Is 666 Really the Mark of the Beast?

By Alison Lesley --
16 Apr 2016 --

The search for the identity of the beast in the history of the number 666.

Both Greek and Hebrew languages have only one set of characters to represent both words and a number. A Greek word has a corresponding mathematical value. For example, IhsouV is the Greek word for Jesus. Its mathematical equivalent is 888.

Is 666 Really the Mark of the Beast?[/tweetthis]

666, the “mark of the beast,” the number long associated with the devil, found in the Book of Revelation, has been one of the greatest Christian mysteries of all time. According to leading specialists on early Christianity, the number 666 refers to the Roman Emperor Nero. They have come to this conclusion based on the mathematical representation of the Greek version of Nero's name, Neron.

Nero's rule is often associated with tyranny. He was a corrupt and cruel emperor. He also used to persecute Christians during his reign. It has been rumored that Nero used to capture Christians, dip them in oil, and set them on fire. He then would place them in his garden at night as a source of light. However, this is not the reason why the specialists think that 666 refers to Nero.

According to Kim Haines-Eitzen, a professor of Ancient Mediterranean Religions with a specialty in Early Christianity at Cornell University, earlier manuscripts of Revelation contained the number 616 instead of 666. 616, in Latin, mathematically equates to the name Nero.

It was when Morgan Freeman met with Kim Haines-Eitzen for his National Geographic Channel show, The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, that Haines-Eitzen revealed this information to the actor. Freeman met with Haines-Eitzen at the Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome, a library established in the year 1701 by the Dominican Order of the Saint Mary.

Very interesting article about the origins of 666. https://t.co/njBg5Klv5y
— Jim Kopycinski (@jkopy1962) April 12, 2016

According to Freeman, there is something fascinating about the way Christianity understands the concept of the end of the world. He has been traveling all around the world to understand the concept of the end of the world from various religious standpoints. So far, he has been to the Vatican City in Rome, cavernous valley Qumran in Israel, Industrial Canal (New Orleans), and the Tibetan Monastery Sarnath in India.

Haines-Eitzen, in an interview with National Geographic Channel, said that, when the Book of Revelation was written, it was considered as a politically charged book, at that time. Some Christians did not even accept the book in their churches. Others, however, had a clear idea what the book was talking about.

According to Morgan Freeman, Apocalypse is not about vengeance or judgment. It is all about enlightenment. It is about seeking the truth.