What's In Your Wallet??? Is It SSSSSatan???? (Apologies To The Church Lady)

[DeSwiss]

SOURCE: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Is 'Mark Of The Beast' In Real ID Act?

Derek Kravitz
03/22/2007

JEFFERSON CITY — A dire, apocalyptic prophecy in the Bible's Book of Revelation is getting a new audience: state legislators.

Several evangelical Christian groups say the federal Real ID Act, which will standardize state drivers licenses and link them to corresponding national ID numbers by 2009, represents the "mark of the beast," the devilish number 666 that is attached to the godless.

The nearly 2,000-year-old passage is referenced along with the prophetic locusts, plagues, oceans of blood and rivers of fire found in the Bible. Soon after, according to scripture, the antichrist takes control of the world and Jesus Christ returns.

In short, new national ID numbers could spell the beginning of the end, some Christians believe. "This is getting treacherously close to prophecy in the scripture," said Irvin Baxter Jr., founder and president of Endtime Ministries in Dallas. And some Missouri legislators are listening.

Some Christians interpret verses from the book of Revelation that say humans will be "marked … so that no one can buy or sell who does not have that mark" as a prophecy of a global numerical control system to be used by the beast, or antichrist. The number would be used during the Great Tribulation, which some Christians believe will precede the second coming of Jesus.

Most religious scholars agree that this beast in Revelation is a metaphor for the Roman emperor Nero who persecuted Christians and Jews in horrific ways that were likely to be remembered only a couple of generations later when Revelation was written.

But some evangelical Christians take the "mark" of Revelation more literally, and believe that a number-based identification system in the U.S. will eventually spread throughout the world, only to be used by a global dictator (the antichrist) who will control international trade with the numbers issued under the Real ID program.

Their concern, according to Craig Treadwell, Baxter's national radio talk show co-host, is that anyone marked in such a way during the Great Tribulation "will be lost for eternity," and won't be raised to heaven after the second coming.
State Rep. Jim Guest, a frequent participant on Baxter's radio show, is sponsoring a bill that would exempt the state from complying with the federal law. The Missouri House overwhelmingly approved Guest's bill last Thursday, 146-4. It has moved to the Senate for consideration.

Guest, a Republican from King City in northeastern Missouri, said his main reservation with the program was its potential for "Big Brother-like" abuses. We could be tracked by machines everywhere we go," said Guest, referring to provisions that require "machine-readable" technology in the ID cards. "This could signal the death of individual freedoms and rights."

more: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/70BFADE9E841FCBF862572A60010ABEB?OpenDocument

*** - So, I'm confused. While I'm against the REAL-ID for reasons of limiting government intrusion of, and gathering information on its citizens, I can't help but wonder why biblical literalists are objecting to complying with the culmination of their beliefs. I mean if they truly believe their interpretation of Revelations, then it would seem to me that their objections would only serve to stymie the apocalypse that they've so long for. Couldn't it be argued that by resisting the creation of "Beast Numbers" they're sinning against God???

And as for not being able to buy or sell without having a "Beast Number," what the hell ever happened to martyrdom? What ever happened to faith in one's beliefs? Don't these people have the courage of their convictions??? Are they trying to hold back Jesus from coming??? And the larger question is: Why do Christians hate God? :sarcasm:

:shrug:

[Kurovski]

1. Didn't they think the same thing about social security numbers?

Other stuff, too. It's always something with those imaginative buggers.

At any rate, real ID is lousy for non-insane reasons too.

[TlalocW]

2. SSNs, barcodes, etc.

All marks of the beast. The original poster makes a good point - why aren't they happy about this? If a, b, and c need to happen in a prophecy of the Bible type way, then why would they fight this? Only reasons I can think of are:

1. If this *IS* the mark of the beast, all the money they make from selling Left Behind type literature, videos, and DVDs goes away.
2. In their warped worldview, maybe something else is supposed to happen first before we get the mark of the beast, and it hasn't yet.

TlalocW

[charlie]

3. 3. Because they're chickenhawks

As long as it's others (Jews, Arabs, Russians, Europeans, et al) who star in their Bloody Cinematic Sensurround Vision of Endtimes, it would be SIN to thwart God's apocalyptic plans. Not so for the LaHaye backline, who're giddy about enjoying the spectacle. They're voyeurs with ugly appetites, the lot of them.