The Mark of the Beast

Fix these words of mine
in your hearts and minds;
tie them as symbols
on your hands and
bind them on your foreheads.

[Deut 11:18]

And the Jews literally made small black leather boxes containing scraps of the Torah and bind them with black leather straps on their arms and their foreheads.

I was most surprised when I first saw religious Jews in Israel wearing them. For it was obvious, at least until then, that the injunction was a figurative one, and the true injunction really is to "fix" God's word in one's mind and heart. Now that is the thing to be taken literally!

I also scanned the Internet and realised there are lots of discussion on whether the bindings are literal or not. Of course I think these entirely misses the point: for even if one is to literally bind the "word" - ironically in symbolic scraps - on one's hands and head, they are - and again directly from the word itself, in the same sentence - just symbolic. So the real question is symbolic of what? And that was not discussed.

And this binding was first mentioned, in Exodus, at the giving of the Ten Commandments itself:

... Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of the LORD is to be on your lips.

[Ex 13:7-11]

So it is the eating of unleavened bread, and this observance is like a sign and reminder.

In other words even as a tattoo or a scar on the hands and heads serves as a constant, indelible, visible, and permanent reminder to yourselves and others, so shall the eating of unleavened bread serves to constantly remind yourselves and others as to who you are: 'I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'

And later in the same chapter of Exodus:

This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons. And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.

[Ex 13:15-16]

So here it is the sacrifice of the first born that is to be the same as a sign on one's hands and foreheads, and again to remind of the same thing: God leading us out from Egypt. And yes we too are called out from Egypt, even Christ was called out of Egypt:

... out of Egypt I called my son.

[Ho 11:1]

And we too ought to wear on our hands and our foreheads the sign that the Lord have led us out from Egypt, which is this world. For we are pilgrims: we are in this world but not of this world.

And by the time of the second saying in Deuteronomy, it is the entire infusion of the word in our lives: in our hearts and souls, in our waking and lying down, in our thoughts, our words and actions, in what we do or don't, in what we say or don't, that will perform the same as any marks or engravings on our hands and foreheads.

So are we wearing the mark of Christ on our hands and foreheads? Can it be seen that we are not of this world, that we have come out of Egypt? Is this mark permanently seared and engraved in blood on living flesh in our lives? Do we have the mark of Christ in us? Are we God's letters written in bleeding living hearts, unhidden, clearly seen and legible to all and any who sees and knows us?

And conversely can we also recognised the marks of the Beast? Are they not as clearly visible and constant as those of Christ too? And even as the word of God fixed in our hearts is our visible mark, what is that in the hearts of those without Christ?

He (the Lamb with the voice of the Dragon) also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 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. 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.

[Rev 13: 16-18]

Immediately it is obvious that this mark has something to do with buying and selling. And for anyone to buy and sell you need Money.

So is Money then the mark of the Beast?

(And it is not really a strange thing that Money is a Mark of the Beast, for it has been rumoured for a long time that the Singapore one dollar coin was designed to meet fengshui requirements on the directions of none other than the then Prime Minister himself.)

And Money is not just a particular currency but the very notion and system that is Money itself, ie a worthless but trusted token representing value, which works only because everyone have faith in it, and which facilitates exchanges and trades - as per the Third Horseman - and all the economies and businesses derived from such a token.

Money is a perverse demonstration of faith. It cannot come into being without faith.

I accept your money, in exchange for my goods and services, because I have faith that someone will accept the same - and I can buy what I need - and via this recursive faith, Money comes into being. And Money is real, very real, and even now more powerful than any armies in the world.

(Just imagine then, conversely, the power of true faith.)

And even Mr George Bush the president of the most powerful country today on earth, succumbed to its demands, and its fathomless appetite, and no one can afford to maintain his principles, eg free market, and insist on being Republican or Democrat, but all have to be so called bi-partisan. And the Americans will abandon Taiwan without a second thought if Chinese money is needed, if it has not already happened. (And this event in early Oct 08 could just be a cover up.) And the British have courted Arab money.

So is not Money the real power in the world today? And does not the Market have a life of its own that no one, not even George Soros or Warren Buffet, or even any government can do a thing about, but rather all are its slaves and compel to serve it; and no one can walk away from it.

And are not almost everyone in the world so infused with Money in their thoughts, in their work, and in their attitudes and acts, such as to whom they befriend or not? I have known people who hated each other, but for the sake of business and some gains, engaged in dialogue and relationships, just for the mere potential of profits. If that is not prostitution then there is no need for that word.

And so whereas the Word in our hearts manifest itself outwardly even as clearly as any mark on our hands and foreheads, it is the outward manifestations of the world's hearts and minds in their constant and relentless pursuit of money which are the signs on their hands and foreheads, ie the mark of the Beast.

And whereas we know from the Word of God, the world can only know from Numbers, for the word in the world is thoroughly corrupted even from the time of Babel. And the Number of Man is anything that is derived from measurements, mathematics and symbolic thoughts, like logic. And all knowledge and wisdom of man can only be attained through numbers. And Economics is one such number.

The Temptations of Christ

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:

" 'He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

[Mat 4:1-11]

Now whether this narrative is literal or not have been debated for a long time.

We can however be certain that it happened, spiritually, at the least. For Satan is a spiritual being and conversation between him and Jesus and the things seen must have occurred in the spiritual realms. Perhaps it is not unlike a dream or a hallucination.

But more importantly is the fact that Jesus was tempted:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

[Heb 4:15]

Jesus was tempted in every way.

And the tempter is Satan.

The questions then are:

Are these three temptations all the every ways of temptations, ie in these temptation are all the temptations that the son of man in the flesh will be tempted? How did the writer of Hebrews knew that Jesus was tempted in every way?

Apart from these three temptations was Jesus not tempted in other times, times that were never recorded, eg when Jesus was a boy or a young man.

On the second question, it is important to note that Jesus' sinlessness in the flesh is important—in fact essential—to fulfill the Law of Moses. For Jesus, the Son of Man, amongst other things, had to demonstrate that the Law can be fulfilled in the flesh, and also to be the unblemished Passover lamb, and the scapegoat of the Yom Kippur, to be a worthy sacrifice to take away all sins.

Of course we do not have records of every moment of Jesus' life and thoughts—we do not and cannot know every thing that Jesus saw, thought, said, or acted—to know that he did not sin for any single moment. However it was clear to the Jews themselves that God was with Jesus—for the miracles that he did and for his teachings—and that to the Jews was confirmation enough that a person is sinless and righteous, and that the Law is fulfilled in Jesus.

Further the death of Jesus on the cross, and prior to that, God forsaking Jesus, was a sign that Jesus actually died in sin—if Jesus had remained sinless, he would have hung undying on the cross, a most horrible and grotesque thing that will be.

But thank God, Jesus died.

And as he was without sin before being hung on the cross, we can be assured then that he had sin put on him. We may not know if it was the sin of the world for all peoples for all times, but it sufficed us to know that Jesus died a sinner.

And thus the Gentiles have hope too.

For the Gentiles now know that a man died and was resurrected. And so all who will die, can now believe in the God of Jesus to save them, even as Jesus demonstrated that the dead shall come to life again.

Now were the temptations tempting Jesus all and every temptations that Man can be tempted with?

First a temptation is a temptation only if one can be tempted by it. A cigarette will not be a temptation to one who does not smoke, but possibly an irresistible one to one trying to quit smoking.

We can feel and understand how Jesus being in the flesh can be tempted by food after forty days and nights of fasting. And we can also understand that Jesus was certainly tempted in all things in the flesh, all things carnal, just as we are, ie not just food, but shelter, rest, companionship, sex, etc etc. If we read the above passage allegorically, then this first temptation is a representation of one kind of temptation that befalls Man, namely that due to being in the flesh.

The real temptation here is to forgo feeding the spirit, with God's word—for we are ultimately spiritual beings too—and to seek instead to feed the demands of one's flesh. The latter is not a sin per se but mostly it is pursued at the expense or in lieu of the former. That was the sin, and not the abuse God's word to turn stone to bread nor the tending of the flesh's needs.

It is a little harder to feel the temptations in Jesus' second temptation: to throw himself off the temple and to have angels rescue him, to test God, or in principle to abuse or misuse the promises of God for other than what is intended, and in this instance, for trivial vainglorious ends.

However this may not be as uncommon or unknown to us as we think.

For many do search through the Bible and to pick out verses and promises and make claims to it, namely the attitude of "Name it! Claim it!" But we see here that just because something is promised—"It is written"—does not mean it is to be claimed in just any way. For "it is also written" elsewhere, sometimes, a higher and more general principle or intent, which may condition a specific isolated promise.

But the real temptation here is the temptation of Sonship, of being the Son of God, even as the first was due to being in the flesh, the Son of Man.

For Satan prefaced both the first and second temptation with "If you are the Son of God ..." and then went on to tempt Jesus. Whereas the first is for a necessity—something that even a wicked Father will forgive if asking was indeed a sin—the second was to abuse God's promises merely to glorify oneself as the Son of God.

So the second kind of temptation only applies to those who are Sons of God, who can make the claim that God is their Father, and who knows God hears them when they cry. Balaam's sin is perhaps from falling to this temptation, for Balaam was a prophet of God, whom God hears, and who Balaam blesses, God bless, and who Balaam curses, God curse.

But it's still a little hard to feel why the second temptation is as tempting as the the first. Why should Jesus be tempted by such a silly thing at all, something easily dismissed as a non smoker, a cigarette?

For us there is perhaps the temptation to show—or showoff—to others that God is with us, that God hears us, and we demonstrate this by flaunting God's blessings upon us, such as wealth and prosperity, or spiritual gifts, and we ask to such effects. And so we fall to this second kind of temptation.

And then there is the third kind of temptation.

Here Satan promised Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in exchange for Jesus' worship of him.

It is even harder to understanding how this can be tempting to Jesus.

Perhaps to Man to be offered even just a kingdom, can be very tempting indeed, especially when exchanged for merely the worship of Satan. And indeed many people in the world have sold themselves to the Devil, or will eagerly do so at any chance, for far less than that.

But for Jesus, firstly all the kingdoms of the world are his to begin with, and nothing for Satan to offer at all, and secondly it is destined to be Jesus' shortly too. There is only thing: Jesus have to suffer and die on the cross, to receive his inheritance and fulfill his destiny.

Indeed the pain and agony in the flesh of that death, and even more so the separation from the Father, albeit temporarily, is a daunting challenge, even for Jesus—if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me [Mat 26:39]—and we can only imagined how Jesus was tempted to bow down and worship Satan to avoid the cup God has destined him.

I call this third kind of temptation, the temptation of destiny.

And as an example, we see Abraham falling to this temptation when Sara gave him Hagar to create that promised offspring. This is the temptation of Man trying to fulfill his promised destiny—"it is written"—as he sees and knows how, and in his time as he understands time.

We are tempted to fulfill ourselves, especially more so when somehow we know it is destined. But our destiny do not justify what and how and when we go about doing it, sorely tempted though we may be—but rather we are to be circumcised, in spirit and in heart, and await in patience, longsuffering and faith, to let God fulfill us for ourselves, and in God's way and God's time.

From Hagar we have Ishmael. And then God gave Abraham the covenant of the circumcision. And Issac is the son of the circumcision—the circumcision being a sign, a reminder, when engaged in the sexual procreation act, that it is God who will fulfill for us what he has promised for us. Today we have the continuing conflict between the sons of Ishmael and the sons of Issac, and is arguably the root cause of many conflicts in the world today.

And Eve too fell to this temptation when Satan told her, "You will not surely die."

Do we, in our ordinary lives, get tempted by temptations of this kind too?

I think we do, but we may not be always aware of them, as it is so justifiable, and natural, and right to ask for and even go grab at any opportunity to do and to make happen that which we know, deep in our spirit, is ours and which we feel we are destined for. But we may be tempted and have fallen even as Abraham fell without knowing.

And so we see in the Temptations of Christ—allegorical, literal or yet something else—three types or kinds of temptations that will befall the Son of Man and the Son of God.

Are these all and every temptations?

They are certainly wide and encompassing, especially when the specific temptations are seen as representatives of kinds or types of temptations. And it is possible to fit any and all temptations we are tempted with—as we are aware of them as such—into one of these three categories. And thus we can be assured that Jesus can fully feel with and for us, being Son of Man, and Son of God.

The Beasts of Revelation (Part II)

An alternative interpretation of the seven heads on the Beast that came from the sea is that the seventh head is the Ottoman Empire, which cemented their status as the then world's sole superpower with their capture of Constantinople in 1453.

And then there is yet another alternative.

In one of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, he dreamt of a giant statue with a head of gold, chest of silver, thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of a mixture of clay and iron. Its meaning was revealed to Daniel, namely that these are world powers to come, starting with the head of gold which was Nebuchadnezzar himself.

Now from hindsight of history we know that the silver chest were the Persions, the bronze thighs was Alexander the Great, and the cruel legs of iron, the Romans, which are all heads on the Beast.

And thus the feet of mix of clay and iron is also of the Beast, the seventh head.

In other words the seventh head need not be a single power but a mix of nations, fragmented, disunited, some weak and some strong, but together they rule and run world affairs.

This state of nations was certainly the case from the onset of Byzantine empire, where countless states were formed, destroyed, reformed, conquered, reconquered, sometimes friends, sometimes enemies, etc etc. And the Ottoman empire reigned in such a time, and it was simply a pre-eminent power amongst the myraid of powers, both weak and strong.

In this interpretation, we are then already in the days of the Beast himself, the eighth power.

And I will conjecture to say that this power revealed itself with the start of naval explorations by the European nations of Portugal, Spain, the Dutch and then the English, which eventually led to international maritime trade, colonisation, the rise of the maritime superpowers, namely Great Britain and the USA, and then globalisation and capitalism in this world today.

China then too could have become a maritime power, but it curtailed itself.

And the Beast came from the sea.

And then there are the ten horns on the Beast who will rule for one hour with the Beast. We are then in this one hour of these horns' reign. Who are they?

The Beasts of Revelation (Part I)

The Beast that Comes from the Sea

And I saw a beast coming out of the sea.

He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.

The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion.

The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.

The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.

Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.

He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them.

And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.

All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.

[Rev 13:1-8]

So it has been revealed that there are eight powers that ruled the earth, as there are seven heads on the Beast that came from the sea in Revelations, and the Beast itself, and "explained" in Rev 17, and in Daniel, of which "five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come".

And the power that was at that time, was Rome.

Working backwards in time, we identified the other five fallen powers to be Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and the Greeks under Alexander the Great.

Some would not count Egypt, but split the Persians into two: Medes and Persia. And then there are others who count the Roman kings instead, but I think a biblically more consistent interpretation is to match them to world powers as was explained to Daniel in his visions.

(As an aside, people in a time always try to fit all that is known into what is revealed. This may not be wise. From comparison of history and revelation, we can know what we do not know, and then we know what to see as the future unfolds, and thus our are eyes are open to see.)

And then one of these heads appear to have a fatal wound - wounded by the sword [Rev 13] - but is yet alive. Which head can this be? What mortal wound is this?

And now almost two thousand years have passed, and we are still not sure who is the seventh head, and also who is the Beast which is the eight power.

It is arguable that the USA is the seventh head (see also here), especially since the USSR imploded leaving behind a unipolar world, a situation similar to the times during the reign of the other six heads on the Beast.

(See here for another interpretation of the seventh head.)

And this seventh head has remain a little while only.

If the current financial crisis is the death knell of the USA, then will we be seeing the eight power, the Beast itself - who once was, is not, but will be - now being revealed? And is this crisis the mortal wound that John saw on one of the Beast's head?

Also that the seven world powers are heads on this beast seems to suggest that this beast is the true power empowering all of them, and that the eight power, the Beast itself, the sum of the heads and more, will be differently manifested.

It may not be a nation or any kind of superpower, even as Capitalism is a real, global and pervasive power but yet does not reside in or emanate from a person or a nation. And certainly there are no "tribe, people, language and nation" untouched by Capitalism today.

Or perhaps the Beast is something yet to be seen, something unexperienced or ever imagined in the world today, which will arise from the aftermath of this present crisis.

And there may be echoes and glimpse of such a thing already. For one of the consequences of the Great Depression of 1929, was WWII, and for that we have Hitler.

And then it is seems obvious to think that China will be the next superpower after the USA, thus the Beast itself - and its colour is red too, and its national symbol is the Dragon - but it may fall too with the USA in this present crisis.

Thus, at this moment, we can only be ever so more vigilant, and watch, and to seek out the things not seen.

And then there are the ten horns on this beast. It is not clear if these horns are distributed on the heads or are they extra protrusions elsewhere on the beast's body. It is is easier to envisage the latter. What is revealed is:

The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.

[Rev 17:12-14]

And Daniel also saw that three of these horns will fall and in its place a little horn will arise.

While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.

[Dan 7:8]

From what I can see in my temporal horizon, I cannot yet glimpse who or what these ten horns might be, and even less who the three to fall can be. And also Revelation seems to suggest that these ten horns will reign in the time of the Beast itself, who will reign only "forty two months".

Going back to Hitler, as example of things to come, who persecute the Jews then, this time these powers will persecute the "chosen and faithful followers". And these are not necessarily the Christian churches as we know of these churches in the world today.

In fact the churches could be in cahoot with these very powers, namely the other Beast, the Lamb who spoke with a voice of a dragon. For not all the chosen and faithful followers are necessarily "churched". They are many who wander the earth as pilgrims, longing for a home that is not the earth.

So this is the time to watch.

And very trying times are ahead:

If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed.

[Rev 13:10]

Even so as Habakkuk sat on the tower, and watched, and affirmed in faith:

Though the fig tree does not bud,
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails,
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen,
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Watching and Waiting

We see but not know.

We cannot know even if revealed to us.

For we see, not clearly, but veiled.

We can only watch and wait, until the veil is remove.

What is revealed is like a template, with which you use to filter your various perspectives, hypotheses, understanding and others' explanations and interpretations, of reality, even as it happens, and you know only when all fit the template, perfectly.

Then the time has come.

Until then we wait, and watch.

The Fourth Horseman

When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

[Rev 6:7-8]

Paradoxically, what seemingly is most straightforward of horsemen is actually the most mystifying and perplexing.

What can be more straightforward an interpretation than what is written, namely that a quarter of the earth shall die from the sword - which is often taken as symbolic of wars and conflict - famine, plaque and wild beast of the earth.

But a little reflection reveals something amissed.

For surely everyone dies, and not just a quarter of the earth. For God have made it explicit that man shall not live more than a hundred and twenty years:

Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."

[Gen 6:3]

God proclaimed this in the times of Noah, before the Flood, and Noah himself lived up to 350 years and much later Abraham lived to 157 years. Moses however died exactly at 120 years. So it seems that there is a gradual decline in man's lifespan from that proclaimation, and only effected from the time of Moses, and now any centenarian is something to be amazed about.

Perhaps the death by the Fourth Horseman, named Death, and his partner, Hades, is not the same kind of death as the death that all mortals will die from. What death is this then? is it more accursed to die from this death?

Further what is the significance of dying from the sword, famine, plaque and wild beasts' attacks as compared to that from earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, accidents - industrial, domestic, etc - ordinary sicknesses and diseases, congential hereditary defects, or just "old" age?

Then it does not seem to say anything new nor does it give any new insight, unlike the other three horsemen.

Whatever your interpretation of the preceeding horsemen, the fourth is just an echo of them all, a kind of summary or conclusion to that which preceeded, namely that death is the end of this all.

So is it just a summary?

It can simply means that Death is the outcome to whatever Man does, in all his endeavours. But my interpretation framework or perspective thus far is that these horsemen reveals the essence of what mankind and earthly life is all about, or the fundamental characteristics which shaped and defined what humankind is, for all times from the beginning to the end. This fourth horseman is - apparently - not saying anything of this sort.

And so I rather consistently think it is saying something that I cannot discern at this moment in time.

There is however a new thing, not suggested in the preceeding horsemen, namely that mankind being killed by wild beasts of the earth.

This is actually strange thing: for animals do not naturally attack humans, for they are given a spirit to fear man, as God have ordained so:

The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands.

[Gen 9:2]

This God ordained after the Flood even as he sets a bow in the sky.

But of course people have been killed by animals from a long time ago, certainly in biblical times: it is entirely believable to Jacob that Joseph was attacked and killed by a wild beast. And that only means that the fourth horseman have been in the world again from a long time ago too, as with the other three.

Nonetheless deaths from wild beasts of the earth is a rare thing, and probably getting rarer.

For example in the US around the period of year 2000, 177 annual fatalities are due to animals, which includes such as riding accidents, as compared to over 2 million total fatalities (of which 20% are tabacco related), ie in the order of 0.01%.

So deaths from animal attacks are very very insignificant, at least in terms of their numbers, and will perhaps get even less significant as the wilderness shrinks and mankind have less opportunity meeting wild animals. Also species are going extinct even by the day.

So what is the significance about death from wild beasts' attack? What is the big deal about Man being killed by wild beasts of the earth?

Perhaps there is yet-to-happen scenario where wild animals, or insects, lose the spirit of the fear of Man and go on a rampage and deaths from animals' attack becomes a significant proportion of deaths. That sounds scary indeed, but this is purely speculative.

But we need not speculate, for we can already know for certain that God's ordination is somehow breached.

And for this to happen either wild beasts, in specific individuals or in their entirety, had a new spirit that no longer fear Man, or conversely that Man, again individually or in the entire mankind, is of a new spirit, for which these wild animals do not fear or which do not come under God's original protective ordination. And the change of spirit either in the animals or in Man himself is in the authority given to this horseman, Death, and his partner Hades.

And so the Fourth Horseman may be saying that life's nature is fundamentally changed on this earth, even at the spiritual level.

Then there is yet another strange thing, namely death from death itself. The original Greek that is translated plaque is actually the exact same word as the name of the Fourth Horseman, translated Death. It is hard to make sense of death by death itself.

But we can be sure of one thing, namely this death is by the joint authority of the Fourth horsemen and Hades: "They were given power ...". Thus the authority is not solely the Devil's, but rather given jointly to both Man and the Devil. In other words the Devil cannot work on his own. He needs Man, even as Man needs the Devil, to do their deeds.

So whereas Man was created in the likeness of God to "rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground" [Gen 1:26], now Man works with Hades, or the Devil, as a partner to fundamentally change the spiritual nature of things on earth.

And Death is an unnatural thing, for Man was created for Eternity, even as the Devil knew from the Beginning.

Finally we can perhaps read in the current environmental impact and irreversible changes caused by Man's activities, as a reflection of the impact and changes that have been occuring in the spiritual nature of all things, by Man working with his partner, Hades.

Knowledge: Public and Private

If what I know, you too can corroborate, and need not depend on you simply and blindly trusting what I say, then it is public knowledge.

If what I know, you cannot corroborate, and you have to, ultimately, take my word for it, then it is private knowledge.

Public knowledge can be shared, and is common to all mankind.

Private knowledge is just between you and God.

I will not believe anyone whose only argument is to believe and trust him - he could well be true, but I would not know that either - and neither would I just ask you just to trust and believe me when I proffer a truth.

You may say I am missing something if I do not merely believe in a truth, but so be it, for it was not given to me to know in the first place.

The Third Horseman

When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!"

[Rev 6:5-6]

The obvious picture here is of trade and exchange, of wages and money, and of value and prices; and thus in essence, commerce and, more generally, economics. And trade, exchange and barter are perhaps as old as mankind itself.

Economics today is justified today as the efficient distribution of goods and services. And in capitalist systems, which is apparently the only system in the world today - or perhaps from a long time ago, even when the Communists were around - this is achieved through the market, ie Adam Smith's invisible hand, which is ultimately founded on and created by every person pursuing his greed to the utmost.

This, to me, is the most direct and intrinsic interpretation from these few words. Many have interpreted this horseman to mean famine, which I think is farfetched and unnecessary. Perhaps it conjured up images of people coming to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain during that famine or maybe of Elisha's prophecy in 2 Kings 7:1 where a price is put on the flour and barley. Or maybe it is an attempt to create a consistent interpretation following the wars in the 2nd horseman.

But I think such associations are all unnecessary, especially as a straightforward interpretation is available.

And today, right at this moment in time, it is also obvious that this third horse is very strong and alive and in the world today. (Or is it ?)

OK, so what is being revealed?

Perhaps Revelation not so much reveals what is to come in the future, for which Prophecy may be more accurate, but rather functions as insights, revealing the true nature of things, and giving meaning and comprehension to the myraid events in all the world for all times, past, present and future.

So the first horseman reveals that man has usurp God's dominion of the earth, and striving to achieve this to the ends and depths of the earth, and beyond, and exercising and enforcing this dominion through kingship, politics, governments, etc which is ultimately based on the force of arms and the threat of death directly or otherwise. (The effectiveness of the law of the land, and even of God's, specifically the Torah, is ultimately based on this too.)

And this fear of death, the reason for the lack of peace, is what the second horseman reveals. It is effective, and it is the basis for all relationship between Man ever since the beginning. For where we ought to act in love, now it is the compulsion of others to act for you, and, in turn, being compelled to act for others, by threats to their or your peace respectively.

And the third horseman continues in this relationship, but with the introduction of a new thing, namely money and trade.

So where once I am fed when I am hungry, and given drink when thirsty, clothed when naked, and reciprocally, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, and giving shelter and warmth to the pilgrim and poor, now we trade our strength, wits, and for some even heart and soul for our food and drink, and sometimes wine, through the medium of money.

And where the reason for relationship - any relationship - ought to be love, now it is trade or exchange; and with the accompanying attitude of "What do I get in return" or "What's in it for me?" in any transaction and relationship.

(And we relate to God with the same attitude too.)

And whereas love is the currency in God's economy, it is money in the world's.

The one who can pay gets to eat.

(And why are prices of food rising? And who suffers most for it? And Jesus said there will always be the poor in the world.)

You get medical treatment not because you need it but because you can pay for it.

And so we have cosmetic plastic surgery, something entirely unnecessary for health but it is a nevertheless a thriving industry, for wealthy, healthy people needs to be beautiful too.

And where it could be give and take - take what you need, give what you have (even if you need it later) - it is now all buy and sell, in kind or in cash; and even the cash - or the worthless tokens of worth itself - and other vacuous things, like options and indices, are themselves bought and sold.

And with money, where once you give me wheat and wine for you fear me, now I fear no one if I have money. And conversely unless you have money you are nothing - even if you can beat to death anyone with your bare hands - and you will be the scum of the earth.

Money in a perverse way is a great demonstration of the collective power of faith: everyone acting on their belief that others too will have the same faith in this same token as a promise of value, gives that same token that very promised value, and even more, when it has none intrinsically on its own.

Thus money becomes a monster of its own, created by the overwhelming faith of Man, and it becomes god. And arguably even death is less feared than money, or the lack of it.

Money in fact is the Great Prostitute that sits on the beast with seven heads and ten horns. The latter being the economic power in the world, which is presently the G8 or G10; and these powers worship money, their true god.

And indeed all the world, even the so called church included, have prostituted themselves to the god of Money, eg have you not heard pastorpreneurship?

More on Money later on, but for now these have been prophesised:

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

[1 Tim 6:10]

The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

[Rev 17:16]

What will the scenario be when the world monetary system collapses? And when the world economies turn on Money and hate it - to "eat her flesh and burn her up with fire"

Or perhaps, and I think more likely, Money will take on a monstrous life of its own - sitting on and and dominating the seven-headed, ten-horned beast - beyond the control and influence of anyone.

We may have had a glimpse and a hint of these scenarioes in the Great Depression in 1929, and in the Asian currency meltdown in 1997.

It is fearfully amazing to even think what else may come.

Even so, Lord Jesus, Come! Maranatha! Amen!

(And now the Fourth Horseman ... )

The More We Know the Less We Know

If for everything new we know, we have only two more questions, without answers, then the more we know, the more we don't know. So with increasing knowledge, we only become increasingly aware of our fundamental ignorance.

Humans and Animals

Saw a documentary on TV today. It was about scientists studying chimpanzees.

In an experiment, a tray of food was put beside the cage of a chimp, accessible to it through the bars. But a rope was attached to that tray whose end was in another cage where there was another chimp.

What happened next was this other chimp pulled on the rope and brought the tray of food to himself, and making it inaccessible to the first chimp. The deprived chimp then became enraged, or seemingly so, and started screaming and acting violent in his cage.

One interpretation is of course that the chimp is enraged because the other chimp "stole" his food, and that chimps have a sense of justice and fair play too.

Then the experiment was repeated, but this time it was the human experimenter that moved the tray to the other cage. The chimp expressed no outrage and remain entirely indifferent to what the human experimenter did.

There is a possible parallel in such a behaviour in humans too.

When a city gets destroyed by a natural disaster, like an earthquake or a storm, humans accept it without complain or rage or sense of injustice. But when a single building is destroyed by some other human beings, a country goes to war with another nation.

Animals' perceptions of us humans, and the gulf and gap between us, is possibly a glimpse of the separation and distance between us and God. And animals are created for the sake of mankind, that we somehow can have a glimpse of God's perspective of his creation, and what it is like to relate to someone "lower" than us.

And also if we can have compassion for animals, whom we did not create, how much more is God's compassion for us, whom he has created above the animals.

The Second Horseman

When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.

[Rev 6:3-4]

The key words to me are, "take peace from the earth", and "make men slay each other".

Then the immediate question is: what is peace?

Now it must be obvious that we do not know this peace as it was taken away from earth, even from long ago, certainly as early as when Cain murdered his brother Abel. On the other hand, we also know that Jesus before he died and resurrected said:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

[John 14:27]

Again what is this peace that Jesus gives?

To me the peace is this, namely the assurance that God is God, and even sin and death cannot destroy us, even as Jesus demonstrated God's victory over sin and death in his resurrection. Until Jesus there was no certainty that death is not the end, and thus the angst in Ecclesiastes.

But with the certainty and thus our assurance we have no or need not have any more fear of death and it ought not be something that man can exploit to "blackmail" us, ie to induce, compel or coerce us to do things solely to avoid the fear and threat of death.

And that is precisely what the red horseman did: to put upon man himself to use this fear - to make man slay one another - to further his goal of dominance on earth, ie as was introduced by the first horseman.

And this is what we see in the world from the very beginning. And this fear is the very reason armies are effective instruments in this world.

It is also this fear of death that makes us prostitute ourselves, as in compromising our being and selves, for example for the sake of earning money to continue our physical livelihood. And this prostitution is what the third horseman is about.

The First Horseman

I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

[Rev 6:1-2]

In various commentaries the rider on the white horse is interpreted as Christ himself. Yet in others he is the anti-Christ.

To me the rider is simple Man himself, but with a crown, representing dominion and authority. And where once the earth was part of the kingdom of God, it is now the kingdom of Man.

And Man is bent on bringing all of earth under his dominion by means of the force of arms as depicted in the bow in his hands.

And so Man usurps the authority of God on earth.

We see the rider on the white horse with a crown and a bow in all the powers, empires, kingdoms and governments in all the countries in the world from the past till today.

And where once people depends on God, now they depend on themselves. Where once people had faith, now they rely on their authority, wit, power, etc, to pursue their own goals, whatever these may be, even if they be meaningless and futile.

And Man is indeed powerful, especially when they are of one heart and one mind, and is capable of many feats and achievements, from the Tower of Babel in the past to the space station today and more beyond.

But Man is not God.

And so this is the first attribute that is painted in the first horseman, namely that the world is faithless, believing in themselves and setting themselves to be God, ie idolatry.

(Next: The Second Horseman)

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Part I)

A necessary element to understand Revelation is having a correct concept of time.

Revelation, the title, connotes an insight into the future. This is indeed true, but it need not suggest that the book was written in any chronological manner.

That one apparent event is mentioned after another, does not mean that event occurs after the latter, if such an event even occurred.

For just as we list the attributes of a thing - in the limitation of the human language - one attribute after another, we are obviously not saying that one attribute is before or after another in time. All attributes exist simultaneously at one time and for all times.

Another example is music.

For even as music is played one note at a time, the essence of the music, as in the drama and the emotions that are heard and felt, are not in time itself; and neither do we hear one note at a time. But we hear music.

So then time can merely be a vehicle for the communication of something eternal and timeless.

And also perhaps the appearance of the horsemen at each opening of the seals need not be chronological events, occurring one after another, but rather are like attributes of a thing, or the notes of a music, as the means to paint a picture.

And so what is this picture painted by the horsemen? What is the essential whole that our imaginations are to see, even as our ears hear music and not individual notes?

That will be answered next.

What We Know

We know that we know some things.

We also know that we don't know other things.

And we also know that we know only a part - a very small part - of all that is known to humankind, in all the world, for all times.

And we may not know - but we can bet - that there is no one who knows all that is known, even if all known things are written in wikipedia.

But we may know something that the whole wide world don't.

Yes, the probability is very very small, ie very improbable, but it is still very possible, ie not impossible, as that is one way how discoveries and inventions had happened, and will continue to happen.

More fundamentally there are things knowable and things unknowable.

We know these too, and we also know that of things knowable, all may not be known now, even if we know fundamentally that they are knowable.

An example of a thing that is a known unknowable, is the exact position and exact momentum of a particle at any point in time, namely the Heisenberg Principle. This unknowability is a fundamental one in that it is beyond our reasoning and perception, for all efforts, for all time. And of course many people don't know this uncertainty principle, not that it matters to them anyway.

Another known unknowable thing is some aspects of history for which no trace whatsoever survived over time. What is knowable is only whatever perceptible to humans.

And we also know the future is unknowable.

Of the things known to be knowable - or so we think - an example could be all the proteins that the human chromosomes can generate.

Of course there are always things that is unknowable now if it is knowable or not, for example, the question, are we alone in the Universe.

And last, and most intriguingly, is the possibility that a person can know a thing that is unknowable.

How can it be so?

Things knowable are those accessible to our knowledge by means of reason and perception. But certainly there are things inaccessible by mere reason and perception. And so are there other ways of knowing apart from these?

I think there are.

PS: We can summarise all these into a cube with each axis having two values, namely, (Know, Don't Know), (Known, Unknown), and (Knowable, Unknowable).