The Number of the Beast (Greek: Ἀριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου, Arithmos tou Thēriou) is the numerical value of the name of the person symbolised by the beast from the sea, the first of two symbolic beasts described in chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation. In most manuscripts of the New Testament the number is 666, but the variant 616 is found in critical editions of the Greek text, such as the Novum Testamentum Graece. Most scholars believe that the number of the beast (v.18) equates to Emperor Nero, whose name in Greek when transliterated into Hebrew, retains the value of 666, whereas his Latin name transliterated into Hebrew, is 616; The "mark of the beast" (v.16,17) is used to distinguish the beast's followers. Revelation 13:17 says that the mark is "the name of the beast or the number of his name". Because of this, it is widely thought among dispensationalists that the mark will be some future representation of the actual number 666. It has also been speculated that the "mark" may be an Imperial Roman seal, or the Emperor's head on Roman coins.
Read more about Number Of The Beast: Revelation 13:17-18, Belief Systems
Famous quotes containing the words number of the, number of, number and/or beast:
“A considerable percentage of the people we meet on the street are people who are empty inside, that is, they are actually already dead. It is fortunate for us that we do not see and do not know it. If we knew what a number of people are actually dead and what a number of these dead people govern our lives, we should go mad with horror.”
—George Gurdjieff (c. 1877–1949)
“... [woman suffrage] has made little difference beyond doubling the number of voters. There is no woman’s vote as such. They divide up just about as men do.”
—Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884–1980)
“I who have been involved with all styles of painting can assure you that the only things that fluctuate are the waves of fashion which carry the snobs and speculators; the number of true connoisseurs remains more or less the same.”
—Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)
“Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou ow’st the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the cat no perfume. Here’s three on’s are sophisticated. Thou art the thing itself; unaccommodated man is no more than such a poor, bare, forked animal as thou art.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)