The Number of the Beast Is Not Three 6's

The Number of the Beast from the Book of Revelation (specifically, Revelation 13:15) is famously 666. The meaning of this number has engendered much speculation, and while I have my musings, that isn't the point of this post. I want to set the record straight on what the number actually is. It means six hundred sixty-six. It does not mean three 6's.

Why is this distinction critical? Because in the Book of Revelation, it's written out as the numerical value. Now, in the numerals we use, if I want to write two hundred forty-three, I just write a 2 (in the hundred's place), 4 (in the ten's place) followed by a 3 (in the one's place). So when I write 243, I am functionally saying (2*100)+(4*10)+(3*1), which equals two hundred forty-three.

Greek back then was different. It has its own numerals for 1 through 9. But then there's a completely separate numeral for 10, then a new one for 20, a new one for 30, and so on through 90. And then there is again a new numeral for 100, a new one for 200, and so on. There's more past that, but that's enough for our purposes. Thus to write 243, you don't simply write 2 then 4 then 3. Instead, you would write the numeral for 200, then the numeral for 40, and then the numeral for 3.

In Revelation, what is written is χξϛ. Now, χ is the symbol for 600, ξ is the symbol for 60, and ϛ is the symbol for 6 (modern versions of those symbols are a little different but the general idea remains the same). Thus, χξϛ says 600+60+6 which equals six hundred sixty-six. If the number was supposed to be three 6's, then we would have simply seen ϛ repeated three times, but that's not the case. It is clearly referring to the numerical value of 666.

Far too often, people just spot three 6's and conclude "it's 666!" Sometimes contortions are required to even get to the three 6's, but this problem occurs even when we can see three 6's "naturally." For example, I've seen people try to cite examples of 6.66, 66.6, 6666, 6660, or 60606 in conjunction with something or other as evidence of the Number of the Beast. But as noted, the Number of the Beast is the numerical value of six hundred and sixty-six. Thus no other number, even if it has three 6's somewhere in it, is equivalent. This similarly applies to dates such as June 6, 2006 (6/6/6) because it is not a number, but rather three 6's in close succession.

I also someone claim the OK Sign (this is when you make an O with your thumb and second finger while holding the other three fingers up) was satanic because it looks like a 6 and the three raised fingers signify three 6's. Now while it is true a few people might try to use it like that to be edgy, the fact is it doesn't create the actual Number of the Beast. As noted, it would only create three 6's, not the numerical value of six hundred sixty-six. If there is any numeral value from the OK Sign, it's 18, as 6+6+6=18. For that matter, the symbol we nowadays use for 6 didn't even exist at the time of Revelation.

So don't freak out just because you see something that might be interpreted as several 6's. It's the numerical value of 666 (six hundred and sixty six) that was being discussed. This was obvious in the way the Greeks wrote it, but is less obvious when rendered as 666. It's probably better to write out six hundred sixty-six rather than 666 to help avoid these misunderstandings. There is enough speculation already concerning what the number means without dragging in things that aren't actually six hundred and sixty-six into it.