ROME 666

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ROME 666

What does 666 mean?

Historians have long understood that the 666 in the book of Revelation was some footnote to gematria, that ancient practice where letters are also numbers. It can now be shown that this was not a simple reference but rather a supreme symphony of complex and interrelated gematrias.

More than any other number in history, the number 666 conjures up a kaleidoscopic array of phantasms, devils and crackpot political conspiracies. The number, having travelled through thousands of years of superstition and medieval demonology, has accrued a long tail of imaginative and even childish associations. In the Western mind there is no number better than 666 to represent pure evil, however, evidence is accruing that this understanding is incorrect.

The number comes to us from the book of Revelation, written by John the Apostle while imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos. This last book of the Bible is filled with startling and memorable descriptions of mystery events. So well crafted is the writing that it created an entire mythology of the endtimes that still haunts us today.

The key to the book appears to be the number itself. Historians and theologians have long thought the gematria of John was very basic. It can be shown, however, that John’s gematria may have been extraordinarily advanced, employing numerical coding methods only recently rediscovered.

Revelation 13:18

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.

Here John challenges the reader to decode his references. To a Graeco-Roman reader of the first century the clue here would be a clear and obvious reference to the practice of gematria. Prior to the advent of Hindu-Arabic numerals, numbers in the languages of Greek and Hebrew, were represented by the letters of their alphabets.

A consensus of scholars agree that the number is a coded reference to the Caesar Nero, who was the ruler of Rome around the time that John was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos. Here the reader would have to be Hebrew to understand the reference. For we find that the ancient Hebrew spelling of Nero Caesar comes to 666.

נרונ קסר = Nero Caesar = 666

This matches well with the sum of the Great Beast which comes to the same 666.

Το μεγα θηριον = The Great Beast = 666

Here Caesar being the last name of Nero. The name Caesar would become eventually the title Caesar, as well as the source of the modern words Tsar, Czar and Kaiser. When we write the name in Hellenized Latin of the Greek we find it is a highly improbable multiple of 666.

ΝΕΡΩΝ ΚΑΕΣΑΡ = Nero Caesar = 1332

666 x 2 = 1332

Some manuscripts record 616 rather than 666. This could very well be an intentional 'scribal error' which John the Evangelist warns against, indeed, this was most likely a 'correction' by a later scribe. You must remember all manuscripts in the ancient world were copied by hand and the copying scribe would very often take it upon themselves to correct what they perceived as an error of an earlier scribe. This was commonplace. So the 616 attribution (and just because it comes from an early manuscript doesn't at all that it is the original) was likely a scribal error, where one scribe was attempting to match the cryptogram of Nero in Hebrew with an alternate spelling. Recall, there were no dictionaries or standardized spellings in that day, and pronunciations of names could vary by region.

נרונ קסר = Nero(n) Caesar = 666

נרו קסר = Nero Caesar = 616

Both are acceptable spellings of the day as confirmed the Qumrum writings of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The latter would be considered a transliteration of the Latin Nero into Hebrew. Recall this is a game without rules, grammar without grammarians. If the scribe was aware of this correlation he may have also altered the manuscript to fit the addition for his favorite hated Caesar, aka Caligula, some years earlier (the 4th Caesar) but now in Greek gematria, which is just as possible a solution: Γαιος Καισαρ = Gaius Caesar = 616.

However, another verse points directly at Nero in Revelation 17:10:

Rev. 17:10

And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

καὶ βασιλεῖς ἑπτά εἰσιν οἱ πέντε ἔπεσαν καὶ ὁ εἷς ἔστιν ὁ ἄλλος οὔπω ἦλθε καὶ ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὀλίγον αὐτὸν δεῖ μεῖναι

Modern historians list the Roman Caesars starting with Augustus but this is by no means retroactively definitive. Which is to say, that there is no compelling reason why John of Patmos might describe the Caesars in this fashion. If rather, he began the list of Roman 'Kings' naturally with Julius Caesar, the one who started it all, and progenitor of line of Caesars, and who gave the very name of Caesar to the Caesars, then we find that Nero was the 6th such king.

This aligns perfectly with the description in Rev. 17:10 and pinpoints the date of authorship of Revelation as 'Early' and somewhere between 54-68 AD, which is the reign of the sixth Caesar Nero. Where Nero reigned over 13 years, his successor reigned for less than year, i.e., 'a short space.' This is the 7th Caesar that will reign only a short while, which is exactly the case for the 7th Caesar, Galba who only reigned 7th months and 7 days, before he was murdered by the Praetorian Guard:

7th Caesar = Servius Sulpicius Galba

7th Caesar's Reign = 7 months and 7 days

So here we have several mathematical references to the Caesars and 666 or the alternative 616. What do they have in common? They all refer to Rome. Referring to the titular head of an empire, is really referring to the empire itself. The language of Rome was Latin and Latin is semi-gematric. That is, it too employed letters as numbers, but in a cumbersome and inefficient way, and a way that is still employed in the dating of films today.

Historically, there were only 6 Roman numerals. The M that is in use today, was back then simply two D’s back to back. These 6 numerals of Rome, when added together, sum to another 666 reference.

Numeral Value

I 1

V 5

X 10

L 50

C 100

D 500

Total 666

We see another clear Roman reference in the adjective for Latin, the language of the Romans.

Λατεινος = Latin = 666

The author and early biblical mathematician E.W. Bullinger, may have been the first to calculate the length of the Roman Empire as 666 years long.

ROMAN EMPIRE = 666 years long

This calculation is based on two historically important battles: The Battle of Actium in which Octavian (Augustus) defeated the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra and consolidated the whole of Roman geographical power. The second was the Battle of Yarmouk in which the Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate routed the Greek Byzantine forces—the last heir and remnant to Roman Empire. This battle lasted, curiously enough 6 DAYS, and precipitated the eventual collapse of the entire Empire and rise of Islam.

Battle of Actium, Sept. 2, 31 BC

Battle of Yarmouk, Aug. 15, 634 AD

Sept. 2, 31 BC—Aug. 15, 634 AD = 231,916 days

666 years with a margin of error of 0.007%

(Note: if the number of days calculation is accurate, and that's a BIG IF, then the number of days is the 6268th multiple of 37: 37 x 6268 = 231,916)

To the modern who is ever suspicious of Bible codes and the like, any sort of strange or creative mathematics seems illicit and so perhaps it should. But the ancient mind, gematria was so commonly practiced that words whose sum was only one number off were considered to be roughly equivalent. This ‘Fudge Factor’ was called a Collel, and although it is bad math to use such practices today, we must remember that people to whom John would write were well aware and may well have used collels.

We see then at a collel above and collel below 666 two very strong candidates for consideration.

Η κοκκινη γυνη = The Scarlet Woman = 667

Αντιδικος = Adversary ‘The Devil’ = 665

In many diverse ways 666 refers to Rome and the power of Rome. Putting this into historical context it would be absolutely fitting for someone like John, who was imprisoned by the power of Rome and whose country and people were conquered by Rome to make a coded reference to Rome. In that day, Rome was, simply, what everyone was talking about.

These various correspondences between 666 and Rome/Nero have been known for some time, though perhaps not collectively. What hasn’t been known until now is that there is a host of other, more advanced references, to Rome/Nero to the number 6 and to that of the Beast of Revelation.

What so pivotal about this understanding of 666 is how it exposes an ancient and lost subculture of gematria itself. We can see by exploring the incredible number of correlations in John’s writing to that of Rome and the Caesars just to what extent he and his fellow disciples may have been employing gematria.

Today gematria is an obscure field of knowledge clouded with crazy conspiracy theories and overshadowed by too long an association with the occult. It can be shown, however, that gematria in the ancient world was widespread and so common that it never needed introduction or reference. Any one who could read Hebrew or Greek would be intimately familiar with gematria.

The Caesar Nero

History has long known that John was making a coded a reference to gematria and the Emperor Nero. What hasn’t been known, until now, is that John was employing a very complex and sophisticated series of codes in both standard Hebrew and Greek and ordinal Hebrew and Greek.

The historical provenance of standard gematria is well established, but the ordinal has largely been ignored. We know that the ordinal was used in both Hebrew and Greek as an indexing system for chapter headings and series listings, but until now we didn’t any evidence it was being used as code.

When we employ the ordinal valuation in both Hebrew and Greek, we find a wide assortment of numerical correspondences between the Beast of Revelation and Emperor Nero. Many of these references also interact with the number six.

THE 666 OF THE BEAST

If we take the Greek word for Rome and render it in the ordinal we see that it comes out to 60 or six times ten.

Rome = Ρωμη = 60

If we look at the ordinal versions of Nero Caesar we see it is again festooned with the number six in multiple varieties. In the Hebrew both Caesar and Nero come out to 54 in the ordinal.

קסר = Caesar = 54

נרונ = Nero = 54

In the first century, the Hindu-Arabic numbers that we use today, had not yet been invented, however, we can see now, that by using them, we have even more uncanny references to the number six, in the number 54 and in the sum of the word Beast itself.

54 = 6 x 9

6 = 9 inverted

Θηριoν = Beast = 69

Together Caesar Nero comes to 108 which is exactly one half of 216 or six cubed.

Caesar Nero

קסר נרונ = 108

108 + 108 = 216

216 = 6 x 6 x 6

Even more intriguing is the fact that the 108 of Nero is also 6 times 18. The number 18 is well known to any Jew as the number of life. However it can also mean creature or beast (Gen. 1:24) and perhaps here too we can see a connection for a Jew interested in gematria between 666 and the beast.

חי = Beast = 18

6 + 6 + 6 = 18

The number 666 is also intimately related to the number 18. The prime factorization of 666 shows this relationship.

2 x 3 x 3 x 37 = 666

18 x 37 = 666

By this sort of arithmetic we can see that in many ways the Caesar Nero is a product of this Hebrew beast of eighteen.

קסר = Caesar = 54

נרונ = Nero = 54

3 x 18 = 54

(6 + 6 + 6) + (6 + 6 + 6) + (6 + 6 + 6) = 54

The full name in the ordinal is a natural fit and multiple of eighteen.

6 x 18 = 108

6 x חי = קסר נרונ

6 x Beast = Caesar Nero

If John was looking at the ordinal he may have seen King as part of the code, as King in Hebrew ordinal also expresses Sixness.

מלך = King = 36

6 x 6 = 36 = 6²

The Hebrew word for King is also the equivalent to the ‘Great Beast.’

Μεγα Θηριoν = Great Beast = 90 (ordinal)

מלך = King = 90 (standard)

Here again we see another multiple of 18. Nero was the fifth Roman Emperor, so it is fitting that five times eighteen equals the Great Beast.

5 x 18 = 90

5 x חי = Μεγα Θηριoν

5 x Beast = Great Beast

If we turn to the name Nero in Greek we see another abundance of sixes and another multiple of the Hebrew eighteen Beast.

Nero = ΝΕΡΩΝ = 72 = (6 x 6) + (6 x 6)

6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 72

4 x 18 = 72

4 x חי = ΝΕΡΩΝ

4 x Beast = Nero

AN UNHOLY TRINITY

The Beast in Greek ordinal comes to 103 and this is of some importance in that it is the sum of gematria itself. The Greek word most commonly used for gematria was isopsephy. This is of course what John was referring to with the number of the beast. Here we see that the beast and gematria are the same.

Το Θηριoν = The Beast = 103

Ισοψηφια = Isopsephy/Gematria = 103

The Greek ordinal offers some surprising hints at the political and mystic atmosphere of the day. For if John was interested in mystical associations with numbers and names he would have likely added up the number of his former comrade, traitor to Christ, Judas Iscariot.

The reason it is likely that John used the ordinal denomination, is that it runs at a very much lower register, therefore making meaningful correspondences far more likely. The name Judas Iscariot in standard Greek adds up into the thousands where in the ordinal it is under 200.

If we look at the word Antichrist in the Greek ordinal we can see a correlation that to a Jew would certainly hint at something diabolical, for it shares an identity with the first murderer Cain.

Αντιχριςτος = Antichrist = 160

קין = Cain = 160

It is fair to imagine that someone like John would have added up the numbers of the names that had played a dark role in the passion of the Christ. In the name of Judas he would have found something disturbing.

Ιουδας Ισκαριωτης = Judas Iscariot = 199

If John was to search for names that might correspond with the meaning of Judas and what Judas represented, then John would not have to look far.

Ποντιος Πιλατος = Pontius Pilate = 199

Seeing this spectacular coincidence, one might begin to suspect a divine conspiracy especially when one sees the third name that corresponds to this number.

Αυτοκρατωρ Καισαρ = Emperor Caesar = 199

So if we imagine that John was aware of this triple correspondence, then we have a perfect psychological background for someone who would make a coded reference to Caesar using the numbers of gematria.

In a strange twist, Emperor Caesar here too is equivalent to the number 666. The Greek Textus Receptus has John's 666 represented by only the three numbers. However, the Novum Testamentum Graece edition spells out in the numbers in full. Here we find, using the ordinal values once again, our 666 spelled out in full comes to 199.

εξακοσιοι εξηκοντα εξ = Six Hundred and Sixty Six = 199

Were John aware of the correlation of this unholy trinity of Judas, Pilate and the Emperor Caesar, it would have certainly influenced his thinking on the eschatology of the book of Revelation.

What is fascinating is what happens when we try the Greek ordinal for Caesar Nero with the wrong spelling. All throughout the New Testament we have a single spelling of Caesar, where the Latin ‘E’ becomes the Greek ‘I’ or iota.

Biblical Spelling = Καισαρ

However, in an age before dictionaries or standardized spelling, there may have been variations on this spelling. We have already seen how the Hellenized Latin of Caesar Nero came out to 1332 or exactly twice 666.

In the ordinal, this Hellenized version comes to a number that John must have been intimately familiar with, for it was the number of his very own name in Hebrew.

ΝΕΡΩΝ ΚΑΕΣΑΡ = Nero Caesar = 124

יוחנן = John = 124

We know that John employed the Biblical spelling in his gospel account where he cites the name Caesar twice. It is possible that John was aware of this variation and if so may have been hedging his bets by covering as many bases as possible, for we see surprising correlations with the non Biblical spelling.

ΝΕΡΩΝ ΚΑΕΣΑΡ = Nero Caesar = 124

ΤΟ ΜΕΓΑ ΘΗΡΙΟΝ = The Great Beast = 124

Η κοκκινη γυνη = The Scarlet Woman = 124

ΑΠΟΚΟΛΥΨΙΣ = Revelation = 124

We know that John was aware of gematria, otherwise he wouldn’t have drawn our attention to the 666 of Nero and Rome. It would seem from the sheer number of correlations in the ordinal that John had also calculated the number in the secondary variety of gematria.

Do we, however, have any other Biblical references to the political structure of the Roman Empire?

We do and surprisingly it comes from Jesus Christ himself.

A GATHERING OF EAGLES

During Christ’s ministry, Rome was the unquestioned dominant power of the day. All political intrigues involved Rome and Roman rule. We see this very power dynamic in the narrative of the gospels, in which the Pharisee’s attempt to catch Christ speaking out against Rome. With this in mind, it is not hard to understand why Jesus might speak in code to His followers and the most common and widely understood code of the day, was gematria.

Matthew 24:28

For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

This verse has been interpreted to be a prophecy concerning the destruction of the temple. In a Preterist perspective, this is understood to be referring to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the death of the Jewish state and the temple sacrificial system.

The ‘Eagles’ here being the eagle of Jupiter, which the Roman soldiers carried atop their military standards. After Herod’s Temple was torn down, the Roman legions set up camp on the temple mount, hence the gathering of the eagles.

The Greek used for ‘The Eagles’ here comes to 73 ordinal. It is also the same value for ‘The Eagle’ which was the universally recognized symbol of the hated Roman Empire.

Οι αετοι = The Eagles = 73

Ο αετος = The Eagle = 73

If John was aware of the 73 connection, this might have been the seed that gave birth to the mystery of Babylon, for Babylon shares this same number.

Βαβυλων = Babylon = 73

It is possible that Jesus shared these secrets with John or the other disciples. The gospels say that Jesus taught to the public in one way and to his disciples in another. That is, there may have been a hidden wisdom that only the disciples knew of and part of that wisdom may have been cryptic references to Rome.

This verse offers a clear reference to Rome that John may have been aware of.

Πτωμα = Carcass = 1221

Ρωμαιος = Roman = 1221

Interpreted, this verse might mean to an early Christian: You will know the old religion is dead (Old Testament Sacrificial Judaism) when you see the Roman Eagles on the Temple Mount.

In this verse we may have the prototype for John’s later eschatology.

We have more reasons to think that John was making a strongly Roman reference in his writing in the description of the seven hills on which the whore of Babylon sat. This has widely been identified as the city of Rome, as it sits on seven distinct hills and John cites this specifically.

If we look at the word Roman, in the Greek ordinal, we discover more sixes. This time in the number 96, which is a six preceded by an inverted six. John of course couldn't know that, since these numeral did not exist at the time. But it is a curious connection nonetheless.

Ρωμαιος = Roman = 96 ordinal

If we sum up the two words that John uses to for the seven heads of the dragon we see our Roman 96.

επτα κεφαλη = Seven Heads = 96

Perhaps more importantly is the correlation with Augustus Caesar, the first Emperor, who would more than any other Caesar best represent the Roman Empire. The Greeks of that day translated Augustus as Sebastus meaning ‘Venerable’ and Sebastus has the same value as the ‘Roman’ seven heads

Σεβαστος = Augustus Caesar = 96

THE NUMBER OF HIS NAME

Turning our attention to Nero once more, we see more Beasts. In the Greek ordinal Nero Caesar comes to 128, the same as the plural version of his famous ‘Beast’.

Νερων Καισαρ = Caesar Nero = 128

Θηρια = Beasts = 128

The book of Revelation describes a great war in heaven, between the Archangel Michael and the Dragon which is Rome. It seems that Nero is at the epicenter of this struggle both historically and gematrically. For in two ways does this great war add up to his name.

Ο μεγα πολεμος = The Great War = 128

Νερων Καισαρ = Caesar Nero = 128

(Revelation 12:7)

Γινομαι πολεμος εν ουρανος = There was a war in heaven = 271

Αυτοκρατορ Νερων Καισαρ = Emperor Nero Caesar = 271

When we look at the standard valuation for Beast we find a correlation that only a Hebrew speaker would recognize. This is perhaps the most salient fact of all of these correlations. Nothing could be more clear to a Hebrew (the earliest Christians were all Hebrews) that the word beast and Rome were equivalent. This more than any other mathematical feature is likely why John chose the symbol of the beast.

Rome = רומא = 247

Beast = Θηριον = 247

We have seen in many ways this 666 pattern is deeply reflective of Rome and its ruling that of Caesar. In particular it picks out the Caesar Nero as the chief representative of the Beast. We can see this again, in another way, when we include Caesar’s middle name, which was the name of the Emperor before him.

Νερων Κλαυδιος Καισαρ = Nero Claudius Caesar = 216

216 = 6 x 6 x 6

John asks us to calculate the number of the Beast. Later in Revelation in chapter fifteen verse two, John speaks of the number of his name (Gematria). The family name of Nero was Caesar, the most famous name in the world at that time. The lingua-franca of the Graeco-Roman world of the first century was Koine Greek. In Greek the name Caesar comes to 332 almost exactly half of 666. It is also the number of his name.

Καισαρ = Caesar = 332

o αριθμος του ονοματος αυτου = The number of his name = 332

Henryk Siemiradzki’s ‘Nero’s Torches’ portraying Christian martyrs as human torches

THE SCARLET BEAST

Beyond gematria, there are many other clues in the text of Revelation as to the meaning of the many symbols. It only requires one to consider the writing in the context of the times.

John speaks repeatedly about the color red. We have the Red dragon, the scarlet beast and the whore who sits on seven hills, known to us now as the scarlet woman. To someone living at the time of John’s writing, this color alone would be a very clear and obvious symbolism.

Everywhere around the Mediterranean at that time, peoples and nations had been conquered and in many cases cruelly oppressed by the single monstrous entity called the Roman Empire. The envoys of this empire, were its legions. These armies and its warcraft were unequalled in its day and as John says, none could stand against them. More importantly, to the common man, the man on the street, those who watched the Roman soldiers march through their city gates was the terrible blazing scarlet red of their ubiquitous cloaks. Here is the scarlet beast in all its infamy: a beast that rose out of the sea; an empire that rose out of the geographic middle of the Mediterranean.

Roman Legions were emblazoned with red, from their shields to their tunics and sagum cloaks

A footnote to 666 is that of 616. In some of the oldest manuscripts of the book (such as the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus) the number of the beast reads 616. Now older does not always mean better or truer. Older manuscripts are just as capable of have scribal errors as later manuscripts are. These variations in the text are not necessarily ‘mistakes,’ but rather clues to the greater mathematical puzzle of the scriptures.

If anyone could have their cake and eat it too, it would be God. This, it seems, is what happens in the transcription of His holy Word. For although we have many scribal errors in the Old and New Testament, we have seen that many of these errors lead to astonishing mathematical puzzles that only an omniscient and omnipotent God could have made allowance for.

In the puzzle of 666 or 616 we have a dual identity.

By far, the two worst Roman Emperors of John’s day, were Nero and Caligula, both of which had pretensions of being worshiped as living Gods. We have seen how 666 relates in many ways to Nero. In a very straight forward way, 616 relates to Caligula. The name Caligula was a nickname given to him as a child by soldiers on campaign and it meant ‘Little Boot’ but it was not his real name. His real name was Gaius Caesar, a name which has the value of 616.

Γαιος Καισαρ = Gaius Caesar = 616

Whether 666 or 616, the message of the Beast is first and foremost that of Rome. It should also be noted here, that this sum is within a collel of 617, which is the number of ‘The Beast’. To an ancient reader, these sums would be considered the same.

το Θηριoν = The Beast = 617

We can see, at long odds, this same plus or minus 1 collel in the ordinal as well.

Το Θηριoν = The Beast = 103

Γαιος Καισαρ = Gaius Caesar = 102

These identities may confuse those who wish to see the symbolism of John’s message as one or the other. The overriding and underlying meaning of all the symbolism of the beast is to that of Rome. Rome is the scarlet beast.

The all pervasive Roman red is also a reference to the Beast. The Greek word for red here is Purros and it is mathematically equivalent to that of the beast.

Το Θηριoν = The Beast = 103

Πυρρος = Red = 103

Henryk Siemiradzki’s ‘Christian Dirce’ portrays one of the many cruelties of Rome

TO COUNT THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

Revelation 13:18 is truly the key to the entire work of the book. It is a clear reference to the practice of gematria in two different ways. When John says the number of the beast is a number of a man, this is a clear reference to gematria, not some modern invented gematria, but the historical gematria of the day. It was a reference to a practice so common it did not need to be named.

We know that when John composed the book of Revelation he was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. In a day where your words could be used against you as an act of sedition, writing letters had to be carefully crafted. The Pharisees of that day had tried to trick Christ into speaking openly against Roman rule, knowing that they dealt swiftly and harshly to any who opposed her.

Similarly, any writing could be scrutinized by the Roman authorities for seditious content. Such authorities may have been able to read Greek, but it was highly unlikely that they would read Hebrew, which at that time might have been spoken only in the Jewish home or in the synagogue. This gives John all the impetus in the world to write in code and Biblical symbolism.

Another way that we know that John was referring to gematria is with the use of the word ‘Count.’ This word is the root word for the very practice of gematria, called more commonly in the Greek Isopsephy.

Ψηφιζω (Psephizo) = To Count

Ισοψηφια = Isopsephy/Gematria

In the ordinal Psephizo is another allusion to the Hebrew beast of 18. For the value of the Psephizo is 90 which is the value of the 18th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the Tzaddi.

Ψηφιζω = To Count = 90 (ordinal)

צ = Tzaddi 18th letter = 90

חי = Beast = 18

6 + 6 + 6 = 18

It is also the ordinal value for ‘The name’ in the name of the beast.

το ονομα = The Name = 90

It is however the standard numeration of the word that would be of fundamental importance to a Jew interested in Biblical gematria.

Ψηφιζω = To Count = 2025 (standard)

The study of the square function in mathematics and of square roots themselves was well known to the Greeks, as we can see with the Pythagorean Theorem or the apocryphal story of the birth of irrational numbers in the square root of two. So it is possible that John knew that the square root of Psephizo (To Count) was man himself.

45²

45 x 45 = 2025

45 = Adam אדם

It is beyond doubt that any Jew literate in Hebrew would know this name and number. The name can also be translated as Man. So here is the number of a man squared gives us the Greek word for Counting.

Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man

Man Squared = Count

What is truly astounding about this word is that it is itself a multiple of the number of the beast, in the ordinal.

ο αριθμος του θηριου = The Number of the Beast = 225

225 x 9 = 2025

And the number of the beast is 15 squared.

15 x 15 = 225

The 15 here may be an allusion to the 15th letter of the Hebrew alphabet Samekh, whose numerical value is 60, the value in Greek for Rome. One then could say that the square root of the number of the beast is Rome.

ס = Samekh 15th letter = 60

Rome = Ρωμη = 60

THE ANTICHRIST

In all of this, we see a pervasive collaboration of number symbolism to that of Rome, the Emperors and all things Roman. It must be noted here that to much of the world at that time, Rome was a hated foe. The history of the Jews at that time, displays that no one hated the Roman occupation more than they. John’s vehemence against Rome, must be seen in the twin light of national patriotism (the chosen people of God being conquered and ruled by the pagans) and religious devotion to the monotheistic God of their fathers.

In Revelation we see the beast commanding all the world to worship him as a God. In the modern world, this sounds like the monomaniacal delusion of a science fiction novel, but in the ancient world of Rome it was a fact. Both emperors Caligula and Nero pronounced themselves as living gods to be worshiped. Such a pronouncement to a Jew would be the height of blasphemy, but to a Christian it would deserve the title ‘Antichrist.’

ο Ρωμαιος Αντιχριςτος = The Roman Antichrist = 271

Αυτοκρατωρ Νερων Καισαρ = Emperor Nero Caesar = 271

This worship of the beast would have been strictly prohibited to a Jew. If there is one running theme of the Old Testament for a Jew it is the sin of idol worship. We see generation after generation the Hebrews returning to the pagan Gods, while prophet after prophet condemns this idolatry and commands that only the Lord God is to be worshiped. John sees this idolatry in that of the antichrist or antichrists and these are the blasphemies written on the forehead of the whore of Babylon (Rome).

Here again it is the ordinal numeration, in combination with the standard, that displays this underlying correlation. In the second commandment, God prohibits the making of any ‘Graven Images’ or idols that would be worshiped. This is the great sin and blasphemy of the antichrist. The Hebrew word used in the second commandment was Pesel and it is a match for both the Antichrist and the Antichrists.

הפסל = The Graven Image = 175

ο Αντιχριςτος = The Antichrist = 175

οι Αντιχριςτοι = The Antichrists = 175

THE RIDDLE OF 666

There is yet a final riddle that John has left to us, that seems to have remained unsolved for 2,000 years. The key to Revelation is the number of the beast and the number of the beast refers to gematria and the gematria of the verse points decidedly and repeatedly to that of Rome and all things Roman.

Like some archaeological puzzle in an Indiana Jones adventure, the solution is only given to the wise and to those with the knowledge or understanding of the whole practices of the past. Here that practice is gematria in all its intricacy.

We have seen that when we employ the secondary pattern of gematria, the ordinal, we unlock the door to many of John’s secrets. This is the ultimate secret of the verse itself.

John says to count the number of the beast, and we have, but surely he would have us do this to the whole statement or verse as well. It is here then that we encounter a curious problem; for though we can number the verse in the standard, we cannot do so in the ordinal.

The ordinal numeration in Greek is a strange byproduct of history. Unlike the Hebrew ordinal it is irregular. This is because several of the letters fell out of use and became dead letters, that were only use to represent numbers.

The two dead letters here are 90 and 6, which is the Roman 96

It is in this strange quirk of historical gematria that John hides his ultimate riddle. There are 94 letters in the verse. All but the last letter can represent a number in the ordinal. This character is called the digamma, meaning double-gamma or twice three.

ς = 6

The Digamma

John being cognizant of this aspect of the ordinal, constructs the puzzle such that only those knowledgeable enough of this gematria can solve it. For when we numerate the entire verse, leaving off the final digamma, which cannot be numerated in the ordinal, we have a most telling correlation.

Revelation 13:18

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.

The verse in the original Greek:

Ὧδε ἡ σοφία ἐστίν ὁ ἔχων τὸν νοῦν ψηφισάτω τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦ θηρίου ἀριθμὸς γὰρ ἀνθρώπου ἐστίν καὶ ὁ ἀριθμὸς αὐτοῦ χξς

Note the last three characters of the sentence, enlarged below.

Χξς Six Hundred and Sixty Six

Since we cannot numerate in the ordinal the digamma, we come to one thousand two hundred and twenty one for the sum for the entire verse. In the political context of that day there is one word that comes to that number that rises above all the rest. In that age, it was the most hated word of all.

Revelation 13:18 = 1221

Ρωμαιος = Roman = 1221

The Roman Empire cruelly dominated the lands and trade routes of the civilized world.

If that wasn’t enough, John leaves us with one last epitaph of either his mathematical genius or the Spirit of God directing his writing into a mathematical masterpiece. We saw earlier all the many correlations the name Nero had with the Hebrew beast of 18 and surely John had a knowledge of this reading of the word as it is one of the first readings of the word in Genesis chapter one.

So when we look at the sum of the verse, now in the standard numeration, we find a mathematical marvel, that is surely the capstone of this incredible masterpiece of gematric engineering.

Revelation 13:18 Greek Standard = 14,191

This number 14,191 when evaluated on the basis of number theory, shows itself to be semi-prime. A semi-prime number is a number that has exactly two prime factors. Prime factorization is the entire basis of number theory itself, which is the basis of mathematics itself.

This understanding of the fundamental role of prime factors in being the building blocks of all other numbers is an ancient understanding. Euclid, one of the fathers of Western mathematics proved in the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, centuries prior to John that all numbers were composed of a unique set of prime factors.

With this in mind, we can see perhaps for the first time since Patmos the true genius of John. The sum of the verse in the standard (14,191) has only two prime factors. It cannot have any other. It can have only two and they can only ever be these two prime factors.

Revelation 13:18 = 14,191

14,191 = 23 x 617

החי = The Beast = 23 (Hebrew)

το Θηριoν = The Beast = 617 (Greek)

(The Beast) x (The Beast) = Rev. 13:18

This final masterstroke, by random chance would be astronomically improbable. Indeed it is so fantastic, one wonders if it was beyond even John’s reckoning and simply the work of the Holy Spirit, through time, language, culture and history itself.

As the very word for count was Adam squared, here we see by means of a complex gematria that the verse itself is the beast squared, that same beast whose number and name is the ultimate key to the understanding of the grand secret puzzle of the final book of the Bible.

The Empire tried and failed to stomp out Christianity and eventually became Christian itself.

TERMINAL ANTICHRIST

The first seven verses of the second book of John shows us one last marvel. The seven verses are composed of 666 letters, which make a perfect triangle (T36). The final word of this 666 letter triangle is non other than the name Antichrist.

ΠΡ

ΕΣΒ

ΥΤΕΡ

ΟΣΕΚΛ

ΕΚΤΗΙΚ

ΥΡΙΑΙΚΑ

ΙΤΟΙΣΤΕΚ

ΝΟΙΣΑΥΤΗΣ

ΟΥΣΕΓΩΑΓΑΠ

ΩΕΝΑΛΗΘΕΙΑΙ

ΚΑΙΟΥΚΕΓΩΜΟΝ

ΟΣΑΛΛΑΚΑΙΠΑΝΤ

ΕΣΟΙΕΓΝΩΚΟΤΕΣΤ

ΗΝΑΛΗΘΕΙΑΝΔΙΑΤΗ

ΝΑΛΗΘΕΙΑΝΤΗΝΜΕΝΟ

ΥΣΑΝΕΝΗΜΙΝΚΑΙΜΕΘΗ

ΜΩΝΕΣΤΑΙΕΙΣΤΟΝΑΙΩΝ

ΑΕΣΤΑΙΜΕΘΗΜΩΝΧΑΡΙΣΕ

ΛΕΟΣΕΙΡΗΝΗΠΑΡΑΘΕΟΥΠΑ

ΤΡΟΣΚΑΙΠΑΡΑΚΥΡΙΟΥΙΗΣΟ

ΥΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΤΟΥΥΙΟΥΤΟΥΠΑΤΡ

ΟΣΕΝΑΛΗΘΕΙΑΙΚΑΙΑΓΑΠΗΙΕΧ

ΑΡΗΝΛΙΑΝΟΤΙΕΥΡΗΚΑΕΚΤΩΝΤΕ

ΚΝΩΝΣΟΥΠΕΡΙΠΑΤΟΥΝΤΑΣΕΝΑΛΗ

ΘΕΙΑΙΚΑΘΩΣΕΝΤΟΛΗΝΕΛΑΒΟΜΕΝΠ

ΑΡΑΤΟΥΠΑΤΡΟΣΚΑΙΝΥΝΕΡΩΤΩΣΕΚΥ

ΡΙΑΟΥΧΩΣΕΝΤΟΛΗΝΓΡΑΦΩΝΣΟΙΚΑΙΝ

ΗΝΑΛΛΑΗΝΕΙΧΟΜΕΝΑΠΑΡΧΗΣΙΝΑΑΓΑΠ

ΩΜΕΝΑΛΛΗΛΟΥΣΚΑΙΑΥΤΗΕΣΤΙΝΗΑΓΑΠΗ

ΙΝΑΠΕΡΙΠΑΤΩΜΕΝΚΑΤΑΤΑΣΕΝΤΟΛΑΣΑΥΤ

ΟΥΑΥΤΗΕΣΤΙΝΗΕΝΤΟΛΗΚΑΘΩΣΗΚΟΥΣΑΤΕΑ

ΠΑΡΧΗΣΙΝΑΕΝΑΥΤΗΙΠΕΡΙΠΑΤΗΤΕΟΤΙΠΟΛΛ

ΟΙΠΛΑΝΟΙΕΙΣΗΛΘΟΝΕΙΣΤΟΝΚΟΣΜΟΝΟΙΜΗΟΜ

ΟΛΟΓΟΥΝΤΕΣΙΗΣΟΥΝΧΡΙΣΤΟΝΕΡΧΟΜΕΝΟΝΕΝΣ

ΑΡΚΙΟΥΤΟΣΕΣΤΙΝΟΠΛΑΝΟΣΚΑΙΟΑΝΤΙΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ

The Boldfaced letters at the end of this 666 letter triangle is the Greek word 'Antichrist'.

The idea that the prophecies of the book of Revelation concerned the events of that age, in particular the forthcoming fall of Jerusalem, is called Preterism. These ideas are explored at length in David Chilton’s tome Days of Vengeance. For a fulsome account of the terrible suffering of the Jewish people during the Jewish War see the writings of the ancient historian Josephus.

What this means to the broader study of eschatology (endtimes) is yet to be determined. But if we hope to fully comprehend the book of Revelation we must first understand it in its historical context.

The discovery of the sophisticated gematria of John, sheds a whole new light on the authorship of the books of the Bible. We now know that John may have expected his readers to be versed in both Hebrew and Greek and ordinal and standard. This contention could be fundamental to the historical study of gematria. It also suggests that the gematria of that day, may have been much more advanced and prevalent than what was previously understood.

Ad Addendum

For further consideration, the Latin Vulgate shows a very strong connection to 666 in its very first verse. Here, however we must keep in mind that this sort of gematria only existed theoretically and the Latin Vulgate had not been translated yet. Even more, the Latin of the Catholic Church would add letters only centuries later.

What this all means, is a matter of theological and philosophical speculation.

When we apply classical gematria, the very same method used in Hebrew and Greek, to the Latin language we find a triangle of interest.

T-71 has an interesting connection to English in that the English word for GOD*, using this same system comes to 71.

T-71 = GOD

G = 7

O = 60

D = 4

7 + 60 + 4 = 71

*Latin uses the same system as English gematria

This Latin sum shows a plenitude of connections to the word for God in multiple languages. It's triangular number is the number for God using the same methods in the English language—the international language of the modern world. This connection is further reinforced by the fact that the sum of the Latin Genesis 1:1 gives each of its 36 letters an exact average of 71.

Latin Genesis 1:1 = 36 letters

Latin Genesis 1:1 Sum = 2556

2556/ 36 = 71

GOD = 71

It has a further connection to God (in Greek) by the fact that four English 'Gods' equal one Greek God.

Theos (God in Greek) = 284

71 x 4 = 284

Strangely, when we apply the same inverted triangular technique, as done to the Hebrew version of Genesis 1:1 we find a startling truth.

This number 2556, hides even more 6's and 666's in the sum of its divisors—an unchangeable arithmetic.

What this means is that the Latin version of Genesis 1:1 can be seen as the diametrical opposite of the Hebrew.