PMW 2024-061 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

One of the continuing interests that laymen have in Revelation regards the number 666. This dreaded number appears in Revelation 13:18:

“Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”

Who among us has not feared $6.66 coming up on his cash register receipt? Or worse yet, 666 appearing in his Social Security number!

The significance and usefulness of this number lies in the fact that in ancient days alphabets served a two-fold purpose. Letters functioned, of course, as phonetic symbols from which written words could be formed. But they also served as numerals, in that the Arabic numbering system was a much later development of history. Roman numerals are perhaps the most familiar example of this.

Due to this ancient phenomenon of the two-fold use of alphabets, riddles employing numbers which concealed names were common. [1] Any given name could be reduced to its numerical equivalent by adding up the mathematical value of all of the letters of the name. Archaeologists have discovered many of these as graffiti on city walls that have been excavated. Many more appear in ancient literature, as well.

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When John, then, gave a numerical value as a partial concealment of the name of the Beast (Rev. 13:18), he was engaging in a common practice in his day. If we could decipher the name hidden in the number, we could point to the identity of the Beast. This, in turn, could be helpful in determining the date of Revelation.

Searching for 666

As we seek to learn the identity of 666, there are several principles of interpretation which we must keep in mind to govern our thinking. As is evident from the history of the interpretation of 666, we certainly do need something to confine our thinking to the realm of the reasonable. The necessary, textually derived limiting features are:

1. We must understand that the number is not a series of three 6s. But is a full value of “six hundred and sixty-six,” as per the Greek text.

2. The name-number 666 must be “that of a man” (Rev. 13:18b). This excludes any interpretation that would involve demonic beings, philosophical ideas, political movements, or any other non-human concept.

3. It must speak of one of John’s contemporaries. This is due to the temporal expectation of John (Rev. 1:1,3,19; 22:6ff). This principle alone will element 99.9% of history’s suggestions.

4. The name must be that of someone relevant to the first century Christians to whom John wrote. He expected them to give heed (Rev. 1:3) and to calculate the Beast’s number (Rev. 13:18).

5. This man must be someone of evil, blasphemous nature. This is required in light of his character as outlined in Revelation 13.

6. He must also be someone possessing great authority (Rev. 13:2,7). This almost certainly demands a political figure.

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One illustration of the hopeless results gained by ignoring any or all of these obvious limiting factors is found in a dispensational work of the 1970s. In this work we read an amusing and vain attempt to explain the number 666:

“At all times Satan has had to have one or more Antichrist candidates waiting in the wings, lest the Rapture come suddenly and find him unprepared. That is why so many malevolent world leaders have had names whose letters added up to 666 when combined in certain ways. (Depending on which 666 formula is used, at any given moment there are several hundred thousand men in the world whose names add up to 666. It is from this large pool of candidates that Satan has traditionally chosen his ‘man of the moment’).” [2]

Contrary to as competent a scholar as Leon Morris, even, I doubt that “the possibilities are almost endless.” [3] The limiting factors derived from Revelation’s text greatly restrict the realm of possibility.

But to what does this infamous number refer? I will be dealing with this in a brief series of articles. Stay tuned.

NOTES

1. This phenomenon is called a “cryptogram” by modern scholars. Among the Greeks it was called iospsephia (“numerical equality”); among the Jews it was called gimatriya (“mathematical”). See: Alfred Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Social Life (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, rep. 1972 [1876]), 289-290.

2. Raymond Schafer, After the Rapture (Santa Ana, CA: Vision House, 1977), 55.

3. Leon Morris, The Revelation of St. John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969), 174.