Amazon now has a product that will allow you to enter the Age of The Jetsons. It isn’t a flying car, nor a condo on Mars as my generation was promised back in grade school. (side note: We were robbed!). Amazon One is the product, which allows you to make purchases using the biometric data stored in your palm. Russell Brand does a great job at analyzing the next step into a brave, new world. It allows you to laugh and cry simultaneously.
Although it is early days, I believe that Amazon One has been the Mark of the Beast. I’m old enough to recall when the Universal Product Code was called the Mark of the Beast. I was fascinated by religion studies (I am not a scholar but a guy who studies religion).
So, I began my journey down the rabbit hole by visiting the Amazon One official site. It goes to great lengths for convenience, but with a strong emphasis on you! (Big Smile!) (Big Smile!) It says a little further down: “Meet Amazon One, the fast and convenient contactless identity service that uses palms – hover to enter, identify and pay. Just by being yourself, you can “breeze your day…Anytime.” The service is available anywhere.
Your palm and biometric information should be unique to protect you from theft. That is, unless someone finds a way around it. It’s simple and will reduce your chances of contracting COVID-19 or monkeypox.
Do you remember Amazon’s Astro? Your personal robot assistant? It sounds like exactly what we have been waiting for. Gizmodo reports Astro uses Sentry mode to patrol your home looking for people and things it doesn’t recognize. It then reports back to you. It can also be paired to Ring. You should now know that Amazon shared Ring information with law enforcement, without notifying owners. Ars Technica has all the details.
The internet of things is supposed make our lives easier. It does, however, facilitate the transfer of personal information and activities to corporations who then sell them for profit and provide it to the government as needed. Ring shows. Problem is, who decides when and how to do it?
It is hard to argue that Ring, Astro, and even Amazon One could capture a child predator, identity thief or drug dealer. What if your purchase or activity is illegal or immoral? Let’s suppose you follow the lead of the Loudoun School district in Virginia and are considered a terrorist. What will happen to your personal information? You are not being turned into a product, but products are intended to be used by your customers.
Amazon One uses the palm to guide you to Revelation 13, 16-17. “All people, large and small, rich or poor, slave or free, were required to have a mark placed on their foreheads or right hands so they could no longer buy or sell unless the mark was present, which is either the name of the beast, or the number of its names.”
Many believers and atheists tend to forget the fact that the Bible writers were capable of using metaphors, allegory, humor, and even satire. They were not ignorant, simple people. Most scholars date Revelation between 64 and 69 AD or 95 to 96 AD depending on who you ask. It is still a matter of debate whether the “Beast” term refers to Nero and Domitian, who were both well-known for persecuting Christians.
The letters to the seven churches addressed in the book begin with the letter to them. They not only point out the areas they need to improve, but also offer encouragement during a time that could prove very dangerous. However, this is not to suggest that there aren’t lessons to be learned from Revelation. Every Christian should read the letters addressed to the seven churches. These messages still hold true today.
The internet is full of videos, sermons and essays. There are even rants about antichrists and signs that The End is everywhere. This was true even before the internet. Christ warns us that not everyone will see the end. Because if people “saved the date”, they would be content to stay in their homes and eat freeze-dried food, rather than living their lives. The Mark of the Beast, which is a sign of ownership or allegiance, was used in many documents.
