Mark of the Beast

Yet another sign of the impending Apocalypse.

First, a little bit of background.

Then, an observation.

We know Revelations speaks of the Mark of the Beast, which will be seen on the foreheads of the followers of the Antichrist:

11: Then I saw another beast which rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.

12: It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.
...
15: and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast should even speak, and to cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.

16: Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,

And the Number of the Beast is hexakosioi hexēkonta hex, DCLXVI, six-hundred three-score and six.

18: Then another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has power over fire, and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Put in your sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe."

19: So the angel swung his sickle on the earth and gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God;

20: and the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press, as high as a horse's bridle, for one thousand six hundred stadia.

This is also known as trampling out the vintage where the Grapes of Wrath are stored.

Most end-times writers identify the Mark of the Beast with some kind of barcode or radio-frequency identity chip.

I think there's a simpler explanation staring us in the face.

Look at this guy's ugly mug.








What's that on his forehead?

It seems to change shape somewhat so it's probably not a birthmark.

I'll bet it's what muslims call the Mark of Prostration.

Oh yeah.

Hundreds of years after John wrote Revelation saying followers of the Beast (False Prophet) would be known by a mark on their foreheads, mohammed the false prophet narrates in the koran that allah's followers will be known by a mark on their foreheads!

It's a very important sign of devotion, developed from repeatedly banging one's head into the ground while praying towards mecca.

Which, I gotta tell ya, proves satan really has a sense of humor.

“Muhammad is the messenger of Allah; and those who are with him are severe against the infidels but compassionate among themselves. You will see them bowing and prostrating, seeking His grace and pleasure. Their mark is on their faces (foreheads) from the effect of prostrations.” (Quran 48: Ayah 29)

Imam ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (as) has said,

“Verily I abhor a person whose forehead is clean and there is no mark of prostrations on it”. (Bihar al-Anwaar)

By the way, the core message of Jesus Christ, the Golden Rule, can be summed up as treat EVERYONE with the respect with which you yourself would like to be treated.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

mohammed's core teaching, on the other hand, directly contradicts this message; from the above it chauvinistically says to treat other muslims with compassion but to be severe with infidels.

This is directly anti to Christ's message.

I'm not a very religiously observant person. I am a physicist. But as a simple matter of logic and definition, identifying mohammed with the antichrist is elementary.

The Mark of Prostration is supposed to be a sign of salvation, of course:

Volume 9, Book 93, Number 532c:
Narrated 'Ata' bin Yazid Al-Laithi:
...
When Allah has finished His Judgments among the people, He will take whomever He will out of Hell through His Mercy. He will then order the angels to take out of the Fire all those who used to worship none but Allah from among those whom Allah wanted to be merciful to and those who testified (in the world) that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah. The angels will recognize them in the Fire by the marks of prostration (on their foreheads), for the Fire will eat up all the human body except the mark caused by prostration as Allah has forbidden the Fire to eat the mark of prostration. They will come out of the (Hell) Fire, completely burnt and then the water of life will be poured over them and they will grow under it as does a seed that comes in the mud of the torrent.

Is it a sign of the virtuous?

Imam ja'far al Sadiq (P) is also reported to have said:

"I see the Mahdi and his companions as if they are threatened by danger from all sides: their supplies have exhausted; their clothes have worn out; their foreheads bear the mark of prostration; during the day they are as courageous as a lion and during the night they are busy in the adoration of Allah; and their hearts are like solid pieces of iron".

Of the devout?

The mark of prostration should be visible on your forehead
and you must follow the Shariat perfectly;
Your beard should come up to the standard
And your trousers should be of proper length.

Or of the damned???

The Revelation of John the Apostle continues

1: Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, "Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God."

2: So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth, and foul and evil sores came upon the men who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

And

9: And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If any one worships the beast and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

10: he also shall drink the wine of God's wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

11: And the smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."

And finally

19: And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who sits upon the horse and against his army.

20: And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur.

21: And the rest were slain by the sword of him who sits upon the horse, the sword that issues from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Babylon will fall, and

1: Then I saw another portent in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.

2: And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.

A sea of glass mingled with fire?

You mean like this?



Sweeeeet.

So it is written.

So shall it be done.