To anyone who is aware and watching and knows the bible, it is evident that the world is moving toward the mark of the beast at an incredible rate. It is possible to see the actual fulfillment of prophecy that was spoken almost 2000 years ago. The book of Revelation (written in 95 A.D.) speaks of a time when the government of the world will impose upon all of its citizens the necessity of having a mark in order to buy and sell. The actual carrying out of this prophecy by a world government would have been highly improbable until recent advances in technology and world mindset.
The key verses that talk about “the mark of the beast” are found in Revelation 13:16-18 NKJV
“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.”
In this article I will discuss the following: three factors that show we are moving toward the mark of the beast becoming a reality. I will write a second article that will deal with other aspects of the mark of the beast such as why God would allow such a scenario, and when will this take place in God’s prophetic timetable.
Three factors that show we are moving toward the mark of the beast:
- The need for identification
Border Control – the issues in our world in regard to identity have become increasingly complex. Donald Trump intends to build a wall along the Southern Border of the United States. He is doing that in order to be able to identify those who can legally and rightfully enter the United States. Europe has been inundated with refugees in the last couple of years from the turmoil caused by ISIS. So we are hearing in the news constantly from leaders around the world the need to be able to properly vet those from other countries to see who is who.
Today most identification has to do with what you carry (your passport, drivers license, or other ID’s such as Credit cards) or what you remember (your PIN or password). The issue with that type of identification is that it can be lost, or stolen, or altered.
That is why the New York Times (Thom Shanker, July 13, 2011 “To Track Militants, U.S. Has System That Never Forgets a Face”) reported the following, “Defense Department spending on biometrics programs is enormous, set at $3.5 billion for the 2007 through 2015 fiscal years.” One can imagine what the governments of the world would be willing to spend in order to be assured that the identity of all is easily known.
It is not hard to extrapolate that the governments of the world would want biometric identification of citizens to assure the safety of its borders.
Voter Registration– The debate over whether or not Donald Trump’s claim that millions of illegal immigrants voted in the 2016 election is true or not adds yet another reason for a worldwide governmental agency to want a system of identification. Those who vote could be positively identified by some type of biometric.
ePassports- The governments of the world are already moving toward better identification by using ePassports. According to the official website of the Department of Homeland Security, ePassports already have a biometric identifier: “An e-Passport contains an electronic chip. The chip holds the same information that is printed on the passport’s data page: the holder’s name, date of birth, and other biographic information. An e-Passport also contains a biometric identifier.”
It is easy to see how this small shift toward biometrics will make a huge surge forward to the mark of the beast when the time is right. It is amazing that this technology is already in place in many areas.
Healthcare – Another area where positive and proper identification is absolutely necessary in the US and around the world is in healthcare. Kayla Matthews posted an article on February 23, 2017, entitled “Are Biometrics The Key to the Health IT Industry”. In that article she made this statement, “Did you know your heartbeat- the rhythm and timing in which your heart pumps- is unique to you? There are actually wearables that can measure and convert your heartbeat into a kind of passcode. Amazing right?…Data is critical in the healthcare industry. It’s why policies like HIPAA exist. Any and all health related date must be protected from a breach.”
Government social programs – Fraud also runs rampant as the governments of the world try to help out their citizens with programs like welfare and Medicaid and food stamps. All of these programs have need of solid identification.
I conclude that it is easy to see that the need for identification in our world today has increased. But that just gives us some reasons why society would buy into such a system. Imagine a time like the bible predicts when many tragedies and wars, and famines are causing massive migration of people. Such systems will be easily introduced by the Antichrist. However we can see that even now minds are being subtly programmed by the necessity of proper identification in our world.
The second factor that shows we are moving toward the mark of the beast is…
- The advancement in technology
The ability to identify people using biometrics have been around for awhile. Retinal Scans, fingerprinting and many other areas of biometric identification are now possible. While many have said the mark is going to be an RFID chip (and this is possible), my considered opinion is that it will be some type of visible mark upon the right hand or forehead of the person receiving it. Most believe that it will be coupled with some type of biometric identification, perhaps even using multiple biometrics for a 100% positive identification.
An incredible turn of events happened in 2013 when Apple started to implement fingerprint scanning capability into the iPhone’s home button. I personally use biometrics every day as I unlock my phone to use it. In the beginning this was only used to access the phone from the lock screen. But as things progressed, it also started a revolution in making biometric purchases. Just a short time later Apple Pay along with other smart phone enabled payments suddenly moved the world toward using biometrics to pay. Today thousands buy their coffee at Starbucks and other places of business by using their phone and simple biometrics.
Some biometric payment processes are now being done without using credit or debit cards or even smart phones! There is a company called Biyo (formerly pulse wallet) that has uses a digital scan of the vein patterns within the right hand to positively identify a person making a purchase. This is absolutely amazing technology as the person’s identity is verified without the use of a password or PIN, both of which could be stolen. All the person has to do is go through a simple registration process, and at that time giving a credit card and having their right hand scanned. So a successful scan of the right hand is all that is needed to make a purchase under this system.
That seems to be the “mark of the beast” system with everything except the actual mark on the person’s hand.
MasterCard started a program where people have to use a selfie picture of their face or a fingerprint whenever they want to make a purchase. This concept has been tested in Europe and in Canada, and nine out of ten participants preferred the use of biometric identification instead of having to remember a password or PIN.
Why is all this important? Because it shows that the world is getting used to using other means of identification and for the next generation, this will just be “how things are done.” The programming of society to accept new ways of doing things is happening all the time. In my lifetime, we have moved an attendant pumping your gas, to pumping our own gas. We have moved from bank tellers to ATM. We have moved from snail mail to email. The young generation doesn’t usually even carry cash. They have been trained that financial transactions are done by cards with PINS and chips. It is easy to see where we will be able to make the move to something that is completely biometric.
- The convenience of a cashless society
Today’s consumers (myself included) like the convenience of being able to pay without the use of cash. I pay my bills on line like millions of other consumers. I use credit cards and ATM cards almost on a daily basis to purchase items. Like millions around the globe, I do this because it is convenient to me. Let me share some headlines from around the world that show this is not just a phenomenon in the US, but is happening on a global and epic scale unseen in human history.
Eryk Bagshaw of the Sydney Morning Herald with this headline on March 13, 2017: “ATM use hits 15-year-low as shift to cashless society gathers momentum.” So Australia is definitely moving toward a cashless society. Li Yan of Ecns.cn with this headline about China also on March 13, 2017: “Popularity of virtual payments means cashless society will soon be a reality”
But it is not just people who are slowing in their personal use of cash. Governments are also in favor of this. The printing of money and the minting of coins is an expense that government of the world would like to eradicate.
Which Countries are Closest to Cashless Societies? The following table shows how major countries are moving toward a cashless society. The only way the government could control the flow of buying and selling the mark of the beast calls for is through a cashless society.
| COUNTRY | Non cash payments’ share of total value of consumer payments |
| Belgium | 93% |
| France | 92% |
| Canada | 90% |
| United Kingdom | 89% |
| Sweden | 89% |
| Australia | 86% |
| The Netherlands | 85% |
So it is evident that society is moving toward full capability of the mark of the beast being instituted. When you take a look at the three factors we have discussed, the need for identification, the advancement in technology, and the convenience of a cashless society, one has to conclude that the prophecy given 2000 years ago in Revelation is a real possibility.
This proves that the Bible is true. If prophecy is true, then all the rest is true as well! Mankind needs a Savior! His name is Jesus. He died on the cross for all of humanity. Put your faith and hope in Him, confess your sins to God and find forgiveness! The last days are almost upon us.
Yes, it is obvious. so decades ago i chose never to put my faith on medical records. and looking to God for healing rather than physicians. medical care is about control, not helaing.at some point churches may choose to give up non-profit status. Nor do I claim donations as a tax deductions. Physicians do not make medical decisions for me. I research the problem and make my own decisions. I select physicians very carefully. After twenty years as a medical social workers, I won’t waste time explaining what I have seen and heard in debriefing sessions.
The medical world is one of the strongest indicators we are moving toward the mark
My city has enacted s law that all pets ( dogs and cats) must be microchipped. My cousin raised miniature donkeys and said that to obtain a pedigree for such an animal requires that it also receive a microchip. I think such microchips are going to evolve in to the mark of the beast for humans and this is a very frightening thing!
That is one of the possible scenarios. But I also think that it will accompanied by a visible sign or mark as well. Thanks for your great comment.
The mark of the beast is not technology, or the Sabbath, because the mark of the beast in the right hand, or forehead, is spiritual, and identical to the pledge of allegiance to the flag…When the Germans were using their right hand to salute Hitler, or to pledge allegiance to the flag, there was no physical mark in the right hand, or on the forehead of the German pledger, because the mark (name) of Hitler, or of the flag (Germany), was written in the heart, or in the mind on the German pledger…In the new covenant, the laws of God are written in the heart, and in the mind on those who worship God…Worship it involves a human heart, and a human mind…When the Babylonians worship the gold image, there was no physical mark in the right hand, or forehead of the Babylonian worshipper, because the mark (idol) of the gold image, was written in the heart, or in the mind on the Babylonian worshipper…When the US citizens uses its right hand to salute the flag, or to pledge allegiance to the flag, there is no physical mark of the flag in the right hand, or on the forehead of the US citizen pledger, because the mark (name) of the US flag (US/America), is written in the heart, or in the mind…The visible mark of the beast will be a permit with the beast name to buy and sell, but inwardly, the name of the beast will be written in the heart, or in the mind on those who are going to worship the beast…Its going to be like when the king of Babylon the great played the national anthem, and at the sound of music, the Babylonians worship the gold image, or they were cast into a fiery furnace…When the US plays the national anthem, and at the sound of music, the US citizens stand on their feet to sing the song “old glory” to the star spangled of heaven…I say of heaven, because the star spangled is of heaven…The nations idols are high and lifted up on a flag pole, and those who are serving the flag, are called “idol worshippers…The devil deceived the founding fathers of all the nations of the world, and made images of the stars, of the moon, of the sun, of birds, and four footed beasts, in the likeness of heaven above and in the likeness of the earth below…When God said, “you shall not make nor serve any image in the likeness of anything in heaven above, or in the likeness of anything on the earth below” Ex.20:1-5, De.4:15-19…The devil uses Romans 13 to deceive those who are serving the flag, but they forget that He who said in Romans 13 “obey the authorities”, also said in Ex.20:1-5, and De.4:15-19, “you shall not make nor serve any image”,.. The god of the US is the star spangled of heaven and the bald eagle of the earth…The god of Canada is the leaf of the maple tree of the earth…The god of Mexico is the eagle and serpent of the earth…The god of Japan is the sun of heaven…The god of Israel is the star remphan of heaven Acts7:43…In the days of Moses, God told the 12 tribes of Israel to make banners to identify each tribe, but the Israelites did not use their right hand to salute the banners, nor did they use their right hand to pledge allegiance to the banners…The ministers of God cannot see the idols of the nations high and lifted up on a flag pole, because the god of this world has blinded the minds of the ministers with the so-called “constitution” of “liberty and justice for all”…In the eyes of God there is no difference between those who are pledging allegiance to the star spangled of heaven, or the bald eagle of the earth, and those who are going to worship the beast, because idolatry is idolatry…God says it like this, “cursed is the one who trusts in man” Jer.17:5…The Germans who trusted in Hitler, and in their strength where they at ? The Babylonians who trusted in the king, and in their strength where are they at ? the Romans who trusted in the emperor, and in their strength where are they at ? The same fate awaits for those who are going to trust in the beast, and in his military power…To avoid the mark of the beast, serving idols, and doctrines of devils, we must believe what God said in Ex.20:1-5, and De.4:15-19.
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It is obvious you have given this a great deal of thought. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me. I respect your position, however I am going to believe that it will be a visible mark because the Bible uses the word “mark”. This will allow the government antichrist system to be able to quickly identify those who are in the system. Also it will be tied to biometrics for personal identification and use in buying and selling.
I will say though that your comment was interesting. In the spirit of Christ. I thank you.
You are correct. Most don’t understand it this way, but i have read how God used this same analogy about marks on heads & hearts and.. i forget what chapter. The same way people get hung up on 666, right before it says “ let he who has wisdom calculate the number of the beast” its not literal number mark.. but the clue is 666 is the number of a man, not the beast. But it should help us find/idetify it .. so pray for wisdom!!
Thank you for your comment. Bob
Idol worship does not come from a chip or any technology…Idol worshipping it comes from a human heart or from a human mind…And even if those who are worshipping the beast receive a physical chip in the right hand or on the forehead to buy and sell it doesn’t matter whether its a chip or any type of technology because those who receive the mark of the beast are receiving it on their own freewill….If the chip was by force and not by choice, we will all be able to buy and sell, without having to worship the beast…And you tell me what is the difference between any type of idol worship and those who are going to worship the beast in Revelation, isn’t idolatry, idolatry ? We know that with the beast, only those who receive the name of the beast can buy and sell…If you don’t believe what God said in Ex.20:1-5, and Ex.4:15-19, you are either, going to be worshipping the idols of the nations, or the beast of Revelation…. The mark of God on the forehead of the saints is not a chip or any type of technology, because the mark of God on the forehead is spiritual…The spiritual mark of the beast is going to be written in the heart, or in the mind on the beast worshippers, because worshipping is of the heart and of the mind…The physical mark of the beast is outwardly, and the spiritual mark of the beast is inwardly…The nations idols are in the flags, and the flags are high and lifted up on a flag pole, and those who are serving them are serving idols…The only way to avoid the mark of the beast, and idol worship is by believing what God said in Ex.20:1-5, and De.4:15-19…Farewell in the Lord.
You said…” The physical mark of the beast is outwardly, and the spiritual mark of the beast is inwardly…” and I totally agree with that. Thanks for your comments. I agree. Idolatry is Idolatry.