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666

J

JohnD

Member
Well, I intended this to be posted on my 666th post in this forum but my zeal for answering other posts got the better o' me. LOL so 668th post about 666 will have to do.

Whenever something (especially biblical) seems to be up for grabs as to what it means or how to interpret it, the best thing to do is study the Bible with the Bible. Or as my signature says "the Bible is its own best commentary."

You will find that the Bible itself insists on this in that within all three major divisions of scripture (the Law, the Prophets, the Writings) are warnings not to add to or take away from scripture / God's commandments.

One of the most daunting is:

Revelation 22:18–19 (AV)
18For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Found in the very same book as the 666 prophecy.

So when you look for 666 in the entire Bible you find only four places in the Bible it exists.

Ezra 2:13 (AV)
13The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six.

1 Kings 10:14 (AV)
14Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,

2 Chronicles 9:13 (AV)
13Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;

Revelation 13:18 (AV)
18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
 
Ezra 2:13 (AV)
13The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six.

By the time the next census was taken, this number had changed.

Nehemiah 7:18 (AV)
18The children of Adonikam, six hundred threescore and seven.

So rather than establishing this subtribe as the one the lineage of the man whose number is 666, there must be another prophetic sign in the passage about that man. The only other thing Ezra 2:13 has to offer is the name of the subtribe Adonikam (or in Hebrew Adonai Qum = risen lord) corresponding with:

Revelation 13:1–3 (AV)
1And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
 
1 Kings 10:14 (AV)
14Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,

2 Chronicles 9:13 (AV)
13Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;

The twin passages from Kings and Chronicles thought to be Judean (or Southern Kingdom of Judah) and Samarian (or Northern Kingdom of Israel) accounts of virtually the same historic events. Setting aside the mystic qualities of gold (meaning spiritual matters as bronze or brass that of judgement etc.) which some glean from these passages... but I do not see the need to go into here and now...

These twin 666 verses point to one that the Revelation 13:18 666 passage almost shouts this is the man!

Revelation 13:18 (AV)
18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Here is wisdom.
Solomon is said (by scripture) to be the wisest man to ever live.

Let him that hath understanding
Though it infers the reader of Revelation 13:18 is the one having understanding, Solomon was said to have been world renown for his understanding

count the number of the beast:
I will get to below

for it is the number of a man;
so this is not some religious system as some propose but an individual

and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
his again, individual, number is 2 of the 4 scripture references to 666 apply to Solomon and this does as well 3 out of 4.

Is Solomon the antichrist?

No. He is a type or antetype of antichrist. One of the reasons the tribe of Dan was given the backhand of scripture is that it was the first tribe to go into idolatry. Solomon who began strong in the Lord was the first king to lead Israel into idolatry. And when you do some biblical digging you will find the most notable thing Solomon ever did (building the first Jewish Temple) was not what the Lord commanded. It was a presumption on his part and King David's that he Solomon was the heir of David that was to build the Temple.

2 Samuel 7:12–13 (AV)
12And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
13He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

Zechariah 6:12–13 (AV)
12And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
13Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

Clearly God's intention was that the Messiah Jesus is the heir of King David that was to build his Temple. And that not a temple of stone and mortar but of the lives and bodies of the believers in the Messiah:

1 Corinthians 3:16–18 (AV)
16Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
18Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

count the number of the beast:
Sir Robert Anderson was knighted for his discovery of the Jewish prophetic year when applied to the 70 Weeks of Daniel predicted to the day the time when the Lord Jesus would ride the donkey into Jerusalem as the Lamb of God (10 Nisan 32 CE).

When using this same prophetic year of 360 days, counting the number of the years between the destruction of the first Jewish Temple and the last Jewish Temple (to date) comes out to be 666 years to the day. Both temples were destroyed on the 9th Day of the Jewish month Av.

Solomon points to this antichrist in many ways the chiefest among them is that he will be the temple builder in the last days.
 
How is it God could allow such a mistake as the building of the Temple to take place?

First we must remember that we are in an alien world (alien to the ways of God). And that God did and does give us actual choice. And if we realized the true ramifications of this ability we would not be so eager to plunge into them as blind and ignorant and gullible as we all are.

God in fact makes concessions. Read 1 Samuel 8 where he grants the Israelis a king. He did not intend for them to have one, and in fact he took it as a rejection of his kingship. But he granted it and it was the course of Israel form that time forward. The same is true about the Temple. You will note that after which times Israel was very seldom in the will of God for any length of time until the diaspora. These things contributed to the great falling away of Israel from their Messiah. Jesus alluded to these things in his state of the union address Matthew 13. Going back as far as Moses appointing the judges at the behest of his pagan priest father-in-law (Exodus 18) without so much as consulting the LORD... the same body the Sanhedrin who convicted and condemned Jesus to death traced their origins (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 16b)... Joshua apparently picked up on this in his mentor in his dealings with the ruse of the people of Ai.
 
There is some debate in demonology whether or not a fallen spirit (angel) once they possess / inhabit an individual or animal is not bound there. And their fate is tied in with the life of that host until they are exorcised or the host dies. And in either case they are doomed to go into the pit / abyss / the great expanse between Abraham's bosom (now empty) and the place of suffering in Sheol. If this is true it would make much sense of verses that explain there are currently demons / fallen angels in chains of darkness awaiting judgment day, while others apparently roam free.

In either case, there is only one mention of Satan entering into an individual. And it is not to be taken as lightly as most apparently have. This is not the expression "the devil got into him" or "the devil made me do it" but a biblical record of an event.

Luke 22:3 (AV)
3Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

John 13:26–27 (AV)
26Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
27And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

As far as the devil was concerned this was the go-for-broke moment. His one chance to defeat God who made himself vulnerable in the person of Jesus. And the "remorse" of Judah later was Satan trying to put a stop to what he had set in motion... and when his corrupted priests proved too corrupt he threw the silver in their face... remorse or rage? And Judas (the man, I'm convinced) hung himself unable to deal with the raging evil within.

Acts 1:25 (AV)
25That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

2 Thessalonians 2:1–11 (AV)
1Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

The only other reference to "son of perdition" in scripture is:

John 17:12 (AV)
12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Think of it, the resurrection of a man who can scientifically prove (blood content, DNA, etc.) he lived 2000 years ago. Remember this guy in Revelation 13 will convince the world (except believers in Jesus) that he is all he says he is. That means atheists and skeptics and religionists of every kind will be convinced at least for a time times and half a time...
 
I believe you are spot on by referencing Solomon.
In Deuteronomy, it is recorded that when Israel appoints a king, that king is not to store much gold / silver, nor is he to go to Egypt to purchase chariots or horses. Finally, he is not to have many wives, lest they lead him astray. In Leviticus, it is stated how to treat a foreigner.
In 1 Kings, we see Solomon building the temple with slave labor. We also see that he gathered much gold and silver. Not only did Solomon purchase horses and chariots from Egypt, but he actually re-sold them. Now, chariots were the cats meow when it came to heavy military might. He who has the most chariots wins... In essence, Solomon found that there was money to be made by being an arms dealer. Yup, there is money to be made by war.
It might be worthy to note that this period of time is the only recorded time in history that world peace was achieved. But it was not achieved by God's way, but by man's way. In essence, Solomon was a military powerhouse and fortified meggido which was a crossing point in the main trade route between Tyre and Egypt.

Furthermore, the king of Tyre was supplying gold and cedar for the temple and in exchange, Solomon gave him a pathetic northern city. Solomon also took the king's daughter as his wife. Solomon had many wives... and that pathetic city? It wasn't well received from a "brother" as the texts would put it.

Solomon had many, many wives and just south of the gates to Jerusalem, he set up high places to worship "Other gods". One of them was Molech who demanded child sacrifice. Yes, Solomon offered his own children in the fires of Molech. The set Israel on a course that lasted I think about 320 years??? until the Babylonian exile.

In the exile, we meet a man named Daniel, and he interprets a dream with beasts and horns. Really, it's a re-telling of the story of pre-Israel but more importantly, it's a story that eventually leads us to Rome in the first centrury.

666 represents a culture that has been given great gifts, but that culture didn't use those gifts purely or properly and were in aligment with the way of Cain. It's about a system of entitlement where one believes he has earned what is his and has established boundaries, and the fortifies those boundaries to protect what he himself feels entitled too. It's about a system that builds itself up on the backs of others with no regard toward them. A culture that becomes so deprived that a mother would offer her child in the fire, or eat that child for nourishment as an act of self preservation (Lamatations).

I believe John is making a statement... and it's about not buying into that system of belief even when the culture says's it's ok.
 
It appears that God was responsible for Solomon's wealth.

2Ch 1:11 - And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:
2Ch 1:12 - Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.​

With God ultimately responsible for Solomon's yearly tribute of 666 talents, why should we consider this number inherently evil? If anything we could take the coincidence of 666 as prophecy that the beast will be given as tribute to One greater than Solomon.:twocents
 
Hi synth,
Does riches and wealth always refere to matereal objects? Even so, one can be given great wealth and not use it purely or properly and in context, I believe this is what the writer of 1 kings is conveying.
ad far as the tribute, id like to understand the agreements between the little kings and king Solomon. I have a feeling it was an economic agreement that sustained the peace and I don't think that's how God intended his children to represent Him.
 
Riches and wealth don't always refer to material objects. Anything one considers valuable can be misused. The idea of economic tribute flowing from the lesser to the greater is pre-Christian, and even expressed through burnt sacrifices to YHWH. Prior to Jesus this was deficient, but acceptable, and the best mere man could do. However, there were always signs that something better was coming. For example, the real significance was not in the objective economic value of the gift, but in the subjective state of mind of the giver.

1Sa 15:22 - And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

Hos 6:6 - For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
​
 
I haven't felt this mind blown since the Matrix. Makes one really reflect on how God sets a path but, ultimately we have our free will. Still according to his will however.
 
And the stage is being set on earth and in Israel... the Jews are looking for a messiah who will rebuild their temple. There is a wide variety of beliefs among Jews (some even atheism). But by and large a rebuilt temple will get most to stand up and take notice.
 
The ultimate purpose for God allowing all of this (the tribulation of the saints, followed by the great tribulation and the false messiah etc.) ?

To get the Jewish people to return to him. To cry out as the world's armies close in on them in he Armageddon campaign to Jesus Christ the true Messiah. This will be to them a last resort since nothing else has worked. And when they cry out Yeshua / Jesus (more fully YeHOSHua Hosha Nah / Hosanna / save now) that is when Jesus will return and will destroy the 200 million man army arrayed around Jerusalem staged in the valley of Megiddo.
 
JoJoe said:
I haven't felt this mind blown since the Matrix. Makes one really reflect on how God sets a path but, ultimately we have our free will. Still according to his will however.
Click to expand...

Much of what has happened in most of history is due to the fact that people took other people's word for it rather than God's word for it. The Bible. Read what's actually in there. And you are in for still more mind blowing. Like the unbiblical divisions in the Church (clergy / laity). All Christians are priests before God.

1 Peter 2:3–9 (NASB95)
3if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
4And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,
5you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
7This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,”
8and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
9But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Revelation 1:6 (NASB95)
6and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 5:10 (NASB95)
10“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”

The division between priest and "laity" is Old Testament, not New Testament. And in fact God originally intended the entire nation of Israel to be priests but the sin in Exodus 32 changed everything, and the one tribe that came to Moses' aid (his own the Levites) became the priests. The rest were "laity."

Exodus 19:6 (NASB95)
6and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

What happened in Exodus 32 was quite drastic.

But ever since the Roman hijacking of the faith in the 4th Century CE, the Church has been severely bogged down with the traditions of men (which actually nullify the Word of God).

Mark 7:7–13 (NASB95)
7‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’
8“Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
9He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
10“For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is tobe put to death’;
11but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’
12you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother;
13thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
 
If you read 1 Samuel chapter 8 you will discover God conceded to Israel's demand for a monarchy.

When David was turned down, through Solomon David pushed to have the Temple built. Solomon built it but David set up the preparations.

God kept asking Heaven is my throne, the earth is my footstool... where is this house you would build for me?

Solomon built the temple and broke virtually every Levitical sacrificial law in dedicating it. Slaughtering animals every few steps in the procession.

God conceded to deal with Israel through the Temple system. But seldom from that time onward was Israel in good relations with God.

Speaking of the tabernacle which God commanded Moses to built...

Hebrews 8:5 (NASB95)
5who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.”

tabernacleLayout.gif


No such mention or pattern of the Temple Solomon built is mentioned.

sols_temple_blueprint.JPG
 
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So if you are asking how there could be a holy of holies in an unholy temple, Reba, meaning one God did not commission... think of the temple as the Lord's House in name only. Jesus never went into the temple itself but always the courts. The one exception may be when the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem when his family returned to Galilee and came back to find him in the Temple. It may have just been the Temple courts. Point being, the Temple that God wanted the heir of David to build is the Church (1 Thessalonians 3:16).
 
JohnD said:
So if you are asking how there could be a holy of holies in an unholy temple, Reba, meaning one God did not commission... think of the temple as the Lord's House in name only. Jesus never went into the temple itself but always the courts. The one exception may be when the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem when his family returned to Galilee and came back to find him in the Temple. It may have just been the Temple courts. Point being, the Temple that God wanted the heir of David to build is the Church (1 Thessalonians 3:16).
Click to expand...
That is exactly my point there is no Holy Place ...
 
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