Revelation: - Knights of Columbus, Supreme Council

The Number of the Beast
The famous number of the beast appears in v. 18. The number six hundred and
sixty-six is in the first place, a symbol of the greatest imperfection, since it is
the sacred number seven less one repeated thrice. But John says that it is a
human number, meaning, without doubt, that it is a number to be had by
adding together the numeri cal values of the letters of someone’s name. Whose
name? We must confess that there is not possible any absolutely certain
answer. We are not sure what language John is thinking of whose numbers are
to be used. John wrote in Greek, but he probably thought in Aramaic, and he
uses mostly Hebrew sources. Even Latin is not an impossibility, since he
personifies the antichrist in terms of the Roman Empire. It is probable that a
person of ingenu ity could get the number 666 from almost any name or title
he chose, if we allowed him to formulate the name or title as he wishes and
decide what language it is to be placed in. Actually, the most probable
candidate for the number of the beast is the Emperor Nero, the first persecutor
in the name of Rome. If we add the numerical values in Hebrew of the name
Nero Caesar (Neron Qesar) we obtain 666. Is this the correct solution? We
cannot be sure; it is only a guess. But it seems likely in view of what follows.
The Diabolical Trinity
We should remark that now with the dragon, the beast (of the sea) and the
false prophet (the beast of the land) together, we have a kind of “diabolical
trinity” set in opposition to the true Trinity of God. As John mentions the
three of this “trinity” in 16:3, just as he has previously stressed the appearance
of the divine Trinity, we can conclude that it is not sim ply coincidence that
opposes three to three. The final sign in this introductory series presented as a
“cast of characters” is that of the 144,000 (14:1-5), which we previously saw
(7:4ff.) represents the Church on earth, the elect of God. Here they are
presented with the Lamb, with his sign on their foreheads, standing on Mount
Zion in total con tradiction to the beast and his followers. Here they are also
called virgins and firstfruits for God, even as Paul entitled the Christians to
whom he wrote.
- 47 -