Revelation 13:1-18
“And I saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns... and the dragon gave him his power... And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth... 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.”
King James Version
The beast from the sea (the blasphemous world-power) and the beast from the earth (the false prophet) who enforces its worship and mark — 666.
Fulfillment References
Daniel 7:1-8 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Revelation 17:9-11 Revelation 19:20
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe beast demands the worship due God alone; the one Lord Jesus alone is worthy, and He destroys the beast (Rev. 19:20).
JewishThe composite sea-beast draws directly on Daniel 7's four beasts gathered into one blasphemous power.
CatholicThe beast as persecuting, idolatrous world-power; the second beast as deceptive false religion enforcing it.
ProtestantThe beast as antichristian political power, the false prophet as counterfeit religion; 666 as its mark of allegiance.
OrthodoxThe beast as the God-opposing tyranny the Church endures until Christ's victory.
DispensationalA future personal Antichrist and false prophet, with a literal economic 'mark' in the Tribulation.
Academic666 is widely read as gematria for 'Nero Caesar' (in Hebrew letters), and the variant 616 supports this; Daniel 7 is the primary source.
Scholarship & Sources
666 (13:18) is most often explained as gematria for 'Neron Kaisar' transliterated into Hebrew (nrwn qsr); a textual variant reads 616, matching 'Nero Caesar' without the final letter — strong support for the Nero reading. The beast composites Daniel 7's beasts; compare 2 Thessalonians 2's 'man of lawlessness.' Commentators: Beale, Koester, Bauckham.
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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.