The Constant Armageddon/anti-Christ Talk That's Everywhere In The Media

[AmIReallyThatBad]

Aren't you sick of it? Why feed people so much fear and make them hate themselves by telling them how evil they are?

 

When I flip through the television,the History channel isn't chronicling history. It's airing 24/7 programs about Nostradamus' predictions and how Armageddon is nigh, the third Anti-Christ is about to be revealed and blah blah blah (there's even a show dedicated wholly to his prophecies, called The Nostrodamus Effect).

 

Online, every single website has some arrogant conspiracy theorist that will go on ad-nauseum about the supposed New World Order and about how Obama is the anti-Christ and on and on. I also could walk out the door and I wouldn't have to walk a half mile before I met someone that believed the same thing.

 

In film, Lars Von Trier, such a brave, uncompromising filmmaker who I've always had respect for, has converted to Catholicism and has released his newest film "Anti-Christ" to film festivals. Even Roger Ebert, an avowed atheist, is giving Trier props for it [http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/09/tiff_2_antichrist_redux.html], even going so far as to say that it's logical.

 

Is it only like this in America? Or, am I going to be bombarded by this wherever I go? It's nerve-wracking and still psychologically damaging to me, to say the least. What do all of you think?

[Vixentrox]

This is nothing new really. End of time fears have been in all periods of time across many cultures.

[Thackerie]

This is nothing new really. End of time fears have been in all periods of time across many cultures.

 

They certainly have! Take a look at this site:

 

http://www.abhota.info/end6.htm

[Shawn Truesdell]

While there are always idiots believing the end is near no matter where in the world you are, the current phenomenon is US only. It is due to a bunch of White Christian morons who can't deal with a black president. They don't know what is going on apart from what people like O'Riley, Coulter, Beck and the other hate mongers tell them. And now the church, a tax exempt organisation, is involving itself more in more in politics, something totally forbidden by the constitution.

 

I live overseas and the rest of the world is watching us and scratching their heads and going "WTF?". It is really sad.

[HelloWorld]

 

I live overseas and the rest of the world is watching us and scratching their heads and going "WTF?". It is really sad.

 

 

Yup. Not seeing this in Canada.

 

Well, that is not entirely true. My mom's family is obsessed with Marion Apparition related predictions of the end times and stuff. But my mom's family isn't the media and they aren't everywhere.

[Thurisaz]

Is it only like this in America? Or, am I going to be bombarded by this wherever I go?

 

Just my 2 cents but in the part of Germany I know you rarely run into this crap.

[Mongo]

And again... it is more proof that Americans have too much money.

 

If they can loll around and ponder infathemables and dispute end times, they have too much time on their hands.

 

This is proposterous.

 

Mongo

[AmIReallyThatBad]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. The massive anti-Obama movement makes me sick to my stomach, the most. Whether Obama turns out to be a good President or not and whether or not he has good intentions, these people honestly see him as the face of diabolical evil or, at the very least, a puppet that diabolical evil is using. I've seriously never seen such fanatical despise and fear of a President. It's rampant. EVERYONE has to be extreme now. On the other side, there are people thinking that he is a prophet from God and that he will save the world. NO ONE seems to be able to stay moderate, anymore. People have become too brainwashed and comfortable in extremes. It's so hard where I live to just get people to chill out and try to think more rationally.

 

Sorry, I was just ranting. It's frustrating.

[oddbird1963]

Rosh Hoshana is today. Or the first day thereof, whichever way it goes. Each year at this time, I am reminded of Edgar Whisenut who proclaimed that Jesus would return in 1988 sometime during the week of Rosh Hoshana. Of course, this didn't happen.

 

During the summer of 1989, I was working as a bank security guard in Little Rock, AR when Edgar W. cornered me and began to proclaim that Jesus would return sometime during the week of Rosh Hoshana in 1989 - for real - this time.

 

About an hour later, the guy left, having given me one of his pathetic pamphlets. Everybody in the bank laughed at me for being the unfortunate sap who got cornered by the fanatic.

 

Although I was not smiling, I smile now when I think of the ridiculous bible literalists who take delight in their apocalyptic fantasies. What a sad, pitiable waste of time.

 

And I am so saddened about the depths to which history channel has had to sink to make a buck. The obsession Americans have over pseudo-scientific beliefs, prophecy and end times is helping to create an intellectually vacuous culture in our country.

[OpheliaGinger]

Fear sells and the History Channel is making a fortune. The History Channel is starting to make me sick.

[Franko47]

It's just a theory of mine, but a it seems that a lot of this "end times" stuff is based upon a latent anger and jealously of other people, society in general, and a fear of change.

 

I can remember when the advent of computers and the internet heralded the coming "end times".

 

Of course, once Christian ministries saw how profitable it was to employ such devices, well...

 

 

In the USA, there seems to be a distinct culture war going on. Those that cling to some kind of traditional, white picket fence '50's brand of innocence and security, and those who are moving with the times, embracing change and the luxeries of our high-tech age, and tolerant of the emerging diversity we see in America, in music, the arts, etc.

 

It's odd to think that right now, while we here in especially Canada and the USA are living in one of the most prosperous times of history; seeing the world change before our eyes like never before, with rapid communications, that up to a quarter of the population would be obsessing with "last days" theology. It does not seem fueled even by the threat of terrorism, the rise of China, or even global warming. It just seems to be driven by a deep-seated desire to see our modern culture destroyed, or humbled, or judged, or punished.

 

Just speculating with all this; anybody see any connections here ?

[AmIReallyThatBad]

That's an interesting theory. Very thoughtful.

 

Hey, has anyone read up on that whole bar code/666 theory that's floating around? It goes along with that whole "buying and selling, number of the best" verse in Revelations. I know, I know, I don't believe it and it's probably a bunch of paranoid hokum, but these kind of things bother me sometimes and then I end up peaking my head around here. It's odd how 666 pops up in so many places. There's even a symbol, the triketra (pardon the likely wrong spelling), which is used in Christian circles now but old time fundies say it's a symbol of the devil that pagans used and point out that there are three 6s hidden in the image. It's the symbol in the front of the NKJV Bible, if you want to look it up.

 

I know people see patterns in everything, but it's odd how these patterns tend to crop up exactly where the Christians need them to in order to spread the mass conspiracy/end times paranoia. If the number of the beast had been 222, would we really be seeing three 2s in bar codes and symbols? It just doesn't seem as likely, but who knows? I just hope someone can put it all in perspective for me. Anyone up to the task of helping me out, here?

[OpheliaGinger]

Americans love a good 'ol conspiracy. Anyone familiar with the layout of Washington D.C. is proof that we are run by Masons? Apparently, if you connect the streets together around the White House, you will get an inverted pentagram, even though there is an entire line missing.

[HelloWorld]

If the number of the beast had been 222, would we really be seeing three 2s in bar codes and symbols? It just doesn't seem as likely, but who knows? I just hope someone can put it all in perspective for me. Anyone up to the task of helping me out, here?

 

I am of the opinion that if you look hard enough for anything, you can find it. Look at people who swear by horoscopes. Or even the scores of "answered" prayers and "signs". Oh yeah...and did you see the movie called "Number 23" or something like that? A guy drove himself cuckoo seeing numbers everywhere.

 

As a side note, you can't discount the possibility that someone with a wacko sense of humor put 6's in bar codes deliberately...just to watch everyone goes nuts. Hehe.

[Neon Genesis]

Americans love a good 'ol conspiracy. Anyone familiar with the layout of Washington D.C. is proof that we are run by Masons? Apparently, if you connect the streets together around the White House, you will get an inverted pentagram, even though there is an entire line missing.

Isn't that the plot of the new Dan Brown book?

[dagnarus]

That's an interesting theory. Very thoughtful.

 

Hey, has anyone read up on that whole bar code/666 theory that's floating around? It goes along with that whole "buying and selling, number of the best" verse in Revelations. I know, I know, I don't believe it and it's probably a bunch of paranoid hokum, but these kind of things bother me sometimes and then I end up peaking my head around here. It's odd how 666 pops up in so many places. There's even a symbol, the triketra (pardon the likely wrong spelling), which is used in Christian circles now but old time fundies say it's a symbol of the devil that pagans used and point out that there are three 6s hidden in the image. It's the symbol in the front of the NKJV Bible, if you want to look it up.

 

I know people see patterns in everything, but it's odd how these patterns tend to crop up exactly where the Christians need them to in order to spread the mass conspiracy/end times paranoia. If the number of the beast had been 222, would we really be seeing three 2s in bar codes and symbols? It just doesn't seem as likely, but who knows? I just hope someone can put it all in perspective for me. Anyone up to the task of helping me out, here?

 

My guess, the evil spirits are totally trolling. Everytime the see another video pointing out how Obama's the Anti-Christ they probably laugh there ass off.

[Thurisaz]

If the number of the beast had been 222, would we really be seeing three 2s in bar codes and symbols?

 

There's no difference worth mentioning between lying about barcodes having 666 in them and lying about them having 222s in them

[Ouroboros]

Funny thing with the bar code, it's not really 6's. The 3 and the 6 are similar, they both have two thin lines and a space. But the control codes at the start, middle, and end, are two thin lines without a space, in other words it's a space-less-3 or space-less-6.

[Mike D]

Hey, has anyone read up on that whole bar code/666 theory that's floating around?

Where have you been? Barcodes are out, RFID chips are in.

 

The barcode thing used to be a really popular fundy "end times" scare tactic in the 80's and 90's, but over the years it's kind of been fading away as Christians have caught wind of the Verichip (an implantable chip that people started receiving under their skin over the last few years). In fact when I was trading stocks a lot the company that made the Verichip (Applied Digital), had their yahoo finance message board (which is where people talk about stocks) for years was inundated by nutjob fundies saying the Verichip was 666, the mark of the beast, end times are here, blah blah blah. It was ridiculous, you couldn't even have an intelligent conversation about stocks on that board it was so over-run with delusional whackjobs that throught ADSX shareholders were helping Satan usher in the end times. (BTW if you google "Verichip 666" or any combination like that you'll find lots of info on it).

 

My guess is that probably for the next 10-20 years these chips will be the "new" barcode, at least until a newer more advanced technology comes along to replace the chips, then that will be the new Mark Of The Beast ™

[Guest Davka]

The whole mark of the beast thing is typical Christian ignorance of the Jewish roots of the religion.

 

In the Torah, god tells the Jews to place his words on their doorposts, on their foreheads, and on their forearms/hands. To teach them to their children, and think of them while coming or going. The symbology is clear: forehead = thoughts, hands = actions, doorpost + coming and going = public life and private life. It's a way of saying that everything you do and think and say should be completely immersed in Torah law.

 

Whoever wrote Revelation was very familiar with Jewish apocalyptic literature. Whole chunks of Daniel are morphed into Revelation, along with other OT prophetic fragments. The mark of god in the OT is actions and thoughts focused on Law - the mark of the beast in Revelation is "in your hands" (not "on") and "in your forehead" (again, not "on.") It's the reverse symbology of the mark of god. Instead of your thoughts and deeds being continually focussed on god's law, they will be focussed on the ugliness of the beast.

 

The beast, of course, is Rome. Multi-headed, sits on seven hills - d'oh!

[RationalOkie]

The whole mark of the beast thing is typical Christian ignorance of the Jewish roots of the religion.

 

In the Torah, god tells the Jews to place his words on their doorposts, on their foreheads, and on their forearms/hands. To teach them to their children, and think of them while coming or going. The symbology is clear: forehead = thoughts, hands = actions, doorpost + coming and going = public life and private life. It's a way of saying that everything you do and think and say should be completely immersed in Torah law.

 

Whoever wrote Revelation was very familiar with Jewish apocalyptic literature. Whole chunks of Daniel are morphed into Revelation, along with other OT prophetic fragments. The mark of god in the OT is actions and thoughts focused on Law - the mark of the beast in Revelation is "in your hands" (not "on") and "in your forehead" (again, not "on.") It's the reverse symbology of the mark of god. Instead of your thoughts and deeds being continually focussed on god's law, they will be focussed on the ugliness of the beast.

 

The beast, of course, is Rome. Multi-headed, sits on seven hills - d'oh!

 

 

Ding...Ding...Ding.... We have winner! Finally someone who understands the real meaning of these symbolic texts. Davka, you are absolutely dead on and when I tell people this they think I'm making it up.

 

Ever try to tell American fundies why Jews reject the Jesus/God myth? They have NO...Nadda... understanding of the Jewish perspective. They just know that they LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Israel. But they really have no understanding of who these people are or what they really believe. They think Jews just misunderstood who Jesus was somehow. It's fascinating how this happened.

[Guest Davka]

The whole mark of the beast thing is typical Christian ignorance of the Jewish roots of the religion.

 

In the Torah, god tells the Jews to place his words on their doorposts, on their foreheads, and on their forearms/hands. To teach them to their children, and think of them while coming or going. The symbology is clear: forehead = thoughts, hands = actions, doorpost + coming and going = public life and private life. It's a way of saying that everything you do and think and say should be completely immersed in Torah law.

 

Whoever wrote Revelation was very familiar with Jewish apocalyptic literature. Whole chunks of Daniel are morphed into Revelation, along with other OT prophetic fragments. The mark of god in the OT is actions and thoughts focused on Law - the mark of the beast in Revelation is "in your hands" (not "on") and "in your forehead" (again, not "on.") It's the reverse symbology of the mark of god. Instead of your thoughts and deeds being continually focussed on god's law, they will be focussed on the ugliness of the beast.

 

The beast, of course, is Rome. Multi-headed, sits on seven hills - d'oh!

 

 

Ding...Ding...Ding.... We have winner! Finally someone who understands the real meaning of these symbolic texts. Davka, you are absolutely dead on and when I tell people this they think I'm making it up.

 

Ever try to tell American fundies why Jews reject the Jesus/God myth? They have NO...Nadda... understanding of the Jewish perspective. They just know that they LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Israel. But they really have no understanding of who these people are or what they really believe. They think Jews just misunderstood who Jesus was somehow. It's fascinating how this happened.

 

Yeah, the morphing of a Jewish Messianic cult into a Greco-Roman Theocracy goes right over most people's heads. American fundies "love" Israel and Jews the way Southern Belles used to just "love" those cute little darkies, and give them watermelon when they danced and sang so pretty.

 

But then complexity is bound be lost on fundamentalists. Fundamentalism cannot survive in a complex world with nuanced meanings and shades of grey. I am sometimes amazed that I was able to cling to it for so long even as I continued to absorb new information.

[insanezenmistress]

Davka... i also enjoyed your acumen. I am not well studied in the jewish mind but i have an inkling baised on ovservation and positive sterotype, what ever that may be worth. And it has always semed to me that if the bible could be used at all for a guide or a loose reference to the uglyness of man it would be that it is in parable and in principle.

 

And the line you draw upon the "on the heart" and "in the heart" rings so true, but i also find it a difficult distinction to make from within. Because of our egos.

 

For all the hate and pain i see for the bible comming from this place it suprizes me to see someone whom i would say has understood the bible. (or perhaps i would have said if i were still christian) I suppose i only loved the good verses and over looked the weird ones, but a few of my favorties include... ones about how in the day of the lord or in gods perfect idea of the world, no man would have to instruct each other on how to know god, becasue each one would have the law written on their hearts.

 

I suppose that having the word written IN your heart would be what happens when you are indoctrinated and specailised in some act to enforce what you feel god wants you to accomplish. And this action is very suseptible to all range of human delusion and emotion and ego. But there is another mental place where the "word" could be written.

 

This is when one is in touch with wisdom, as well as knowledge. This is the place where the proper words come at the proper time to the proper person. Insight would be what is ON your heart. These words have power wether you are ahteist, or believer and they have what most would concider spiritaul effect.

 

They dont belong to the bible, and frankly sometimes those words come out of me from the Gita, sometimes from Star Wars, or a well timed quote from the band Rush. But in my veiw in the moment, they might have been as words of angels to the person who heard it.

 

 

wait... i just realised i digressed from the topic... my bad....

 

Armageddon....i belive the fear mongering is a usefull tool just like V said and all this is social control. What scares me is not the human fact that someday an evil person will get in power and cause my freethinking death but that humans are STILL so fucking stupid that we willfully blind ourselves to wisdom and cling to our right to hurt another person back.

I think humanity is screwed unless we start treating each other like free adults, and promote wisdom and education and put the intelligent amoung us to rule over us; because fascist athoritarianism by stupid ego-manical men is soooooo last milliniem. (sp) Humanity seems to want to straighten themselves out and reevaluate how things are; like it is our adolessence (sp.. again i guess i am stupid) and i think it is high time we grow up as a race. (damn i wish i had more faith in humanity i know we can be beautiful)