Cotton Mather and Jonathan Edwards on the Number of the Beast.

An analysis of the interpretations of Cotton Mather and Jonathan Edwards on the significance of the biblical number of the Antichrist. Both men based their conclusions primarily on the mathematical determinations of Francis Potter, an English clergyman. Mathematical keys were used by each man, and both decided that Rome, the Pope, and the Catholic Church represented the Antichrist. Americans have frequently equated the Antichrist with unpopular social movements or institutions.