“The stage is being set,” says the pastor
Is a new “digital dollar” project by the Federal Reserve and several of the world’s largest banks another leap forward in Bible prophecy?
The New York Federal Reserve along with major lenders such as Bank of America and HSBC have launched a digital dollar pilot program that will test the use of these tokens in the US banking system.
Under the project, dubbed the “Regulated Liability Network US Pilot,” the Fed’s New York Innovation Center (NYIC) “will explore the feasibility of an interoperable network of central bank digital liabilities and commercial bank digital currency using distributed ledger technology.
Using the fundamentals of the cryptocurrency known as blockchain, the pilot project will “experiment with wholesale digital asset transactions and settlements” and involve Citi, Bank of America, BNY Mellon, HSBC and payment specialists Mastercard and Swift, according to the Fed.
Blockchain technology for the project is provided by SETL with Digital Asset, powered by Amazon Web Services.
“NYIC looks forward to collaborating with members of the banking community to advance research on asset tokenization and the future of financial market infrastructure in the United States as money and banking evolve,” said said NYIC Director Per von Zelowitz.
The project will test the feasibility of a Regulated Liability Network (RLN), which can facilitate digital asset transactions that connect deposits held in banks and other regulated financial institutions using distributed ledger technology .
According to the Fed, the framework could potentially pave the way for a “programmable, multi-asset, always-on infrastructure containing digital representations of liabilities of central bank, commercial bank, and regulated non-bank issuers, denominated in U.S. dollars.” .
The project – which will simulate digital currency issued in US dollars – will use the existing regulatory framework and requirements for deposit-based payments. The tokens will be 100% fungible and exchangeable with other forms of money” as part of testing.
The RLN will only use simulated data and is “not intended to advance any specific policy outcome, or signal that the Federal Reserve will be making any imminent decisions” regarding the issuance of a digital dollar token, said Fed spokeswoman Shelley Pitterson in a statement. .
Officials say the project’s findings will be released after it concludes in early 2023.
The launch of the pilot program comes days after the dramatic collapse of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that has helped consumers buy, sell and store popular digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as other digital assets.
After a deal to sell FTX to Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, fell apart, FTX faced a liquidity crunch as customers fled the exchange, prompting CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to warn investors that the company could file for bankruptcy without an $8 billion cash injection, according to Fox Business.
While investors in FTX and other exchanges were previously warned of losing their investment if a trading firm like FTX collapsed, credit rating provider Fitch Ratings – which many analysts say played a key role in the 2008 financial crisis – says the market for stablecoins, which are pegged to a “stable” reserve asset like the US dollar or gold, has since stabilized.
So does the introduction of digital currency portend a biblical moment?
Most likely, according to Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in Southern California.
“The Bible tells us in Revelation chapter 13 that there will come a time when a global economic system will be digitized, that all who participate in a global economy will have to do so with what we would call a prefix, i.e. a number that is the manager of an account,” Hibbs told the Christian Post.
“This number, the Bible is very clear about that. This number says that your account will be preempted by the number 666, this famous number on which people always wonder and mention that it is the number of Satan.
But Hibbs also pointed to another, less discussed aspect of the touted benefits of transitioning to a cashless system.
Strictly from a global security perspective, Hibbs said such a system “makes sense” when promoting it as a way to eliminate human trafficking, drug trafficking, counterfeiting and other criminal networks.
“So many of the legal issues are resolved that currently plague our world if there is no physical dollar,” Hibbs explained. “So I think it’s going to be pitched not just as the right thing to do in technology, but, ‘Oh look how we can shut down a lot of illegal activity and then why not go with the system? ‘”
Highlighting nearly three years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hibbs sees the global response to the virus as something of a precursor to the totalitarian system of government seen in the apocalyptic vision of the Apostle John.
In fact, Hibbs added, COVID and the ensuing global response have captivated the world in ways that even two world wars could not.
“For the first time in human history, the world was immediately touched and united for good or ill regarding COVID. … It brought the world – all at once – into real time” , he said, “No other event in human history has ever accomplished something like this.”
And while the Fed’s pilot program itself may not be a prophetic fulfillment, Hibbs said he thinks we’re moving quickly in that direction.
“Digital currency testing and talk doesn’t mean it’s the mark of the beast, but it does mean we’re getting so close,” he said. “In a nutshell, the stage is…being set for the End Times to be fulfilled and we are witnessing it now.”
For this reason alone, Hibbs said Christians should be “embellished and energized” by such titles for the proclamation of the gospel.
Using eschatology – the study of end times prophecy – is a great way to engage people who may not know how to respond to these rapid changes happening in the world, a added Hibbs.
“I believe that right now every believer has the exciting opportunity to learn about Bible prophecy and use it as a witnessing tool, not to scare people but to prepare people for the coming of the Lord,” did he declare.
“Now is not the time to be scared or to be scared as a believer,” he added. “Now is the time to be emboldened and energized to go out there and help those who do not see the scriptures.
“I think it’s an exciting time.”
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be contacted at: ian.giatti@christianpost.com.
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