Chips and the Mark of the Beast

I’ve been listening to a great series of messages by Dalton Thomas. His message is a few years old, but still relevant. At the time he was from Frontier Alliance International, and he was speaking on the subject of signs of the end times. Since end-times Scripture is focused on the Middle East, he is well-positioned to speak, being an American citizen spreading the Gospel in Golan Heights-along with a mentor, Joel Richardson, who has written several popular books such as The Islamic Antichrist.  So I would like to give you his take on end times, with my explanations. A Cliff’s Notes, as it were, of his lecture title, “The Mark of the Beast, Pandemic of Coronavirus, and the New World Order.”

 

Mr. Thomas, first, is responding to the fear people expressed about taking a “chip” to bring about a cashless society.  He concludes that at that time, some people were anxiety-prone about mis-reading Scripture, and he responded to the hyper-sensationalism.

 

Scripture agrees that those days will be the worst in all of human history. We would like to understand what items will signal the end times, so we can prepare.

 

Let's clarify a couple of things: first, on this term "the mark of the beast."  The "beast," first of all, is another name for the antichrist, which he believes is a single man who would rule the world in the end times.  Just to give you a picture of him, see Revelation 13:4-6:

So they (a large number of people in the world) worshiped the dragon (another name for satan) who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” ⁵ And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. ⁶ Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.

The beast, Scripture says, will be a warrior-general, with many victorious in battle, and he hates God, since he is basically a son of satan.  He starts out his growing worldly acclaim as friendly to Jews, but later reveals that he hates them, and will begin a manic effort to eliminate them—a genocide with more efficiency in killing than the holocaust. He also will love killing Christians. And he shows his contempt for God by committing the terrible sin of blasphemy. 

The "mark" of the beast is found in Revelation 13:16-18:

He (the beast) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ 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.

As yet, we cannot connect the number 666. I don’t figure it’s as easy as adding the Hebrew letters (which are numerical as well as alphabetical) in the name of a political figure expressed in Hebrew. Many false solutions have been derived by doing that. But we do get one thing: the beast will gain control of the monetary exchange system throughout the world.  The financial system going on now, on the other hand, has each country with its own system. Which leads to competition between countries, monetary heads plunging themselves into more risk, and ultimately monetary crashes and chaos. So this “improvement” about putting the whole world on one system will allegedly smooth the chaos. But the idea takes time. The U.S.  stuck our toe in the water with a "Fed Now" system which started in July of 2023.  This system happens to also be the infrastructure of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) system, the next step in monetary unity for the U.S. Over 130 nations are investigating their own CBDC system. The CBDC is really a central bank—which makes important decisions for all banks in that country.  (Local brick-and-mortar banks will be pretty much obsolete). It’s convenient--the government could throw a thousand dollars into your account a day after the President announces an economic stimulus, unlike the stimulus checks they sent out or placed into your bank during the Covid pandemic--which took several months to get done, and was a huge burden on the IRS.  While that quickness to respond idea seems great, here's the downside:  The government would know your income, when you receive it; they would know in detail what your expenses are, and how much you are in debt.  If you buy a gun, or an ounce of gold, your government would know it. They could freely take money away from your account, too, and give to some group that is poorer, since they need their votes. Or they would take it away just because they don't like your conservative views, or that you use too much fossil-burning fuel.  It's interesting that China is the only larger country that has this system in place.  The U.S. is moving aggressively in that direction too, though; Palantir Tech has just been tapped to make a master database on every American. The world’s computers are finally that fast. And it's also true that with facial-recognition cameras everywhere, they can track your every movement. 

Monitoring is the name of the game.  Dissenters are found out, and easily put away in China. The U.S. sometimes is no better, since it has done the same thing to “J6ers.” Our government has declared some citizens “terrorists.”  So what I'm saying, is, that when that monetary system evolves into worldwide, the "beast" will lay hands on it. As computers are speeded up and facial recognition technologies go global, it's probably not a large step to gather critical information on every individual in the world, monetary and physical. This s presented to most people as a great, unifying idea—but it won’t look so great when the beast takes that over—and using it to further his persecuting and discriminating agenda.

It's important to realize that when he has the power to offer the mark, it will start as a voluntary gesture. You can take it or leave it. But, here's something to think about first: When it is offered, it will be clear that the beast wants you to know that it is a mark of worship of him. But that is unacceptable for a true Christian. God is a jealous God. Look at His reaction to those who go along with the mark: in Revelation 14:9-10:

Then a third angel… saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb

As the verse above shows, if you do take the mark, it means a real hell awaits you beyond death. No exceptions. If you don’t grab the mark, on the other hand, you won’t be able to buy, even food.  If you do take it, you’ll be under God’s wrath forever. So you’re between a rock and a hard place. If you don’t take it because you love and have faith in God, and believe Scripture is true—but you might starve, or be homeless, that’s what real persecution feels like. Money, our “dollars”—they’re just pieces of paper, Fed IOUs--would be declared obsolete; and I fully believe that seniors would lose most of their Social Security benefits. (“The old are just a burden—they don’t produce.”) All who don’t choose the mark would also lose their pension (it would be taken from their CBDC accounts, unless they grab it sooner and liquidate it to a tradeable money. And they would likewise lose their savings or pensions without quick action to retrieve it too (the government needs it—they have debts to pay).  For food you’d have to grow your own, or buy from a local trusted food grower. (More people might want to move to rural areas). Or, you might barter for it. Briefly, bartering is this: If you have a talent for a certain good or service, you would exchange it for another person with a talent for another good or service that you need.  But bartering for a good or a service, that would have to be a search done locally to find your trusted person. The internet would be helpful, but what if you don’t have the freedom to keep that search private? In some cases, you would have to pay gas money to travel farther away to find your person.  That's expensive. For goods bartering, what if the good is rare, and the person available is farther away, and you would have to use mail to do the trade? Some more extra expense.  That would also take a leap of trust for the opposite person to come through with their half of the deal. Here's hoping you wouldn't get scammed by not getting a return mailing.  IF the free internet is allowed, you get on a barter system and offer up such an exchange.  If you don't find someone, you might have to learn how to fix it on You Tube, or a facetime helper. Or you live without it, having the woeful tool abilities like I have.

Not only is all this notoriously inconvenient, but two of the things above would also mean an exchange of “money” (buying gas, and paying over the mail). Since Fed IOUs that we now use would be no good, maybe crypto, like bitcoin, would be useful. If it is illegal, and the internet would be surveilled, then you might want to convert your digital bitcoin for actual coin before the great takeover. Good luck mailing bitcoin. All the more you need trusted sources.  

This burden of effort for even the little transactions means temptation to make things easier will be too great for some “Christians.” They will take the mark and hope to explain to God that they really hate the beast, they will still sing songs and pray to God. But God will not allow that. Scripture plainly says that simply taking the mark means God’s wrath, or hell, period. Our jealous God will not allow us to cave in to the beast without severe punishment. You only have to read the Old Testament, plus Jesus’ quotes, to see that clearly. Jesus commands worship—for Him only. He is God, our sovereign God, who makes the rules. His rules are proven to be just and good.  He said, in John 14:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Some “Christian” people would think: Do I dare to gamble on heaven or hell? With eternity at stake? What if I put my faith in God? But that means letting my family starve —what if I rebel, but what if the Bible is the Word of God, and I might end up in hell?  Most people, though, would “rationally” say, “the Bible we have, is likely not be God’s real Word, since I hear about contradictions and mix-ups in different translations. Maybe He loves us, enough to grant mercy. Isn’t that what I hear in church all the time? I worship Him every Sunday. Rationally, I should take the certain way out; if I take the mark, I know I will stay alive. God understands why I’m doing this; He doesn’t want me to starve.”

So that kind of thinking is why God says the majority of people go to hell (Matthew 7:13-14). 

They assume God has changed from the Old Testament, and no longer is a God of judgement on professing Christians, His people. The truth is, yes, God can change for you if you repent and give your life to Him. But that is not what’s happening here. Choosing the beast’s rules over God’s rules amounts to idolatry, and is a surefire ticket to hell.

With a choice for God in not taking the mark, there is a lot of faith and sacrifice involved. If you try to go it alone, the odds are greater that you will die sooner. It’s smarter to belong with a group of true Christians. Thinking coolly as a group, there are ways to overcome a lot of the obstacles, if you share the effort. They would also be a source of hope when you feel low. But still it would be a great sacrifice for our Lord. I would imagine your standard of living would drop like a stone, since you would only be able, given the time-consumption, loss of income, and high costs, to pursue searching for only absolute necessities--food, shelter, and clothing--and maybe using, and repairing, only absolutely necessary things. 

I should also say that paying for things, might also involve gold or silver, not just bitcoin. The State of Florida just ruled that, by law,  gold or silver is a means of exchange (i.e., money) beginning in July 1, 2026. Junk silver (pre-1965 dimes, quarters, or half dollars) are more convenient than gold for small purchases, which most purchases are. Buying a junk bag of old silver coins would not be a bad idea. I have no idea where students can work for many advanced degrees, or how medical services can possibly be paid for, or even trusted--especially by seniors, who some cold-hearted person may say, have "nothing to offer--they're just eaters."  Since God's Word says that those days are lacking love, you might see some Christians as the only ones who have empathy; they would all draw closer, banding together for these things.  Hopefully they can thus reduce the scams, the betrayal (Scripture says even your own family may betray you, telling the authorities about you being a traitor to the beast.)  Note Bible verses like Matthew 24:10-12, which say that unsaved people would "betray one another...kill one another, and…love of many will grow cold." You may have to choose between your family who doesn’t love God and Christian friends that you don’t know yet, except that they seem smarter, or more helpful. Your family might express anger at such a choice, but if you choose Christians and a future in heaven, instead of them, it will be the smartest choice you will ever make. Belonging to a Christian group will give you motivation, it will curb some people’s unreliable impulses, and cure the lazy who normally don't do a good job. Keep in mind, some “Christians” are not true Christian. They may be dabbling in the occult, and offer Christian words while being disobedient to Scripture. We must learn to avoid deception; read the Word!

So what I'm saying is, to stay off the beast's bandwagon, you have to "get off the grid.”  It's a lot of inconvenience and a lot of work, and many people will treat you like gum on the bottom of their shoe, but it can be done. God will make it possible. He rewards those who use their talent for Him.

I'd strongly suggest reducing living standards now, to pay off debt. Get to the point where you have free cash every month, so the loss of income and increased costs would not be an impossible obstacle. I also recommend small group gatherings over big churches (home based would be best, not expensive buildings that are targets for riots or burnings by the haters). In a small crowd, no one gets lost, and you feel more close. The pastor will not demanding money for the church building’s administration—or his own and staff’s salaries. Instead, he spreads people’s gifts to the ministry to those who most need it. As Scripture demands; that is what church is for—beside worship.

Remember, whatever God says, we do it, on faith that He knows best because He loves us.  If He says "here is my command, if you break it, I will send you to hell," He doesn't lie. He will do it; we have to pay attention to His standards.  I know that doesn't satisfy many people; we like to ask God "why?"  I don't advise that--it's mistrusting Him, it's judging Him.  He never did answer Job's complaint over why He allowed terrible things to happen to that godly man.  (But He led all of us to think about it, which is good).  Perhaps I could offer a humble answer for the rational mind: We could be committing idolatry without knowing it.  Look at the definition of idolatry, according to Dr. Steven R. Cook:

Idolatry is the selfish sin of substitution in which we devote ourselves to something or someone in the place of God.  It is foremost a sin of a covetous heart that leads us to desire more than what God provides us, and to trust something or someone other than God to satisfy our wants and needs.

Idolatry is a great sin; look at Revelation 21:8:

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The "beast," remember, blasphemes God.  He will speak clearly that taking the mark is his way, and not taking it is God's way (though he won’t admit that God exists).  Look at that last sentence above. Taking the mark, given the angel warning, is definitely against God and preferring your life your way versus living your life God's way. We are thus bowing to the beast, liking his solution for our needs better than God's difficult or "partial" solution for our needs.  (We need to redefine "needs," though.)  God's idea, "no mark," the sacrifice in our standard of living is great.  But sacrifice is a way of life for those who love Christ. 

Now I come to Dalton Thomas’ main point: In today’s structure, worldwide monetary control hasn’t happened yet—it’s a ways off. Plus, there is no military genius loved by everybody. So, vicious persecution worldwide is a ways off. (People are martyred by the thousands every month, though. Read material by Voice of the Martyrs for proof). Merely choosing an economic convenience like a chip (which is not a mark), with no person blaspheming God, giving no anti-God boasting, do not meet up to the "mark's" requirement per Scripture. So, it’s not a mark.  God will not allow you to get back-doored into something where Satan says "Ha! Gotcha."  No, God expects you to make a free choice against Him on this important decision before you deserve hell. Someday, if you ignore the antichrist’s blasphemy, his hatred of God, and eventually his hatred of Jews and Christians, and yet take the mark, you are doing it with open eyes—and deserve hell.

Mr. Thomas adds that with the rise of Islam and their goal of making a 10-nation caliphate (another blog deals with this), with their population increasing far more than the “West,” we will indeed see a restructuring of society. Islam will slowly take a front seat, and begin to dominate us.

 

Keep in mind, Scripture clearly indicates the "mark" thing is a worldwide thing. So, no political leader or techno CEO or health department from the USA or Germany, for instance, will implement the mark of the beast. The WHO, the UN, the World Trade Organization, don’t have the power over everyone globally. The idea of having everyone worldwide take the “mark,” or the number 666, will come after a worldwide military buildup of power by this probably Islamic antichrist, as Thomas believes--and he becomes ruler of the world. The public will love his power to restore peace to the earth after his military victories over “chaotic and rebellious terrorists.” That is, his enemies are dissenters, people who value freedom over security, and privacy, and Jews and Christians. (People love stability more than freedom, and will heartily agree to this). In Revelation 13:4, people of the world have to sink to a position where they say:

 

Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

 

His power will affect every nation, every person, on the globe for at least 3-1/2 years (42 months in the Revelation 13 verse above).  Thus, as far as what is important in end times, the world no longer revolves around the United States or China.  We’re not saying the U.S. is irrelevant—but the point is, the U.S., in end times, is not in the Bible anywhere, so we conclude that it is not a worldwide military power anymore.  The focus is on Jerusalem, the city of the Great King, which the antichrist loves to do his damage in, in today’s world, that means Islamic nations.  

 

We need a “baptism of study" in the Bible to know what to expect in our earthly future, and turn away from pop culture or people that just want to sell books to people they hope are Scripturally ignorant. We don’t have to fear as the world fears if we know His Word—therein is His truth.  It is our ignorance that breeds fear; our anxiety is way too great, considering the many verses in Scripture that say that God is still in control. We must stick to the winning team, even though it doesn’t look it yet.  We Christians should not moan about how we are persecuted now, considering how we might someday be persecuted to death, to martyrdom. We desperately need to get regularly into the Word, get a daily relationship with God, to prepare ourselves for what’s coming.  Let’s continue our study with Revelation 13:4-10:

 

So they worshiped the dragon (satan, who is “hidden’) who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast…⁷ It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. ⁸ All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world...Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

 

The antichrist will deceive us, and make us think that he is benevolent.  Only when he attacks Jerusalem is his satanic nature exposed.  Even then, most people don’t know (or don’t care) that he is the Scriptural beast, since most won't believe the Bible, or know it at all.  I suspect this is shockingly true. People will still revere him even if he blasphemed God and proceeded to make war with the saints. They will become anti-Christian along with him. They someday will pay dearly for this compliance to evil.  Their names “have not been written in the Book of Life.”  They will be in hell when they die.  They wanted a calmer life in the present, not thinking about eternity. Don’t let this be you. 

 

A second aspect of the verses above:  God will actually give the devil (the dragon) worldwide authority, even to kill the people of God, which Satan passes along to his 'son,' the beast. How could God do that? Is God not loving? But I ask you, who opens the seals in Revelation 6 for the horrible things to come?  Jesus, who in the end times is bringing the Judgement of God. So the truth is, God does this to test our faithfulness to Him.

Consider Deuteronomy 13:1-3:

 

“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, ² and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ ³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

 

This life-or-death testing by God is a heavy reality, but very true nonetheless.  This testing by God messes with our theology, but that’s because we’ve had it so good that we’ve developed “easy believism” in our “cotton candy Christian culture,” and don’t know of the two sides of God. As Paul says it in Romans 11, “consider the goodness and severity of God.”  Difficult times are coming; this will be the most severe possible test by God.  We must hold onto our faith, knowing by faith that God will win in the end.  But remember, this testing at its worst will last for only 42 months.

If we want heaven, we should not take up a sword as resistance to evil; that’s the way of the world. Note Jesus, who did not resist the Cross. Scripture recommends that we flee to a remote place (another favorable point for rural living), but if confronted, we give all allegiance to God and none to the beast, whatever it costs. Be willing to be a captive; be willing to be slain.  Just endure in faith—even to the end of your life, if need be. Such brave and noble behavior could be an astounding testimony as well. The greatest harvest of new saints to heaven in the past came upon the martyrdom of His children.  God may call upon us to suffer—but is the servant greater than his master?  If Jesus suffered, shall we not also expect to suffer?

 

So, do you do whatever you can to hang onto life and your worldly possessions, on a deranged earth, followed by an eternity in hell—or do you decide for suffering, perhaps dying, for a short period, for God, who will reward you with heaven eternally? Eternity is a LOT longer than 3-1/2 years. God cannot have any mercy on you if you have chosen to depend on the beast rather than God for your needs. Instead, you should join a group that is different, that is fanatical for a God that demands such faith that we believe in Him even if He is letting His people die by the thousands, a group that is hated by most. Sticking together with other Christians is what He wants. 

 

Since it might be tempting to avoid all that life-endangering risk and take the mark, we must resist the urge, we must endure and have radical faith that God means every word He says. 

 

 Keep one thing in mind:  Yes, “it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them.”  (Rev. 13:7).  But who is the ultimate overcomer?  We His children are:  As Rev. 12:11 says:

 

And they (saints) overcame him (the antichrist) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

 

This is how we obtain victory.  We simply set our mind to follow a crucified Messiah.  We shall be victors with Him.

 

Even better than dying, thanks to Jesus: He raises our bodies as new bodies in His rapture to be with Him forever.  You know how Jesus could appear anywhere in the blink of an eye? How He could fly? Maybe we can do that too, in heaven. So we are the ultimate overcomers, are we not?