Several people have asked me about this one.  Until there is some good textual criticism on the manuscript fragments having 616 for Revelation 13:18, my thoughts on the topic are as follows:
 
  1. One thing that would settle this would be if a man appeared on the scene fulfilling everything else for the "First Beast from the Sea" in Revelation 13 and other prophecies related to what is erroneously called the Antichrist.  If we "calculated" the "number of his name" as instructed and it came to either 616 or 666 we would have our answer.  There is such a man. Prince Charles of Wales' heraldic achievement (coat-of-arms) literally consists of the very beasts described in Rev 13 and Dan 7, he is a Prince (Dan 9:27) and he is from the old Roman Empire that destroyed the Temple (Dan 9:27).  And rather than adding up to 616, his name adds up to 666 using the ancient gematria system not only in its native English but also the official Hebrew transliteration (Nasich Charles Mem Wales), against all statistical odds.
 
  2. The Book of Revelation introduces very little new and tends to mostly expand on concepts or symbols that have already been used elsewhere in the Bible.  It is noteworthy therefore that 616 appears nowhere else in the Bible while 666 appears four times, very interestingly in this verse related to another exalted and adored king, one whom no doubt the coming Antichrist will want to emulate in many ways.
 1 Kings 10:14 (NIV)  -- The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,
 -Tim
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