"One Mark to Rule Them All"

Nowadays I see many people of all stripes sporting tattoos—on their ankles, on their backs, arms, legs, faces, and I'm certain, on unmentionable parts. I see tattoos on young goths and punks, and I see them on apparently average young mothers pushing baby carriages. Even middle-aged men and women are beginning to visit the parlors—now becoming ubiquitous due to demand—to permanently scar their bodies with oftentimes strange and occultish symbols.

From whence originates this relatively recent rise in the popularity of bizarre images indelibly etched on such a diverse cross section of the American populace? Has the Maori culture of New Zealand somehow infiltrated our liberal and susceptible pop culture? Are we witnessing an inexplicable resurgence of centuries-old western seafaring traditions?

No, I propose that the rise in popularity of tattoos does not lie with man and his mores. Certain groups of people are, in fact, being attracted to the notion and acceptance of tattoos in preparation for the ultimate reception of the "mark." We are witnessing the willing softening of resistance to a special tattoo that will someday be mandated by governing authorities and uncritically accepted en masse by the fallen, most of whom will already bear the semblance of such a mark on their bodies.

I'm not suggesting that every mommy in the grocery store wearing a colorful butterfly on her ankle will someday be unyieldingly coerced into receiving the mark. Nevertheless, if you're already accustomed to permanently wearing strange symbols on your body, what's one more?

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:11-12