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Q. I've heard that some Christians object to the VeriChip. Why is that? Many Christians believe that the VeriChip closely resembles or presages the "mark of the beast" described in Revelation, the last book of the Bible. Their concerns stem from a biblical passage describing the mark of the beast as follows: And he [a corrupt world ruler] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 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. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.
The question of how a number could be marked into the body and used to buy and sell has perplexed Christian scholars for two millennia. The fact that technology now makes such a system theoretically possible is of particular significance to Christians, who have been mandated by their faith not to participate in such a payment system. However, one needn’t be a Christian to find the Revelation similarities uncanny. From an academic and historical perspective alone, the development is noteworthy. Q. What do those Christians believe will happen to people who take the mark of the beast? The Bible describes punishments for people who take the mark of the beast and worship the beast or its image, and rewards for those who refuse to do so, as follows:      Physical Punishment: A painful sore will afflict the marked individualsAnd I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
     Spiritual Punishment - Marked individuals will receive the wrath of GodAnd 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, 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 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.
     Rewards for those who refuse to take the mark of the beastAnd I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Q. Is the VeriChip actually being used for buying and selling today? It was at one point. Until the summer of 2007, the Baja Beach Club, a discotheque with one location each in Barcelona, Spain, and Rotterdam, Holland, was implanting patrons with VeriChip devices linked with pre-paid accounts to pay for drinks. Conrad Chase, then the owner of the Baja Beach Club chain, at one time expressed interest in piloting an implant-based credit card, saying: "We are in negotiations with a major manufacturer of credit cards and we would like to do a pilot system—a test system—actually using it as a credit card where you could pay with your credit card having it implanted under your skin." 79 Since that time, the Baja Beach Club facilities have been sold. The new owner is no longer using the VeriChip system. Q. Is it a violation of Jewish law to receive a VeriChip implant? Many Conservative and Orthodox Jews believe that cutting, piercing, or marking the flesh is contrary to B'tzelem Elokim, the notion that people were made "in the image of God," and therefore their bodies should not be altered. Implanting a microchip may also invoke the Jewish prohibition against tattooing and other body marking that stems from the following Torah passage: "You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord."
This prohibition is widely observed in Orthodox and Conservative Jewish communities. The Conservative Jewish Solomon Schechter High School of Westchester, NY, for example, prohibits students from receiving either piercings or tattoos: Other than piercing to female ears, all other noticeable piercing of the body are prohibited. Additionally, tattoos or other permanent marks made on the body are prohibited. These rules are based upon the modesty, respect, and dignity accorded the human body by halacha (Jewish law) deriving from the belief that all men and women are created B'tzelem Elokim, 'in the image of God.' 80 Another Jewish publication describes the issue as follows: One of the biggest concerns of adding a piercing or a tattoo to the body in Jewish Law is the fact that we are distorting our bodies and altering it from its natural form, the form that was made in the image of G-d.... According to the Torah, we were all made in the image of G-d, and to change or mutilate it in any way is looked down upon. G-d made us the way He hypothetically wanted us to look like, so the fact that we would want to change ourselves is, in a way, disrespectful. According to the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, the Torah states that, "You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves: I am the Lord." (Leviticus 19:28). This is the pasuk that specifically tells us, as Jews, that we are not supposed to make changes to our bodies. In both present day and in history, such "mutilation" is disapproved of.81 Though it is not explicitly stated, these communities would likely frown on body modification through microchip implants. Q. Do other faith traditions prohibit or discourage the use of microchip implants? It appears that Islam has a similar prohibition against body modification to that found within the Jewish tradition described above. Tattoos and other body modifications are defined as "haram" or "haraam," an Arabic term meaning "forbidden," under rules set forth in the sahih hadiths, or oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. A complete analysis of all world religions is beyond the scope of this document. However, the author welcomes information on this subject from experts and adherents of other faiths.
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