666 — The Number of the Beast

The interpretation of 666 changed from an identification based on the names of religious organizations to a symbolic designation of the worldwide political system. In 1882, the number was applied to Roman Catholic and Protestant religious systems by counting eighteen letters in their English names. The religious interpretation was still evident in 1913. In 1918, the number was particularly associated with the Papacy and the Latin title VICARIVS FILII DEI. In 1921, this identification was replaced by an explanation involving the religious, political, and financial elements of human rulership. In 1930 and 1940, the three elements were assigned specific numerical values: 600 for religion, 60 for commerce, and 6 for politics. This explanation was repeated in 1945, 1956, 1957, and 1962. In 1963, the emphasis shifted to the number as the name of the imperfect worldwide human political organization itself, without requiring each numerical component to represent a separate class. This understanding was repeated in 1966, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1988, and 1991. The 1991 explanation explicitly identified the wild beast bearing 666 with the world's political system. Searches of 1992–2000 publications found discussions of the number but no separately verified statement changing or restating its full symbolic identification.