GERALD A. HONIGMAN: THE MARK OF THE BEAST….666…..
Several years ago, I had contemplated this issue earlier. The subject is even more timely today, however, and so begs yet another look… With the increasing prospect of Israel–called by Iran’s leaders “a one bomb nation” (do I need to explain?)–acting before Iran successfully buries all of its main nuclear targets deep underground, a mere trip to the gas station these days tells how this story impacts the rest of us. The markets are jittery–to say the least.
As Israel anguishes over what to do regarding two very lousy choices involving Iran–which openly calls for its destruction and supplies various proxies surrounding it with massive supplies of weaponry and support to help bring this about (not to mention what the mullahs possess themselves), some disturbing numbers once again come to mind.
Over the decades, I’ve heard Christian friends’ speak of the New Testament’s Mark of the Beast, and it’s usually associated with the number 666. Listening to various news commentators, I couldn’t help but think of yet another timely twist to this.
Fox News is usually the television station most balanced when it comes to dealings with Israel and the Middle East. So, if Jews can’t get a fair hearing there, they’re in real trouble. Whether the particular program is the business news or O’Reilly, for the past several years now, the audience has heard one variation or another of the following…
Israel better not dare to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities because, if it does, Americans will be pointing the finger at it for six dollar a gallon gasoline.
Eric Bolling’s comments especially come to mind. I recall him, quite a while back, basically instructing Israel to allow itself to become the necessary sacrificial lamb for the sake of cheaper oil.
Hey, Eric–meet Neville Chamberlain, 1938 Czechoslovakia, Munich, and peace for our time…
6…6…6
Now, let’s see…
It took 6 million dead Jews–1/3 of all in existence at the time–to serve as a down payment for at least some of the world’s fleeting sympathy for the rebirth of the Jewish State.
Of Israel’s roughly seven million people, about 6 million are Jews.
And, while Ahmadinejad and the Iranian mullahs openly call for Israel’s obliteration, some of Israel’s best friends in the media–those associated with Fox News–warn that it must be willing to take a nuclear first hit so that gasoline won’t hit 6 dollars a gallon. Once again, please recall what being a “one bomb nation” is all about…
Now, for personal reasons , I too don’t want to see the price of gasoline to go that high either, but let’s all understand that an Israel–which requires a magnifying glass to find it on a world globe–that takes a nuclear first strike virtually ceases to exist.
What would America–3,000 miles wide, with two huge oceans buffering it, and a population over three hundred million–do with an enemy which promises to end its existence and has already supported deadly proxies which have taken steps in that direction? America–or any other nation–for that matter ? Do President Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis ring a bell?
Since we’re engaged in this brief essay in a sort of Bible study, I also seem to recall another story from my Christian friends’ New Testament…one about Jesus being sold out, by an alleged friend, for thirty shekels of silver.
But, along with that story, I have to also share a Jewish interpretation of some other famous quotes that Christians like to use from the Jews’ own Hebrew Bible, aka the ‘Old Testament.’
For Jews, you see, the Jewish People itself–the whole House of Israel–may be seen as the Suffering Servant of G_d. Indeed, scholars have pointed out that the Hebrew writings in Isaiah 53 and such may indeed be describing either an individual or a group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaiah_53).
And so, given all of the above, just how high does the price of gasoline have to go before that fleeting support for the Jew of the Nations vanishes completely?
Do we really need a second Holocaust Remembrance Day so folks can momentarily show sympathy for more dead Jews in the wake of Israel’s destruction–only later to then have others claim that it too never happened?
Here’s an idea…
How about some empathy for live Jews instead of sympathy for dead ones?
Unfortunately, it seems that that’s too much to ask for.
So, let’s see, just how many shekels does it take to equal 6 dollars these days?
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