Cell Phones and the Mark of the Beast

Jewish phylacteries - the original inspiration behind the prophecy of the mark of the Beast

As I argue at length in my book Unveiling the Apocalypse, and throughout this blog, the modern use of cell phone technology has some remarkable parallels to the original inspiration of the prophecy of the mark of the Beast. When we study the original meaning of this portion of the Apocalypse, we find that the mark of the Beast is not some ethereal, spiritual mark, invisible to the naked eye (such as a modern microchip implant); but an actual box-shaped object worn on the hand or forehead that was fully visible to all. St. John's conception of the mark of the Beast was based on an inverted, diabolical form of the Jewish practise of wearing phylacteries - which were box-shaped devices worn on the arms and foreheads of devout Jews (almost definitely including Jesus and the disciples), during prayer services. The origins of this practise dates back to the time of Moses, and phylactery cases were among the finds uncovered during the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Jewish practise of wearing phylacteries, which was intended to be a public display of allegiance to Yahweh, was first commanded in the Book of Deuteronomy:

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deut 6:4-9)
(See the earlier post Cell phones versus RFID implants as the "mark" of the beast, for a more in depth analysis of the exact wording of this prophecy, and how it further ties in with modern cell phone technology)

The practise of laying tefillin (phylacteries) is still used by Jews today, as the below video demonstrates:

The Book of Revelation stood this practise on its head, and foretold that towards the end of time, people would be unable to buy or sell without using a similar box-shaped device, but that this time it would be a public display of allegiance to the Antichrist, and would bear the number 666. Much in the same way that the future of commerce is now inextricably linked to cell phones - which are being actively promoted by various world governments, banks, and above all mobile phone companies, as the future replacement of credit cards, and ultimately, of cash itself.
As the below video shows, it looks like Alex Jone's media company infowars.com is finally starting to awaken to the possibility that the prophecy of the mark of the Beast has already been realised in modern cell phone technology.

A report made by Paul Joseph Watson states the following:

The development of a new microchip for cell phones that knows the user’s location to within a few centimeters confirms the fact that contrary to biblical fears about mandatory implantable microchips, people have willingly exchanged their privacy for convenience and that the cell phone itself is the de facto “mark of the beast”. (Read the full article here).

Although no mention is made in this report of the similarities between the physical shape of cell phones in relation to the original inspiration behind the prophecy of the mark of the Beast.
The notion that the mark of the Beast would take the form of an invisible RFID mircochip implant only became the mainstream thinking on this subject during the 1980's, following publications such as Mary Stewart Relfe's 1981 book When Your Money Fails. Yet nowhere in the Bible is it suggested that the mark of the Beast would be invisible. Rather, given that it based on the Jewish practise of wearing phylacteries, it quite clearly suggests that the mark of the Beast would be fully visible to all  - and on a symbolic level, it is meant to be seen as an open sign which contains the number of the Beast, which is encoded on the diabolical "anti-phylacteries" through the process of Hebrew gematria. Much in the same way that the original interpretation of the number of the Beast lay in the fact that the numerical value of the name "Nero Caesar" in Hebrew was 666.
Also missing in the deductions reached by infowars.com is the fact that cell phones are set to replace credit cards as a means of commerce through the use of NFC technology and that all transactions made through these means will be conducted over the worldwide web - www. And when we convert these letters into the Hebrew alphabet, and then ascertain their numerical value through the use of gematria, we find that they are converted to three of the Hebrew letter waw - the equivalent of three sixes - six six six. (See the earlier post Hebrew 666?).

And also that the use of cell phones could lead to a future cancer epidemic in line with the bowl plague of Rev 16:

So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshipped its image.
(Rev 16:2)
(See the earlier post Cell Phones: Carcinogenic or Not?)

In the post The Synagogue of Satan, I also discuss the possibility that the letters www have been deliberately manufactured to conform to the prophecy of the mark of the Beast by some shadowy secret society.

If we look at the section of the Apocalypse concerning the mark of the Beast more closely, we find that the False Prophet constructs an image in honour of the Beast, and breathes "life" into it, causing this inanimate object to have the ability of speech:

And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.
(Rev 13:15)

Furthermore, the original Greek word usually translated as "mark" is charagma - a word which is also used to refer to a graven image or crafted cultic object. So the "image" of the Beast appears to be one and the same as the "mark" worn in the hand or forehead. And the "mark" of the Beast can just as easily be translated as the "crafted cultic object of the beast". The fact that the prophecy of the "mark" of the Beast is based on the practise of wearing phylacteries further reinforces the fact that this particular "graven image" or "crafted cultic object" is a box-shaped device. A box-shaped device which has "life breathed into it" (video-screens?), can speak (either as a phone, through video playback, or through a speak-generating computer program such as Siri), and can issue propaganda (through the www) against those who refuse to embrace it (causing those who would not worship the image of the Beast to be slain).
When we look at the exact words of the prophecy of the mark of the Beast, it tells us that everyone, great and small, rich and poor, will be deceived into constructing this "graven image" and accepting the "mark" of the Beast as an essential component for engaging in commerce.

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
(Rev 13:11-18)

And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
(Rev 19:20)

So the Bible makes it explicitly clear that everyone would be deceived into accepting the mark of the Beast. This means that those who accept the "mark" do so unwittingly - which is the exact situation we appear to have in the present. If people were literally going to be branded with the number 666 on their hand or forehead there wouldn't be any question of deception - everyone would know exactly what they were doing and exactly what they were accepting. For the prophecy to be realised in the fashion described in the Bible, it would have to be fulfilled in a manner that no-one was expecting.
This scenario prompts us to reconsider what the spiritual effects of receiving the mark of the Beast actually are. Given that it would be impossible to hold that an omni-benevolent God would condemn people to eternal torment for accepting a situation that they were unaware of, we would have to conclude that forgiveness is possible in this regard. So reconciliation with God would be possible for those who repent having been deceived into accepting the "mark", while those who persist in using it, despite having full knowledge of what it is that they are accepting, would open themselves to damnation - since this would be tantamount to aligning themselves with the Antichrist.