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Cashless Society

Bible Prophecy In The News As Sweden Moves To Be World’s First Cashless Country

In most Swedish cities, public buses don’t accept cash; tickets are prepaid or purchased with a cell phone text message. A small but growing number of businesses only take cards, and some bank offices — which make money on electronic transactions — have stopped handling cash altogether.

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One World Government

“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.” Revelation 13:17

Students of bible prophecy have long known that at some point, countries all over the world would make the move to get off of cash because of what the bible says about buying and selling in the end times. The bible teaches that there will arise a one world government, headed by Antichrist, and all financial transactions will be controlled by means of an implantable device the bible calls the mark of the beast. Keep that in mind as you read this story about Sweden becoming the world’s first country to begin to get off of cash completely.

(AP) STOCKHOLM – Sweden was the first European country to introduce bank notes in 1661. Now it’s come farther than most on the path toward getting rid of them.

“I can’t see why we should be printing bank notes at all anymore,” says Bjoern Ulvaeus, former member of 1970’s pop group ABBA, and a vocal proponent for a world without cash. The contours of such a society are starting to take shape in this high-tech nation, frustrating those who prefer coins and bills over digital money.

In most Swedish cities, public buses don’t accept cash; tickets are prepaid or purchased with a cell phone text message. A small but growing number of businesses only take cards, and some bank offices — which make money on electronic transactions — have stopped handling cash altogether.

“There are towns where it isn’t at all possible anymore to enter a bank and use cash,” complains Curt Persson, chairman of Sweden’s National Pensioners’ Organization.

He says that’s a problem for elderly people in rural areas who don’t have credit cards or don’t know how to use them to withdraw cash. The decline of cash is noticeable even in houses of worship, like the Carl Gustaf Church in Karlshamn, southern Sweden, where Vicar Johan Tyrberg recently installed a card reader to make it easier for worshippers to make offerings.

“People came up to me several times and said they didn’t have cash but would still like to donate money,” Tyrberg says.

Bills and coins represent only 3 percent of Sweden’s economy, compared to an average of 9 percent in the eurozone and 7 percent in the U.S., according to the Bank for International Settlements, an umbrella organization for the world’s central banks.

Three percent is still too much if you ask Ulvaeus. A cashless society may seem like an odd cause for someone who made a fortune on “Money, Money, Money” and other ABBA hits, but for Ulvaeus it’s a matter of security.

After his son was robbed for the third time he started advocating a faster transition to a fully digital economy, if only to make life harder for thieves. “If there were no cash, what would they do?” says Ulvaeus, 66. The Swedish Bankers’ Association says the shrinkage of the cash economy is already making an impact in crime statistics.

The number of bank robberies in Sweden plunged from 110 in 2008 to 16 in 2011 — the lowest level since it started keeping records 30 years ago. It says robberies of security transports are also down. “Less cash in circulation makes things safer, both for the staff that handle cash, but also of course for the public,” says Par Karlsson, a security expert at the organization.

The prevalence of electronic transactions — and the digital trail they generate — also helps explain why Sweden has less of a problem with graft than countries with a stronger cash culture, such as Italy or Greece, says economics professor Friedrich Schneider of the Johannes Kepler University in Austria.

“If people use more cards, they are less involved in shadow economy activities,” says Schneider, an expert on underground economies.

In Italy — where cash has been a common means of avoiding value-added tax and hiding profits from the taxman — Prime Minister Mario Monti in December put forward measures to limit cash transactions to payments under euro1,000 ($1,300), down from euro2,500 before.

The flip side is the risk of cybercrimes. According to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention the number of computerized fraud cases, including skimming, surged to nearly 20,000 in 2011 from 3,304 in 2000.

Oscar Swartz, the founder of Sweden’s first Internet provider, Banhof, says a digital economy also raises privacy issues because of the electronic trail of transactions. He supports the idea of phasing out cash, but says other anonymous payment methods need to be introduced instead.

“One should be able to send money and donate money to different organizations without being traced every time,” he says. It’s no surprise that Sweden and other Nordic countries are at the forefront of this development, given their emphasis on technology and innovation.

For the second year in a row, Sweden ranked first in the Global Information Technology Report released at the World Economic Forum in January. The Economist Intelligence Unit also put Sweden top of its latest digital economy rankings, in 2010. Both rankings measure how far countries have come in integrating information and communication technologies in their economies. Internet startups in Sweden and elsewhere are now hard at work developing payment and banking services for smartphones.

Swedish company iZettel has developed a device for small traders, similar to Square in the U.S., that plugs into the back of an iPhone to make it work like a credit card terminal. Sweden’s biggest banks are expected to launch a joint service later this year that allows customers to transfer money between each other’s accounts in real-time with their cell phones.

Most experts don’t expect cash to disappear anytime soon, but that its proportion of the economy will continue to decline as such payment options become available. Before retiring as deputy governor of Sweden’s central bank, Lars Nyberg said last year that cash will survive “like the crocodile, even though it may be forced to see its habitat gradually cut back.”

Andrea Wramfelt, whose bowling alley in the southern city of Landskrona stopped accepting cash in 2010, makes a bolder prediction: She believes coins and notes will cease to exist in Sweden within 20 years. “Personally I think this is what people should expect in the future,” she says. But there are pockets of resistance. Hanna Celik, whose family owns a newspaper kiosk in a Stockholm shopping mall, says the digital economy is all about banks seeking bigger earnings.

Celik says he gets charged about 5 Swedish kronor ($0.80) for every credit card transaction, and a law passed by the Swedish Parliament prevents him from passing on that charge to consumers.

“That stinks,” he says. “For them (the banks), this is a very good way to earn a lot of money, that’s what it’s all about. They make huge profits.” source – CBS News

Cashless Society

Forbes Magazine Publishes Open Letter To Facebook’s Zuckerberg: Call Your New Cryptocurrency ‘The Mark’ Instead Of Roman Empire Libra

Forbes Magazine writes open letter to Facebook’s Zuckerberg, tells him to call his new cryptocurrency ‘the Mark’ instead of Libra like Roman Empire coin.

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A gold-backed Mark would be a transformative move in the history of money. It would blow bitcoin out of the water and would generate an enthusiastic “Like” from billions of businesses and people, now and forever.
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The “Libra” was a measure of weight from the Roman Empire, and we know where that ended up. Don’t be bashful; call it the “Mark.” Germany ditched its mark—which it had been using since it created it after WWII—for the euro 20 years ago, so the name is up for grabs.

Forbes Magazine is a serious periodical for serious investors, they are not known for their humor. So it is with great interest that we see that Steve Forbes, CEO of the Forbes empire, has written an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg regarding his fledgling Libra cryptocurrency he is currently trying to get congressional approval for. Forbes had a novel suggestion for the social media magnate, he told him to call it “the Mark” instead of Libra. Wow.

“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.” Revelation 13:16,17 (KJV)

We first told you about Libra back in June of this year, and all the hubbub surrounding it. I didn’t know until I read Forbes’ letter that the Libra was a measure of weight in the Roman Empire. Ever wonder why we abbreviate “pound” as “lb”? It stands for libra in the Latin. And upon further reflection while gazing at the Libra coin, those 3 little squiggly lines really do look like three 6’s stretched out.

But I’m sure all these things like calling it “the Mark”, the connection to the Roman Empire, and the three 6’s logo is all just coincidence. Just crazy, kooky, end times conspiracy theory coincidence. Sure is a lot of them, though. 🤔

Open Letter To Mark Zuckerberg

FROM FORBES MAGAZINE: Dear Mr. Zuckerberg. Your company made big headlines when it announced it would be launching a cryptocurrency called the Libra in 2020. Not surprisingly, given the nature of the times, the project has been greeted with intense criticism and skepticism. Don’t lose heart. In one sense, the idea of a company creating its own kind of money is an old one. The airlines’ frequent-flier miles are really a form of money that customers can earn and use to buy trips and various other things. Credit card companies, hotels and numerous retailers have all sorts of loyalty programs in which people earn points that will let them buy all manner of goodies.

But if you play your cards right with the Libra, you could be to money and finance what Henry Ford was to automobiles. Your new currency could take its place alongside the inventions of coins and paper money many centuries ago. It could replace the U.S. dollar as the global currency.

In one crucial area you’re already light years ahead of virtually all other cryptocurrencies: You realize the fundamental importance of a currency that’s stable in value. Money measures value the way a scale measures weight or a clock measures time. Most cryptos–whose values fluctuate violently from one moment to the next–are great as speculative vehicles, but they’re useless as real money. No one in his right mind would write a contract longer than 24 hours in bitcoin. With cryptocurrencies, it’s steak one day and dog food the next. But if you can invent a truly stable cryptocurrency that can actually be used for day-to-day transactions and for longer-term contracts and investment vehicles, you’ll be a winner.

Here are crucial tips to turn the Libra into one of history’s truly seminal creations:

Make it as good as gold. Backing your new money—as you plan to do—with a basket of currencies won’t cut it. In today’s monetary system the values of currencies jump up and down, so you won’t get the stability you need.

Countries that became global powerhouses–Holland, followed by Britain (Isaac Newton, as director of the Royal Mint, fixed the pound to gold at a ratio that held for more than two centuries) and then the U.S. (thanks to Alexander Hamilton)—all had their currencies linked to gold.

For a variety of reasons gold holds its intrinsic value better than anything else. It’s like a measuring rod. It no more restricts the money supply than the 12 inches in a foot restricts the size of a building you might wish to construct. All it means is that the Libra will have what no other currency has today: a fixed value. And that fixture will gradually make it the most desirable medium of exchange around the globe. People hunger for trustworthy money.

Your consultants, like most economists today, will be vociferously opposed to the yellow metal, burdened as they are by ignorance and countless myths and superstitions. This widely shared skepticism will actually be an advantage, as it will keep away well-capitalized imitators.

To get an accurate assessment of how a gold standard has worked before, read any book by historian/economist Nathan Lewis. You might also look at a book that I co-authored, Money, or the documentary In Money We Trust? that I recently helped produce for public television.

The Libra will be an unbelievably potent tool for prosperity by encouraging long-term investing. Without putting capital to work productively we stagnate. This is why you should ignore political cries to hold off on moving the Libra forward. If every great breakthrough depended on getting political sign-offs, horses would still be our principal means of transportation. You want the Libra to achieve a critical mass of users as quickly as possible—as Uber and Lyft did with their riders—which will prevent politicians from deep-sixing your invention.

And, by the way, you might consider changing the Libra’s name. The “Libra” was a measure of weight from the Roman Empire, and we know where that ended up. Don’t be bashful; call it the “Mark.” Germany ditched its mark—which it had been using since it created it after WWII—for the euro 20 years ago, so the name is up for grabs.

A gold-backed Mark would be a transformative move in the history of money. It would blow bitcoin out of the water and would generate an enthusiastic “Like” from billions of businesses and people, now and forever.

Sincerely, Steve Forbes READ MORE

Why Facebook’s Libra Faces a Tough Road to Becoming a Crypto Giant

In its quest to launch a digital coin, Facebook is hitting a series of snags as companies pull out of the project and regulators question the social-media giant’s ability to manage a currency. WSJ’s Paul Vigna explains the global backlash against Libra.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. Even all the way to South Africa. We even restarted our weekly radio Bible study on Sunday nights again, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

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CLICK IMAGE TO ORDER YOUR BOX OF NTEB GOSPEL TRACTS

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. If every one of the 13,131 people on our daily mailing list gave $4.50, we would reach our goal immediately. If every one of our 151,781 followers on Facebook gave $1.00 each, we would reach 300% of our goal. The same goes for our 14,500 followers on Twitter. But sadly, many will not give, so we need the ones who can and who will give to be generous. As generous as possible.

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJV)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

 


 

 

 

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Cashless Society

All American Credit Cards Will Disappear In 2015 And Be Replaced With RFID Chip Technology

The new EMV credit card system the U.S. is set to migrate to by October, 2015. Also going away is the ability to sign for your purchases, that will no longer be necessary.

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October 2015: The End of the Swipe-and-Sign Credit Card

“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.” Revelation 13:17 (KJV)

Business Insider magazine reports a startling revelation today:

“Every credit card in the U.S. will be replaced by October 2015 with new cards that contain the chip-and-PIN technology that the rest of the world has had for years, according to the Wall Street Journal. Both Visa and MasterCard are committed to the switch, which will render extinct the plastic in your wallets and purses right now. No more black magnetic stripes; no more signing on the dotted line.” source

The new EMV credit card system in the U.S. is set to be rolled out by October, 2015. Also going away is the ability to sign for your purchases, that will no longer be necessary.

starting-2015-all-credit-cards-will-contain-rfid-microchips-use-pin-code-no-magnetic-stripe-mark-of-the-beast-666

THE MARK OF THE BEAST TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM IS EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK TODAY

Instead, you will enter a PIN to verify that you are the holder of the card. Removing the human element is one more step in the march towards the Mark Of The Beast system that will be in place during the Tribulation under the Antichrist.

Obviously, all this is leading to a microchip being placed inside every human being, which would be the only way to guarantee that your card will not be lost or stolen.

“Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 30:7 (KJV)

Make no mistake about it, this will happen within our lifetime, within our generation. We are the generation that will see the Rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ, and the unsaved who will experience the time of Jacob’s trouble that will follow that event.

Just like God used Noah to warn the people for 120 years and then, in an instant, sent the first drop of rain that began The Flood. So now is God using His people, His watchmen, to warn and warn and warn until you are nearly exhausted from hearing about it. Until…

Guess what comes next? 

 

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Cashless Society

Apple Pay Puts RFID Microchip On The Back Of Your Hand For Cashless Payments

You can pay with Apple Watch — just double-click the button next to the Digital Crown and hold the face of your Apple Watch near the contactless reader. A gentle pulse and beep confirm that your payment information was sent.

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Preparing a lost world to receive the coming Mark of the Beast

Apple Pay is the latest offering from tech giant Apple in Cupertino, California, and judging from the massive amounts of millions of pre-orders for the new iPhone 6 it will be a smashing success. The interesting new wrinkle that has to do with bible prophecy is the addition of the Apple Watch which will accept and process real-time credit card payments as it sits on the back of your hand.

“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.” Revelation 13:16,17

apple-pay-nfc-contactless-payments-mark-of-the-beast-iphone-666

Lost people are being indoctrinated to receive the Mark of the Beast and don’t even know it.

Funny thing about that, the bible says that the Mark of the Beast which will control all financial transactions will be located either in your forehead or in the back of your hand. Amazing coincidence, don’t you think? Apple Pay is not the Mark of the Beast, but it certainly is going to prepare lost people to feel no qualms of any kind about accepting the actual Mark when it comes during the Great Tribulation after the Rapture of the Church.

apple-pay-nfc-contactless-payments-mark-of-the-beast-iphone-666-cupertino-steve-jobs

EXACTLY WHERE THE BIBLE SAID IT WOULD BE

One touch to pay with Touch ID. Now paying in stores happens in one natural motion — there’s no need to open an app or even wake your display thanks to the innovative Near Field Communication antenna in iPhone 6. To pay, just hold your iPhone near the contactless reader with your finger on Touch ID. You don’t even have to look at the screen to know your payment information was successfully sent. A subtle vibration and beep lets you know.

Double-click to pay and go. You can pay with Apple Watch — just double-click the button next to the Digital Crown and hold the face of your Apple Watch near the contactless reader. A gentle pulse and beep confirm that your payment information was sent.

Now, if you’re smart you will avoid all of the coming terror that the scriptures tell us are right around the corner. Click here to miss the Tribulation.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. Even all the way to South Africa. We even restarted our weekly radio Bible study on Sunday nights again, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. If every one of the 15,860+ people on our daily mailing list gave $4.50, we would reach our goal immediately. If every one of our 150,000+ followers on Facebook gave $1.00 each, we would reach 300% of our goal. The same goes for our 15,900 followers on Twitter. But sadly, many will not give, so we need the ones who can and who will give to be generous. As generous as possible.

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJV)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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