Urban Legends

  1. Home
  2. News & Issues
  3. Urban Legends
MONDEX: The Mark of the Beast
Slide #12 (of 18)


Slide #12: '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, 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.' Revelation 13:16, 17

Comments:  There's that phony x-ray image of a "biochip" again. Note, by the way, that the x-ray is of someone's left hand, not the right. You're supposed to be quaking with fear right now, the obvious implication being that biochips constitute the "mark of the beast" prophesied in the Book of Revelation.

However, as I just pointed out, the type of biochip touted for identification purposes is supposed to be implanted in the subject's upper arm, not their hand or forehead. In addition to which, many Biblical scholars take exception to the imposition of such a literal, current events-based interpretation on New Testament prophecy. Folks are always trying to pin the "antichrist" label on modern-day personages and decrying new technologies as examples of "the mark of the beast" (it was supermarket bar codes before biochips came along), when, in fact, reputable scholars believe these Biblical references were originally meant to apply to the Roman Emperor of the time ("the beast") and his imperial seal ("the mark of the beast"). These are matters on which Christians of different stripes have long sincerely disagreed.


<- Previous Slide   |   Next Slide ->    


Explore Urban Legends

About.com Special Features

Urban Legends

  1. Home
  2. News & Issues
  3. Urban Legends

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.