jma@milton.u.washington.edu (Marty Anderson) (09/25/90)
Sept 20, 1990
Speaking of the Antichrist and his false prophet in the "end
times", the Word of God says:
Revelation 13:16-18
He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and
poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right
hand or on his forehead,
17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the
mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of
his name.
18 This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let
him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's
number. His number is 666.
The purpose of this posting is to make people aware of the
Universal Product Code's (UPC) compelling case for being this
"mark of the beast". Today, the UPC is used to uniquely "mark"
almost every product bought or sold so that scanning devices can
quickly identify a product and its determine its price. The UPC
is used world-wide. A careful examination of the UPC reveals
that IF it is ever used to identify every person on earth for the
sake of "easing" the "buying and selling", by giving every person
his own unique "mark", Revelation 13:16-18 may be fulfilled.
Furthermore, THE MOST COMMON UPC IN USE HAS THE NUMBER 666
INTRINSICALLY EMBEDDED IN IT!
The UPC is capable of identifying at least 1 trillion unique
products or people while the current population of the planet is
about 6 billion. So, the UPC could easily be imposed upon the
right hand or forehead" of every citizen of the "new world order"
by a coming world leader. Let the reader beware:
Revelation 14:9-12
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice:
"If anyone worships the beast and his image and
receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand,
10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which
has been poured full strength into the cup of his
wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the
presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and
ever. There is no rest day or night for those who
worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who
receives the mark of his name."
12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the
saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful
to Jesus.
A more in depth study of the UPC is available in Mary Stewart
Relfe's book, "The New Money System", published by:
Ministries Inc.
PO Box 4038
Montgomery, Alabama 36104
USA
I have written a two page summary sheet describing the UPC which
clearly demonstrates that the number "666" is a permanent feature
of this "mark". Since the paper includes graphics, depicting
examples of the UPC and showing the "666", I cannot post it.
However, I will a copy of this UPC summary to everyone who sends
their name and address (not e-mail address) to me. (If, of
course, I receive a hundred million requests, it may take some
time and money to do this but I will try.)
Please send all requests for the two page UPC summary to:
Ty Anderson
@atc.boeing.com:tma@dcl1
jma@blake.u.washington.edu
jma@milton.u.washington.edu
John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but
whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's
wrath remains on him."
Rom 10:9
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord,"
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the
dead, you will be saved.
...
Rom 10:13
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."BINDNER@auvm.auvm.edu (09/27/90)
It has also been said by Biblical scholars that 666 was an anagram for Nero, and that the chief purpose behind Revelation was (is) the comfort of oppressed Christians. Has any one else heard this interpretation? Michael [The text says that 666 is a man's name (Rev 13:18), and it's implied that it is obvious to the reader, which suggests that it is a name from the 1st Cent. (or before). The usual explanation is Nero. To get that, you use "Neron Kaisar" (Nero's title in Greek), written in Hebrew script, adding up the traditional values of the letters. Some texts show the number as 616, which is what you'd get writting Nero's Latin title (Nero Caesar) in Hebrew script. A more ingenious theory is Domitian, in the form in which his name appeared on coins. His Greek title was Autokrator Kaisar Dometianos Sebastos Germanikos. If you abbreviate it as A.KAI.DOMET.SEB.GE, you get 666, using Greek values. Given the context, something from coins is very attractive. Unfortunately, the abbreviations used on coins varied, and that exact abbreviation doesn't appear on any of them. There are some other less plausible theories that I'm not going to bother with. This is all taken from G.B. Caird's commentary on Rev. --clh]
st0o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Steven Timm) (10/01/90)
I wonder about applying the 666 to Nero. Isn't it generally accepted that Revelation was written *after* the death of Nero, in 80s or 90s AD? (At least--with liberal scholars saying later than that even?) Steve [Rev. doesn't say that 666 is the number of the current emperor. I'm not up on research on Rev., but Caird's commentary (Harper's NT Commentaries) says the only early evidence for a date is Irenaeus, who said it was written in the closing years of Domitian, who reigned 81-96. There are other indications in the book make that appear right. --clh]
crf@mace.princeton.edu (Charles Ferenbaugh) (10/01/90)
I've heard it said that, if you write "Jesus of Nazareth" in Hebrew, and read the letters as numbers in the straightforward way, the total is 666. Can someone who knows Hebrew (I don't, obviously) confirm or deny this? If true, it would give the prophecy an interesting interpretation that we wouldn't normally think of - namely, that the number 666 is another way of saying that the Antichrist is trying to pass himself off as the Christ. Any thoughts on this? Grace and peace, Charles Ferenbaugh
CONS.ELF@AIDA.CSD.UU.SE (Ake Eldberg) (10/03/90)
Hello! Speculations on the meaning of the number 666 and "the mark of the beast" are endless. I consider it useless to try and identify any single historic person as the beast. The Bible says there are many antichrists, and when the final one comes, we will probably not need any mystic numbers to know him. The closest thing to the number (or mark) of the beast today is social security numbers. I don't know about the USA, but here in Sweden these numbers are gradually becoming the only identities we have. It is impossible to open a bank account, take an insurance or get any service from the public health care, without this number. Nobody asks for your name any more - it's the number they want. Some public transport systems have a rule that you must write this number on your monthly ticket, otherwise it's invalid. These are only some examples among many of the all-encompassing power of the social security numbers. This is in contrast to the Bible, where a person's name has a special relevance as identity. In the Psalms, it is said that the Lord knew our names before we were born. All knees shall be bent in the name of Jesus, and so on. But the Antichrist is identified by a number, not a name. I think the parallels are worth thinking about. Ake Eldberg
sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Mark T. Sandrock) (10/03/90)
In article <Sep.30.20.13.32.1990.15990@athos.rutgers.edu> st0o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Steven Timm) writes: >I wonder about applying the 666 to Nero. Isn't it generally accepted >that Revelation was written *after* the death of Nero, in 80s or 90s AD? >(At least--with liberal scholars saying later than that even?) > Actually, the number 666 does *not* signify evil, and so the "man" referred to in Revelation does not necessarily have to be an evil man. The number 6 itself signifies *might*, and 666 thus signifies *tripled might*. In the case of the Beast, this means that the "the sin" of mankind in turning away from God, has by the time of the Final Judgement, attained to such might that it merits this number: 666. As for the "man" who is signified by 666, in this case it is *might* in the service of the Light, and the person refered to is (in the spiritual sense) Ismael, who at that time lived on earth as John the Baptist. As I have stated before, the key to this knowledge is to be found within the German language (which Martin Luther was called to help develop). The Beast of the Revelation represents the words "the Sin" (German: die Suende). (The two horns of the Beast represent the two words: "die Suende" - the Sin.) The name John the Baptist in German is "Johannes der Taeufer". Both of these phrases (die Suende and Johannes der Taeufer) have the number 666 in the German language in accordance with the Law of Numbers ("the measure of all things"). The Beast, thus, depicts *tripled might* in the service of evil, whereas, John the Baptist (Ismael), was (and is) *tripled might* in the service of God. This knowledge has been available throughout much of this century, and is based on the knowledge given in the work: "In the Light of Truth", the Grail Message, by Abd-ru-shin, which itself was written in the German language, and is also available in many other languages, including English. Regards, Mark Sandrock -- BITNET: sandrock@uiucscs Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Internet: sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu Chemical Sciences Computing Services Voice: 217-244-0561 505 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801
BINDNER@auvm.auvm.edu (10/07/90)
You've piqued my curiosity. Does this German text mention a Great Monarch, or the Anti-Christ? What does it say on the age of conflict some say we now experience? Michael
sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Mark T. Sandrock) (10/19/90)
In article <Oct.6.21.38.01.1990.1032@athos.rutgers.edu> BINDNER@auvm.auvm.edu writes: > You've piqued my curiosity. Does this German text mention > a Great Monarch, or the Anti-Christ? What does it say > on the age of conflict some say we now experience? > >Michael Actually, I mentioned two quite different texts in the posting to which I believe you refer. The first text is the one which specifically deals with the meaning of the number 666 in the Revelation of John. The second text is the Grail Message itself, which I have mentioned several times in this group, and about which there is much more yet to be said... The first text, which is not available (yet?) in English is called: "Einblicke in das Schoepfungswirkern". An approximate translation of this title might be: "Insights into the operation of Creation". The author's name is Herbert Vollmann, and the publisher is Verlag der Stiftung Gralsbotschaft, Stuttgart, Germany. (Grail Message Foundation Publishing Co.) This first text comprises five short lectures, the fifth of which is titled: "Die geheimnisvolle Zahl 666 in der Offenbarung Johannes". To translate this I would say: "The mysterious number 666 in the Revelation of John". This lecture explains that a man named Lucien Siffrid (1891-1964) was called to receive the knowledge concerning the Law of Numbers, and that this new knowledge does contain the key to understanding the meaning of the number 666. This lecture explains that the language of the Revelation is a language of "pictures". And that each picture corresponds to a particular process or happening. Furthermore, that the meaning of the pictures can only be grasped in the *spiritual* sense, and not otherwise. The first beast (13,1) for instance, depicts the uncontrolled rulership of the earthbound intellect. The second beast, as I have already stated, depicts "the Sin" of mankind in turning away from the Will of God. In place of God, it is only to be expected that our "Sin" would persuade us instead to worship the rulership of the intellect, which being earthbound, can offer no spiritual values, no morality, and no knowledge about God and His Will. As far as any discussion about "a Great Monarch" or about the Antichrist, this short lecture does not mention these terms, but the Grail Message itself does give explanations about the Antichrist. It explains that only Lucifer himself could have the strength and the power to fight against God, against the Mission (at that time) of Christ. As the Revelation depicts, it is Lucifer (the dragon) who gives "his own might" (6=might, remember) and "great authority" to the first beast. The conclusion one might then draw is that all human beings who "worship the beast" are unwittingly making themselves into willing servants of the Antichrist, of Lucifer. This is not to say that the intellect is not a valuable tool, for that would be over-reacting. The intellect is necessary for life on earth, and is meant to be developed and used according to the Will of God. The danger lies in our giving the *highest* place in life to the intellect, a place which actually belongs to the human *spirit* itself. The spirit should and must lead, and it should use the intellect only as a necessary tool to facilitate life on earth. If the other hand, we allow our intellect to have the upper hand, if we allow it to have the lead in our lives, out of spiritual indolence, then the strict consequence is that our spirits become prisoners, inactive and helpless, unless and until we exert ourselves to once again become free human beings standing and living only in the Will of God. God's Will is Spirit, and in order to know and understand it, we ourselves must become free in spirit. As far as what will take place in the "end time", the Grail Message does in fact explain the *process* of the World Judgement, that is, how it is brought about by the Power of God, and what this implies for each individual. This does not mean specifics of "what will happen", since in any case this could direct our attention (I believe) in the wrong direction. What is important, even crucial, for each individual is to learn to recognize the Will of God in every happening, both great and small, and therefore to know how to put our own lives in order, such that we are then able to look up to God in the confidence and security that we stand in His protection, regardless of what happens around us and around the world. Many may want to say they have already achieved this condition of confidence and recognition, and if so, then that is fine, but to all those who still seek for answers, I wish to point out that the Grail Message is available to provide the necessary answers! I realize that this is perhaps a lot to try to cover in a short posting and with limited time, but I do feel the urgency of trying to bring this vital work: "In the Light of Truth", the Grail Message, by Abd-ru-shin, to the attention of serious seekers everywhere, and this is my motivation in posting. If in fact people do want to know more about the Grail Message, and the great knowledge it mediates, my best advice is to either check it out from a library (it exists in many libraries across the U.S., for instance), or else to order a copy from the Grail Foundation of America, 2081 Partridge Lane, Binghamton, NY 13903. It is 1062 pages, I believe the price is $24, but I also believe that they will bill you if you prefer. The Grail Foundation is an IRS-recognized non-profit organization, btw. To those who wonder why I want to mention the Grail Message in a "Christian" group, my answer simply is this, that I have been reading the Grail Message since 1977, and it is my conviction that there is nothing more Christian than just the Grail Message itself, for it truly does explain and complete the Message and Mission of Christ, in accordance with the words of Jesus: "Many things yet I have to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ..." With best regards, Mark Sandrock -- BITNET: sandrock@uiucscs Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Internet: sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu Chemical Sciences Computing Services Voice: 217-244-0561 505 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801
jjj@blob.hut.fi (Joni Jaakko J{rvenkyl{) (10/21/90)
I have been listening an album made by Vangelis (+ Demis Roussos) for a few days now, which is called 'Aphrodite's child'. It has three big number 6's on the cover. Am I now supposed to be under the power of evil Satan, the ever-so-bad Lucifer? PS I know no religion. Am I an ignorant pagan, who is just being seduced by the Mighty Powers of Dark Emperor? -- jjj@niksula.hut.fi jjj@otax.tky.hut.fi fire me, fire until you die
watson@uunet.uu.net (Steve Watson) (10/25/90)
Well, I guess I'll jump in and get things started.... In article <Oct.21.01.51.52.1990.24906@athos.rutgers.edu> jjj@blob.hut.fi (Joni Jaakko J{rvenkyl{) writes: >I have been listening an album made by Vangelis (+ Demis Roussos) for a few >days now, which is called 'Aphrodite's child'. It has three big number >6's on the cover. >Am I now supposed to be under the power of evil Satan, the ever-so-bad >Lucifer? .... Am I an ignorant pagan, who is just being seduced by >the Mighty Powers of Dark Emperor? Personally, I doubt it. The idea that a object, picture, or word can, of itself, exert an influence is called 'magical thinking', which IMHO is foreign to Christian theology (yes, I realize I'm implicitly attacking the beliefs of those who collect(ed) relics of the saints and pieces of the True Cross. So be it.) However, I do wonder about the motivation of people who deliberately use a symbol known in our culture as an emblem of evil. I haven't heard the album (my knowledge of Vangelis starts and ends with 'Chariots of Fire'), but would feel *uncomfortable* about buying it (I'm not entirely sure why: I guess its the thought that counts). -- ====================== disclaimer =============================== "Blame me, not the Company I keep..." - Steve Watson UseNet: mitel!spock!watson@uunet.uu.net