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And when these things begin to come to pass,
then look up, and lift up your heads;
for your redemption draweth nigh.
August 28, 2008:New Orleans and the Hand of God
August 10, 2008:NCHS Class of 1978 Revisited
March 20, 2008:Traditions

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The Mark of the Beast
William H. Haller

I know that the last few messages I have posted have tended toward the extremist in expecting that God could come back soon (read any time), but the world just keeps validating that scenario.

In the USA, RFID tags are appearing everywhere. They are currently used mostly for inventory control. Make life easier, faster, and more accurate for companies. Profit! Christians have kept silent. After all, what's good for business is good for the world. We wouldn't want to disturb our Wal*Mart overlords. They might take away their Sam's Club or Super Store from our town and build a bigger one in the next town over...

Well, things are moving to the next step. In this article in USA Today it appears that for convenience sake, bar patrons at a trendy club in Spain can now have a RFID tag implanted under their skin and use it like a credit card to buy drinks, et cetera. Just wave your hand and have the drink charged to your account.

Does that ring any Biblical bells for anyone?

I'm not saying that this is the mark of the beast. I'm just pointing out that the technology that was predicted in the Bible is now upon us, and it is something that people are going to accept very easily. I'm sure that the actual mark of the beast will be more sophisticated and less easily duplicated or intercepted. It may be combined with some form of biometrics. Or maybe this current technology will do in the post rapture confusion.

13:11
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.
13:12
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.
13:13
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
13:14
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.
13:15
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.
13:16
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:
13:17
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.
13:18
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.
14:1
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
14:8
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
14:9
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,
14:10
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:
14:11
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
15:1
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
15:2
And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
16:1
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
16:2
And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

It isn't a very big step from a bar in Spain to readers being installed world-wide and cash disappearing as a medium of exchange. The interview posted on the club's website indicates that is the desire of the company providing the chip - no more cash - no more documents to worry about losing.... Banks already don't like to deal with coins or cash - just checks please - and if possible, do your banking electronically so we don't have to pay for human tellers. Credit cards are doing everything they can to be more secure to prevent fraud. What could be better than doing away with the cards altogether and going to RFID readers that identified that your particular tag had an account with card X that you could charge to?

We've just gotten done with a war in Iraq. Regardless of your feelings about the war, it did remove a power from the region. Babylon is now open for the Antichrist's capital. The Antichrist will come from one of the four divisions of the Grecian Empire:

8:8
Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
8:9
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
8:21
And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
8:22
Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
8:23
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

These four divisions are mostly formed of the modern day countries centered around and including Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Egypt - they are not exact boundaries - with many bets on the rough region in and around Syria. This will occur after the formation of the second Roman Empire of 10 kingdoms in the region - the ten toes and ten horns. Some of those countries whose territory is likely to be incorporated in the second Roman Empire were behind the Iron Curtain. The iron curtain has fallen - something nobody was predicting at the end of World War II when it went up. The European Union has its 12 starred flag and is trying to tear down all borders between their countries... Eastern European countries are trying to join to not be left out of the great economic powerhouse that is forming to their west. Yet there is much unrest among many of the people - much poverty in some countries. Much unrest about the new laws and regulations and rule coming from Belgium. Much unrest about protections for minorities and other groups. This sets us up for a new drawing of boundaries. The times are moving forward quickly.

I am torn with how to close up. One part of me wants to suggest that everyone call their Congressmen and get legislation passed ensuring that no form of biometric or RFID type technology will be required to purchase goods. That will at least slow the beast down a little. After all the fields are ripe to harvest and there is still much work to be done.

The other part of me is tired of fighting the battles and is ready to go home.

Where you fall in that spectrum is an individual decision. But I really do think the end could be at any time. If you aren't ready for the rapture of the church, get ready now.

P.S. In these articles from The Register and News.com, it appears that the Japanese are doing test taggings of school children in Osaka and Tabe so they can be tracked around the city. Satan clearly doesn't want any excuses about RFID tags being harmful to anyone. How can you object to your own tag? Kids in Japan have been getting tagged for x years without any problem. What's the harm for you?