Can these concepts co-exist? As we speak, the Congress of the United States is debating what is called "Real ID". It's a national ID card system. The bill says that states are allowed to opt out of the program, but if they do, their state Drivers' licenses will not be accepted for ID on airlines, interstate bus or train travel.
There are people and politicians who want certain people imbedded with S-Chip against their will. Kids, convicted sex offenders, illegal aliens.. etc. There are others who believe it would be a good idea to S-Ship everyone.
Two thousand years ago, a man on the island of Patmos foresaw a day when people would be marked. Those who don't have the mark won't be able to buy or sell.
Today is the first era of history where that mark is possible. There has been "marking" of skin for hundreds of years, but those marks were inert skin colorings. It wouldn't have been feasible to quarantee that no seller conduct business with an unmarked buyer.
Today, we have that technology. S-chipped products are already on the market. Because of them, products can be tracked from production to point of sale.
Supermarkets have cards you can register for, they offer specials for people carrying those cards. They track what people are buying and sell the information to marketing firms. There's really not much sinister about them, because they are voluntary agreements between private business and private citizens.
But with an S-Chipped "Real ID" card, the government can track people and what we are buying, selling and our comings and goings.
Convenience being one of the "Holy Trinity of Western Culture, how far are we from imbedding those S-Chips under the skin. How great would it be to simply walk into a store, pick up what you want, and as you walk out the door, your purchases are "rung up" and the money automatically being deducted from your account. How about not having to "clock in and out" anymore. Simply walking through the door at work puts you "on the clock", leaving clocks you out.
All this is fine and dandy, but what about people who choose not to participate? If these conveniences become mandatory, will there be wavers? Will there be "religious exeptions"? Or will we simply have to comply, or else...
I'm not saying that either of these are the Mark of the Beast or not. Hoever, if we are to mantain religious freedom in the U.S. then it doesn't matter if they are or not, it only matters if individual Americans think it is. If Americans can have what they consider the Mark of the Beast forced upon them, then Religious Freedom is lost. If anyone can have S-Chip embeded in them, or a National ID forced upon them, then freedom is lost
