Devil Details: Juniata Professor Explaining 'The Omen' and 666
Bob Miller, Rosenberger Chair in Religious Studies, is a Biblical Scholar. He agreed to answer a few questions about the 2006 remake of the 1976 movie horror classic "The Omen," a film which asks the audience to believe that the Antichrist has returned to Earth in the person of an angelic child. The new version, starring Julia Stiles and Liev Schreiber, is to be released June 6, 2006, or 6/6/06.
Question
One of the major plot points of "The Omen" is the discovery of a birthmark of "666" on the head of Damien the young boy, confirming his father's suspicions that Damien is evil. Is the number 666 based in Biblical literature?
Answer
It's the number of the Beast in Revelation 13:18. It is the beast that is opposed to God. However, in some ancient copies of Revelation, the number appears as 616, so the texts aren't in complete agreement on that.
Q
In one of the more chilling scenes, Damien's father recites a prophecy, "From the eternal seas he rises/creating armies on either shore/turning man against his brother/until man exists no more. Is this from the Book of Revelation or is it nonsense?
A
That's not any biblical prophecy I'm familiar with--it doesn't sound right.
Q
The plot also identifies Damien as the Antichrist, is there a reference to this in the Bible?
A
That's tricky. The term "Antichrist" does not appear in the Book of Revelation. That book refers to Satanic figures who will lead people astray and certain modern Christian interpreters of Revelation apply the term "Antichrist" to one of those figures. It's important to note that the author of the Book of Revelation tells us right off in the first verse of the book that the visions he refers to will take place "very soon." Most scholars feel that this meant in the lifetime of the author, not 2,000 years later.
Q
One of the most memorable characters in the movie is Damien's nanny Mrs. Baylock, the original "nanny from Hell." Are there references in biblical texts to people returning from Hell to do evil?
A
There has always been beliefs in various kinds of demons. Strictly speaking, Christian religions teach that once you're in Hell, you can't come back up. There is no time off for good behavior in Hell.
Q
Any other significance to the numeral 666?
A
In Revelation the number 666 actually stands for someone's name. In ancient alphabets there were no numerals; letters were used for numbers. Revelation tells that 666 is "the number of a person," that is, the numerical value of the letters in someone's name. Revelation does not mean that the number 666 will literally be tattooed on someone's body. Most scholars conclude that the author of Revelation had in mind the evil emperor Nero, whose name, when written in Hebrew letters, adds up to 666. But all through history Christians have worked the arithmetic to make 666 apply to people of their own time. So there are all sorts of symbolic code theories that purport to show that it's significant that, for example in the name Ronald Wilson Reagan, each name has six letters. Of course so does my name, Robert Joseph Miller.