666 is well-known as the Mark of the Beast in the book of Revelation Chapter 13.
John, the writer of Revelation explains it very simply in Bible verse Revelation 13:18:
“This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the beast’s number, for it is man’s number, and his number is 666.”
There’s another name for the beast. He’s also known as the Antichrist.
But if you dig just a little deeper, the hidden meaning of 666 is embedded in those few short words.
And nobody’s talking about it.
The significance of 666 is that the number 6 is the number of man. Man was created on Day 6 of creation –another 6.
God also created the serpent that deceived man on the same 6th day. (See Genesis 1:24-31)
But there’s more to the story. A lot more.
The number 6 is one short of the number 7. 7 is the number of God’s perfection.
Now man is pretty good. He’s God’s greatest creation. God created us in his image and likeness.
Man has capabilities far beyond any other physical created being on planet earth.
But man is a fallen creature, who rebelled against God. So man falls far short of God.
Just as the number 6 falls short of the number 7, man falls short of God.
But it’s worse than that.
Man didn’t just fall short. Man rebelled.
Man didn’t just fall short. Man rebelled.
That’s where 666 comes in. It’s not like the difference between the number 7 and the number 6
When you triple the 6 and make it 666, it all begins to make a lot more sense.
666 is much more than just 3 sixes in a row. The complete meaning goes deeper than that.
The beast (the Antichrist) will be the ultimate rebel against God.
He will lead the whole world in rebellion against God, and will not allow any human resistance.
But at that time, there will be very little human resistance anyway. The people who are left at that time will overwhelmingly worship the beast.
They will love the beast so much that they will gladly take his mark on their right hand or forehead.
But the true God knows what Antichrist is up to, and he isn’t impressed. God has a way of mocking Antichrist in the prophecy we will look at in a moment.
Here’s some more hidden history.
Watch and learn about the connection between Antichrist-like Antiochus Epiphanes and the celebration of Hanukkah from Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn.
Let’s peel back a few more layers together. There are a few surprises in store.
Meaning of 666 Numerology in the Bible
Let’s look at the appearances of the number 666 in the Bible.
Let’s also consider the appearances of the number 6 in the Bible.
Beginning in Genesis, we see the number six first appears on the sixth day of creation.
It’s on this day that God made man. God also created the serpent that day.
Another important thing to note about the 6th day of creation is that it is the last day of God’s creative work.
God called his creation “good” and rested on the 7th day.
People often ask “Who Created God?” Well, here’s the answer.
https://faithfoundedonfact.com/who-created-god/
Six (6) isn’t the only number of significance in the Bible. Bible scholars have made studies of Biblical Numerology, and noted the significance of various numbers.
For instance, the number 1 is the number of the perfect unity of God.
Two (2) is the number of division. There are two testaments –the Old Testament and the New Testament.
There are two sexes –male and female. God counts two kinds of people as his own: Jew and Gentile.
3 is the number of the trinity. There is one (1) God, comprised of 3 persons.
Our world is in 3 dimensions- height, length and width. Time has 3 elements- past, present and future.
4 is the number of creation. There are 4 seasons. And there are 4 major directions: north, south, east and west.
5 is the number of grace, signified by the 5 books of the Torah (also called the Pentateuch, or the books of Moses) and the 5 stones David used to defeat Goliath.
6 is the number of man. Man was created on Day 6. Man works for 6 days-per-week and then rests.
7 is God’s number of perfect completion. There are 7 days in a week, and God rested on the 7th day.
8 is the number of new beginnings. Jesus rose from the dead on the 1st day of the week.
It’s the day after the Sabbath, making it the 8th day. Why do baptismal fonts in some churches have 8 sides?
Because baptism is a sign of the new birth. It’s a new beginning.
-Some numbers get doubled, or multiplied in the Bible.
Peter was trying to give a spiritual response when he asked Jesus if he should forgive somebody as many as 7 times.
But Jesus gently responded by saying we should forgive them 70 times 7 times –an impossible number.
But we never see 7 tripled. No other number ever gets tripled except the number 6.
Related Content: Zero: That’s How Many Contradictions There Are in the Bible
The Hidden Meaning of 666 Nobody’s Talking About
So here it is: the meaning of 666 that is hiding in plain sight. Yet no one is talking about it.
Bible scholar John Walvoord says in The Prophecy Knowledge Handbook “This beast claims to be God, and if that were the case, he should be 777. This passage, (Rev 13:16-18) in effect, says, No, you are only 666. You are short of deity even though you were originally created in the image and likeness of God. Most of the speculation on the meaning of this number is without profit or theological significance.”
In other words, we don’t need to go around figuring out the numerical value of people’s names to speculate whether or not they are the Antichrist.
Many have pointed out that letters of the alphabet have a numerical meaning in languages like Hebrew and Greek, and so a name will have a numerical value.
Walvoord points out in “Every Prophecy of the Bible” that you can get on Amazon that the real meaning of this verse is that a man is claiming to be God, but the real God isn’t impressed at all.
God is -in effect- mocking the Beast. The Beast -a created being- is even fooling himself. He believes his own lies and actually thinks he’s become God.
So when this verse (Rev 13:18) tells the wise to calculate the number of the beast and that it is this number 666, it just means the wise should be aware that the beast really is just another pretender.
666 isn’t a formula. When the Antichrist is revealed, (read the disturbing details about Antichrist here) he will be different from what most people expect.
Just as the other 666’s in the Bible (Goliath had a number 666 of his own, and so did Solomon) were revealed differently, so will the Antichrist be revealed differently than many expect.
What is the 666 Bible Verse?
Revelation 13:18: “This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.”
It’s easy to see what Walvoord meant when he said this is God’s declaration of who the Antichrist really is.
Antichrist says he is God, but God says –and emphasizes three times -with three 6’s- “no, you’re just a man.”
What Does 666 Mean in Revelation?
6 is the number of man.
Triple 6 speaks not only of falling short, but being in outright rebellion against God.
It’s like saying, “I’m going to do it My Way, and it’s better than God’s way.
It’s a sign of a satanic spiritual revolt against God.
Tripling the 6 is a way of adding emphasis to a declaration.
Just as the angels cry out in worship to God by saying “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “Worthy, Worthy, Worthy” God is saying to the Antichrist, you are just 6, 6 and 6. A man who thinks he’s a god.
Rather than confession and repentance and begging for reconciliation with God, it’s telling God his way is wrong and the rebel’s way is right.
There are multiple prototypes of Antichrist in history:
Antiochus Epiphanes is the prototype of this character from antiquity.
He’s the ruler who desecrated the holy place by sacrificing a pig on the altar of the sacred temple in ~167 BC.
This brought about the three-year Maccabean rebellion that threw out his forces, purified the temple in the very first Hanukkah on 25 Kislev of 164 BC and restored Israel until the time of Roman rule.
And Antiochus Epiphanes claimed to be God.
Another prototype from antiquity is the Roman Emperor Nero, who presided over the gladiator extravaganzas, during which many innocent lives were brutally ended for the pleasure of a crowd.
Nero deliberately caused the fires of Rome and then blamed it on the Christians. He then had the Christians rounded up and cruelly killed in various monstrous acts.
Most of the Roman emperors were also very evil, if not quite up to Nero’s level of brutality.
More recent prototypes of the Antichrist are Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and the Kim Dynasty of North Korea.
Each of these prototypes of the Antichrist has an evil history of death and suppression of human rights under their regimes.
If their behavior is any indication, the reign of the Antichrist will be brutal, autocratic and he will exert complete control over his subjects.
What is the Significance of 666?
We have taken a look at the previous Antichrists that act as prototypes for the Antichrist of Revelation.
From them, we get a picture of what the Antichrist will be like.
But there is another aspect that becomes clear when we look into the character of the Antichrist.
For the Antichrist, it’s not enough to just live life by his own standards. For him, he must deprive all of humanity their rights.
He will not only resist God. He will try to destroy God and anything that represents the true God.
This is where he shows his true colors after appearing as a man of peace in his first three-and-a-half years.
One of the Antichrists mentioned above is Antiochus Epiphanies. He tried to wipe out the Jewish religion and replace it with the World Religion of the day.
He didn’t just want to give his false religion equal time.
No, his intention was to wipe out the true religion with the religion of man.
The Jewish people rose up against him and restored the temple after he had desecrated it by sacrificing a pig.
He set up an idol in the holy place (the temple) and turned it into a place of pagan worship called the abomination of desolation.
Antiochus Epiphanes required all the Jews to worship his false god of Zeus and take part in repulsive, nauseating pagan religious rituals.
After a while, his armies were defeated by the Maccabees and the temple was rededicated during the ceremony known as Hanukkah.
The historically factual story of Hanukkah in 164 BC is a blueprint of what will happen at the revealing of the Antichrist in the book of Revelation.
The number of the Antichrist is 666, meaning he is just a man who exalts himself to be God –and after his time is up, he will go down to defeat just as Antiochus Epiphanes did.
First the Antichrist will war against the Jewish people in Israel. It will be a time of great distress, just as it was in 167 BC.
But, just as Antiochus Epiphanes was defeated by the Maccabees, the Antichrist -whose number is 666 in the book of Revelation- will be defeated by the real Christ.
How Many Times is 666 Mentioned in the Bible?
666 is directly mentioned twice in the Bible. The most well-known instance is in Revelation 13:18 as the number of the beast –or Antichrist.
The other famous mention is Solomon’s annual salary of 666 talents of gold in the book of 1 Kings 10:14-15.
A more subtle reference to 666 is made in regard to Goliath, who defied the armies of Israel and was defeated by David. Goliath stood a full 6 cubits in height.
He had 6 pieces of armor, and his spear’s head weighed 600 shekels. See 1 Samuel 17:4-7.
What is 666 a Sign of?
During the reign of the Antichrist, the people will be so deceived that they will be eager to take the mark of the beast.
It will seem to be the cool thing to do.
“The whole world followed the beast in amazement” and “they worshiped the dragon…and the beast, too. Rev. 13:3-4.
Isn’t it shocking to hear that the man of evil known as the Antichrist will be worshiped?
But that’s what makes him the Antichrist.
He comes instead of the true Christ. The Antichrist comes to deceive, and he will deceive many.
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. Mark 13:22
Is your Faith Founded on Fact? Have you committed to follow Jesus?