No, Huduma Namba is not Mark of the Beast, here's why

Ever since President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) that seeks to give everyone in the country a unique code dubbed “Huduma Namba,” there has been much speculation about whether this could be a tool used to enforce the biblical “mark of the beast.”

For those who will not be registered in the NIIMS, it will be difficult to access certain essential services. The identification you use now to transact business or to apply for a passport and birth certificate may no longer be acceptable in the eyes of those in power.

For this reason, many Kenyans have tried to create connections between the mark of the beast and the Huduma number.

So what about us? Do we go along with this 'mainstream' view of the mark of the beast? I'm afraid not, and for good reason.

To understand the beast's mark, it is first necessary to understand what, or who is the beast.

The “Mark of the Beast” concept comes from Revelation Chapter 13. It is about two powerful individuals ascending to power. Both are empowered by Satan. He uses them to rule and deceive people during the tribulation period.

The first one is a political leader who is also known as the Antichrist. He will masquerade as Almighty God and demand that a theocracy be formed.

The second beast is called the False Prophet. He is a very powerful religious leader who performs great signs, such as calling down fire from heaven. He convinces people to worship the Antichrist and to receive the mark “666." People are happy to comply, for the prophet appears to possess divine powers. In other words, the second beast will use religion to unite the world under the leadership of the Antichrist.

The government under these two beasts will deny people without this identifying sign to legally transact business. These people will find it difficult to hold a job, to get healthcare services, to take their kids to school, to run a business, or earn a living.

Now here is the real scary part. God Himself says in the Book of Revelation that none of His people are to receive this mark. If they do, they will receive the full wrath of God. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb” (Revelation 14:9,10).

Is the Huduma number the mark of the beast?

The short answer is “no.”

The longer answer follows.

A Huduma number would make a poor candidate for the mark of the beast. There are at least four arguments that bring us to that conclusion:

• The Antichrist does not exist in the present: The mark does not come until the Antichrist rises. It will not be introduced to the world until the time of the Tribulation (Revelation 13:5-7, 15-18). So, your Huduma number (that was issued to you) cannot possibly be associated with the antichrist’s system because we have not entered that period.
• Nothing has fundamentally changed. You can’t access services today unless you have a traditional government ID.
• Practically every popular new consumer technology ever invented, whether it be computers, bioethics, Bitcoin, barcodes, RFID, and credit cards, have at one point been proposed as "mark technology" or a sign that the mark and Antichrist is near. Of course, after those technologies become prominent and prove harmless nobody remembers the speculation and people move on to newer technology.
• The Huduma number is only issued to citizens of Kenya. On the other hand, the mark of the beast will be an international system (Rev. 13:16). In other words, the vast majority of the world’s population will participate in this program, not just Kenyans.

With that in mind, should we get this number? The short answer is "yes." I do not believe that the “Mark of the Beast” has anything to do with current events. It does not exist yet. Numerous things including credit cards, computers and cryptocurrencies have been identified in the past as "the mark of the beast," but have been proven wrong.