I frequently focus on technology such as human implantable microchips, Amazon’s hand scanners, and China’s dystopian surveillance system dubbed as a “social credit system”. The reason for that is because I believe all these pieces, when put together could easily lay the ground work for the mark of the beast system we read about in Revelation 13:16-17.
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)
If you haven’t done so, I encourage you to check out my previous 4 articles on this subject below.
What amazes me is that as time progresses we continue to see more pieces to this prophetic puzzle. With the recent Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic that’s still plaguing the world as of the publishing of this article (March 20th, 2020) many Christians – myself included – believe this may be used to further push nations into a cashless society. I discuss this in my article Coronavirus Pandemic.
However, what many of us are also now seeing is a move towards universal vaccinations being spearheaded by the ID2020 initiative which hopes to not only have everyone in the world vaccinated, but also tracked in some capacity through digital identities.
Their manifesto goes as follows: “We believe the ability to prove one’s identity is a fundamental and universal human right. ID2020 Alliance partners jointly define functional requirements, influencing the course of technical innovation and providing a route to technical interoperability, and therefore trust and recognition. We humbly recognize that this is no easy task, but we see urgency as a moral imperative. This is why we have set ambitious targets and why we hold ourselves to account.”
ID2020 Certification Mark
In January of 2019, they also launched their “Certification Mark” an effort meant to reaffirm their “mission to improve lives through digital identity by adhering to our core principles of portability, persistence, privacy, and user control” (6). The goal of the mark is to provide “technology companies a framework for the development of ethical, inclusive digital identity solutions” (3).
The Medium reported on March 10th, 2020 that ID2020 announced its first 2 “certified digital identity solutions” Kiva Protocal and Gravity.Earth.
Medium: Globally, one in seven people are unable to prove their identity through any recognized means. As a result, they lack access to basic legal protections and social services, are unable to participate fully as citizens and voters, and are systematically excluded from the modern economy. ‘Digital identity can empower the powerless. But it can also be used to exclude people or even persecute vulnerable populations like refugees, children, and the homeless.
While we must move quickly to adopt digital identity solutions, our enthusiasm must also be balanced with the need to protect user privacy and mitigate the associated risks,’ noted ID2020 Executive Director, Dakota Gruener. ‘That’s what we mean when we talk about implementing “good” ID. It is important that these considerations are central to the design of all digital identity systems if we hope to realize a truly inclusive future for everyone’ (3).
The Medium also noted that Gravity.Earth “is a key enabler of identity transactions for vulnerable populations. Even basic phone users can manage their identity with the help of a designated guardian. And third-party applications can leverage the Gravity.Earth platform to easily integrate a digital identity component that is based on open standards” (3).
Covid-19, Vaccines, and Digital Identities
Earlier I mentioned how the Coronavirus may be used not only to further push a cashless agenda, but an agenda seeking to vaccinate and “track” citizens in some form. In a March 19th article News Punch reported that during a “Reddit ‘Ask Me Anything’ session, Bill Gates pointed to major changes for ordinary people that could have privacy and civil rights implications” stating “Eventually we will have some digital certificates to show who has recovered or been tested recently or when we have a vaccine who has received it” (2).
You can see the question posed below by reddit user RemoreControlledUser and Gate’s answer. What strikes me as interesting is his wording “eventually”. He didn’t throw this out there as an idea he was thinking about but as something that he believes will eventually be set up.
News Punch: Gates clearly believes the public will accept being branded with digital certificates as easily as they accepted barcodes on consumer items…All of which raises serious questions. What will happen to people who do not trust Bill Gates enough to accept a digital certificate? What will happen to those who refuse to be vaccinated?
While Gates has not elaborated on what his plan entails, or whether a digital certificate will be implanted in the human body, many people are concerned that the certificate could represent the “mark of the beast” warned about in the Bible…The only catch is that you won’t know exactly what is being put into your digital certificate. You also won’t know who will have access to the data. If history repeats, it will go from being technology adopted for its ‘convenience and safety’ and then overnight will become mandatory for you and your family – or else (2).
Forbes also reported on the same topic stating,
Gates called for a ‘national tracking system similar to South Korea, saying that ‘in Seattle, the [University of Washington] is providing thousands of tests per day but no one is connected to a national tracking system’ and that ‘Whenever there is a positive test it should be seen to understand where the disease is and whether we need to strengthen the social distancing’ (3).
I also touched on the topic of digital identities in my 2018 article, The Rise of AI & A Race to Digital Identities. I discussed how MasterCard and Microsoft announced they teamed up in an effort to create “digital identities” which worried some due to privacy and security concerns.
Fast Company who I referenced at the time went as far as to state, “What this announcement seems to be describing is a streamlined identification system: a not-too-far-off world where people are identified under a universal protocol that checks in on them at various points during their lives–when they vote, when they get married, etc. It’s the kind of a citizen-check system a totalitarian regime could only dream of” (9). We could also add to this list “when we get vaccinated”. The question is no longer “will this be possible”, but rather “when will it be implemented?”
Using the coronavirus as a springboard to push a certain agenda may sound strange but it’s already being done. The coronavirus has already caused the Israeli government to consider tough measures such as the mass surveillance of their citizens phones. “The government on Sunday approved a proposal to allow the Shin Bet security service to perform mass surveillance on Israelis’ phones without requiring a court order in an effort to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, prompting major concerns of privacy and civil liberty violations” (5).
The US government is thinking of doing the same all in the name of the health of the citizens, “The U.S. government is in active talks with Facebook, Google and a wide array of tech companies and health experts about how they can use location data gleaned from Americans’ phones to combat the novel coronavirus, including tracking whether people are keeping one another at safe distances to stem the outbreak” (4).
Privacy is being sacrificed for the public welbeing but when the coronavirus does die down will these type of measures be pulled off the table or still be used without the knowledge of the public?
The Prophetic Implications
On first read, this initiative sounds good. ID2020 is working to allow for people throughout all walks of life (whether you’re the average person earning an income, living in an impoverished country, or homeless) to be able to have a digital identity and be a part of society. This could be of great use to a lot of people.
However, we also know that this could be used for nefarious purposes. Revelation 13:16-17 tells us clearly that there’s coming a time when everyone on earth will be required to have a “mark” to buy or sell – to essentially be included in society as a whole. What I believe we’re seeing is the groundwork being laid out for such a system which will ultimately come to being during the tribulation period.
I also want to make myself clear that I’m not saying those who are a part of the ID2020 Alliance are actively working to bring about the mark of the beast or chip people. They may genuinely be striving to use their skills to better the lives of others. But for the believer, we recognize that there may be a darker agenda at work or that such an initiative may be further developed and used in the future for what the bible says will eventually come to be.
The purpose in paying attention to these things is not to say that this is the mark or that we’re getting chipped, but that it instead shows us the rapture of the church is near! If we’re already seeing prophecies that will ultimately find their fulfillment during the tribulation casting a shadow in our time now, how much closer are we then to this time period? Likewise, this logically shows us that the rapture that precedes it is even closer!
This is meant as encouragement for the believer as the world seemingly falls apart all around us. Many of us are worried and afraid about what the future holds but God – the one who holds the future – declares it clearly for us in his word so that we can trust in him.
Sources
- ID2020 Global Digital ID (March 19th, 2020) – Now The End Begins
- Bill Gates: Coronavirus Means We Need ‘Digital Certificates’ To Prove Who Received Vaccine (March 19th, 2020) – News Punch
- Bill Gates Calls For National Tracking System For Coronavirus During Reddit AMA (March 18th, 2020) – Forbes
- U.S. government, tech industry discussing ways to use smartphone location data to combat coronavirus (March 17th, 2020) – The Washington Post
- Government okays mass surveillance of Israelis’ phones to curb coronavirus (March 15th, 2020) – The Times of Israel
- ID2020 Announces Inaugural Class of Certified Digital ID Solutions (March 10th, 2020) – Medium
- ID2020 Alliance (October 24th, 2020) – Now The End Begins
- ID2020 Launches Technical Certification Mark (January 24th, 2019) – Medium
- Mastercard and Microsoft have a frightening plan to create universal “digital identities” (December 4th, 2020) – Fast Company
- ID2020 Certification Mark Application Form
- Kiva Protocal
- Gravity.Earth
- ID2020 Website
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