6 things you should know about the number 666
5. Several Bible characters can be linked to the number 666.
Although some scholars have argued over the identity of 666, others have pointed to places in Scripture that point to the number itself, in addition to its reference in Revelation 13.
One such reference is the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year, which was 666 talents of gold (2 Chronicles 9:13). Another one is the sons of Adonikam numbered as 666 (Ezra 2:13).
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1 Samuel 17 states that Goliath stood six cubits tall while possessing a spear’s head that weighed 600 shekels of iron. In Daniel 3, we’re told that Nebuchadnezzar’s statue stood 60 cubits high, six cubits wide and had six musical instruments for its worshipers.
While people have used Gematria and other methods in attempts to identify various world leaders with 666, Hampson says he believes 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 teaches that we will not know who the Antichrist is until after the Church has been raptured.
So, for Hampson, any attempts to identify the Antichrist prior to the rapture will not be accurate.
“We do see the spirit of the antichrist prevalent in our day (see 1 John 4:3), and there seems to be a candidate in each generation since Satan does not know the exact timing of the rapture,” he said.
“Hitler, for example, was very antichrist-like and was probably the enemy’s attempt to jump start the End Times. Satan can’t wait until it is time for Antichrist to rise to power, but God has a particular order and His own timing.”
