Mark of the Beast in the Hand or Forehead?

As mentioned before, the popular spiritual interpretation for the Mark of the Beast is that our foreheads represent our thoughts and our hands represent our actions. This may be a good start, but presented alone it falls short of the physical implications of a mark that is required to buy and sell.

Ask yourself, where is the most logical place to put a tiny microchip that is injected under the skin, used for payment, and only operates within a couple inches of a reader? The hand is obvious. Literally payment with the wave of the hand [1].

It's likely that for security the RFID reader (called an interrogator) will require a secondary means of validating a person's identity. That validation might occur through the fingerprint or iris at the same time the RFID microchip is read in the hand or forehead. Both forms of biometrics are already routine in the security realm. Is it mere coincidence that Revelation describes the Mark of the Beast being in the hand or in the forehead?

The Verichip, manufactured and marketed by Applied Digital Solutions, has already been injected into the upper arm to be used as payment in place of a credit card. The Baja Beach Club in Barcelona, Spain, the Rotterdam Beach Club in the Netherlands, and the Bar Soba in Glasgow, Scotland have already successfully introduced this microchip implant as a form of buying and selling [2].

Recently a "contactless payment watch" [3] was introduced that includes an RFID microchip, specifically the MasterCard PayPass whose slogan is "Tap N Go". This watch closely resembles Applied Digital Solutions' RoamAlert and WatchMate products. A Verichip based payment watch is sure to follow.

Could it be that the populace is being conditioned to accept a microchip in the hand? You bet. Why tap when it's "contactless" payment? Soon enough that "tap" will be your finger on a reader.

There's no question that in the near future the Verichip will be used widely for buying and selling. Conrad K. Chase, Director of the Baja Beach Clubs International, said the following about the new injectable form of payment:

"Everyone embraced the electronic payment application. My customers like the fact that they do not have to carry a credit card or ID card with them. With the VeriPay system, they no longer have to worry about their credit cards getting lost or stolen."
Baja Beach Club in Barcelona, Spain Launches Microchip Implantation for VIP Members

Why the Forehead?

The forehead is a bit more tricky, but no less obvious. Some suggest that a microchip will be implanted under the skullcap and networked with the brain for some type of mind control. The scientific advancements in neurobiology make mind control a distant possibility, but it seems far-fetched at a large scale and is completely uneccessary to meet the requirements of the Mark of the Beast.

Will there be a visual sign accompanying the Mark of the Beast if it's a subdermal microchip? It's a possibility. Hand tattoos have become popular in modern times and forehead advertising is now an easy means of income [4], even to the absurd [5]. It's not hard to imagine a future where such extreme markings are commonplace, but a visible mark on everyone is pushing it.

It's been suggested for many decades that the Mark of the Beast would be a tattoo or brand of some sort. This has some merit. But by itself a tattoo or brand falls short of the mark in a modern technology driven society.

Nevertheless, the old has met the new. A company by the name of Somark Innovations has invented an invisible RFID ink. This ink is currently used to tattoo cattle and there's every intention to use it on humans [6]. The permanence of Somark's ink is questionable, even tattoos are removable.

A simple surgery could also remove a microchip from the hand. But the forehead, specifically under the skull, is the most secure place for a microchip like the Verichip. Eventually infants could be injected through the soft spot in their skull to achieve a very high level of security when the skull hardens. We're already assigned a number at birth and this way the number would stay with us forever.

The acceptance of such an abomination is already being eased into hospitals. Newborns are currently being tracked while in the hospital to avoid mix-ups and kidknappings [7]. This tracking is made possible through an external device dubbed HALO. HALO is a technology from eXI wireless, a company recently acquired by Applied Digital Solutions, the makers of the Verichip.

In a modern technology-driven world, the Mark of the Beast makes a lot of sense as a microchip in the hand or forehead. The fact that the Verichip is already being used for payment - and is implanted in the body - sets it apart from all other candidates for the Mark of the Beast, both past and present. Technologically speaking, an implanted microchip is a natural step in personal identification. And where there is identifying technology there is security, especially when money is involved.

Verses referenced in this study:

• Revelation 13:16-17

Links referenced in this study: