THE FALSE PROPHET'S "CHIP"

The Second Beast of Revelation is often called the False Prophet because his main objective will be to get all of mankind to worship the First Beast, best known as the Antichrist (Rev. 13:1-18).  He will have the power to work miracles that will deceive most of humanity (Rev. 13:13-14).  In addition, he will be able to build a robot-like "image" of the Antichrist, and he will attempt to force everyone to worship the image or suffer the consequences (Rev. 13:14-15).  Those who comply will receive "a mark" on their right hand or forehead as proof of their allegiance to the Antichrist (Rev. 13:16-18).  The "mark" will consist of one of the following:  a mark, the name of the Beast, or "the number of his name."  We are told that the number is "Six hundred threescore and six" (Rev. 13:18).

The False Prophet, like the Antichrist, is not recognized by the Jews until the Antichrist commits the Abomination of Desolation at the mid-point of the seven-year Tribulation (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15; Rev. 13:1-10).  That is because, until the Antichrist declares himself to be God, the False Prophet's "ministry" to force mankind to worship him would be premature.  

His ultimate goal, the same goal as the Satanic trinity, is described as follows:  "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon (Satan, who would be worshiped as God), and out of the mouth of the beast (the Antichrist, who would be worshiped as the Christ), and out of the mouth of the false prophet (the Second Beast, whose actions betray his desire to serve in the same capacity as the Holy Spirit).  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty" (Rev. 16:13-14).  His end is mentioned later as he and the Antichrist are cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:20; 20:10).

There has been much speculation as to what the "mark" is.  The Apostle John was writing in Greek, and like Hebrew, Greek numbers are written using the alphabet.  For example, 666 is represented as χξϛʹ (600 + 60 + 6) in Greek manuscripts.  Some theologians have speculated that the Antichrist's identity can be determined by adding up the numbers of the letters spelling his name.  Others suggest that his names (first, middle, and last) will have six letters each.

Since his identity will not be revealed until the Antichrist's is revealed, for us to waste our time debating it seems vain and useless.  And as for the "mark" itself, we are not told what it is.  Many "experts" have suggested it will be a bar-code for scanning, or some other computer-readable matrix such as the relatively new QR codes.  Others have suggested the "mark" is not a mark at all, but that it is a computer chip.  Today, scientists have created a microchip so small that every single piece of data about you can be stored in a chip the size of a small grain of rice.    

As a result, many born again believers have opposed any governmental attempt at having everyone identifiable by an imbedded computer chip.  I am not sure I understand the resistance.  Born again believers will not be present on earth when the False Prophet is revealed with his diabolical scheme; we will have been removed by the Rapture at least three and a half years earlier (Jn. 14:6; 1 Cor. 15:50-58; 1 Thes. 4:13-18; 5:9).  And, since the "mark" is associated with man's willingness to worship the "Image of the Beast," bar codes, computer chips, etc. of today should not be feared as the sign one has rejected Jesus Christ (Rev. 13:16-17; 14:9-11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4).

The best way to be sure you are not worshiping the Antichrist 

is to be sure you are worshiping the Jesus Christ!