This prophecy is truly remarkable. Think about it: Nearly 2,000 years ago the Apostle John, who prior to meeting Jesus had been a simple fisherman, predicts that a global economic system will one day be instituted in which everyone will be forced to receive a number, without which they will not be able to buy or sell. It is only since the advent of computers and electronic banking that this prophecy could be fulfilled.

There are currently a number of methods commonly used for purchasing items. You can use cash, you can write a check, or you can use a credit card.

Or you can use a debit card. The cashier simply passes your card through a scanning device that is electronically linked to your bank, and the money is immediately taken out of your account and placed in the store's account -- all in a split second.

Another means of transferring money that is already being used in various countries and is being promoted in many others is the "smart card." These look like an ordinary credit card, but there's a big difference: They have a tiny computer chip embedded in their plastic. These electronic marvels not only give you instant access to your bank account, but they can also contain all your passport information, your medical record, driver's license, photographs, welfare eligibility and all sorts of other data. Over 90 million health smart cards are in use in France, Canada, Germany and Britain today.

We are well on the way to eliminating cash. Advocates of a cashless society have many compelling reasons why. A primary one is that cash is the mother's milk of drug smugglers, who often deal in cash a suitcase-full at a time. With no cash, the sale of illegal drugs would be greatly hampered. In fact, law enforcement agencies say that to eliminate cash would eliminate most kinds of criminal activity.

The ID Hurdle

Before cash, checks and credit cards can be phased out completely, an absolutely foolproof identification system must be developed and implemented. Retailers must be sure that the person presenting a card for a transaction is actually the owner of that card.

Various fail-safe ID systems have already been developed, like fingerprint and hand readers, retina scanners, etc. The problem with such machines is that they are extremely expensive. For a completely cashless society to work, there would have to be one at every little shop or retail outlet where goods are sold.

While such biometric scanners presently cost thousands of dollars, the microchips encased in plastic smart cards cost only a few cents each.

Your Own Personal Microchip Implant

A cheap and workable solution would be to take a chip similar to those used in smart cards and place it under your skin. Once the chip is implanted it could be read by an inexpensive scanner, much like the one that reads bar codes in your local grocery store. You would then become your own smart card -- and the very expensive problem of making sure the owner of the card is who he says he is, has been solved!

The technology for just such an implant not only exists, but is being tested in pilot programs around the world. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that implantation of the new Microdot Identification Project is already underway in Washington, D.C., and several other test cities. The tiny computer chips being used are no larger than the head of a pin, cost less than 25 cents each and are injected approximately 1/4 inch under the skin, usually in the dead space between the tendons of the middle and index fingers. They are activated by a small hand-held scanner and provide flawless identification of the person in whom it is implanted. [57]

A global cashless society is in the making. Fiber optics, satellites and computer databases have the potential to control the world in a way that boggles the imagination. The governments of Australia, Israel, Singapore and Thailand are pursuing policies to eliminate cash and checks, while many other countries are testing various methods of doing business without currency. For the first time, the hi-tech means of fulfilling the chilling vision the Apostle John received nearly two thousand years ago is here.

The Power Behind the Throne

Remember, the coming world leader will demand the world's worship not merely because he has a severe ego problem. -- He will be possessed by Satan himself. "The dragon [Devil] gave the beast his power and throne and great authority" (Revelation 13:2, NIV).

Satan has always wanted to be God. This is why he fell in the first place. The prophet Isaiah wrote, "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! … For you said to yourself, 'I will ascend to heaven and rule the angels. I will take the highest throne. … I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.' But instead, you will be brought down to the pit of hell, down to its lowest depths" (Isaiah 14:12-15, TLB).

This is what Satan is really after when he causes his puppet, the Antichrist, to set up the coming one-world credit system: to force the people of the world to bow down and worship him.

Watch Out for 666!

So there will be more to accepting the "mark of the Beast" than merely an economic decision. Though disguised as a technological breakthrough for the betterment of society, voluntarily receiving it will primarily be a spiritual decision to accept and worship the demonic Antichrist.

This is why the Bible warns, "If any man worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God … and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name" (Revelation 14:9-11). God would not mete out such stiff punishment for simply accepting an identification and credit mark that allows you to buy your groceries!

So when you see a world government arise and its leader demands your allegiance, your loyalty, and even your worship, don't fall for it. Regardless of the economic "incentives" offered or the retribution that threatens those who refuse his mark and number, give your love and worship to the true God, your Creator, who loves and cares for you, and will see you through the days ahead if you put your trust in Him.

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