Giving Bell SOUTH a new meaning

Apparently a little town called Reeves, La. has had the misfortune of having the telephonic prefix of 666 for the past fourty years. 666 is of course the mark of the beast in the Book of Revelation. I suppose it's also Biblically interesting that the "battle" to change the prefix took fourty (40) years, think Isrealites in the Desert, or another 40 number... the number of Days Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by - who else - the Devil. So Congratulations go out to the small town, and if you want to read more, check out the AP story.

From The Candadian Press:


Small, religious Louisiana town changes its ill-fated 666 telephone area code
1 hour ago
REEVES, Louisiana - A small village in southwest Louisiana is finally getting its wish: to rid itself of a telephone prefix often associated with the devil or the Antichrist.
Starting this month, residents and businesses can change the first three digits of their phone numbers from 666 to 749. Mayor Scott Walker said he has made the change on his phone.
"It's been a 40-year battle" he said, counting at least four failed attempts.
Reeves has three churches - two Bible and one Baptist - and fewer than 450 homes. "This boils down to, this is a very, very religious community," Walker said.
It all began with Revelation 13:18 in the Bible: "This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six."
The beast is also known as the Antichrist, according to some apocalyptic theories.
"It's been a black eye for our town, a stigma," Walker said. "I don't think it's anything bad on us, just an image."
The mayor said he worked with the phone company, CenturyTel, and the state Public Service Commission among others to make the change.
"This is a good town. ... We're good Christian people," Walker said.


For an interesting history of 666, see Wikipedia's article. I've included the image of Satan from Dante's Inferno for good measure in this post.

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