Mark of the Beast

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 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." (Revelation 13:16-18)

Revelation chapter 13 opens with John seeing a beast rising out of the sea having seven heads, ten horns and ten crowns. The beast, as John describes it, is like a leopard, has the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion, and the dragon gave him his power. The beast rises out of the sea, representing the rise of the kingdom, the ten heads and crown representing the ten kingdoms of which the Antichrist rules.

The beast as a whole represents the Antichrist. The people of the earth, as John saw it, worshipped the dragon which gave power to the beast, and they worshipped the beast. "And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given to him to continue 42 months (3 1/2 years). And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven." (Revelation 13:5-6). Daniel says in his prophecy, "The king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished." (Daniel 11:36). Then John saw a second beast, this one rising from the earth, having two horns like a lamb and speaking as a dragon. This beast has all of the power of the first beast, and causes the people of the earth to worship the first beast.

This beast from the earth does great wonders, even making fire come down from heaven, and deceives all the people because of the miracles which he has power to do. He commands the people of the earth to make an image of the beast, then he gives life to the image so that it can speak. He then commands everyone to worship the image, and kills those who refuse. He also causes everyone, rich and poor, small and great, to receive a mark in their foreheads or in their right hand without which they cannot buy nor sell. This mark is the number of a man, six hundred threescore and six, or 666. This completes the unholy trinity, the dragon (Satan), the first beast (Antichrist), and the second beast (the False Prophet; see Revelation 16:13-14).

It is interesting to read of certain technological developments in existence today. In California, a company has experimented with new technology to help identify and locate pets. They have developed a microchip which contains information about the pet such as the address and phone number of its owner, and its vaccination records. The little chip, which can be read by a scanner similar to those found in grocery and retail stores, is placed just under the skin of the animal. This chip was implanted in sled dogs at the 2002 Iditarod Race in Alaska.

Applied Digital Solutions, a Florida firm, made headlines in 2002 when an entire family chose to have its new VeriChip implanted under the skin of their arms. This VeriChip, a microchip about the size of a grain of rice, can be encrypted with personal and medical information which in turn can be read by a scanner. Combine this with global positioning technology (GPS) and the pieces are in place for a system with which not only can you not buy nor sell, but your every move can also be monitored. Watch this page for future updates and prophecy-related news.

With increasing dependence on credit cards, and now debit cards which deduct funds directly from your bank account, all the technological elements are in place for a system wherein no one can buy or sell without a mark. Perhaps a microchip containing all vital information about a person will be placed in their forehead or hand. This chip, read by a scanner, will enable someone to buy or sell goods, and will sound an alarm when someone enters a store who does not have the chip under their skin. It will no doubt be a terrible time for people who are saved during the Tribulation Period, as now they have to go into hiding because of their faith. They cannot buy nor sell, nor can they worship openly. Many will become martyrs for Christ, for refusing to take the mark will cause certain death.

More about the VeriChip

Could this be the Mark of the Beast, or its forerunner? Continuing our discussion regarding the VeriChip, below is an interesting and rather disturbing excerpt from an article which appeared in the Boston Daily Globe in May 2003:

"The painless procedure barely lasted 15 minutes. In his South Florida office, Dr. Harvey Kleiner applied a local anesthetic above the tricep of my right arm, then he inserted a thick needle deep under the skin. 'First we locate a prime spot,' he said. 'The next thing is to release the button that triggers the injection mechanism, and that's it, the cargo's been delivered.' The 'cargo' was a half-inch-long microchip inside a glass and silicone cylinder that carries my permanent identification number. For an instant, I remembered the famous scene in the movie 'Fantastic Voyage' in which a miniaturized Raquel Welch and her companions are inserted, submarine and all, into the vein of a patient. In my case, the tiny chip inside me can transmit personal information to anyone with a special handheld scanner. Theoretically, this VeriChip will allow doctors to call up my medical records even if I'm too badly hurt to answer questions. It is also supposed to allow me to get money from an automatic teller machine by flashing my arm instead of punching in my PIN number. Or reassure airport security that I am a journalist, not a terrorist. And, though the VeriChip strikes critics as Orwellian, its makers think the surgically implanted IDs could be the Social Security numbers of the future in a nervous world.

"'I believe the day will come when most of us will have something similar to the VeriChip under our skin,' said Scott Silverman, president of Florida-based Applied Digital Solutions. 'People will regard that its benefits -- in terms of financial, security, and health care -- far outweigh the possibility of loss of privacy.'... But critics see surveillance technology like the VeriChip as a growing threat, giving potentially dangerous new power to businesses and government alike. In a report issued in January by the American Civil Liberties Union, Jay Stanley and Barry Steinhardt warned that an explosion of technology has already created a 'surveillance monster.'

"'Scarcely a month goes by in which we don't read about some new high-tech way to invade people's privacy, from face recognition to implantable microchips, data mining, DNA chips, and even `brain wave fingerprinting,' ' they wrote. 'The fact is there are no longer any technical barriers to the Big Brother regime portrayed by George Orwell [in his novel '1984'].'... For ADS's Silverman, both the VeriChip and its future GPS-based version are a matter of individual choice. 'No one is forcing you to have a VeriChip. If you want a chip in your right arm you are going to know it is there because you will see it injected. When you look at the events of 9/11 and the way people measure their own personal security today versus the way they did a few years ago, there is a much higher concern to make sure that family members are safe and sound, and some people now put that above privacy rights.'"

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