Covid

CORONAVIRUS brings us closer to wiping out privacy.

The coronavirus pandemic that has hit the world is forcing us to stay at home. Police and military are increasingly employed to monitor roadblocks and streets; even entrances to apartment complexes. This in itself limit freedom of movement and association, which are supposed to be constitutional freedoms. Of course it is probably a necessity in the circumstances, yet there is more to it than meets the eye.

The Bible predicts a system which, in the end times, will control everybody by forcing upon them a mark in their rights hands or foreheads. This mark will be used to buy and sell- thus for any commercial activity. In the early 1980’s –long before there were decent computers or smart phones, Christian author Mary Stewart Relfe (e.g. “The New Money System: 666”) predicted how the bar codes that we see so often on every product in our supermarkets, contain the numbers 666, and how it can and will lead to a system of computerized identification of every citizen of the planet. (Rev 13:16-18) The Bible calls it “the mark of the Beast”. Rev 16:2 warns us why we should not take the mark “and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.”

The current coronavirus pandemic has now brought this control a giant step closer. It is not just about physical monitoring. By monitoring the movements of people through their smart phones, governments have stepped up the surveillance of their citizens and can now identify where those who test positive have been, and with whom they have had contact with. This way those they had contact can be traced and called upon also to be tested. The surveillance is very specific. It can, for example contact all your social media friends and “warn” them that at say, 11h30, you were in Walmart at such-and-such a city, and that those who had contact with you must report for testing. As we already know, many governments announced big fines and prison time for those who refuse testing.

Although this monitoring idea would be beneficial to stop spreading the virus, it has the negative side of infringing people’s privacy by monitoring their movements without court orders. The possibility that this surveillance will only increase, even after the pandemic is over, is very real.

To date, ten countries have already starting monitoring their citizens through smart phone usage. You can read the whole article here: https://www.businessinsider.co.za/countries-tracking-citizens-phones-coronavirus-2020-3

The Bible, however, gives comfort to born-again Christians. Instead of the “mark of the Beast” we should have the seal of God in our foreheads. If we belong to God and are dedicated to Him He has sealed us; we will not have reason to fear. 2 Tim 1:7 is one of my most beloved Scripture verses: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”