Biometrics and the End Times

A recent news item caught my attention. The headline read, “Wisconsin Company to Install Rice-sized Microchips in Employees.” The article reported that a Wisconsin-based tech company, Three Square, started offering its employees microchip implants that can be used to scan into the building and purchase food at work. CEO Todd Westby said in a company statement rather prophetically, “Eventually, this technology will become standardized allowing you to use this as your passport, public transit, all purchasing opportunities, etc.”[1]

This kind of biometric technology has been in existence for a while. One of the emergent technologies that came out of the 9/11 attacks was a company called VeriChip. As first responders sifted through the rubble for the bodies of victims and survivors, many firefighters and policeman wrote their badge numbers on their bodies, should they become victims. One tech company saw a way to help solve this problem in the future. What if a small RFID (radio-frequency-identification) chip could be placed under the skin, which contained personal information—name, blood type, SSN, etc. By 2004 the FDA approved the VeriChip, a rice-grain sized microchip that can be implanted under the skins of humans and preloaded with all kinds of personal data.

As technology progresses at lightning-fast pace we see biometrics becoming more mainstream.  In the UK, students pay for their lunches by giving a thumbprint scan. They simply place their thumb on the scanner and funds are withdrawn from their prepaid lunch account set up by parents.[2]

Just a few days ago Apple announced the release of its newest smartphone, the iPhone X. The new top-of-the-line model, coming in November, uses your facial features to unlock the phone as well as to authenticate purchases through Apple Pay. Apple calls its flavor of facial recognition Face ID. One article said, “If the idea of unlocking a phone with your face seems creepy, you better get used to it. Facial recognition is here, and it will only be more prevalent in the years to come.”[3]

The student of Bible prophecy should track these technological developments with Rev. 13 in mind. In that chapter, we get a glimpse of the Antichrist’s evil empire; where in order to participate in the end-time economy one must first receive “the Mark of the Beast.” Rev. 13:16-17 reads, “Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.”

If the tribulation citizens will not worship the Antichrist willingly, then he will force them to bow the knee by hitting them where it hurts the most—their bank account. The people alive during the Tribulation will be forced to make the following choice—either receive the mark of the Beast and worship the Antichrist, or starve to death with no ability to buy or sell.

What is significant is that for the first time in history man has the technological prowess to achieve the marriage of biometrics to an economic market. 50 years ago, it was nearly impossible for anyone to imagine how one man could take the reins of power by controlling people’s purchasing power. But now, with all the technology we have in our digital devices we can see that much of the necessary infrastructure is already integrated into our daily lives. People accept the technology as part-and-parcel of what it means to live in the 21st century, which will make it easier for the Antichrist and False Prophet to go ahead and implement their system in a seamless transition. 

Bible scholar Ron Rhodes says in his book End-Times Super Trends, “Biometrics technology goes hand in hand with our emerging cashless economy…I believe this will be one of the technologies used in the end times as the Antichrist seeks to control who can buy and sell during the tribulation period.”[4]

We are on the cutting edge of having all the technology that the Antichrist and False Prophet need to wire this world together for their evil purposes. The world stage is being set for their appearance and the final act of God’s divine drama is about to begin. That means that the rapture of the church and the coming of the Lord Jesus is getting even closer! Are you ready?

-DM 

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[1] Mary Bowerman, “Wisconsin company to install rice-sized microchips in employees,” USA Today, 24 July 2017

<https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2017/07/24/wisconsin-company-install-rice-sized-microchips-employees/503867001/>

[2] Ron Rhodes, End-Times Super Trends (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2017), 204.

[3] Jefferson Graham and Edward C. Baig, “Facial recognition: iPhone today, tomorrow the airport?” USA TODAY, Sept. 14, 2017 < https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/09/14/facial-recognition-iphone-today-tomorrow-airport/664000001/>

[4] Rhodes, 204.