666 is One Number, Not 6-6-6

     On the day that President Reagan was shot, a friend and I were working in an apartment wet vacuuming it because it had been flooded by a water heater leak. The apartment was furnished and had a TV. We turned it on and caught the news about the President. My friend began telling me that he had heard stories about Ronald Reagan possibly being the Beast as his first, middle and last name contained six letters in each. I wondered what he meant and he told me about the Beast in the Revelation that had a number that stood for his name, that being 666.

    Actually having read the Bible cover to cover, I had completely forgotten about the Beast as most of my reading and pursuit of understanding in Revelation had been mostly confined to the Seven Messages to the Seven Churches. As I had stated in the post "Searching for the 7 Spirits of God", I believed that I had figured out the names of the Seven Spirits of God. Well, here I go again, I'm going to now figure out who the 666 stood  for. After reading the verses concerning the number 666, I asked God in prayer for the intelligence to know the identity of the man that the number 666 stood for. Again, believing that asking for intelligence was the key not just asking for the name. I thought it would come to me quickly because as I thought I had figured out the names of the Seven Spirits of God fairly quickly, in about 3 months time. Well after a couple of years of waiting for the answer to come to me, I kind of gave up and began thinking that it may not be for me to figure out.

    Fast forward to the summer of 1987, I had quit my job and was between employers. At that time I had decided to reread the Books of 1st and 2nd Kings, because I thought that I could gain some insight on how to become a leader and traverse a new beginning for my life. It didn't take long that I happened upon the verse 1st Kings 10:14. Low and behold, there was the number 666. Because of the acute attention I had developed in wanting the answer to the prayer from before, I immediately felt like it dawned upon me that this was the answer. Not a very well received conclusion by any one besides myself. Those that I made this claim too, including Billy Graham's staff, told me that the Bible didn't support this conclusion. I should have recognized that as a clue that I should read the Bible again, cover to cover. I didn't do that very quickly because it wasn't until the mid 1990's that I finally completed reading the Bible again for the second time. By this time I had sited another verse that contained the 666 in 2nd Chronicles 9:13. I still wasn't any more aware of drawing a pragmatic conclusion of how to support my conclusion about the number 666 representing King Solomon than before.

     I started reading the Bible again, cover to cover. This time I found a law for the Kings of Israel in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 that sites that the Kings of Israel aren't supposed to do exactly what King Solomon had done. OK, now I am getting somewhere with a pragmatic conclusion. Still this was not enough to sway anyone to not revere King Solomon as wise and associate him with the number 666. Barbara Bernstingle, one of the theologians responsible for the creation of the Good News Bible (American Bible Society) went so far as to convey that King Solomon may have been forgiven although there was no scripture to support such. I was now on a crusade that it was blasphemous to revere King Solomon as wise and that to continue such would be reasoning for God to ignore prayers.  This would also answer questions about those that Christ sends away from Himself in Matthew 7:21-23.

    The fourth reading, cover to cover, got me even further along with a pragmatic conclusion of Solomon's guilt but also looking for scripture that would allow the accepting that King Solomon was forgiven. I couldn't find anything about him being forgiven, but did find scripture that definitely leads one to realize that he will never be forgiven. The verse, Deuteronomy 29:20, states exactly that. Also verse 2nd Kings 23:13, clearly states that the false gods that Solomon had introduced in Israel weren't torn down until King Josiah.

     Now, for a current understanding about the role that Revelation portrays about King Solomon as indicated in verse Revelation 13:18, would be that it is wise to understand who the number 666 stands for. Revelation 17:8, is fulfilled with the name King Solomon because he once lived, but died, and is brought up again to the understanding that it is he that the number stands for. Now, for those of you that say how can this be, since King Solomon definitely had a side to him that God Loved and anyone could not see God damning him, here is a "loop hole". The good side of this man that became king of Israel had another name which God had given him at birth rather than the name King David gave him. See verse 2nd Samuel 12:25 for this answer.

     From all this it becomes clear that each and every one of us has a name that was given to us by God and one that man gives. The chaff that goes to Hell is the bad side of us and the meat of the grain of wheat that God uses for His Glory is the good side of us that goes to Heaven. For the number 666 being on the foreheads of the followers of the Beast, I believe that metaphorically it stands for greed. Greed is at the forethought of those marked by the Beast. In the Old Testament, God says to hold in our foreheads reverence and conviction for the Ten Commandments and on our forearms the knowledge of the scriptures. Those that do this will receive great blessings.