The Empire:Mark of the Beast-8

THE MARK OF THE BEAST

I want to talk about a very different revolution that is taking place right now, quietly sweeping the globe without bloodshed or conflict…Its effects are peaceful, but they will fundamentally alter our world, shatter old assumptions and reshape our lives…as its emblem, one might take the tiny silicon chip—no bigger than a fingerprint. Ronald Reagan

God commanded Ezekiel to place a mark on the foreheads of the men he would spare from the judgment inflicted on the wicked living in Jerusalem (Ez. 9:4). Revelation’s 144,000 witnesses—12,000 men from each of the 12 tribes of Israel—possess God’s seal on their foreheads (Rev. 9:4, 14:12). Paul, in his letters to the Corinthians and Ephesians, tells Christians that the Holy Spirit seals them. Therefore they will escape eternal hell fires (I Cor. 1:22, Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30). In the new heaven and earth, God dwells among man, and his servants have his name on their foreheads. Revelation 3:12 tells us: ”He who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the Temple of My God, and he shall go out no more; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God; and I will write on him My new name.”

Satan has always attempted to counterfeit God. His mark has been a characteristic of Satanism throughout the ages. According to Montague Summers, in her book The History of Witchcraft and Demonology, in 1661 the pupils of a cult confessed:

The Devil gives them a mark, which marks they renew as often as those persons have any desire to quit him. The Devil reproves them and more severely, and obligeth them to new promises, making them also new marks for assurance or pledge, that those persons should continue faithful to him.

The Devil’s mark to which allusion is here made, or the Witches’ mark, as it is sometimes called, was regarded as perhaps the most important point in the identification of a witch, it was the very sign and seal of Satan upon the actual flesh of his servant, and any person who bore such a mark was considered to have been convicted and proven beyond all manner of doubt of being in league with and devoted to the service of the fiend. [128]

During the Tribulation, Satan attempts to establish his kingdom here on the earth. His mark, on each of his followers, bears his name. According to Rev. 13:16-18:

And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead:

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; and his number is 666.

The Antichrist will implement a system by which no man can buy or sell unless he wears a mark placed on his forehead or wrist. This etching in one’s flesh represents the Beast or 666. Revelation refers to the mark in a spiritual context. Whosoever receives it spends eternity in hell (Rev. 14:11, 15:2, 19:20, 20:4). God punishes this abomination by sending a plague of foul and loathsome sores upon those who have the mark and worship the image (Rev. 16:2). Bible scholars theorize that the mark is part of a high-tech system that eliminates cash for the buying of goods. Thus, many evangelical theologians and students of prophecy follow the latest related technological developments, and note their possible evolution towards a cashless society. While this scenario provides one possible raison d’être for the mark, other applications must not be excluded, such as high-tech identification and human tracking systems. The Antichrist institutes this technological breakthrough and a prerequisite for life in his totalitarian regime.

The Technological Race Among Nations

After careful examination of the prophetic writings, and considering the current global population, we can see that the Antichrist will not accomplish the Scriptural forecasts without technological breakthroughs. At no other time in history have science and technology made greater strides, or become a greater priority for nations than today. The technological race replaced the Cold War as the new bandwagon of the superpowers. Today, technology is the key to national power. As Edward N. Luttwak, an American military strategist and historian theorized, we have gone “from geopolitics to geo-economics.” He points out that methods of commerce have displaced military methods. Mr. Luttwak stated: “In this new era competitive technology projects are one of the weapons of commerce.”[129] The stake is what former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt once called the struggle for the world product, rather than for traditional power.[130] The question occupying the nations of today is: who will win the technological race?

Studies over the past forty years have indicated that technological change is one of the most important factors that influence to a nation’s rate of growth. A country’s possession of knowledge has replaced its possession of natural resources as the key to economic prosperity. According to an EU Commission report on Science and Technology:

In this era of rapid technological change, the economic health of a region will depend on its capabilities to capture knowledge in science, technology and to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Knowledge and its utilization are replacing the possession of a natural resource base as the key to economic prosperity and leadership. Any region which chooses to remain competitive in this next phase of the industrial revolution must adapt to this new order and devise mechanisms to exploit the economic potential of developed knowledge and technology. [131]

For this reason, Japan aims to stay at least five years ahead of other countries in the development of new technologies.[132] Nations now pursue the economic growth that new technologies can spur. From computers to television, consumers want the latest features. This fact has increased growth and spending in commercial research and development programs by Europe, the US, and Japan. This means that nations are in a race to promote new technological breakthroughs, and they work hard at making and selling the latest technologies. The European Union jumped on this bandwagon.

In 1974, the Council of Ministers decided to extend European Union research to the whole of science and technology, and instructed the Commission to implement several major research programs. In 1987, the European Union entered into the Single Act an article that gives the Union formal powers in the field of research and technology. It stated: “The Communities’ aim shall be to strengthen the scientific and technological basis of European industry and to encourage it to become more competitive at the international level.…it shall encourage undertakings to exploit the Community’s internal market to the full.”[133]

Today, scientific research is the third largest area of EU spending, after agriculture and structural development. Information technology heads the list of basic areas of future research programs. The Federal Trust for Education and Research, a think-tank organization that aids in formulating EU policy, stated in a report that:

Europe cannot afford to exclude itself from the profound technological transformation which is currently sweeping the world and which is expected to be the locomotive of economic development over the next two or three decades. Historians have noted that, periodically, the world brings forth a new technology, or group of related technologies, of such a revolutionary nature that it transforms the whole basis of economic activity…There is little disagreement that information technology is the mainstream technology of the current era.[134]

One cannot help but wonder if the EU will herald the Mark of the Beast as a technology of “a revolutionary nature, “to transform the world economy.

The Commission’s RTD Network

Although the Mark of the Beast exists, the Antichrist must be in a political position that provides him direct access to technological programs and the power to implement them. We have established that the Commission presidency holds . The Commission presently oversees all research and technological development (RTD) programs in the European Union. It proposes, initiates, and implements RTD decisions. This gives the Commission direct and total control over technological projects. The Commission can even propose and suggest their own ideas. This will be the case with the Beast’s mark.

The Commission has its own network. Various groups of specialized Commission officials manage the Union’s RTD programs. These men, scientists by training, often come from university laboratories or industrial research centers. From their central position, they do much to speed up the circulation of ideas and the dissemination of knowledge.

Three of the most important committees with general responsibilities include CREST, CODEST, and IRDAK. CREST, the Committee for Scientific and Technical Research, consists of senior officials liable for scientific policy. It advises both the Commission and the Council of the European Union. CODEST, the Committee for the European Development for Science and Technology, enlists twenty-four members who are leaders from the scientific world. IRDAC, the Industrial Research and Development Advisory Committee, includes representatives from European industry. The advisory committees for each of the sectors concerned aid in the preparation and use of the individual programs.

One of the Commission’s Vice President’s is in charge of RTD. Other commissioners have the task of overseeing the individual research programs. One overlooks the development and use of advanced technology and the activities of IRDAC, while others are in scientific and technical cooperation with European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and non-member countries. This internal network will give the Antichrist direct access to new technologies.

The key RTD program devised by the Commission to create a technological base to compete with the US and Japan is ESPRIT: The European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology. The Commission launched it in 1984. The Commission must approve the selected projects. Proposed projects that have strategic and commercial importance receive money.[135] Concerning the ESPRIT program, the Commission wrote in the mid 1980’s:

In world trade, electronic equipment will overtake the automobile sector in the 1990’s with worldwide R&D spending on information technologies rising from $35 billion in 1986 to some $90 billion in 1990. It will remain one of the dominant sources of technological advance until the end of the century …information, in all its forms to become both one of the leading international commodities in itself and a vital element of economic activity in general. And it is rapidly becoming a driving force for social change….Information technology is therefore of key importance to the economy, both in renewing the competitiveness of established sectors and in the new opportunities it offers for a Europe rich in information skills. For Europe to make the most of opportunities offered by information technology requires strategic action.…The blueprint for this emerging European Technology Community has been established in the 1980’s with the European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology.[136

One of ESPRIT’s projects deals with payment cards and electronic purses. Commission officials are testing the cards.[137] In the same way the future officials will test the Mark of the Beast.

The European Union also has links with many countries through bilateral agreements on scientific and technical cooperation. These include major industrial powers such as the US, Japan, and Canada. They also admit the new industrialized Third World countries (Mexico, Brazil, India). The EU also maintains permanent relations with other international organizations active in research, such as the specialized UN agencies.[138] As President of the Commission, the Antichrist will have knowledge of recent developments, and will support programs that suit his policies.

The Commission decides who will buy and sell with the Union. The Union will incorporate the “Mark of the Beast,” i.e., this technological system, into EU financial policy. The mark will serve several purposes. Despite the economic benefits and other rhetoric, the technology will mainly act to mark his citizens and monitor them in his dictatorship.

Replacing the Cash System

The mark will not just happen one day; it will not occur overnight. The system’s rise will occur as a gradual order of events. Prior to buying and selling with the mark, financial experts will campaign for a cashless society. This is already happening. An international consortium of market leaders which aims for a “no cash” economy has formed in the payments industry, to develop standards for a new way to pay by “electronic purse.” Consumers use this card with a microcomputer instead of cash or checks when paying. The aim is to use it for everything from vending machines and public transportation to traditional passports and pay telephones. A pan-European consortium of consultants, academic institutions, and technology companies put together the EU-backed system. Banks can use the “smart cards” for many uses such as an alternative to traditional passports and credit cards, and as a method of payment for payphones, taxis, shops, and vending machines. Even police spot-checks in the EU will use an integrated system of identification using machine-readable ID cards.[139]

Smart cards and electronic purses will lay the groundwork for the Beast’s mark. Payment cards and electronic banking will replace the cash system. Prompting this change is the enormous cost of paperwork. Prior to the wide use of the internet, the US spent $30 billion per year to process nearly 40 billion checks. In international trade, paperwork costs range between 4 and 15 percent of the value of the merchandise. Electronic data interchange reduces these costs.[140] The Internet has added its contribution to reducing these costs and also by offering online shopping, banking and payments debited directly out of one’s bank account to pay credit cards, utilities, taxes and mortgages.

The EU plans to develop a “European Nervous System” that would connect government computers in the EU nations, to transfer data about everything from taxes to pollution levels. This nervous system will no doubt be in place before the mark is developed. The system has the potential to connect worldwide.[141] The Antichrist will use such a system to keep track of all the marked individuals. There is also another Biblical parallel here. God’s Holy Spirit indwells each Christian, and connects them (so to speak) to Jesus through his Spirit. Computers will act as the counterfeit to the Holy Spirit. As the Christian connects to the body of Jesus, the individual living during the Tribulation will connect to the Beast’s “central nervous system,” i.e., computers.

The devices that will become the Mark of the Beast already exist. Companies call them bio-implants. Bio-implants are now available for the identification of animals and the medical field uses them in humans for patient identification. A veterinarian places it beneath the animal’s skin, and it contains information about the pet and his owner. The company Verichip sold them to a Barcelona nightclub which used them for 125 patrons who used their chip as a debit card to debit drinks.

According to Wikipedia, Verichip received FDA approval in 2004 as implantable radio-frequency identification (RFID) microchip. Twice the length of a dime the medical technician implants it between the shoulder and elbow of an individual’s right arm. Once scanned it responds with a unique 16 digit number which links to information about the user held on a database for identity verification, medical records access and other uses. A doctor or medical practitioner performs the insertion procedure under local anesthetic in a physician’s office. In the beginning of 2007, Verichip Corporation created Xmark, its corporate identity for healthcare products. Xmark incorporates Hugs and the Halo system of infant protection: the RoamAlert system of wandering protection; the MyCall emergency response system; and the Assetrac asset tracking system.[142]

An implant in the wrist or forehead of a human individual will become the future use of this technology. It will be able to carry all kinds of data about an individual. With child abductions a concern, and with heightened security since September 11, 2001, and the advent of the war on terror; implants will offer a great appeal. The new technology will also create jobs and contribute to economic growth. The Antichrist will use the mark to monitor those in his police state and even more so by taking the mark the individual will pledge their allegiance to his authority and ideology.

The Marriage of Man to Computers

EU Scientists call it “Adaptive Brain Interface (ABI), and the EU’s ESPRIT program funds and sponsors its development. An individual hooked up to a computer can give the computer commands by his mind alone. Although the immediate application for ABI is to help the physically impaired, as this technology further develops, its potential within a police state is almost unimaginable. In March 2000, in Brussels, a paraplegic named Gabriele Taonconi demonstrated before EU officials his ability to walk thanks to a computer chip implanted near his spine and wired to his legs. They postponed his demonstration because of a computer glitch that prevented commands from communicating to the computer chip. Professor Pierre Rabi Schong of Montpellier University of France, a project coordinator, said the implanted chip allows the user to create artificial muscle movement. “We are trying to reproduce what happens in the brain…with electrodes to nerves and muscles.”[143] Eventually a computer chip will not only track one’s movements, but control individuals, reducing men to robots performing acts against their will.

The Mark of the Beast

Never before in history have new technologies moved to the forefront of national policies. The European Union is able to research, develop, and, through the Commission, implement whatever system it chooses. The Antichrist will enter his position in a world market where the development of new technologies governs economic growth. Initially, the system will offer all kinds of economic and social benefits. With a secured identification system for buying and selling, all kinds of crimes will diminish. Those who receive the mark will suffer the wrath of God. The Bible predicts the horrific side effect of grievous sores that breaks out on the bodies of the implanted. The Antichrist will not just implement the system for economic and social benefits; this is his mark, his label on those he rules. It will act as his tie to them, and it counterfeits God’s seal of redemption. The born-again Christian must accept the good news of the Gospel before he receives the Holy Spirit and God’s seal of redemption. In the same way, before one receives the mark, one will have to accept the Antichrist’s gospel concerning his deity.

The Number of His Name

The Book of Revelation provides the one riddle found in Scripture and it concerns the identity of the Beast. Revelation 13:17-18 states: “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.”

The Mark is also the name of the Beast who is a man. Scripture names no other man with a number except Antichrist who God assigns the number 666.

The two other times the number 666 is used in Scripture is mentioned in 1 Kings 10:14 and 2 Chr. 9:13. The Bible tells us that after the Queen of Sheba’s visit, Solomon yearly took in 666 talents of gold from the surrounding nations. Deuteronomy 17:15-17 warns that a king of Israel shall not multiply wives, silver or gold which Solomon did in addition to going after the gods of his foreign wives and building high places for them. 1 Kings Chapter 11 describes Solomon’s descent into idolatry. [144]

In addition, Nebuchadnezzar‘s idolatrous golden image was 60 cubits high by 6 cubits wide, thus 66. Throughout history, ancient and modern nations use gold for currency. Only after World War II did the world stop using gold as a reserve for currencies. Gold, i.e. money is synonymous with idolatry. The number calculates to his name and relates to the currency system under the Antichrist, which he ties into his dictatorship and his blasphemous identity. He will cause the world to worship him and commit mass idolatry. The riddle which will be solved during the Tribulation further identifies him as the son of Satan and his mark as the means by which one gives one’s soul to the Devil and ends any hope of redemption.

The start of the Tribulation ends the age of grace and ushers in a final dispensation. The Beast’s government while rich and powerful becomes a monotheistic dictatorship with the worship and adoration to the State and its leader.

The wheat and the tares divide into two categories of persons; those who take the Mark of the Beast and those who say no. Those who do not take the Mark of the Beast will refuse because of their belief in the true God and His Son Jesus Christ.

NOTES

1. 1. Montague Summers, The History of Witchcraft, New Hyde Park, New York: University Books, 1956, p. 70.

1. 1. Edward N. Luttwak, “From Geopolitics to Geo-Economics: Logic of Conflict, Grammar of Commerce,” National Interest, Summer 1990, no. 20, pp. 17, 20-21.

1. 1. Op. Cit. Stanley Hoffman, p. 33.

1. 1. “STRIDE Science and Technology for Regional Innovation and Development in Europe,” Commission of the European Communities, Luxembourg: The European Communities, November 1988, p. 11.

1. 1. James C. Carlson, “Japan’s America Bashers,” ORBIS vol. 34, no. 1, Winter 1990, p. 92.

1. 1. “Research and Technological Development Policy,” European Documentation Periodical 1/1988, Luxembourg: The European Communities, pp. 18-19.

1. 1. “Europe’s Future Four Scenarios,” Federalist Trust for Education and Research, London, 1991, pp. 15-16.

1. 1. Wissee Dekker, “Redefining ESPRIT,” European Affairs, Spring 1990, vol. 69, no. 2, p. 129. “EU Proposes Increased Research Funds,” Europe, October 1989.

1. 1. “ESPRIT: European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology,” Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, p. 3.

1. 1. Paola Buonadonna, “Smart Cards Lighten Brussels’ Pockets,” European, 3-9 March, 1995. See also Barry Fox, “New Credit Cards Pass the Smart Test,” 24-30 August, 1995, p. 10. George Cole, “Smart Ways to an Easy Life,” European, 13-19 March, 1997. Sandra Smith, “Smart Card Offers a Passport to the Future,” European, 17-23 March, 1995.

1. 1. Op. Cit. Research Technological Development Policy, pp. 58-59.

1. 1. “Visa Checks Out Cashless Idea,” European, 8-14 April 1994. Tom Forester, High-Tech Society: The Story of the Information Technology Revolution, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1987, pp. 230-231. Richard Clutterbuck, “Eurocops and Euroterror,” European Affairs, February/March 1991, pp. 16-17.

1. 1. Tom Forester, p. 218. See also Herbert Unger, Nicholas Costello, “Telecommunications in Europe: European Perspective,” Commission of the European Community, Luxembourg: The European Communities, 1988, p. 58.

1. 1. “Europe’s Electronic Rescue Plan,” New York Times, 4 September 1992.

1. Penn Bullock, VeriChip’s Merger With Credit Monitoring Firm Worries Privacy Activists, December 9,2009, http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/positive_id/

1. 1. Science Net: “Adaptive Brain Interfaces (ABI) – Reading Your Mind,” http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/slup/CuttingEdge/Nov00/abi.html. Shield Healthcare: “Computer Chip offers hope to the paralyzed as European scientists unveil implant that can enable walking,” http://www.shieldhealth.com/news-chip.html. “Adaptive Brain Interfaces (ABI) 28193,” http://sta.jrc.it/sba/esprit/abi-esprit.htm. Quotes taken from Warren Brooks, “Computer Revolution Made Berlin Wall Ineffective Obsolete,” American Freedom Journal, vol. 4, no. 1, December 1989/January 1990, p. 7.

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