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...and his number is Six hundred & sixty-six. (Rev.13:15-18)      666! The Mark of the Beast! Almost everybody has heard something about this prophecy which says that in the last days no one will be able to buy or sell anything unless they get the "Devil's mark".      Today we are the first generation with the technology available to fulfil such a prophecy of a "cashless" society.      At present, in this supermarket there are a number of ways I can pay for this shopping: Ican use cash, or I can write a check, or pay by credit card.      ...or another way that is being promoted so much today is using a debit card. When you give your debit card to the cashier the card is run through a scanner which is electronically linked to your bank & the money is immediately taken out of your bank account and placed in the store's account.--All in a split second.      Debit cards have already been introduced in many parts of the world & are extremely popular with stores, banks & customers.      Then there's the "IC Card" or the "Smart Card", which actually has a little computer chip embedded in the card. You've probably read about these electronic marvels that not only give you access to your bank account, but also contains your passport, medical record, driver's license, photographs, welfare eligibility and all kinds of other data. These are already being tested in various parts of the world.      ... So you can see we are fast on the way to eliminating cash--and there are many compelling reasons why. Cash is the very mother's milk of drug smugglers, who often deal in cash a suitcase full at a time. With no cash the sale of illegal drugs would cease. In fact to eliminate cash would eliminate almost every kind of criminal activity, from theft to terrorism, and be an instant cure-all for many of the World's most desperate social & economic ills. No wonder governments are pushing towards the cashless society with unrestrained enthusiasm.      However, before cash, cheques & credit cards can be phased out completely, they have to develop an identification system that is absolutely foolproof & will ensure that a person presenting a card for a transaction is actually the owner of that card.      Various foolproof ID systems have already been developed, like this fingerprint reader. However the only problem with these machines is that they are extremely expensive. For a completely cashless society to work, there would have to be one at every little shop & retail outlet where anything is bought & sold.      Whereas these identification terminals cost many thousands of dollars each, the actual micro-chips encased in the plastic "smart cards" cost only a few dollars each So what if you took the chip out of the card & placed it under the skin?      Once the chip has been implanted it can be read by an inexpensive scanner, much like the one in your local grocery store. So, you now become your own smart card!--And the very expensive problem of making sure that the owner of the card is who he says he is, has been solved.      Today the technology for just such an implant not only exists, but is being tested in pilot programs all over the world. A tiny microchip which can be read by a scanner is inserted into a spot below the animal's skin. "Infopet" in California boast the ability to keep track of 4 billion cats & dogs worldwide. This technology has proven that keeping track of large populations through implants & centralized computer data banks is completely feasible.       So as we can see the technology & the public acceptance to make the Mark of the Beast system work is rapidly falling into place...Already we are constantly hearing about the "New World Order", or "global community", & these buzz slogans are slowly sinking in as the world heads towards an international financial and political system, a cashless society controlled by a computer data base that covers the entire globe, keeping track of every man, woman & child, where they cross borders & when they buy & sell--exactly like the one predicted in Revelation chapter 13 nearly 2,000 years ago!      "If any man worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture...And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever..." (Revelation 14:9,10)      That may seem like pretty stiff punishment for simply accepting a Mark that allows you to buy groceries. However, this prophecy indicates that receiving the "Mark of the Beast" is not merely an economic decision, but also implies acceptance and worship of the Satan-possessed Anti-Christ, and a pledge of allegiance to his anti-God global regime.