“March around the city with all the men of war…for six days.” (Josh 6:3)
The first mention of the number six in the Bible appears in Genesis 1:26-31, the day God created man.
“So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female…And it was so. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.” (Gen 1:27, 30-31)
Biblically, the number seven typically signifies completion or perfection, especially God’s. The number six is obviously one shy of seven. Therefore, the number six signifies imperfection. More specifically, it refers to man’s imperfection, sin, and weaknesses.
As many Bible readers know, Adam soon after ate the forbidden fruit in the garden (Gen 3:1-7) and broke the connection between heaven and man, allowing sin to enter the earth. Man’s weakness is why the number six is called the “number of man,” and we see this weakness throughout the Bible.
In Joshua 6, Joshua and the Israelites marched around Jericho once a day for six days, with seven priests carrying trumpets. On the seventh day (remember, seven means perfection), the people marched around Jericho seven times while the priests blew the trumpets, and the city walls fell.
God commanded the Israelites to march for six days to illustrate their imperfect ability to demolish Jericho themselves. They were too weak and powerless. But on the seventh day, God Himself destroyed the city so that He alone would receive the glory.
Only God is perfect, and only He can perform perfect miracles. Not by man’s power, but by the hand of God alone.
Ruins of Jericho
A Command to Rest
The number 6 also refers to rest.
God’s fourth commandment is to remember the Sabbath, which tells us to work for six days and rest on the seventh (Ex 20:8, Ex 31:12-17). God likely gave us this commandment because He knows our weaknesses. We cannot work continuously; God knows how detrimental such work would be to us. But too often, many people choose to work far too much. And, far too often, they pay a cost for it. Because of our weakness, God knows we need to rest after six days of work (if not sooner).
God’s command to rest also applies to the land.
In Leviticus 25, God commanded the Israelites to harvest their land for six years and then let it rest the seventh year.
“When you enter the land I am giving you, the land will observe a Sabbath to the LORD. You may sow your field for six years, and you may prune your vineyard and gather its produce for six years. But there will be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land in the seventh year, a Sabbath to the LORD. You will not sow your field or prune your vineyard…It is to be a year of complete rest for the land.” (Lev 25:2-5)
Further, every fifty years (after seven sabbatical cycles), Israel declares a Year of Jubilee, a year of not only resting the land but also the people. God’s command for the land is not simply pure agricultural genius. It illustrates God’s power to restore what He has made.
Restored Connection
Another example of God’s restorative power and the number 6 appears in the cross. God created a bookend to man’s creation on the sixth day and subsequent fall into sin with Jesus’ death on the sixth day of Passover.
Traditionally, the seventh day of Passover is a Sabbath day in keeping with the fourth commandment. This meant all judicial punishments had to be settled by the sixth day of Passover week.
Regarding Jesus, Pontius Pilate and Herod both reviewed Jesus on the fifth day and into the early morning hours of the sixth day, then nailed Him to the cross during the afternoon of the sixth day. By the end of the sixth day, He was dead. The punishment was finished. On the seventh day, the people rested.
Just as man was created in six days, Jesus restored the connection between heaven and man on the sixth day of Passover, making a way for us to find salvation through His redeeming blood and rest in His eternal grace.
Other Mentions of Six
Notice a contrasting theme between the old and the new in many of these examples of the number six.
- Jesus turned six pots of water into wine at a friend’s wedding (Jn 2:6-10). Families typically used the pots to purify water either for drinking or religious purposes. But Jesus, in a foreshadowing nod to the cross, used them to illustrate the replacement of the old covenant (Moses’ Law) with the new covenant of Jesus (the gospel).
- Moses and Joshua went up to Mount Sinai where the glory of the Lord rested on them for six days before God called Moses to enter the cloud’s mist for forty days and nights (Ex 24:16-18).
- The gold lampstand for the holy tabernacle had six branches coming off it (Ex 25:32). Remember that Jesus said He is the vine, and we are the branches (Jn 15:5), which means the lampstand represents Jesus, and the six branches again represent man and his imperfection.
- Boaz gave Ruth six ephahs of barley to take home (Ruth 3:15). The original Hebrew does not indicate how much an ephah weighs, but it may have been as much as 200 pounds, far too much for Ruth to carry in her shawl. It was likely six seahs of barley, weighing about 60-80 pounds, twice what Ruth normally gleaned.
- The Levites had six cities of refuge for accused murderers to stay in until they could have their case heard before the congregation and the judgment issued. Three were in Israel, and three were in pagan Canaan (Num 35:9-15).
- Seraphim angels have six wings: two covering their faces, two covering their feet, and two for flying (Is 6:2).
- The woman at the well had five husbands plus one man she was not married to (5+1=6). Jesus, the seventh man, completed what she had been “thirsting” for (Jn 4:18).
- Six days after Jesus told the disciples of His second coming, He took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain to witness His transfiguration (Matt 17:1, Mk 9:2). Matthew rarely mentions numbers, making the number six here apparently significant.
- The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce she would give birth to Jesus when her cousin was already in her sixth month of miraculous pregnancy (Lk 1:26).
- The Pharisees asked Jesus six times to show signs proving He is the Son of God (Matt 12:38, 16:1, 24:3; Lk 11:16; Jn 2:18, 6:30. See also Mk 8:11, 13:4).
- Later, Jesus was found innocent by six different men: Pontius Pilate, Pilate’s wife, King Herod, Judas Iscariot after the devil left him, one of the thieves hanging on a cross next to Jesus, and the Roman centurion guarding Him during the crucifixion (Lk 23:14, 15, 41, 47; Matt 27:3, 19).
666, the Number of the Beast
Because the number six represents man’s weakness and spiritual imperfection, we must address the famous number of the beast—666. The apostle John writes about it in Revelation 13:18.
“Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”
Notice there are three sixes. Remember that God is three in one, or, for illustrative purposes, 111, reflecting the first commandment.
“I am the LORD your God…do not have other gods before Me.” (Ex 20:2-3)
Since God is a perfect holy trinity, Satan—comprised of himself, the beast, and the false prophet—is a perfect unholy, evil trinity, who is, therefore, represented as 666. This evil will manifest itself as the future Antichrist.
In Revelation 13, God reveals the beast’s power to John as a prophetic warning about the evil destruction the beast will commit during the seven-year Tribulation. One of his destructive tactics will be to require everyone to “receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead” if they want to buy or sell anything, including food, shelter, and clothing (Rev 13:16-17). That mark is 666.
Jesus the Conqueror
Other vicious things the Antichrist will do include:
- He will break his covenant with Israel and set up an image of himself in Jerusalem’s temple in what the Bible calls the abomination of desolation (Rev 13:14-15; 17:14)
- He will set up a global paganized religion (Rev 17:1-18)
- He and his allies will wage war against Israel (Dan 11:40-45; Joel 3:9-17; Zech 14:1-3; Rev 16:14-16)
- He will behead anyone who refuses to submit to him (Rev 20:4)
These are only some of the terrible things the Antichrist, the beast, and the false prophet will do. For these reasons, God warns believers to watch for the signs of His return when He finally defeats the beast and establishes His eternal kingdom on the earth. We have the assurance that Jesus will defeat Satan and all evil at His coming, with the army of heaven, at the conclusion of the Tribulation (Rev 19:11-20:10).
It is tempting to think every number in the Bible holds some spiritual significance, and that we must analyze them all. But we must resist the temptation of numerology. The vast majority of them contain no spiritual value whatsoever. If there is anything to learn from the number 6, it is that it spotlights man’s weaknesses while also highlighting God’s power to restore what was once lost.
Regarding the number of a man 666. Just as satan has lack of understanding of who the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is. So does man. If you want living proof of this scripture, look at current events of the political state of mind we are at. “The truth is not the truth”. To comprehend this you must understand satan’s “mo”. Satan is the father of lies. So the number of a man(men, women, children) is incomplete of the true knowledge of God. Man believes, he can do a better job than God. I believe we are witnessing souls being lost by political convictions of a man…the “mark’s of the beast”…January 6th.
Much educating.
My desire is at least to understand the Bible better than any other book.
To me understanding every number in the Bible makes me like reading it.
JESUS IS LORD!!!!!
Am so blessed immeasurably by this wonderful piece…it gives me chills in my body… More of God’s revelation by multiplied in Yhu @Gina.
Thank you, George. The Lord bless you and keep you.
Thank you for this write up it was timely and very helpful.
I would also like to add a response that I saw just now when studying the word of John. In verse 6 it says “Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was the sixth hour.” Then verse 7 goes on to introduce the arrival of the woman at the well. I also believe this was a sign to show the imperfection of man through this woman who arrived. I’m a new believer but just as I read this verse the holy spirit ushered me to do some research into why the hour was even mentioned in the first place. Then I stumbled upon your awesome work. God bless you for your research and may the Holy Spirit continue to open all our eyes to the marvellous and wonderful ways in which God works!
Thank you so much for your kind words. I pray the Holy Spirit continues to reveal God’s glory to you every day. God bless!
God Bless you, as You mention that you are a new believer, but looking the way you have the understanding, this is a good sign that Holy Spirit is working on you and He will use you in your next time with a great teaching
May God always be with you
Thank you, Patar. I’m not a new believer, but I appreciate you sensing my heart for God. Yes, the Holy Spirit is always working on me. I pray He is with you too. God bless.
Hi Gina,
My name is Gina too . Just go through your research… Very helpful. It’s amazing all the study you did. May the Holy Spirit continue to use you each and every day
Thank you, Gina!
Very helpful. Would also appreciate how the order of GOD’S feasts factor . Also see a strong link in the 6th commandment & man’s adulterous nature . Thank you & Blessings.
That’s a good find! 🙂
I had a dream last night where my grandfather was soooo happy to see me and pick me up over his shoulder, we were both laughing and happy…(he passed away last year and I miss him alot).
We entered the house and he disappeared.
My mom and her sister (I don’t get along with either as they wish bad open me). I had to write a letter to my other aunt (whom I love alot) to ask her what’s happening. She told me that my grandfather as 6 weeks to live and there is nott doctor’s can do.
I was heart broken when I woke up.
Had a very unusual experience today I’m a born again believer so I know this was the Lord showing me something. I went to turn my turn my time sheet in inmy building which is suite 323 on the TOP FLOOR . I’m talking on my phone to a friend that was my only reference to what happened . I get off the elevator which looks darker than normal and I see the numbers on a suite in front of me which is not how my floor is set up I tell her this is weird tge number is saying numbers that start with 6 . I keep walking get to where my office should be the name on the door is not correct all these guys turn and look so I turn and walk away as I’m telling my friend. I get back on the elevator saying I know I pushed 3 so I look just like I already know there’s the top floor number 3. I proceed to my office put timesheet in the slot. I pass the window look out even though I know there’s 3 floors to see if I’m crazy. I’m of course seeing the flat top of the building which is the 3 floor I tell my friend she says get out of that building you could have went on a secret floor. I told her there’s 3 floors like there has always been and I’m looking at tee top of the build there’s no other floor above it. Thank you I think received insight one of tge post refers to being in control trying to handle things on my own Guess he was showing if I have to I can take the impossible and make it possible now you see I’m well capable.
I can’t say for sure what God was trying to show you, or even if it was God at all. Your experience sounds rather unsettling and (dare I say) weird. I can’t see that God was in that, but I am very glad you’re okay. Surely God was protecting you from spiritual enemies. But I can’t help but wonder how that all happened and if it will happen again.
I have been wondering about this topic of late and was thinking of searching the internet to increase my knowledge. Thank God that I visited your website otherwise I wouldn’t have come across such a nicely-written article. Once I liked this particular post, I was going through few other posts as well. I simply loved them! Kudos to the writers who work hard to write these.
Thank you for the kind words, Sophia. It’s definitely a work of love for God’s glory. Wishing you many blessings.
First and foremost God bless you and I thank you for your wonderful observation and your knowledge and wisdom on the number factors of the Bible. I too have noticed significant signatures of Gods thumbprint on various scriptures. That’s a lot of God’s most powerful scriptures have the same numbers each book. The signature of representations or referring, such as three for confirmation and seven for completion and eight for new beginning. Here is one example John 3:16 for God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son! 3 confirmation 8+8=16,
8 new beginning and 2 unity.
Eighth to the second power is 16.
So as you so wonderful to put it in the restoring of unity!!!
For some reason I was looking at the calendar and saw today 10/20/2020 was the 294th day of the year with 72 days remaining. I calculated the numbers to see if today was a 8; my number. I discovered it was a 6. I looked for the day of 8 and realized all days are 6. WOW. I googled the number 6 and read your article. It got me to thinking that everyday is a day to renew, recreate ourselves. God gives us every day to be reborn. What are your thoughts? Did you know everyday is a 6?
I’m afraid I don’t pay much attention to numerology, so I’m not quite sure how you know if it’s an “8 day” or “6 day” or any other number. I agree with you, though, that every morning God allows us to wake up and get out of bed is an opportunity to be about the Father’s business and seek His righteousness. It’s my belief that seeking the Lord is far more important than counting numbers so we are not led astray by false teaching. I appreciate your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by!
Why in II Samuel 6:13 did they walk 6 steps and then have an offering of animals?
The Bible isn’t explicit in explaining why they took only six steps before making an offering. We might assume that King David stopped the ark bearers after six steps in recognition of man’s sin, which they then made the offering as a means of atonement. One thing we do know, though, is that the offering was only made after the first six steps, not every six steps. Hope that helps.
Absolutely profound. Thank you Gina for the deep insights and revelatory knowledge. I woke up this morning with deep yearning to enquire about the number 6 and the month of June which is my birth month. In addition for the past 5 years I always see this number 704 almost every week. Don’t know the reason or significance.
This is edifying and educative spiritually for the Brethren …..
More grace, dear!
To you as well.
Thanks Gina for this information about number 6 because it came to me as i was preparing my today sermon and everything in the resources i was using had 6 as a number i became curious but at least am okay now
Glad I could help. Blessings to you and your ministry.
Thank you for your teaching. I felt God calling me to 6 mins of silence for six days and then on the 7th Day to pray in the Holy Ghost. I decided to explore what 6 means and then I found your teaching. It was very enlightening.
God Bless you.
I think I am in training.
I wish you many blessings wherever God leads you. Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for reading, everyone. You bless me just as much! -Gina
Am so glad I read this its very informative I hope u send more info soon
Am blessed may God give you more insight. Thk you
Nice and explicit. Good job and God bless you please.
Thank you for such great info. You pointed out from the Bible. I had a dream or vision not sure what to make of it. I saw something in the sky and two things (some sort of force) coming down really fast besides it I yelled out number 6!! Woke up, went back as sleep and again I pointed up yelling NUMBER 6!!!! Woke me up it was so intense prayed and found your post when searching biblical meaning for 6. If you have any input let me know. Thank you and God bless you.
Wow! That’s some dream! I’m afraid I have nothing to add, though. As the famous Sigmond Freud said, sometimes a dream means nothing. Who knows why you were yelling “number 6”? It would seem more likely that you are/were dealing in something that end in the number 6, like a grocery receipt perhaps? Or maybe you’re thinking about a half dozen of something? If you’ve been under stress lately, your mind is very sensitive to suggestions from the real world. Unless God has appointed you as His new prophet, I wouldn’t think much of it. Just chalk it up to a weird dream. Hope that helps. Sorry for the delayed response. I pray you have the merriest of Christmases.
Thank you so much for replying but unfortunately for sum reason the txt came out funny so I tried the best I CLD to make it out but it keeps popping up on my phone so I thought I might ask of you wld consider resending? Thx you GodBless. Ex T
h
a
n
k
i am a born again christian and i keep seeing the number six literally everytimee i pick up my phone to look at the time or anytime i look at a clock its like 11:06 or 5:06, and its been happening even before i was saved as well. 6 months before i got saved i was seeing the number 6 literally all the time. then i was saved in January 2019. i just dont know what this is!!
You’re the second person to tell me this. Very odd. I don’t know what it is either, but I doubt it’s some kind of omen or anything of a spiritual nature. I wouldn’t put any stock in it. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. Thanks for reading and God bless!
Me too I have been seeing this 6 every time in my device when picking phone for sometime starting this year..is there a word from God
I wonder, after reading this blog, if you see the number 6 in the time regularly perhaps it is Holy Spirit drawing your attention to the moment. He may be saying that you are trying to do things in your own strength that only He can do and asking you to look to him (6 is man imperfection etc and 7 is God’s perfection, completion and him doing it) or it may be a reassurance that you are almost at a rest/completion season.
That is a very interesting take on it. I can’t rule it out. Who can know what goes on in God’s mind? I appreciate your perspective, thank you.
Hmm. That’s crazy every time I’m in prayer and reading the word and praising God I see the number 7 repeatedly and when I fall off and I’m not in the word or praising God o start to see the number 6 that’s no coincidence I don’t believe in those this definitely means something!!
Very interesting article. Speaking to man’s sin and imperfection, we are called to put on 6 pieces of armor to fight our battles. I too think we ought not give numbers too much emphasis, but this follows perfectly what you are saying.
Pam
How interesting is it that I found this post and inquired you about the #6 on the 13th day of the month? Even more phenomenal is that as I was txtn this to you, a profit called w/a message declaring “God is w/you and will go b4 you and win this battle”. Amazing
Thank you for explaining this. This really helped me to more deeply understand The Word.
Bless you.
Pattie-Lynn
You’re so welcome, Pattie-Lynn. It’s all in His service. Thanks for stopping by.
Mrs.Gina, thx you so much for your God given enlightenment on this subject. It is my prayer that you maybe can help me to decide the best way to handle and/or view this subject matter .?? School started back this week and my daughter comes home to tell me that her class # is 6! This # is connected to her and all that she does in relation to school for the entire year My heart dropped and while it may seem silly to most, it isn’t silly to me. I just have this deep, pit of the tummy dark feeling. What is your take on it? What would you do if it was your daughter and how would you handle it? Thx you a million times over for takn the time to think about it and getting back to me . Sister in Jesus , Ashley
Hello Ashley! I have three children, so I know what you mean about worrying about your kids. However…I’ll be honest and say I don’t see any concern here that your daughter is class #6. Presumably, her class is the sixth one out of a certain number of classes in her grade. I worked in our local elementary school in the past, and I know the administration and teachers usually have a way of keeping things organized and on schedule. It appears to be the same way at your daughter’s school. I wouldn’t worry about it. Just because 6 is the assigned number doesn’t foretell any doom, I don’t think. But if it concerns you enough, take it straight to the Lord and pray over it. He can do far more than anyone. You might pray for your daughter’s protection, for her guidance and wisdom, and that she would feel His presence as she moves through her day. We could all use that, couldn’t we? I hope that helps and that your daughter has an amazing year. God bless you for loving your family so much.
Thank you this was a perfect explanation. The Lord has perfected your imperfection to explain and teach on this subject. HalleluYAH! Meaning you wrote out this teaching to shed light that came from the gift inside of you and through God you were able to perfectly exhort, and teach on this subject. If you would have done it any other way or out of Gods will it wouldn’t have been as successful in the perfect teaching of his word. What man cannot do in his own strength God can do. He strengthens us in our weakness. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We in our imperfection try to make things perfect, trying to be perfect believers in Christ, trying to perfectly teach on God’s word, trying to be perfectly righteous, etc., etc. But it is only through God where we can obtain perfection. God Bless and again Thank You for sharing. To God be the Glory!
Such kind words! Thank you so much. May God bless you as well.
Hello people
Thks, it was simple and easy to understand. Keep it up. Bless u.
Thanks, Rachel! May God bless you as well.
This article was very helpful and offered understandable explanations.
I’m so glad I could bless you. Thanks for stopping by!
I’ve been seeing 66 for a while, your explanation is good, but still I don’t know what this might personally mean for me.
To be honest, I don’t either. But as I’ve told others, I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on it. But if it’s bothering you enough, you need to take your concerns to God and ask Him. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He holds all the answers. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of it to you, if there is any. God bless you. Thanks for reading.
I have been seeing now for several moths this year: 111 or 222 or 333 or 444, or 555, or 11:11. I have been praying about it and my carnal mind says it’s a wake up call but I’m still praying about it for God to show me the meaning specifically.
Isaiah 66
My birthday is October if God allows me to see it in 2019. I really enjoyed reading that from top to bottom. What i loved most about it is knowing that God is willing and ready to restore my relationship with him. That is why i love God so much.
Hi my name is Jana about four years ago I was in bed, I don’t no if this was a dream or a vision, but I was laying on my back in on my bed looking at the ceiling and I saw a fiery number 6 being being drawn, the flames coming off this number 6 were a fluorescent green and orange and just before the 6 closed I woke up this was about 4 in the morning then I went back to sleep, and saw the capital building crumble to the ground it wasn’t an explosion it was just crumbling to the ground and it looked like it was around twilight and then I woke up again and now it was like 5 a clock these dreams or vision were like an hour apart,like I said this was about four years ago it was like the 6 was being drawn with an invisible finger and I’ll never forget the flames coming off it, I’ve been trying to figure this out for years can you help me?6
Hi Jana. I wish I could answer your question, but God has not given me the gift of interpreting dreams like Joseph did. Please consider that it may have been just a bad dream and that’s all. But I highly suggest you pray about it. God is the only one who can give you the answers you need. Perhaps He was trying to warn you of something to come, but I have no way of knowing. Please take it God. In Him is the way and the truth. I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you. Praying God blesses you in this.
Hi, Jana. I am fascinated by your dream/vision. I don’t typically focus on numbers or colors much, as I’ve known people who were led away from the centrality of Jesus by chasing after peripherals such as these. However, it is undeniable that the Lord speaks through numbers and colors, so I don’t want to just write them off, or else I would be writing off a way in which the Holy Spirit speaks. Truthfully, I’m for anything— even the super weird— as long as Jesus is glorified.
That being said, I believe that the Lord may have been communicating to you that the sixth year of His Grand Harvest is coming to a close soon. Your role in this season is two-fold: 1) Orange (representing the POWER of listening to, hearing, seeing, and doing the Mind of Christ.) Orange is a combination of RED, the fiery mercy of God, and YELLOW, the oil of grace set ablaze.
2) Flourescent Green (the operational power of grace at work to perform miracles in His Name). Electric green is especially representative of the life that comes through electric intimacy with the Bridegroom, and includes the supernatural peace that accompanies that revelation.
Though governments and there capitals are destined to falter and crumble, your connection with the Lord will increase until the Day of His return, and many will be discipled to Him because of His mercy, grace, and peace at work in you and through you by intimacy with His Presence.
Blessings to you, sister! If all of that doesn’t resonate with you, that’s okay. I’m still learning to hear His voice more and more each day, but sometimes my spiritual radio dial is off by a few degrees, so I get static interference. LOL!
Hi Jana,
Amazing dream or vision.
It came to my mind right away January 6 2021 and what happened in DC.
May God bless you!
God have mercy on us!
i was born on the 6th.i’m the 6th child in my family .also was bornin 1961.am i doomed to imperfection?
Haha, no, I don’t think so, at least not any more than sin can make you. If you’re covered by the blood of Jesus, you’re good.