Rev.13:16
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
The second beast causeth all, and the list is very inclusive of all people. All are required to receive a mark.
In Rev.14:9-10 we are told how serious it is to receive the mark and by implication, that the mark shows a recognition of the person’s accepting and worshipping the beast. “ - if any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:”
We also will read of the punishment and the reward to those who refuse the beast’s demand, “ - I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Rev.20:4.
Rev 13:17
And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
We learn in this verse that the mark demanded by the beast, to be put on every person, is related to buying and selling. A person not having the mark, will not be allowed to buy or sell, although it is suggested that having the name of the beast or the number of his name would permit the person to buy and sell. What is included in those last two requirements is not told us.
We realize the importance of refusing the mark of the beast and the reward that will follow by reading verses later in Revelation, as Rev.15:2 “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”
COMMENT:
Continuing from the COMMENT under verse 15, much of the buying and selling of goods and services today is done with a credit or debit card, all directly related to the use of the computer.
A weakness in the use of these cards is that they can be lost or stolen and the card numbers can be used without permission.
It has already been found possible to implant a small computer chip under the skin of a person, that would contain complete information about the person, as well as a positive identification of that person. In buying most anything, the store clerk would simply pass the familiar wand device over the area of the implanted chip in the forehead or hand of the buyer and the transaction would be safely completed.
The convenience and security brought about by the use of such a system is obvious. But just as obvious would be the
control a government agency could have over all people by monitoring, regulating or even prohibiting the sale of certain products to selected buyers. With the possibility of a “cashless” society where all buying and selling is done through credit cards or something similar, a government could control the buying methods and habits of the populace.