Quote: "Silverman commented on the transaction, "The prior controlling stockholder of the Company preferred a different path for the Company, which could have jeopardized the value of our FDA-cleared, first-of-a-kind medical device for patient identification. I couldn't let that happen. Our stockholders and the medical community believe in the value of our technology and its ability to evolve patient care and medical record access. I am eager to reignite the VeriMed Health Link business including our patient, hospital and physician outreach activities. We will focus once again on our core geographies and ensure our important relationships with advocacy groups are maintained and successful. Furthermore, we will continue the development of the glucose-sensing microchip in conjunction with RECEPTORS LLC, who is making good progress. In the near future, we will update the investor community on the results of our Phase I development of the glucose sensor."

As you can see, the issue of the implantation and personal identification of human beings has not gone away. And with the present global financial turmoil and speculation about the crash of world currencies due to mounting world debt, we should be expecting these issues to be coming to the fore. The Bible speaks of a day in which it will be impossible for a person to buy or sell without having a name, a number or an identifying 'mark' in their right hand or forehead (Revelation 13:16-18). Even today, many of the people that come into our bookshop to make purchases will use a credit card, including for very small transactions. How long will it be before cash is done away with completely and a new electronic currency is launched, with the aim of replacing our failed currencies and improving our personal and national security? As British Prime Minister Gordon Brown states, we now have the perfect opportunity to set such a system up. How do you establish, in Gordon Brown's own words, a true global society? One of the first things you need is a global currency. And it seems the prospect of that happening gets closer by the day...

Quote: "The Single Global Currency Assn. urges the G20, meeting in Washington this weekend, to initiate research and planning for a Single Global Currency. The Association's President, Morrison Bonpasse, wrote to IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to urge such a step in order to "achieve the primary goal of the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference and the primary goal of the IMF: stable currency around the world." The Association supports the calls by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy for a "new Bretton Woods" and a restructuring of the global financial system. This call for research and planning echoes the work done in Europe in the 1980's and 1990's to plan for the euro. Bonpasse is confident that when a serious examination of the costs and benefits is done, the world will embrace the goal of a Single Global Currency, to be managed by a Global Central Bank within a Global Monetary Union. He said, "The easiest to understand benefits of a Single Global Currency will be the elimination of $400 billion in annual foreign exchange costs, the elimination of foreign exchange fluctuations, and the elimination of the need of expensive foreign exchange reserves, now totaling more than $3 trillion around the world."

Jesus Christ is coming back. The Bible prophesies that financial turmoil would be one of the major conditions that would characterize the last days (Revelation 6:5-6). Amos 4:12 states, "Prepare to meet thy God". Have you made the proper preparation to meet God? Have you had your sins forgiven through trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Are you at your station ready for the near approaching train?
Are you fully contemplating that a pass you will obtain?
Is there some important matter you have left behind undone
That will keep you hesitating 'till too late to make the run?

O be ready for the glorious Gospel train!
Quickly make your preparation and your passport have in hand
O be ready for the glorious Gospel train!
It will take you safely over to the glory Spirit land

Source RFID Update, VeriChip, BBC, PR Log

This link from my friend Tony. Middletown School District in the state of Rhode Island have announced a pilot programme to monitor the movements of students through the use of RFID. The programme is being run by MAP Information Technology Corporation, and will involve eighty students at the Aquidneck School. Students will have a tiny RFID chip implanted in their school bag, which will pass through a scanner as they board the school bus. The buses will be equipped with GPS, and can transmit their exact location to an internet site, along with a record of which children are on the bus. Parents and teachers will be able to log onto the website to access this information. While the aim of the programme is to improve child protection as they travel to and from school, some have expressed concern that the information could actually be exploited by paedophiles seeking to target children.  

Quote: "The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has criticized the plan as an invasion of children's privacy and a potential risk to their safety. "There's absolutely no need to be tagging children," said Stephen Brown, executive director of the ACLU's Rhode Island chapter. According to Brown, the school district should already know where its students are. "[This program is] a solution in search of a problem," Brown said. The school district says that its current plan is no different than other programs already in place for parents to monitor their children's school experience. For example, parents can already check on their children's attendance records and what they have for lunch, said district Superintendent Rosemary Kraeger.

As we have seen recently with the Bilderberg gathering in Washington D.C., RFID is fast becoming a part of everyday living. We now have the technology to fulfill the prophecies concerning the Mark of Beast. It's not a question of if but when these things begin to come to pass. The fact that efforts are already being made to identify certain people groups, whether it's soldiers, prisoners, Alzheimer patients or school children, shows us just how far we have come. As we saw with the Asian Tsunami in December 2004, it would not take a great deal of persuasion to convince people to have a chip implanted in their right hand or forehead, in the event of some global catastrophe or crisis. Just one example. Imagine that food prices continue to spiral, as the Bible predicts they will (Revelation 6:6). The government starts rationing food, and in order to receive your daily allowance, you have to prove your identity. So they suggest everyone has a chip inserted in their right hand or forehead, so as to speed the process of identification and reduce fraud. Those that don't get the chip don't get the food. The Bible does say that no man should buy or sell save he have the Mark (Revelation 13:17). During this time there will be great disasters happening on earth, such as killer hail (Revelation 16:21), a meteor strike (Revelation 8:8), earthquakes (Revelation 16:18-19) and global war (Revelation 9:15-19). It will be a terrible time for those who dwell on earth. But mankind must reap what he has sown. The time of the end is drawing near. Jesus Christ is coming back. Are you ready to meet Him? Have your sins been forgiven? Jesus Christ died for you. He bore God's punishment for your sins when He died upon the cross. All who believe on Him for salvation shall have everlasting life, and shall not come into judgement, but have passed from death unto life (John 5:24). Repent of your sins and believe on Jesus Christ for salvation today.   

Source Natural News

Xmark, the manufacturers of the implantable VeriChip RFID tag, are planning to launch their first ever direct-to-consumer advertising campaign in South Florida next week, in an effort to boost sales of their VeriMed system and improve their public relations image. This marks a distinct turning point for the company's marketing campaign, which has so far focused on the medical establishment rather than the consumer themselves. The company's VeriMed system has so far been adopted by around 500 hospitals in the United States, and over 1200 physicians have received training on how to bring up a patient's medical records through scanning their implanted microchip. As part of this new marketing campaign, Xmark are planning to change the name of their VeriMed system to Health Link, to make it more appealing to the general public. Xmark have faced much criticism in the past for their targeting of the elderly and vulnerable of society. Around two hundred Alzheimer patients were implanted with VeriChips last year as part of an experiment to test the company's RoamAlert wander-prevention system. Rights groups complained that the Alzheimer sufferers would actually receive less care under the new scheme, for staff would no longer be required to be physically present to look after their patients. Nor can Alzheimer sufferers give fully informed consent on whether or not they want to be implanted with a microchip, for they are incapable of understanding the medical risks involved. It seems that Xmark are continuing their targeting of the vulnerable of society, in partnering with HearUSA, a hearing aid manufacturer. The Health Link system will be made available at every store where HearUSA operates.

Quote: "Health Link is the connection between you and your personal health record. It provides emergency room doctors and nurses with immediate access to your vital medical and emergency contact information, which will help them to treat you rapidly, accurately and safely during an emergency. Health Link utilizes a tiny microchip (similar in size to a grain of rice) and a secure, private, online database that links you to your personal health record. Your Health Link is always with you and cannot be lost or stolen. The Health Link microchip stores only a unique 16-digit identification number and is injected just under the skin in the rear upper portion of the right arm. When a Health Link member presents in an emergency department unconscious, unresponsive or confused, emergency medical personnel use the Health Link scanner to retrieve the member’s identification number to access his or her personal health record.

I still can't get over VeriChip changing their name to Xmark. To me this is surely the Holy Spirit trying to warn believers all over the world of the days that we are now living in. And it seems we have been given a double warning, just in case we second-guess ourselves. If you still haven't got the it yet, read the catchphrase, "Know for sure". Know what for sure? Know that this is the Mark of the Beast for sure? Or at least its prototype. Of course I do not believe that this could be considered the Mark of the Beast just yet, for I believe that the Mark won't be issued until the Antichrist rises to power. But I believe this could well be the prototype, and the fact that Xmark are now marketing this to the general public ought to give us more cause for concern. Or more cause for rejoicing, for we know that our redemption draws nigh. I do believe that the Church will be taken home before the Antichrist can be revealed. But for those living during the time of the tribulation period, there will be no middle ground. The Bible makes it clear, you either accept Jesus Christ as Saviour, or your accept the Mark. And Revelation states that those who accept the Mark of the Beast can never enter heaven (Revelation 17:8). The choice today is similarly stark, although there may be nobody physically pressuring you into making a decision. John 3:18 makes it clear, if you haven't yet accepted Christ for salvation, you are condemned because of your sins already. The only thing left for your to do is to appear at the judgement to receive your sentence, which will be eternal separation from God. But it doesn't have to end that way. God loves you so much that He sent His only Son into the world to take the punishment you deserve for your sins. He bore God's punishment for your sins in His own body on the cross (1st Peter 2:24). Jesus Christ cried out from the cross, "It is finished", John 19:30. Jesus Christ completed the plan of redemption, and God was satisfied with His sacrifice for our sins (Isaiah 53:11). All you have to do is repent of your sins, and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Jesus Christ created you, He loves you, and He wants you to be with Him forever. Trust in Him for salvation today.

Isaiah 53:3-6
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Source Business Wire, VeriChip Corp

This link from my friend Laura. An increasing number of companies, such as McDonalds, Dunkin' Donuts and the Hilton Hotels group, are now installing biometric palm scanners on their premises in an effort to keep track of how many hours their employees are working. The biometric system has been designed to replace the old time card system, in which employees were required to fill out a card or punch a clock to record the times they start and finish work. The new machines use biometric recognition software that can identify an individual by the shape of their hand rather than through fingerprints or other such methods. The system is designed to reduce the amount of paperwork companies have to process, thus saving time and money, reducing fraud and improving security. Manufacturers sold around $365 million worth of palm-scanning equipment last year, and are expecting these figures to increase as more companies adopt the new system.

Quote: "An increasingly large number of companies are installing biometric palm readers, which require workers to literally put their hand up and swear they've been at their jobs during scheduled hours. Employees in places where the devices have been put in must place their hand on a scanner and allow it to read their palm prints. The information is then sent to a computer.

Not everyone is in favour of the new system though. Some trade union representatives dislike the idea of employers acquiring yet more control over their staff. Union president Claude Fort says that the palm scanners "aren't there for security purposes. It has nothing to do with productivity... It is about control, and that is what makes us nervous". It may not be the 'Mark of the Beast', but I thought the language used in the above quotation was very intriguing. The Bible states that during the tribulation period, the False Prophet - the world religious leader, will compel all people to receive an identifying mark in their right hand or forehead (Revelation 13:16-18). We are not told in Scripture exactly how they will be compelled to accept the mark. But as we have seen recently with Britain's national identification card scheme, there could be a number of contributing factors. Personal convenience and security could play a big role in the adoption of this scheme, and perhaps like the identity cards, those refusing to comply could face stiff penalties. According to Scripture, without receiving the mark in your right hand or forehead, you will not be able to buy or sell anything. In the book of Revelation, the launch of the 'Mark of the Beast' system seems to follow a period of global hyper-inflation, during which the price of wheat rises to around the equivalent of a day's wages (Revelation 6:6). Extreme flooding and drought, coupled with a rising global population, a high price of oil and an increased dependence on biofuels, are already pushing the global price of wheat to record levels. And the world's monetary system seems to be tottering on the brink of collapse. Conveniently, world leaders are now calling for a complete overhaul of the world economic system, with the International Monetary Fund to be given wide-ranging powers to prevent further "turbulence" in the global economy. The Bible seems to indicate that during the tribulation period, gold and other commodities may become completely valueless (Ezekiel 7:19, James 5:3). Could it be that following the total collapse of the global economy, the Mark of the Beast system will be launched?

Of course, the Mark of the Beast is not just a method of payment. It is a mark of ownership. Just as cattle are branded by farmers to prove ownership, so those who take the Mark of the Beast upon their hand or forehead are declaring that they are the property of the Antichrist and Satan himself. The places of the forehead and right hand are significant, for the forehead is symbolic of the will and the right hand is symbolic of power (Ezekiel 3:8, Genesis 48:17-19). When the book of Revelation mentions the Mark of the Beast, it is always mentioned in conjunction with worship of the Antichrist. The Bible makes it clear that none of those who take the mark and worship the Beast will ever inherit eternal life. Or perhaps it may be better explained this way, that those who will inherit eternal life will never accept the Mark of the Beast (Revelation 13:8, 14:9-12). Do you have eternal life? The Bible declares that this is the record, that God has given unto us eternal life, and that this life is found in His Son, Jesus Christ (1st John 5:11). Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Revelation 13:16-17
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.

Source City News