Revelation {13:16-18} 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. * the false prophet

I open this article with the same passage I used in its predecessor because there is still more to cover on this topic – that of the Antichrist’s absolute control of the future world. One of the best ways to control someone is to control his or her personal finances. Let’s face it, throughout history, and probably even before written history existed, this has always been the case. The people who had greater resources, or were believed to have them, have always called the shots over those who didn’t. The tribe that could hunt better either because it had access to the best hunting areas, or had better weapons or prowess, or even simply outnumbered a neighboring tribe could easily tell the latter what to do. It might even get to the point of the second becoming the vassals of the first.

With the passage of time this principle has been a constant. Even the modern system of employer and employee is based on one having greater economic resources than the latter. In fact, until the Twentieth Century when workers began to organize, the relationship could be extremely one-sided. However the shadows of those pre-union times were starting to reappear in the closing two decades of the previous century up and continue even in a country as sophisticated as the United States up to this very day. Now please understand, I am not a socialist pushing to redistribute wealth by legislation. Yet in recent years we have seen corporate greed push good jobs overseas to the detriment of the employees of those companies that helped them prosper in the first place. Tax legislation has actually helped them do just that, making it more economically attractive to move their operations out of the country. It seems to be a very basic unfairness in having the very people being forced out of work by such actions actually having to subsidize it by their own annual tax burdens.

The condemnation of the exploitation of workers even shows up in the Bible!

Jeremiah {22:13} Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by  wrong; [that] useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

Malachi {3:5} And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in [his] wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger [from his right,] and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

Of course, in the U.S. the situation today in no way approaches the deplorable state of virtual (and actual) slavery that widely exists in some other nations, even to the trafficking of human beings, something the Bible clearly states that God will handle in his own way in the future to those doing such loathsome things to their fellows.

This is but one more demonstration of just how powerful a role economics has always played in shaping the course of our lives and those of our ancestors – a principle that the coming world dictator will exploit as no one ever has been able to do before, thanks to modern technology.

Cash or Charge?

An Efficient Medium if Exchange. Before the idea of currency became dominant, barter was the only way to conduct business. If you had extra livestock, you could trade with neighbor for his extra grain. Or head into the village and swap a cow for some tools. He, in turn, could swap the cow for ore to process into more tools, etc. It was simple enough, but obviously limited. After all, cows are pretty large animals and not easily portable. (And how would make change??) Even if they walk by themselves it’s still a pretty slow process. If the deal fell through, a person would have to walk the creature all the way back home.

The answer is to use some kind medium both parties agree has a value to “do the deal.” Some Native Americans used seashells. Gold and silver were ideal and until the last century the U.S. and many other countries based its paper currency on physical deposits of both. Concerning coins, they could be made out of metals themselves such as gold, silver, or in the case of pennies, copper. A long time ago, America issued paper “silver certificates.” The paper note was a really “bill” that said the government owed you a dollar’s worth of silver for your note. A person could actually turn it in and get the silver. Now our paper money is labeled merely as a Federal Reserve Note, no longer backed up by silver at all. If you think about it, the only reason this works is because everyone using dollars agrees that they’ll accept them for payment for goods and services. The important concept here is that as long as all parties accept on a medium of exchange, business can go on.

Another feature of currency is that it is a “bearer instrument.” Whoever has it in his or her pocket has the right to spend it any way her or she wishes. This is different than writing or receiving a bank draft – i.e. a check. This is intended only to be useable from a specific party to a specific party. Get caught issuing or cashing one of these documents fraudulently and you could find yourself in prison. Credit cards work on the same principle.

The last feature of cash verses a check or credit card is that for all intents and purposes, the transaction is anonymous. With the latter two, an electronic record is produced containing the name of the purchaser, the merchant, and even what was bought. For the most part, this is very beneficial for all concerned because such records allow everyone to keep track of their finances. However for those involved in less than legitimate activities, these records can be used to prosecute them. Of course, catching criminals is an activity we can all support and as long as the system isn’t abused, there isn’t a problem. More on this later!

One more important point I’d like to make is that there is a definite trend worldwide toward what is called a “cashless society,” one in which currency becomes totally supplanted by electronic banking. This means that more and more every person’s financial dealings will be recorded in a computer someplace. If this kind of system becomes universal, then without a credit card or other medium of electronic access, you won’t be able to buy or sell a thing! Is any of this starting to sound familiar?

The Mark of the Beast – Frightening Possibilities

In the last article we’ve seen that the implantation of small, self-contained electronic circuits into pets and people is already a reality. We’ve also seen external devices such as smart cards and speed passes and their almost magical properties already being used to electronically perform financial functions. The fusion of these technologies on a large scale seems only a matter of time and if underway before the Antichrist actually shows up will no doubt be co-opted by him and his False Prophet henchman.

If a tiny electronic chip can be imbedded into a credit card, or speed-pass device, or even a pet, then why not into human beings? Guess what? It has already been done! From the Daily Mail we have:

Australian man who’s had a microchip inserted into his hand so that he can do more with the iPhone 6…maybe

By Louise Cheer for Daily Mail Australia      Updated: 02:12 EST, 8 September 2014

• Advertising director Ben Slater had the microchip inserted two weeks ago
• It was implanted in the webbing of his hand at a Melbourne tattoo parlour
• Mr. Slater hopes the new generation iPhone will be able to read the chip
• He is able to open doors and switch on lights without touching anything

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2746648/Australian-man-microchip-inserted-hand-use-iPhone-6.html#ixzz3yXbnhsbg )

I suspect that the longer this technology exists, the more it will become a part of every- day life, just like the cell phone is presently. I can imagine a sales pitch for such a device for a financial access chip going like this:

“Stop worrying about losing your credit card or having it stolen! With ‘BankChip’ you’ll never have to worry about that again. And how about convenience? Why, just walk into the store of a participating merchant, make your selection, and simply walk out the door. Our electronic inventory systems will automatically record your purchases and debit your account. No more waiting in long, annoying lines! Sign up today and receive a special bonus. Log on to our website for further details.”

I am quite sure it will start out as a completely voluntary offer and that a lot of people will be eager to be among the first to sign up. So when the Antichrist and False Prophet appear on the scene a lot of their work in this regard will already have been done for them. But the Revelation passage concerning this appears to indicate that there will be hold-outs that’ll need some arm twisting to get them on board. Those that still refuse will be effectively shut out of the economy. How they’ll survive, if they do, is anyone’s guess.

But this is only part of the story. It will get a lot worse for those who do enroll!

No Hope, No Escape

Revelation {14:9-10} And the third angel followed them *, saying with a loud

 voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. *Two other angels who were mentioned in the verses preceding this passage.

Not only will people be required to get marked to participate in the economy, but they will have to worship this coming “man of sin” as well. The reason is that three and a half years into the seven year Tribulation he will occupy the rebuilt Holy of Holies and proclaim himself as “God.” Here are the two relevant passages that describe this:

Daniel {11:36} And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

Revelation {13:11-15} And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the means of] those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

We see from the passages above that in order to be able to “buy and sell” people will have to get marked in some way on (or perhaps “in”) the forehead or forearm. But before they can receive this “mark of the beast,” they’ll have to worship him first. What we also learn is that once this all takes place, there is no tuning back. For these people there are no second chances, no way to ever make things right.

For me, I’ve always had a hard time trying to make this fit in the account of God’s Son who forgave even those who’d condemned him to the most appalling and horrible kind of death one can ever imagine and even in his agony did the same to one of the criminals crucified with him. Yet there is one unforgivable sin that I can point to in the Bible, as explained by Jesus himself:

Mark {3:28-29} Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.

This in itself is puzzling and I cannot say with certainly exactly what “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost” is. The best answer I can come up with is a refusal to believe in Jesus, who was empowered by that self-same Holy Spirit:

John {1:32-33} And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. * John the Baptist      

Furthermore, this neatly ties in with something that Paul also said:

Romans {8:14-17} For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons

 of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him,] that we may be also glorified together.

Without the operation of the Holy Ghost, one can never accept God. Without that, one is lost. Therefore, it would seem to me that those who accept the mark of the beast lose their ability to ever change their minds and repent. Since we are exploring the role that technology might play in the days to come, is there anything that exists today that could possibly be involved? What about this procedure described by staff members of the Mayo Clinic in a web posting?

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression. Transcranial magnetic stimulation may be tried when other depression treatments haven’t worked. With TMS, a large electromagnetic coil is placed against your scalp near your forehead. The electromagnet used in TMS creates electric currents that stimulate nerve cells in the region of your brain involved in mood control and depression.

Presently this procedure is administered via an external magnetic coil placed near the forehead, but who is to say that it could not be done via some manner of implanted device? Maybe even inside the forehead? Isn’t it interesting that this is also one of two locations for the “beast mark?” One can also wonder just how far this “mood control” function can be pushed. It seems to me that electronic mind control would be the perfect means of controlling entire populations, right down the Antichrist’s alley, don’t you think? It is also easy to imagine that once a person is “chipped” with some manner of internal TMS device losing his or her free will – including the ability to ever change one’s mind! Among the choices lost would be the paramount one of ever turning back to God!

Electromagnetic mind control might be supplemented with implants that deliver measured amount of drugs directly into the bloodstream. We don’t have to wait for such devices to be invented yet, either because, like the implantable microchip, they also already exist! From Kurzweil AI | Accelerating Intelligence News we have:

MIT spinoff Microchips Biotech has partnered with Teva Pharmaceutical, the world’s

largest producer of generic drugs, to commercialize its wirelessly controlled, implantable, microchip-based devices that store and release drugs inside the body over a period of years.

Concluding Thoughts

As with our past explorations into the role technology may play in making the nightmare world of the Antichrist a reality, we now have added an economic system so rigidly controlled by electronics that virtually no one will be exempt. Couple this with devices that can literally control one’s very thoughts by remote control and even the very word “freedom” may no longer be remembered.

I do not pretend that the technologies I’ve described will cause the nightmare world of the Antichrist to come to pass exactly in the ways I’ve described them, but it is clear that we have reached a time when they could at any time!

Paradoxically at a time when human technological prowess has reached unprecedented heights, it has in its arrogance become dismissive of God and subsequently increasingly ignorant of what he has revealed of the days to come in the pages of his Word. As such, when the Antichrist and his False Prophet walk onto the world stage, most of humanity will welcome them both with open arms, never realizing just how badly they have been deceived. The human race won’t be able to say it was never warned, will it?

Next time we’ll look at how technology may be used to change the very nature of life itself.