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The Duck · 06-02-2006, 12:13 PM

North County Times / GARY WARTH | June 2nd 2006

Tuesday looms ominously on the calendar, a day that conjures images of evil and despair, the end of times and the threat of a holy war and a dark overlord.

Yes, Tuesday is Election Day.

But it's also June 6, 2006, or 6/6/06, a numeric convergence that did not go unnoticed by the marketing team behind "The Omen," a remake of the 1976 film about the birth of the anti-Christ, scheduled for release next Tuesday.

In the story, precocious little Damien Thorn isn't that different from any other boy, aside for being the spawn of Satan and having an odd birthmark tucked behind his ear that resembles 666.

The three digits are called the "number of the beast" in the biblical Book of Revelation, which describes, among other things, a dragon battling the archangel Michael, a beast that rises from the sea with 10 horns and seven heads, and another beast that has two horns like a lamb, breathes fire and roars like a dragon.

The book has been read by some as symbolic, by others as a literal prediction of what is to come of earth. Revelation, the last book of the New Testament and the only one composed solely of apocalyptic writings, has been called the most difficult book of the Bible to comprehend.

What is the mark?

While interpretations of its meaning vary widely, the book clearly does not say that a single anti-Christ will be born marked with three sixes. Rather, Chapter 13:16-17 tells of a time when all people, "both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond," will receive a mark on their right hand or their foreheads. No man will be allowed to buy or sell unless he has "the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

The book doesn't specifically say what the mark is, but verse 18 (King James Version) reads: "Here 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."

Some Christians believe there will be a time when all people are required to carry some kind of mark on their hand or forehead in order to do business. Others believe the story in Revelation is historical and filled with coded messages and symbolism not meant to be taken literally.

"We take it seriously," said Kevin Schmid, administrative pastor at Calvary Chapel in Oceanside.

Calvary Chapel is among the churches that see Revelation as prophecy that is not yet fulfilled, Schmid said. For some, those prophecies include an episode called the "Rapture," where Christians will be taken to heaven while others are left behind on earth during a seven-year period called the tribulation, which precedes the second coming of Christ.

Not coincidentally, the latest installment in the popular "Left Behind" series of books about the tribulation is scheduled to be released on Tuesday.

Getting closer

A period known as the "end times" leads up to the Rapture, and many people believe those times are getting close. The mark of the beast is among its indicators, many believe.

"There's more prophecy about that seven-year period than anything else in Scripture," Schmid said. "During that period, this person will come onto the world scene -- the Scriptures refer to him as 'the beast' ---- and will require everyone to receive a mark on their forehead or right hand."

Schmid said it is likely that the person known as "the beast" already has been born.

But just what will the mark look like? The Book of Revelation is unclear, and Schmid isn't sure himself. He does not, however, think someone will be born with the mark, as in "The Omen."

"I don't think it necessarily has to be visible," he said. "It could be a chip implanted."

Schmid was referring to small computer chips that have been proposed as a way of verifying personal information. Just this week, the chairman of VeriChip Corporation in Delray Beach, Fla., which makes rice-size radio frequency identification tags, proposed using the devices to confirm whether migrant workers are in the country legally. Schmid said he also can see such chips used to combat identity theft, and he speculated that they might one day be required for all financial transactions, just as predicted in Revelation.

Not just yet

Other clergy do not anticipate a mark of the beast to appear on anyone anytime soon.

The Rev. Anthony Barron of St. Anne's Anglican Church in Oceanside cautioned against people trying to divine the end of time through prophecies in Revelation.

"The Scripture says no man knows the time when Christ is coming back again, only the Father in heaven," Barron said. "When you look at apocalyptical literature, it's very dangerous to put in categorical statements about, 'This is what that means."

Barron said most reform theologians would say the Book of Revelation was future-oriented when written, but its predictions already have been fulfilled.

As for the mark, he said nobody knows for sure what it means.

Rather than trying to identify details about what is in Revelation, Barron said it is better to focus on the overall message.

"It's really a picture of how God makes everything new," he said. "At the end of Revelation, there's a new heaven and a new earth, and we go back to living under God's rule, God's magnificent plan and purpose of life."

Out of context

A Christian view called preterism sees the Book of Revelation as symbolic and historical. John Noe, president of the Prophecy Reformation Institute in Indiana, holds to a preterist view and said the Book of Revelation is taken out of context.

Considering when it was written, Noe questions how its intended readers could have made use of a reference to an implanted computer chip.

"That's beginning to show you how ludicrous some of that stuff is," he said. "It can't mean something to us that it could not have meant to them. "

Noe noted that the verse referring to the mark of the beast begins with a reference to wisdom. He and others speculate the line may be a tip that the verse is in code, and only those with a wisdom of Hebrew gematria, a system of reading words and sentences as numbers, can decipher its meaning.

Translated in this way, 666 is Roman Emperor Nero Caesar ---- the beast who served the dragon, the dragon being Rome.

In another interpretation, Noe said 666 may be an unholy trinity. Since six is a number that represents man (created on the sixth day in the Book of Genesis), three in a row might mean man again the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, or what he called ssecular humanism.

As for the verse about people wearing a mark on their head or hands, Noe said it might be a reference to tefillin, small boxes containing scriptures, which observant male Jews at the time wore on their hands and heads.

Mark Hitchcock, an author and contributing editor for the Left Behind Prophecy Club, also believed 666 is a Hebrew gematria code for a man, but does not think it refers to Nero, who had been dead 27 years by the time the Book of Revelation was written.

"I see it as the future, something that's going to happen," Hitchcock said by phone from his home in Edmund, Okla.

Wearing the mark

Unlike Schmid, Hitchcock said he thinks the mark will be visible rather than something implanted. With the state of the world today, he also said it probably will emerge sooner than later.

Hitchcock noted that the Book of Revelation distinguishes between the number of the beast and the mark of the beast that people will wear. Since 666 will translate to the person's name, Hitchcock said people will be actually wearing the name of the anti-Christ upon them, not a number.

"I think the anti-Christ will use global positioning and bar codes and who knows what to control the world," he said.

Because of its association with what many believe is the anti-Christ, the number 666 often is avoided by Christians. Hitchcock and Schmid, however, said there is nothing inherently evil about the number itself, and both said people should not be superstitious or fearful about seeing three sixes on a license plate or street address.

Then again, Schmid wasn't sure how he'd feel about living at that address himself.

"The number kind of gives me the creeps," he said.

06-02-2006, 12:13 PM
The Duck Adult Content Provider Industry Role: Join Date: May 2005 Location: Europe Posts: 18,243	The mark of the beast arrives Tuesday North County Times / GARY WARTH \| June 2nd 2006 Tuesday looms ominously on the calendar, a day that conjures images of evil and despair, the end of times and the threat of a holy war and a dark overlord. Yes, Tuesday is Election Day. But it's also June 6, 2006, or 6/6/06, a numeric convergence that did not go unnoticed by the marketing team behind "The Omen," a remake of the 1976 film about the birth of the anti-Christ, scheduled for release next Tuesday. In the story, precocious little Damien Thorn isn't that different from any other boy, aside for being the spawn of Satan and having an odd birthmark tucked behind his ear that resembles 666. The three digits are called the "number of the beast" in the biblical Book of Revelation, which describes, among other things, a dragon battling the archangel Michael, a beast that rises from the sea with 10 horns and seven heads, and another beast that has two horns like a lamb, breathes fire and roars like a dragon. The book has been read by some as symbolic, by others as a literal prediction of what is to come of earth. Revelation, the last book of the New Testament and the only one composed solely of apocalyptic writings, has been called the most difficult book of the Bible to comprehend. What is the mark? While interpretations of its meaning vary widely, the book clearly does not say that a single anti-Christ will be born marked with three sixes. Rather, Chapter 13:16-17 tells of a time when all people, "both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond," will receive a mark on their right hand or their foreheads. No man will be allowed to buy or sell unless he has "the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." The book doesn't specifically say what the mark is, but verse 18 (King James Version) reads: "Here 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." Some Christians believe there will be a time when all people are required to carry some kind of mark on their hand or forehead in order to do business. Others believe the story in Revelation is historical and filled with coded messages and symbolism not meant to be taken literally. "We take it seriously," said Kevin Schmid, administrative pastor at Calvary Chapel in Oceanside. Calvary Chapel is among the churches that see Revelation as prophecy that is not yet fulfilled, Schmid said. For some, those prophecies include an episode called the "Rapture," where Christians will be taken to heaven while others are left behind on earth during a seven-year period called the tribulation, which precedes the second coming of Christ. Not coincidentally, the latest installment in the popular "Left Behind" series of books about the tribulation is scheduled to be released on Tuesday. Getting closer A period known as the "end times" leads up to the Rapture, and many people believe those times are getting close. The mark of the beast is among its indicators, many believe. "There's more prophecy about that seven-year period than anything else in Scripture," Schmid said. "During that period, this person will come onto the world scene -- the Scriptures refer to him as 'the beast' ---- and will require everyone to receive a mark on their forehead or right hand." Schmid said it is likely that the person known as "the beast" already has been born. But just what will the mark look like? The Book of Revelation is unclear, and Schmid isn't sure himself. He does not, however, think someone will be born with the mark, as in "The Omen." "I don't think it necessarily has to be visible," he said. "It could be a chip implanted." Schmid was referring to small computer chips that have been proposed as a way of verifying personal information. Just this week, the chairman of VeriChip Corporation in Delray Beach, Fla., which makes rice-size radio frequency identification tags, proposed using the devices to confirm whether migrant workers are in the country legally. Schmid said he also can see such chips used to combat identity theft, and he speculated that they might one day be required for all financial transactions, just as predicted in Revelation. Not just yet Other clergy do not anticipate a mark of the beast to appear on anyone anytime soon. The Rev. Anthony Barron of St. Anne's Anglican Church in Oceanside cautioned against people trying to divine the end of time through prophecies in Revelation. "The Scripture says no man knows the time when Christ is coming back again, only the Father in heaven," Barron said. "When you look at apocalyptical literature, it's very dangerous to put in categorical statements about, 'This is what that means." Barron said most reform theologians would say the Book of Revelation was future-oriented when written, but its predictions already have been fulfilled. As for the mark, he said nobody knows for sure what it means. Rather than trying to identify details about what is in Revelation, Barron said it is better to focus on the overall message. "It's really a picture of how God makes everything new," he said. "At the end of Revelation, there's a new heaven and a new earth, and we go back to living under God's rule, God's magnificent plan and purpose of life." Out of context A Christian view called preterism sees the Book of Revelation as symbolic and historical. John Noe, president of the Prophecy Reformation Institute in Indiana, holds to a preterist view and said the Book of Revelation is taken out of context. Considering when it was written, Noe questions how its intended readers could have made use of a reference to an implanted computer chip. "That's beginning to show you how ludicrous some of that stuff is," he said. "It can't mean something to us that it could not have meant to them. " Noe noted that the verse referring to the mark of the beast begins with a reference to wisdom. He and others speculate the line may be a tip that the verse is in code, and only those with a wisdom of Hebrew gematria, a system of reading words and sentences as numbers, can decipher its meaning. Translated in this way, 666 is Roman Emperor Nero Caesar ---- the beast who served the dragon, the dragon being Rome. In another interpretation, Noe said 666 may be an unholy trinity. Since six is a number that represents man (created on the sixth day in the Book of Genesis), three in a row might mean man again the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, or what he called ssecular humanism. As for the verse about people wearing a mark on their head or hands, Noe said it might be a reference to tefillin, small boxes containing scriptures, which observant male Jews at the time wore on their hands and heads. Mark Hitchcock, an author and contributing editor for the Left Behind Prophecy Club, also believed 666 is a Hebrew gematria code for a man, but does not think it refers to Nero, who had been dead 27 years by the time the Book of Revelation was written. "I see it as the future, something that's going to happen," Hitchcock said by phone from his home in Edmund, Okla. Wearing the mark Unlike Schmid, Hitchcock said he thinks the mark will be visible rather than something implanted. With the state of the world today, he also said it probably will emerge sooner than later. Hitchcock noted that the Book of Revelation distinguishes between the number of the beast and the mark of the beast that people will wear. Since 666 will translate to the person's name, Hitchcock said people will be actually wearing the name of the anti-Christ upon them, not a number. "I think the anti-Christ will use global positioning and bar codes and who knows what to control the world," he said. Because of its association with what many believe is the anti-Christ, the number 666 often is avoided by Christians. Hitchcock and Schmid, however, said there is nothing inherently evil about the number itself, and both said people should not be superstitious or fearful about seeing three sixes on a license plate or street address. Then again, Schmid wasn't sure how he'd feel about living at that address himself. "The number kind of gives me the creeps," he said. __________________ Skype Horusmaia ICQ 41555245 Email [email protected]