Fagan links NIDS to ‘mark of the beast’

Priest Dermot Fagan has issued a stark warning to Jamaicans about what he believes is the coming “mark of the beast”, telling people that accepting it could have dire spiritual consequences.

Fagan, leader of the Rasta Camp and head of the Haile Selassie School of Vision, said he has spent decades sounding the alarm about what he believes will be a system of control linked to technology, including national identification systems.

“When you see the mark buss, please don’t take it,” Fagan said during an interview with THE STAR. “If you take it, you’re doomed. And, if you have any doubt, read Revelation 14.”

He noted that the scriptures state there will be consequences for those who worship the beast and receive its mark. He said that, despite the pressures of the system, God’s people will remain victorious and protected.

Fagan’s warning forms part of his broader concerns about the increasing use of technology and identification systems, which he believes could eventually be used to control people’s access to essential services.

He has previously linked those concerns to Jamaica’s National Identification System (NIDS), arguing that the technology could eventually go far beyond simply identifying citizens.

“Tomorrow when this NIDS is increased to the summit, where you will have to take that chip, I have my wise virgin lamp trimmed and ready. We already said no.”

NIDS is a digital identity programme designed to give each person a unique national identification number and a secure national ID card, using personal and biometric information such as fingerprints and facial images to verify identity.

Fagan insists his concerns are not new, saying he has been warning about the issue for more than three decades.

“For more than 37 years, this same voice has been sounding the trumpet,” Fagan said.

“The microchip is and will be the mark of the beast. I’m aware of who is the beast, I’m aware of his system, and I’m aware of their conspiracy.”

Fagan said the School of Vision is preparing for what he believes lies ahead and wants its message to reach beyond the Rasta Camp. For Fagan, the warning is therefore not simply about technology. It is part of a wider spiritual message that he believes Jamaicans and people around the world must take seriously.

“What bothers me really is that mi nuh think here alone could hold everybody, so I want people to hear the messages and be ready,” he said.

Approximately 2,300 Jamaicans enrolled under NIDS in April, and the National Identification and Registration Authority is targeting 100,000 enrolments by the end of the current financial year.

The Government has allocated $1.86 billion in the 2026-27 Budget to support implementation of the NIDS.