Going through the news, the headline jumped at me in a startling jolt. Life does indeed imitate art—for certain when it comes to Bible prophecy.
“Whole Foods Ushering in Mark of the Beast with New Palm-Scanning Payment System”
The headline instantly took my thoughts to my first novel, which I started writing in about 1977 and was initially published much later, in 1999. Jacob’s Trouble 666 is the title, and it’s still available on Amazon.com in reprint.
The book was an attempt to portray through fiction what life might be like for the world and particularly for Jewish people during the earlier time in the Tribulation era. Even though the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7) is about the last half of the Tribulation, my story covered basically the first half of the seven-year Tribulation period, following the Rapture. I envisioned—or tried to—the technologies as they might develop by the time that cruel moment of horror inflicts Antichrist rule upon the planet.
Here is a portion of that story written sometime around 1979, as I recall.
An old man shuffled tentatively into the checkout lane, avoiding the gaze of the checker. His broad head was bowed as if he sought to hide beneath the upturned collar of the ragged gray coat he wore. “You got an IN, mister?” Her question cut the air in a tone of disgust.
“Yes… Yes… See here.” The man let his eyes meet hers fleetingly while he pulled back the sleeve on his right arm and moved his hand to a position beneath the countertop Decode scanner, activating an ultraviolet light which made visible a bar code tattooed on the back of his hand. At the same time, the number appeared on the INRU screen:
5DD197920- J
Looking at the screen, the checker pushed a button, and data was added to the display.
5D019792O-J IN5DR – O – CREDIT LINE – D
“You don’t have any drawing rights, Jew! Take these and put them back where they belong!”
The little man shrunk deeper into the oversized coat, although he made a meek protest. “Please— but madam, I…”
“Just get these things back on the shelves, Jew!” She shoved the items roughly at him, cursing beneath her breath. Her outburst drew the attention of others in the Product Center and caused the controller to stiffen to alertness from his position near the exit.
While all eyes were on the frightened man, he moved from the counter and nervously replaced the foodstuffs on their various shelves. His face taking on the bloodless look of a man terminally ill, his only wish was to be gone from the Product Center.
“Are you Jew?” The controller collared him, snarling the question through clenched teeth.
“Answer me, old man!”
He slammed the smaller man hard against a nearby wall, then pushed his elbow into the captive’s throat. Unable to answer and growing dizzy because of pressure exerted on his windpipe, the man ceased to struggle against his powerful captor, who jerked and ripped at the overcoat, sending buttons flying when the coat tore open.
The controller pulled the coat apart, exposing a yellow, thread-stitched Star of David on the gray, tattered shirt.
“Why are you hiding this?” the angry policeman demanded, jabbing his finger into the center of the symbol. “You know it’s forbidden to conceal being Jew!”
Here’s the link to the novel.
The news item, then, as I say, jumped out and smacked my realization. We are at a point no doubt even past the technological development stage of the AI and other advancements which I tried to imagine back then. The following news item excerpt maybe will further enlighten.
Thanks to its acquisition by Amazon, Whole Foods Market is quickly morphing into the grocery store of the New World Order with a new cashless payment system that allows customers to wave their palm over a scanning machine in order to pay for their food.
Instead of having to hand over cash or a credit card, Whole Foods customers can simply wave their hand (and maybe soon their forehead?) through the machine and voila: purchase made.
According to an Amazon FAQ, the palm-scanning technology analyzes “the minute characteristics of your palm – both surface-area details like lines and ridges as well as subcutaneous features such as vein patterns” in order to identify a customer and allow for rapid purchase.
This biometric scanning tool is branded as a faster, easier alternative to paying with a credit card or cash.
The system is officially called Amazon One and it allows for Amazon Prime users to link their accounts and receive discounts and other promotions every time they opt to wave their palm through a kiosk at Whole Foods rather than pay with cash or a credit card… The ultimate goal is to completely phase out paper and coin currency and replace it with a cashless system. Amazon via Whole Foods is paving the way for this by testing out the new system at its Seattle locations. (“Whole Foods Ushering in Mark of the Beast with New Palm-Scanning Payment System,” NaturalNews.com, RR News April 30, 2021)
Technology has caught up to and surpassed my imagination, it is obvious. Bible prophecy manifests for all who are willing to believe God’s truth that the Creator of all things knows the end from before the foundation of this now-fallen world. Life doesn’t really imitate art. Bible prophecy presents life in a story filled with truth only the God of Heaven can foretell.
The end-times electronic economic system of controlling the masses was written about by the Holy Spirit-inspired pen of John the Revelator on the Isle of Patmos.
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. (Revelation 13:16–18)
Let’s pay attention to developments all around us. It is only upon doing this that we can truly anticipate the call we who belong to Christ can expect to hear soon.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)
Terry James Prophecy Line 
There’s been a lot of conspiracy talk lately that the COVID vaccines do something to alter our genetic makeup. Indeed, it is quite true that our cells do not naturally produce spike proteins of coronaviruses – so that right there is a bit “unnatural”. Nonetheless, I fear that the Mark will do much more. I think the Mark will do something biologically and genetically to a human being to modify their DNA such that they literally become a non-human species. Perhaps this is the reason that those who take this Mark will be beyond redemption. Jesus can only redeem humans.
I don’t know if the COVID vaccines are doing anything more than tricking our cells into manufacturing the proteins that are found on the surfaces of coronoviruses. However, what I suspect is that these vaccines are a prototype, a dry-run, of the Mark which is to come.
I think you’re right about this that these mRNA shots are indeed a dry run and a step in the wrong direction. I won’t get one, though I may go for the J & J which is more conventional. The former types just do not have any kind of history when it comes to long-term effects.
This technology will no doubt be “improved upon” for even more sophisticated genetic programming. Maybe it’ll be bi-directional and incorporate nano-technology which will not only make someone implanted able to be tracked and identified, but controlled remotely. Revelation reveals that anyone who gets the mark of the beast is doomed. I think it’ll make it impossible for one so marked to change his or her mind once the deed is done. Their free-will will be permanently terminated.
A brave new BAD world is already on the way.
“Whole Foods Ushering in Mark of the Beast with New Palm-Scanning Payment System”.
Why are you allowing them to sell your book? I know it is for money, but isn’t that a little hypocritical?! Trust God to promote it. I would like to read it , but will not use Amazon.
I think I already answered your question. Here is it again.
I don’t see myself as “supporting” Amazon. Rather I see it as my using Amazon to get out the Word of God to an audience who might not otherwise look into what God has to say to them. Fiction, in particular, can reach these in ways non-fiction can’t.
Jesus said that we are to be “in the world” but not “of the world.” We must use earth-bound methodologies whenever the opportunity presents –which God has allowed to develop— to spread His Word.
I put a response re: Amazon in the comment about the release of Terry’s book, so anyone interested can go there to see it.
I don’t think this kind of “commerce -by-mark” will become fully implemented pre-Trib because I think there are enough Bible-literate and believing people still around who would simply not do business with any outfit requiring something like that. Might even be enough of us around to affect the corporate bottom line and we already know that businesses do anything to protect that. They may discover they are losing significant amounts of customers to outfits that don’t require this.
Post-Rapture, the whole situation changes and people will roll over for this monstrosity more easily that the Covid farce. The Bible already tells us that this is so.
By the way, get Terry’s new book! I have and it is a terrific read!
Amen and Thank you.