HOW and WHY will we wind up with a restrictive system of identity and banking at the End of Days?
I've covered economics at the End of Days in other posts. But the more I look at the signs of today, the slightly more surprised I am that we will wind up with a restrictive system of identity and banking. I do not doubt that this will still happen at End of Days. Prophecies in the Bible have always correctly predicted what will happen - just not why and how.
This is the reason for being puzzled: today, we have moved into a more privacy-aware age. There is more backlash against companies who use our personal data. Although the internet giants like Google, Facebook, and so on are still heavily utilized by people, there is an increasing counterculture of privacy. There are more and more privacy-oriented browsers now available, and people can choose to protect their privacy in other ways (avoiding mainstream social media, using a VPN service, and more). This subculture is becoming more and more active. It's not just a handful of people here and there. Surely then, as this group gets bigger, the restrictive identity and banking system proposed at End of Days will get considerable backlash from such groups?
Yet, even in today's comparatively non-dictatorial climate, we still see things foisted upon us that we as the people do not want. Take the US Net Neutrality Repeal of 2017. In theory the repeal should increase competition, but many people were against it because in practice most areas of the US do not have any competition between internet service providers. Even in mid-sized cities a monopoly reigns. Yet, the net neutrality repeal of 2017 took place in a monopoly of ISP's in many cities. So it is possible for us to have laws that even a majority of the populace are against.
It is interesting to see what will happen between today's increasingly privacy-aware culture, and tomorrow's restrictive system of identity and banking described in the Bible. Clearly, something will prompt this new system to come into place. For example, with the rise of cryptocurrency, it's possible that the restrictive system of payment involves a cryptocurrency tied to biometric identification for identity, which could involve an implantable chip (creating the mark on the hand or forehead). Or it could be some other method arising later on.
But for what purpose will this payment system arise? Will the new system be considered a "security" measure, or perhaps an "anti-fraud" measure? Or will it merely be of such a high level of convenience that it becomes a sort of a gold-standard for banking and identity, without necessarily having a reason? Credit cards have become a little like that - they are so ubiquitous and such a commonly-accepted method of payment that they have become a sort of standard method of payment. Perhaps this new system to come will be seen in that way (a convenience) initially, until it becomes mandatory to pay using that method. It is clear from the Bible that unlike methods we're familiar with today, this new method is not acceptable to God, and that Christians should never pay using that method:
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
Revelation 14: 9-12
No matter how tempted we are to pay via that method, it is made clear that we as Christians should never do it under any circumstances.
If you found this post interesting, you might also like these related posts on this blog:
This is the reason for being puzzled: today, we have moved into a more privacy-aware age. There is more backlash against companies who use our personal data. Although the internet giants like Google, Facebook, and so on are still heavily utilized by people, there is an increasing counterculture of privacy. There are more and more privacy-oriented browsers now available, and people can choose to protect their privacy in other ways (avoiding mainstream social media, using a VPN service, and more). This subculture is becoming more and more active. It's not just a handful of people here and there. Surely then, as this group gets bigger, the restrictive identity and banking system proposed at End of Days will get considerable backlash from such groups?
Yet, even in today's comparatively non-dictatorial climate, we still see things foisted upon us that we as the people do not want. Take the US Net Neutrality Repeal of 2017. In theory the repeal should increase competition, but many people were against it because in practice most areas of the US do not have any competition between internet service providers. Even in mid-sized cities a monopoly reigns. Yet, the net neutrality repeal of 2017 took place in a monopoly of ISP's in many cities. So it is possible for us to have laws that even a majority of the populace are against.
It is interesting to see what will happen between today's increasingly privacy-aware culture, and tomorrow's restrictive system of identity and banking described in the Bible. Clearly, something will prompt this new system to come into place. For example, with the rise of cryptocurrency, it's possible that the restrictive system of payment involves a cryptocurrency tied to biometric identification for identity, which could involve an implantable chip (creating the mark on the hand or forehead). Or it could be some other method arising later on.
But for what purpose will this payment system arise? Will the new system be considered a "security" measure, or perhaps an "anti-fraud" measure? Or will it merely be of such a high level of convenience that it becomes a sort of a gold-standard for banking and identity, without necessarily having a reason? Credit cards have become a little like that - they are so ubiquitous and such a commonly-accepted method of payment that they have become a sort of standard method of payment. Perhaps this new system to come will be seen in that way (a convenience) initially, until it becomes mandatory to pay using that method. It is clear from the Bible that unlike methods we're familiar with today, this new method is not acceptable to God, and that Christians should never pay using that method:
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
Revelation 14: 9-12
No matter how tempted we are to pay via that method, it is made clear that we as Christians should never do it under any circumstances.
If you found this post interesting, you might also like these related posts on this blog:
- Are we living at the End of Days described in Revelation?
- Our difficult physical and spiritual lives at the End of Days
- End of Days - not yet. Greece and Iran have to go to war
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