US Congress Erupts In Debate Over Biblical Prophecy, The Mark Of The Beast, Echo New Book By Patrick Heron

Added: Mar 11th, 2007 12:11 PM

Biblical prophecy finds way to legislators in battle over ID plan

By Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Writer | March 11, 2007

LITTLE ROCK --As state legislators line up against the U.S.
government's attempt to standardize driver's licenses nationwide,
some believe it is a beastly plot that will draw the world closer
to the apocalypse.

Their inspiration: a magazine dedicated to biblical prophecy. Their
fear: national ID numbers given to residents are the mark of the
beast, the 666 from the Book of Revelation.

"The ramifications are horrendous," said Sen. Ruth Whitaker, whose
resolution opposing the Real ID Act of 2005 has passed the Arkansas
Senate. "If there is anything akin to Nazi Germany, it is this act."

Congress hopes to reduce identity theft and boost national security
by requiring people to use Real IDs to board airplanes, enter federal
buildings and open some bank accounts. Those who dabble in biblical
prophecy say the new government-issued numbers mark the beginning of
the end.

"People are very concerned if the federal government gives you a
number, it will be the mark of the beast," said Missouri Rep. Jim
Guest, the sponsor of a resolution similar to Whitaker's. "There
are everyday people who get the connection to 666."

Legislators in Georgia, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont,
Washington state and Wyoming have also balked at Real ID and a bill
filed in Congress by Rep. Thomas Allen, D-Maine, would repeal it.
Many complain that states will have to pay billions of dollars to
put the system in place by the end of 2009, as mandated by Congress.

Resolutions in Arkansas, Georgia, Maine and Missouri were offered
after legislators read materials, spoke to or had indirect contact
with Endtime Ministries of Dallas, whose magazine, radio show and
outreach examines current events through the prism of Christian
apocalypse.

Recent popular topics in Endtime magazine have also included
speculation that Pope Benedict XVI is the false prophet from
Revelation and that the United Nations' agenda includes establishing
a global army, parliament, court and tax structure.

"If we reach a point where every person is given a number without
which they cannot buy or sell, and if your number is in a national
database so that the government can track everywhere you go and
everything you do, the word is control, and control and freedom
are opposites," said Irwin Baxter Jr., who runs Endtime.

Any effort to repeal the Real ID Act is not to stall the eventual end
of the world but to ensure the country stands against the Antichrist,
Baxter said.

"Daniel 11:40-45 reveals that there will be nations opposing the
Antichrist during the Great Tribulation," according to an Endtime
magazine article cited by Whitaker, who said she obtained it from
Maine Senate Democratic Majority Leader Elizabeth Mitchell.

"We want the United States, Australia, and as many other nations as
possible to be on the side that will fight Satan's plan to number the
human race," says the article. It calls the Real ID Act "the death of
freedom."

[...]

Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

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