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Read Left Behind. Not the LBMB, the book. It has a fairly good explanation, if slightly paranoid. (“Oh no, the ultimate evil is going to come from the United Nations! We right wing maniacs knew that all the time!”)
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It’s Revelation! Not Revelations!
I thought that man is 5, then the devil is six and God is seven…you know, this monkey gone to heaven. Guess I’m listening to too much Pixies.
In Judeo-Christian tradition, 7 is regarded as a ‘perfect’ number (note the number of days in Genesis, for example.) 6 is one short of this perfect number, and to show that it is REALLY imperfect, it is multiplied three fold. That’s how it was explained to me in religion class.
Anyway, I think that revelation isn’t some prophetic book which portends doom for the earth, but a metaphorical allegory which illustrates the state of Christianity at the time. When John wrote it, Christianity was severely persecuted by the Romans. Thanks to the footnotes in my bible, I know that Emperor Nero was especially brutal. In fact, he blamed the fire through which he fiddled on the Christians. In Hebrew and Greek, the letters in the alphabets can also signify numbers, and lo and behold N+E+R+O = 666. My bible footnotes also said that the Seven Headed Beast also represents the seven hills of Rome.
Also, its silly to believe that the literal antichrist (which I don’t believe in) would try and wow a 20th/21st century world with magic. Any literal antichrist would be charismatic, not some hypnotic movie super-villan. He’d be a normal guy, except he/she is the embodiment of evil. He/She wouldn’t go around sowing dischord. He’d probably donate to charities, strive for world peace, etc, because in the end, it wouldn’t make any difference once his/her antichrist plans came to fruition.
I wouldn’t go looking for marks on anybodies foreheads or necks either.
bradysg
**bradysg said:
“Also, its silly to believe that the literal antichrist (which I don’t believe in) would try and wow a 20th/21st century world with magic. Any literal antichrist would be charismatic, not some hypnotic movie super-villan.”**
Personally, I’m taking no notice of the antichrist unless he can convert his critics into a smoking pair of shoes with a glance.
He should also own an invulnerable airship from which to gloat over burning cities.
Maybe the mark is the mouse we all have in our hand.
Personally I believe the bible was written by man, therefore it cannot be true.
You know, there was a time that believed in mythical beings like the Antichrist (and his/her predecessor, Satan), and that we had to actively work to keep such nasties at bay…never mind that evil never takes us without our consent. I even believed that prayer actually worked. Ah, youth…
The biggest beef I have with the apperance of the Antichrist, the Beast, the Evil One, or whatever is the same I have with all the other fantastic events predicated in the Bible: It never happens. Remember, these revelatory events were supposed to occur some time after the birth of Christ, generally accepted to be two millenia. And no, the big year isn’t 2000…it’s 1995. Remember, there was a calendar mixup that put Christ’s birthdate in 6 BCE, which means that the supposed big day is already long past. Of course, you could continue holding out until 2001, upon which I guarantee you that nothing will continue to happen. No matter how many years pass, somehow the Big One never hits and the world keeps on turning.
And of course, there’s the issue of how much of an impact this Antichrist is going to make. I remember the Calvin and Hobbes strip where Calvin made this very query, and Hobbes responded “Frankly, I’m not sure humanity needs the help.” I mean, there are already so many human wrongdoers in positions of power right now, including our current (and possibly next) President, any supernatural evil would more than likely be simply redundant.