Aloha- Show me your mark!
Hawaii is a beautiful place to visit. Despite the high cost of living and the congestion produced by tourists, there generally seems to be a more friendly and helpful spirit in Hawaii than found in most “blue” states.
For instance, in a recent visit we met a 60-ish Hawaii-born gentleman selling locally-made jewelry. Let’s call him “Mike.” He seemed more interested in talking with people than with his sales results. Thus far, he has never left Hawaii, though Mike said he’d like to visit the mainland someday to see relatives, eagles, squirrels and snow. Perhaps snow is the reason Mike described himself as a Minnesota Vikings fan. Mike told us about growing up poor on a dirt road near the sugar mill.
Despite the hardships, Mike recalled many blessings from his past. Mike credited his family upbringing and becoming a Christian. He described our current American culture with a Hawaiian phrase that he said means “all twisted up” and dramatized this by a demonstration: he attempted to walk with his legs crossed at the shins. As we left Mike, he said “I’ll see you later” and then looked upwards toward Heaven to show his meaning.
Getting to Hawaii is far from heavenly. On top of the usual TSA rigamarole of identity checks, clothing removal, scans and frisking, add the hours of non-stop mask-wearing on the plane. Even worse, there are new protocols built around the premise of keeping the coronavirus out of Hawaii. Prior to departing for Hawaii, U.S. travelers must upload their CDC vaccination information (or negative test results) to a Hawaii state “safe travels” website. This website provides you with a personal QR-based digital ID to be used at the airport on arrival, in combination with your actual CDC papers. As you exit the plane, a long line forms to bring you to the screening portal, where a gatekeeper assesses your information and decides if you are worthy of a “green” QR code or will be subject to quarantine. If you are not sent to quarantine, you will use some combination of this green QR code and/or your CDC papers to gain access to car rentals, hotels/condos/resorts, restaurants, entertainment and recreational activities.
On the island of Maui, you are also required to have an approved contact tracing app on your smart phone. Purportedly, this is just so they can notify you of any contact with an infected person. The state website and the contact tracing app both promise that your personal information is private, protected and won’t be misused. Hopefully that is all true, but the promise is shadowed by the many instances of data theft and abuse involving criminals, big tech and government.
Fortunately, we passed inspection and avoided the quarantine path, so we can’t describe how you would handle transportation, food or lodging while trapped in Hawaiian quarantine. Perhaps they have adapted and reinstituted the 19th century practice for quarantining people in Hawaii with leprosy? I.E., transport you by boat to an isolated part of the island of Molokai and drop you into the ocean (close enough that you can swim ashore).
These identification, control and monitoring protocols sound a lot like a “proof of concept” demonstration for something that the apostle John described in the Bible book of Revelation about 2,000 years ago. During the upcoming horrific period called the Tribulation, the Antichrist will force “everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark……” (Revelation 13:16-17, NIV).
To be sure, these Hawaiian protocols do not constitute the implementation of the Antichrist’s mark of the beast. But they do provide a “live” demonstration of these things: (1) It is now possible to connect a person with a unique digital record and unique identity image like a QR code, and broadly use that image and data record to allow, restrict or deny access to things necessary for life. (2) Many (perhaps most) people will accept such controls in order to obtain such necessities.
Identity papers, digital screen images, databases and mobile phone tracking apps are one thing. But are people really ready to have a mark permanently applied to their right hand or forehead as described in Revelation? That’s a hurdle, but it may not be all that big. In the warm Hawaiian climate, a lot more tattooed skin is visible and tattoo parlors are found in many shopping areas. Evidently, lots of people are willing to have permanent marks applied (even on the face) for artistic purposes, to show membership in some group, or to make a personal statement. How much more so, when this becomes the requirement for employment, to obtain food, medical care and other necessities for yourself and those you love, and to show your submission to those in power? This will become a particularly acute decision in the Tribulation period of intense war, famine, plague, natural disasters and supernatural events.
If you want to chat with Mike in Heaven, you can’t take that mark on your forehead or hand. Revelation 14:9-12 makes it clear that everyone who takes that mark is barred from Heaven and destined for the eternal lake of fire. My novel “The Great New Deal” provides more information about the Tribulation and how to avoid the Tribulation and the lake of fire. The fictional tale in the novel occurs in the days prior to the emergence of the Antichrist and the institution of the requirement for a mark upon your hand or forehead.
The events depicted by the novel may be years in the future. But the Hawaiian proof of concept (and similar identity/control systems around the world) and current political/social events and trends suggest the Tribulation is not too far away. Fortunately, God’s end times plan provides for the rescue of everyone who has accepted Jesus as savior. This is summarized in “Excerpts from Lifeline for the Lost Sheep,” book three within “The Great New Deal.”
Don’t take the mark!
