And he causeth all, both small and great, richa nd poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Revelations 13:16,17

In my first year of college I would constantly get into debates with some friends of mine. These debates would range from political issues to history to social ills. One of the hottest topics was the Bible. My views on the Bible have somewhat evolved since then. It is hard for me to swallow that whole book in its entirety, but for the most part I agree with its teachings and am fascinated with its prophecies. In particular, the book of Revelations. Slowly but surely bits and pieces of its prophecy has come to pass is about to be fulfilled. One especially is the fore-telling of the Mark of the Beast. As the verse above states, no one will be able to buy or sell with out it. Many have speculated as to exactly what the "Mark" is. Some say it is a tattoo of 666 on the forehead, or a laser tattoo of a bar-code, and still other believe it to be bio-chip implants. Whatever the final product is to be, right here and right now we are slowly being conditioned to accept the Mark. Pull out your key chain and take a look at it. See that little piece of plastic on it. On one side is the name of your local grocery or drug store and what do you see on the other side? A bar-code. Some have said that the Universal Product Code(UPC) or bar-code is in itself the Mark. The two longer bars on the beginning, middle, and end each represents the number 6(do the math). Now, what is the purpose of these bar-coded key chains? For you, the consumer, to get extra savings(I could never understand the logic behind sales and coupons; why not always keep the prices low). And for them, the corporations, to gain marketing information about their customers(you). Not only is it a great way to save money, but it is quick and convenient: just swipe your keys across the scanner. In order to obtain one of these electronic coupons, an application must be filled out. The normal information is required: name, address, phone-number, social security number and drivers license number. "Social Security Number! Drivers License Number! What do u need that for? Oh, it's optional..." But how many people blindly fill out applications giving all their personal information to anyone asking for it. Never themselves questioning the purpose of a request for this personal information. OK, so now the application is filled out. The barcode on the key chain is the same as the one on the application. Cool, so now I have a plastic card hanging from my key chain just like the rest of my fellow consumers, and most importantly I can now begin swiping. With each swipe, I have a chance to save a couple cents and a record of everything I just bought goes into a data base. This allows the store and manufacturers to better understand my buying habits, giving them an advantage in their marketing and advertising campaigns. I am not trying to say that this is the Mark. It is just one of the many tools used to condition us for a cash-less society where personal privacy no longer exists. These tools have been in existence for a while now, surrounding us and being used in everyday life: social security number, credit cards, smart cards and debit cards, ATMs, driver license, etc. In some colleges, the only way to use a copy machine or get a print out from the computer lab is to have a plastic debit card. Many different people have various theories as to how it's all gonna go down. Personally, from what I have observed, it has been a slow steady process of conditioning. Perhaps leading us up to a major event that will bring this whole deal into full effect. What ever it may be, we are moving towards an age of less privacy and personal freedom. We are moving at such a pace that most of us do not realize what is happening. We are not getting a chance to stop and look around. Or, we just don't want to. A few years ago while working at an elementary school, I had the honor of witnessing yet another stage of this devious plan. The children were introduced to the Personal Identification Number(PIN). Their lunch cards were replaced with a four-digit number that kept record of who they were and what was bought. To the average consumer, nothing would seem amiss. But to the well-trained eye, this diabolical plan becomes transparent. However, trying to show the consumer what is going on and what possibly lies ahead is, for the most part, all in vain. This brings us back to my friends from college. Time after time we would discuss and argue (mainly argue) over the notion of a cash-less society. They could not see everyone giving up their coin & paper money in exchange for a card or tattoo or microchip. This took place six years ago before smart cards and bar-coded key chains were so prevalent in American society. I still keep in contact with one of those friends and he is starting to understand what is going on around us. That is all I ask, have an open mind and check out what is taking place right in front of us.