I recently read an interesting article, Boys in the hood: the fight for religion's soul. The article is written by a visitor who spent a bit of time with the monks of the Esphigmenou monastery at Mount Athos. While the bulk of the article reveals the life of the monks, one paragraph in particular caught my eye:

"As I walk through the stone gateway for the last time, I pass an aged monk, sitting sentinel beneath its frescoes. I offer him a Quality Street - the last of my bulwark against a beans-only diet. He takes the box and turns it over carefully, methodically. Then he points to the barcode, and shakes his head, his long beard accentuating the motion. The packet is returned, untouched."

I found it awe inspiring that the monk (mentioned in this story) took such a clear stand against the technology that so many of us not only take for granted, but generally overlook. While I see no "evil" in the bar code system itself, I do believe that it is the technological forerunner of the RFID and microchip (VeriChip) system that is being globally established.

The 666 found in Bar Codes

On a website by Eric Jewell we find the topic of 666 as well as the FAQ: Is The UPC Code The Forerunner Of The "Mark of the Beast"?

His observation and explanation of the bar code system shed some light on the question, but above all, his conclusions wraps up the fact that the old technology will make way for the new. He writes:

"Is the bar code the mark of the beast? Of course not... but... it is my honest belief that a bar-coded, implantable computer chip will be. The evidence is overwhelming, and technologically speaking it is the only thing that will completely fulfill everything we are told about it. Technologically it is the only thing we have that even comes close. Biblically its an exact hit. As far as current events, and the direction we as a world are heading, it is inevitable in time."

To better understand the UPC code it would be best to visit George J. Laurer's personal site, where he ironically, has a page dedicated to those Christians that apparently pestered him about "helping to invent the mark of the beast". He admits that the numbers 666 do appear in the code and we can find his reply to "666" questions on a page titled QUESTIONS about the U.P.C. and the New Testamant.

Laurer states that it is simply a coincidence then continues to answer a question:

Question: Rumor has it that the lines (left, middle, and right) that protrude below the U.P.C. code are the numbers 6,6,6... and that this is the international money code. I typed a code with all sixes and this seems to be true. At least they all resemble sixes. What's up with that? 11/11/98

Answer: Yes, they do RESEMBLE the code for a six. An even parity 6 is:
1 module wide black bar
1 module wide white space
1 module wide black bar
4 module wide white space


There is nothing sinister about this nor does it have anything to do with the Bible's "mark of the beast" (The New Testament, The Revelation, Chapter 13, paragraph 18). It is simply a coincidence like the fact that my first, middle, and last name all have 6 letters. There is no connection with an international money code either.

For more hogwash about 666 implications of the U.P.C., government form numbers, other publications, codes and the like, see Mary Sterwart Relfe's book "The New Money System". Such hype about the U.P.C. has been around since 1973.


From Bar Codes to RFID
On a separate page on this site, there is an article by David C. Allais on, RFID: A balanced perspective
where the connection between the bar code and RFID are made:


"An RFID tag is simply a microchip attached to an antenna. This RFID tag is a data carrier analogous to a printed bar code or to the magnetic stripe on your credit card. Unlike bar codes, RFID does not require a line of sight because tags are read by radio waves rather than by reflected light."

Allais then points out that the RFID made its beginning in the 1970s and continues:
"The catch-all term RFID embraces considerable variety including active or passive tags, read-only or read-write, and four widely separated radio frequencies. Tags can range in size from tiny capsules for injection under an animal's skin to large active tags for fast-moving rail cars. The distance at which an RFID tag can be read depends on tag type, antenna configuration and RF power. The smallest passive tags require near contact while larger active tags may be read from a distance of over 100 feet."

Tagged animals, Chipped People
So, where do we go from there? Well, the way technology has continued to advance, we have gone from animals being tagged, to humans being tagged.Below is an excerpt from a page of a person who has been tagged twice, once in each hand:


"Amal has two RFID implants, one in each hand. His left hand contains a 3mm by 13mm EM4102 glass RFID tag that was implanted by a cosmetic surgeon using a scalpel to make a very small cut, into which the implant was placed. His right hand contains a 2mm by 12mm Philips HITAG 2048 S implant with crypto-security features and 255 bytes of read/write memory storage space. It was implanted by a family doctor using an Avid injector kit like the ones used on pets. He can access his front door, car door, and log into his computer using his implants, and has written a book called RFID Toys, which details how to build these and other RFID enabled projects."

As we all know, since the beginning of implantable microchips, VeriChips or generic chips, they have been implanted into people for various reasons. The reasons range from medical, to security, digital cashless transactions or just for fun.

Have we allowed technology to cross the line of moral ethics? Furthermore, will technology become a "helping hand" in the spiritual downfall of mankind? Perhaps the answers to these questions will only become clear to some people after technology has become an active instrument in separating us from God. Even then, some will doubt the scriptures, while others who call themselves Christians will betray God and ignore the written prophesy concerning the end. Those who seek the truth, will see through the deceptions of the times.

The general belief among many (some with tinfoil hats, some simply with religious conviction) is that all of this technology is leading us to one thing, the micro chipping of mankind, and the replacement of legal tender with a global RFID database system. A system, that will require us to be chipped, that is, if we desire the ability to "buy or sell". It's up to us to refuse the mark, or "cash-in" on it, as scripture states in Rev.13:16-18:

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and 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. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."

I tend to believe that with the way technology is advancing this will all eventually boil down to linking products and micro chipped people together. What we have to accept, is that it has come to pass that a "mark" has been created and implanted into people; a mark, which has a cashless transaction ability. What is left now is for a global agreement to be implemented, which will force society to use that RFID chip in place of cash transactions.

But that's just what I think.