(5) The mystic number of the beast--13: 18. “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man, and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” The fact that the mystic number was assigned to the first beast, or sea-beast, shows that the second beast, or land-beast, had no independent power or authority, but was the minion of the emperor. This land-beast, as previously indicated, represented the Jewish persecutors in Jerusalem and Judea, but performed no official acts without the consent, permission and authority of the sea-beast, the Roman emperor. The introduction to verse 18, Here is wisdom, points to the cryptic character of the following statement, let him that understandeth count the number of the beast--that being the code number of six hundred sixty six. It is a basic truth that the book of Revelation was written in code, on the same principle that the army communicates messages in code intended only for the military personnel, but to be withheld from the public. For the same purpose the contents of Revelation were composed in code for the vital information and concealed instruction to the churches facing the impending persecutions; but to be withheld from the pagan Roman world. There were in all of the churches the spiritually endowed teachers, who possessed the “ spiritual gifts” of the inspiration era, as recorded in chapters twelve and thirteen of First Corinthians. In the catalog of such gifts were listed the special endowments of “ wisdom,” “ discernment,” and “ understanding.” This agrees with the words of the text, here is wisdom, and let him that hath understanding count the number. These supernaturally endowed teachers in the churches could certainly decipher the cryptogram. It has been established that the beast was the Roman empire, personified in the living emperor. It is so evident as to be patent that to mention the name of the living emperor in these connections would have been disastrous to the church--it would have precipitated a premature onslaught against Christians which could have resulted in their complete obliteration in every part of the Roman empire. A cryptogram is a writing in ciphers, or secret letters, with symbolic figures and representations having a hidden significance. Cryptography is the art of writing in secret characters. A cryptographer is one who has mastered the skill of deciphering or decoding the mystic letters. The prophets and teachers in the New Testament churches were not professional cryptographers, but being the recipients of “ spiritual gifts” by apostolic impartation, they possessed inspired powers to discern that which the ordinary mind could not discover. It is not without reason that 1 Corinthians 12:8 and 1 Corinthians 13:2 would include the necessary power to decipher the code of Rev 13:18 to the members of the churches involved in these calamitous developments and trying experiences, which were so immediately present with them, but so remotely past to us. There have been almost a legion of names in many different languages that have been deciphered in the efforts to find solution for Code 666, ranging from the merest conjecture to a frantic religious fanaticism that borders on lunacy. The names of ancient political war lords, medieval papal pontiffs, together with nineteenth and twentieth century dictators, have been juggled to yield the sum 666. But a far-fetched and fantastic solution is neither satisfying nor sufficient. It must be relevant to the text and the context. There is such a solution in the official appellation of Nero Caesar. The designation of this emperor as yielding the 666 code is actually found in the rabbinical writings. Inasmuch as John was writing for the information and instruction of Hebrew Christians, it is appropriate and expediential that the code name for the Roman beast should be hidden in Hebrew ciphers, thus less likely to be discovered by the pagan authorities into whose hands the Revelation might come; and whereas the Roman empire was the beast of verses 1-8, the numerical name must of contextual necessity designate the one in whom the empire was personified. No name could be more conclusive and decisive than that of Nero Caesar--the ruling emperor. The Hebrew tongue was employed in chapter 16:16 in the symbol of Armageddon, and for less reason than justifies Hebrew ciphers in this case. In chapter 17:11 the beast was visualized as the sixth ruling emperor in succession from Julius Caesar. Though Julius was the head of the Republic, before the empire was actually formed, nevertheless the Republic merged into the empire; and it was from Julius Caesar, the first of the imperial rulers of Rome, that the title Caesar passed to his successors. Josephus mentions Julius as the first in the line of Caesars. The eminent Philip Schaff, in his Bible Dictionary, records that the imperial title descended from Julius Caesar. The original Speaker’ s Bible Commentary, published by the order of the English Parliament, states that Professor Bryce, of Oxford, had justly placed Julius Caesar, from whom the name Caesar passed on to his successors, as first of the imperial rulers of Rome. These and many other ancient and modern historians and scholars count the imperial rulers from Julius Caesar. This fact has a decisive bearing on the pre-destruction-of-Jerusalem chronology of Revelation. It is a rather strange process that would omit the original Caesar in order to qualify another than Nero for the ruling emperor when Revelation was composed. The line of the first six Caesars was as follows: Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. The sixth emperor, according to chapter seventeen, was ruling--and he was Nero, as will be later propounded. It is so signified as to be conclusive that the Hebrew consonants in the official name Nero Caesar form the exact numerical figure of six hundred sixty six. It is also factual that Irenaeus in the early second century mentioned this solution to the numerical appellation. He further mentioned that some of the old manuscripts computed the number to be six hundred sixteen, and a current abbreviated form of writing the name of Nero among the Hebrews formed exactly that figure--six hundred sixteen. These facts are but further proof that it was the common understanding among the Hebrews that Nero was the intended character. The proof of the numerical meaning of the Hebrew letters is available in the Hebrew alphabet, and they are not difficult to decipher. In the order of the official title of Nero Caesar it would be as follows numerically: 50-200-6-50- 100-60-200 = 666. The International Critical Commentary on Revelation states, along with other scholars quoted, that the solution is to be found in Hebrew, not in Greek, and that Nero Caesar is the man of the number. There could have been no way more effective or plausible for John to withhold the meaning of this code from the public, but also to bring it within the perception of the oppressed churches, than to conceal it in their native Hebrew, to be deciphered by the spiritual discerners in the churches, who were evidently signified in verse 18: Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast and here is wisdom--that is, the answer to the mystic number is in the imparted wisdom of the spiritually gifted prophets and teachers in the churches. So in the search for a figurative beast to fit the symbolic numerical name--why skip that old Roman beast! He was there in the midst of it all, and he is relevant to the text and context. To ignore that period and assign these events to the future, is the same mistake committed by the modern pseudo-prophets, who gather an armful of Old Testament prophecies, skip the New Testament fulfillment completely, and assign the prophecies by sheer assertion to a future fulfillment. Essentially the same process is employed, inadvertently and unintentionally when the symbols of Revelation are assigned to future centuries. There could be no more natural application of this symbolic number than the name of the Roman emperor, and the most exacting analyst could not demand a more fitting solution. But the historical “ dark ages” interpretation is not only unconvincing, it is lacking in relevancy and coherency, and is anachronistic.