Revelation 13:18

² “It is counted as men usually count. Compare Rev. Rev. 21:17+, and ‘a man’s pen,’ Isa. Isa. 8:1.”—M. R. Vincent, Vincent’s Word Studies (Escondido, CA: Ephesians Four Group, 2002), Rev. 13:18.

³ Ibid.

⁴ E. W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture: Its Supernatural Design and Spiritual Significance (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1967), 48-49.

⁵ Bullinger explores the relationship between the name of the character stigma and the mark of this passage: “The number 6 was stamped on the old mysteries. The great secret symbol consisted of the three letters SSS, because the letter S in the Greek alphabet was the symbol of the figure 6 . . . α = 1, β = 2, γ = 3, δ = 4, ε = 5, but when it came to 6, another letter was introduced! Not the next—the sixth letter (ζ, zeta)—but a different letter, a peculiar form of S, called “stigma.” Now the word στίγμα [stigma] , means a mark, but especially a mark made by a brand as burnt upon slaves, cattle, or soldiers, by their owners or masters; or on devotees who thus branded themselves as belonging to their gods. It is from στίζω [stizō] , to prick, or brand with a hot iron. Hence it came to be used of scars or wound-prints , and it is thus used by Paul of his scars, which he regarded as the tokens of his sufferings, the marks which he bore on his body for the sake of his Lord and Master, and marking him as belonging to the one who had bought him (Gal. Gal. 6:17).”—Ibid., 283.

⁶ “The expression of this number, Χ ξ ςˊ consists of the initial and final letters of the word χριστός [christos] , christ, viz., χ and ςˊ with the symbol of the serpent between them, χ-ξ-ςˊ.”—Bullinger, Number in Scripture: Its Supernatural Design and Spiritual Significance, 49.

⁷ Bullinger mentions several interesting properties associated with this value: “It is remarkable that the Romans did not use all the letters of their alphabet, as did the Hebrews and Greeks. They used only six letters, D, C, L, X, V, and I. And it is still more remarkable, and perhaps significant, that the sum of these amounts to 666: 1. D = 500; 2. C = 100; 3. L = 50; 4. X = 10; 5. V = 5; 6. I = 1.”—Ibid., 284. “The number 666 has another remarkable property. It is further marked as the concentration and essence of 6 by being the sum of all the numbers which make up the square of six! The square of six is 36 (6², or 6 x 6), and the sum of the numbers 1 to 36 [36 factorial] = 666, i.e., 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 + 16 + 17 + 18 + 19 + 20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + 24 + 25 + 26 + 27 + 28 + 29 + 30 + 31 + 32 + 33 + 34 + 35 + 36 = 666.”—Ibid., 286.

⁸ “The only textual issue that we are concerned with is the correct reading of Revelation Rev. 13:18+, και ὁ ἀριθμὸ αὐτοὺ ἑξακοσιοι ἑξήκοντα ἕξ [kai ho arithmo autou hexakosioi hexēkonta hex] , ‘and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.’ This is the reading of Sinaiticus (א), Alexandrinus (A), Chester Beatty papyrus (p⁴⁷), many Italic manuscripts (it), the Vulgate (Vg), and most other manuscripts including the Syrian (syr) and Coptic (cop). The Italic manuscript (it) has τεσσερακοντα [tesserakonta] , ‘forty’ instead of ἑξήκοντα [hexēkonta] , ‘sixty.’ This is probably due to a scribal error confusing Revelation Rev. 14:1+ with Rev. 13:18+. This reading does not appear until the ninth century. Of more concern is the δεκα [deka] ‘ten’ of Ephraemi Rescriptus (ca. fifth century) and the Italic manuscript Harleianus Londiniensis (it^z, eighth century). Irenaeus was aware of this textual variant but roundly condemned it as misleading. This strong testimony from Irenaeus and the late nature of the variant reading lend confidence that 666, not 646 or 616, is the correct reading.”—Hal Harless, “666: The Beast and His Mark in Revelation 13,” in The Conservative Theological Journal, vol. 7 no. 22 (Fort Worth, TX: Tyndale Theological Seminary, December 2003), 337.

⁹ “Instead of ἑξήκοντα [hexēkonta] , which is strongly supported by P⁴⁷ א A P 046 051 all extant minuscules it^gig gv syr^{ph, h} cop^{sa, bo} arm al, δέκα [deka] is read by C some manuscripts known to Irenaeus . . . and Tyconius^pt. According to Tishendorf’s 8th ed., the numeral 616 was also read by two minuscule manuscripts that unfortunately are no longer extant . . . When Greek letters are used as numerals the difference between 666 and 616 is merely a change from ξ to ι (666 = χξςˊ and 616 = χιςˊ. Perhaps this change was intentional, seeing that the Greek form Nero Caesar written in Hebrew characters (נרון קסר [nrwn qsr] ) is equivalent to 666, whereas the Latin form of Nero Caesar [in Hebrew] (נרו קסר [nrw qsr] is equivalent to 616.”—Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1994), Rev. 13:18.

¹⁰ Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. I (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997), s.v. “ECF 1.1.7.1.5.31.”

¹¹ Ibid., s.v. “ECF 1.1.7.1.5.30.”

¹² Harless, “666: The Beast and His Mark in Revelation 13,” 343-344.

¹³ John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1966), s.v. “666 False Trinity.”

¹⁴ “Many . . . take the view that the number 666 represents man’s falling short of perfection. . . . No Greek article appears before the word ‘man,’ so one could render the statement, ‘it is the number of man.’ ”—Daniel K. Wong, “The Beast From The Sea in Revelation 13,” in Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. 160 no. 639 (Dallas, TX: Dallas Theological Seminary, July-September 2003), 338n2.

¹⁵ Ibid., 337n2.

¹⁶ We are not suggesting it is likely that he will remain for such great periods beyond our day, merely recognizing the Scriptural possibility.

¹⁷ Alan F. Johnson, Revelation: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966), 138.

¹⁸ Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1995), Rev. 13:18.