A few weeks ago, my brother called me. He had just read an MSN article titled, “Bill Gates Declares the End of the Smartphone Era and Unveils its Surprising Replacement.” The article talks about a new kind of electronic tattoo that has been developed. It uses invisible ink and has nanocapacitors that are integrated into the body. “Instead of holding a phone in our hands, these tattoos could allow us to communicate, access the internet, and even monitor our health, all without a screen in sight.” He wanted to know if I thought this new technology was “the mark of the beast.”

At the moment, I don’t believe that it is “the mark of the beast,” but that doesn’t mean that the technology couldn’t be used for it in the future. In fact, several technologies have been in place for well over a decade. A 2018 NPR article, “Thousands of Swedes Are Inserting Microchips Under Their Skin,” informs us that microchips are being used in Sweden to help people “speed up their daily routines and make lives more convenient – accessing their homes, offices and gyms is as easy as swiping their hands against digital readers.” No longer is this kind of biotechnology in the realm of science fiction or wild conspiracy theories. It is here and is being used and tested in several countries. It has been so popular in Sweden that the owner of the firm, Biohax, was “developing training materials so he can hire Swedish doctors and nurses to help take on some of his heavy workload.”

If you want to know if something is “the mark of the beast,” your best bet is first of all to read Chapter 13 in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. It talks about a man who will deceive those who dwell on the earth. He will make an image of the beast, and he “causes as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 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 of the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

In my mind, in order for something to be “the mark of the beast,” you first have to have the beast, or the AntiChrist as he is called by many, on the earth and exercising power. This mark is about allegiance to this powerful man. An image will be made of him and “as many as would not worship the image of the beast will be killed.”

Make no mistake, should that person come on the earth, the technology is already here to make these prophecies a reality. In the meantime, what am I going to do? For starters, I am not going to have a microchip implanted in my body. I am also not going to have an invisible tattoo placed on my skin with all of my personal information on it. We should all be very aware as to where this technology could eventually lead and who it could be used by.

On the prophetic timeline, I see us standing at the beginning of chapter six in the book of Revelation. Many significant events are coming in the future, and the Lord’s judgments will come upon the earth before His Second Coming. It’s time to wake up and look around at what is happening in the world. Especially look at what is happening in the realm of technology. The brave new world is already here; it is not waiting in the wings. We need to familiarize ourselves with the scriptures so we are not caught off guard by events that will soon take place.

If you are interested in this subject, one of the most informative books I have read is “Revealing Revelation” by Amir Tsarfati. It is written for everyone and is easy to understand. The book is very well written and the author is humble enough to admit he and other scholars do not know what certain allegorical references mean. I would highly recommend it.

Image by Suj026. Courtesy of Pixabay.