The Beast (Revelation) or governmental powers. This was first expressed in the imperial cult of Rome, but finds expression at all times of history. In his commentary, Michael Wilcock says "Religion, indeed is too narrow an identification of the second beast. He is, in modern parlance, the ideology-whether religious, philosophical, or political-which 'gives breath to' any human social structure organized independently of God." The idealist perspective on the number of the beast rejects gematria, envisioning the number not as a code to be broken, but a symbol to be understood. Because there are so many names that can come to 666 and that
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