[popsicesHoupe]

I thought the number 666 referred to Nero.

Deborah

From what I've read, that came from an interesting calculation, since it requires taking Nero's full title - Nero Caesar - and putting it into a Greek form, Neron Kaisar (not sure where the final "n" came from). Then, this is transliterated into Hebrew or Aramaic, giving NRWN QSR. Applying Hebrew gematria, you get 666.

Of course, the problem with that is that Irenaeus, as I noted above, said (emphasis mine):

... 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; ... The three words/names Irenaeus gives as examples of names you can get 666 from are Teitan, Lateinos, and Euanthas. All are calculated from the numerical values of the Greek letters. As far as I know, you can't get 666 out of any Greek form of Nero's name.

That's not to say that some people even in Irenaeus' day might not have thought it was Nero. If you transliterate Nero's name without the final "N" (i.e., from the Latin form) and apply Hebrew gematria, you get 616. There is a school of thought which proposes that this is the reason for some old manuscripts showing the number as 616 - the idea is that some people were so sure Nero had been the Beast, they "corrected" John's manuscript to agree with their calculations!

Mike