Electronic Skin Technology & the Mark of the Beast

Many of you probably know by now that a team of researchers have developed a new technology that will enable people to wear an electronic circuit on their skin like it is a temporary tattoo. The technology is known as an epidermal electronic system or what some call “electronic skin”. The technology reportedly “could transform medical sensing, computer gaming and even spy operations”.

Electronic skin can be applied to many places on the human body. For instance, electronic skin was applied to a human arm in the upcoming video below. In addition, some articles about electronic skin include a photo of a man who is peeling off the electronic skin that he wore on his forehead. The photo can be found at the following: link

Professor Yonggang Huang, a Northwestern engineering professor who worked on this technology, noted:

“The blurring of electronics and biology is really the key point here. All established forms of electronics are hard, rigid. Biology is soft, elastic. It's two different worlds. This is a way to truly integrate them.”

The following video provides more background about this new electronic skin technology:

Like with many new technologies that place electronics on a person’s skin, there is speculation about whether electronic skin technology represents the Mark of the Beast. For instance, the Drudge Report gave the story about electronic skin the headline: "Mark OF THE BEAST? Electronic tattoo has medical, gaming, spy uses..." In addition, I've found multiple online forums that have discussion threads speculating about this topic.

Today I share my thoughts on whether electronic skin technology has the potential to be Mark of the Beast technology.

Revelation 13 states that the False Prophet will force people to get a special (visible) mark on their right hand or on their forehead. Although the mark will enable a person to conduct transactions, a person could get by with having beast’s number or the name of the beast (verse 17).

• Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
• Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

The fact that a person can also buy or sell by using the name of the beast or the number of the beast shows that people do not obtain the Mark of the Beast so that they buy or sell. The Mark of the Beast’s main purpose is to serve as a way for people to prove that their allegiances are with Antichrist. In other words, accepting the Mark of the Beast means that you have declared yourself a follower of the Antichrist and thereby an opponent of God.

I imagine that the Mark of the Beast will be a permanent thing on a person’s body because the Antichrist would likely want something that makes people demonstrate their long-lasting loyalty towards him. What stronger way for someone to demonstrate their loyalty to Antichrist then to get something on their body that Antichrist wants them to get and cannot be removed?

Furthermore, Revelation 14:9-11 provides a stern warning to people who receive the Mark of the Beast. Those who receive the Mark of the Beast will be punished severely for eternity.

• Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
• Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
• Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

The passage suggests that there is no turning back for those with the Mark of the Beast. Perhaps a key reason for this is that the Mark of the Beast cannot be removed from a person’s body.

After discussing the likely permanence of the Mark of the Beast on a person’s body, it is important to note that the electronic skin technology that researchers have developed is not permanent. The video above suggests that the electronic skin can be easily removed. In addition, a Nature.com article notes that electronic skin has a lifespan of only a few days because human skin sheds frequently.

• Therefore, I do not see electronic skin technology at its current level of development as something which can serve as the Mark of the Beast at this point in time.

However, I would become much more concerned about electronic skin technology if researchers manage to develop a version of the technology which has a much longer lifespan on the human body at a lower cost.

• Developers are currently aiming to develop electronic skin technology so it “can be worn months at a time”. I do not think a lifespan of several months is enough, but if developers can achieve this goal perhaps it may be possible for them to next aim for a lifespan of years or to even aim for something that cannot be removed.
• The cost to produce electronic skin will need to go down significantly for the technology to be something that can be made available to the public. However, the developers are confident that they will be able to get their technology mass-produced in a relatively quick fashion.
• I am struck by how seamlessly electronic skin can be applied to the human body. The ease of application, the speed of application, and relative painlessness of application are qualities that make electronic skin technology something that could be easily applied to a lot of people quickly if it overcomes the limitations discussed above. These qualities may make a future version of electronic skin technology that overcomes the limitations discussed above an attractive technology for Antichrist and the False Prophet to consider because it could make the process of getting the Mark of the Beast easy for their followers if the technology is ever under consideration to be adopted for such a purpose.

Regardless of whether it represents Mark of the Beast technology or not, electronic skin technology illustrates that technology is rapidly developing to the point that it will be possible someday soon-if not already-for people to have information gathering and tracking electronics attached seamlessly to their skin/body. The technology we see today is something that was probably unimaginable to people who studied Bible passages concerning the Mark of the Beast 100 or even 50 years ago. We live in some interesting times...