Jim West and His SBL Registration Number

Is Chris Heard the Antichrist?

The SBL seems to say so, because Chris’s registration number is 666, the mark of the Beast.

In commenting on Chris’s number, Jim West wrote about his own SBL registration number:

And just for the sake of full disclosure, my registration # is 173. 1, well that's obvious. 7, the number of perfection. 3, the Trinity. Yes, Chris may very well be the Antichrist because this registration # thing really does speak the truth.

Well, if a registration number speaks the truth, then Jim West is in for a big surprise. What Jim forgot about his SBL registration number 173 is that it adds to 11.

And here is what the Encyclopaedia Britannica says about the number 11:

The Number 11.

Sandwiched between the two auspicious and important numbers 10 and 12, the number 11 generally has negative connotations. Bungus stated that 11 has no connection with the divine, and medieval theology refers to the “11 heads of error.” Because at any time one of the 12 zodiacal signs is hidden behind the Sun, the number 11 is often associated with the zodiac. In the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish Tiamat, the god of chaos, is supported by 11 monsters.

There you have it: Registration numbers really speak the truth.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Chris Heard, Jim West, Number 11