I think the “beast mark” will be a real mark perhaps like those “data squares” that have kinds of dots and geometric designs that when decoded have hundreds of lines of information in them. These “squares, about the size of a postage stamp seem to be replacing the UPC codes or are printed along side them on more and more products.
What a sad universe you live in, with a deity who has already decided to take a dive, and hand over the world to the forces of evil.