Rev 13:18  Here is wisdom: Let the one having reason count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man and its number is six hundred and sixty six.

Albert Barnes commentary
(e) The method of designating persons obscurely by a reference to the numerical signification of the letters in their names was not very uncommon, and was one that was not unlikely, in the circumstances of the case, to have been resorted to by John. “Thus, among the pagans, the Egyptian mystics spoke of Mercury, or Thouth, under the name 1218, because the Greek letters composing the word Thouth, when estimated by their numerical value, together made up that number. By others, Jupiter was invoked under the mystical number 717; because the letters of  ̔Η ΑΡΧΗ  HEĒ ARCHEE – “Beginning,” or “First Origin,” which was a characteristic of the supreme deity worshipped as Jupiter, made up that number. And Apollo under the number 608, as

being that of ηυς  ēus or ὑης  huēs, words expressing certain solar attributes. Again, the pseudo-Christian, or semi-pagan Gnostics, from John’s time and downward, affixed to their gems and amulets, of which multitudes remain to the present day, the mystic word αβρασαξ  abrasax or αβραξας  abraxas, under the idea of some magic virtue attaching to its number 365, as being that of the days of the annual solar circle,” etc. See other instances referred to in Elliott, 3:205. These facts show that John would not be unlikely to adopt some such method of expressing a sentiment which it was designed should be obscure in form, but possible to be understood. It should be added here, that this was more common among the Jews than among any other people.



In order to understand the mark of the beast and the number 666 it must be understood that John was speaking of a beast that existed before his time and would exist again after his time.

Rev 17:8  The beast which you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss, and goes to perdition. And those dwelling on the earth will marvel, the ones whose names have not been written on the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, seeing the beast, that it was a thing, and is not, yet now is.

Many see the head of Catholicism, Islam or the U.N. etc as the beast in the end and have many good reasons to believe that idea.  However, through study of Scripture and ancient writings it is clear that the being that John is speaking about had been around for thousands of years before John was alive.  It all goes back to Nimrod and then further to the Garden of Eden.  For the days of Nimrod was a replay of the antediluvian beast.  It all goes back to the Garden and the original beast (Genesis 3:1) who offered Adam & Eve the opportunity to become ‘gods’ without the tree of Life, who is Messiah Yahshua.  Going from the garden and then tracing history up to John’s day and through today, the same theme is seen over and ever again.  Whether it be through religious doctrine or religious symbology the same concept is seen…the desire of satan to offer mankind ‘godhood’ through the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil.’  This is what 666 is all about…

Gematria

This idea of attaching numbers to letters is called Gematria in Hebrew and Isopsephia in Greek or alphanumerics.  In Hebrew, Greek & Aramaic each letter had a corresponding number.

There are also different types of Gematria

There is also ‘ATBaSH’ where each letter is flipped to its opposite.  Aleph is tav bet is shin hence the word ATBaSH.  Jeremiah even used this method of cyphering in Jeremiah 51:41 for example Sheshach = Babel.  With that being said, it is easy to see why this enigmatic number 666 has so many different interpretations.

In Hebrew & Greek, letters have corresponding numbers, hence the number of its name.  Letters produce words which are sound.  Sound is a frequency/vibration that corresponds to color.  Words, which are sound also form images or shapes as can be seen in cymatic studies.  The mark of the beast, therefore, can be associated with numbers, letters, sounds & colors or whatever else resonates through frequenciesclick here.

Numbers are equivalent to shapes.  Gematria comes from the Greek word for Geometry.

In following studies it will be seen that numerous symbols/geometric figures are linked to the mark of the beast through number and meaning, in specific those symbols used to represent the Almighty such as the cross and hexagram.  As seen in part oneclick here, this is the definition of the mark.  An image engraven of Elohim.

χξς

Stephanos 1550 text

In the Greek manuscripts, the Number is rendered in Greek numerical form as “χξς”, or sometimes literally as “six hundred and sixty-six”, “ἑξακόσιοι ἑξήκοντα ἑξι”.  [hexakosioi hexékonta hex, lit. six hundred sixty six]

The Aramaic Peshitta writes the word out:

The Vulgate writes out 666 as well
Rev 13:18  hic sapientia est qui habet intellectum conputet numerum bestiae numerus enim hominis est et numerus eius est sescenti sexaginta sex

Oxyrhynchus Papyrus

The First and last letters of χξς are the the first and last letters of Christos Χριστός. The middle letter is the Greek letter for Serpent ξ because it looks like a serpent.  Hence, serpent Messiah.

Connection to Islamclick here

Walid Shoebat, author of Why I Left Jihad, does not believe the Greek letters χξς’ in Revelation 13:18 should be translated “666”. He proposes that if these were Arabic letters, the χ becomes the crossed swords of Islam, and ξς’ is Arabic for “in the name of Allah”.  Shoebat, Walid. Why I Left Jihad.

If you lay the ξ on its belly you get the word Allah

Bilsmillah (in the name of Allah)
The common translation for bismillah is “In the name of Allah”, which is actually an idiom, an expression that really doesn’t make much sense on a literal word-by-word basis.

The phrase In the name of  is an idiom having the connotation of  with the blessings of, under the guidance of, as an instrument of, with the support of, or for the glory of. In each of these cases, the idiom In the name of means submitting to, honoring or glorifying that which is referred to.

Now, let’s take a deeper look into the Arabic roots of this word bismillah.

The term bismillah, is a combination of three words:

1. The particle bi  which can mean by, for, with the aid of, through or by means of and points toward that which happens next.

2. The next word in this phrase is ism, based on the root variously reported to be s-m-w or a-s-m, which indicates the means by which something is distinguished, whether by use of an identifying mark, or by being raised up high so that it may be distinguished, and would include  a name, reputation, light or vibration, and points toward the very essence of something, the inherent qualities and signs of the existence of something, the underlying reality of something.

3. The ending of the term is the word Allah, which is the Arabic name of the god. The Semitic roots of the word Allah extend back several thousand years to the Canaanite Elat, Hebrew El and Elohim, and Aramaic Alaha.  In modern English this would generally be translated as God (which is old English, likely based on the Sanskrit word hu, meaning that which is worshipped, honored or adored).

To say bismillah is to humbly offer one’s self as a vehicle for the glory and majesty of Allah.

‘Bismillah’ is certainly a valid interpretation of 666 in Revelation 13, however ‘bismillah’ is not the fullness of the meaning.  Islam is part of the beast system part not the entirety.  The mark of the beast is a counterfeit of the mark of YHWH, so the mark of the beast will be seen in all the religions of this world as each religion points to Messiah, yet at the same time corrupt His Imageclick here.  Again, it comes down to the tree of life or the tree o knowledge.

The Greek alphabet comes from the Phoenician alphabet which, in essence, is the same as Paleo Hebrew.  χξς would be rendered in Phoenician as: