Okay, I'm going to throw this out, because after doing some web research on the terms, and seeing StandingFirm's answer, I'm not the first one to wonder if there's a relationship.
I'm posing this as a "what if," not something that was divinely given to me in a vision or prophecy from God. This was something that simply flashed through my mind when I heard this.
So -- what if? Since I've been saved, the mark of the beast has always been explained to me as being related to finance, because the passage in Revelation talks about people not being able to buy or sell. But after I heard, and subsequently found validated, that the tefillin are worn on the forehead and weaker hand/arm, while the mark of the beast will be on the forehead and right hand; it has occurred to me: What if the mark is one of a religion?
What if? The rapture occurs (I'm a pre-tribulationist; different discussion for a different thread); those left behind are going to be naturally scared, because this makes no sense to them. The rise of the anti-christ is a "stabilizing" force for a world suddenly in turmoil and scared.
Note: What is the one thing that has been misused to control people throughout the ages? Religion.
So what if the anti-christ uses religion to help people feel better about what has happened? He creates or uses an existing world religion that gives an answer about what happened (albeit a false answer, or even perhaps a true one but in a way leading people to a false path), and gives people hope (albeit, false hope). This eventually leads not to just a one-world religion, but a religious government that interacts closely with, or even takes over some (or all) other governments.
Continuing this what if, a mark is conceived, that people are happy to take because it represents the new hope. I'm not talking the embedded RFID/GPS chip, or even a bar code; I'm talking about a religious symbol (I was amused to find that one site has equated the Catholic mark of Ash Wednesday with the mark of the beast). It isn't initially used as a means of commerce, but it doesn't take long before it starts being used as a means of refusing service to those who don't have one.
Again, this is just what if, conjecture, speculative fiction. The main "hole" in this is my lack of religious study that could possibly provide scriptural support. As I said, after y'all provided some of the search terms, I was surprised to find that this has actually been given some prior thought by others with more theological study background than I have (search terms: tefillin, phylactery, mark of the beast).
Please, by all means, feel free to tell me how whacked out I am, but don't forget to explain why.
