[b]Michae1 wrote:[/b] [quote][b]MisterNathan wrote:[/b] [quote]Or it could be Nero.[/quote] Ok, explain it to me.[/quote] Because I'm lazy, from Wikipedia: [quote]The Greek spelling, "Nerōn Kaisar", transliterates into Aramaic as "נרון קסר", nrwn qsr. The Aramaic spelling is attested in a scroll from Murabba'at dated to "the second year of emperor Nero." [/quote] Basically, 666 spells Nero. [quote]In the reign of Emperor Decius (249–251 AD), those who did not possess the certificate of sacrifice (libellus) to Caesar could not pursue trades, a prohibition that conceivably goes back to Nero, reminding one of Revelation 13:17.[/quote] Obviously, his persecution of the Christian Church and goal to obliterate Christianity is well known, and it is well documented that he would burn captured Christians alive in his garden to replace lamps. Additionally, rumors circulated that Nero never actually died and would return, thus the death and resurrection of The Beast. [quote]In 310, Lactantius wrote that Nero suddenly disappeared, and even the burial-place of that noxious wild beast was nowhere to be seen. This has led some persons of extravagant imagination to suppose that, having been conveyed to a distant region, he is still reserved alive; and to him they apply the Sibylline verses.[/quote] These Sibylline verses Lactantius spoke of are found in the Sibylline Oracles, Book 5 and 8, and talked about Nero coming backing, destroying everything, bla bla bla. Among early Christianity, this was a widely held belief, fyi. There's actually a TON more to this, but I'm posting from work and don't really feel like doing another in depth study on a matter I don't deem particularly important at the moment. :P