We focus on prophecy each week for about five-minutes. The Bible is about 30% prophecy. About 500 of those prophecies are the yet-to-be fulfilled prophecies of the Last Days.
It’s more than a curiosity; it’s extremely practical. For one thing, it shakes-off spiritual apathy. The apostle Paul said: “[know] the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).
Prophecy also encourages holy living. The apostle Peter, after a long discussion about the Last Days, wrote, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?” (Second Peter 3:11-12).
Add to that the fact that the Book of the Revelation promises you a blessing just for reading it.
Looking at today’s headlines, it seems the “time” in which we live is one in which several prophecies could easily go from unfulfilled to fulfilled.
The future Great Tribulation described in the Revelation of Jesus Christ predicts a cashless economy that is accessed by what is described as a “mark” on the right hand or forehead.
It sounds a great deal like biometrics, which is defined as, “the measurement of unique physical or characteristics as a means of verifying personal identity.” We are perhaps most familiar with fingerprints, but there are now various other biometrics, e.g., vein prints, palm prints, iris scans, and facial recognition.
It’s clear that society is moving ever closer to a system of commerce, and of life, that will require biometric identification to participate.
An article I read this week was titled, The government’s creepy obsession with your face.
Excerpts:
From the federal Department of Homeland Security down to local police departments, governmental use of biometric facial recognition software has gained a startling amount of traction in recent years. And these agencies are getting help from big business, to boot.
For example, DHS is reportedly developing a massive new biometric and biographic database with extensive data on citizens and foreigners alike. The Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) database will reportedly include at least seven biometric identifiers, including face and voice data, tattoos, DNA, scars, and other “physical descriptors” on as many as 500 million people. The agency has been remarkably hush-hush on how HART will be utilized — but the possibilities are frightening.
DHS expects to launch the new database next fiscal year, according to internal documents. By the following year, they anticipate having iris and facial matching capabilities, and by fiscal year 2021, the database is expected to be functioning in its full capacity. This massive and intrusive initiative will grant a whole host of federal, state, and local agencies access to intimate details about hundreds of millions of Americans and foreigners.
DHS will know everything from what you look like to your birthday to any government ID numbers you may have. And, in a clear erosion of due process and privacy expectations, they’ll be empowered to share this data with local and state police.
http://theweek.com/articles/779196/governments-creepy-obsession-face
Another article:
Good Intelligence predicts that by the end of 2020, some 1.9 billion bank customers will be using biometrics to withdraw cash from ATMs; to prove their identity when contacting their bank via telephone (both actively and passively); to prove identity for digital onboarding using their face; to access digital bank services through an increasing number of connected devices including smart home devices and via connected car and smart city services; to authenticate into a mobile bank app using their biometric, either using an embedded sensor, along with using a combination of biometric modalities (face and voice for instance), and to initiate money transfers when accessing Web-based electronic banking services.
It’s not hard to see how a powerful world leader could manipulate this kind of system to demand he be worshipped – threatening to cut off access to any commerce, and to track you down, if you refused.
Biometrics may not end up having anything to do with the antichrist and people taking his mark in their hand or forehead.
What I’m saying is this: Reading the Bible you’d expect advances in technology that could implement a cashless economy using unique identifiers; and that is exactly what is happening in the world.
We are not looking for any particular sign, or prophecy to be fulfilled. Jesus promised He’d return to rapture His church – which entails the resurrection of the dead in Christ of the Church Age, then the translation from earth to Heaven of all living believers.
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!