Mark of the Beast

[ciel_perdy]

In the Revelation is speaks of a time when no one will be able to buy or sell without a mark in their right hand or in their forehead.

Many people have theories about what this 'mark' will be or has been. Like I have shared before they range from theories about Emporer Nero, to social security, to a spiritual mark. Unfortunately most of the theories tend to overlook the two significant parts to the prophecy, namely, A: no one can buy or sell without it, B: the mark will be in the right hand or forehead.

Over the years, I have found that the reason why people's theories are so irrational when it comes to this prophecy, is because no one really wants to HEAR what it is saying, because doing so means facing an important choice in their life.

In a nut shell it is saying that a time will come when the only way to survive will be by living by faith, trusting in God for food and clothes. There will be no buying food, paying rent, getting a bus ticket, putting food on your kids plates, or setting aside for the college or pension fund, or providing the wife with the things she wants. It means everything that you work for now you will have to give up. People don't want to think about this, so they shut their eyes and close their ears, and put their hopes in fanciful theories to explain away any reall effect that this prophecy has on the way they live.

You don't even have to be Christian to see that the world is heading towards a cashless society. Money has evolved from expensive metals, to cheap metals, to paper, then it becomes purely theoretical as it is now just numbers in a computer, so we use cards, internet and phone banking, and now we have microchip implants in night clubs throughout Europe where people can buy and sell using a chip in the arm. Every day/week, more commercials and advertisement comes out promoting any kind of banking or financial exchange, just stop using physical cash is the message. Of course, even to me it is logical. I mean, a chip in the hand for example is so much more convenient to scan than a chip in the shoulder, you don't need a wallet, it will act as your ID, no worries about credit card fraud, forgeting your wallet, or worry about being robbed, and so much illegal activity will decrease, because a LOT of illegal activity is dependant on cash changing hands. Anyway, that is all to say there are HUGE benifits to this kind of technology, and this is why the world is heading towards it.

Now, to tie all of this into the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught that we can only serve one of two masters, he didn't say God and the devil as most would think would be the logical masters we would have a choice in serving. No, he said very plainly, that the choice is between GOD or MONEY. He said we will show the one we love by which we give out lives to. He said we would hate one and love the other. It's not too hard to see which the majority of the world love! Jesus taught man to live by faith, he said for us to consider the birds and the flowers, neither of which prostitute their lives in order to make money, but God feeds them and clothes them, and he says we can live the same way. Money is the greatest illusion/delusion this world has ever seen. Most people can't see past it. Just like in the Matrix, people are born into this world, and very rarely does anyone question it enough to be able to break free from this illusion we all persist in keeping up. People talk about being spiritually awakened and speak of faith in God as if it is some how to the spiritually enlightened masses of arm chair Guru's, but we all have faith in something, and as Jesus put it, your faith is either in God, or it is in Money and all that money can buy. The concept of money is a collective insanity, and one that has caused the greatest suffering this world has ever seen, as we strive for more and more of that precious profit to the detriment of our planet, our fellow brothers and sisters and our own spiritual lives...but I digress.

Point is Jesus taught people to not work for money by to work for love. If you don't believe in Jesus or in the prophecy, then obviously at least in your mind you can just dismiss all of this as the faniciful ravings of a mad man, but if you call yourself Christian then you need to heed the truth in what Jesus spoke. To be honest, even if you don't call yourself Christian, truth is truth, and I believe even though people argue tooth and nail against it, somewhere in your spirit/soul, the truth that man should be living by faith in God, working for love, and using our lives to make money and buy things rings true. Of course, this whisper of truth is buried beneath the years of conditioning we have all recieved. When the mark comes, there is when the final choice is really given for ALL people regardless of faith or background or social status. The Revelation says that any who take the mark will recieve the full wrath of God. Now, I am sure for the those who despise any kind of spiritual authority greater that the ''I AM'' that they percieve themselves to be, this thought about judgment is dirty and not worth thinking about. Fair enough. But lets just say sometime in the near future the world unites in the use of one common form of monetary transaction, and lets say that the form will be something in the right hand or the forehead. Well, then...what do you do? More than likely people will dismiss it for the mutliple of deceptions that we use to hide ourselves from the truth. But, c'est la vie.

Well this is longer than I thought it would be. I look forward to people's rational thoughts about this mark, i.e. the movement towards a cashless society, how people who don't have the mark will have to live, and how it all ties into what Jesus taught about not working for money but working for God.

Oh, IG wrote on a previous thread that if the microchip per say, was in the left hand then it wouldn't be the mark of the beast, and so then no problem. Well, obviously yes, just like a chip in the upper arm isn't the mark, but what we are talking about is a 'mark' (whatever it will be), in the RIGHT hand or FORHEAD (perhaps for amputees). My question is, IF one day we have this change in monetary transactions and this is the way that anyone in the world can buy or sell....will YOU take it? (the you is any reader, not just IG).

I look forward to people's thoughts.

 

[ciel_perdy]

I have posted what I wrote again, as I realized there were a number of spelling mistakes which may have been confusing, and would alter what I was trying to share




In the Revelation it speaks of a time when no one will be able to buy or sell without a mark in their right hand or in their forehead.

Many people have theories about what this 'mark' will be or has been. Like I have shared before, they range from theories about Emporer Nero, to social security, to a spiritual mark. Unfortunately most of the theories tend to overlook the two significant parts to the prophecy, namely, A: no one can buy or sell without it, B: the mark will be in the right hand or forehead.

Over the years, I have found that the reason why people's theories are so irrational when it comes to this prophecy, is because no one really wants to HEAR what it is saying, because doing so means facing an important choice in their life.

In a nut shell, it is saying that a time will come, when the only way to survive will be by living by faith, trusting in God for food and clothes. There will be no buying food, paying rent, getting a bus ticket, putting food on your kids plates, or setting aside for the college or pension fund, or providing the wife with the things she wants. It means everything that you work for now you will have to give up. People don't want to think about this, so they shut their eyes and close their ears, and put their hopes in fanciful theories to explain away any real effect that this prophecy has on the way they live.

You don't even have to be Christian to see that the world is heading towards a cashless society. Money has evolved from expensive metals, to cheap metals, to paper, then it becomes purely theoretical as it is now just numbers in a computer, so we use cards, internet and phone banking, and now we have microchip implants in night clubs throughout Europe where people can buy and sell using a chip in the arm. Every day/week, more commercials and advertisement comes out promoting any kind of banking or financial exchange, just stop using physical cash is the message. Of course, even to me it is logical. I mean, a chip in the hand for example is so much more convenient to scan than a chip in the shoulder, you don't need a wallet, it will act as your ID, no worries about credit card fraud, forgeting your wallet, or worry about being robbed, and so much illegal activity will decrease, because a LOT of illegal activity is dependant on cash changing hands. Anyway, that is all to say there are HUGE benifits to this kind of technology, and this is why the world is heading towards it.

Now, to tie all of this into the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught that we can only serve one of two masters, he didn't say God and the devil as most would think would be the logical masters we would have a choice in serving. No, he said very plainly, that the choice is between GOD or MONEY. He said we will show the one we love by which we give our lives to. He said we would hate one and love the other. It's not too hard to see which the majority of the world loves! Jesus taught man to live by faith, he said for us to consider the birds and the flowers, neither of which prostitute their lives in order to make money, but God feeds them and clothes them, and he says we can live the same way. Money is the greatest illusion/delusion this world has ever seen. Most people can't see past it. Just like in the Matrix, people are born into this world, and very rarely does anyone question it enough to be able to break free from this illusion we all persist in keeping up. People talk about being spiritually awakened and speak of faith in God as if it is something bad, but even for the spiritually enlightened masses of arm chair Guru's we all have faith in something, and as Jesus put it, your faith is either in God, or it is in Money and all that money can buy. The concept of money is a collective insanity, and one that has caused the greatest suffering this world has ever seen, as we strive for more and more of that precious profit to the detriment of our planet, our fellow brothers and sisters, and our own spiritual lives...but I digress.

Point is, Jesus taught people to not work for money but to work for love. If you don't believe in Jesus or in the prophecy, then obviously at least in your mind you can just dismiss all of this as the faniciful ravings of a mad man, but if you call yourself Christian then you need to heed the truth in what Jesus spoke. To be honest, even if you don't call yourself Christian, truth is truth, and I believe even though people argue tooth and nail against it, somewhere in your spirit/soul, the truth that man should be living by faith in God, working for love, and NOT using our lives to make money and buy things rings true. Of course, this whisper of truth is buried beneath the years of conditioning we have all recieved. When the mark comes, there is when the final choice is really given for ALL people regardless of faith or background or social status. The Revelation says that any who take the mark will recieve the full wrath of God. Now, I am sure for the those who despise any kind of spiritual authority greater that the ''I AM'' that they percieve themselves to be, this thought about judgment is dirty and not worth thinking about. Fair enough. But lets just say sometime in the near future the world unites in the use of one common form of monetary transaction, and lets say that the form will be something in the right hand or the forehead. Well, then...what do you do? More than likely people will dismiss it for the mutliple of deceptions that we use to hide ourselves from the truth. But, c'est la vie.

Well this is longer than I thought it would be. I look forward to people's rational thoughts about this mark, i.e. the movement towards a cashless society, how people who don't have the mark will have to live, and how it all ties into what Jesus taught about not working for money but working for God.

Oh, IG wrote on a previous thread that if the microchip per say, was in the left hand then it wouldn't be the mark of the beast, and so then no problem. Well, obviously yes, just like a chip in the upper arm isn't the mark, but what we are talking about is a 'mark' (whatever it will be), in the RIGHT hand or FORHEAD (perhaps for amputees). My question is, IF one day we have this change in monetary transactions and this is the way that anyone in the world can buy or sell....will YOU take it? (the you is any reader, not just IG).

I look forward to people's thoughts.

 

[radarmark]

Well, a cashless society is not going to happen except in the very wealthiest nations (Switzerland... not US or Europe). And for most of the world;s people (China and India) it will never happen. Three reasons: at the bottom there is just too little cash to convert, in the middle the average citizen has enough trouble with cash backed by gov't fiat, and at the top it macks too much of "Left Behind".

That being said, I do not believe that Revelation is prophesy any more than I believe Pi = 3. Just another Bible story.

Pax at amore omnia vincunt.

 

[Servetus]

Beware of “simple coincidences.” Here the inventor of the UPC barcode, George Laurer, is asked about the 666 which appears in his decidedly useful (for commercial purposes) invention:

--->Source:

... Rumor has it that the lines (left, middle, and right) that protrude below the U.P.C. code are the numbers 6,6,6... and that this is the international money code. I typed a code with all sixes and this seems to be true. At least they all resemble sixes. What's up with that?

Answer- Yes, they do RESEMBLE the code for a six. An even parity 6 is:
1 module wide black bar
1 module wide white space
1 module wide black bar
4 module wide white space

There is nothing sinister about this nor does it have anything to do with the Bible's "mark of the beast" (The New Testament, The Revelation, Chapter 13, paragraph 18). It is simply a coincidence …

 

[ciel_perdy]

and at the top it macks too much of "Left Behind".

That being said, I do not believe that Revelation is prophesy any more than I believe Pi = 3. Just another Bible story.

I was particularly interested in this comment, because it does look like you are allowing a personal dislike for something that sounds ''religious'' to cause you to overlook genuine evidence.

You suggest that a cashless society could not be global because it sounds like 'Left-Behind'? Based on the examples I have given, your suggestion sounds quite irrational, though after reading about these examples you may change your mind. It could be that I am misunderstanding your comments.

Well, a cashless society is not going to happen except in the very wealthiest nations (Switzerland... not US or Europe). And for most of the world;s people (China and India) it will never happen. Three reasons: at the bottom there is just too little cash to convert, in the middle the average citizen has enough trouble with cash backed by gov't fiat,

Pax at amore omnia vincunt.

Well, thanks for your thoughts. I would disagree with your first statement, because reality shows that we ARE moving towards a cashless socitety, as shown by the evolution of money to credit/debit cards, and like I shared, implantable microchips used in nightclubs. for example, Scotland, Spain, and Amsterdam. These clubs offer VIP treatment for people who get an implant in their arm, to pay for their drinks and admission fees. It's like a prestige thing.

Also another example, there have been significant advances in phone banking technology in Kenya of all places, widely considered to still be a 3rd Wolrd country. There are more than 15 million (a bit under a half of the population) phone banking customers in this country. Which means these people can make transactions everyday without touching money. They can even pay for their groceries with credit that is on their phone.

There are financial reports suggesting that western countries like America and England are rushing to catch up. They didn't expect it to be so popular.


Here is a quote from an article about the movement towards a cashless society:

Orange is the first company out of the blocks. Its Quick Tap system will let you buy goods up to £15 at "wave and pay" contactless readers already installed in 50,000 UK stores.

 

[ciel_perdy]

There is nothing sinister about this nor does it have anything to do with the Bible's "mark of the beast" (The New Testament, The Revelation, Chapter 13, paragraph 18). It is simply a coincidence …

There are two points in this quote that are significant. 1) Whether or not this coincidence is sinister, has nothing to do with the point. This has nothing to do with fear-mongering, and only seems to confuse the issues, when we start talking about being afraid.

And 2), It DOES have something to do with the Mark of the Beast, it's not clear why this person is insisting there is no connection at all, on the basis that it is a 'coincidence'. The fact is that the prophecy mentions buying and selling, as the key factor of this mark. The barcode is used for buying and selling. Why do you insist there is no connection? Call it a coincidence or whatever you want, but you can't pretend that there is no similarity.

Perhaps we should be examing why people have such a difficult time accepting that there is a connection. No one is asking you to become a Christian, or to ''believe'' in prophecy. It's a simple matter of just looking at what is actually there, and examing the evidence rationally.

So, is it about money that causes people to overlook what is actually being said about money in prophecy and from Jesus?

 

[IowaGuy]

And 2), It DOES have something to do with the Mark of the Beast, it's not clear why this person is insisting there is no connection at all, on the basis that it is a 'coincidence'. The fact is that the prophecy mentions buying and selling, as the key factor of this mark. The barcode is used for buying and selling. Why do you insist there is no connection? Call it a coincidence or whatever you want, but you can't pretend that there is no similarity.

So then, do you personally not buy anything that has a barcode on it, since you believe barcodes to be associated with the Mark of the Beast?

Revelations says all men will be forced to take the Mark of the Beast to buy or sell. But it also says seven-headed dragons and men on white horses are coming.

If you do not believe in the literal dragons and white horses (from previous discussions), why do you believe in the Mark of the Beast?

Why do you believe Revelations is a message from God and wasn't just the poetic writings of John (either John the Apostle, John of Patmos, or John the Evangelist, depending which scholar you read). The author John claims he had a vision, but lots of people have visions... Are all visions messages from God?

 

[Servetus]

There are two points in this quote that are significant. 1) Whether or not this coincidence is sinister, has nothing to do with the point. This has nothing to do with fear-mongering, and only seems to confuse the issues, when we start talking about being afraid.

And 2), It DOES have something to do with the Mark of the Beast, it's not clear why this person is insisting there is no connection at all, on the basis that it is a 'coincidence'. The fact is that the prophecy mentions buying and selling, as the key factor of this mark. The barcode is used for buying and selling. Why do you insist there is no connection? Call it a coincidence or whatever you want, but you can't pretend that there is no similarity.

Perhaps we should be examing why people have such a difficult time accepting that there is a connection. No one is asking you to become a Christian, or to ''believe'' in prophecy. It's a simple matter of just looking at what is actually there, and examing the evidence rationally.

So, is it about money that causes people to overlook what is actually being said about money in prophecy and from Jesus?

I might have been more specific that I do accept that the Revelation of St. John is prophecy and I think it significant that, quite unknown even to himself, the inventor of the barcode included a 666 within it.

I wholeheartedly agree that one cannot serve both God and mammon (money), unless, of course, as is often the case, mammon is one’s god. In my case, then, you are largely singing to the choir, but I do usually enjoy the song.

 

[Servetus]

So then, do you personally not buy anything that has a barcode on it, since you believe barcodes to be associated with the Mark of the Beast?

I buy most things and everything has a barcode upon it. Thus, I am at this point part of what I consider an emerging, potentially beastly system.

 

[IowaGuy]

I do accept that the Revelation of St. John is prophecy

Which John do you believe to be the author and why?

Do you believe all of Revelations to be prophecy, or just parts of it.

Do you also accept as prophecy writings from other religions, or say, Nostradamus?

 

[Servetus]

Which John do you believe to be the author and why?

John of Patmos, of course . At any rate, even if it were written pseudonymously, I would accept it as prophecy. The why of the matter is that, to me, the book's authorship is less important than the spiritual merits of its content.

Do you believe all of Revelations to be prophecy, or just parts of it.

All of it.

Do you also accept as prophecy writings from other religions, or say, Nostradamus?

Yes. I especially accept as prophecy those writings from the Hindu tradition which involve the kali-yuga, or the ultimate regression of the castes at the culmination of the age, and, from the Islamic, those which pertain to the emergence of Dajjal. As for Nostradamus, I haven’t read him and have thus formulated no opinion.

 

[IowaGuy]

the book's authorship is less important than the spiritual merits of its content.....As for Nostradamus, I haven’t read him and have thus formulated no opinion.

So, if and when you choose to read Nostradamus, how will you decide whether to believe if his writings are prophecy? What are the criteria that make one person's writings (John of Patmos) prophecy while another (a street corner psychic in Los Angeles) not prophecy? Have you ever been to Los Angeles to see all the prophecy being thrown around?

Or, is everyone who claims to receive a vision from God speaking the truth? Should their statements be judged solely on their spiritual merits to determine if it is indeed prophecy?

Do you think the visions obtained by Native Americans were prophecy from "God"? (many tribes had some sort of "vision quest" in their belief system)

 

[Servetus]

So, if and when you choose to read Nostradamus, how will you decide whether to believe if his writings are prophecy? What are the criteria that make one person's writings (John of Patmos) prophecy while another (a street corner psychic in Los Angeles) not prophecy?

It will be entirely subjective, of course, as most things of this nature are. One often navigates this sea of illusion by an internal compass. If, for instance, someone views the incorporation of 666 in the UPC barcode as “simply coincidental,” as does its inventor, and another sees it as consonant with a larger cosmic theme as expressed, granted in some ways obliquely and for the initiated, by the writer of the Revelation of St. John, then how might we explain the difference between the two? There are different modes of human thought and perception, some ratiocinative and others intuitive. I don't know if they are all equal. Sometimes, one is certainly more useful than another.

Have you ever been to Los Angeles to see all the prophecy being thrown around?

As a matter of fact, I worked in the Arco Towers and had to step over most of it along the way .

Or, is everyone who claims to receive a vision from God speaking the truth?

That seems unlikely.

Should their statements be judged solely on their spiritual merits to determine if it is indeed prophecy?

That is one criterion. Can you think of another?

Do you think the visions obtained by Native Americans were prophecy from "God"? (many tribes had some sort of "vision quest" in their belief system)

I’ve heard some rather spot on prophecies concerning the coming of the white man and his trains and firearms from the Hopi tradition. That, it seems to me, is another way to tell the veracity of a prophecy: whether it comes to pass.

I might also mention, as an aside, that though I accept certain books as prophecy, I do not claim to understand and am rarely able to interpret them.

 

[IowaGuy]

It will be entirely subjective, of course, as most things of this nature are. One often navigates this sea of illusion by an internal compass....There are different modes of human thought and perception, some ratiocinative and others intuitive. I don't know if they are all equal. Sometimes, one is certainly more useful than another.

An internal compass of course introduces personal bias into the equation.

I would think when dealing with something like prophecy one would try to find an objective measure of determining its validity. You're suggesting one's intuition can be used to determine if something is prophecy?

I’ve heard some rather spot on prophecies concerning the coming of the white man and his trains and firearms from the Hopi tradition. That, it seems to me, is another way to tell the veracity of a prophecy: whether it comes to pass.

And the Aztecs thought Cortés, riding in on a horse, was their long-awaited God Quetzalcoatlin; as several prophetic omens had recently come to pass... Self-fulfilling prophecy?

 

[ciel_perdy]

So then, do you personally not buy anything that has a barcode on it, since you believe barcodes to be associated with the Mark of the Beast?

Revelations says all men will be forced to take the Mark of the Beast to buy or sell. But it also says seven-headed dragons and men on white horses are coming.

If you do not believe in the literal dragons and white horses (from previous discussions), why do you believe in the Mark of the Beast?

Why do you believe Revelations is a message from God and wasn't just the poetic writings of John (either John the Apostle, John of Patmos, or John the Evangelist, depending which scholar you read). The author John claims he had a vision, but lots of people have visions... Are all visions messages from God?

I simply said that the barcode and the 666 that appears on it, DOES have some connection to the prophecy. However, it is NOT the mark, so I don't have a problem buying an item with a barcode on it. The point I was making is that people somehow overlook the very OBVIOUS connection to the prophecy. Why? Again, I am not saying it IS the mark (because barcodes on products aren't).

Why do I believe in the mark of the beast? Did you read my first post? Can you see how a cashless society where no one can buy or sell without some kind of mark in their right hand or forehead, is more possible than dragons coming out of the sea with seven heads?

Your post conveniently deals with non of the evidence I have put forward to show how the mark of the beast is becoming a reality. If you don't believe in this prophecy (or my understanding of how it is being fulfilled), challenge the evidence I am presenting. I am not going to be drawn into discussion about whether God speaks to people etc, etc, because I just feel that it detracts from the point at hand, namely...a prophecy 2000 years ago, say there will come a time when no one can buy or sell without a mark in their right hand or forehead. Obviously this has NOT happened yet, BUT we are living in a time when it is VERY likely to happen. So, the question again, is, if does come, will you take it?

 

[ciel_perdy]

IowaGuy wrote:

I would think when dealing with something like prophecy one would try to find an objective measure of determining its validity.

What's interesting is, that you are actually dismissing all the objective rational evidence that I have been presenting for why the mark of the beast prophecy is looking like being fulfilled in our life time. Why is that? What is it about the prophecy and how it relates to our attitude towards money, that makes people so defiant in actually dealing with the basics of that text? Same thing happens with anything Jesus teaches on money.

 

[Dream]

You don't even have to be Christian to see that the world is heading towards a cashless society. Money has evolved from expensive metals, to cheap metals, to paper,

We can stop right there at 'Paper'. We already are trading pieces of paper backed by governments, and that fulfills the mark of the beast image all by itself. Credit cards and chips in the arm are no different from so-called 'Cash'. You generally can't use gold anymore. First of all, cash is 'Legal Tender', which means businesses are bound by law to accept it as payment.

The phrase about 'Buying and selling' was active right from the beginning. Roman emperors issued money printed with their images, and their money became tied to accepting them as divine. You couldn't buy or sell without tainting yourself.

Over the years, I have found that the reason why people's theories are so irrational when it comes to this prophecy, is because no one really wants to HEAR what it is saying, because doing so means facing an important choice in their life.

That is not me. I've always taken Revelation seriously over the years. What I think is that it was never meant to be used to predict events but to encourage believers in hard times.

Money is the greatest illusion/delusion this world has ever seen. Most people can't see past it. Just like in the Matrix, people are born into this world, and very rarely does anyone question it enough to be able to break free from this illusion we all persist in keeping up.

The Matrix was a favorite. You don't have to wait for the world to go on pure credit. Its already on pure credit.

 

[Servetus]

It will be entirely subjective, of course, as most things of this nature are. One often navigates this sea of illusion by an internal compass ...

An internal compass of course introduces personal bias into the equation.

Naturally. I am, after all, the sailor of my own at times wandering bark and I must determine true (spiritual) north largely upon my own.

And the Aztecs thought Cortés, riding in on a horse, was their long-awaited God Quetzalcoatlin; as several prophetic omens had recently come to pass... Self-fulfilling prophecy?

More a case of mistaken identity, in this case, I should think. On the other hand, perhaps Cortés was el hombre, the man, and the Aztecian god had decided to be rid of his own people. The gods, sometimes, can seem capricious.

 

[A Cup Of Tea]

What's interesting is, that you are actually dismissing all the objective rational evidence that I have been presenting for why the mark of the beast prophecy is looking like being fulfilled in our life time. Why is that? What is it about the prophecy and how it relates to our attitude towards money, that makes people so defiant in actually dealing with the basics of that text? Same thing happens with anything Jesus teaches on money.

Why is it so hard to accept that most people don't consider your evidence as objective and rational. I understand that a lot of non-Christians might dismiss anything Revelation has to say out of hand because it requires a belief that the texts are written with divine (Christian) inspiration. When a person don't believe in a Christian divinity any similarity between Revelations and reality is seen as simple coincidence. Is this really hard to believe?

Personally I'm agnostic, and I'm not particularity prejudice against Christianity, but my personal understanding of the world is different from Revelations. I'm not saying it's untrue, but I have no reason to trust it either. This isn't hard to believe either, right?

The Mark of the Beast is perfectly rational to you, but not to everyone. Simple.

 

[Servetus]

The phrase about 'Buying and selling' was active right from the beginning. Roman emperors issued money printed with their images, and their money became tied to accepting them as divine. You couldn't buy or sell without tainting yourself.

Agreed. It was active from the beginning. And, according to many, including, in this case, and as I understand the visionary poet, W.B. Yeats, that which was present at the start will return, or recrudesce, with both vengeance and fury, at the end. Consider:

“The darkness drops again but now I know
that twenty centuries of stony sleep
were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
and what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”