"...and no person shall be able to buy or sell without the 'mark'...on the palm of their hands or on their foreheads..."
Ideal fodder for the fanatical or obsessive religious zealots. All convinced that it pertains to the "end times" (or something along that line).
Actually the "beast" is a metaphor for civilization and, in particular, the resulting societies that develop from it as well as the social, political, and commercial patterns associated with them.
All societies are "beasts" in that they are man-made Frankensteins, and, although not actually alive, they still have namesakes, personalities and personnas as if they were living entities, with a will of their own---"fed" and kept "alive" by their images and namesakes and cultural "personalities" as well as whatever reputations they attain via their social and political climates.
A society is LIKE a living entity in spite of being an artificial creation concocted by the minds of men.
A society "lives" as a result of the imagerisms it projects about itself.
And the part about "buy-and-sell"?
...the "mark" referred to is that of whatever designated mode-of-exchange is authorized by whatever government one happens to be living in/under.
For the fur traders it was the quality of the animal skins they were exchanging for essentials and amusements. The buyer would hold the fur in "the palm of his hand" and peruse it with his eyes---which are located in "one's forehead" to determine if what was being offered to them was worthy of exchange.
Later it was gold and silver coins ingrained with the image of either a picture of the leader (or one of the former leaders) of said country, or of some emblem pertaining to said culture...later this would also include paper currency as well.
These days we're REALLY into "the mark of the Beast(s)" with our photo I.D.s, credit cards, debit cards, and also the miniature electronic gadgets like cellphones, I-phones, digital cameras and such.
So this "mark of the Beast" is actually a metaphor for the necessity of any highly-sophisticated society to have a regimented system of commercial, political, and social exchange---often using symbols and designated mass-produced objects as authorized means of either identification of persons or institutions, or as legally recognized objects of commercial exchange which in turn can also be exchnged by those who recieve them for whatever they so need or desire.
So-o-o-o...those who are concerned with "the coming of the 'Beast'"---they're already 6000-plus years too late.
"Beasts" have been coming and going repeatedly for centuries and millenniums now---ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, Crete, the ancient Incas, etc.
...and all---as well as the current-day "Beasts"---continue to have the same "mark" as well to this day.
It's probably just a matter of time before we'll finally do away with all the photo I.D.s, the currency, the credit cards, the social security cards and all other forms of documentations
...and transact everything via fingerprint identification or handprints---or even lasers which "read" the individual patterns of the eyes of any one given person.
With such a system things like identity theft would be rendered impossible and security clearances would be rendered unnecessary as all information on any one person would be brought up via this bio-pattern recognition.
Bank transactions would be a "no-brainer". You alone would be the only person who could access your own account(s) (with the exception of any officially authorized "second party" also given access to your account(s)) without the fear of having any of your financial assets being "hi-jacked" by unauthorized parties impersonating you---since only YOUR biological patterns would be recognized as those matching your assigned number(s).
Of course this would include all of your official records on all things---including medical records, police records (yes, those too), your work history and income history. The whole works.
"Wouldn't that be a violation of individual privacy?" you ask.
Probably...but aren't we forced to divulge a lot of our "personal" information already ANYWAY?
...like when we're looking for employment or a place to live, be it another apartment or taking out a home loan.
...or if we need certain social services: unemployment, disability insurance, or any of the other public assistance services.
...or looking to finance a business or take out a bank loan.
Do those people or do they not ask for proof of not only your personal identity, but also of your current situations---financial, domestic, social, professional/occupational...as well as proof of your credibility?
Doesn't it involve submitting a lot of documents pertaining to your personal life.
Not to mention authorizing any of these people to "check on you"---including checking for police records, verifying your educational status, your professional standing, your financial assets. Validating whatever you present to them as being legitimate.
Of course you and I are entitled to refuse to submit this information to these people on the grounds of "protecting our privacy" and of our right to guard ourselves against any kind of self-incrimination
...and of course they, in turn, are entitled to refuse to allow us to do business with their establishments, firms, and services.
The way I look at it, since you and I are ALREADY sort of "extorted" into revealing critical aspects of the social, business, academic, and legal parts of our lives anyway they might as well initiate some kind of foolproof system of interpersonal interactive functionalitism to make doing what we're already doing anyway that much easier.
Am I "the Devil's advocate" for offering my ideas on how to better enhance "the Beast" or what?
Ideal fodder for the fanatical or obsessive religious zealots. All convinced that it pertains to the "end times" (or something along that line).
Actually the "beast" is a metaphor for civilization and, in particular, the resulting societies that develop from it as well as the social, political, and commercial patterns associated with them.
All societies are "beasts" in that they are man-made Frankensteins, and, although not actually alive, they still have namesakes, personalities and personnas as if they were living entities, with a will of their own---"fed" and kept "alive" by their images and namesakes and cultural "personalities" as well as whatever reputations they attain via their social and political climates.
A society is LIKE a living entity in spite of being an artificial creation concocted by the minds of men.
A society "lives" as a result of the imagerisms it projects about itself.
And the part about "buy-and-sell"?
...the "mark" referred to is that of whatever designated mode-of-exchange is authorized by whatever government one happens to be living in/under.
For the fur traders it was the quality of the animal skins they were exchanging for essentials and amusements. The buyer would hold the fur in "the palm of his hand" and peruse it with his eyes---which are located in "one's forehead" to determine if what was being offered to them was worthy of exchange.
Later it was gold and silver coins ingrained with the image of either a picture of the leader (or one of the former leaders) of said country, or of some emblem pertaining to said culture...later this would also include paper currency as well.
These days we're REALLY into "the mark of the Beast(s)" with our photo I.D.s, credit cards, debit cards, and also the miniature electronic gadgets like cellphones, I-phones, digital cameras and such.
So this "mark of the Beast" is actually a metaphor for the necessity of any highly-sophisticated society to have a regimented system of commercial, political, and social exchange---often using symbols and designated mass-produced objects as authorized means of either identification of persons or institutions, or as legally recognized objects of commercial exchange which in turn can also be exchnged by those who recieve them for whatever they so need or desire.
So-o-o-o...those who are concerned with "the coming of the 'Beast'"---they're already 6000-plus years too late.
"Beasts" have been coming and going repeatedly for centuries and millenniums now---ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, Crete, the ancient Incas, etc.
...and all---as well as the current-day "Beasts"---continue to have the same "mark" as well to this day.
It's probably just a matter of time before we'll finally do away with all the photo I.D.s, the currency, the credit cards, the social security cards and all other forms of documentations
...and transact everything via fingerprint identification or handprints---or even lasers which "read" the individual patterns of the eyes of any one given person.
With such a system things like identity theft would be rendered impossible and security clearances would be rendered unnecessary as all information on any one person would be brought up via this bio-pattern recognition.
Bank transactions would be a "no-brainer". You alone would be the only person who could access your own account(s) (with the exception of any officially authorized "second party" also given access to your account(s)) without the fear of having any of your financial assets being "hi-jacked" by unauthorized parties impersonating you---since only YOUR biological patterns would be recognized as those matching your assigned number(s).
Of course this would include all of your official records on all things---including medical records, police records (yes, those too), your work history and income history. The whole works.
"Wouldn't that be a violation of individual privacy?" you ask.
Probably...but aren't we forced to divulge a lot of our "personal" information already ANYWAY?
...like when we're looking for employment or a place to live, be it another apartment or taking out a home loan.
...or if we need certain social services: unemployment, disability insurance, or any of the other public assistance services.
...or looking to finance a business or take out a bank loan.
Do those people or do they not ask for proof of not only your personal identity, but also of your current situations---financial, domestic, social, professional/occupational...as well as proof of your credibility?
Doesn't it involve submitting a lot of documents pertaining to your personal life.
Not to mention authorizing any of these people to "check on you"---including checking for police records, verifying your educational status, your professional standing, your financial assets. Validating whatever you present to them as being legitimate.
Of course you and I are entitled to refuse to submit this information to these people on the grounds of "protecting our privacy" and of our right to guard ourselves against any kind of self-incrimination
...and of course they, in turn, are entitled to refuse to allow us to do business with their establishments, firms, and services.
The way I look at it, since you and I are ALREADY sort of "extorted" into revealing critical aspects of the social, business, academic, and legal parts of our lives anyway they might as well initiate some kind of foolproof system of interpersonal interactive functionalitism to make doing what we're already doing anyway that much easier.
Am I "the Devil's advocate" for offering my ideas on how to better enhance "the Beast" or what?
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