The United Kingdom is introducing a national digital ID scheme to crack down on illegal migrant workers. A government press release announced that the digital ID will be stored on mobile devices through an official UK government wallet app currently in development and will be a mandatory requirement for adults to work in Britain by July 2029.
“Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in the press release. “And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly — rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.” The digital ID scheme isn’t finalized and will need to go through parliamentary approval before it can be enforced. A public consultation will be launched by the UK government later this year to receive feedback regarding how the digital ID service will be delivered, according to the press release.
The announcement has sparked privacy concerns from civil rights groups, with Big Brother Watch saying the scheme would “fundamentally change the nature of our relationship with the state and turn the UK into a ‘papers, please’ society.”
Plans to introduce digital ID were announced in January, with the GOV.UK wallet app initially pitched to give UK citizens the option to digitize their driver’s licenses and make government-issued documents easier to access. The GOV.UK wallet app is still in development and described as “entirely optional” on the government website.
The new mandatory ID requirements and focus on illegal immigration come amid growing public concerns around migrant boat crossings and mounting pressure from the populist party Reform UK. The UK currently has no citizen ID card and does not legally require people to carry photo ID, such as passports or driver’s licenses. The EU is planning to introduce a similar Digital Identity Wallet next year for “European citizens, residents and businesses to prove who they are when accessing digital services” and a place to “safely store, share and sign important digital documents.”
Biblical Connection: Revelation 13:16-17 states, “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” The Mark of the Beast is perhaps the most famous aspect of the Book of Revelation, maybe even more infamous than the Antichrist himself. The question has always been, “How could someone have the power and authority to be able to control the economy of the entire world?”
While these digital ids themselves are clearly not the mark of the beast, as we are not in the Tribulation and the Antichrist is not present, these types of electronic identification and cashless society movements that are being pushed today as “security” could easily become something very similar to the mark of the beast. Imagine in the future there is no cash and suddenly someone stops your debit and credit cards? Imagine if you could not work without checking in through some kind of digital database that is connected to a government system?
These things are all within the realm of possibility now and show just examples of how the Antichrist could control the economy during the Tribulation.
PRAY: Pray technological advancements will be used for good until the time God opens the Tribulation period with the Rapture of the Church.