18. The Mark of the Beast
Now we come to what is probably the most remarkable and irrefutable prophecy of the New Testament. There is no fixed date for this prophecy; but it is irrefutable because it is virtually free of double meanings or confusing symbols; and it is remarkable because it so accurately describes revolutionary developments in world banking that are being planned and implemented right now.The first half of the thirteenth chapter of The Revelation tells about the Beast (or Antichrist) and a False Prophet (more about them shortly); and the second half of the chapter explains how they will be able to control the world through a new economic system.The prophecy says, "He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads, [so] that no one might buy or sell save those that had the mark or the name of the Beast or the number of his name." (Revelation 13:16-17)The world's banks are feverishly working toward a monetary system which is based on a tiny computer chip about the size of a grain of rice. The chip can be planted under the skin on the back of your hand and waved in front of a scanner the way items are waved at the supermarket now. It will be able to record every purchase you make, automatically transferring funds from one account to another, in such a way that it could virtually make money obsolete.The computer microchip can also be programmed to make your whereabouts traceable. Technology to do all of this has been available for some time. It is presently being tested on "smart cards". But it could just as easily be implanted into your hand. The only problem has been the reticence that some members of the public have shown to such an invasion of their privacy. First the public needed to be weaned away from real-life tellers. They needed to get used to making purchases without money changing hands. They needed to learn to accept big impersonal computers knowing about their spending patterns. And they needed to become familiar with scanners and universal product codes which could be used to label every person on earth.Over the past few years we have seen the Western world experiment with credit cards, identity cards, phonecards, Fly-Buy cards, eftpos cards, and smart cards. Universal product codes are now on virtually everything we buy. The scene is now set for microchip implants. For now, the emphasis is just on identification and tracking. Dogs and cats are already being given micro-chip implants that are used to track them if they should become lost. Politicians and industrialists in Italy are accepting them for the same purpose, in case they should ever be kidnapped. Parents in several countries are being encouraged to use implants on their children in case the children become lost or kidnapped. Microchip implants and a cashless society will improve life in many ways. We can have one universal currency. There will be greater control over drug trafficking (which operates on cash changing hands). Robberies of all sorts (except computer crimes) will drop dramatically. Not only will there be no cash to steal, but there will soon be no credit cards either. People will never have to worry about losing their card either, because it will be right there on the back of their hand. Amputees will be able to have the implant placed on their forehead.Computer technology will be able to use information from the implants to prepare census reports, conduct elections, and track down criminals, illegal migrants, and social security cheats. The possibilities are almost endless. All in all, implanting a microchip on every member of the public will make the world far more efficient than it is at the moment.But the problem for anyone who takes Bible prophecy seriously, is that, along with the prediction that this would happen has come a very sobering warning: "If anyone worships the Beast and his image, and receives his mark in their forehead or in their hand, the same will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. They will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. The smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever. They have no rest day nor night, who worship the Beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." (Revelation 14:9-11) We know from reading the prophecy that a time is coming, covering a period of at least three and a half years, when everyone will need the mark in order to buy or sell anything. We understand that Christians will not be taken to heaven before this happens; and it is clear that they will be subject to the wrath of God if they do take the mark. So how are they going to live?The answer is that they will either give in and take the mark or they'll live by faith. Most will probably give in.In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus urged his followers to consider the birds and the flowers, noting that they didn't have jobs or bank accounts, and yet God took care of them. He said that his Father would take care of us too, if we would just work for his kingdom. (Matthew 6:19-34) Jesus taught that we should stop working for food (John 6:27) and start working for God. He said that when we spend our time working for (i.e. being a servant of) money, we show our contempt for God. (Luke 16:13) He called on his followers to leave their fishing nets (Matthew 4:18-22), leave their jobs with the government (Luke 5:27-28), and give up everything they own to become his true disciples. (Luke 12:31-33; 14:33) To date, very few people have taken any of those teachings seriously.But now, as we move closer and closer to the actual implementation of the mark, Christians who have, in the past, made excuses for not living by faith are going to be forced out of their lukewarm indifference. They will either have to sell their soul to the Antichrist, by taking the mark, or they will finally have to start living by faith, the way Christ intended for them to be living all along. This is part of the "bitter" truth of The Revelation.Back to the Top...
Appendix, Chapter 18
Matthew 6:26, 31-33.
Behold the birds of the air, for they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? � Therefore, take no thought, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "With what will we be clothed?" (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Back to the Chapter
John 6:27.
Do not labour for the food that perishes, but for that food which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of man will give to you. For him has God the Father sealed. Back to the Chapter
Luke 16:13.
No servant can work for two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot work for God and mammon [money]. Back to the Chapter
Matthew 4:18-22.
Jesus� saw two brothers� casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. He said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men," and they straightway left their nets and followed him.And going on from there he saw two other brothers� in a ship with their father, mending their nets, and he called them. They immediately left the ship and their father and followed him. Back to the Chapter
Luke 5:27-28.
He saw a publican� sitting at the receipt of custom, and he said to him, "Follow me," and he left all, rose up, and followed him. Back to the Chapter
Luke 12:32-33.
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with bags that do not wax old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches neither moth corrupts.Luke 14:33.
Whoever� does not forsak