The Bible predicts that there will come a day when every person must be registered in a world-wide economic system. This will be a permanent universal credit device without which no one can buy or sell anything. It will be imposed by “the beast” (Antichrist), and will be accompanied by a physical “mark.”

That day just got a little closer with the proposal of a senate bill that would require all American workers to have a National ID Card that could not be used by someone else. That means that the card would contain biometric information – probably digitized fingerprints. Americans have always been reluctant to have this kind of registration since it is seen as an invasion of their privacy. It might start, as in this proposed bill, as a permit to work, but it would undoubtedly be used for tracking individual health, purchases, travel, voting, and anything else “big brother” would like to know.

The legislation is a result of President Obama’s desire to see Congress enact immigration legislation this year. To give the bill a bipartisan start, Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham will cosponsor the measure.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind here. First, the mark itself is not our individual identification number. The Bible says it is “the name of the beast or the number of his name.” Antichrist will be energized by the Devil, who always wanted to be worshipped as god. Wearing his “mark” would be the equivalent of a Christian wearing a cross. But this mark – probably a visible or invisible tattoo, will be his name or his distinctive number. There are many possible numbering systems that could be used, but no one knows yet what it will be, and the Bible says we can not know who Antichrist will be until the Holy Spirit ceases to be the restrainer of sin. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). This would be during the Tribulation when true Christians have been taken away by the Rapture of the Church. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

The second thing to remember is that the actual device could be like a credit card or smart card, but in order to keep people from losing it, it could be an implanted radio-frequency identification device (RFID) similar to the ones already being placed under the skin of pets and some humans.

All of this means we are getting closer than ever to Our Lord’s return for His Church!

[A]ll legal U.S. workers, including citizens and immigrants, would be issued an ID card with embedded information, such as fingerprints, to tie the card to the worker.

Around one in six (16 percent) said they would wear an implant to allow emergency services to rescue them more quickly in the event of a fire or accident.

Common use of these chips include tracking pets and providing medical information for emergency treatment.

Some are concerned their use among humans would lead to a lack of privacy ... Others, the Washington Post reports, are also concerned the use of microchips could be the "mark of the beast" -- or the coming of the antichrist.

It means that 77 per cent of its business was now done with debit cards, rather than credit cards, the use of which stalled over the past year.