Revelation 13:16-18

"He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no-one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666."

As well as controlling the world through religion, the false prophet will use another method to ensure everyone’s obedience to the Anti-Christ. According to this Scripture he will force everyone to have the name or number of the beast permanently marked on their hand or forehead. In John’s day this may have been very difficult to properly visualise, but today we live in an age where the technology to do this is common place. A bar code could be one possibility used to do this, and researchers have indicated that bar-codes have three sixes included in them. One at the beginning, one in the centre and one at the end. Without this mark, no-one would be able to have any part in buying or selling in the world dominated by the Anti-Christ. Obviously, anyone who makes Jesus their Lord will want nothing to do with this system and rely on God for their provision.

Already, there are some hints in our culture around the world today that show we are heading towards a one world system. In Europe, at the time of writing this (1997) there is much debate about moving to a single unit currency in Europe. Anything that pushes toward a one world system is originated from Satan’s plans and is attempting to undo what God did at the tower of Babel. As an example of something that shows that Satan is trying to push things in this direction, one Bible teacher has pointed out some interesting points about the American dollar bill. Below is an enlargement of a design which you can see clearly on the back of any dollar bill. (It is enlarged for the sake of clarity).

The small triangle on the top of the pyramid is well known in freemasonry and is called "the eye of Lucifer". (Lucifer is associated with Satan). The "great seal" that is referred to at the bottom is the great seal of the illuminate which represented a group that aimed to create a one world government. This was founded in 1776 which is the number found at the bottom of the pyramid in Roman numerals. The phrase above the eye "Annuit Coeptis" means "our efforts are crowned with success" and the phrase under the pyramid "Novus Ordo Seclorum" means "New Order of the ages". In other words,

Satan is saying that there will be a new world order of the ages under one government which will be crowned with success. This statement is found under the noses of millions of people on the back of something which today is essential for providing day to day needs! This does not mean that the dollar bill is part of the system which is spoken of in the Bible, but it does strongly hint to us what the devil’s intentions are.

But what does the Scripture mean by "the number of the beast"? What does 666 actually mean?

There have been so many bizarre and far fetched ideas to explain this mark, but some of these are a very good indication of things that Christians need to keep their eyes on. Here are a few meanings that have been given for the 666 mark. Some are more persuasive than others, but this is certainly not an exhaustive list:
 
 

1) Rome was the dominating power of St.John’s day and as such Roman numerals have been used to make calculations in connection with this number. One interesting example is found in Isaiah 14:12 where the phrase is used: "How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn!"

Morning star is translated in the King James version as "Lucifer". When the phrase "Lucifer Son Of The Dawn" is broken down in to Roman Numerals and added up the result is this:

L (50) + U(5) + C(100) + I(1) fer son of the D(500) + a W(10) n = 666

note that the excluded letters are not recognised in Roman numerals. W is counted as a "double ‘U’"
 
 

2) In Daniel 3 we see Nebuchadnezzar erecting a large statue which he demands that people worship. This idol is seen by many to be a "type" of the Abomination of desolation that will be set up by the Anti-Christ during the Tribulation. Daniel tells us that the idol is 60 cubits high, 6 cubits wide and there are 6 musical instruments played to provoke people to worship it. That’s three 6’s.
 
 

3) 666 may also represent Satan’s blasphemous copy of the Holy trinity. 7 represents spiritual perfection and Satan falls short of it.
 
 

4) Revelation describes how a third of the earth is wiped out by some of the plagues in the Tribulation. That would leave two thirds left behind. In percentage form this could be seen as 66.6%
 
 

5) As has already been mentioned, bar codes include three 6’s which are part of their make up.
 
 

6) In the book of Ezra there are details showing how many people were involved in the Babylonian exile. One group stands out to us: Ezra 2:13 "of Adonikam 666". Could there be any significance?
 
 

7) The number 6 in Greek was represented by a symbol called "Stigma" which looks like a snake. Satan is sometimes referred to as a snake. A snake also used to be the animal pictured on the banners of the Israeli tribe of Dan (see the chapter on Tribulation evangelism to see the significance of this).
 
 

8) 1 Kings 10:13-14

"King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country. The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents"

King Solomon was a man of God who went through a bad patch of back-sliding. His back-sliding was due largely to his involvement with women from other lands. He compromised his faith and began to pollute Israel with false worship, some see this as pictured in the book of Revelation. Solomon in some ways was a "type" of Jesus, so in his fallen years could be a "type" of the Anti-Christ or the beast. The women and their false religions could represent the Prostitute which rides the beast. Solomon received 666 talents (a huge quantity) each year in payment for his services and this could be a strong connection with the account in Revelation. Note also that Solomon was widely recognised for his wisdom, and this is referred to in Revelation 13:18.

Whether these examples are valid pointers is debatable, but it is possible that they can give us some insight. But, when we properly understand Greek and Jewish culture and writing, we see a more likely candidate to explain the meaning of Revelation 13:18. Firstly we need to understand the significance of numbers in these cultures.

One thing we can notice throughout The Bible is that God places a special significance on numbers. Even people who know nothing of the Bible seem to place some significance on numbers too, e.g. lucky 7 and unlucky 13. A glance through the book of Revelation will bombard you with strange imagery that seems to be rich in references to the number "7". Most people accept that "7" is a number used by God to associate something with spiritual perfection, but the spectrum of numerical significance is far greater than is generally noticed. Ivan Panin, Bullinger and R.T.Naish were men who devoted a great deal of time and effort in their lives on the subject of numbers within the Bible and have given us a good deal to work with.

"7" is not the only number in the Bible that has particular meaning, The Hebrews and Greeks gave other numbers meaning too and we can see evidence for this in certain Scriptures ...
 
 

"1" signifies unity or uniqueness. - e.g. Deuteronomy 6:4 "The LORD our God, the LORD is one"

"2" can signify division but it can also mean that something is good! (See Ecclesiastes 4:9)

"3" signifies Divine Perfection and is closely related to God (e.g. the Trinity)

"4" signifies God's Creation or the entirety of the earth. In Genesis 1:19 we see that God has finished creating the earth by the 4th day. There are also 4 points to the compass.

"5" signifies Grace. The anointing oil in Exodus 30:22 is made from 5 ingredients (myrrh,

cinnamon,cane, cassia and olive oil, even the quantities are multiples of 5). The Incense was also

made from 5 ingredients (gum resin, onycha, galbanum, frankincense and salt). There were 5

different animals that were used as sacrifice for forgiveness of sins (a hepher,a ram, a dove,

a goat or a pigeon)
 
 

"6" signifies Man. He is to work for 6 days, there are 6 different words used for man in the Bible

(Adam, Enosh, Ish, Ana, Gava and Anthropos) and Revelation 13:18 also confirms this.
 
 

"7" as we saw earlier signifies Spiritual Perfection. The 7th day, the 7th year and also the 49th year

(7x7) are all hallowed by God. This number also appears a great deal in nature too, such as

7 colours in the rainbow. There is more evidence related to this number later in this chapter.

It is probably the most important number.
 
 

"8" signifies Resurrection. 8 Resurrections are spoken of in the Bible. 1 Peter 3:20 speaks of the 8

people who were saved from the flood. Enoch who was raptured from the earth was the 8th

generation from Adam.
 
 

"9" signifies Finality. In the gospels we read that Jesus at his crucifixion said, "It is finished" on the

9th hour.
 
 

"10" signifies numerical completeness. The flood happened at the 10th generation from Adam. The

complete law was in 10 commandments. God released 10 plagues on the Egyptians before the

Exodus.
 
 

"12" signifies Governmental Perfection. There were 12 apostles, 12 tribes of Israel and the New

Jerusalem is riddled with 12's.
 
 

"13" signifies Evil or Rebellion. (See Genesis 14:4 for an example). 13 is a number that is often

linked to Satan and is still thought of by many people today as an unlucky number.
 
 

"40" signifies a Period of Trial. e.g. Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus in the wilderness.
 
 

"50" signifies Liberty. See Leviticus 25:10 concerning the Jubilee year.

Before we see why these numbers are of significance there is something else that needs to be understood about the culture of the Greeks. In the English language we rely on two different alphabets for our means of communication: a letter alphabet and a number alphabet. The Greeks used to count using their letter alphabet. For us that would mean that A=1, B=2, C=3 and so on. (The Hebrews used a similar system. A copy of "Teach yourself New Testament Greek" can give you this information). Their alphabet and the corresponding numbers looked like this:
 
 
 

A a Alpha    = 1	N n Nu       = 50
B b Beta      = 2	X x Xi   = 60
Gg Gamma  = 3	O o Omicron  = 70
D d Delta     = 4	Pp Pi   = 80
Ee Epsilon  = 5	(Koppa)  = 90
(Stigma) = 6	R r Rho = 100
Z z Zeta       = 7	S s Sigma    = 200
H h Eta        = 8	Tt Tau     = 300
Q t Theta     = 9	Uu Upsilon   = 400
I i Iota        = 10	F f Phi   = 500
Kk Kappa   = 20	Cc Chi     = 600
Ll Lambda = 30	Y y Psi   = 700
Mm Mu       = 40	W w Omega   = 800
(Sampi)  = 900

Now we understand about numbers in Greek, Bible verses like Revelation 13:18 can more sense. This verse says that we need to "calculate" the number of the beast. If the Greeks wanted to do this, they would take a person's name (or perhaps any word) and break the word down into its individual letters. Then they would take the numerical value for each letter and add them all up giving them a total figure. This is one of the signs by which believers will know at the end times the identity of the Anti-Christ. This method like so many other things has been perverted and used in the occult (you may have even used this as a child at school!)

This technique is wonderfully confirmed when we take a look at the "number" of certain other names. Use a Greek dictionary, a calculator and the chart above and work these out for yourself. e.g.
 
 

AMEN

Greek translation = A M E N

Numerical value = 1+40+8+50 = 99

9 = finality (Jesus also used this word 99 times in the New Testament!)
 
 

JESUS

Greek translation = I E S O U S

Numerical value = 10+8+200+70+400+200 = 888

8 = The number that represents resurrection!
 
 

All the following words which are also names for Jesus, when calculated, are all multiples of 8:

Christ, Son of Man, Godhead, Saviour, Lord, Messiah, Son, Truth. In fact the number "37" is associated with "The Word of God" and the first 4 names of that list are multiples of 8 and 37!

We are also given plenty of warning about Satan. Remember that the number "13" is associated with evil or rebellion ...
 
 

Satan (In Hebrew) = 364 (13 x 28) Beelzebub (with article) = 598 (13 x 46)

Belial = 78 (13 x 6) Dragon = 975 (13 x 75)

Serpent = 780 (13 x 60) Antichrist = 1651 (13 x 127)

Murderer = 1820 (13 x 140) Beast = 247 (13 x 9)

Tempter = 1053 (13 x 81) The Man of Sin = 1963 (13 x 151)

Wormwood = 1040 (13 x 80) The Son of Perdition = 1807 (13 x 139)

Deceiver = 169 (13 x 13)

Who is called the Devil and Satan = 2197 (13 x 13 x 13)

Mystery Babylon, the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations = 8138 (13 x 626)

Here we can see almost beyond doubt that God is showing us that Satan is evil and full of rebellion. The climax of Satan's plan, so he thought, was to completely destroy the Messiah. All throughout the history of his ancestors, the line of Jesus had been attacked. And finally, at Calvary, he thought he'd one the battle by crucifying him. We know of course, that his plan was overturned on him, and the situation was used to place the sin of mankind onto Jesus. On the crucifix, a sign was fixed up with "JESUS OF NAZARETH" used as his title (This Title for Jesus is not used any where else in Scripture). The numerical value for this title works out at 2197 which is 13 x 13 x 13 ! This shows us that Jesus took all sin and rebellion into himself on the cross.

Keeping in mind the significance of the number 13 look back at the picture of the dollar bill and count up the amount of rows there are in the pyramid. There are 13! The amount of rows stand for the 13 parties that were involved in the great seal. This is probably not a coincidence!

As for the number of the beast, there have been characters throughout history that have had the number 666 associated with their name through this method (The Hebrews also used the same technique as this). They themselves were not the Anti-Christ (though many people must have thought they were at the time), these people are "types" of the Anti-Christ: people who exhibit very similar philosophies or characteristics as him. Among these people are Hitler and Caesar Nero. These two men and the events surrounding them are probably the closest matches in history that could be associated with the description that the Bible gives of the Great Tribulation. Never-the-less, this character will one day arrive, and the believers at the time will be able to confirm who he is by this method.

Before we move on from the subject of numbers in the Bible, there are other interesting points which connect with a study of the end times:

The first involves a prophecy from the prophet Joel when he is making a prediction about Israel.

Joel 1:1-4 (RSV translation)

"The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel: Hear this, you aged men, give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten."
 
 

In that passage of Scripture there are four different types of locusts mentioned. Although it is uncertain what the Hebrew words mean exactly, scholars believe that it refers to the four different stages of the life cycle of the locust. Each stage of their growth becomes progressively more and more powerful and devastating. The interesting fact is that when we break down each of the Hebrew words for each type of locust and calculate the numerical value (from the Hebrew language of course) something important is revealed. Amazingly, each type of locust numerically represents the length of time a future kingdom occupied Israel for, and in the correct order! Babylon first, then Medo-Persia, then Greece and finally Rome (See diagram). Just like the locusts, each empire was worse than the last. These are also the same kingdoms that the prophet Daniel wrote about when he had his dream of the statue, each part of the body was made of a stronger metal as it progressed from head to foot. All scholars agree that the book of Joel was written before any of these empires ever came to Israel.

The second subject involves a cryptic message God gave to his church.

John 21:1-11

"Afterwards Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.

"I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered.

He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn."

Apart from the obvious messages in this passage, scholars have noticed something very interesting about it. The last verse says that there were 153 fish in the net. A sharp eyed mathematician may notice that 153 is no ordinary number, it is actually 16 factorial (that is 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10+11+12+13+14+15+16+17). Before looking any further we notice then that this is an interesting figure, but why should John make a point of telling us this number, there are no words wasted in Scripture.

If you had to give a description of the rapture of the church it would be like this:

It will be happening at the end times when the amount of people in the church is complete. The church would also be spotless and without blemish (perfect) and those that had already died would be resurrected. At this point they would be removed from the earth to meet Jesus and not one believer will be left behind!

Now look at the number system we used earlier and see which numbers would be appropriate.
 
 

9 = finality (the end times)

10 = numerical completeness (the full amount of people in the church)

7 = spiritual perfection (the church without spot or blemish)
 

If you add 10 to 7 you have 17. Multiply that by 9 and you get 153!

But there is more, the Greek for "the net" is "to diktuon". If each of these letters is added up using this system as before, we arrive at an even more stunning number.
 
 

t = 300

o = 70

d = 4

I = 10

k = 20

t = 300

u = 400

o = 70

n = 50
 

The total of those figures is 1224. Which just happens to be 153 multiplied by 8. As you now know 8 is the number for resurrection! Could this be just another coincidence?

To add to this evidence, look at the symbolism of what is happening in this Scripture. The net itself actually symbolises the rapture. The fish are the church being removed from the sea by the net which is the rapture. The sea in Biblical writing usually represented the multitude of people existing in the world. Jesus was also standing on the shore, just at the edge of the sea, just as he will be in the clouds just on the fringe of the world when he calls us up.
 
 

(10 + 7) x 9 x 8 = 1224

(numerical completeness + perfection) x finality x resurrection = Rapture of the church

This passage certainly does not prove the rapture, but it does strongly support it.

In summary then, this passage in Revelation 13 tells us that the number 666 has a great significance to the Anti-Christ and his world system. This number could mean a variety of different things, but a step back to look at the broad picture of interpretations can give us some valuable insight.
 
 
 
 

Questions & Answers
 
 

Are there any systems today that could relate to revelation 13:18?

Yes there are. Already we have commented on bar codes, but there are other systems in development which look like possible candidates. Of course the information we have is not absolute fact, and sometimes we rely on other people’s investigations. One system is an ambitious scheme which plans to bring about a "Global Cashless Society" using microchip technology and electronic currency. It has already been established in 250 major corporations in 20 countries and uses a microchip concealed in a plastic card which holds not only financial details but personal identification details. It uses "SET" protocols (Secure Electronic Transaction) and was first created in 1993 by Natwest/Coutts but is now managed by a company called "MONDEX" which is made from the names "Monetary & Dexter"

Websters Dictionary defines these words as follows:

"Monetary" - pertaining to money.

"Dexter" - belonging to or located on the right hand.

"Set" - The Egyptian god of evil or Satan.

Companies are already seeing that portable devices have certain limitations and are looking for more secure ways of administering the system. "INFOPET" are developing a syringe gun that can actually implant tiny "bio-chips". It has already been successful in animals and now MOTOROLA have apparently created a chip known as BT952000 that can be implanted into and powered by the human body. Only two places are said to be suitable for this to work efficiently: the forehead and the right hand! The people who are involved in developing this system are using many names and symbols used in occult and satanic customs. It is likely that this is just a clever gimmick to aid in marketing, but they may or may not realise that actually Satan is the mind behind it all.

This is just one system in development, but there are still others. All of them are possible candidates for the end-time system.
 

"Numbers constitute the only universal language."

Oliver Cromwell (1643).