Is Amazon paving the way for the Mark of the Beast?

Several Christian websites are expressing concerns that Amazon’s plans to create technology allowing people to make purchases with their hand is paving the way for the Mark of the Beast warned by the Apostle John in his vision of the end times:

¹⁶Also 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, ¹⁷so 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.
Revelation 13:16-18 ESV

In this passage, John very clearly ties the Mark of the Beast on either the hand or forehead to a person’s ability to buy or sell presenting a dystopian type of world controlling what a person can and cannot do.

There has been speculation for decades on what the Mark of the Beast might entail and the recent announcement by Amazon caught everyone’s attention.

The Wall Street Journal alleges that Amazon has applied for patent involving a “non-contact biometric identification system” that would be tied to scans of a person’s palm.

Based on this description, some are speculating that a person would insert their credit card into an Amazon device and then allow it to scan their hand linking the palm print with the credit card. Going forward, the person would only need to use their hand to approve purchases.

In addition to serious security concerns about such technology, some wonder if Amazon would use the information gained from purchase to predict a person’s buying interests allowing it to offer targeted advertising to companies purchasing online ads.

But many suspect stores will be very reluctant to use any system associated with Amazon, because it is viewed as a major competitor.

According to WSJ, Amazon is currently working with Visa to implement the system and is in talks with other card systems such a MasterCard.

The New York Post states that Amazon is already testing the technology at some of it stores. Amazon owns Whole Food Markets and also has Amazon Go stores.

I have always found it curious that John saw people taking the mark on either their right hand or forehead. This would suggest either two placements or more likely two different systems being implemented in different parts of the world, but with the same end goal of controlling a person’s ability to buy or sell.

In China, the communist government is implementing facial recognition as way to control its citizens. It is also setting up a social credit system, where it monitors people’s behavior, both online and in real life, giving them a score. People are already reporting that because of a bad social credit score they were prevented from purchasing such things as train tickets.

Many have also pointed to several companies developing computer chips that are inserted into a person’s hand allowing them to not only make purchases, but even open secured doors previously requiring an identity card. In some instances, the inserted chips cause a swelling and redness that some speculate may be the mark that John saw in his vision.

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