The Bible speaks of an end-time ruler that will rise to extrodinary power. The book of Revelation identifies this man with a mysterious number: 666. This scripture implies that one needs understanding to grasp its meaning. It speaks of wisdom. It says that this number is ``the number of the beast'' and also ``the number of a man.'' We know that the beast is the Antichrist, and that the Antichrist is a man, so it is his number, but what is the wisdom?
Could it be that the Bible speaks of other men that are associated with this number? Indeed, the Bible does speak of several men that are closely associated with this number. It does not speak of very many such men however, so we may assume that the ones it does name are significant, and that they bear relevence to the person of the Antichrist. It is expected that the knowledge of who these other men are might shed some light on our understanding of who the Antichrist might be.
And what is the significance of the particular number 666? Why not some other number? Does the Bible associate some wisdom--some understanding--with this number, or parts of it? Yes, it does: the number 666 is composed of 3 parts, and the Bible addresses each of them in fascinating ways. The study of the number 666 and its relationship to the Antichrist is a wonderful study in old testament typology.