So it is your belief that the chip is not the mark? But something that will come later?
Good day, Silverwings!
The ATM's, the Universal Product Code, Point of Sale system and the RFID chip, are all apart of the evolution of the mark of the beast system. All products have their own UPC (bar code) which identifies that particular product when scanned. When you get to the check out, you get our your card and swipe it through the Verifone device which automatically debits your bank account in real-time. If I break my neighbors window, I can use an app on my phone to send $200 to my neighbors account, which debits my account and credits his. Digital debiting and crediting is buying and selling.
Currently, we have this RFID chip being inserted under the skin of the hand which is being used to make purchases (buying). I believe that this chip technology will continue to evolve into something more applicable in preparation for the end product, which will be the mark. However, a good rule of thumb would be to not receive anything on your body for the purpose of making digital purchases.
So in answer to your question, the RFID is the mark in its infancy and will continue to evolve in preparation for the appearing of that antichrist, where it will be utilized for that end-time purpose.
If it is not the mark do you plan on being chipped?
Out of honor to God, I have continued to use paper money and checks. I use my debit card to withdraw cash from my account via ATM so that I can pay with cash. I pay my utilities and such by invoice and check. I know that it is just a matter of time before that option will be taken away. But in answer to your question, I would in no way willfully receive any chip device on my body in order to make purchases and that because I know what that is going to lead to. I feel that all who are in Christ should be resisting this and not embracing it.
What do you think the mark will be?
I believe that this RFID chip is the forerunner to the mark, which will evolve into a more applicable device. The reason I believe this is because the scripture states that it will go on the hand or the forehead. The current RFID chip would leave a bump on your forehead under the skin and so I believe that it will become something smaller for that reason.
The mark on the hand is a convenient location because you can just stick out your hand and be scanned to make your payment. But the only reasons I can think of for the mark being on the forehead would be for those who have no upper limbs or it could be a show of greater worship during the time when people are worshipping the beast. Those who will not receive the mark during that time will be the great tribulation saints, who is that group introduced in Revelation 7:9-17 in white robes which no man can count from every nation, tribe, people and language, which makes them all Gentiles. These are those who will have come to believe in Christ after the church has been gathered and during the time of God's wrath. Everywhere in scripture where the word 'Saints' is used beginning from Rev.5:8, is referring to the saints during the tribulation/great tribulation.
In opposition to this, the word 'ekklesia' translated as 'church' is used 19 times throughout chapters 1 thru 3 and then is never used within the narrative of God's wrath. It changes to hagios/Saints.
All that said, I believe that Revelation 4:1is a what I call a prophetic allusion to the church being called up and gathered by the Lord, where His voice will sound like a trumpet saying "Come up here and I will show you what must take place after this!" The "what must take place after this, are the events that take place after the church period which ends at Revelation 4:1 and which is why we don't see the word church from that time forward. It is not until Revelation 19:6-8 that the church is alluded to as the bride at the wedding of the Lamb. And it is not until Revelation 22:16 that we see the word church used again, which is outside of the narrative of God's wrath which is in the epilog.
and you also believe that believers will be gone before it is implemented?
Yes, you are correct. I don't believe that those who are currently in Christ will be here during the time of the beast and when his mark becomes mandatory. The reason for this is because Jesus already took upon himself God's wrath on behalf of every believer, satisfying it completely. Therefore, God's wrath no longer rests upon the believer. And since this is the case, then the Lord's promise to come and take us back to the Father's house as described in John 14:1-3 and I Thessalonians 4:13-18 must take place prior to the on-set of God's wrath, which is initiated at Revelation 4:1 and before the opening of the first seal.
Most everything that God does is a legal process. For example: the Lord left heaven to be born as a human being and that so He could represent us, kinning himself to us. The exception is that, as a man He never committed any sin. Just as through Adam came sin and therefore condemnation to all people, so also through One man, Jesus Christ, comes the cleansing of sin and eternal life through faith in Him. God's word says that "unless there is a shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sins." This is a legal precedent which Jesus satisfied by the shedding of His own blood, Him being without sin. The same thing is true regarding the law. We as human being are unable to keep the Law, but Jesus kept it perfectly in the flesh, satisfying that legal precedence. Now, for those who believe in Him the Law has been satisfied completely. As scripture states: "But now, having died to what bound us,
we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit,
and not in the old way of the written code.
All that said and in answer to your question, Since God's wrath has been completely satisfied through Christ on behalf of every believer, then God's wrath no longer rests upon us and we must therefore be gathered prior to God's coming wrath. To give you an idea of the severity of God's coming wrath, with just the 4th seal and the 6th trumpet--a fourth and a third, respectively--this will equal over half the earths population within the first 3 1/2 years of the tribulation period and that is not including the fatalities that will result from trumpets 1, 2 and 3, nor from the seven bowl judgments. By the time the Lord returns to the earth, the majority of the earths population will have been decimated and all human government dismantled.
"For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short." - Matt.24:21-22
See also the seals, trumpets and bowl judgments in Revelation chapters 6 thru 16