METHOD 1) Comparing John's Visions with modern-day elements of technology, as though John described the distant future in the best way his first century mind could do so.
METHOD 2) Comparing John's Visions with other stories from the Bible in order to gain a certain message God wants applied to our thoughts of the church and Christ's work on the cross from those stories.
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 : 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. And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. (Rev 13:16-14:1)No. The Father's name was not a computer chip.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:And, yes, I heard that "shortly come to pass" may be a long 2,000 years in our time, when it is short in God's time. I don't buy that, though. God is talking to men to relate to men in their understanding.
(Rev 1:1)