The Book of Revelations is a record of vision(s) that John received when exiled to the Roman prison camp on the island of Patmos. Every Bible scholar has read and reread that Book, and many have tried to place the events it records into time. As mentioned above, Newton thought he had a grasp of the Book.
Revelations 13;16-18 tells us “He (the second beast) compelled everyone-small and great, rich and poor, slave and citizen-to be branded on the right hand or on the forehead, and made it illegal for anyone to buy or sell anything unless he had been branded with the name of the beast or with the number of its name. There is need for shrewdness here; if anyone is clever enough, he may interpret the number of the beast; it is the number of a man, the number 666.” (some translate it to be ‘616’)
Some Hindus place marks on their foreheads, and many who prostrate themselves facing east have a mark on their foreheads from rubbing against their prayer rugs several times a day, but I know of none who have forced markings on the right hand, which may indicate that this event is still to take place. But, this “branding” might be something completely different. One must wonder if the “branding” on the right hand is some sort of secret handshake.
Musicians, for example, tend to have few vertical wrinkles on their foreheads. If they have forehead-wrinkles, they’re generally horizontal. Those who think a lot tend to have deeper vertical lines, usually extending upwards from the nose, between the eyes. Some have vertical wrinkles that extend halfway up the forehead.
If an evil leader wanted his people to be more easily controlled, he would do everything possible, starting with pre-school, to keep them from thinking. So, Catholic Fundamentalists think that the “branding” may be taking place now, resulting in the wrinkle-free foreheads of those who never learn to concentrate enough on anything to leave any kind of a mark.
It is true that no one who’s remarkably intelligent or innovative can get a job in most public agencies. That may explain the “and made it illegal for anyone to buy or sell anything (in public or quasi-public organizations) unless he had been branded (with the smooth, wrinkle-free forehead of the non-thinker).”
If that is a reasonable supposition, then we may now be living in “the days of the beast”.
