[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World whiteboard.]

What Does 666 Mean in Revelation 13:18?

One of the most intriguing and infamous numbers is the ominous and mysterious “666.”

This number occurs only once in the Bible, found in the book of Revelation.

An enormous amount of speculation about the meaning of 666 has swirled through the centuries since the Apostle John wrote Revelation almost 2,000 years ago.

In this video, we’ll keep it basic and just pull five clear points from the Bible about this number. The points will build upon each other, with each adding more detail and specifics.

Point #1: The Bible shows that certain numbers have special meaning and symbolism

The best example is the number seven, with seven days of the week, the Sabbath being the seventh day, and seven annual festivals. The Book of Revelation describes seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. And the Bible has many other instances of seven.

These examples and more show that God uses the number seven to symbolize completion and perfection.

Six isn’t used as often as seven, but two instances are worth noting.

1. Man was created on the sixth day (Genesis 1:26–31).
2. In the fourth commandment, God instructed that man should work for six days as He did when He created the heavens and earth, and then rest on the seventh (Exodus 20:8–11).

We can only speculate, but perhaps these examples suggest the possibility that the number six symbolizes mankind and the current world, as opposed to God’s coming perfect world, which God symbolizes with the number seven.

Point #2: Wisdom and understanding are needed to calculate 666

This is found in the one verse that mentions 666.

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666 (Revelation 13:18).

This is an important point because it explains that people with wisdom and understanding—which come from God (Proverbs 2:6)—will be able to calculate the number at the appropriate time.

Now, to whom does God give wisdom and understanding? Psalm 111:10 explains:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments.

Those who fear (deeply respect) God and do His commandments are the ones who obtain wisdom and understanding from God.

A similar point is made in Acts 5:32, which explains that God gives His Holy Spirit to those who obey Him.

The Writing on the Wall

An Old Testament example of this principle is found in Daniel 5, where King Belshazzar sees the famous “writing on the wall.” This example also shows how God sometimes uses words and numbers to convey hidden meaning that He reveals to people He chooses.

The writing Belshazzar saw was a word and numerical puzzle, written on the wall in Aramaic by a mysterious hand. Belshazzar called for his wise men and astrologers to decipher the inscription, but they couldn’t. But one of God’s servants, the prophet Daniel, who had God’s Spirit (Daniel 5:11, 14), was able to explain the puzzle to the king.

And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.…

That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain (Daniel 5:25–30).

This point helps us understand that we can’t trust every preacher on TV and YouTube to explain 666, but we must look to His true servants who teach and strive to keep God’s commandments and who have His Holy Spirit.

Point #3: 666 is the number of the beast

Revelation 13:18 says that 666 is the number of the beast. Verse 17 calls it “the number of his name,” referring to the first beast described earlier in Revelation 13:1–8, the one that came out of the sea.

The earliest idea about the meaning of 666—the number of the beast’s name—is attributed to Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John.

How to calculate the number of a name

Remember from point #2, Revelation 13:18 also said this number is calculated. But how would Polycarp calculate the number of a name?

Well, in the ancient world, it was common for letters to be used as numerals. For example, it’s common to use Roman numerals, where the letters of the Latin alphabet have numeric value, such as:

• I equals 1
• V equals 5
• X equals 10

Polycarp’s proposal was that the Greek letters for Lateinos, a term referring to the Romans, added up to 666.

Similarly, the Greek phrase “the Latin kingdom” also has a numeric value of 666, and Greek writers commonly referred to the Roman Empire this way. And of note, the book of Revelation was written in Greek because it was written to the Greek-speaking congregations in ancient Asia Minor.

Using similar methodology in which letters represent numbers, a well-known idea relates to the infamous Roman Emperor Nero (who died about 25 years before John wrote Revelation). When the Greek form of his name is written in Hebrew letters, the numeric value comes to 666. This will tie into the last point, because Nero’s reign was a type of the end-time prophecies related to the Roman Empire.

Another interesting explanation regarding 666 is regarding the founder of ancient Rome, Romulus. The Hebrew translation of his name, Romiith, also adds up to 666.

These plausible explanations are interesting in how prominent names related to the Roman Empire add up to this number.

Now, we’re not going to go into a lot of detail about the beast’s identity in this video (let us know in the comments if you’d like a video dedicated to that topic), but when Daniel chapters 2, 7, and 8, and Revelation 13 and 17 are compared, we learn that the end-time fulfillment of the first beast in Revelation 13 is the final, end-time revival of the Roman Empire, led by a powerful political leader. (See our videos Daniel 2 and Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream and ​​​​What Is the Beast of Revelation 17? for more information.)

The final revival of the Roman Empire will be some form of a political alliance in Europe along with a prominent leader, following in the footsteps of historical revivals of the Roman Empire and their prominent leaders.

Point #4: 666 is not the same as the mark of the Beast

Revelation chapter 13 not only speaks of the number of the Beast, but also speaks of the mysterious mark of the Beast. It says,

He [the beast] causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name (Revelation 13:16–17).

These verses, along with others, indicate that the mark of the Beast and the number 666 are connected in some way, but are not the same.

The Beast’s mark is a sign of the Beast’s authority, while 666 will be specifically related to the Beast—or the leader of the Beast’s name (or title), as we’ll see in our next point.

For more details about the mark of the Beast, check out our video, What Is the Mark of the Beast?

Point #5: 666 is the number of the name or title of a man

Let’s read Revelation 13:18 again.

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

This point indicates strongly that 666 will relate to a specific man, likely the leader of the end-time revival of the Roman Empire who, to a certain degree, will follow in the footsteps of his predecessors, such as:

• Justinian in the 500s
• Charlemagne in the 800s
• Otto the Great in the 900s
• Napoleon in the 1800s
• And Hitler and Mussolini in the 1900s

Notice that these historical examples were all in Europe.

He will likely lead a political juggernaut that will emerge in Europe, consisting of ten primary nations or leaders, represented by the ten horns on the beast of Revelation 17 and the ten toes on Nebuchadnezzar’s image in Daniel 2.

He will be given extreme power from Satan, influenced to utter great blasphemies against God, culminating in a final global adoration and worship of the man and the devil himself as described in Revelation 13:4.

So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

His name or title will relate to the number 666, perhaps similar to the way the names of Nero or Romulus did as mentioned earlier.

What to do with this information

Sincere Christians shouldn’t get overly focused and concerned about the number 666, but should take an approach of patience, wisdom, and understanding.

It will be far more important between now and the rise of the Beast to seek the wisdom and understanding that come from obeying God and keeping His commandments.

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Thanks for watching!