Mark of the Beast

The "Mark of the Beast" 666

 

"He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. 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" (Rev. 13:16-18).

There is uncertainty about who this applies to. Some Bible scholars feel it applies to just the people of Israel and other feel to the whole modern world. Assume it applies to everyone in the world. What would make people want to receive this mark? Who are these people? Who would enforce it today? Would it be politically correct? Who would oppose it? Here are some of my ideas on the subject..
 

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First, we have the technology.....
For the first time in history we have computers. For the first time in history creating a world wide database of everyone and where they live is a piece of cake. Allot of our personal information is already in many databases which already talk to each other. Just ask any banker or the IRS. We now have "chips" the size of a grain of rice that may be quickly implanted below the skin in seconds which could have your unique id. It is a simple matter to waive your hand over a scanner to register you. Very similar to the system Mobile uses at its gas pumps.

Second, why would we want to....
Security, national security. The terrorist threat is not going to get better but worst. Homeland security is going to be harder to obtain. The authorities know now that they have no fool prove way to quickly identify persons coming into the country. Just ask those poor people on the French and Britain flights around the holidays who were delayed for hours because a person on the flight had a name similar to a suspect terrorist. I think it won't be just airports in the future where we will have to worry about security. It could be sports arenas, businesses, vacation spots, etc.

But security is only the first part. The second part is identity thief. How many people each year get ripped off by someone stealing their identity. Be it social security numbers, credit card numbers or bank numbers, millions of dollars are lost each year. And with the Internet the rate is increasing dramatically. Right now it is very easy for a crook to steal your identity and really mess up your life.

Enter your own personal, non-transferable, non-forgeible, secure personal identification "mark"....
What better way to sell the idea of a person mark (be it a literal mark or more likely an implanted device) than to stress security for the US and your own protection against crime. After all, what is a criminal going to do, cut off your hand and bring it to a store and run up a shopping spree at Best Buy? It has all the ear marks of being politically correct. After all, who would not want to protect the US from all the would be terrorist out there? Having your own mark shows you are a true American will to go the extra mile and helping to identify the bad guys. And who wouldn't want to protect their savings and credit by ensuring no one steals from them?

Third, the stage is set...
Once everyone has a mark and is identifiable by a computer in a split second, it is a simple matter to tie it in with your banking, job, shopping, etc. The thought of a cash less society has been the dream of some for a long time. The economic pressures on almost all businesses is great. All companies are always trying to cut corners, increase productivity, reduce costs. Not having to cut checks but transfer money directly into your account saves money. Reducing credit card fraud and bank swindlers would save large amounts of money. Stores would need less people because they won't need to handle cash. The customer could check themselves out, like what Home Depot is doing now. Plus with out cash, it would be allot harder to bankroll terrorist secretly. With electronic transactions there is a paper trail. And not mention what it would do to all the counterfeiters out there not using money anymore.

All these reasons could give government, any government, enough incentive to go with a mark and the American public would agree to do it out of a sense of patriotism and pride.

Who would oppose it?
Christians who believe the passages in Revelation that say you will be eternally condemned if you take the mark. The Bible is clear on that. These Christians will not be able to go to the store or mall to buy anything. They won't be able to get a job. They will be refused medical care, to drive a car, order a pizza, anything. Without the mark which tells the system who they are and how much they have, they will not be able to survive by themselves. And I don't think using a mark will be that dramatic. People will get so use to it that it will be as casual as using a credit card today.

Who is 666?
I won't even venture a guess. I have see people from Bill Gates to President Clinton mention. It sounds like the will not come from the US but Europe. I think once he is on the world scene, in hind sight, people will be able to prove it is he. Like so many other prophecies in the Bible and outside of the Bible, they always make sense after the fact, not before. The passage above does seem to say that there is away to figure it out and that we will figure it out at the right time.

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