Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - 666

 

666

The three numbers above have been a source of curiosity and intrigue ever since they were first included in the Bible. Many have attributed individual names as to the meaning of these numbers without anyone really knowing if their interpretation was or was not correct. The number has also been mentioned as  referring to the gold of King Solomon “the weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold” (1 Kings 10:14). But it’s hard to see what connection that statement has, if any, to the mention made in Revelation.

So, does the number in Revelation refer to an individual person or to something else? The statement in Revelation reads like this: “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is 666,(Revelation 13:18). Some commentators have said that “the number of a man” really refers to “the number of man” and not to a particular individual. 

According to the Bible, man was created on the sixth day and so the number of man was considered to be the number six. In Hebrew, as in Greek, repetition of a statement often meant further emphasis on that statement over what might be inferred by the singular use alone. For example, when the four living creatures cried out “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Revelation 4:8) it apparently was to infer that not only was God holy, but that He was truly the expression of complete, maximum, and ultimate holiness. There could be none more holy than Him. 

In the same vein, perhaps the repetition of the number 6 refers not to an individual but to mankind as a whole and to man as a collective rather than individually. If this is the case, then the repetition of the 6 as 666 may refer to mankind in his ultimate final state. Since man rejected God and sought his own way, this number may refer to humankinds’ total and unrepentant materialism and physicality, totally separated from God and spirituality. After all, are we not told that: “Let no one deceive you by any means, for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first”(2 Thessalonians 2:3) And “…brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause then to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake…For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be” (Mark 13;12-13,19). This describes what may well take place when man is his pure (ultimate) self, materialistic and physically powerful.

So if the number attributed to man is truly 6 then perhaps it really is the case that 666 refers to the ultimate secularization of man rather that to an individual person. And if one looks around at present, it’s not too hard to accept the fact that we may be approaching such a time right now.

At the very least, it is something to think about.

Adapted in part from Mysteries of the Messiah pg 5 by Rabbi Jason Sobel