Number of the Beast the Beast rejects gematria, envisioning the number not as a code to be broken, but a symbol to be understood. Idealists would contend that because there are so many names that can come to 666 and that most systems require converting names to other languages or adding titles when convenient, it has been impossible to come to a consensus. Given that numbers are used figuratively throughout the book of Revelation, idealists interpret this number figuratively as well. The common suggestion is that because seven is a number of completeness and is associated with the divine, that six is incomplete and
The Beast (Revelation) This is probably the provincial governor (or proconsul) who would have overseen the political and religious operations of the area from his capital in Ephesus or the High Priest of the provincial imperial cult. The imperial cult in Ephesus was set up by Domitian in 89 AD. (Ephesus is the location of one of the Seven Churches in Asia to whom the Book of Revelation was addressed.) This interpretation is based upon the angel's explanation of the beast in Revelation 17:7, that the beast's seven heads are seven kings () and that Nero, is the sixth king "who is", who