Revelation 13:18 - DCLXVI, The Number of the Beast

There is much symbolism in the New Testament. Oneof many base languages and, or, bold interpretations of
example is in the infamous referral to the number ofother exotic, possibly esoteric languages and
the beast. Some historians have shown a relation tocommunications to convey the new Christian
Hebrew numerology and the name of Nero.message.
I see a multilayer of anti-Roman sentiment especially inThe fishermen of souls were of a varied degree of
the use of the basic Roman numeral system ofbackgrounds and educations. Their message was
representing letters for numbers to also identify themeant to reach the greatest possible number of souls.
beast. "This calls for some wisdom. If anyone hasAs such, I look at the simplest and the most
insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for itcomplicated of people of that era and can say with
is man's number. His number is DCLXVI." - Revelationconfidence that the Roman numeral system was
13:18known to all the commerce and economies of
(D = 500 + C = 100 + L = 50 + X = 10 + V = 5 + I = 1)Ben-Zebedee's world. Beyond the beast being a real
500+100+50+10+5+1 = 666person or a real event then, now or in the future, the
Of course one cannot fully discount the numerologytrue number of the beast is a simple and a
attached to the Hebrew alphabet which would possiblycomplicated message.
have the number of the beast to be a disguised slapThe complicated answer I leave to the domain of
at the anti-Jewish, anti-Christ persona in the form ofscholars. For me, a simple man in a very complicated
the Roman dictator Nero.modern world, I, a visually oriented person, see the
Numbers like words are symbols. They crosspromises of Satan as a large amount, whether it be
reference thought, sound, meaning, and visualtallied in money or power etc.
expression but in a perhaps more precisely calculatedTo the ancient world, this was a large number. If one
manner. If one is looking for the deepest possiblelooks at it visually and in the basic six digits of Roman
meaning to John's new "riddle of the sphinx", so tonumerics, it is both a large number and a descending
speak, one has to probe deeper.number of 500 ranging down to one. The only thing
The polyglot language of the Roman world shows usmissing is the Hindu-Arabic concept of zero which I
how not one, but many languages, were in use at theadd to my interpretation here.
time. This is evidenced by examples of slightlyThe promise of Satan and of Evil is great but the
pre-Roman artifacts such as the Rosetta Stone. Goodpromise and reality of the promise in the end equals
communication meant use of many of the best wordsitself to or is less than zero.