"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." - Revelation 13:16-17

As a Christian investigative journalist, I've seen the darkness creeping in. It starts with the shuttering of local businesses - your mom-and-pop shops, your family-owned hardware stores, your neighborhood diners. One by one, they get swallowed up by the corporate machine.

And rising from the ashes, like a demonic phoenix, is the fluorescent glow of Dollar General.

The Slow Death of Main Street I was driving through a small town in the Midwest the other day, just trying to pick up a few essentials. As I cruised down the once-vibrant Main Street, I was struck by the eerie silence. Storefront after storefront stood empty, save for the ubiquitous Dollar General that had taken over the prime location on the corner.

It's the same story in town after town. The big box stores and Amazon have gutted local commerce, leaving hollowed-out shells in their wake. And when the dust settles, the vultures come in to pick at the remains - corporations like Dollar General, whose business model is to strip the life out of rural America.

Fulfilling Prophecy But this isn't just an economic story. It's a spiritual one. As I stood in that soulless Dollar General, staring at the artificial lights and shelves stacked high with cheap, disposable goods, I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine. This is the fulfillment of ancient biblical prophecy unfolding before our eyes.

The Mark of the Beast The book of Revelation warned us about a time when no one would be able to buy or sell without submitting to "the mark of the beast." Some interpret this as a literal implanted microchip. But what if the "mark" is something more insidious - the slow, systematic destruction of our communities and the centralization of all economic activity under the control of a few mega-corporations?

The Dollar General Cult When you step back and look at the bigger picture, the rise of Dollar General across small-town America starts to resemble a kind of "death cult." These stores are not just displacing local businesses - they're consuming the very soul of our nation. And the American people, lulled into complacency by cheap prices and convenience, are willingly offering up their communities to the corporate gods.

It's time to wake up and see the truth. The end times are upon us, and the corporate machine is the vehicle through which the prophecies of old are being fulfilled. We must fight back before it's too late.

"The truth doesn't hide. It waits for those brave enough to look."

The Wise Wolf