“He [the Antichrist’s false prophet] causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on [or “in,” KJV] their right hand or on [in] their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the Beast [Antichrist], 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.” (Revelation 13:16–18)

The technology needed to institute the coming “mark of the Beast” economic system, as foretold in the Bible, is being developed rapidly. And so is the media campaign that will help put it in place.

The concept of implanting microchips in humans for identification purposes is gaining public acceptance, and the number of “chipped” humans has risen from a few Americans to a few thousand people worldwide. Meanwhile, the chipmakers and media are busy hyping the benefits, such as quicker and more convenient financial transactions, greater security against identity theft, elimination of the hard-to-trace cash on which terrorists and drug traffickers depend, and quicker access to medical records in case of accident.

As public acceptance grows, governments will invest more in technology and practical applications, and that will attract more users. Eventually, of course, the Antichrist’s government will tell people that they can’t buy or sell unless they get the mark.

Consider the following developments:

A VeriChipTM is a rice-sized radio frequency identification microchip designed for tracking everything from products to people. The company who created the chip, Applied Digital Solutions (ADS), has announced that organizations in Brazil and Mexico have begun implanting the chips in children to locate them in case they go missing or are abducted.

The U.S. Department of Defense also announced that the government will begin using radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) throughout the military for product inventory.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is now using RFID tags on all its inventory.

In 2003, the International Civil Aviation Organization adopted a global plan for the implementation of machine-readable passports containing biometric information. The U.S. State Department began issuing passports bearing RFID chips in 2005, and by the end of 2006 all passports issued in the U.S. will feature this technology. The chip includes a digital facial image, as well as all of the personal data found on the information page of traditional passports.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved use of an RFID chip that could be implanted under a patient's skin and would carry a number that linked to the patient's medical records.

The school district of Spring, Texas, is now issuing radio frequency ID cards to its school kids, so police can track each of them on a computer screen. Authorities in Spring are now considering having the RFIDs implanted under the skin of each child to avoid problems with lost or forgotten tags. Then they could track them 24/7.

A nightclub in Glasgow, Scotland, joined exclusive nightclubs in Barcelona, Spain, and Rotterdam, Holland, in offering its regulars the option of having a microchip called “digital wallet” implanted in their arm that eliminates the need for them to carry cash or plastic. The chip is similar to more than 25 million already embedded in animals worldwide that act as “pet passports.”

The satellite telecommunications company ORBCOMM has signed an agreement with VeriChip Corp., a subsidiary of ADS, to develop and market new military, security, and healthcare applications worldwide, using an ADS-created implant chip for humans that utilizes global positioning satellite (GPS) technology. Once inserted under the skin, the chip relays information wirelessly to the Internet, where the individual's location, movements, and vital signs can be tracked and stored in a database for future reference. After the Asian tsunami disaster of December 2004, for example, advocates of the chip argued that it could have saved lives by locating victims lost at sea or trapped in the wreckage.

For nearly 2,000 years, the question has been how the people of the world could be persuaded to accept something as sinister as the mark of the Beast. The answer is now becoming clear: By harping on the supposed benefits, little by little‚ like drops of water falling on a rock, people's resistance is gradually being worn away until what was once unthinkable will become commonplace and acceptable.

What the apostle John warned of is about to come to pass. The future is here!  ■