Number of the Beast Number of the Beast The Number of the Beast (, "Arithmos tou Thēriou") is a term in the Book of Revelation, of the New Testament, that is associated with the Beast of Revelation in chapter 13. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the beast is 666. Papyrus 115 (which is the oldest preserved manuscript of the "Revelation" ), as well as other ancient sources like "Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus", give the Number of the Beast as 616 (), not 666; critical editions of the Greek text, such as the Novum
The Number of the Beast (novel) plays into the ideology of "Thou Art God" from Heinlein's earlier work "Stranger in a Strange Land". Jack Kirwan wrote in the "National Review" that the novel is "about two men and two women in a time machine safari through this and other universes. But describing "The Number of the Beast" thus is like saying "Moby Dick" is about a one-legged guy trying to catch a fish". He goes on to say that Heinlein celebrates the "competent person". Sue K. Hurwitz said in her review for the "School Library Journal" that it is "a catalog of Heinlein's sins as an