The Image

We took our monthly trip to Costco this week and literally ran into a surprising circumstance. Upon entering the outer door of the store, I observed a line of our fellow members on both sides of the large indoor entrance door intent on gaining entry into the store that was about to fetter them, and us of course, with more credit card debt.

Watching the scene unfold in front of me, I heard the two Costco employees that were stationed at each side of the entry door, speaking loudly and preventing people from entering while the members held up their membership card for permission to enter as has always been the modus operandi for access to the store for all the years that we have been members of the shopping warehouse. The whole affair was causing a backup of people at the door.

Once we made it to the head of the line I noticed a computer tablet along with a small box attached to a stand positioned in front of the store employee . Since my Main Squeeze can get to his membership card faster than I can get mine out of my purse, I usually step ahead of him and wait just inside the door for him to show his card as proof of membership. When I did this, the employee put up his hand, palm facing me, gesturing me to stop. I stopped, and then turned to see how far along my Main Squeeze was with his membership card. He was still working on removing it from his wallet. I gestured to the employee, pointing behind me with my thumb and told the employee, “I’m with him”. The employee then said okay and lowered his hand.

As the swarm and din of all the other members being shouted at by the Costco employees ordering; “you have to put your membership card in the scanner to get in” continued, I stepped alongside the employee and watched as my Main Squeeze finally inserted his membership card in the box slot. Once the card was inserted, I looked at the screen on the tablet in front of the employee. Boom! There was my Main Squeeze’s membership card mugshot staring back at us in full 8” x 11” technicolor.

Staring at the screen in that very moment I discerned that I was witnessing a clunky implementation of the early stages of the of the prophesied beast system – facial recognition.

Once the employee compared my Main Squeeze’s loveable face with the screen image (also loveable) on the tablet and the match was made to his satisfaction, we were granted entry.

The entire incident creeped me out. I made the suggestion to my Main Squeeze that we wean ourselves off of our Costco addiction and go back to shopping at the local grocery stores. That way we can hang on to our anonymity until we can’t.

 Revelation 12:16-17

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.

~ John The Revelator