# mark of the beast microchip -- when was it invented? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 29, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998 "2009-05-29T04:34:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![goemon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@goemon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goemon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/1 "2009-05-29T04:34:30Z")
i’m wanting to know when the interpretation of the Book of Revelation in the bible to mean that we would receive a microchip implant in our hand/forehead to buy/sell goods was invented. i had heard this story since i was a kid and i’m 25 now. i don’t know if i can trust this interpretation to be true, so to give me a hint as to it’s accuracy i want to know how far back it was invented so i can see if it was forward-thinking on the part of the interpreter or maybe just an LSD trip someone had while watching 1984 or something. also any references to ideas in books or movies or whatever that have a similar concept that were floating around before this interpretation was known would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![TaterRecon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f14d63/32.png) [@TaterRecon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaterRecon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/2 "2009-05-29T04:44:54Z")
> [@](#): > > He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. > Revelation 13:15-18 (New King James Version) I am unsure of the answer to your question but I have heard the same for a while now as well. Reading the verse however, as you probably know, says nothing of any chip or the like. Could it be a chip though, yea I guess. Some believe the chips will be a precursor to a cashless society which would fit the passage in the text to a certain extent. As to who started all of this I would have to dig deeper than I have on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/3 "2009-05-29T05:25:48Z")
Um, before microchips it was the received wisdom in such circles that this passage referred to barcodes. Before that, social security numbers. The kind of person who chooses to believe that this passage is to be interpreted as a literal prophecy of specific events also generally chooses to believe that those events must be contemporary to them. If I _wanted_ to give everybody today an indentifying mark, how would I do it? Microchip them! So the passge _must_ refer to microchips, mustn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Ersatz\_Shmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@Ersatz\_Shmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ersatz_Shmoe)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/4 "2009-05-29T06:11:45Z")
FWIW, when I was growing up in the Southern Baptist Church (80’s), I always heard it as barcodes. I guess they just updated the story at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/5 "2009-05-29T07:27:07Z")
I’m guessing the concept started around RFID’s media heyday, if not then certainly by '04 when the FDA approved RFID chips to be implanted in certain hospital patients. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/6 "2009-05-29T11:25:55Z")
I began to hear of the mark of the beast chip when “pet chips” became popular (1990, perhaps?), predating the human use of chips. Like others in this thread, my church/religious school claimed it would be a bar code before then, going so far as to claim standard US UPC bar codes were evil, all containing “666.”. (I’m ashamed to say that I sucked up and threw in references to the evil of bar codes when doing a science fair exhibit on computer technology, simply to get a good grade.) ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/7 "2009-05-29T11:37:10Z")
The interpretation adjusts as technology grows. During the 1970s, I was hearing of ID (maybe SS) numbers in permanent ink readable by infra-red light. And through this, your movements & finances would be monitored by the BEAST three-story super-computer in Brussels. Then in the 1980’s, the bar code idea became popular, especially since the 12 digit version does seem to be bracket by three sixes. I think though it was the late 1980s that I started to hear about implanted microchips. If indeed there is a future fulfillment to the Mark, I see no need for it to be any more technological that a physical mark indicating you’ve sold out to the Beast System. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/8 "2009-05-29T11:51:42Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > The interpretation adjusts as technology grows. During the 1970s, I was hearing of ID (maybe SS) numbers in permanent ink readable by infra-red light. I’m guessing they meant ‘ultra-violet’, because it seems like something trying to read IR-visible ink on a hot object like a living body would have a tough time of it. > [@](#): > > And through this, your movements & finances would be monitored by the BEAST three-story super-computer in Brussels. _Three-story_ supercomputer!? I suppose Satan can cure all your latency problems. > [@](#): > > Then in the 1980’s, the bar code idea became popular, especially since the 12 digit version does seem to be bracket by three sixes. Seems to be, but isn’t. If you’re interpreting something like a barcode, taking things like framing into account is important and those supposed ‘sixes’ are just a framing device to delimit the beginning, middle, and end of each complete code. I understand where they’re coming from, but it’s still wrong. > [@](#): > > If indeed there is a future fulfillment to the Mark, I see no need for it to be any more technological that a physical mark indicating you’ve sold out to the Beast System. Or it could be one of those allegories the Bible is well known for, like how Jesus doesn’t really expect us to rip our own eyes out. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/9 "2009-05-29T11:52:50Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Then in the 1980’s, the bar code idea became popular, especially since the 12 digit version does seem to be bracket by three sixes. Just for the record, it’s not. This claim is driven by misinterpretation of the coding and ignorance of the meaning of the width of the bars. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/10 "2009-05-29T12:56:53Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Just for the record, it’s not. This claim is driven by misinterpretation of the coding and ignorance of the meaning of the width of the bars. I said “seems”! To the untrained eye, the bracketing bars sure do look like the second set bars for 6. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/11 "2009-05-29T14:34:53Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I said “seems”! To the untrained eye, the bracketing bars sure do look like the second set bars for 6. Can someone break this down for me? I also heard this story that barcodes had the three 6’s thing. What’s the Straight Dope? ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/12 "2009-05-29T14:49:58Z")
I think your first problem is trying to interpret a book of fiction as genuine prophecies (as if such a thing actually existed). But basically, believers are going to interpret prophecies in whatever form reality presents itself currently. Something as vague as the “mark of the beast” could seriously be anything, from a birthmark to a microchip to a tattoo, you name it. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/13 "2009-05-29T14:53:04Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > I began to hear of the mark of the beast chip when “pet chips” became popular (1990, perhaps?), predating the human use of chips. Like others in this thread, my church/religious school claimed it would be a bar code before then, going so far as to claim standard US UPC bar codes were evil, all containing “666.”. (I’m ashamed to say that I sucked up and threw in references to the evil of bar codes when doing a science fair exhibit on computer technology, simply to get a good grade.) Pet chips are “mark[s] of the beast,” so in a way, you could say it’s already come true.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/14 "2009-05-29T15:21:25Z")
> [@Telperien](#): > > Pet chips are “mark[s] of the beast,” so in a way, you could say it’s already come true.😃 😃 I’ll have to tell my Southern Baptist friends that I’ve twice accepted a mark of the beast! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/15 "2009-05-29T15:30:59Z")
Back when I was a child, long before all this new fangled technology, I was told the mark of the beast would be a tatoo. ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/16 "2009-05-29T15:34:59Z")
> [@MeanJoe](#): > > Can someone break this down for me? I also heard this story that barcodes had the three 6’s thing. What’s the Straight Dope? I’m by no means an expert, but if you look at a barcode, two narrow strips indicate a number 6 (if on the left side of the barcode). (To guess the meaning of the number look at the numbers printed below and to what bars they correspond) There are three delimitator marks: at the beginning, in the middle and at the end. Those are two narrow strips (always). However: a 6 in the second half isn’t represented the same way. And the code I’m referring to is by no means universal. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/17 "2009-05-29T15:52:06Z")
I usually tell the nuts who believe in this stuff and most likely are fundamentalists: Its a chip, not a mark. Until some guy in a black suit tries to write on your forehead with permanent marker, shut up ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/18 "2009-05-29T15:55:05Z")
> [@DiggitCamara](#): > > I’m by no means an expert, but if you look at a barcode, two narrow strips indicate a number 6 (if on the left side of the barcode). (To guess the meaning of the number look at the numbers printed below and to what bars they correspond) > > There are three delimitator marks: at the beginning, in the middle and at the end. Those are two narrow strips (always). > > However: a 6 in the second half isn’t represented the same way. And the code I’m referring to is by no means universal. So the 6 and the delimiter are the same narrow strips, but the delimiter is slightly longer in length than the numeric value strips in the barcode? Being raised in The Crazy of fundie belief system, I’m surprised no one pointed out to those developing barcodes that using 3 delimiters that are the same as the # 6 (but longer!) is going to feed The Crazies. MeanJoe ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/19 "2009-05-29T16:06:03Z")
As I began to lose my hair in my late 30s, I noticed a small birthmark/tattoo thingie on my scalp that read “665½”. Huh? ---
**Author:** ![jakesteele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@jakesteele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jakesteele)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998/20 "2009-05-29T16:09:17Z")
It’s already here. Check this out and try it on for size: [http://www.foxnews.com/printer\_friendly\_story/0,3566,520331,00.html](http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,520331,00.html) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-of-the-beast-microchip-when-was-it-invented/497998.md?page=2)