Well, it's nearly 2 p.m. EDT (a.k.a. "God's Time Zone"), and the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year is looking singularly unapocalyptic. Unless, that is, you want to count that last night (when it was 6/6/6 in Japan) Son of SWNID's Japanese-made car would not start and inexplicably locked itself with the keys inside. Or that Son of SWNID, in the same Japanese car, was this morning caught in traffic for three hours after a horrendous accident on I-71. Or that SWNID was awakened in the wee smalls with intense knee pain, owing to overexertion in middle age but largely mollified by naproxin sodium and a hot water bottle.
Of course, the Apocalypse may not be just about the SWNID family. God may have a wider circle of interest. So it might include the rest of the United States, at least. So consider that the remake of The Omen opened today to mixed reviews. Makes you think, sort of.
For those genuinely interested in the mark of the beast, we recommend perusing the site of Felix Just, a fine Neutestamentler of the Jesuit persuasion at the University of San Francisco. Just (say "Yoost") has compiled a clever list of number-of-the-beast subspecies (in circulation for some time, but this may be the most complete edition), plus an excellent explanation of the sense of 666 in Revelation 13. We offer a quotation for our gentle readers' interest (emphasis inserted):
As a biblical scholar and Catholic priest, I think trying to predict the future is a misuse of the Bible. Biblical prophecy is not about crystal-ball gazing into the future. Rather, prophets of the Bible are those who speak on behalf of God, conveying God's messages to people, interpreting the past, present, and future through God's eyes, so to speak. Biblical prophets call people to repent and to remain faithful to God, not to worry about when the world will end or who is the "beast" of the Book of Revelation.We will go further than Just and call trying to predict the future in the manner of Christian media-mongers and manipulators an act of blasphemy in which one claims to know more than Jesus did. Take that, Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins, Hal Lindsey, Jack Van Impe, David Reagan and all others of your exploitive dispensationalist ilk!
And for those so inclined, this site remains one of our personal favorites: Is David Hasselhof the Antichrist?
5 comments:
Two things--It seems to me that yesterday's date was 6/6/06 not 6/6/6, thus makinig it a moot point. Also, although 666 is the number of the beast, if we're going to dwell on it, it seems to me that we're getting awfully close to the realm of superstition. There must be better things to worry about. Oh, yeah...we're not supposed to worry.
Re son of SWNID: he serves coffee at the foot of the Beast (and Son of Beast) -- what else should we expect?
I heard a radio interview with Jerry Jenkins on Monday and he seemed like a reasonably sane individual. I won't hold his association with te wacko Tim Lahaye against him.
I wouldn't hold mere "association" with Tim LaHaye against anyone. Willful, deliberate, long-term collaboration yielding millions of dollars of personal profit is another matter.
As I prove every day, anyone can seem like a reasonably sane individual, but that doesn't mean much.
One more sign: The appearance of the Evil Puppy on Conan O'Brien. http://media.putfile.com/Conan-Obrien---The-Evil-Puppy
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