Interpretations

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Revelation

Interpreting the identity and the number of the Beast usually falls into three categories:

1. Using gematria to calculate the number of a world leader’s name, in order to match it with the number of the Beast.
2. Associating the number of the Beast as the duration of the beast’s reign, in order to compare the length of reign to an entity, such as: a heathen state, Islam, or the Papacy.
3. Corresponding symbolism for the Antichrist and antichristian power.

Identification by gematria

In Greek isopsephy and Hebrew, every letter has a corresponding number. 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

Preterist theologians typically support the numerical interpretation that 666 is the equivalent of the name and title, Nero Caesar (Roman Emperor from 54-68). 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, a prohibition that conceivably goes back to Nero, reminding one of Revelation 13:17.

Preterists argue that Revelation was written before the destruction of the Temple, with Nero exiling John to Patmos. Most scholars, however, argue it 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”. Additional Protestant scholars are in agreement. Because some 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. However, rumors circulated that Nero had not really died and would return to power. It has also been suggested that the numerical reference to Nero was a code to imply but not directly point out emperor Domitian, whose style of rulership resembled that of Nero and who put the people of Asia (Lydia), whom the Book of Revelation was primarily addressed to at the time, under heavy taxation. 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, LVII; Tacitus, Histories II.8; Dio, LXVI.19.3). 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 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”).

Nron Qsr
The Greek version of the name and title transliterates into Hebrew as נרונ קסר, and yields a numerical value of 666, as shown:

Nro Qsr
The Latin version of the name drops the second Nun (נ), so that it appears as Nro and transliterates into Hebrew as נרו קסר, yielding 616:

Muhammad

Gematria has also been used with the word Maometis (Greek: Μαομετις); which scholars have described as a dubiously obscure Latinisation of a Greek transliteration of an Arabic word. In Quia Maior, the encyclical calling for the Fifth Crusade, Pope Innocent III identifies Muhammad with the beast of Revelation, although later popes did not. A leading exponent of the Maometis interpretation was Charles Walmesley, the Roman Catholic bishop of Rama. He falsely claimed that the name Muhammad was spelled Maometis or Moametis by Euthymius Zygabenus and the Greek historians Zonaras and Cedrenus. Sources indicate that Euthymius Zygabenus and Zonaras wrote the name as Maometh and Cedrenus wrote the name Mouchoumet none of which is the “Maometis” in question. Other proponents include Charles Montagu, Gilbert Genebrard, Francois Feuardent, and Rene Massuet. Maometis in Greek numerals totals 666:

Mu, 40; Alpha, 1; Omicron, 70; Mu, 49; Epsilon, 5; Tau, 300; Iota, 10; Sigma, 600; TOTAL=666.

In the 1923 book The Number And Names Of The Apocalyptic Beasts, David Thom rejects “Maometis” as a valid translation, observing that “of the seven different ways in which Muhammad’s name is written in Euthymius and the Byzantine historians, not one is the orthography in question”. None of the given spellings add up to 666 under Greek gematria.

Other suggested names
Arethas of Caesarea in his Commentary on Revelation gives seven names:  Lampetis (the lustrous one), o Niketes  (victor), Teitan, Palai baskanos (ancient sorcerer), 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).

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 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.

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.Mark of the Beast

The Classical Greek word charagma(χάραγμα), translated as mark (of the beast) in Revelation 13:16 also means stamped money, coin or the impress on the coin.

Preterist view

A common preterist view of the Mark of the Beast (focusing on the past) is 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. New Testament scholar Craig C. Hill says, “It is far more probable that the mark symbolizes the all-embracing economic power of Rome, whose 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.”

Adela Yarbro Collins further denotes that the refusal to use Roman coins resulted in the condition where “no man might buy or sell” (Rev.13:17).

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.”

In 66, when Nero was emperor—about the time some scholars say Revelation was written—the Jews revolted against Rome and coined their own money.

The passage is also seen as an antithetical parallelism to the Jewish institution of tefillin – Hebrew 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.

Idealist view

Idealism, also known as the allegorical or symbolic approach, is an interpretation of the book of Revelation that sees the imagery of the book as non-literal symbols.

The idealist perspective on the number of the beast rejects gematria, envisioning the number not as a code to be broken, but a symbol to be understood. Idealists would contend that because there are so many names that can come to 666 and that most systems require converting names to other languages or adding titles when convenient, it has been impossible to come to a consensus. Given that numbers are used figuratively throughout the book of revelation, idealists interpret this number figuratively as well. The common suggestion is that because seven is a number of completeness and is associated with the divine, that six is incomplete and the three sixes are “inherently incomplete”. The number is therefore suggestive that the Dragon and his beasts are completely inadequate. Another suggestion is that this number represents an individual’s incomplete or immature spiritual state.

Futurist view

A futurist view of the Mark of the Beast is that the rise of a supranational currency could be a hallmark of the End Times and that the mark of the beast will be a sign on the forehead or on the right hand. Futurists (focused on the future) believe that the revelation addresses primarily the Second Coming (of Christ) and similar events at the time’s end (1:7; 19:11-16; 22:11-12). Although many do find truth in these general assertions, this view does not bring to light many events others such as historicists claim precede the time of the end (Ch. 2-5; 12:5-16).

Religious difficulties with a world currency currently exist. According to the Futurist view, to overcome the extant difficulties the Antichrist will use forced religious syncretism (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, such as RFID microchip implants. In Christianity, some believe the implantation of chips may be the imprinting of the Mark of the Beast, prophesied to be a requirement for all trade, and a precursor to the events of the Book of Revelation.

Historicist view

Historicists (focused on the flow of history) believe Revelation articulates a full range of the history of the Christian church, from John’s day to the Second Coming of Christ, the approach taking the full evidence of the book seriously. Evidently the author (John) indicates that historicism is the correct application to the study of Revelation in chapter one (1:1), where he alludes to Daniel 2:28 and 45. Daniel’s vision (Daniel 2) uses symbols giving a sequence of future events in history, from the Babylonian empire, through Medo-Persian period, Greece and Rome continuing until the end of the current civilization. This apocalyptic volume builds on Daniel’s approach focusing on major points of Christian history: the cross (Rev. 5:6,9,12); the Second Coming (19:11-19-16) and more (chap. 20). As parts of Daniel appear not to involve predictions of history (e.g., Dan. 3-6), attention to the text of Revelation to know just how John and Jesus intended us to apply each vision might be paid.

Seventh-day Adventists, taking this view 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. “The Sunday Sabbath is purely a child of the Papacy. It is the mark of the beast.”

Numerical significance
Bahá’i
In the writings of the Bahá’í Faith,`Abdu’l-Bahá states that the numerical value given to the beast referred to the year 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”.

Jehovah’s Witnesses
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 theBook 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).

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.