A Study on the number 6

The number 6 as used in scripture is representative of mankind without relationship with God or mankind under sin.

Interestingly enough the Greek alphabet has no 'natural' letter for the numeral 6. Instead the Greeks used the symbol 'stigma' to signify this value. This symbol was also used for branding slaves and beasts of burden.

Some examples of the use of the number 6 in scripture are:

• God created mankind on the sixth day.
• Man is instructed to labour for six days (Genesis 3).
• The sixth commandment is thou shalt shalt not kill
• The law stated that Hebrew slaves were to render servitude to their masters for six years.
• The mark of the beast in the book of Revelation is 666 or 6 x 111

The number 666

This number, more than any other, has found prominence in the mind of Bible readers. It carries with it an air of mystery and evil. Most people mistakenly take this number to represent the Devil or Satan, which is contrary to the relevant scriptures.

REV 13:16-18
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six (666).

As can be clearly seen in the scriptures, the number 666 is used to identify a man. This man represents the perfect example of man under sin or bondage, and following with the context of the chapter, we can see that this man is the head of the world system being described.

Another interesting point to note about this section of scripture is the word 'mark' (Gk: charagma) used in verse 17 is the 666th word in the original Greek text of the book of Revelation.

Now, as to what is meant by the term "... the number of his name" in verse 17, we will leave the decision on this point up to the reader, but consider the following numerical gematrias of certain names:

Roman Man - (GK: LATEINOS) -
30+1+300+5+10+50+70+200=666

Roman Man - (HB: ROMITI) -
200+6+40+10+400+10=666

The Romans also used their alphabet to represent numerals. However they didn't use their whole alphabet as did the Hebrews and Greeks. The Romans used their alphabet as follows : D = 500, C = 100, L = 50, X = 10, V = 5, I = 1 N.B. The modern use of the letter M has been derived by the use of two Ds I.E. DD

  D = 500
  C = 100
  L =  50
  X =  10
  V =   5
  I =   1
      666

The triple crown placed upon the head of the Pope at his coronation bears the following inscription : VICARIUS FILII DEI which translates as VICAR OF THE SON OF GOD. The numerical gematria of this title (in Roman numerals) is as follows:

  V =   5    F =   -    D = 500
  I =   1    I =   1    E =   -
  C = 100    L =  50    I =   1
  A =   -    I =   1 
  R =   -    I =   1
  I =   1
  U =   5 
  S =   -
  
      112    +    53    +   501   =  666