somebody make it stop! This morning I had a conversation with some good friends about predictions related to the biblical End Times. I'm extremely skeptical about any person or group claiming anything definite about the details of the End Times. Now, don't get me wrong; I 100% believe that the prophecies in Revelation about the end of the world will be completely fulfilled, but when people start claiming they know who the AntiChrist is, or that they know a specific date for Jesus' second coming, or that the EU is the ten-nation coalition (http://www.heisnear.com/newsEUrevivedRomanEmpire.html) prophesied in Revelation 17 (the EU is up to 27 members now [http://europa.eu/about-eu/member-countries/index_en.htm], for those of you keeping track), I call shenanigans. Sure, somebody will probably predict who the AntiChrist is before he comes fully into power, but they'll be right by coincidence, and they'll probably have gotten it wrong a few times before. Apparently neither Hitler (http://revelation13.net/Hitler.html) nor Sadaam Hussein (http://www.bible-codes.org/letters-Saddam-antichrist-type-figure-only.htm)was the AntiChrist, and they both seemed so promising! I know those links only say that these guys were forerunner of the capital-letter AntiChrist, but before their deaths many people claimed that these men, in turn, were the AntiChrist.
Coincidentally, on the heels of this converstation, this afternoon I got a Facebook message from a friend in regards to one of my favorite End Times topics: the mark of the beast. Here's the video, which was linked from http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.nowtheendbegins.com%252Fpages%252Fmark_of_the_beast%252FmarkOF_theBEAST.htm&h=c1355&ref=nf:
Guys like this really frustrates me, so here I will attempt to lay out for you all the reasons I think the guy in the video is either a heretical false prophet, a moron, or both.
1. Terrible presentation. We Christians need better propagandists, so we can make awesome, persuasive videos like this one:
But seriously, if you have skills to make a persuasive media presentation, go work on something important, like stopping abortion, or feeding orphans and widows. Make videos that remind people there's a life beyond this one, and that we need Jesus' salvation to ensure our eternal happiness. Don't help this guy make his videos prettier, please.
2. It's linked from a website that pushes the King James version of the Bible. (http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/pages/KJV/king-james-1611-bible.htm). Now, I have friends who prefer the KJV to other versions, and I can understand that, although I believe it is not only not the best translation, I believe it has many flaws that alternatives like the NASB or ESV don't. But as soon as somebody starts positing that the KJV is the only trustworthy translation, I stop taking them seriously. Someday I'll have to write a whole post about this.
3. Enough with the ad hominem, and on to some real arguments. I don't believe this kind of bologna because it's just the next iteration in a long series of guesses. Everything from Social Security numbers (http://www.greaterthings.com/Conspiracy/SSN_SocialSecurityNumber_666/) to credit cards to barcodes (http://www.greaterthings.com/Books/Vision/Appendices/Ap-J_MarkofBeast.htm) to going to church on Sunday (Seventh-Day Adventism, although you won't easily find it on their website) has been accused of being the Mark of the Beast that seals you as God's enemy. Could RFID be the mechanism that is used to implement the prophesied Mark? Certainly. Could it actually be some other technology? Yes. Could it actually have nothing to do with technology, and instead be a literal physical mark? Yes. Could it be purely symbolic, and refer to the World System, perhaps something like owning stocks or having a car loan, just as easily as it could refer to RFID? Yes. Is any of this more than mere speculation? No.
4. Jesus' second coming is neither more nor less immanent today than it was 2,000 years ago. Yes, we have wars and rumors of wars. Yes, we sometimes mistakenly believe we may see peace in the Middle East during our lifetime, and 1948 was a major historic milestone. Yes, technology is making things that once seemed like wild, magical predictions seem tangible. But the Christians in the first century, who had a much better chance than we of understanding exactly what John was talking about, expected Jesus to return during their lifetime. Now, I'm not like the scoffer in 2 Peter 3. I believe Jesus will come a second time, and it could happen before I can click the Publish button, or it could happen years, even hundreds or thousands of years, from now.
5. People won't be tricked into getting the Mark. It's a blatant rejection of God in favor of the world system as run by the Beast. You'll know when they try to give it to you.
6. RFID is a bad candidate anyway. Ease of fraud is, in my opinion, the best reason not to ever attach it to any service with money on the other end. Lack of range is a great reason why it would be a terrible way to track people. I believe that, if you understand the technology, you have to understand why it can't be the Mark. Obviously everybody can't be an expert at everything, but this guy definitely shouldn't be telling people what to believe about RFID.
In summary, RFID is not the Mark of the Beast, and while we should be vigilant, trying to nail down prophetic specifics beyond what the Bible says is probably not the most effective way to apply Scripture to our lives.
For those of you who are interested in some of the really cool possible implementations of the exciting technology that is RFID, check out these news stories:
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