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Last update 10 August, 2019.

Mark of the beast

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.

Mark = charagma = χάραγμα

Below a few pictures from my lexicons because Greek and Hebrew text keeps getting garbled up on this website..

NIDNTTE (Greek Entry)

TDNT (Big Kittel) (Greek Entry)

So the mark can be the puncture mark of a snake bite.

Exod 22:25 "If you loan money to one of my people who is poor, you are not to deal with him as would a creditor; and you are not to charge him interest.

Interest = neshek = very closely related to ‘to bite’

BDB Abridged (English Gloss)

Concise Dict. of Classical Hebrew (English Gloss)

NIDOTTE (English Gloss)

OT 1. The q. and hi. forms of the vb. occur in tandem with the nom. in Deut 23:19 [20], which prohibits Israelites from charging interest on loans made to their compatriots. The hi. is used again (2x) in v. 20 [21], which permits the levy of interest on loans made to foreigners only. Deut 23:19 [20] has parallels in Exod 22:25 [24] and Lev 25:35–37, but Deut 23:20 [21] has no parallel. Interest rates in ancient Israel are not known, but those in some other countries of the ANE varied considerably, sometimes ranging up to 50 percent (Barrois, 809; Hyatt, 243). Although precluded from taking interest on loans made to their fellow citizens, Israelite lenders were permitted to take pledges; but while these were supposed to be strictly regulated so as to protect the  [Vol. 3, p. 186]  livelihood and dignity of the debtor and to prevent undue hardship (Deut 24:6, 10–13), not every lender conformed to the regulations (e.g., Amos 2:8). Most scholars maintain that loans made to Israelites were almost exclusively acts of charity for the relief of destitution as opposed to loans of a commercial nature for the purpose of expanding business (see Driver, 1953, 232; 1965, 265–66; G. A. Smith, 274; Dummelow, 71; Cooke, 199; G. E. Wright, 472; Cunliffe-Jones, 132–33; Dahood, 84; Gottwald, 115; Harford, 187; Stalker, 159; Gray, 58; Eaton, 57; Thompson, 242; Taylor, 150; Craigie, 302; Clifford, 1982, 91, 126; 1990, 54; Cox, 225; Payne, 132; Miller, 173; cf. Robinson, 175; Manley and Harrison, 223). However, Hyatt (243; cf. Rylaarsdam, 1008) questions whether lending in Israel would have been restricted mainly to charity or distress loans to the poverty-stricken. He argues that it would be strange if there had not been Israelite farmers who, on occasion, required loans at the beginning of planting, to be repaid at harvest time, or Israelite entrepreneurs who needed to borrow instant capital for business ventures of one kind or another.  According to Deut 15:1–11, all debts were to be released every seventh year. There is debate about whether this passage envisions a cancellation of all debts or only their suspension for the year during which the fields would lie fallow (nÎvDa, H5957). Although Jewish tradition holds that it refers to cancellation, many think the text calls for a postponement of payment (see Clifford, 1982, 91). However, despite such legislation, the evidence available indicates that debt was a perennial social problem in ancient Israel (Chilton, 114).

Summary of the above

It’s commonly assumed ‘the mark of the beast’ is something for the (nearby) future. Many believe it’s something like a barcode or chip implant.

But examining the deeper meaning of the words it doesn’t have to be something in the future. It very well can be something in the distant past. From the point of the first interest was charged.

If so having the mark of the beast is being ‘snake bitten’ by interest.

Matt 23:33 You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?

That opens the possibility Revelation was (partly) fulfilled during the time of the Apostles. Simply because interest was charged during that time.

Chip implant

As we saw above mark is translated from the Greek charagma. That word is closely related to charax, which means “sharpen to a point” or “stake”.
A snake most certainly has sharp pointy fangs.

And so is a syringe used for chip implantation.

Conclusion

While the link between the mark and paying interest opens the possibility it took place in the (distant) past, it’s no proof because right today interest is also paid.