Originally published in Charisma News
A high school athlete refused to run in a regional cross country meet after she was issued a bib with the numbers 666.
Codie Thacker, a junior at Whitley County High School in Williamsburg, Ky., says seeing the bib with the mark of the beast made her sick.
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Though she had trained since June for the race, which would have qualified her to compete for the state championship if she won, she pulled out after officials refused to change the number.
Cross country coach Gina Croley immediately knew the number would be a problem when she saw it had been assigned to Thacker.
“I saw it and I was like, ‘Whoa,’” Croley told Lex18.com. “I don’t think she will wear that number.”
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Croley and Thacker asked three different officials for a new number and were denied each time.
“I was upset, because I’d trained all season for it. But in another sense I stood up for my beliefs and I stood up for God,” the student said, according to the Daily Mail.
She told Lex18.com, “I didn’t want to risk my relationship with God and try to take that number.”
Kentucky High School Athletic Association spokesman Joe Angolia says officials did not know the requested change was for religious reasons.
“We’ve made adjustments to uniform codes and things like that in the past when it’s known that religious reasons are in play,” he says in the Daily Mail.
Croley supports Thacker’s decision not to run.
“I wouldn’t have been more proud of her if she won the entire meet. She stood on her principles,” Croley
I think that that is a wonderful testimony of faith! Pity more “Christians” don’t stand up for their beliefs like this girl did.
She did not act in true, informed faith, but in superstition. It is about Christ in me and not about evading the Biblical number 666.
Hanno, do you class the Book of Revelation as superstition then?
666 is associated with the end time mark of the beast. No true Christian would wish to bear on her/his chest the mark that is commonly associated with the antichrist! No one at a race can see “Christ in me” but they can surely see 666!
Anybody who reckons one should Biblically decline the number 666 whenever it is incidentally allocated to one, lacks knowledge and insight. Go to http://www.bibleguidance.co.za
“What is the mark of the beast (666)?”
Answer: The main passage in the Bible that mentions the “mark of the beast” is Revelation 13:15-18. Other references can be found in Revelation 14:9, 11, 15:2, 16:2, 19:20, and 20:4. This mark acts as a seal for the followers of Antichrist and the false prophet (the spokesperson for the Antichrist). The false prophet (the second beast) is the one who causes people to take this mark. The mark is literally placed in the hand or forehead and is not simply a card someone carries.
The recent breakthroughs in medical implant chip and RFID technologies have increased interest in the mark of the beast spoken of in Revelation chapter 13. It is possible that the technology we are seeing today represents the beginning stages of what may eventually be used as the mark of the beast. It is important to realize that a medical implant chip is not the mark of the beast. The mark of the beast will be something given only to those who worship the Antichrist. Having a medical or financial microchip inserted into your right hand or forehead is not the mark of the beast. The mark of the beast will be an end-times identification required by the Antichrist in order to buy or sell, and it will be given only to those who worship the Antichrist.
Many good expositors of Revelation differ widely as to the exact nature of the mark of the beast. Besides the implanted chip view, other speculations include an ID card, a microchip, a barcode that is tattooed into the skin, or simply a mark that identifies someone as being faithful to the Antichrist’s kingdom. This last view requires the least speculation, since it does not add any more information to what the Bible gives us. In other words, any of these things are possible, but at the same time they are all speculations. We should not spend a lot of time speculating on the precise details.
The meaning of 666 is a mystery as well. Some have speculated that there was a connection to June 6, 2006—06/06/06. However, in Revelation chapter 13, the number 666 identifies a person, not a date. Revelation 13:18 tells us, “This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man’s number. His number is 666.” Somehow, the number 666 will identify the Antichrist. For centuries Bible interpreters have been trying to identify certain individuals with 666. Nothing is conclusive. That is why Revelation 13:18 says the number requires wisdom. When the Antichrist is revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), it will be clear who he is and how the number 666 identifies him.
Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/mark-beast.html#ixzz2k4JgPkpK
Yes standing for what you believe and no -specific understanding of the context.
There are 66 books in the Bible, In revelation it says that 6 is a number of man. Therefore as revelation says if you add or take away from the Bible, all the diseases therein shall be applicable to you. 66 + 6 = 666.
Not quite correct, Vincent: 66 + 6 = 72, while 666 is specifically identified as the mark of the beast in the book of Revelation. It does not say that 6 – “the number of man” but that 666 is associated with a specific man:
Rev_13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Well done, Codie! Ours is a better race to run, anyway.
You are correct.
Christians, stick to your convictions! Well done Codie!
Well done Codie!
Ha ha ha, what a joke – article and comments. Surely one cannot take all of this seriously ?
As a result of all these ridiculous opinions, eschatology is definitely the way for Gateway News to go if it wants to gain readership and lose credibility.
There are now excellent books available for on Biblical symbolism without having to resort back to the Christian myths of the 1970’s and the 1980’s. For goodness sake, we were emphatically told back then that the computer was the beast and the barcode was it’s mark. If we believed that it would mean that everyone of us are now cursed.
For example, how on earth do so called Bible ‘experts’ start Rev 13 with symbolism (the dragon coming out of the sea) and end the chapter literally (a literal 666 mark)? Has it ever occurred to them that the 666 mark could be symbolic of their humanistic works (right hand) and humanistic thinking (forehead) ?
Yes this a joke, a result of the unsanctified imaginations of so called Bible ‘teachers’ who made a lot of money with their garbled publications. Pity that we still have pastors who believe this muck because it so clearly does not tally with the heart of the gospel at all.