The Beast (Revelation) had just disappeared to Parthia and would one day reappear. Finally, the readers of Revelation were told to "calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six" (Rev. 13:18). John did not expect that his readers "who had understanding" to have any difficulty identifying the beast, since they could simply calculate the meaning of this number. "Neron Kaisar" (the Greek rendering, documented by archaeological finds), when transliterated into Hebrew נרון קסר (Nrwn Qsr) had a number of 666. The variant number 616 found in some manuscripts of
The Number of the Beast (album) also influenced by Robert Burns' "Tam o' Shanter". The track opens with a spoken introduction from the Book of Revelation, read by actor Barry Clayton. According to Dickinson, the band originally approached Vincent Price to record the passage, but were unwilling to pay Price's fee of £25,000. Although the liner notes state that the passage is from Revelations 13:18, the first line comes from 12:12. The closing song "Hallowed Be Thy Name" has remained in all but two of the band's setlists since the album's recording (the only exceptions being the Maiden England World Tour 2012–14, and the second leg