the NachtKabarett

All Writing & Content © Nick Kushner Unless Noted Otherwise

The Dajjal is what is known as the Islamic equivalent of the Antichrist who will appear before the Day of Judgment and mentioned numerous times in various hadith, or teaching of Mohammed. Like Satan he is a great deceiver who will teach that Heaven is Hell and that Hell is Heaven and have the ability to perform miracles which will deceive the world as such. And also like Satan he esteems Man over God. He is said to be physically misshapen, have the word 'kafir' (Arabic for liar or blasphemer) branded on his forehead and will be blind in one eye. In a hadith written by Hadhrat Huzaifah it is said that the Dajjal will be blind in his left eye; left being the path which the damned travel away from God, and the eye which Manson has perpetually blinded.

As a counterpart to this, throughout the Mechanical Animals era Manson donned red contact lenses as parallel to Christ's "eyes of fire" within the Book of Revelation.

Collaboration between Nick Kushner & Brad Jaeger

Throughout the Holy Wood era, which represented Manson's retaliation toward the world from being mercilessly scapegoated after Columbine, the imagery he continually likened himself to being The Third & Final Beast, signing his name often as MM3. Nostradamus predicted there to be three great Antichrists, the first two being Napoleon and Hitler, with the Third to reveal himself circa to our present day world with the title also associated with the Biblical imagery of the Great Beast.

One of the more esoteric elements contained in Antichrist Svperstar is the nature and identity of 'little horn.'. The origins of little horn, like much of the Triptych, is rooted in the prophetic visions of Daniel in the book of Daniel & St. John in the final book of the Bible, Revelation. Unlike the other sixty-five books, Revelation is the most unique bible, in the sense that it is written primarily of apocalyptic events which have not yet come to pass. Because of this, it also happens to the most misunderstood, and often misinterpreted book of the bible.

Little horn is first described in the book of Daniel; Daniel, a captive of the Babylonian army, had been assigned to interpret the dreams of King Nebuchadnezzar. It is not until the later half of the book of Daniel that his own visions are made mention of.

The LION

represented the empire of Babylon (power)

The BEAR

was representative of the empire of Persia (stamina)

The LEOPARD

was the creature representing Greece's empire (speed)

The TERRIBLE BEAST

represented the empire of Rome (destructive ability)

Manson would later graphically invoke the fourth beast of Daniel's vision, and the first beast of Revelation (though in actuality the same representation, which will be explained shortly) in Holy Wood, at the beginning of the Disposable Teens video.

Manson's emergence from the water in the opening of the video is the first moving image we see of Manson in the Holy Wood era; rising from the waters to return and claim retribution against those after being laid blame upon and left to die by the world. Manson's portrayal in Disposable Teens is of the fourth beast of Daniel's vision and the first beast of Revelation (sans animal characteristics - note the iron teeth, and the expression of bloodlust present on the face of the beast) rising to inhuman heights to trample those underfoot. The long hair is symbolic for power, as outlined in the story of Samson and Delilah, whose unnatural physical strength was rooted in the length and fullness of his hair.

Now, the first beast of Revelation is actually an amalgamation of the first three beasts of Daniel's vision, with six additional heads:

The second beast of Revelation is not present in Daniel's visions, and surfaces from the earth, as described by the Apostle St. John:

'The Third and Final Beast' of Revelation that Manson associated with in Holy Wood, The Red Dragon (which Satan took the guise of), is the only beast that shares similar characteristics to both Daniel's visions, and St. John's visions. In Daniel's visions, this is the fourth beast:

Now compare it with the vision of St. John:

However, the fact that the first beast of Revelation had crowns on its horns, while Daniel's horned beast lacked crowns gave proof that these had to be two separate seven headed beasts. All major religious authorities concur that even though Daniel neglected mentioning the seven heads (or that they simply weren't present in his vision), that it is indeed the Red Dragon, and not the first beast, thus reaffirming that both the first beast that Daniel envisions and the Red Dragon which St. John envisions are both seven headed beasts. Little horn would go on to rise from the Sea Beast, and not the Red Dragon as further proof.

As Daniel contemplated the significance of the horns, his vision continued:

Manson describes this birth of the little horn in the title track bearing the same name, "Out of the bottomless pit comes the little horn, little horn is born", which mimics a segment shortly after the arrival of little horn in Revelation, "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition..." Rev 17:8

While numerous debates over the identity of little horn have been publicized, for our sake, we will be working with the context in which Manson uses little horn, and that is the Antichrist, which also happens to be the most accepted belief. As the little horn uprooted other horns of the beast from the sea, and the book of Revelation details the Antichrist's exploits apart from the Red Dragon, we must now realize that little horn is no longer present with the first beast. The little horn is part of, and an extension of the Antichrist - who has been dubbed "the false idol", as it demanded to be worshiped by the people it struck terror into.

Specifically, the little horn served a number of purposes. Firstly, it would "speak words against the most high". It also served to contest the saints, and to do them battle. It was also used to pester and tire those who worshiped God, and not the first beast.

The second beast aided little horn. Indeed, while the first beast was called "the false idol", the second beast was named "the false prophet". The second beast would often "exercise all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast... " (Rev 13:12)

Now, with our knowledge of all three beasts, it's time to explain the trinity they form. Just as The Holy Trinity is present, Revelation suggests an Unholy Trinity. This is substantial, as it fits the theme of Marilyn Manson's ever present dichotomy in his work. Just as God and Jesus are one and the same ("I and my father are one", John 10:30), so too are the Satan, and the Antichrist. And just as the Holy Spirit is a force wielded by God, The False Prophet is a force wielded by Satan..

• The beast from the Sea: also known as the first beast of Revelation, the False Idol, the Antichrist, and Little Horn
• The Beast from the Earth: also known as the second beast of Revelation, and The False Prophet
• The Red Dragon: also known as Satan, Lucifer, the coming Prince. Two unofficial names were also given to the Red Dragon on behalf of Manson: The Third and Final Beast and The Hydra.

The Hydra is a name given to the Red Dragon (Satan) by Manson during Antichrist Superstar. "I am the hydra" is a boastful claim which can be connected to the trials of Heracles. Both the Lemean Hydra (the one that Heracles combated), and the Red Dragon, share a number of similarities. Firstly, they are both described as heaving seven heads. Secondly, both Hydra references tell of the ability to regenerate any wounds, "Cut the head off/grows back hard", which parallels both Heracles battle when the Hydra regained its lobbed off head, and the Hydra (Satan) in Revelation:

In fact, Manson invokes the hydra in Cryptorchid, by offering the following brief shot of a water hydra.

Nearly as important as the momentary invocation of the Hydra is where it falls in the context of the song itself. The lyrics which fall immediately after the shot of The Hydra are well known:

Thus cryptorchid serves as a point of transformation. As Little Horn was the birth of the Antichrist, Cryptorchid is when he first receives his power, and gains his wings (remember, though the Antichrist doesn't have wings, he is one and the same as Satan).

Proof of this transformation is the end of cryptorchidism, a condition where the testes fail to drop into the scrotum, metaphorical for being a boy, and not a man (unevolved and untransformed, if you will). We know cryptorchidism ends due to this three tenths of a second flash in Cryptorchid which clearly shows a penis, and two white blotches (which are the testicles) in their proper place. Since this has ended, the transformation can now be completed.

Further proof of this transformation can be found with the brief few seconds where a shock podium adorned with wings is present above the worm, who is disemboweling himself (and symbolically ridding himself of his present shell).

We are also given a look into the future, as we see the shoreline of where John the Apostle sat when he had a vision of the first beast rising from the water

Finally, we know that the coming transformation will be one of unspoken evil, as cryptorchid also has a segment with a slithering snake.

And in addition to that, our character is already marked for a life of misery

Forehead marked by the beast, and his right hand additionally tarnished with markings. One becomes identified by the beast by being an undevout follower of Jesus Christ, or a heretic. Typically one would be marked on either the hand or the forehead, not both, so this creates a resounding emphasis on the worm's wickedness.

All of these elements, everything within this section, though some are more obscure and esoteric it has little relevance how well-known of overt they are. Because the Bible, Christianity and religion have such an overpowering influence over society and the world today, evoking imagery from it, whether or not it's recognized as such by the layman, these elements simply look and therefore are significant just by implication and association. Whether or not a fan, or if the inadvertent viewer, recognizes the metal teeth as being evocative of one of the Beasts of Daniel and Revelation, because of the Bible's overweening influence over society today the imagery resonates as something "evil" and powerful just by the inherent stranglehold Christianity has on the popular psyche. And with that said and all combined truly in a sense makes Manson the Antichrist and the Beast even on a subconscious level to those ignorant or unaware of these connotations.