The Beast (Revelation) adds up to 666, is not a title of the pope". The beast from the earth has also been interpreted as the Islamic prophet Muhammed, according to some medieval Christians, particularly Pope Innocent III; Saracens and Antipopes, according to other medieval Christians, particularly Joachim of Fiore; and the government of the United States of America (this is the view of the Seventh-day Adventist Church). This interpretation was introduced by Adventist pioneer, John Nevins Andrews. Samuele Bacchiocchi, an Adventist scholar, has noted that Seventh-day Adventist teaching is moving away from historicism towards a more symbolic interpretation of the mark of the
The Beast (Revelation) where the power exercised by this beast was completely that of the dragon. This brings to light the scriptural fact that the governments of the nations are puppets in the hands of this beast, consistent with the truth that the whole world system is under the dragon, the god of this world. St. Augustine of Hippo takes a more idealist interpretation when he writes Futurism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets portions of the Book of Revelation and the Book of Daniel as future events in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context. This viewpoint is adopted by Dispensationalism