He Shall Have Dominion

Second, the textual variant. Hebrew would not have been widely
known by non-Jewish, Greek-speaking Roman informers. Consequently,
some manuscripts change 666 to 616. The difference surely is no accident
of sight made by an early copyist. The numbers 666 and 616 are not
similar in appearance in the original Greek — whether spelled out in
words or written out as numerals. Textual scholars agree: it must be intentional.
42
Although we cannot be absolutely certain, we may make a strong and
most reasonable case for the following conjecture. John, a Jew, used a
Hebrew spelling of Nero’s name in order to arrive at the figure 666. But
as Revelation continues its life beyond John’s immediate hearers, a wellmeaning
copyist who knows the meaning of 666 probably offers 616 to
make its deciphering easier. It surely is no mere coincidence that 616 is
the numerical value of “Nero Caesar,” in its more common Latin spelling.
Third, the beastly image. Revelation 13 both calls and portrays the one
behind the 666 riddle as a “beast.” Because of its natural association, the
term “beast” can easily symbolize persons with a bestial nature. Almost
all scholars agree that Nero possessed a bestial nature. Nero is even
feared and hated by his own countrymen, as ancient Roman historians
43
agree. The pagan writer Apollinius of Tyana, a contemporary of Nero,
specifically calls him a “beast.” 44
Fourth, the war with the saints. John’s beast will “make war with the
saints and to overcome them” (Rev 13:7). In fact, he conducts such
blasphemous warfare for a specific period: forty-two months (Rev 13:5).
45
Nero begins his persecution of Christians in AD 64. This is the first ever
Roman assault on Christianity, as many Church Fathers (e.g., Eusebius,
Tertullian, Paulus Orosius, and Sulpicius Severus) and Roman authorities
46
(Tacitus and Suetonius) note. The persecution finally ends when Nero
42. Metzger, A Textual Commentary, 751–752. David H. Van Daalen, “Six Hundred
Sixty-six,” in OCB, 699–700.
43. Suetonius, Nero 7:1; 27:1; 12:1; 28–29; 33–35; Tacitus, Histories 4:7; 4:8;
Pliny, Natural History 7:45; 22:92; Juvenal, Satire 7:225; 10:306ff; See also: Dio,
Roman History 61:1:2; Ascension of Isaiah 4:1; Sibylline Oracles 5:30; 12:82.
44. Philostratus, Life of Apollonius 4:38.
45. Workman, Persecution in the Early Church, 22; Schaff, History of the Christian
Church, 1:379.
46. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2:25:3; Sulpicius Severus, Sacred History 2:28;
Tertullian (AD 160–220), On the Mantle 4; Apology 5; Paulus Orosius (AD 385–415),
The Seven Books of History Against the Pagans, 7:7; Tacitus, Annals 15:44; Suetonius,