[Dr. Ursus]

I thought it was for Nero?

[Olog-hai]

The number was written in Greek letters and so inspired, not Hebrew or Aramaic. The letters are chi, xi and stigma (χξϛ).

[do the dhue]

I think for Nero to be 666 it would have to be written Neros.

[CurlyDave]

I thought it was for Nero?

An Episcopal priest I was very good friends with told me it was symbolic of Nero.

The early Christians were very interested in numerology, and when the rules of numerology are applied to the letters in Nero the result is 666 (sometimes 616)

The text is very specific that it is the number of a man, interpretation calls for wisdom, and that it is the result of a calculation.

I tend to believe that this all adds up the the Nero interpretation being more probable that any of the others.

[Vanders9]

I think that the generally accepted interpretation of theologians today is that 666 is indeed a reference to Nero, based on the fact that letters were used to denote numbers in Greek, thus providing an automatic kind of cipher system. And 666 does add up to his name.

People argue incessently over whether biblical language should be taken literally or symbolically. There is no reason why it cannot be both. In this case, even if the text is literally pointing to Nero as the antichrist and Rome as the beast, symbolically it is also describing any tyrant, or any oppressive political system.

[Timber Rattler]

It was. 666 is a rough Middle English translation of a Hebrew code word for the Emperor Nero. People need to remember that the book of Revelation was originally written in Koine Greek and NOT English, and that much of its narrative concerns the Roman Empire.