Before the destruction of Jerusalem God ordered a mark to be placed on his chosen.
Ezekiel 9:4,
4 And the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark [tav]on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.
This same manner of speaking is seen in Rev. 13:16,
16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forhead,
Then notice
Deuteronomy 11:18
18 You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
This was a sign that their thoughts and the works of their hands were bound by the word of God. But the Jews, often set forth their mark of righteousness by literally binding portions of Scripture to their foreheads for all to see.They were called towphaphah in Hebrew and phylakterion in Greek. However this was never meant to be a literal requirement. At most, it was to be a teaching tool and reminder to be obedient to the law of God. The heart issue was always the goal, not the physical mark.
In Daniel 3: we see, Danial's 3 friends refused to worship Nebuchadnezzars golden image the ( beast) and were cast into the fire They stand as examples of the overcomers that chose the mark of God, Duet. 11:18 which was to write the law in their hands (labor) and in their foreheads (way of thinking), and worship God, rather than the beast (money) in Rev.13:16,17
Exodus 20:23
23 ‘You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.
Paul tells us in 1 Tim. 6:10 that “the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.” Money itself is neutral. The love of money (i.e., greed) is what causes men to go astray and to worship other gods.
1 Tim.6
9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many a pang.
When men are motivated by the love of money, they are automatically owned by the beast from the earth, whether they know it or not. They bear his mark on their foreheads (minds), and so everything they do by the works of their hands is done in the pursuit of wealth. Wealth is their top priority.
I'm not inclined to believe this “mark” or signature in Rev. 13:16 is any more literal than the ftontals in Duet. 11:18. or the divine mark by God in Ezekiel 9:4,