‘666’ is a very well known number of evil, even outside of Christian circles. However, not many people understand why. In the article “What does 666 mean?” by David Jeremiah, he discusses the significance of that number, as well as some of the places in the Bible it can be found.

Appearances of ‘666’ in the Bible

It is not entirely certain what the number ‘666’ means, but there are a few times it is applied. First, it is found in verse 18 of Revelation chapter 13. This is interesting because 6+6+6=18. However, that doesn’t imply its meaning. Likewise, three 6’s have been used other places in the Bible:

Goliath was six cubits tall, his spear’s head weighed six shekels, and he had six pieces of armor. Nebuchadnezzar’s statue in Daniel was 60 cubits tall, six cubits wide, and six musical instruments summoned the worshipers.

“The False Prophet in the Book of Revelation“

Although these are interesting, it doesn’t necessarily explain the significance of this number, or where it came from.

The number of man

Even though the meaning can’t definitely determined, there are some inferences that can be made. ‘6’ is the number of man, as we were created on the 6th day, and we are called to work 6 days of the week, resting on the 7th. ‘7’ is the number of God. He is perfect, and 6 will always fall short of 7. Although not very exciting, ‘666’ could simply stand for “human ingenuity—the best man can be apart from God.”