"He required everyone -great and small, rich and poor, slave and free- to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything with out the mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is needed to understand this. Let the one who has understanding solve the number of the beast for it is a number of humanity. His number is 666." Revelation 13:16-18

"Then a third angel followed them, shouting, 'Anyone who worships the beast and his statue, or who accepts his mark on the forehead, or on the hand, must drink of the wine of the wrath of God. It is poured out undiluted without into God's cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. The smoke of their torment rises forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue, and have accepted the mark of his name." Revelation 14:9-11.

Okay, the Mark of the beast is the Antichrist's number. Midway through the Tribulation he decides to have everyone worship him as if he were God. He tells everyone to take his mark, out of loyalty, and anyone who doesn't dies. But anyone who does take this mark will end up spending eternity without God. So all in all, it would be a whole lot better if you didn't take the mark.

The reason why the mark is 666 is because 6 is an imperfect number. 7 is a perfect number, and 6 one short of 7, making it imperfect.

Many Christians will probably be in hiding during the Tribulation since they won't want to take the mark. And they will have to learn to find food, clothing and medical supplies without buying them. Which will be very hard. Those who do take the mark will suffer many plagues and they will not be protected.

Now, I believe that people are already working on things that will lead to the mark. Don't get me wrong; Christians before the Tribulation won't have to worry about the mark since we will already be raptured and in heaven. But things like a National I.D. card and Chip Implants can cause a person to be cautious.

We all ready have an I.D. card (driver's license) that carries a lot of information about us. Who we are, where we live, our picture, and sometimes even our social security number. The National I.D. card is a little different. A National I.D. card will be "uniting" us, just as the mark will. The mark will unite those who worship the Antichrist.

I think the National I.D. cards are like an invasion of privacy too, but none like the Chip Implant would be. The Implant will have not only your name, address, and social security number, but it will also have your blood type, what you're allergic to. Even some have speculated that it would also have your entire bank account on it, but I don't know if that part is true or not. They are even working on a homing device to put in the chip.

Prophecy scholars agree that the Mark will probably be implanted inside a person. The mark will be so unique, you won't be able to fake it or draw it on. Kind of like a computer chip.