666

Abstract

The purpose of this augmented lecturing Knowledge Module is to discuss the concept of the numerical figure “six hundred sixty-six” found in the biblical book of Revelation (13:18). It is said to be “the number of the beast”—a monstrous, multi-headed creature of the apocalypse. In the public imagination, “666” has long been associated with two, supposedly interrelated, entities: “the Antichrist” and the biological son of Satan. In the view of biblical scholars, however, these associations are false. Rather, the number 666 is a numerological reference to a first-century Roman emperor who had harshly persecuted those who would come to be known as Christians.