Six Hundred and Sixty-six Trombones in the Hit Parade

Not for nothing, but maybe, just maybe, it would be wiser that we all should depend on our own brains for intelligence instead of artificial ones. If you would listen to the recent reporting, you just might agree. I mean, how intelligent could those new apps be when Mankind is their Creator? Surely they cannot be smarter than their human masters! They are merely glorified search engines with the most dangerous but revealing function of regurgitating what is found without filters, across the entire internet, without deliberation and advisement, without any discernment or application of common sense. There certainly cannot be any sort of moral imperative or philosophical structure exuding from any algorithm! Ever heard the maxim, “Garbage in; garbage out”? So, should we give ourselves over to these Apps? Not me, thanks anyways!!

I suppose we humans by our nature tend toward voracious appetites but lack the discipline and the inertia to do the work to gather nutritious food for our brains… The horrific thing is we are multiplying a hundred times that harmful dynamic in our children. What does their future look like when they are being trained at AI High?

Look, if you might consider what I say, I had a revelation about 45 years ago, suggesting the concept of the Biblical warning of the conquering “Beast,” represented by the number 666. Because Mankind was created on the 6th day, six represents Man. Since its formulation is the combined, 6–6–6, it becomes a trinity. As the Beast is also called the Antichrist, who do think the Beast might be trying to replace? Maybe the triune God of the Bible? That is how I see it.

Beyond that, I came to realize the significance of each triune number of the Beast. First, I had learned that animals mentioned in the Bible often represent different nations. It’s just like the Bald Eagle representing the U.S.; or the Bear, Russia; the Beaver, Canada; the Kangaroo, Australia; the Bengal Tiger, India; or the Giant Panda, China; the Beast represents some combination of Mankind’s inventions of governments.

My understanding became each “6” is something that replaces God revealed in the Bible. One six represents Technology. (Technology will save us.) Another six represents Wealth. (Our wealth will sustain us.) Another six represents Prestige. (We are in charge of our own Destiny.)

Now the “animals” following and supporting the Beast are already hard at work all around the world, becoming more and more powerful, more influential, and more controlling of everyone’s daily lives.

Can you convince yourself and tell me it ain’t so?

Already I have mentioned the dangers of AI. How about the International Monetary Fund, the IMF? Or even the apparently benevolent World Bank? Their benevolence comes with terms and conditions, which may not be so generous. (The all too familiar “Our way or the highway.” adage comes to mind.) Lastly, the primacy and prestigiousness of various nations has eventually initiated World Wars over who is the “dominant male” destined to rule the world. (By the way, dominant females can be just as greedy.) Notwithstanding or resisting, we follow and submit as if we are mindless zombies…

I don’t remember it being so prevalent as it is today. Maybe I was too busy screwing up my own life and not thinking about Nations screwing things up even more… Maybe we should not be listening to the “crazies,” the conspiracy theorists. Maybe we should be reading the Bible and seeking to hide ourselves in “the cleft of the rock.” Duck and cover. Always.

Anyway, that is how I see the Biblical revelation. Generally speaking, the Beast is reinforcing the horrible idea of replacing God- who should be the primary focus of our lives- with this manmade god.

Replacing God’s righteousness with our own concepts of good and evil will eventually fail us grievously. In this, we may be too smart for our own good!

Now, I have no doubt that some person will come along representing all of the underlying dynamics of 666, and I could point out individuals who personify most of the needed characteristics. Yet, I maintain that the Beast is not sp much an individual but a system of governance ruling over people. So quit trying to guess “who” it is, but see”it” for what “it” is. “It” is a magnified invention, a product of our own nature, a construct which has proven itself over and over, throughout history, to be a fault-filled and troublesome living catastrophe.

Unfortunately, many people are more than willing to submit to the Beast than to God. Humans can relish the material things that the world offers and the paternalistic safety it promises, and even the shared prestige of belonging to the “winning side.”

But let me make you aware that the Bible says: The Beast’s time will be cut short.

God may not offer material wealth but only sustenance in the here and now. We should be content with that. Yet, God also gave to us Jesus who provides everyone eternal wealth. That eternal wealth is filled with such attributes as love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness. Beyond that, there is the adoption into a righteous family- a family enduring, not only here and now, but enduring into the hereafter… Accept no substitutes.