest extant record of a Protestant writer on this subject is Andreas Helwig in 1612 in his work Antichristus Romanus. The title was contained in the Donation of Constantine,[30] by which large privileges and rich possessions were conferred on the pope and the Roman Church.[31]
Seventh Day Adventists have interpreted the number of the beast, 666, as corresponding to the title Vicarius Filii Dei of the Pope. The number 666 is calculated by using gematria.
| V | I | C | A | R | I | V | S | F | I | L | I | I | D | E | I | TOTAL |
| 5 | 1 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 500 | 0 | 1 | 666 |
In 1866, Uriah Smith was the first to propose the interpretation to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.[32] See Review and Herald 28:196, November 20, 1866. In The United States in the Light of Prophecy he wrote
- The pope wears upon his pontifical crown in jeweled letters, this title: "Vicarius Filii Dei," "Viceregent of the Son of God;" the numerical value of which title is just six hundred and sixty-six The most plausible supposition we have ever seen on this point is that here we find the number in question. It is the number of the beast, the papacy; it is the number of his name, for he adopts it as his distinctive title; it is the number of a man, for he who bears it is the "man of sin."[33]
Prominent Adventist scholar J. N. Andrews also adopted this view.[34] Uriah Smith maintained his interpretation in the various editions of Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, which was influential in the church.[32]
Various documents from the Vatican contain wording such as "Adorandi Dei Filii Vicarius et Procurator quibus numen æternum summam Ecclesiæ sanctæ dedit" [35] Which as translated is "As the Vicar and Caretaker of the worshipful Son of God, to whom the eternal divine will has given the highest rank of the Holy Church".
Samuele Bacchiocchi a Bible scholar, and only Adventist to be awarded a gold medal by Pope Paul VI for the distinction of summa cum laude (Latin for "with highest praise").[36] has documented the pope using such a title.[37][38]
We noted that contrary to some Catholic sources who deny the use of Vicarius Filii Dei as a papal title, we have found this title to have been used in official Catholic documents to support the ecclesiastical authority and temporal sovereignty of the pope. Thus the charge that Adventists fabricated the title to support their prophetic interpretation of 666, is unfair and untrue.
— 'Samuele Bacchiocchi,[39]
Muhammad
Some researchers have reportedly found the number of the Beast in the Greek word Maometis. In Quia Maior, the encyclical calling for the Fifth Crusade, Pope Innocent III identifies Muhammad with the beast of Revelation[citation needed](however newer popes do not[citation needed]). A leading exponent of the Maometis interpretation was Charles Walmesley, the Roman Catholic bishop of Rama. He observed that the name Muhammad was spelled Maometis or Moametis by Euthymius Zygabenus and the Greek historians Zonaras and Cedrenus.[40][41] Other proponents include Charles Montagu, Gilbert Genebrard, Francois Feuardent, and Rene Massuet.[40] Maometis in Greek gematria totals 666:
| M | A | O | M | E | T | I | S | TOTAL |
| 40 | 1 | 70 | 40 | 5 | 300 | 10 | 200 | 666 |
Muhammad is however spelled Moamet̪ in Greek.[citation needed]
Other suggested names
- Andrew of Caesarea in his Commentary on Revelation gives seven names: Lampetis (the lustrous one), Teitan, Palaibaskanos (an ancient sorcerer), Benediktos (blue bastard), Kakos Odegos (bad guide), Alethes Blaberos (really harmful), and Amnos Adikos (unjust lamb) each of which gives a total of 666. Most of these names are repeated by Arethas of Caesarea, who in his Commentary adds Teitan from Irenaeus and O Niketes (the winner).[42]
- Victorinus of Pettau gives the names Teitan, Antemos (opponent), Diclux (double-dealer) and Genserikos; the last he calls Gothic. As it is plainly Genseric, the Vandal king, who captured Rome in 455 AD, the passage as a whole can not go back to Victorinus, who belonged to the 3rd century. It is not, however surprising that the commentary should be brought up to date, after Genseric became notorious through the sack of Carthage or of Rome. Of the other names in Victorinus only Diclux needs mention. It is said to be the Latin counterpart of Teitan and by reckoning each letter at its value in Roman numerals, the total of 666 is again given.[42]
- Beatus, a Spanish monk, gives eight names among which are Damnatus (Damned), Antichristus (Antichrist), and Acxyme (for aichime or achine=666). The numerical interpretation of Antichristus is based on the order of letters in the Latin alphabet, a = 1 to x = 300, but the accusative must be taken and spelled Antechristum.[42]
Mark of the Beast
Mark of commerce
Those who hold to Futurist Christian eschatology believe that the rise of a supranational currency could be a hallmark of the End Times.[43]
Religious difficulties with a supranational currency currently exist (see World currency – Political difficulties). According to the Futurist view, to overcome the extant difficulties the Antichrist will use forced religious syncretism[44] (i.e. in the name of counterterrorism and world economic stability) to enable the creation of the supranational currency. Some interpret the mark as a requirement for all commerce to mean that the mark might actually be an object with the function of a credit card (e.g. implanted RFID tags).[45]
Other views
Seventh-day Adventists believe that the "mark of the beast" (but not the number 666) refers to a future, universal, legally enforced Sunday-worship. "Those who reject God's memorial of creatorship — the Bible Sabbath — choosing to worship and honor Sunday in the full knowledge that it is not God's appointed day of worship, will receive the 'mark of the beast.'"[46] "The Sunday Sabbath is purely a child of the Papacy. It is the mark of the beast."[47]
Some who take a preterist view of the Book of Revelation identify the Mark of the Beast with the stamped image of the emperor's head on every coin of the Roman Empire: the stamp on the hand or in the mind of all, without which no one could buy or sell.[48] New Testament scholar Craig C. Hill says, "It is far more probable that the mark symbolizes the all-embracing economic power of Rome, who's very coinage bore the emperor's image and conveyed his claims to divinity (e.g., by including the sun's rays in the ruler's portrait). It had become increasingly difficult for Christians to function in a world in which public life, including the economic life of the trade guilds, required participation in idolatry."[49] A similar view is offered by Craig R. Koester. "As sales were made, people used coins that bore the images of Rome's gods and emperors. Thus each transaction that used such coins was a reminder that people were advancing themselves economically by relying on political powers that did not recognize the true God."[50]
The verse is also seen as making a pointed ironical contrast with the Jewish institution of tefillin – bible texts worn bound to the arm and the forehead during daily prayer. Instead of binding their allegiance to God to their arm and head, the place is instead taken with people's allegiance to The Beast.[48]
Kabbalah
In Kabbalistic Judaism the number 666 represents the creation and perfection of the world. The world was created in 6 days, and there are 6 cardinal directions (North, South, East, West, Up, Down). 6 is also the numerical value of one of the letters of God's name.[51]
Other interpretations
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that The Beast for which 666 stands symbolizes many unified governments, harmonizing with the symbolic depiction of past governments (denoted as "kings") in the Book of Daniel as wild beasts. The Beast is said to have "a human number" in that the governments that the beast symbolizes are all of a human origin, they aren't made up of spirit or demon entities. Furthermore, the number 666 "itself all point to one unmistakable conclusion—gross shortcoming and failure in the eyes of Jehovah," thus imperfection (7 is used by God in many ways to indicate perfection such as days in the week, hence 6 is the number of imperfection, falling short of 7).[52]
Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) claimed that he was The Beast prophesied in the Book of Revelation and took the name "Το μεγα θηριον" (To Mega Therion),[53] Greek for "The Great Beast", which adds up to 666 by isopsephy, the Greek form of gematria.[16][54]
In the writings of the Bahá'í Faith, `Abdu'l-Bahá states that the numerical value given to the beast referred to the year[55] when the Umayyad ruler Muawiyah I, who opposed the Imamate, according to the beliefs of the Shi'ites, took office as Caliph in 661 AD – see also the scholarly accepted year of birth of Jesus about 666 years before as well as the concept of Mawali who were non-Arab Muslims but not treated as other Muslims – who continued to pay the tax required of nonbelievers and were excluded from government and the military, and thus bore a social "mark".[56]
See also
Notes
- ^ Revelation in the Greek New Testament at Internet Sacred Text Archive
- ^ "Revelation 13:17–18". King James Version of the Bible. Bible Gateway. Retrieved 22 June 2006.
- ^ a b "biblegateway666". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 3 August 2009. Cite error: The named reference "gateway-westcott-hort" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Revelation 13:18". Stephanus New Testament. Bible Gateway. Retrieved 22 June 2006.
- ^ "Revelation 13:18". Codex Alexandrinus. Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts. Archived from the original (JPEG) on 23 March 2006. Retrieved 22 June 2006.
- ^ The Revelation of St. John the Divine self-interpreted - Thomas Whittaker page 226
- ^ Anderson, Tom (1 May 2005). "Revelation! 666 is not the number of the beast (it's a devilish 616)". The Independent. London. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
- ^ There is debate in regards to this, one wrote "The figure 616 is given in one of the two best manuscripts, C (Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, Paris), by the Latin version of Tyconius (DCXVI, ed. Souter in the Journal of Theology, SE, April 1913), and by an ancient Armenian version (ed. Conybaere, 1907). Irenaeus knew about it [the 616 reading], but did not adopt it (Haer. v.30,3), Jerome adopted it (De Monogramm., ed. Dom G Morin in the Rev. Benedictine, 1903). It is probably original. The number 666 has been substituted for 616 either by analogy with 888, the [Greek] number of Jesus (Deissmann), or because it is a triangular number, the sum of the first 36 numbers (1+2+3+4+5+6...+36 = 666)".Dr. Paul Lewes, A Key to Christian Origins (Watts & Co., London, 1932, p. 140)
- ^ "Papyrus Reveals New Clues to Ancient World". News.nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|archive=ignored (help) - ^ Herman C. Hoskier, Concerning the Text of the Apocalypse, vol. 2, p. 364.
- ^ Philip W Comfort and David P Barrett, The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts, (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers Incorporated, 2001)
- ^ Fearful hope, Paul S. Boyer
- ^ a b The Book of Revelation, Catherine A. Cory
- ^ Revelation, Alan John Philip Garrow
- ^ a b Catholic Youth Bible, 1699. Books.google.com. 2005-08. ISBN 9780884897989. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Just, Felix (2 February 2002). "666: The Number of the Beast". Retrieved 6 June 2006.
- ^ Hillers, D.R. (1963). "Revelation 13:18 and a Scroll from Murabba'at". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 170: 65. doi:10.2307/1355990. Retrieved 7 August 2006.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|curly=ignored (help) Note: website requires subscription.The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Ed. Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1990. 1009 - ^ Some Recently Published NT Papyri from Oxyrhynchus: An Overview and Preliminary Assessment by Peter M. Head, Tyndale Bulletin 51 (2000), pp. 1–16 http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Tyndale/staff/Head/NTOxyPap.htm#_ftn39
- ^ (whose name, written in Aramaic, can be valued at 666, using the Hebrew numerology of gematria), a manner of speaking against the emperor without the Roman authorities knowing. Also "Nero Caesar" in the Hebrew alphabet is נרון קסר NRWN QSR, which when used as numbers represent 50 200 6 50 100 60 200, which add to 666. The Greek term χάραγμα (charagma, "mark" in Revelation 13:16) was most commonly used for imprints on documents or coins.
- ^ "Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology Mark of the Beast". Biblestudytools.com. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ Martin Pate and Calvin B. Haynes, Doomsday Delusions, 41–42
- ^ Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia, p. 861
- ^ Understanding Bible Prophecy for Yourself by Tim LaHaye p. 126
- ^ Hegel's grand synthesis: a study of being, thought, and history By Daniel Berthold-Bond p. 118, notes in consensus that Revelation was written around 95 AD
- ^ Understanding the book of revelation by dr.terri lewis - He along with other scholars note that Revelation was written about 95 AD.
- ^ books.google.com Your Study of the New Testament Made Easier Part 2: Acts Through Revelation], By David J. Ridges p. 409 - states "The book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John about AD 95"
- ^ books.google.com The New York Times guide to essential knowledge], By The New York Times p. 73
- ^ D.R. Hillers "Revelation 13:18 and A Scroll from Muraba'at." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 170 (Apr., 1963).
- ^ Halley, H.H., Halley's Bible Handbook, Zondervan Publishing house, 1978, p. 726
- ^ "CONSTITUTUM CONSTANTINI (Donation of Constantine)". The Latin Library. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ a b Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, 223
- ^ Uriah Smith, The United States in the Light of Prophecy. Battle Creek, Michigan: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association (1884), 4th edition, p.224.
- ^ The Three Angels of Revelation XIV. 6-12, p.109. 1877 reprint. Cited from Adventist Bible Commentary
- ^ Decree of Paul VI elevating the Prefecture Apostolic of Bafia, Cameroon, to a Diocese: Acta Apostolicæ Sedis, Commentarium Officiale, vol. LX (1968), n. 6, pp. 317-319. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. ISBN 8820960680, 9788820960681.
- ^ http://www.adventistarchives.org/docs/AAR/AAR19751027-V80-43__C.pdf#view=fit
- ^ http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/et_145.htm
- ^ http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/et_146.htm
- ^ Samuele Bacchiocchi, slide 116
- ^ a b The contribution of British writers ... - Google Books. Books.google.ca. 1983. ISBN 9783161444975. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ The general history of the Christian ... - Google Books. Books.google.ca. 1820. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Henry A. Sanders (1918) "The Number of the Beast in Revelation", Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 37, No. 1/2. (1918), pp. 95-99 (Subscription required for JSTOR link.)
- ^ "Here Comes the Beast (Revelation 13:1–18)". Bible.org. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ "Verse-by-Verse Commentary by Dr. Grant C. Richison". Versebyversecommentary.com. 31 December 1998. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ Scheeres, Julia (2003). "When Cash Is Only Skin Deep". Wired News. wired.com. Retrieved 25 November 2003.
- ^ Seventh-day Adventists Believe (2nd ed). Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 2005. p. 196.
- ^ Advent Review, Vol. I, No. 2, August, 1850.
- ^ a b Paul Spilsbury (2002), The throne, the lamb & the dragon: A Reader's Guide to the Book of Revelation, InterVarsity Press; p.99
- ^ Craig C. Hill (2002), In God's Time: The Bible and the Future, Eerdmans; p. 124
- ^ Craig R. Koester (2001), Revelation and the End of All Things, Eerdmans; p. 132
- ^ "Six Six Six « Ask The Rabbi « Ohr Somayach". Ohr.edu. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ "Identifying the Wild Beast and Its Mark". The Watchtower. 1 April 2004. Retrieved 29 June 2006.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|curly=ignored (help) - ^ Carroll, Robert Todd (2003). The Skeptic's Dictionary (Aleister Crowley). Wiley. ISBN 0-471-27242-6
- ^ Crowley, Aleister. The Magical Diaries of Aleister Crowley (Tunisia 1923), Skinner, Stephan (editor). Samuel Weiser. ISBN 0-87728-856-9
- ^ Research Department of the Universal House of Justice (7 January 1986). "Interpretation of Biblical Verses". Bahá'í Library. Retrieved 16 May 2007.
- ^ "Student Resources, Chapter 12: The First Global Civilization: The Rise and Spread of Islam, The Arab Empire of the Umayyads - Converts and "People of the Book"". Occawlonline.pearsoned.com. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
