Big Brother, the Anti Christ, and chips under your skin

I was watching the 700 Club last night and they were talking about micro-chips being implanted into human skin. Growing up in a Pentecostal/Charismatic church, I have heard about this for years and have been warned against the dangers of taking the Mark of the Beast, even though I've always been taught that I probably won't be on earth when the Anti-Christ comes to power. Even a pre-tribulatpion rapture view never seems to console those who live in constant fear of their eternal destiny. I have heard of Christians fearing secret micro chips being implanted into their toilet seats! One of my aunts took a trip to the Appalacian mountains to conduct a Vacation Bible School for children. One 12 year old girl would not allow her to stamp her hand because she was afraid of accepting the Mark of the Beast.

As far as taking the Mark of the Beast, we can all relax for now. Åccording to Revelation 14:6-11, when the real Mark of the Beast arrives, there will be angels flying to and fro throughout the earth warning the inhabitants of planet earth not to take the mark. Unless I see angels flying in the sky, I am not going to worry about a stamp on my hand or a microchip in my toilet seat. If I am going to be ridiculed for the sake of the gospel, I would rather be ridiculed for something intelligent, not ridiculous.

You may think that Left-Behind fans are the only ones concerned about the new technology. If you think that, you're dead wrong. Fundamentalist Christians see this as a sign of the soon and coming anti-Christ, but many left-wingers see it as a sign of Orwell's Big Brother stripping away our civil liberties. For many civil libertarians, religious people (especially those with political power) are public enemy number one to an open and tolerant society.

Ironically, I think they are both right in some ways. No, I don't think the Republican party is going to produce a Hitler-like despot such as is portrayed in the film V for Vendetta any time soon, but I do think all of us need to take a cold, hard look at what the implications are if human beings lose their ability to move about freely without being tracked by who knows who. The fact that both Christians and liberals seem to agree on this issue should further confirm that maybe the Apostle John's vision of a future society where people can not buy or sell without a mark on their hand or their forehead isn't such a fanciful imagination after all. Given the track record of the Bible in predicting future events, I for one am not the least bit surprised.