I’ve heard people talking about 666 saying it’s a number you should be careful about as a Christian. Can you please explain more about it?
The number 666 is found in Revelation 13:18. Let us read verses 16-18. “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six” (NASB). The beast referred to in these verses is the Antichrist. The setting is during the Great Tribulation. Believers today will not be on earth at that time. The rapture will have occurred, and we will be in heaven. I make these statements to provide a setting for Revelation 13:16-18. There are many other verses to show that these statements are true, but I think that it would be best to stay on track with answering the question so that my answer does not become very lengthy.
Although the Church will be removed at the rapture, there will be believers during the Tribulation. We read in Revelation 7:4 that there will be 144,000 from “the tribes of the children of Israel.” We know from Revelation 7:9-10 that there will be “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” Verse 14 makes it plain that these are Tribulation saints, since it says that “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
Returning to Revelation 13:18, believers are to reject having the mark of the Antichrist’s name or number (666) to be put on them. Revelation 14:9-11 says, “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
We know from Revelation 13:18 that the Lord will give wisdom to believers at this time to identify that this man is the Antichrist by correlating his name with the number 666. They will then know to reject the mark that he requires that they receive. This is so important because believers have Christ’s name on them and should reject having the name of the Antichrist on them. As we see in Revelation 14:1, “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.”
Concerning the number 666, we find in the Scriptures that six is the number of man. Man was created on the sixth day (Genesis 1:26-31). Nebuchnezzar the king, as a prideful man, made an image of himself that was 60 cubits high and six cubits in breadth (Daniel 3:1). Solomon was the greatest king in wisdom and wealth that this world has ever seen. We read in 1 Kings 10:14 that “the weight of gold which came in to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold” (NASB). It even says in Revelation 13:18 that “the number is that of a man” so we can be sure that the number six is the number of man.
In contrast, seven is the number of completeness, perfection, and rest. We read in Genesis 2:1-2, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.” Man, apart from God, even at his best, is imperfect. A picture of this is seen by noticing that the number six is less than seven. As God perfectly completed the work of creation, so Christ perfectly completed the work on the cross. “It is finished” (John 19:30), was Christ’s cry of victory from the cross. Christ in His person is also perfect and complete. The Father testified to this when He said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). True rest is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. As we read in Matthew 11:28-29, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
The Antichrist will be very impressive as he does “great wonders” (Revelation 13:13), but he is infinitely inferior to the true Christ. There is no rest or perfection found in him. It is interesting to notice that the number of the Antichrist is 666 and not only six. This may symbolize that the Antichrist is part of an evil trinity composed of Satan, the Antichrist (also called the false prophet), and the first beast or head of the revived Roman Empire, who is described in Revelation 13:1-10. All three of these evil beings will be cast into the lake of fire. We read in Revelation 19:20, “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” We then read in Revelation 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
In summary, Christians today will not be on this earth when the Antichrist is revealed and his number of 666 is demanded to be marked on them. However, his evil influence has already begun. We read in 1 John 2:18, “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour” (NASB). 1 John 4: 3 states, “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” How thankful we can be that our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is much more powerful than Satan and all those loyal to him. We read in the very next verse, 1 John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (358.6) (DJ)