The Mark of The Beast

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Introduction

Revelation 13: 16-18 state “And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand or on their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom: He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six.”

Although these verses are intelligible for the most part, they do have some perplexing phrases like “the number of his name” and “the number of a man”. When one sees such phrases, one might think of tax identification numbers, military registration numbers, or the like. Such numbers may appear to be relevant in current times, but they were not in ancient times. Further, they are numbers which are associated with a particular man and his name, but not “of his name”. In other words, such numbers are assigned to a man’s name rather than derived from it. This is an important distinction if we are to preserve good insight into the guidance provided by Revelation.

We are then concerned with deriving a number from a name, and ultimately a name from that number. We know that such a task is not easy because a name usually consists of only letters with no apparent relationship to numbers. There are a few exceptions as in the case of some sons adopting their father’s name with a suffix number like “III” to reflect such an adoption. The name John Jones III is such an example.

Although this name contains the number III, it does not define the name, principally because it is another form of assignment of a number to a name. It is well known that this suffix number is applied to many different names for the same reason. It therefore does not define any one particular name. For such a definition we must look for a different number that can be derived from the name itself. Such a derivation is possible only if there is a relationship between numbers and the contents of a name, particularly the letters of a name. In other words a number must be assigned to each letter of the name such that a different number can be calculated for the name as a whole.

One might argue that the assignment of a number to a letter is likewise misleading, but it is not. Such an assignment is not an assignment to a name, but to letters of a name or letters of any word used in a particular language. It defines a one to one, or unique, correlation between a specific number and a specific letter. This specific number defines only one letter and cannot be used to define other letters within the language. Further, this assignment permits a number to be derived from a name which is not assigned to the name as in the case of other practices heretofore described. The derived number for the name would be calculated from the individual numbers assigned to each letter of the name.

The derived number would also be unique to a specific name if a unique calculation approach is used in all cases. For example, the derived number would be the sum or addition of the individual numbers assigned to each letter of the name. If such an approach is not used in all cases, of course, the derived number would not be unique, but dependent on the approach used. Revelation 13: 18, however, confirms that a unique calculation approach should be used as understood by the author of Revelation and his contemporaries around 100 AD. History has confirmed that this approach is as suggested in the example, since the early Christians used it in deriving the name “Caesar Neron” as will be discussed .

Thus, even though a unique calculation approach has been established, there still remains the task of assignment of specific numbers to specific letters to establish a relationship between them. Such a relationship is not apparent to most in the western hemisphere because it has adopted for the most part the Arabic numeral system. This numeral system was imported into the western hemisphere and, as an import, its individual numbers had no relationship to letters of western hemisphere languages.

This import, however, did not rule out the existence of prior relationships, or even that such relationships still exist though not well known. Such relationships do in fact still exist as can be seen by review of the appendices of some unabridged dictionaries. These relationships have been quietly inherited since the time when Revelation was written and must be considered to arrive at a comprehensive interpretation of the quotation provided in Revelation 13: 16-18.

At that time the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew alphabets were each structured to provide their own unique and different relationships. The most familiar case, of course, is the Latin alphabet established by the Roman Empire and inherited by the western hemisphere. In it the letter “I” designates the number “1”, “V” the number “5”, “X” the number “10”, “L” the number “50”, “C” the number “100” and “M” the number “1000”. In addition, combinations of these letters designate other numbers.

When this relationship was used for such designations, the context in which they were used conveyed whether they represented a letter or a number. It was used extensively within the Roman Empire for general purposes and still is today to some extent for designating dates on documents and plaques where an artistic flavor is desired. However, as a practical numbering system it was clumsy, necessitating the use of aids such as the abacus bean counter to accomplish number counting. The abacus, however, was limited in its capabilities and, as commerce developed, it proved to be insufficiently accurate in calculating such complex numbers as interest due on loans. It was then abandoned by commerce in favor of the Arabic number system that demonstrated greater capability for these purposes.

Nevertheless, with the advent of the computer age, a new numbering system has been introduced that does once again relate letters and numbers, as will be discussed later. For now it is important to return to the numbering systems used by those who lived when the Book of Revelation was written around 96 to 100 AD. This book was written first to the seven Christian churches that existed in Asia Minor (Turkey) at that time to convey a message to them in the context that they understood. To understand this message we must therefore return to the context that they understood.

In the case of a numbering system their context was that of a system that related specific letters to specific numbers and vice versa. In addition, groups of letters could designate a number and a number could designate a group of letters, such as contained within a name and inferred by Revelation 13: 16-18. These verses also infer that the cited number is “a number of a man”. This phrase must also be interpreted within the context of 100 AD. We currently relate to such a phrase in terms of a number applied to a prisoner as displayed on his prison clothing. This number identifies him both as a prisoner and as a specific prisoner.

In ancient times around 100 AD, however, prisons did not exist as they do today. Instead, criminals were either executed or enslaved. Some slaves did escape, so their owners took measures to recover them. These measures included branding them with a mark that specifically identified them as a slave that belonged to a specific owner. This mark would be the owner’s name or a number that identified the owner’s name and would thus be the number of the owner or “a number of a man”.

Thus, a runaway slave could be readily identified as such and returned to a specific owner. In view of these understandings we can properly deduce that the number cited in Revelation 13: 16-18 defines a name in terms of all of its letters and that this name is the name of an owner of slaves who have been marked with his name or the number of his name. This is the context that would be applicable around 100 AD and must be construed as the context that would be applicable in the future when the prophecies of Revelation are fulfilled. Proper interpretation of Revelation cannot therefore lose sight of this context.

Numbers History

Those who have examined the origins and accepted the authenticity of the Book of Revelation have generally endorsed the number six hundred sixty-six (666) as the original number included within verses 13: 16-18. However, some Bibles reflect this endorsement by citing the number 666 within these verses while noting in a footnote that some very old manuscripts of the book cited the number six hundred sixteen (616) instead. This reflection is historically correct, but effectively contradicts the endorsement of the number 666 by retaining the number 616 for further study as the correct number.

That being the case, it is proper to conduct such a study to analyze the history of these numbers to confirm the correct number. Revelation was first written and circulated unsealed around 96 to 100 AD among the seven Christian churches in Asia. They were all exposed to the original number included therein, so its contents could not be readily changed. Popular Christian witness would not permit it. As familiarity with the book increased, this witness also increased, making it even more difficult to change these contents. To determine the character of that familiarity we must look to history.

Around the year 100 AD the church was still being persecuted by the Roman Empire, which was part of a religious war between the polytheism of Rome and the monotheism of Christianity. Physically it was a one sided war in which Christians played the role of prisoners of war subject to Rome’s decrees. Such a scenario would continue for another two hundred years until ended by Emperor Constantine. Of course, as any prisoner of war would do, the Christians would be searching hard for a long time for any available hope of relief.

The Book of Revelation provided such hope where none other was really available. Even though the book is not all that clear, it does indicate God’s continued presence among the chaos of this world and His eventual triumph over it. To gain further hope these Christians would have studied it painfully to glean whatever additional understanding they could. Such a study would particularly include a study of the number assigned to the beast’s name, so they could confirm his identity. History tells us that early Christians believed this name to be “Caesar Neron”.

This belief was based on derivation of this name from the number 666, using the Hebrew alphabet. If one performs such derivation as a test, one could quickly deduce this name. The early Christians must also have quickly deduced this name. It made sense to them because it is so similar to the name of “Nero Claudius Caesar”, the tyrant Roman Emperor who ruled Rome from 54 to 68 AD.

During his reign he set a fire that burned much of the city of Rome to gain additional land to build his new palace. He then blamed the Christians for the fire causing them to be persecuted by the Roman Empire for some time to come. At about the same time the Roman Empire suppressed a Jewish revolt in a devastating war that lasted from 66 AD to 73 AD. The combination of the persecution and the war would have certainly made the Christians believe that they were living amidst the chaos envisioned by Revelation, particularly since many were expecting Christ’s return in the near future.

Nero then readily identified to these early Christians as the beast of Revelation. This identification made so much sense that it grew and solidified to become a majority view within the early Christian world. It was subsequently handed down with conviction from generation to generation causing it to endure for centuries. Even today the name “Caesar Neron” is held by some to be the probable name for the beast. In fact, some hold that Revelation is only a history book describing events surrounding the early Church, Nero’s persecution, the burning of Rome, the Jewish War, and continued persecution.

Such impressions could only be possible if the earliest impression made was that the original number in Revelation 13: 16-18 was the number 666 upon which the name “Caesar Neron” is based. In addition, this impression had to be consistent with the true number cited by the author of Revelation. If any attempt were made to alter this number and convey a different impression, it would have faced one insurmountable obstacle – the credibility of the author of Revelation who would still be alive and would testify against such an attempt.

If that is the case, one has to wonder when the number 616 was introduced. Historical indications are that this took place more than twenty-five years after Revelation was initially written and circulated. Apparently several copies of Revelation were subsequently found that cited the number 616 versus the number 666. This find led to a controversy over which was the correct number and it was officially addressed by the church. At that time the author of Revelation was probably deceased, so resolution had to be made by a church official who had recognized familiarity with Revelation’s history.

This official was St. Irenaeus (130 to 202 AD) who was a disciple of St. Polycarp, who was in turn a disciple of St. John the Evangelist credited with authoring the Book of Revelation. St. Irenaeus refuted the number 616 as the original number, once again confirming the number 666 as the correct original number. This decision was subsequently documented, resulting in related comment about some manuscripts citing the number 616 being eventually noted in subsequent Bibles as a historical footnote.

Since the controversy required an official decision, it can be deduced that inclusion of the number 616 in manuscripts found was not regarded as a mistake that could then be dismissed without official comment. If it was not mistake, then it had to be intentional. If it was intentional, it had to have a purpose. The purpose was obviously to change accepted understanding of the original number some time in the future. Since this number is key to understanding the name of the beast of Revelation, the subtle purpose behind the obvious purpose was to change the accepted understanding of the name of the beast some time in the future.

Such a change would be possible some time in the future when familiarity with Revelation and its origins had decreased to a point where its contents could be regarded as a matter of opinion by the uninformed masses. It could then be distorted to effect a deceptive change in the correct original number from 666 to 616. This deception could then conceal the beast’s correct identity and thereby conceal the correct interpretation of Revelation. It could even afford an alternate identification and interpretation, thereby derailing attempts to properly understand Revelation. If we do not have this understanding, of course, we are more vulnerable to deception as to the real meaning of Revelation’s prophecies. These prophecies have been given to us primarily for assistance in overcoming end time tribulation and achieving our salvation.

It should then be concluded that the ultimate purpose for the introduction of the number 616 was to inhibit assistance in overcoming end time tribulation made possible by use of the correct original number in Revelation 13: 16-18. Fortunately, general and specific popular witness has continually confirmed to the very present that the number 666 was and continues to be the original number. Such conclusions are further supported by an examination of these numbers themselves and the implications they convey.

Numbers Study

Such a study should begin by drawing attention once again to the practice of relating a number to a name in Revelation 13: 16-18. Such practice is not common today, but ancient alphabets related letters to numbers. The letters of a name each had a corresponding number that could all be summed up for one larger number, representing the name. Thus, numbers conveyed a meaning for letters as well as names. In addition, some numbers conveyed connotations beyond these meanings.

For example, the number seven (7) connoted perfection. It gained this status in its association with symbols of perfection recognized by the ancient world. Creation itself was noted to have taken seven days to complete. Then, there were the Seven Wonders of the World, most of which no longer exist. Perhaps the most influential association of all was made by ancient astrology in postulating that the highest sphere of heaven was “seventh heaven”, a condition of perfect happiness. Even today the phrase "seventh heaven" is used to connote a state of sublime happiness.

Thus, the number seven came to be uniquely associated with states of perfection that were one of a kind and became a symbol of perfection. On the other hand, the number six (6) connoted imperfection for one of a kind, since it falls one value short of the number seven (7). It would seem that the number six should be regarded as near perfection, since it is near the number seven. This relationship is usually made in any contest where there is only one winner, but still several runner-ups regarded as worthy of note. These runner-ups retain some status due to their ability to perform almost as well as the winner. They then have sufficient commonality with the winner to deserve some recognition.

However, when there is only one of a kind in performance, there are no runner-ups by definition. The substance salt is an example of one of a kind. In ancient times its value was such that it was used as currency. Even today the term “salary” is derived from the term “salt”. It therefore had and still has a uniqueness all of its own, making it one of a kind like the states of perfection symbolized by the number seven. Nevertheless, salt can lose this uniqueness as pointed out in Matthew 5: 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing anymore but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men.”

Although this loss of savour is only one defect, it destroys the uniqueness of the salt, which then has little further value due to this one shortcoming. It transitions from a state of extreme perfection to a state of extreme imperfection with only one change in its characteristics. The good salt can then be symbolized by the number seven and the bad salt by the number six. Such an analogy illustrates how the reduction of the number seven to the number six can be used as symbolic of the erosion of extreme perfection to extreme imperfection. Since Revelation 13: 16-18 uses a group of numbers to describe an individual and a group of individuals, there are possible connotations that be conveyed with respect to individuals and groups of individuals.

The center 6 of the number 666 could connote an one of a kind individual with extreme imperfection surrounded by similar individuals as represented by the outer numbers of 6. Taken together the number 666 could connote a one of a kind group of individuals with thorough imperfection. Likewise, the center 1 of the number 616 could connote an individual with oneness of integrity surrounded by individuals of extreme imperfection as represented by the outer numbers of 6. When it is observed that the number 616 equals the sum of eight sets of the number 77, other connotations can be observed.

If the value 616 were used to identify the beast, such a number would first connote an individual with oneness of integrity that is covered over with false images. Second, the underlying sets of the value 77 would connote that this individual had underlying qualities that were superbly good. It could be likened to a “frame-up” of an innocent person accused of a crime. Such a person’s outward image would be sufficiently smeared by surrounding him with false images, while his inner image is one of superb innocence.

An example of such a frame-up is that associated with the crucifixion of Christ. His outward image was sufficiently smeared with such accusations as to cause Him to be sentenced to execution by crucifixion. Even in His crucifixion this outer image is further smeared by placing Him between two criminals. Yet, what Christian can doubt the superb goodness of His inner image? It almost seems as though Providence is thwarting the use of the number 616 for such a frame-up and brings to mind 1 Corinthians 3:19 “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written: I will catch the wise in their own craftiness.”

The connotation conveyed by the number 616 is then one of a frame-up of a very innocent person. The connotation conveyed by the number 666 is identification of the guilty. Such identification is consistent with the connotation conveyed by the metaphoric symbolism and general text of Revelation in describing an extremely guilty beast king and beast organization. Such context as well as all of the foregoing rationale strongly confirms the number 666 as the original number contained within Revelation and the number to be studied to unlock its secrets and prophesies.

With this understanding in mind it is noted in Revelation 13: 17 that the value 666 is assigned to the name of a beast. It is further noted in Revelation 13: 18 that it is the number of a beast and of a man. It can then be inferred that the number is assigned to a name of a beast as represented by the name of a man. The number also indicates that this "beast" is a thoroughly extreme imperfect one of a kind. Since it is represented by the name of a man, it can be said that the man inferred is also a thoroughly extreme imperfect one of a kind.

History has identified any number of men who might be called "one of a kind" for different achievements. Closer examination, however, should classify each achievement as one of a kind rather than the man who achieved them. A one of a kind man is then really one with a one of a kind nature. Ruling out physical defects which do not affect one's nature, there has only been one man who was identified with a one of a kind nature.

That man was Jesus Christ whose nature was such because it consisted of both a human nature and a divine nature. Like salt, Christ was unique in being one of a kind due to His divinity. Like worthless salt, the man whose name is related to the value 666 may well be like Christ in all respects except one, which is His divinity. Such an assertion is supported by Revelation 13: 14-15 that indicates that this man will require the world to adore him under penalty of death by adoring a statue made in his image.

He will also be a slave owner who will rule over slaves marked with his name. Together they will constitute the beast of Revelation that can be likened to a beastly totalitarian state, or a "beast kingdom" with a "beast king" for a ruler. However, this "beast kingdom" could not be regarded as a kingdom as were the beasts described in the Book of Daniel. In such kingdoms, the subjects of the king were truly ruled by the king, but not as slaves. They enjoyed certain freedoms and even rights.

Per Revelation 17: 9-11 this "beast king" will be an eighth king, having reigned before as one of the seven and the people of the world will "wonder" or be surprised at his reappearance after being dead. After his second reign, he too will go down to destruction. He will also be a prisoner prior to his reappearance as well as after his second reign (Isaiah 14: 15-16). The prison implied, of course, is one of a spiritual nature that is referenced in Revelation 9: 2 as the "bottomless pit".

However, such information only sets us on the course to identifying the beast king, as it did the early Christians. We should be grateful for the progress they made and build upon that progress to achieve this identification. To do so we must first examine their beliefs for continued credibility in light of information that has become available since their era. In particular, we must so examine the identification of Nero as the beast king.

Nero Claudius Caesar

It is true that the Hebrew alphabet related its letters to numerical values and that the name “Caesar Neron” was derived from this relationship. Some have interpreted this to mean the beast king was the Roman tyrant emperor Nero Claudius Caesar who ruled Rome from 54 to 68 AD and was one of its most infamous emperors. Although Nero persecuted the Christians extensively there are a number of reasons why he did not qualify as the beast king.

First, Nero’s name was “Nero”, not “Neron”. Some would say that is true, but the Hebrews referred to him as “Neron”. This argument is faulty since the name “Nero” is a “proper name” of an individual. Even in today’s world proper names of individuals are spelled exactly the same regardless of the language used. The name “Michael” in English is pronounced “Miguel” in Spanish. Yet, if one were named “Miguel” and traveled into English speaking countries, he would still be called “Miguel” because that is his proper name.

Second, Nero was not recognized as a ruler who had lived, died, and returned to life.

Third, Nero disdained religion and did not put his statue in the Jewish temple for worship. His predecessor Gaius (Caligula) Caesar (37-41 AD) wanted his statue in the Jewish temple, but he died before he could make it happen.

Fourth, while Nero’s persecution was extensive, it was limited to his own realm - the Roman Empire, as it existed in his time. The burning of Rome by Nero may have been impressive to the local inhabitants, but it did not include the whole world as one could reasonably expect after reviewing Revelation.

Fifth, Nero’s persecution did not include a requirement that all bear the mark of his name or its number on their foreheads or right hand as stated in Revelation 13: 16-17 “And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand or on their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” If Nero’s persecution had, it would have been well documented, which it is not.

Sixth, and most importantly, Nero’s persecution did not culminate in the second coming of Christ. This link is essential since this book portrays Christ as defeating the beast at the Battle of Armageddon after the persecution indicated. Nero, however, committed suicide on June 9, 68. Almost two thousand years have elapsed since his death and Christ has not yet returned nor have the awesome celestial events surrounding that return yet been observed.

All of these events are foreseen in Revelation and simply have not yet happened. Any interpretation of this book that does not include consideration of these events falls short of being an adequate interpretation. Still, if Nero was not the beast king or Antichrist, one might wonder why God would permit such inference to be apparent. It could well be that Providence wished it to serve as continued proof that the number 666 was the original number included within Revelation 13: 16-18. In addition, Providence may have wished to encourage the infant church to keep its faith and thereby improve its survivability.

The church was still being persecuted by Rome and would be for some time to come. The prospect that Caesar Neron would resurrect as the former Nero and assume the role of the Antichrist made Revelation very relevant to the early church. Although Nero did not previously qualify as the Antichrist, he did commit suicide by stabbing himself in the throat. He could then possibly return to life with a mortal head wound that was healed. The head of the beast that had this feature would then represent him.

Although his name was previously Nero, he could possibly change it to Neron for his return. He could then qualify as the Antichrist after his return and the end time would be shortly fulfilled. This prospect, of course, meant that Christ would shortly return as well and victory would be given to those who remained faithful. In view of its relative weakness in the face of continuing persecution, the early church would have gleaned hope from this book with anticipation of this victory. Thus, even though end time events were not fulfilled in these early days, the survivability of the infant church was enhanced.

Some may object to this speculation by saying that Revelation was addressed to Christians of the first century AD concerning events which would happen in their life time and that they understood it perfectly well. However, if the original audience understood it perfectly well, then the church would have passed this understanding down through the generations so that we may all have the same understanding. This has been the practice with regards to all the other books of the Bible. They have been explained at length on a frequent basis. St. Paul, for example, wrote a number of letters to the people of his time, but we derive benefit from his inspired teachings in our own times as well. The church, in fact, meticulously copied the Bible with laborious manual script from century to century to avail its message to succeeding generations.

As to the Book of Revelation, the same could be said. To limit the applicability of messages in Revelation to peoples long dead is to categorize Revelation as not much more than a history book. As such, it does not account for a number of significant events that have yet to happen according to this book. These events include worldwide persecution, the Battle of Armageddon, awesome celestial events and Christ’s second coming in all of His majesty. However, reducing it to a history book does serve the beast’s purposes. As a history book, people would be much less concerned and would not make real effort to understand Revelation. Lacking this understanding they are vulnerable to deception the beast wishes to convey. Unless one has foresight in these events, he may well succumb to this deception. The truth will be swallowed up in argumentation based on the ambiguity of Revelation as well as restrictions placed on communications during the forecasted persecution of Christians.

Still, it might be speculated that someone named Caesar Neron could emerge as the beast king in the future. The possibility of this being the case is very, very slim. According to Revelation, the beast king will be one of the previous rulers who has lived, died, and been reincarnated. Further, people will marvel at his return to life. In addition, if someone professed to be a resurrected Nero, people would not likely marvel at him. Very few at all have any idea what Nero looked like. They would likely consider him to be an imposter with some ulterior motive. Thus, the name Caesar Neron has very, very little chance of being the name of the beast king.

Dilemma

In view of the shortcomings of the cited interpretation, various other interpretations of the meaning of the Book of Revelation have subsequently been made. None of these interpretations, however, have been generally accepted, since they did not lead to an interpretation of Revelation that survived the test of time in all essential aspects. A dilemma therefore exists. The Book of Revelation is recognized as worthy of our interest, but that interest cannot be sustained without adequate encouragement on its interpretation. One could speculate that God did not wish this book to be correctly interpreted until the appropriate time. In view of its contents, which tend to be alarming, this intention would be justified. God does not want us to be alarmed unduly. Still, He wants us to face up to future challenges including those forecasted by Revelation.

Still one needs the correct interpretation in order to face these challenges. Review of historical tribulations and related interpretations reveals that these interpretations were not correct because they failed, at least, to adequately address the cited issue raised by the Book of Revelation - the name of the beast as identified by the value 666. Revelation 13: 18 provides this clue for an understanding of this name as well as to the rest of its meaning hidden by the use of metaphorical symbols. Although this value has been analyzed by great minds, it has not been correctly interpreted. These great minds simply did not have an adequate basis for that interpretation.

Rosetta Stone

However, there is now reason to believe that such a basis has been established.  Recent international agreement has been made on the assignment of specific numerical values to letters of western hemisphere languages. It is an unprecedented accomplishment made by the International Standards Organization (ISO) located in Geneva, Switzerland. Recent advances in technology have made this possible. These advances are those related to digital computer technology that was prompted principally by World War II computer needs and subsequent escalated development for space exploration and information management. Digital computer processing is based on the use of numbers to represent letters and symbols, as well as other numbers. Information letters, numbers, and symbols are individually transformed into numerical values that are then transformed into corresponding digital codes that are processed by the computer. These codes are then transformed back into letters, numbers, and symbols after processing for display to the world outside of the computer.

Initially each company developing a computer type used its own unique numerical values. Since the different brands had different values, commonality was lacking and these different brands could not communicate with each other. Large organizations like the U.S. Government purchased various brands and, as time went on, these organizations recognized the need for their different brands to communicate for the sake of flexibility and economy. To permit this, a set of standard numerical values was established to uniformly designate commonly used letters, numbers, and symbols of the western hemisphere languages used within the United States.

It was developed in 1964 by the American Standards Association (ASA), later known as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). This set of standard numerical values is identified as the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII). Each of these values in turn have a corresponding standard digital code which is used by computer equipment to process and display whatever letter it represents. The ASCII set was adopted two years later as a basis for worldwide use by the International Organization for Standardization (IOS), otherwise known as the International Standards Organization (ISO) located in Geneva, Switzerland. Details concerning this adoption process were recorded within the 1972 Honeywell Computer Journal article entitled “A View of the History of the ISO Character Code”.

ISO used this set as a basis for the development of other sets that were subsequently included in ISO standards. These standards were then issued to various countries to enable each to develop computers that could intercommunicate. ISO standard number 10367 (“Information Technology - Standardized Coded Graphic Character Sets for Use in 8 Bit Codes”) includes a summary listing of all of these sets. It includes a multilingual “Latin 1” set which is the most comprehensive for European languages and is listed below.

Analysis

The introduction of this practice represents a new opportunity to understand the meaning of the numerical value 666. The Latin 1 set of numerical values provides a credible basis for interpretation of this value for the beast's name. Analysis of this set has resulted in identifying several letter subsets in which the numerical values associated with each letter adds up to the value 666. These subsets are as follows :

Some of these subsets contain only one vowel. Others contain an additional lower case vowel as opposed to the rest of the letters being upper case or capitalized. Ruling these out as unlikely candidates leaves only the subset ÖSTUVWX formed by the combination of the letters “K” and “N”. All of its letters are the same case and it contains two vowels. One of these vowels is the letter “O” accentuated by the German umlaut ( ¨ ) that is used to raise a vowel by the rounding of the lips and is approximated within the English language by the vowel combination “oe”.

Juggling the two vowels around in the subset ÖSTUVWX reveals the existence of an interesting subset segment - “VÖX”. This is the Latin word for “VOICE” with an umlaut accentuation. Deleting the segment “VÖX” from the subset leaves the segment “STUW”. This segment can be rearranged to alternative segments “SWUT”, “TWUS”, and “WUST”. None of these segments exist as a word exactly in American and European dictionaries reviewed. However, the German dictionary has two words that are very similar to the segment “WUST”. One is a noun spelled “wust” which is defined as “confusion, chaos, mess, rubbish, lumber”. Another is an adjective spelled “wüst” which is the same word with the “u” accentuated by the umlaut. It has two different definitions depending on whether it is used in usual or figurative sense. These definitions are as follows:

Sense :	Definition :
Usual	desolate, waste, desert
Figurative	confused, vile, filthy, and coarse

It is seen that the connotations behind both the noun “wust” and the adjective “wüst” are quite similar. In fact, the connotations behind the adjective “wüst” include the connotation behind the noun “wust”, so the adjective can be analyzed by itself for a comprehensive interpretation. Using the usual sense definition of the adjective, the combination of the segments “WUST” and “VÖX” could be interpreted to mean “desert voice” or “a voice of one crying in the desert” as John the Baptist describes himself in John 1: 23. Using the figurative sense definition, the combination could be construed to mean “confused, vile, filthy, and coarse voice”, or simply “filthy voice”.

If these segments are not found “exactly” in any of the dictionaries, it could be argued that such derivations are erroneous. If the context in which they are used is ordinary text or conversation, this argument is quite formidable. If the context is a name, however, such derivations are entirely possible, since names are derived by individuals who use their own license to form them. Society accepts these names as derived as long as they are not offensive. Offensive names, nonetheless, can also be forced upon society as in a totalitarian state. In any event, names can be derived from, but not controlled by dictionaries. But which is it? “WUSTVÖX” or “VÖXWUST”? The two arrangements are basically a combination of a German word and a Latin word with umlaut accentuation. Whether one is used or the other depends on whether the descriptive adjective “WUST” should precede or follow the noun “VÖX”. In Latin languages, the descriptive adjective generally follows the noun. In the German language the descriptive adjective generally precedes the noun.

A Germanic influence obviously predominates, so German grammar should be implemented. The adjective should precede the noun and the logical choice is “WUSTVÖX”. ... Still, the name is spelled in capital letters! Usually, a name only begins with a capital letter and the rest of the letters are lower case. A customary spelling would then be “Wustvöx”. The Latin 1 set could also represent such a spelling, but its value would be 821 instead of 666. The prophecy, however, does not permit use of the number 821, so “WUSTVÖX” must be retained and interpreted.

The customary interpretation of a word that is written in all capital letters is that the author wishes to convey emphasis or extreme meaning. In these cases the extreme meaning would be found in the extreme meaning of the associated adjective - “WUST”. In the interpretation “voice of one crying in the desert” the extreme meaning would be found in the extreme meaning of “desert” which connotes a place devoid of life, or where there is only death. An extreme meaning of this interpretation would then be “Voice from the Dead”. For those who believe that there is life after death, the extreme meaning would be “Voice from Hell” where there is spiritual as well as physical death.

In the interpretation “filthy voice” one might say that a filthy voice is a filthy voice and it is not necessary to measure degrees of filthiness. That may be true, but the impact of the filthy voice can vary in seriousness depending on how it is used. A child can use dirty language with a parent and get a spanking. An adult in court can insult the judge and get sent to jail for contempt of court. An adult can insult another adult and lose his life at the hands of the insulted by either retaliation or dueling as was practiced a century or so ago. ...An adult can insult God with blasphemy and lose eternal life!

In all of these examples there is a loss of a certain degree of life that increases with each succeeding example. The degree of the seriousness increases with the degree of loss of life and is most serious with the loss of eternal life. Blasphemy therefore has the greatest impact and is the extreme case of a filthy voice. In this case the correct interpretation is then “The Blasphemous Voice” or “The Voice of Blasphemy”. The Book of Revelation describes the Antichrist in terms of a beast which will emerge from Hell, have blasphemies written on his seven heads, and will conduct a campaign of blasphemies against God during his three and one-half years reign on earth. ”WUSTVÖX” with its dual, cogent, and relevant meanings is then a very good name for such a beast.

Still, what is the mentioned “code” for this name and why can it be used instead of the name? The prophecy indicates that the value of the letters in the beast king’s name will add up to 666. This number can be represented by three different kinds of digital codes - binary, octal, and hexadecimal. The binary code is the most basic, consisting of “1s” and “0s” which represent the “on” and “off” states used for processing in a digital computer. The octal and hexadecimal codes are shorthand codes used to represent the binary code since it is unwieldy. The number 666 is represented by the binary code series 1010011010 that in turn is represented by octal series 1232 and hexadecimal series 29A. The latter shorthand series look rather typical and have no very apparent meaning, making them less useful as a mark. The binary series looks typical, but certainly is not.

This ten digit series is displayed below where it is divided in the middle by a space such that its left most five digits are separated from its five most right digits. Digits on either side that are equidistant from the center of this space are seen to be the opposite of each other. If one digit is a “1” the other is a “0” or vice versa. Such a code could then be used to connote contradiction or opposition as would be expressed by a blasphemous voice where a creature opposes its creator. Other series could be identified which would also display similar opposition, but their value would not be 666 and therefore not correspond to the name “WUSTVÖX”. The connotation common to both the name and the code therefore provides strong support for the accuracy of both.

Conclusion

This analysis, then, establishes the name “WUSTVÖX” as a creditable name for the end time beast, since it will be marked with and conduct a campaign of blasphemies. From the Book of Daniel and the Greek history that fulfilled its prophecies it can be reasonably expected that the beast will be characterized as a coalition of European powers. The name is representative of the languages used by the bulk of the populace of Europe that are rooted in the Latin and Germanic languages. It is therefore representative of a European coalition and is therefore a good possibility for the name of the beast.

As such it is a good means of identifying which European coalition will eventually constitute the beast.  There have been any number in the past and, of course, one currently exists designated as the European Union.  This union is perhaps much more extensive that any that have preceded it and the current climate of end time anticipation would tend to make it suspect.  Such suspicion has existed any number of times in the past, so it is not anything new.  In fact, it has been become rather routine when one considers its recurrence since the time of the prophet Daniel.

It is therefore important to remember the past, so that it is not repeated.  It is also important to use reason rather than emotion in assessing the true character of current times.  As regards the European Union it is to be noted that it has not adopted the name derived herein. It can then be fairly stated that this union is not the anticipated beast, nor should it be unfairly treated as such. It shows every sign of being an honorable coalition that is pursuing the objectives of peace and understanding. It therefore warrants the support of its Christian constituency in furthering these objectives. The more they are supported, of course, the stronger such a coalition will become and act as a deterrent to the rise of any other coalition that would do otherwise. Such a deterrent would then prolong the current era of peace and good will and is therefore most welcome.

Index

Introduction
Numbers History
Numbers Study
Nero Claudius Caesar
Dilemma
Rosetta Stone
Analysis
Conclusion

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