The number is found only in Revelation 13:11–18: “I saw another beast coming up out of the earth . . . Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”
Revelation is the most difficult book of the Bible to interpret, and people disagree violently about its visions and symbols. The “beast” refers (probably) to an evil ruler or government persecuting the faithful, but whether past or future no one knows.
People have enjoyed trying to connect 666 with some famous person’s name, and for centuries probably every notable person was accused by someone of being “the beast.” In the Bible six usually represents incompleteness (as opposed to the “good” number, seven).
So 666 may mean . . . truth to tell, no one knows. It certainly gained fame in the move The Omen and its sequels.
