Each week we like to focus for a few minutes on Bible prophecy. For one thing, as Christians we are encouraged to understand the times in which we live, and act accordingly.

The apostle Paul encourages us that, “Another reason for right living is that you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for the coming of our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11 NLT).

The subject of prophecy takes-up about 30% of the Bible. Scholars estimate there are somewhere around 500 unfulfilled last-days prophecies. Since we know they will be fulfilled, we should be able to look around us, in the news, and see trends in the direction the prophecies predict.

Students of Bible prophecy have for a very long time seen us moving toward a cashless society. I was saved in 1979 and Bible teachers were predicting a cashless society based on the claims of the Bible. It was popular way before 1979 – but that’s still long before anyone thought it possible. According to one source, “The trend towards use of non-cash transactions and settlement began in daily life during the 1990s, when electronic banking became popular.” Nevertheless, prophecy proponents saw it much, much earlier.

We always want to be careful in what we present. Mark Hitchcock writes:

Bear in mind the Bible never directly says the world is going to become a cashless society. But, there are clues. The entry point for this idea can be found in Revelation 13. This chapter talks about a Beast, who is also called the Antichrist, and he will become the final human world ruler. The chapter reveals that no one under his rule will be able to buy or sell unless they take his mark, which is either his name or number involving 666 placed on their right hand or forehead.

Stop and think about that fact for a moment. If there’s cash, people will be able to purchase on the black market. The only way a person could control all of global commerce is by instituting some sort of cashless society. I think since the Antichrist is going to control world commerce, that indicates to us that he’s going to be able to control it through a cashless system.

The nations of the world are definitely moving towards becoming cashless. The latest article I read was appropriately titled, UK becoming a cashless society.

Excerpts:

According to Equifax research, more than one-third of UK citizens believe the UK will be a cashless society within the next 10 years. Cash machines around the UK are closing at a rate of 300 every month partly because of the significant increase in contactless payments for small transactions and earlier this month banking industry body UK Finance said that debit card payments had overtaken cash as the most popular form of payment in the UK for the first time.

Biometric smart cards will be more convenient than cash and won’t even require a PIN, as payments are made using a fingerprint alone. As a result of this new technology, people making payments will no longer have to compromise security for convenience and will enjoy the benefits of limitless payments.

People who read the Bible from a literal, futurist perspective, are not surprised. It’s what we’ve been saying since before we could even imagine how it could be implemented.

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!