The number of the myth

 

- Nah, I´m the Beast, dude!

Some short remarks on the Number of the Beast (a propos a posting on another blog).

Most scholars agree that the number (666) refers to the Roman emperor Nero. The details are unimportant, suffice to say that we are dealing with a numerical cipher. The strongest evidence in favor of this hypothesis is that the Beast in some ancient Bible manuscripts has the number 616. Using gematria (an ancient numerological code), both 666 and 616 can be translated to "Nero Caesar". Unless I´m mistaken, 666 gives the Greek name and titel written in Hebrew characters, while 616 gives the Latin name and title written in Hebrew characters. So Nero it probably is.

The Book of Revelation, in which the accursed number appears, is notoriously difficult to date. I think the current consensus is that it was composed during or shortly after the reign of emperor Domitian, which would date it to 30 years after Nero. However, there is no necessary contradiction: Domitian was sometimes known by his detractors as "Nero redivivus" (the resurrected Nero), so while 666/616 *means* Nero, it could be a reference to Domitian as a kind of second Nero. That both Nero and Domitian persecuted Christians also speaks in favor of this theory. Indeed, according to Church tradition, Revelation was written by the apostle John on the isle of Patmos, to which he had been banished by Domitian. 

Interestingly, the meaning of 666/616 must have been lost at an early point in Christian history. The Church Fathers didn´t know that it was a code for Nero Caesar. The reason could be that Revelation was a controversial text, and that many Christians scarcely regarded it as canonical. Irenaeus proposed that the Number of the Beast could mean Euanthas, Lateinos or Teitan. He favored Teitan. 

Curiously, the number also shows up in the Old Testament, where it says that king Solomon demanded 666 golden talents in tax! Venerable Bede (6th century) noticed this and proposed that the Beast will demand taxes which are not rightfully his. So on this interpretation, 666 was originally a "good" number, since Bede regarded Solomon as a legitimate ruler. The Beast is an usurper laying claim to gold which doesn´t rightfully belong to him.

Final point. Many historians today seem to doubt that Domitian persecuted Christians. A few revisionist historians have also questioned the Neronian persecution. But if this is so, then the meaning of 666 could suddenly be brought into question. For if the Christians weren´t actually persecuted by these two emperors, why use "Nero" as a beastly designation in Revelation? But I suppose we could save the day somehow. Perhaps Christians during the time of Domitian wrongly believed that Nero had persecuted their brethren 30 years earlier, including the executions of Peter and Paul? But that sounds strange. Or maybe Christians expected a severe persecution under Domitian and called him "Nero" since Domitian´s political enemies did the same. Nero, after all, was universally reviled by the Romans. That sounds somewhat more believable. 

To sum up: 666/616 with a strong degree of probability means Nero Caesar, although there are still some loose ends to tie up.