The Number of the Beast

There is one name that best matches the 666 number of the beast in Revelation, as well as the 616 number, which was in some of the manuscripts. The name is Nero(n) Caesar. And not only the number, but also the historical context with the Roman Imperial Cult and Emperor worship that was so rampant at the time. The below screenshot is from the late NT scholar Bruce Metzger in his book, Breaking The Code. I have also listed several other scholarly resources below for reference. Great resources, I highly recommend them.

Breaking The Code, Bruze Metzger https://amzn.to/3iuKXdP

Reading Revelation Responsibly, Michael Gorman https://amzn.to/2GtKImj

The New Oxford Annotated Bible 5th ed. (excellent scholarly resource in general) https://amzn.to/3jAgCvN

HarperCollins Study Bible Fully Revised & Updated https://amzn.to/3cZkKTM

The Jewish Annotated New Testament 2nd ed. https://amzn.to/3llcEI5

An Introduction to the New Testament, Raymond Brown, The Abridged Edition (The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library) https://amzn.to/33AEWs5

Brian Zahnd (a few articles/blogs) https://brianzahnd.com/tag/revelation/