The mark of the beast has always been a mysterious number. For years men have tried to figure out who the future beast will be by counting up the name of a prominent leader. The guess’ have ranged from Kissinger to Reagan. All have added up to "666", yet all have failed to meet the criteria. Most everyone has heard the number 666 and is familiar with the term "Mark of the Beast". Not very many people really know what it is all about. The Mark of the Beast will he the primary tool of the Antichrist in forcing compliance with the New World Order.

One of the key features of the world government of the Antichrist will he an economic system in which every person will have a number. Without this number an individual will not be able to buy or sell. The problem will be that, in order to obtain this number, one must pledge loyalty to the one-world government and the one-world religion which will by then he established.
The prophecy concerning this numbering system is found in Revelation 13:15-18:

"And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both peak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 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 bath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six."

For many centuries the meaning of these passages was veiled in obscurity. It's interesting that after almost 2000 years these verses, like never before in all of human history, have started to really come into focus. Fascinating, in light of Daniel 12:4:

"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."

The Bible predicted almost 2000 years ago that the beast would require everyone to have an identifying number. No one would be able to buy, sell or trade without this mark. This could be in the form of a computer chip, or other identifying mark.

The technology now exists and has been successfully tested to allow an  identification device of some type, including a tiny microchip, to be implanted under the skin of the hand. Programmable subcutaneous visible implants could contain biosensors to monitor temperature and blood pressure, and display these readings--clearly a medical advancement. But the devices could have a more serious purpose. They could be used for electronic tagging. Whenever anyone wanted to buy or sell someting, he could be required to wave his hand over a scanning device that would read the chip, identify the buyer or seller, and validate or invalidate the sale.

The biochip-transponder consists of four parts; computer microchip, antenna coil, capacitor and the glass capsule.

The biochip is inserted into the subject with a hypodermic syringe. Injection is safe and simple, comparable to common vaccines. Anesthesia is not required nor recommended. In dogs and cats, the biochip is usually injected behind the neck between the shoulder blades. Trovan, Ltd., markets an implant, featuring a patented "zip quill", which you simply press in, no syringe is needed. According to AVID "Once implanted, the identity tag is virtually impossible to retrieve. . . The number can never be altered."
 
 

What's really amazing. . . So many are willing to "receive" what they "believe" to be the mark of the beast and, according to the Word of God, whoever receives the mark of the beast "shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, and be tormented with fire and brimstone for ever and ever!

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
 
 

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the MARK of his name.Revelation 14:9-11

What a mockery and ridicule of a Holy God!

It's bad now — can you imagine what the tribulation will be like? When the "salt of the earth" — the Christians will be removed! When the Antichrist will dazzle the world with his "signs and wonders", prosperity, peace — the world will be "jumping with joy" in anticipation to worship the Beast and receive "his mark"!

God help you, if you're reading this and have not received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. All these incredible technologies and events are not just happening — they're EXACTLY as the Lord said!

We have already demonstrated our willingness to accept devices to electronically tag or track individuals. It has become quite commonplace, for example, for law enforcement agencies to require individuals to wear electronic bracelets in order to monitor their activities.

Speaking of the coming acceptance of human-implantable microchips, Edward Cornish of the World Future Society told the Chicago Tribune earlier this year that he believes that such a chip would be voluntary to begin with but said that "things that are voluntary today have a way of becoming compulsory tomorrow." A Vice-President of the Cubic Corporation, a company that specializes in smart card identification technologies, was quoted a while back in Popular Science as saying, "If we had our way, we'd implant a chip behind everyone's ear in the maternity ward."

Although, we can’t say for sure, examining these verses, the "mark" would be one of the following scenarios:

1. The mark, the name of the beast, or the number of his name are the same single mark. In this case, because we know what the number is, the mark would be "666".
A lot of Bible teachers believe the mark is "666".

Mark Hitchock, in his book, The Complete Book of Bible Prophecy, makes an interesting "logical progression" concerning the mark of the Beast:

"This passage [Rev 13:16-18] provides five key clues as to the interpretation of the mark of the Beast.
1. The name of the beast
2. The number representing his name
3. The number of the Beast
4. The number of a man
5. The number is 666

When these five clues are followed through their logical progression, the number or mark of the Beast is the number of a man who is the Antichrist or final world ruler. This number is the number of the Antichrist's own name."(Mark Hitchock, The Complete Book of Bible Prophecy, p.202)

"The 'Mark' will be BRANDED or burnt on. It will probably be the 'NUMBER OF BEAST' OR '666'." (Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth, p.. 124, published 1918)

"Yes, I believe there will be three sixes tattooed on foreheads and right hands. . . indeed I do. I believe John 3:16. I believe God literally loved, literally gave, Jesus literally came and literally died. Why should I not believe the number of the Beast will be 666?" (Oliver Greene, The Revelation, Verse by Verse, p. 350, 1963)

2. The mark consists of both the number of his name (666) and his name combined in a single mark. Some type of "esoteric" mark forming a "666" while also symbolic of his name.

"The 'mark' itself is at once a number and a name. The Apostle tells us what it is. As he gives it, it is made up of two Greek characters which stand for the name of Christ, with a third, the figure of a crooked serpent, put between them, the name of God’s Messiah transformed into a Devil sacrament." (Joseph Seiss, The Apocalypse, 1865, p. 457)

"What kind of mark will it be? It will be a physical mark, probably visible, that the False Prophet will force every man and woman to receive on his right hand or forehead. The mark will be related to both the 'name of the beast' as well as the 'number of his name' — 666."(Grant R. Jeffrey, Prince of Darkness, p. 275)

Today most people believe the mark of the beast will be a clearly visible tattoo, perhaps the number 666 on the right hand or forehead to identify the individual as a child of the devil.

In the Sept/Oct issue of our Perhaps Today Magazine and in our unique Lighting New Fires Newsletter which only gets sent to our regular, faithful supporters, reports from Business Week and Wired magazine on Interval Research's application for a patent on the invention of Andrew Singer's "programmable tattoo" was discussed along with other new technologies currently available which could be used to implement the mark of the beast. Popular Science also reported on the significance of the invention in its August issue depicting it as "future cool." Interval Research (Palo Alto) has patented a "programmable tattoo." The biologically inert subcutaneous implant is constructed of a flexible material so as to conform to the skin's surface. The small liquid-crystal display can be inserted just beneath the skin (e.g., in place of a wrist watch). Because human skin is partially transparent, the display is clearly visible. The implant also includes a receiver for receiving programming information from a user, and a display for displaying the programming information through the skin. The display is connected to a control chip and power comes from a small battery. Both of these are implanted beneath the skin. Implanting is an outpatient operation and the battery can be recharged inductively, by holding the wrist near a charger.

However, to fully understand the meaning, you must remember that the New Testament was written in Greek. The etymology of the word "mark" will shed great light on the actual, intended meaning.

The word "mark", as used in Revelation 13:16-17, is the Greek word "charagma." The root word of charagma is charasso, which means "to engrave." Now, charagma is a Greek noun in the accusative neuter singular and is preceded by the Greek preposition "epee," which means "upon." By this we understand the mark is actually an incision made in the upper layer of the skin. This clears up the common misconception that the mark of the beast is a visible tattoo.

“I believe that the 666 is actually a combination of three sets of sixes. The first 6 represents man's political system, The second 6 represents the economic system of man, and the third represents the religious system of man." A very astute observation, and that is exactly the three headed structure we find in Rev. 13. The 666 referred to in verse 18 is very significant, because in ancient times a person's name had a fixed numerical value. The reason for that: the letters of the alphabet were used for numbers. In scripture, 6 is the number representing man. The number 6 is also considered sacred by many new age and secret society groups, A triad, or 3, is God's number. So, the triple 6 (666) is the symbol of man making himself God. See Daniel 11:36 and 2 Thess. 2:4. The number 666 is also the Greek word chi xi stigma. (Rev. 13:18) Strong's Concordance:"The 22nd, 14th, and an obsolete letter of the Greek alphabet, used as numbers; denoting respectively 600, 60, and 6; 666 as a numeral-six hundred threescore and six."

Now, the word "stigma" --"from a prim. stizw stizo ( to stick; i.e. to prick- a mark incised or punched ) for recognition of ownership i.e. (fig.) scar of service- mark."

By now, it should be clear that presently the technology of the microchip is not the mark of the beast. However, it is also plain to see, though the technology is still continuing to be fine tuned, some of its benevolent uses. Someday, in the wrong hands, it will become a malignant curse.

The mark of the beast is not going to be implemented today or tomorrow. It will happen midway through the Tribulation period. However, at the very least, for the first time in history, from a technological stand point Rev 13 could soon become reality. Apparently, someone else thinks so too. Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate who recently also ran for president and who does not claim to be a Christian, made this startling statement: "Is there a number or mark planned for the hand or forehead in a new cashless society? Yes, and I have seen the machines that are now ready to put it into operation."

What is it about the mark of the beast, that so "disturbs" a just and holy God, that He would justly "torment someone in fire and brimestone for all eternity" for receiving the mark?

The purpose of the mark of the beast is a "mark" of allegiance and worship of the Antichrist. And it is a rejection of a holy God. To receive the mark of the beast you must FIRST worship the beast. Look at the following verses:

"If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark. . . " Rev. 14:9
" . . . who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark. . . " Rev. 14:11
" . . .which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image." Rev. 16:2
" . . . them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. . ." Rev. 19:20
" . . . which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his . . ." Rev. 20:4

Only ONE verse connects "buying and selling" with the mark. But there are many verses that connect the mark to WORSHIP.
True. No one can buy or sell without the mark, but that’s not the REASON for receiving the mark. The "no man might buy or sell" is the CONSEQUENCE of NOT receiving the mark – not the REASON for receiving it.

The main reason of the mark of the beast is WORSHIP.

Satan desires what belongs ONLY to God — WORSHIP. Satan wants to be God!
Let's not forget what Lucifer said in Isaiah 14:

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Isaiah 14:13-14

When Satan tempted the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 4 (and Luke 4), remember how Satan tried to "bargain" with the Lord:
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and WORSHIP me. Matthew 4:9-10

The devil desires WORSHIP.

And how did the Lord Jesus respond?

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him ONLY shalt thou serve. Matthew 4:8-10

Worship ONLY belongs to God — and that's what Satan desires.2 Thess. 2:4 describes the worship of the Antichrist during the tribulation: Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 2 Thess. 2:4

My earnest hope is that many of you that took the time to read this information, won't just let all this fall by the wayside. Right now you have two options. You have an opportunity to freely receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, or someday face a global tyrannical dictator who will demand all the world to worship him and show allegiance to him by receiving his mark. This mark will reveal that you are owned by him; failure to comply will result in execution by beheading-Rev 20;4. I believe the first option is far more workable, don't you?

I would encourage you to not delay in receiving Christ as you Savior today if you have not already done so. He died for your sins, and rose from the dead. He offers you eternal life, but that's your choice to make. I hope you will consider doing that today
Fred Weeks- April 17, 2000