New LA County ordinance


This month a new ordinance went into effect requiring all dogs in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County to have a small microchip implanting under their skin. The purpose is to identify the dog in case it runs away.

News such as this gives rise to concern among some of the "mark of the beast" spoken of in Revelation 13:16 and 14:9. While certainly technology has advanced to the point of providing a greater ability to control people (and dogs) as never before, should the implementation of such technology cause us to be concerned?

As with most technological advances, people can use them for good or for evil. Some evil people need to be controlled for the sake of the society. Some evil people will use technology to advance their evil and this will be true whether or not our dog has a microchip implanted. The most this tells us is that the ability to implant microchips into people for the purpose of control is closer to us than ever before.

The sin of Revelation 14:9 is that of false worship. The implementation of this technology does not necessarily bring false worship, although there is a direct connection between receiving a mark in Revelation 14:9 and idolatry.

Fortunately, the believers today will not be faced with this challenge to our faith. We will be to Christ before the seven year tribulation period (for more info, see our position paper on the rapture of the church ). Indeed, the sooner the events of the tribulation become, the sooner our deliverance from this present evil world becomes. It is hard to see this as a bad thing.

One thing we do know for certain. We have a moral obligation to obey the governing authorities (Romans 13) and therefore, if we are under the jurisdiction of this ordinance, we must comply with it.

Posted: Thu - June 15, 2006 at 04:00 PM          

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