August 4, 2026

August, 4, 2026
August 4, 2026

give

untitled artwork

untitled artwork

World news biblically understood

TRENDING:

Biometric Technology And A Cashless Society: Why People Are Asking Questions About The Mark Of The Beast

Mark Hitchcock

Joe Rogan is a comedian, podcast host, and UFC commentator. His podcast, which I do not endorse with the rank language he often uses, has over 15 million subscribers. He’s a major influencer in our culture today and an unbeliever.

A couple of weeks ago, he had a guest named Duncan Trussell, who is a stand-up comic, writer, and actor. Surprisingly, they discussed for quite some time how a cashless society is a precursor to enforcing the mark of the beast.

During his program, Joe Rogan asks, “How long before we’re a cashless society?” Trussell responded:

“Hopefully, forever. It is so scary to imagine losing privacy completely because every transaction is in the public eye [and is] observable… This is where I get scared because it’s too similar to the mark of the beast. It’s too similar to exactly what [the Bible in the book of Revelation] says. You won’t be able to trade, you won’t be able to do anything unless you have the mark, unless you bear the mark.”

This response led Joe Rogan to say, “How’s the Mark of the Beast described in the Bible? I think we’re onto something here.”

Rogan then pulled up the Bible and read from Revelation 13:11-18, a section that describes the coming false prophet, a kind of second in command or the lieutenant of the coming antichrist, who is going to make an image to him. The influential podcast host read this entire section live on his broadcast.

This is a well-known unbeliever talking at length about the mark of the beast, reading the book of Revelation, making this connection between a cashless society and the rise of the antichrist.

untitled artwork 418

In Your Inbox

On the heels of that conversation, the new “Amazon One” technology is about to go nationwide. A recent headline from CBS News reads“Amazon releases new cashless ‘pay by palm’ technology that requires only a hand wave.”

This article discusses the use of biometric palm scanning technology, which again, is part of this cashless society that Joe Rogan was talking about:

Amazon is taking cashless payments to another level.

In a new rollout, the tech giant is giving customers another contactless way to pay for groceries — with their palms.

In a statement Thursday, Amazon announced that the palm recognition service, called Amazon One, will be used for payment, identification, loyalty membership, and entry at over 500 Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh locations across the nation by the end of the year.

Instead of pulling out a credit card or even a phone for Apple Pay, subscribing customers will simply have to hover their palms over an Amazon One device to pay.

For decades, Bible prophecy teachers have been saying that there is going to be a cashless society. The only way that the antichrist can control the world economy is for there not to be cash. As long as there is, people can use cash to operate in a way that is undetected.

The article continues:

The technology is already available at 200 locations across 20 U.S. states including Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and Mississippi…

Panera Bread, for example, has adopted the technology so that customers can simply wave their hands above the device in order to pull up their MyPanera loyalty account information and pay for their meals.

At Coors Field stadium in Colorado, customers trying to purchase alcoholic beverages can hover their palms over the Amazon One device to verify they are 21 or older.

It’s being used now in several different convenience stores. It’s being used at Hollywood casinos in Detroit. It’s also being used by many airport travel retailers.

Another article from LifeWire reports, “This means you won’t need your wallet, purse, or even your phone to complete transactions. You just need your palm.” Basically, this turns your hand into a personal credit card.

“How does this work?” the article goes on. “You pre-enroll via your Amazon account, using a credit or debit card. Next, you head over to an Amazon One palm-reading device to make a scan.”

Now, this is powerful. LifeWire says, “The algorithm matches unique elements of your palm with your account information… It doesn’t just use images of the palm to identify a person, but also incorporates the underlying vein structure. “

CBS went on to state:

A palm is the safest biometric to use because you cannot identify a person by it, Amazon said. The tech company assured customers that their palm data will not be shared with third parties, including “in response to government demands.”

Including “in response to government demands”? Well, in the future, this is going to be taken over by the antichrist. He’s going to rule the world and rule this economy.

It’s important to understand that these technologies that we’re talking about here (Amazon One, different chip technologies, or biometrics) are not the mark of the beast, but they’re part of the infrastructure he will use to control the world economy. I think he will use these things alongside the mark of the beast. He will use every kind of technology he can to control, monitor, and surveil people’s lives and finances. When you control people’s money, you control their life.

All of this is part of the continued setup and setting the stage for the global economy and the antichrist.

People want to know, what is the mark? In his podcast, while Joe Rogan is trying to understand what the Mark of the Beast is, somebody sends him a note telling him that the word “mark,” in the Greek, is the word “charagma.” He says it wrongly several times, trying to pronounce the Greek word before talking about the meaning.

Nine times in the New Testament, you have the word “charagma” used for this mark, eight of those times in the book of Revelation.

The only time it’s not in Revelation is in Act 17:29, which says: “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven [or etched] by art and man’s device.”

So, this mark of the Beast is going to be an etching, a tattoo, or a brand; whatever it is, it will be upon the right hand or the forehead of people during the tribulation period. It will be instituted at the midpoint of the seven-year tribulation when the antichrist rules the world politically, economically, and religiously.

It says in Revelation chapter 13 that 666 is the number of a man, the number of his name. In both Greek and Hebrew, all the letters of the alphabet have a numerical value associated with them. When the antichrist appears, his name will equal 666. I’m sure you can look today and find all kinds of people whose names equals 666, but that’s jumping the gun to do that; he’s not going to be revealed until after the rapture. 

When people take the mark of the beast, they’ll literally be taking the name of the antichrist on their right hand or forehead. It will be a pledge of allegiance, a loyalty oath to the antichrist, that they now belong to him, but he owns them. If people don’t take the mark, they’re going to be shut out of the worldwide economy.

It’s all here, it’s all in place, and all that has to happen is the rapture. One of these days, the curtain of the in times will go up when the rapture takes place, and the antichrist will rise, and the mark is going to engulf the whole world. 

God didn’t tell us these things to scare us. He gave these things to us to prepare us. I hark back to what was said during Joe Rogan’s podcast, “It’s so scary.” Well, it’s not to make us anxious but to make us alert and aware.

And so for those of us who know the Lord, we see these things, and it foreshadows the fulfillment of prophecy, of the coming cashless society, and the mark of the beast. It’s a major signpost towards the soon coming of Jesus Christ. You and I need to make sure that we’re ready.


Mark Hitchcock is an author, associate professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, Senior Pastor of Faith Bible Church in Oklahoma, and hosts the weekly program “Marking The End Times.”

Millions Are Understanding The News Through A Biblical Worldview

THANKS TO YOUR PRAYER AND SUPPORT

Marxism’s Unyielding Aim To Overturn Western And Christian Foundations

Communism has never gone away. It’s still with us today. It is a worldview that seeks to replace God, undermine the family, abolish private property, and destroy biblical morality—and it’s doing a very good job at that. As Christians, we shouldn’t be surprised. The Bible tells us there is a spiritual battle behind every false ideology. That’s why we must know history, know our Bible, and recognize that ideas have consequences. If we’re not careful, communists will take over America. The Communist Party says exactly what it intends to do. It tells you what it wants to do. The tragedy is that too many people don’t pay attention until it’s too late.

Standing With Boldness: Why Has Christian Higher Education Surrendered Its Biblical Worldview To The Culture?

The story is so common that it almost seems inevitable: A college or university is founded as an expressly Biblical institution, but at some point it changes. Some might become completely secular; others may introduce liberal theology or progressive social policies. Harvard, Yale and Princeton are well-known examples; in fact, seven of the eight Ivy League schools in the U.S. were founded to train pastors but left behind that mission long ago. In the 1970s, Harold Lindsell sounded an alarm in his book The Battle for the Bible, in which he called out seemingly evangelical institutions that had abandoned the infallibility of Scripture. That abandonment, Lindsell argued, “always and ever opens the door to further departures from the faith.”

sign up

The Slippery Slope Of Australia’s Spirituality: A Deliberate Campaign Of Atheism

On 29 July 2026, the church that I pastor played host for the Brisbane leg of a tour of Australia by Amir Tsarfati and Pastor Barry Stagner. On that blessed evening, over 1,000 people gathered together for praise, powerful preaching, prayer, and of course, photos with these two beloved servants of God. Even though we hired a large venue for the evening, seating was limited. This meant that, sadly, many missed out on being able to attend. One such person who was not able to secure tickets remarked that it would be wonderful if this was the dilemma faced by every Bible-believing church in Australia on a Sunday morning. Yet Australia's overall spiritual landscape suggest a disturbing deterioration away from Biblical belief.

ABC's of Salvation

Decision

UTT

FOI

untitled artwork

Israel My Glory

Mark Hitchcock

Joe Rogan is a comedian, podcast host, and UFC commentator. His podcast, which I do not endorse with the rank language he often uses, has over 15 million subscribers. He’s a major influencer in our culture today and an unbeliever.

A couple of weeks ago, he had a guest named Duncan Trussell, who is a stand-up comic, writer, and actor. Surprisingly, they discussed for quite some time how a cashless society is a precursor to enforcing the mark of the beast.

During his program, Joe Rogan asks, “How long before we’re a cashless society?” Trussell responded:

“Hopefully, forever. It is so scary to imagine losing privacy completely because every transaction is in the public eye [and is] observable… This is where I get scared because it’s too similar to the mark of the beast. It’s too similar to exactly what [the Bible in the book of Revelation] says. You won’t be able to trade, you won’t be able to do anything unless you have the mark, unless you bear the mark.”

This response led Joe Rogan to say, “How’s the Mark of the Beast described in the Bible? I think we’re onto something here.”

Rogan then pulled up the Bible and read from Revelation 13:11-18, a section that describes the coming false prophet, a kind of second in command or the lieutenant of the coming antichrist, who is going to make an image to him. The influential podcast host read this entire section live on his broadcast.

This is a well-known unbeliever talking at length about the mark of the beast, reading the book of Revelation, making this connection between a cashless society and the rise of the antichrist.

untitled artwork 418

In Your Inbox

On the heels of that conversation, the new “Amazon One” technology is about to go nationwide. A recent headline from CBS News reads“Amazon releases new cashless ‘pay by palm’ technology that requires only a hand wave.”

This article discusses the use of biometric palm scanning technology, which again, is part of this cashless society that Joe Rogan was talking about:

Amazon is taking cashless payments to another level.

In a new rollout, the tech giant is giving customers another contactless way to pay for groceries — with their palms.

In a statement Thursday, Amazon announced that the palm recognition service, called Amazon One, will be used for payment, identification, loyalty membership, and entry at over 500 Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh locations across the nation by the end of the year.

Instead of pulling out a credit card or even a phone for Apple Pay, subscribing customers will simply have to hover their palms over an Amazon One device to pay.

For decades, Bible prophecy teachers have been saying that there is going to be a cashless society. The only way that the antichrist can control the world economy is for there not to be cash. As long as there is, people can use cash to operate in a way that is undetected.

The article continues:

The technology is already available at 200 locations across 20 U.S. states including Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and Mississippi…

Panera Bread, for example, has adopted the technology so that customers can simply wave their hands above the device in order to pull up their MyPanera loyalty account information and pay for their meals.

At Coors Field stadium in Colorado, customers trying to purchase alcoholic beverages can hover their palms over the Amazon One device to verify they are 21 or older.

It’s being used now in several different convenience stores. It’s being used at Hollywood casinos in Detroit. It’s also being used by many airport travel retailers.

Another article from LifeWire reports, “This means you won’t need your wallet, purse, or even your phone to complete transactions. You just need your palm.” Basically, this turns your hand into a personal credit card.

“How does this work?” the article goes on. “You pre-enroll via your Amazon account, using a credit or debit card. Next, you head over to an Amazon One palm-reading device to make a scan.”

Now, this is powerful. LifeWire says, “The algorithm matches unique elements of your palm with your account information… It doesn’t just use images of the palm to identify a person, but also incorporates the underlying vein structure. “

CBS went on to state:

A palm is the safest biometric to use because you cannot identify a person by it, Amazon said. The tech company assured customers that their palm data will not be shared with third parties, including “in response to government demands.”

Including “in response to government demands”? Well, in the future, this is going to be taken over by the antichrist. He’s going to rule the world and rule this economy.

It’s important to understand that these technologies that we’re talking about here (Amazon One, different chip technologies, or biometrics) are not the mark of the beast, but they’re part of the infrastructure he will use to control the world economy. I think he will use these things alongside the mark of the beast. He will use every kind of technology he can to control, monitor, and surveil people’s lives and finances. When you control people’s money, you control their life.

All of this is part of the continued setup and setting the stage for the global economy and the antichrist.

People want to know, what is the mark? In his podcast, while Joe Rogan is trying to understand what the Mark of the Beast is, somebody sends him a note telling him that the word “mark,” in the Greek, is the word “charagma.” He says it wrongly several times, trying to pronounce the Greek word before talking about the meaning.

Nine times in the New Testament, you have the word “charagma” used for this mark, eight of those times in the book of Revelation.

The only time it’s not in Revelation is in Act 17:29, which says: “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven [or etched] by art and man’s device.”

So, this mark of the Beast is going to be an etching, a tattoo, or a brand; whatever it is, it will be upon the right hand or the forehead of people during the tribulation period. It will be instituted at the midpoint of the seven-year tribulation when the antichrist rules the world politically, economically, and religiously.

It says in Revelation chapter 13 that 666 is the number of a man, the number of his name. In both Greek and Hebrew, all the letters of the alphabet have a numerical value associated with them. When the antichrist appears, his name will equal 666. I’m sure you can look today and find all kinds of people whose names equals 666, but that’s jumping the gun to do that; he’s not going to be revealed until after the rapture. 

When people take the mark of the beast, they’ll literally be taking the name of the antichrist on their right hand or forehead. It will be a pledge of allegiance, a loyalty oath to the antichrist, that they now belong to him, but he owns them. If people don’t take the mark, they’re going to be shut out of the worldwide economy.

It’s all here, it’s all in place, and all that has to happen is the rapture. One of these days, the curtain of the in times will go up when the rapture takes place, and the antichrist will rise, and the mark is going to engulf the whole world. 

God didn’t tell us these things to scare us. He gave these things to us to prepare us. I hark back to what was said during Joe Rogan’s podcast, “It’s so scary.” Well, it’s not to make us anxious but to make us alert and aware.

And so for those of us who know the Lord, we see these things, and it foreshadows the fulfillment of prophecy, of the coming cashless society, and the mark of the beast. It’s a major signpost towards the soon coming of Jesus Christ. You and I need to make sure that we’re ready.


Mark Hitchcock is an author, associate professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, Senior Pastor of Faith Bible Church in Oklahoma, and hosts the weekly program “Marking The End Times.”

Trusted Analysis From A Biblical Worldview

Help reach the lost and equip the church with the living and active truth of God's Word in our world today.

YOU CARE ABOUT

BIBLICAL TRUTH. SO DO WE.

 

Together, We Can Deliver A Biblical Understanding

Of News Events Around The World.

Marxism’s Unyielding Aim To Overturn Western And Christian Foundations

Communism has never gone away. It’s still with us today. It is a worldview that seeks to replace God, undermine the family, abolish private property, and destroy biblical morality—and it’s doing a very good job at that. As Christians, we shouldn’t be surprised. The Bible tells us there is a spiritual battle behind every false ideology. That’s why we must know history, know our Bible, and recognize that ideas have consequences. If we’re not careful, communists will take over America. The Communist Party says exactly what it intends to do. It tells you what it wants to do. The tragedy is that too many people don’t pay attention until it’s too late.

Standing With Boldness: Why Has Christian Higher Education Surrendered Its Biblical Worldview To The Culture?

The story is so common that it almost seems inevitable: A college or university is founded as an expressly Biblical institution, but at some point it changes. Some might become completely secular; others may introduce liberal theology or progressive social policies. Harvard, Yale and Princeton are well-known examples; in fact, seven of the eight Ivy League schools in the U.S. were founded to train pastors but left behind that mission long ago. In the 1970s, Harold Lindsell sounded an alarm in his book The Battle for the Bible, in which he called out seemingly evangelical institutions that had abandoned the infallibility of Scripture. That abandonment, Lindsell argued, “always and ever opens the door to further departures from the faith.”

untitled artwork 6391

The Slippery Slope Of Australia’s Spirituality: A Deliberate Campaign Of Atheism

On 29 July 2026, the church that I pastor played host for the Brisbane leg of a tour of Australia by Amir Tsarfati and Pastor Barry Stagner. On that blessed evening, over 1,000 people gathered together for praise, powerful preaching, prayer, and of course, photos with these two beloved servants of God. Even though we hired a large venue for the evening, seating was limited. This meant that, sadly, many missed out on being able to attend. One such person who was not able to secure tickets remarked that it would be wonderful if this was the dilemma faced by every Bible-believing church in Australia on a Sunday morning. Yet Australia's overall spiritual landscape suggest a disturbing deterioration away from Biblical belief.

ABC's of Salvation

TV AD

worldview matters

Decision Magazine V AD

Decision

Jan Markell

Israel My Glory

Erick Stakelbeck

untitled artwork

YOU CARE ABOUT

BIBLICAL TRUTH.

SO DO WE.

Together, We Can Deliver A Biblical Understanding Of News Events Around The World And Equip The Church To Stand With A Biblical Worldview.

untitled artwork

Israel My Glory

YOU CARE ABOUT

BIBLICAL TRUTH.

SO DO WE.

 

Together, We Can Deliver A Biblical Understanding Of News Events Around The World And Equip The Church To Stand With A Biblical Worldview.