The Beast (Revelation) of the sea, specifically fishing, and of fertility: Dagon. According to this interpretation, the beast and false prophet were most commonly identified with the papacy in its political and religious aspects. The identification with the papacy is a viewpoint echoed by Seventh-day Adventist writers. According to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the "image to the beast" represents Protestant churches which will form an alliance with the Papacy, and the "mark of the beast" refers to a future universal Sunday law. Adventists have interpreted the number of the beast, 666, as corresponding to a Latin title Vicarius Filii Dei of the Pope.
The Number of the Beast (song) In spite of this, it remains one of the band's more popular songs, reaching No. 18 in the UK singles charts, and has been performed on almost all of their concert tours. Additionally, the song has been covered numerous times and has appeared in several video games and films. According to the song's writer, bassist and band-founder Steve Harris, it was inspired by a nightmare he had after watching the film "", in addition to the poem "Tam o' Shanter" by Robert Burns. The song opens with a spoken word passage, read by English actor Barry Clayton, which quotes Revelation