To Chip or Not To Chip By Ray Gano

To Chip or Not To Chip
By Ray Gano

Dealing with Bible Prophecy, we as the watchmen and women on the wall continually keep our eyes and ears focused on events that take place around us and in the news. For the past 10 or so years many in the Bible Prophecy arena have been talking and speculating about a technology called the “radio transponder Biochip. When this was unveiled everyone myself included said “This is it! This is the mark of the beast!”

After countless hours of research, I feel that the implantable Biochip is NOT what the antichrist is going to use. But there is an upcoming technology which is related to the biochip that is taking the world by storm. So much so that superstore giant Walmart as well as the US Department of Defense have mandated that if you want to do business with them, you must comply with the new technology that they have just put in place.

Enter RFID or Radio Frequency Identification

But before we delve more into RFID, lets look at what it says in scripture.

What is The Mark of The Beast?

The mark of the beast is referred to in scripture on eight different occasions. The place that draws the most attention is Revelation13:16-18,

"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, of the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six, 666." (KJV)

For many centuries the meaning of these passages was veiled in obscurity. It's interesting that after almost 2000 years these verses, like never before in all of human history, have started to really come into focus.

This in and of itself is fascinating in light of Daniel 12:4:

"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."

To fully understand the meaning, you must remember that the New Testament was written in Greek. The etymology of the word "mark" will shed great light on the actual, intended meaning.

The word "mark", as used in Revelation 13:16-17, is the Greek word "charagma." The root word of charagma is charasso, which means "to engrave." Now, charagma is a Greek noun in the accusative neuter singular and is preceded by the Greek preposition "epee," which means "upon."

According to Strong's Concordance, the Greek word charagma means "a scratch or etching, stamp a badge of servitude, graven mark." Derivatives of the word are: "charakter"- a graver, the figure stamped, i.e. an exact copy or representation, express image; "charax"- to sharpen to a point through the idea of scratching.

In Revelation 13 we see three components of the future new world order working in tandem under this future 666 Antichrist and his world system. Jeff Baker, political analyst, researcher, and journalist, in his excellent classic book, Cheque Mate, (p. 203) comments on the meaning and significance of 666.

"I believe that the 666 is actually a combination of three sets of sixes. The first 6 represents man's political system, the second 6 represents the economic system of man, and the third represents the religious system of man." A very astute observation and that is exactly the three headed structure we find in Rev. 13. The 666 referred to in verse 18 is very significant, because in ancient times a person's name had a fixed numerical value. The reason for that: the letters of the alphabet were used for numbers. In scripture, 6 is the number representing man. The number 6 is also considered sacred by many new age and secret society groups, a triad, or 3, is God's number. So, the triple 6 (666) is the symbol of man making himself God. See Daniel 11:36 and 2 Thess. 2:4.

The number 666 is also the Greek word chi xi stigma. (Rev. 13:18)

Now when one looks up "stigma" in Strongs, this is what you find…

Strong's Concordance "stigma": G5516- "stigma" “The 22nd, 14th, and an obsolete letter of the Greek alphabet, used as numbers; denoting respectively 600, 60, and 6; 666 as a numeral-six hundred threescore and six."

Strong's Concordance "stigma" : G4742 "stigma" --"from a prim. stizw stizo ( to stick; i.e. to prick- a mark incised or punched ) for recognition of ownership i.e. (fig.) scar of service- mark."

What Is a Biochip?

A Biochip / Verichip is an implantable radio frequency device that is about the size of a grain of rice. It is implanted subdermally through an injection during an outpatient procedure. It contains information about the patient's medical history which can then be obtained by passing an eternal scanner across the area of skin where the biochip / verichip has been inserted.

The biochip / verichip is dormant under the skin until this external scanner passes radio frequency energy to it energizing the chip, which then emits a radio frequency signal containing the identification number of the chip. This identification number is transmitted to an FDA compliant secure data storage site via the telephone or internet and the medical information is then provided, helping the medical professional. Right now it only holds a small amount of data. However, Applied Digital Solutions are planning on adding sensors that will read your vital signs and a satellite receiver that can track where you are, much like digital angel. (1)

Here is some more interesting information about the Biochip. Dr. Daniel Man was awarded a patent for developing a microchip to be placed under the skin.

Back in the 1990’s Peter LaLonde, producer and anchorman for This Week In Bible Prophecy had a fascinating interview with Dr. Man. Dr. Man who is also a Jew, stated that it is his desire to see every Israeli Jew have the microchip transponder that he developed implanted under their skin. The stated purpose: the end of kidnapping and terrorism, as each individual could be precisely located instantly.

No one questions Dr. Man's intentions for the good of his fellow Israelis.

It also must be emphasized that technology-- in and of itself --is not evil. However, imagine Adolph Hitler with similar surveillance ID microchip capability at his disposal. What would he have done with it?

Problems with the Biochip

The prior definition above gives a good view of what the biochip is, but I want to take it a bit further. You see, I believe that the Mark of the Beast is 3 fold instrument of the antichrist. It is the proof of economic, political and religious allegiance.

1. You give your allegiance and soul an economical system.

2. You give your allegiance and soul a political system.

3. You give your allegiance and soul a religious system.

When the mark of the beast is put in place, the individual will accept whole heartedly and with his or her soul an economical, political and religious system. The mark of the beast must meet all three.

For example in World Net Daily article, GOP star to get chip implant

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson has volunteered to get an RFID electronic chip implant to show the world just how safe the new technology is.

The former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in President Bush's first term sees it as a potentially life-saving move because the chip will have details of his medical history should he ever be in an accident.

Thompson will be among the first humans to get the chip. Pets have been routinely chipped at pounds and veterinarians' offices in recent years. (2)

In having a biochip implanted, Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson did not take the mark of the beast. The reason is that it did not meet all the necessary requirements that are needed to be “The Mark of The Beast.” He did not pledge his allegiance and his soul to a political system, economic system or religious system. Now I think that he was rather foolish in doing this, but he did not receive the mark of the beast.

The reason that I say that the implantable biochip is NOT the mark of the beast is for several reasons

1. I feel that when the mark is taken, it is something that the people of that time and of that mindset are going to be very proud to do. Remember that this will be a very powerful thing taking place. There will be religious ceremony, political pride etc. These individuals are giving their allegiance and soul to the anti-christ. The mere narcissistic nature of the anti-christ will not allow for anything else. He will want to rub this in God’s face. I can just hear him say “See God, See! These are MY followers! NOT YOURS!” So this will be something of major importance to the world and to the people in that time who take the mark.

2. The implantable biochip is something that is just as it is called, implanted. Meaning; that it is going to be placed deep under the surface of the skin. There is no sign of one taking the mark, no way to recognize a person who has the mark and no unity just because of an implant. Only way one knows if they have received a biochip / mark is if their biochip is “read” from a sensor or reader someplace.

3. The biochip in and of itself is not tamper proof and also there is no means for true authentication of the person and the biochip. It is only the biochip. Just imagine someone who is living during that time, they could find someone who had a chip, cut it out and presto, they can now move around freely although they would still need the chip to buy and sell.

4. Lithium leakage if capsule were broken could cause serious sores.

If it is not the Implantable Biochip, What is it then?

I remember seeing my first RFID about four years ago when I purchased a computer manual at Barnes and Nobel. (To those who are reading this outside the US, Barnes and Nobel is a book superstore.) I actually discovered it while reading the book. I knew what it was then when I saw it, but I really did not pay much thought to it at that time. You see, Barnes and Nobles were one of the first companies to adopt a RFID inventory & theft system. How do you think they are able to maintain such a huge stock as well as maintain a fair price?

It is in the summer 2004. The RFID industry was starting to pick up speed. There were more companies entering the market, more companies utilizing the technology. We fast forward to today. Tracye and I utilize a news program to stay up to the minute on what is going on in the world. One of the areas that we have been keeping an eye on for the last month or so is RFID. In researching back to 2004, you would see an article here, a press release there. Today, a new article or press release comes out almost every hour, RFID industry advances in technology, new business solutions, network architecture, etc. The RFID industry is moving at a faster rate than the dot com industry did in the past and everyone knows how fast and how often dot coms were in the news.

On Oct 23, 2005, the public was informed that all new US Passports will contain a RFID tag. (Drivers licenses are next)

In May 2005 a military spending bill was passed that included a little known law that was pretty much buried called Real ID Act.

Real ID: Big Brother Could Cost Big Money

Buried in an $82 billion military spending bill and passed without any
congressional debate in May 2005, the Real ID Act was touted as an anti-
terrorist and immigration reform bill…

Two main forms of protection are being considered: Magnetic stripes or
two-dimensional (2-D) barcodes; and contactless integrated circuits such as radio frequency identification (RFID) chips.

If the government opts to require RFID chips, more than 196 million U.S. drivers will be forced to carry a license that has the memory to store every detail about the person, including health records, family history, bank and credit card transactions. Another pitfall is that information on RFID chips can be remotely accessed by unauthorized persons. (3)

What Is RFID?

RFID or Radio Frequency Identification is a “cousin” to the Implantable Radio Transponder Chip. The difference is that the “chip” has to be implanted; an RFID tag can be placed on just about any surface or embedded just below. Where the older “Chip” was incased in glass, the RFID no longer needs that.

This is from RFID 101…

Unlike ubiquitous UPC bar-code technology, RFID technology does not require contact or line of sight for communication. RFID data can be read through the human body, clothing and non-metallic materials.

RFID is in use all around us. If you have ever chipped your pet with an ID tag, used EZPass through a toll booth, or paid for gas using SpeedPass, you've used RFID. In addition, RFID is increasingly used with biometric technologies for security verification. (4)

RFID is all around you and many of us did not even know that it was there. Imagine in the very near future you walk up to the cashier at your favorite superstore and the person behind the counter tells you, that is $45.19 please. And get this you have not even taken the items out of your basket yet. But that is ok, you tell the person behind the counter, thank you and tap your wallet on a little pad next to the credit card/debit card keypad and presto, your bill is paid.

How can this happen? All the items in the store have a RFID tag that has been printed on the container or package, when you walked into the RFID sensor / reading zone, your items were instantly scanned and totaled. You quickly and conveniently paid with your visa, mastercard, or debt card that has a RFID tag imbedded. The new buzz word for this is called, “Contactless Payment”

'The New Wave'

Just as with the EZPass toll system for highways and bridges, or Exxon Mobil's SpeedPass for gas, the new "contactless" system uses radio frequency waves, or RFID, to transmit encoded information. You have to be very close to the receiver, but there's no need to give up your card to a clerk or insert it into a machine to read the magnetic stripe. And there's no need to dig for cash or coins.

"It is the new wave," said Dave Jentsch, senior vice president of card products for HSBC Bank USA. "People don't want to have to swipe a card and then wait to either sign a receipt or enter PINs. They want to get in, get out and pay quickly."

Such "contactless" payments are the newest effort by banks, credit card companies and merchants to extend the reach of plastic payments and reduce Americans' reliance on cash. The goal is to make it possible to pay for small-dollar purchases by using credit or debit cards where they haven't been used before, but without tying up the consumer and merchant.

Banks and merchants say the electronic payments are faster, easy, more secure and more convenient than cash, and they're cheaper for the business to handle. And by accepting fast plastic for purchases, merchants hope to bring in more business -- and larger purchases -- from consumers who are in a hurry or who don't have enough cash on them.

"Those merchants recognize that people don't want to stand in line," said Tom O'Donnell, senior vice president of marketing for JPMorgan Chase's Card Services division. "Customers will keep driving if the line is too long, if there's too many sets of taillights, or if there's too many people parked at the convenience store." (5)

Why RFID?

There are many problems in the world that RFID could be touted as the solution to the problem.

1. Terrorism / border control – as we all know terrorism is on the rise. The ability to keep track of who enter and exit borders as well as keep tabs on individuals is a very high priority right now and will continue into the future.

2. Criminals – Criminal activity is also at an all time high, if criminals had RFID tags, then tracking these individuals would be possible. Not to say also that this would help in the fight against the very high rate of child abductions. Have all the sex offenders in the RFID database and when the sexual predator enters an area near a school, the police are informed and the perpetrator is picked up.

3. Control of goods / inventory – RFID controlled stores, such as Walmart, are showing a substantial increase in profits due to inventory control and theft. If one takes this one step more and implement “Contactless Payment,” retail and grocery stores can save millions in employee costs. If there is no need for a person to check you out at the store, then the store saves money.

4. “Contactless Payment” also solves a lot of the counterfeit money problem that the US as well as many other nations around the world have. In fact just recently North Korea created / counterfeited $100.00 dollar bills and were starting to put them into the market. Even with all the precautions that our currency has, it is still not totally “copy proof.”

I think if you would look at the applications, you to can come up with many other uses that RFID can perform. The use for RFID in controlling goods, services and resources is endless.

My Speculation regarding RFID

I have been actively keeping an eye on the RFID industry these last few months as I have stated before. I would like to point out some press releases and news articles that have come out of the industry in just these last few weeks.

Conductive inks - “Conductive inks are used to produce conductive tracks for the manufacture of printed circuits, membrane switches or printed wiring boards (PCB, PWB) and for a wide variety of other uses such as intelligent packages, circuit components and antennae for radio frequency identification solutions,” (6)

RFID Powder – “The newest form of RFID tag is Creo’s Traceless® taggant. Traceless® is a powder that is mixed with ink or other fluid and applied to product packaging during manufacturing. Suspending the powder particles in fluid allows them to form a random pattern known as the “taggant image signature”. A computer records/retains this signature as the item’s unique identifier, like the EPC of traditional RFID…What really distinguishes Traceless® is that it is undetectable, making it virtually impossible to counterfeit or tamper with. Using proprietary methods, Creo mixes a ratio of taggant in solution that is too small to be perceived visually or chemically, and is detectable only by Traceless® readers.” (7)

Fluidic Self Assembly - Fluidic Self Assembly that floats RFID chips in a water-based slurry. When the slurry is passed over tag material, the individual chips automatically settle into position. (8)

RFID tags on flexible substances entirely by printing - Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has developed a technique to fabricate RFID tags on flexible substrates entirely by printing. It utilizes a pressure annealing method, which can decrease the electrical resistance of antennas, wirings, and electrodes formed by screen printing by more than three orders of magnitude, and enables the fabrication of highly sensitive RF tags without high-temperature baking. (9)

DNA-Enabled Security Holograms - “The strategic combination of DNA-Hologram technologies and RFID, available from Holomex and Applied DNA Sciences in a single device opens major new opportunities for the packaging industry, increased protection for brands and greater safety for consumers. We are in active discussions with several of the largest firms in the packaging industry and our new products are receiving an extremely positive reception”. (10)

RFID Network Architecture - Cisco Systems recently announced an Intelligent Foundation for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to help enterprises introduce RF technologies into their supply chains to increase visibility into product information and optimize business flow for lower operating costs.

Central to Cisco RFID Solutions is the extension of Cisco AON to now include embedded RFID middleware functions into the network onto Cisco data center switches and branch office routers, leading to increased scalability, reduced deployment cost and more simplicity. The RFID-enabled Cisco AON modules can be installed throughout an enterprise's network. The AON modules can perform tasks like outbound encryption, digital signature and content-based routing when sharing data with external business partners. According to Cisco, by enabling localized event responses, customers can now optimize business application performance as well as maximize network value as they deploy current and future RFID applications across their enterprises. (11)

First Strong Security Solution for RFID – “WESTPORT, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 27, 2005--SecureRF Corporation has developed the world's first commercial-strength security solution to address both passive and active radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. Its solution is several thousand times more efficient than any currently available commercial security system and can also address other resource-constrained environments including smart cards and wireless devices. Initial target markets for SecureRF include applications for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, and high value supply chains.” (12)

By now I think that you can see where I am going with this. But first of all, I want to put a disclaimer here and say that the above press releases and their companies are not covertly working with some sort of secret organization to create the mark of the beast. These are all companies that are on the fast track implementing a new technology and I applaud that. As stated above, I see a lot of good in RFID and it would solve a lot of problems. In the wrong hands, I see a lot of bad as well.

The above articles are footnoted at the end of this article and I advise you to read all the articles. All these leaps in the RFID industry has taken place in just the last several weeks. That is a lot of technology moving in one direction really fast.

If you take all these latest developments and put them together, it is my opinion that you have the technology and makings for the mark of the beast.

Let me review here.

We read in Revelation 13:16-18 that the word “mark” literally means to be “engraved upon.” When computer chips are produced, the process is called “chemically engraving” upon a piece of silicon.

I speculate that the mark of the beast will be some sort of engraving, chemical or other process that will create and bond down to the DNA level a RFID chip directly into the skin. It will become part of the skin and be flexible. With current technology the RFID chip is tamper proof, highly secure as well as can possibly be printed / engraved / tattooed onto the skin with a hologram which also creates another level of security and authentication.

The mentioned technologies, if taken further and as the technologies grow, technology can produce that very effect which I speculate and present in this article. With a chip that is engraved, and bonded at the DNA level, the chip itself can draw power strait from the electrical current flowing through the body, thus creating an “Active”(13) RFID tag that can be read and can communicate with RFID reading / sensing devices over 100 feet and quit possibly from satellite. Everyone will literally be part of the network.

In presenting this model, it also meets all 3 of the points that I make which encompasses the mark of the beast. Again those points are an economical, a political and a religious system all wrapped into one. By having some sort of holographic image on the right hand or forehead, there is also recognition and unity of the masses who take the mark. This also identifies those who have not taken the mark.

My earnest hope is that many of you that took the time to read this information won't just let all this fall by the wayside. Right now you have two options. You have an opportunity to freely receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, or someday face a global tyrannical dictator who will demand the entire world to worship him and show allegiance to him by receiving his mark. This mark will reveal that you are owned by him; failure to comply will result in execution by beheading-Rev 20;4. I believe the first option is by far a better decision, don't you?

Here is what God’s Word says…

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

I would encourage you to not delay in receiving Christ as you Savior today if you have not already done so. He died for your sins, and rose from the dead. He offers you eternal life, but that's your choice to make. I hope you will consider doing that today.

Sinners Prayer:

Father in Heaven, I know that I am a sinner in need of a savior. I need your forgiveness through Jesus Christ who died on the cross just for me to cover the sins that I have committed against you. Please forgive me of my sins and come into my heart. I want to live for you Lord Jesus and from this day forward be known as a Child of God. Thank you for forgiving my sins and coming into my life, in Jesus’ wonderful name. Amen

If you are a Christian, but have fallen away from the Lord, come back to Him. Our Heavenly Father is a good and loving Father. Just ask and commune with Him. You see, He never left your side, we just left Him. Reach out and renew your relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior today.

I also ask that if you know someone who would benefit from this article, please freely share it with them.

PZ Note: this article originally appeared in the Oct 28, 2005 PZ Insider Report. With all that is taking place in the news, I thought it appropriate to review it again.

About the Author:

Ray & Tracye Gano are the Executive Directors of Prophezine. Prophezine deals with Bible Prophecy and World Events from a Pre-trib, pre-millennial, dispensationalist stand point. They currently serve close to 70,000+ (and growing) people world wide with a weekly newsletters, daily news updates, community based website and Internet radio shows. Ray recently released his latest project “Escape The End Time Money Snare – The CD a multimedia CD co-authored with Wilfred Hahn focusing on how to escape the trappings of mammon and learning how to live simply in God’s abundance.

Please visit Prophezine by going to http://www.prophezine.com

visit their new daughter ministry Wisdom Farms at http://www.wisdomfarms.com

Footnotes:

1. http://www.wiu.edu/users/nmk100/verichip.htm

2. http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45409

3. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-18-2005/0004171675&EDATE=

4. http://www.rfid-101.com/

5. http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/NDdqV7iLI1vap1/Contactless-Credit-Debit-Cards-Are-Coming-to-Your-Wallet.xhtml&cid=0

6. http://www.inkworldmagazine.com/Oct033.htm

7. http://www.global-packaging-alliance.com/news_print.php?NewsID=69

8. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB112975757605373586-ZbxLQQFpW_SrJk31It0qBaExZiU_20061023.html%3Fmod%3Dtff_main_tff_top&cid=0

9. http://www.adnas.com/PRESS%20RELEASE/pr64.htm