HAYDEN, Idaho --
A man who believed he bore the "mark of the beast" amputated one of
his hands, put it in a microwave and summoned authorities, Kootenai
County sheriff's deputies say.
The man, in his mid-20s, was calm when deputies arrived at his home in
this north Idaho town Saturday afternoon, and neither he nor the
severed hand bore any noticeable tattoo or other mark, sheriff's Capt.
Ben Wolfinger.
The man, whose name was withheld, was in protective custody in the
mental health unit of Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d'Alene, where
he and the hand were taken by ambulance. Hospital spokeswoman Lisa
Johnson would not say whether an attempt was made to reattach the
hand, citing patient confidentiality restrictions.
"He put a tourniquet on his arm before, so he didn't bleed to death,"
Wolfinger said. " That kind of mental illness is just sad."
The New Testament Book of Revelation contains a passage in which an
angel is quoted as saying, according to the New International Version
of the Bible, "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives
his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink the wine
of God's fury."