Mark 13 weighed
A Number That Calls for Wisdom
Six hundred and sixty-six, a number that stands for a person: what each reading does with it, and whether it keeps the wisdom the text asks for.
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- The mark
- "Wisdom is needed here; one who understands can calculate the number of the beast, for it is a number that stands for a person. His number is six hundred and sixty-six" (Revelation 13:18; 13:17; 15:2).
- Authority
- Scripture
- In depth
- Mark 13 on The First Beast
What the mark requires
Read in context (Standard 4), the number belongs to the first beast and stands for a person: a name, by the sum of its letters. The history of this verse is a history of failed guesses (Standard 23), and the Church warns against unhealthy curiosity about the future (CCC 2115; Standard 24). A reading that uses this mark must tie the number to the first beast's name plainly, or say honestly that it cannot.
The three readings
| Reading | Claims mark 13? | Evidence it gives | What weighs against | Standards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Irenaeus | Yes, without a name | The number sums up all apostasy (Noah's six hundred years; Nebuchadnezzar's statue, sixty cubits by six). He weighs names that fit and names no one: it is "more certain, and less hazardous, to await the fulfilment" (Against Heresies V.29.2; V.30.3) | Not applicable: he declines to apply it | 1, 2, 9, 24 met |
| Peter Thiel | Not in the material reviewed | — | Not applicable | — |
| Fr. John | Not as a name | He declines, with Irenaeus and Hippolytus, to fit the number to anyone's name, and offers two observations only: the 2007 purchase of the tower at 666 Fifth Avenue by the family company of the man he reads as the second beast, and John 6:66, the verse of the disciples' turning away, read beside Irenaeus's "apostasy" (his case) | The number belongs to the first beast and to a name, not to an address or another man's property; the address was not chosen by its buyers; chapter and verse numbers are much later than the text | 9 and 24 met: no name is computed; 4 not met by the observations; 7 met; 30: ungraded; he states his own standing as against, as now argued |
Verdict on the arguments
On the mark that has drawn the most speculation, Fr. John's reading shows the most restraint: it computes no name, follows Irenaeus in waiting, and states its own standing as against, as now argued. His two observations are honestly labeled as observations; as arguments, neither meets the text, which gives the number to the first beast's name. St. Irenaeus's reading remains the model for this mark: the number interpreted, the name withheld. Thiel's reading does not take up this mark.
These are verdicts on arguments, not on any person.