What does 666, the 'mark of the beast' really signify?

[TrueTomHarley]

20 minutes ago, Pudgy said:

…. Let the Reader beware ….

Hmm. Dare I tell my little joke here? . . . 

Here goes:

Pudgy, how many women with this condition does it take to unscrew a light bulb?

[Pudgy]

31 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

Hmm. Dare I tell my little joke here? . . . 

Here goes:

Pudgy, how many women with this condition does it take to unscrew a light bulb?

 

[TrueTomHarley]

4 minutes ago, Pudgy said:

 

No. It takes 19.

[Moise Racette]

On 1/17/2023 at 2:47 PM, TrueTomHarley said:

No. It takes 19.

I see the posters point of view about the number 7 being perfect, and the number 6 being imperfect. That ideology has been around since the AD second century. 

The number 616 in scholarly circles seems to be considered as scribal error in the MSS. However, around that century, some Scribs liked to use "gematria" to calculate the dictatorship of the emperor's name. For instance, Caligula, "Gaios Kaisar"  616 (g = 3 + a = 1 + i = 10 + o = 70 + s = 200 + k = 20 + a = 1 + i = 10 + s = 200 + a = 1 + r =100.

Some also consider the number to be associated with a person. Using this practice, initials of emperors from Julius to Vespasian total 666: K(Caesar), S(Sebastos/Augustus), T(Tiberius), G(Gaius/Caligula), K(Claudius), N(Nero), G(Galba), O(Oespasianos/ Vespasian) Yeatts

Since John was referring to a future tense scenario, then all those speculations are moot. We can continue to speculate with the name Nero-Ceasar.

In this case, I agree with St. Irenaeus, the only number that needs consideration is 666.