China’s New Smart-Religion App

A human rights organization working in China has reported that one Chinese province is now requiring churchgoers to register with a smartphone app developed by the provincial Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission (EWTN, March 7, 2023). “According to ChinaAid, applicants must fill in personal information, including their name, phone number, government ID number, permanent residence, occupation, and date of birth before they can make a reservation. Those who are allowed into a place of worship must also have their temperature taken—suggesting the app may be related in some way to COVID-19 restrictions—and show a reservation code.”

What begins with China could spread to other nations. The Bible indicates that a German-led “beast” power will control much of Europe at the end of the age. This economic, religious, and military superpower will work to control in some way who can buy and sell. A mandated day of worship could play into this mechanism of control. Only those in compliance, bearing the “mark of the beast,” will be able to function freely in society (Revelation 13:11–18). While such technology is not itself the “mark of the beast,” it presents an interesting possibility concerning one way measures of control may be implemented by the “beast” in the years ahead. To learn more about the “mark of the beast”—what it really is and how it is already being accepted by many people around the world—be sure to watch our program “Have You Taken the Mark of the Beast?”