I’d forgotten about this particular post at this blog until an e-mail last night jogged my memory. I’ve made some changes to it in order to insert a longer excerpt from the original blog…
Remember those people in the late ’60s who declared that VISA and MASTERCARD credit cards were “the mark of the beast?” Well, what if they were somewhat right?
Actually, the cards were called by other names back then. VISA was “Chargex” here in Canada, “BankAmericard” in the U.S. and went by other names elsewhere. Meanwhile, MASTERCARD went by the now awkward-sounding name “Mastercharge.”
Some Christians (okay, mostly evangelicals) declared this was the beginning of the end when it came to interpreting the “666″ mark in Revelation, but were strangely silent decades later when debit cards were introduced. I’ve never understood what made the difference and the resultant silence on ATM cards.
I remember Pat Robertson commenting that the mark on the hand and forehead were symbolic. The hand represents the work of man and the forehead represents the thoughts of man; the result being an anti-Christ figure who wants to control both.
Online, I ran into Tim Jamz. In a post on March 28th, 2008, he suggested that “the mark of the beast” isn’t the number 666. It’s numbers, period. Our preoccupation with them. Our can’t live without them. Commenting in another forum, Tim said, “Our focus on our own contrived systems of analysis, and the reliance on these systems, separates us from our Creator.”
The road he takes to get to there, an examination of themes occurring in both Genesis and Revelation is going to seem murky to some readers, but you should read it anyway. Here’s the highlight:
The “Mark of the Beast” is 666, right? Technically, it is “six-hundred, three-score, and six,” according to the King James Version of the Bible. Well, a friend I hung out with many moons ago … brought this up; it’s stuck with me ever since, and the more I think about it, it really makes sense.
The Book of Revelation, where the Mark is referenced, was written during the reign of the Roman Empire, in a region, which was primarily ruled by Rome. Naturally, the original text, and the number written to mean the “Mark of the Beast” would have been written in the Roman language… enter: Roman Numerals. We’ve all learned these in grade school, and most television shows and other “scholarly” works use them to denote dates, et al.
If you write out the number 666 in Roman Numerals, it comes out: DCLXVI. (500+ 100+ 50+ 10+ 5+ 1= 666) That’s right, one of each Roman Number, in descending order. So, it could be surmised that “numbers,” in general, are the Mark of the Beast. Before you exorcise your computer, think about this.
Modern civilizations are wholly dependent on numbers; for currency, for architecture, for science…. EVERYTHING! Everything except God, that is. Our quest for knowledge between good and evil… our ultimate desire and preconception that our minds are able to make determinations in general… these are what separate us from simple existence, and one-ness with the Creator.
I found the conclusion resonated more than the premise, but make your own decision. To go directly to that post, titled ‘Lost in Translation,’ use this link.
Thinking Out Loud 