Unleashing the Beast

232 / U NLEASHING THE B EAST

the kingdom of the beast will initiate. Christians call this system of buying and selling the "Mark of the Beast." 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: 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 (Revelation 13:16, 17). Throughout the centuries, Christian scholars have researched and debated the issue of what this mark actually is. People receive authority to purchase and sell goods if they have one of three things: the mark of the beast, the name of the beast and the number of his name. The entire world is marked by numbers. Americans have a Social Security number, a telephone number, a street number, zip code and various credit card numbers. We are known more by our numbers than by our names. In fact, most information cannot be released publicly unless a person has a pin number or a secret pass number. Revelation 13:18 says the number of the beast can be calculated to 666. Since numbers are already used for buying and selling, it is not difficult to see how the number of the beast would work through a computer system. The name of the beast is more difficult to understand, yet people who worship this man as though he were a god will use his name to obtain special favors. The mark of the beast, issued by the false prophet, will be placed on the right hand or the forehead. The mark is actually a religious mark that publicly