"Count the number of the Beast... LITERALLY!"

To compute requires a computer

What if one were to "count" the numbers of a man's name?  We tried to do that, and when it came time to get to the 666th name, we were not prepared for what name we found at #666. 20 years later, it still puzzles us. See why...


Many years ago, I once again re-read the best known, yet least understood Bible verse in the New Testament. No, not John 3:16, since a child can understand that. And not "Let there be light!" because I said the New Testament. If you don't know what that verse is, ask some of its commentators:

• Ozzy Osbourne & Black Sabbath
• Iron Maiden
• Slayer
• Avenged Sevenfold
• Motley Crüe 
• Let me pause and note that the classic rock station is playing the #1 Classic Rock song of all time. Stairway to Heaven, in which is alleged the backward masking of "666" :))
• Anyone under the age of 44 who is named Damien
• Nearly ANYONE playing on KNAC.com at any time

Even if they only know the last 3 digits, certainly the best-known, least-understood Bible verse is: 

"This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has wisdom calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666." -- Revelation 13:18

Somehow or another, this points to "the Beast", the Antichrist (at least for the purposes of the this discussion.) And since about 95 A.D., people have been trying to figure out what that means. I won't bore you with the history of that search. Google it.

But as I re-read that verse, very slowly (in Greek), a thought came to me. The word "calculate" in the NIV is the word "count" in the KJV, and is translated from the Greek "psephizo." They are "counting stones" which could be actually individual stones, or stones of an abacus. Either way, the idea came to me: What if one were to LITERALLY count the number of a man.

• Take a stone, write the first man's name: Adam. 
• Take a second stone, write the second man's name: Cain
• Take a third stone, write the third man's name: Abel
• Take a fourth stone, write the fourth man's name: Seth
• Etc., etc., etc.
• Take a six-hundred sixty-sixth stone, write the six-hundred sixty-sixth man's name: Ta-da!!!

Simple, right? So that's what we decided to do. I and my friend, Eomerica427, sat down at a computer, created a database, and entered the people's names in the order in which they appeared int eh Bible. We indicated whether the person was male or female, and also indicated if we had seen this name before (this was a LONG time ago, before we had access to SQL and the DISTINCT syntax.) We each had a Bible, checking each other as we went. I had a King James, and he had I think a Revised American Standard Bible. I know... what difference does it make if we are reading the "inerrant Word of God", right?

We carried on as carefully as astronomers. We kept track of the Bible verse, in case we needed to check our math. We debated what to do about 'Pharaoh', whether it was a name or a title. We considered it prudent to follow the Jewish Bible order of book, as that's what John would have done. As we approached the #660th name, we backtracked to check our counting. And we moved ahead, very slowly, very seriously. Realize, we teetered on a discovery that had eluded scholars for millennia. We didn't even know if this had been done.  

And if we were correct, we would be fulfilling a Bible prophecy!

We found ourselves in II Samuel Chapter 23. Ignoring Pharaoh as a name, we found:

#660 Armoni,
#661 Ishbibenob,
#662 Sibbechai,
#663 Saph
#664 Elhanan
#665 Jaareoregim (If we didn't ignore Pharaoh, this was our man!)

We paused, breathless, grinned at each other. I remember this moment like it was yesterday. He read II Samuel 23:8 and the next name, the 666th name:

"Number 666... Josheb-basshebeth!"
"NO IT'S NOT!" I said.
"Yes it is."
"No, it's not. It's Adino, the Tachmonite..."

We looked at each others' Bibles, and sure enough... there was a DIFFERENCE! He grabbed his Catholic Bible, and there was a THIRD NAME, Ish-Baal.What was going on? Isn't this the Bible? The Word of God?Did God STUTTER?! Was God bad with names?

We did some homework, and found yet a FOURTH name in another version. Here is the rundown:

• Josheb-Basshebeth... NIV: These are the names of David’s mighty men: Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed[d] in one encounter.
  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2023:8&version=NIV1984
• Adino... KJV: These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.
  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2023:8&version=KJV
• Jesbaham... Douay-Rheims 1899: These are the names of the valiant men of David. Jesbaham sitting in the chair was the wisest chief among the three, he was like the most tender little worm of the wood, who killed eight hundred men at one onset.
  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Samuel%2023:8&version=DRA
• Ishbaal... Catholic.org: These are the names of David's champions: Ishbaal the Hachmonite leader of the Three; it was he who brandished his spear over eight hundred men whom he had killed at one time.
  http://www.catholic.org/bible/book.php?id=10&bible_chapter=23

Ok, I grant you that I have never heard of anyone named "Yosheb bas-Shebeth", and I don't have any expectation that every single word of every single version of the Bible will agree. It seems that the King James translated this guy's name to "he that sat in the seat", while the others left it as a proper name.

But here's the part that troubles me... to this day...

What are the odds that a fairly major discrepancy between versions of Bible translations ends up on the VERY VERSE in which we expect to find the 666th unique male name? Astronomical? Miraculous? Or is it something else?

 So we asked ourselves, "What could this possibly mean?" Is the answer not a name, but "the one who sits in the seat?" Let's consider.

Who sits in the seat?

There are several answers for this question. Here are my top 3:

• #3: The person who sits in the seat is "The Chairman". I don't know WHICH Chairman, but here are a few to mention: Mao, Arafat, Gates/Ballmer. Even Steve Jobs. Few can deny that Chairman Mao could have been the Antichrist, with his human/deity influence. Arafat was not that charismatic, but he was also in the best position to betray Israel after a false peace. Sketchy, but possible.
• #2: An infallible Pope speaks Ex Cathedra, which means literally, "from the Chair." The Pope "sits in the chair" of St. Peter, thus:
  

  "The pope is said to occupy the "chair of Peter", as Catholics hold that among the apostles Peter had a special role as the preserver of unity, so the pope as successor of Peter holds the role of spokesman for the whole church"
  
  "Holy See" and "Apostolic See" ...the term "see" comes from the Latin word "sedes", meaning "seat."
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_infallibilityI will quickly say that I am SLOW to point to the Pope as Antichrist, as I believe that the Pope will end up being the target of the Antichrist, but that's another blog post.

• #1: My primary interpretation is to take the Bible literally where is should be, and realize what this verse means:
  

  "...and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." -- 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NKJV
  If the "temple of God" is the temple from the Old Testament, there is only one place on which to sit in the temple, only one "seat"... The Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant!
  
  I realize that by the time that happens, it's too late. He'd already be here. But ask yourself... if someone is going to LITERALLY "sit in the seat", it would have to be someone who is already in position to sit in that seat.

In conclusion... I don't have a conclusion... yet!

I suspect that doing the literal "counting of a man's name", I and Eomerica427 have arrived at a clue to the identity of the Antichrist, sitting in a verse which is translated at least 4 different ways, giving 4 different names. How odd. How convenient.

On a more spiritual note, if we are correct in our methodology, then we have fulfilled a Bible prophecy. We would each be what the Bible calls, "the person who has wisdom." That's a feather in one's cap, wouldn't you agree?


Once again, I'm showing you the facts. I have toyed with the interpretation of those facts, but ultimately, as with my previous posts... you must decide...

StarGlider29a
5/27/2012

Appendix: The List of Men's Names -- 5/29/2012

Since a good skeptic will want to see our data, here is the gist:

List of Unique Men's Names of the Bible, in order of appearance