The Bible accurately foretells specific events – in precise detail – sometimes even centuries before they occur.

Approximately 2500 prophecies appear in the pages of the Bible. About 2000, or 80%, have already been fulfilled to the letter, with no errors.

Because we know that the remaining 500 or so prophecies will definitely be fulfilled, we look for news, and trends, that you’d expect to be taking place.

You might call them the signs of the times.

We talk a lot about the Mark of the Beast.  The apostle John, on the Island of Patmos, saw a future in which people would transact all of their business via a personal identifier on them, or in them.

It seemed far-fetched at best.  Now it seems inevitable.  We’ve reported on multiple technologies that could be rolled out overnight.  There is human microchipping, retina scanning, palm scanning, electronic wearable skin patches – just to name a few.

All of us are familiar with paying for stuff with a card, or with a tap of our phone.

What you may not realize is that almost everything – except humans – is already chipped.

It’s called the Internet of Things.  It is the interconnection via the Internet of everyday goods, products, and objects, enabling them to send and receive information.

On our recent flights, Delta Airlines RFID-tagged our check-through luggage.  I was able to track its location from my iPhone.  I’d get an alert when my bag was put on my plane, or removed, or was ready to retrieve in baggage claim.

As Wired reported in 2012:

More and more personal and household devices are connecting to the internet, from your television to your car navigation systems to your light switches.

Another article said,

More and more… smart chips are being integrated into absolutely every imaginable device.

An alarming report in 2013 highlighted concerns over some Chinese-made irons and tea kettles that included wireless spy chips… for purposes unknown, since these devices are not “smart” gadgets with computer interfaces and high-dollar functionality.

Another article, in AndroidHeadlines, said,

To this date, Qualcomm has shipped over a billion of Internet of Things chipsets… the company’s Senior Vice President of Product Management Raj Talluri said that the firm is already serving all segments of the Internet of Things industry, from smart TVs and thermostats to connected speakers, wearables, and home assistants.  Talluri specifically pointed out that smartphones and tablets aren’t included in the one billion figure.

One reporter said this:

… the Internet of Things will literally incorporate devices throughout consumer & home, retail, security and surveillance, IT and networking, transportation and industry, healthcare, and energy.

And people are just another track and traceable part of the system.

… there is now information about every move you, or any piece of “inventory” makes inside the system.

This isn’t just hypothetical talk.  This is the society that has been built.

It is absolute confirmation that “mark of the beast” technology is coming into full force – whether or not they will succeed in implanting microchips into people remains to be seen, but a major attempt is in the works.

Technology is not the Mark of the Beast.  I’d go so far as to say being personally microchipped is not the Mark of the Beast.

The Mark happens in the middle of the future seven-year Great Tribulation.  The world leader the Bible identifies as antichrist will demand everyone swear absolute allegiance to him.
If a person refuses, he or she will be unable to buy or sell anything; and they will be persecuted.

If you do swear allegiance, well, you’re sealing your eternal destruction.

The future John saw is here.  The Internet of Things is just what you’d expect from a literal reading of the Revelation.

Jesus promised He’d come and resurrect the dead in Christ, and rapture living believers, before the Great Tribulation will begin.

There are no prophecies needing to be fulfilled prior to the rapture.  It is presented in the Bible as an imminent event.

Are you ready for the rapture?  If not, get ready, stay ready, and keep looking up.  Ready or not, Jesus is coming!