1 Answer

Here is one explanation:

The nefarious connotations of 666 weren't invented by some heavy metal band -- they are rooted in the Bible.
The final book of the New Testament is Revelation, and for centuries theologians have pondered its highly symbolic, prophetic language. Revelation tells of impending Armageddon, an end of all time, when a great war will be fought between good and evil, and God will triumph. In Revelation, "the beast," also called the Antichrist, personifies evil.

Revelation, Chapter 13 speaks of the beast and how to identify his followers. According to verses 16 and 17, they will have the mark or the name or number of the beast on their right hands or foreheads. Verse 18 introduces the number 666 itself: "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."

It's unclear why the specific number 666 is the number of the beast. According to Dial-the-Truth Ministries, the number 6 is the number of man because in the Bible, God created man on the sixth day. Elsewhere in the Bible (Matthew 16:23), Satan is described as being "man-centered" (as opposed to God-centered). Thus the devil's number would be a twist on man's number. This is just one theory, and the number 666 has generated plenty of debate.

This is from Wiki:

In the New Testament, the Book of Revelation (13:17-18) cryptically asserts 666 to be "the number of a man," associated with the beast, an antagonistic creature that appears briefly about two-thirds into the apocalyptic vision.

In modern popular culture, 666 has become one of the most widely recognized symbols for the Antichrist or, alternatively, the Devil. Earnest references to 666 occur both among apocalypticist Christian groups and in explicitly anti-Christian subcultures. An appearance of the number 666 in contemporary Western art or literature is, more likely than not, an intentional reference to this number of the Beast symbolism. Such popular references to 666 are too numerous to list.

It is not uncommon to see the symbolic role of the integer 666 transferred to the digit sequence 6-6-6. Some people take the Satanic associations of 666 so seriously that they actively avoid things related to 666 or the digits 6-6-6. This is known as hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia.

Please don't ask me to pronounce that last word for you, I couldn't in this lifetime.

14 years ago. Rating: 1
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