The special significance attached to numbers 12, 60, 7 and 13 from ancient times was discussed in the lead article carried under the title: ‘Lucky and Unlucky Numbers’ on the Jyotisha page last Friday. The reasons for the ancient Egyptians to consider Number 12 special, for the ancient Babylonians to treat 60 as the most meaningful number, for the widespread emotional attachment to 7 as well as for the stigma attached to Number 13 were explained in that article. 

A combination of single numbers:

There is one combination of single numbers which is supposed to cause the worst possible magical ill-effect - the number combination 666. This combination of numbers, by the way, lends credence and support to the theory of great Chinese thinker Confucius that the world is not ruled by kings but by signs and symbols. 

The whole issue goes back to the New Testament’s Book of Revelation, particularly the verse which says, 

“One who understands can calculate the number of the beast, for it is a number that stands for a person. His number is six hundred and sixty-six” (Rev. 13:18).

Number of the Beast

The Number of the Beast is a term in the Book of Revelation, of the New Testament, that is associated with the Beast of Revelation in chapter 13.[1] In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the beast is 666.

Taking the great Confucius theory into consideration that the world is ruled by signs and symbols, and further associating numbers with signs or symbols one could ask, “why is the sign of the beast used by humans and for what purpose or motives the number combination 666 is used by anyone?”  One could cite a visible example where this magic numbers have been used in combination with 3 signs. It is an energy drink. A common story circulating on the internet alleges that the energy drink’s logo resembles three Hebrew vavs, and that since the value for a vav in Hebrew numerology is 6, and the Biblical Number of the Beast is 666, the logo reveals the energy drink to be a Satanic drink. In November 2014, a video of Christine Weick speculating a relation between the drink and Satan was published on YouTube, which has drawn over eight million views to date. 

There are many instances on record where people have taken prompt action to get rid of the 666 dreading its magical ill-effect when confronted with it in their daily life. We wish to cite only two cases in this connection.

In 1989, Nancy and Ronald Wilson Reagan, when moving to their home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles after the 1988 election, had its address—666 St. Cloud Road—changed to 668 St. Cloud Road.

In 2003, U. S. Route 666 in New Mexico was changed to U. S. Route 491. A New Mexico spokesperson stated, “The devil’s out of here, and we say goodbye and good riddance.

The phobia has been a motif in various horror films such as The Omen and its 2006 remake. The number of the beast also appears in other films such as Pulp Fiction, The Doom Generation, End of Days, Bedazzled and The Phantom of the Opera.

In November 2013, Codie Thacker, a cross-country runner at Whitley County High School in Williamsburg, Kentucky, refused to run in her Kentucky High School Athletic Association regional meet, forfeiting a chance at qualifying for the state championships, when her coach drew bib number 666.

The Siemens ACS-64 locomotives of Amtrak are numbered 600 to 665 and 667 to 670, leaving out the number 666.

In 2015, US Representative Joe Barton had the number of a legislative bill he had introduced changed from 666 to 702 because “the original bill number carried many different negative connotations”, according to a spokesperson.