Revelation 13:15

Such, then, being the state of the case, and this number being found in all the most approved and ancient copies [of the Apocalypse], and those men who saw John face to face bearing their testimony [to it]; while reason also leads us to conclude that the number of the name of the beast, [if reckoned] according to the Greek mode of calculation by the [value of] the letters contained in it, will amount to six hundred and sixty and six; that is, the number of tens shall be equal to that of the hundreds, and the number of hundreds equal to that of the units (for that number which [expresses] the digit six being adhered to throughout, indicates the recapitulations of that apostasy, taken in its full extent, which occurred at the beginning, during the intermediate periods, and which shall take place at the end) — I do not know how it is that some have erred following the ordinary mode of speech, and have vitiated the middle number in the name, deducting the amount of fifty from it, so that instead of six decads they will have it that there is but one. [I am inclined to think that this occurred through the fault of the copyists, as is wont to happen, since numbers also are expressed by letters; so that the Greek letter which expresses the number sixty was easily expanded into the letter Iota of the Greeks.] Others then received this reading without examination; some in their simplicity, and upon their own responsibility, making use of this number expressing one decad; while some, in their inexperience, have ventured to seek out a name which should contain the erroneous and spurious number. Now, as regards those who have done this in simplicity, and without evil intent, we are at liberty to assume that pardon will be granted them by God. But as for those who, for the sake of vainglory, lay it down for certain that names containing the spurious number are to be accepted, and affirm that this name, hit upon by themselves, is that of him who is to come; such persons shall not come forth without loss, because they have led into error both themselves and those who confided in them. Now, in the first place, it is loss to wander from the truth, and to imagine that as being the case which is not; then again, as there shall be no light punishment [inflicted] upon him who either adds or subtracts anything from the Scripture, [Revelation 22:19] under that such a person must necessarily fall. Moreover, another danger, by no means trifling, shall overtake those who falsely presume that they know the name of Antichrist. For if these men assume one [number], when this [Antichrist] shall come having another, they will be easily led away by him, as supposing him not to be the expected one, who must be guarded against.

These men, therefore, ought to learn [what really is the state of the case], and go back to the true number of the name, that they be not reckoned among false prophets. But, knowing the sure number declared by Scripture, that is, six hundred sixty and six, let them await, in the first place, the division of the kingdom into ten; then, in the next place, when these kings are reigning, and beginning to set their affairs in order, and advance their kingdom, [let them learn] to acknowledge that he who shall come claiming the kingdom for himself, and shall terrify those men of whom we have been speaking, having a name containing the aforesaid number, is truly the abomination of desolation. This, too, the apostle affirms: "When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction shall come upon them." [1 Thessalonians 5:3] And Jeremiah does not merely point out his sudden coming, but he even indicates the tribe from which he shall come, where he says, "We shall hear the voice of his swift horses from Dan; the whole earth shall be moved by the voice of the neighing of his galloping horses: he shall also come and devour the earth, and the fullness thereof, the city also, and they that dwell therein." [Jeremiah 8:16] This, too, is the reason that this tribe is not reckoned in the Apocalypse along with those which are saved.

It is therefore more certain, and less hazardous, to await the fulfilment of the prophecy, than to be making surmises, and casting about for any names that may present themselves, inasmuch as many names can be found possessing the number mentioned; and the same question will, after all, remain unsolved. For if there are many names found possessing this number, it will be asked which among them shall the coming man bear. It is not through a want of names containing the number of that name that I say this, but on account of the fear of God, and zeal for the truth: for the name Evanthas (ΕΥΑΝΘΑΣ) contains the required number, but I make no allegation regarding it. Then also Lateinos (ΛΑΤΕΙΝΟΣ) has the number six hundred and sixty-six; and it is a very probable [solution], this being the name of the last kingdom [of the four seen by Daniel]. For the Latins are they who at present bear rule: I will not, however, make any boast over this [coincidence]. Teitan too, (ΤΕΙΤΑΝ, the first syllable being written with the two Greek vowels ε and ι, among all the names which are found among us, is rather worthy of credit. For it has in itself the predicted number, and is composed of six letters, each syllable containing three letters; and [the word itself] is ancient, and removed from ordinary use; for among our kings we find none bearing this name Titan, nor have any of the idols which are worshipped in public among the Greeks and barbarians this appellation. Among many persons, too, this name is accounted divine, so that even the sun is termed "Titan" by those who do now possess [the rule]. This word, too, contains a certain outward appearance of vengeance, and of one inflicting merited punishment because he (Antichrist) pretends that he vindicates the oppressed. And besides this, it is an ancient name, one worthy of credit, of royal dignity, and still further, a name belonging to a tyrant. Inasmuch, then, as this name "Titan" has so much to recommend it, there is a strong degree of probability, that from among the many [names suggested], we infer, that perchance he who is to come shall be called "Titan." We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of Antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him who beheld the apocalyptic vision. For that was seen no very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian's reign.

But he indicates the number of the name now, that when this man comes we may avoid him, being aware who he is: the name, however, is suppressed, because it is not worthy of being proclaimed by the Holy Spirit. For if it had been declared by Him, he (Antichrist) might perhaps continue for a long period. But now as "he was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the abyss, and goes into perdition," [Revelation 17:8] as one who has no existence; so neither has his name been declared, for the name of that which does not exist is not proclaimed. But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance, in which kingdom the Lord declared, that "many coming from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." [Matthew 8:11]

But as it is incumbent on us to discuss this matter of the beast more exactly, and in particular the question how the Holy Spirit has also mystically indicated his name by means of a number, we shall proceed to state more clearly what bears upon him. John then speaks thus: "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns, like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exercised all the power of the first beast before him; and he made the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he did great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead; and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for if is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred threescore and six."

By the beast, then, coming up out of the earth, he means the kingdom of Antichrist; and by the two horns he means him and the false prophet after him. And in speaking of "the horns being like a lamb," he means that he will make himself like the Son of God, and set himself forward as king. And the terms, "he spake like a dragon," mean that he is a deceiver, and not truthful. And the words, "he exercised all the power of the first beast before him, and caused the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed," signify that, after the manner of the law of Augustus, by whom the empire of Rome was established, he too will rule and govern, sanctioning everything by it, and taking greater glory to himself. For this is the fourth beast, whose head was wounded and healed again, in its being broken up or even dishonoured, and partitioned into four crowns; and he then (Antichrist) shall with knavish skill heal it, as it were, and restore it. For this is what is meant by the prophet when he says, "He will give life unto the image, and the image of the beast will speak." For he will act with vigour again, and prove strong by reason of the laws established by him; and he will cause all those who will not worship the image of the beast to be put to death. Here the faith and the patience of the saints will appear, for he says: "And he will cause all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead; that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, the name of the beast, or the number of his name." For, being full of guile, and exalting himself against the servants of God, with the wish to afflict them and persecute them out of the world, because they give not glory to him, he will order incense-pans to be set up by all everywhere, that no man among the saints may be able to buy or sell without first sacrificing; for this is what is meant by the mark received upon the right hand. And the word-"in their forehead"-indicates that all are crowned, and put on a crown of fire, and not of life, but of death. For in this wise, too, did Antiochus Epiphanes the king of Syria, the descendant of Alexander of Macedon, devise measures against the Jews. He, too, in the exaltation of his heart, issued a decree in those times, that "all should set up shrines before their doors, and sacrifice, and that they should march in procession to the honour of Dionysus, waving chaplets of ivy; "and that those who refused obedience should be put to death by strangulation and torture. But he also met his due recompense at the hand of the Lord, the righteous Judge and all-searching God; for he died eaten up of worms. And if one desires to inquire into that more accurately, he will find it recorded in the books of the Maccabees.

“That he give them a mark on the right hand or on the forehead.” He speaks of the mystery of deception. For the saints who are in the church receive Christ in the hand and on the forehead. The hypocrites, however, receive the beast under the name of Christ. “Those who do not worship the beast … will be slain.” It is not inconsistent with the faith that the beast be understood as the city of the impious itself, that is, as the congregation or conspiracy of all those who are impious or filled with hubris. This city is called “Babylon,” which is interpreted as “Confusion,” and to it belong all who desire to work that which is worthy of confusion. He himself is the citizenry of unfaithful persons who are the opposite of the faithful people, that is, the city of God. His image is an imitation, that is, among those people who confess the catholic faith but live the life of infidelity. For they feign to be what they are not, and they are called Christians, not by way of the true image but by way of a false image. Of such persons the apostle wrote, “holding the form of religion but denying the power of it.” Not a small number of these persons are within the catholic church. However, the righteous do not worship the beast, that is, they do not assent to him, nor do they submit to him, nor do they receive his mark, the mark of sin, on their forehead, on account of the confession, and on their hand, on account of works.

And it says it was given to him to give breath to the image. For they say that many of the idols both sweat and seem to speak by diabolical power.

It is as though he had said that the deception had succeeded to such an extent that the earthly, led astray by the wonders of the beast, gave their full miserable assent to the beast and by a mutual devotion encouraged each other to make an image of the beast in the fraudulence of their hearts. And so they believe that there is no room for doubt but are convinced by the evidence of the fire that [the beast] is indeed the Christ, although the devil is in the antichrist and the same malignant spirit has taken the form of the Spirit and, with divine permission, lays down such seductive snares. Therefore, he is said “to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast should even speak.” This may be interpreted in two ways. Either the whole body of evil persons are persuaded by the demonstrations of power, since the devil is working and the leaders are urging the people, so that there is for everyone the same confession and that all are to proclaim it by a uniform formula, so that should anyone not speak this through the image of the beast, that is, through a mutual imitation, he should be killed.… Or, just as through conversation with a woman the first man was led astray by the mouth of a serpent, so then he deludes many by a similar fraud, when he causes his followers to receive messages by consulting an image, that is, the antichrist, to whom they believe honor is due, as to a god, although he is “the man of sin and the son of perdition.” … “And he causes all … to be marked on the right hand or the forehead.” He here distinguishes the individual members, although more often he includes them as a whole in the body or the person of the beast. The “hand” indicates works, and it is the right hand to simulate the truth. The “forehead” symbolizes the confession of faith. Since they are defrauded in regard to both of these good things, they are said to be marked on both.

[The beast] deceives those who continually dwell upon the earth in their hearts. For those who possess their citizenship in heaven are not deceived by fake appearances, since they have been sufficiently fortified by the prediction of his coming.… It is reported that demons often speak by sorcery through images and statues and trees and streams, also through Apollonius and others, and I think, even through dead bodies. For example, in the presence of Peter, Simon the Magician showed the Romans a dead body that he was moving. However, the apostle unmasked his deception by showing through those whom he himself raised how the dead were raised [by Simon]. And so there is nothing strange in the fact that working through demons, this standardbearer of the antichrist should make an image for the beast and contrive to show it speaking and see to it that those who did not worship it were killed. And he will eagerly strive to place the mark of the ruinous name of the apostate upon everyone. He will make the mark upon their right hands to bring to an end the doing of good works, and upon their foreheads in order to teach those deceived to be bold in their deception and darkness. But those who have had their faces sealed with the divine light will not receive the mark. He will undertake to spread the mark of the beast everywhere through buying and selling, so that a violent death might come to all who do have the mark from the lack of necessities.

And it was granted to him to give spirit to the image of the beast. That is, to the people who fulfill this falsehood by constituting themselves as the image of the beast, he pretends to give the spirit of truth.

And that the image of the beast should speak. He will not only deceive the miserable populace with a simulated spirit through fire, but he will also make them capable of teaching others.

And cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. Not that image which they say they are making, but that image to which they make the people similar. He thus makes the image of the beast worship the image of the beast, that is, makes the people worship the invention of the devil.