ARE YOU STORING UP CASH? READ ON, FOR A CASHLESS MONETARY SYSTEM IS RAPIDLY EMERGING!!

A Cashless Monetary System is Rapidly Emerging

In an article on www.theeconomiccollapseblog.com, titled: A cashless society may be closer than most people would ever dare to imagine, the following abridged remarks are made on the global transformation towards a cashless monetary system:

Most people think of a cashless society as something that is way off in the distant future.  Unfortunately, that is simply not the case. The truth is that a cashless society is much closer than most people would ever dare to imagine. To a large degree, the transition to a cashless society is being done voluntarily. Today, only 7 percent of all transactions in the United States are done with cash, and most of those transactions involve very small amounts of money. 

Just think about it for a moment. Where do you still use cash these days?  If you buy a burger or if you purchase something at a flea market you will still use cash, but for any mid-size or large transaction the vast majority of people out there will use another form of payment.

Our financial system is dramatically changing, and cash is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. We live in a digital world, and national governments and big banks are both encouraging the move away from paper currency and coins. But what would a cashless society mean for our future? Are there any dangers to such a system?

The big banks want a cashless society because it is much more profitable for them. They earn billions of dollars in fees from debit cards and they make absolutely enormous profits from credit cards. But when people use cash the big banks do not earn anything.

Most governments around the world are eager to transition to a cashless society as well for the following reasons:

·        Cash is expensive to print, inspect, move, store and guard.

·        Counterfeiting is always going to be a problem as long as paper currency exists.

·        Cash is favoured by criminals because it does not leave a paper trail. Eliminating cash would make it much more difficult for drug dealers, prostitutes and other criminals to do business.

·        Most of all, a cashless society would give governments more control. Governments would be able to track virtually all transactions and would also be able to monitor tax compliance much more closely.

When you understand the factors listed above, it becomes easier to understand why the use of cash is increasingly becoming demonized. Governments around the world are increasingly viewing the use of cash in a negative light. In fact, according to the U.S. government paying with cash in some circumstances is now considered to be “suspicious activity” that needs to be reported to the authorities.

This is a trend that is not just happening in the United States. In fact, many other countries are further down the road toward a cashless society than we are. Up in Canada, they are looking for ways to even eliminate coins so that people can use alternate forms of payment for all of their transactions. In Sweden, only about 3 percent of all transactions still involve cash. The following comes from a recent Washington Post article: “In most Swedish cities, public buses don’t accept cash; tickets are prepaid or purchased with a cell phone text message. A small but growing number of businesses only take cards, and some bank offices – which make money on electronic transactions – have stopped handling cash altogether. There are towns where it isn’t at all possible anymore to enter a bank and use cash.”

In Italy, all very large cash transactions have been banned. Previously, the limit for using cash in a transaction had been reduced to the equivalent of just a few thousand dollars. But back in December, Prime Minister Mario Monti proposed a new limit of approximately $1,300 for cash transactions. And that is how many governments will transition to a cashless society.  They will set a ceiling and then they will keep lowering it and lowering it.

But is a cashless society really secure? Of course not.

Bank accounts can be hacked into. Credit cards and debit cards can be stolen. Identity theft all over the world is absolutely soaring. So companies all over the planet are working feverishly to make all of these cashless systems much more secure. In the future, it is inevitable that national governments and big financial institutions will want to have all of us transition over to using biometric identity systems in order to combat crime in the financial system.

Many of these biometric identity systems are becoming quite advanced. For example, just check out what IBM has been developing. The following is from a recent IBM press release: “You will no longer need to create, track or remember multiple passwords for various log-ins. Imagine you will be able to walk up to an ATM machine to securely withdraw money by simply speaking your name or looking into a tiny sensor that can recognize the unique patterns in the retina of your eye. Or by doing the same, you can check your account balance on your mobile phone or tablet.

Each person has a unique biological identity and behind all that is data. Biometric data – facial definitions, retinal scans and voice files – will be composited through software to build your DNA unique online password. Referred to as multi-factor biometrics, smarter systems will be able to use this information in real-time to make sure whenever someone is attempting to access your information, it matches your unique biometric profile and the attempt is authorized.

Are you ready for that? It is coming. In the future, if you do not surrender your biometric identity information, you may be locked out of the entire financial system.

Another method that can be used to make financial identification more secure is to use implantable RFID microchips. Yes, there is a lot of resistance to this idea, but the fact is that the use of RFID chips in animals and in humans is rapidly spreading. Some U.S. cities have already made it mandatory to implant microchips into all cats and all dogs so that they can be tracked.

All over the United States, employees are being required to carry badges that contain RFID chips, and in some instances employers are actually requiring employees to have RFID chips injected into their bodies. President Obama’s new healthcare legislation in principle mandates RFID chips containing personal and health data to be implanted into all Americans.

Radio-frequency identification

From Wikipedia Encyclopedia

RFID chip next to a grain of rice. This chip contains a radio-frequency electromagnetic field coil that modulates an external magnetic field to transfer a coded identification number when queried by a reader device. This small type is incorporated in consumer products, and even implanted in pets, for identification.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of a wireless non-contact system that uses radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data from a tag attached to an object, for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking. Some tags require no battery and are powered by the electromagnetic fields used to read them. Others use a local power source and emit radio waves (electromagnetic radiation at radio frequencies). The tag contains electronically stored information which can be read from up to several meters away. Unlike a bar code, the tag does not need to be within line of sight of the reader and may be embedded in the tracked object.

RFID tags are used in many industries. An RFID tag attached to an automobile during production can be used to track its progress through the assembly line. Pharmaceuticals can be tracked through warehouses. Livestock and pets may have tags injected, allowing positive identification of the animal.

Since RFID tags can be attached to clothing, possessions, or even implanted within people, the possibility of reading personally-linked information without consent has raised privacy concerns.

Biblical prophecy

The Bible foretold these developments almost two millennia ago and indicated that the Antichrist would use a cashless economy to control the financial transactions of all economically active people on earth – thereby also monitoring their movements. At the same time, he will use this system to coerce people into declaring allegiance to him as world messiah and also to worship him:

“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666” (Rev. 13:16-18).

The 666 refers to the satanic triumvirate – the devil, the Antichrist and the false prophet. They will be in direct opposition to the triune God; consequently, the willingness to worship the Antichrist will amount to a complete denial of the true Christ. People who will be prepared to sell their souls to Satan for financial gain will share his judgement with him in hell:

“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:9-11).

The execution of this judgement will begin on the last day of the great tribulation, when Christ will return to pour out His wrath upon His enemies: “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse [Jesus Christ] and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh” (Rev. 19:19-21).

What now seems to be an innocent and beneficial system of electronic funds transfer with a view to eliminating all cash transactions and the problems associated with them, will fall into the hands of humanity’s greatest adversary, the Antichrist. He will be mightily empowered by Satan to establish his evil kingdom on earth during the tribulation period: “And the dragon [Satan] gave him [the Antichrist] his power, his throne, and great authority. ... And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And he was given authority over every tribe, and tongue and nation” (Rev. 13:2, 7).

Initially, all people will welcome the Antichrist and gladly accept his political, religious and economic reforms towards globalism: “And all the world marvelled and followed the beast. ... And they worshipped the beast” (Rev. 13:3-4). But later, when he declares himself to be God in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, many people will realise that they were deceived and intimidated by the greatest impostor and tyrant of all time (Rev. 13:15; 2 Thess. 2:4; Dan. 11:31, 36). To turn against him then, will be regarded as treason and punishable by death.

What will have started as a seemingly good solution to humanity’s insurmountable political divisions, economic chaos and religious animosity, will end up in the worst nightmare of all time. The Lord Jesus described the Antichrist’s coming reign of terror as a “great tribulation” which will be unprecedented in its severity (Matt. 24:21). The moral depravity and religious rebellion of the last days will be reminiscent of the wickedness which prevailed during the time of Noah and Lot (Luke 17:26-30), and also call for direct divine intervention to save the believers and judge the enemies of God’s kingdom.