I have been writing many articles concerning Artificial Intelligence and how it may be setting the stage for the “Wicked” the Antichrist to make his entrance onto the world stage.
One of my readers sent me an article today about the perceptions of a Kabbalist rabbi in Israel about AI. In the article, another rabbi is quoted, and his words were chilling to me.
We know from Scripture that Antichrist will confirm a covenant with Israel for one week (actually speaking of 7 years) God will finally open their eyes to the evil they have trusted. 3 1/2 years after the signing of the covenant, the Wicked will sit in the newly constructed 3rd Temple and declare himself to be God. This will be the start of the Great Tribulation. It is only then that the eyes of Israel will be opened and 2/3 will be slaughtered by Antichrist, while 1/3 flees to the hills.
Artificial intelligence in the End-of-Days: Killer Bots for Gog or Dry Bones to Praise God?
And He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of Hashem!” Ezekiel 37:4 (The Israel Bible™)
Artificial intelligence is advancing at a lightning pace and is already being adopted for military use, raising questions as to what role this powerful new technology will play in the end-of-days. Will it be a terrifying rogue combatant in the final Biblical War of Gog and Magog, or will it be an unforeseen savior of mankind and even have a possible role in the resurrection of the dead? (Emphasis mine)
We know that this “unforeseen savior” is Antichrist himself. We also know that the One who has everything to do with the resurrection of the dead, is our Lord Jesus Christ.
In one potential end-of-days scenario, technology plays a destructive role for humanity. A video, titled “Slaughterbots” and produced by the notorious Campaign to Stop Killer Robots illustrates this outcome in which autonomous drones armed with explosive charges wreak havoc on society. The video is part of a campaign intended to ban lethal autonomous weapons, a concern which clearly resonates with many as the petition has already garnered over 20,000 signatures.
Aspects of the fictitious future depicted in the video are appearing to become reality. Both India and Japan announced this week that they are beginning to introduce autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) into their defense sectors.
At the same time, governments also recognize that the destructive potential of AI raises moral difficulties. British Prime Minister Theresa May announced this week that her government is establishing an advisory body to coordinate with other countries in discussing how artificial intelligence can be used ethically for military purposes.
It seems that any future war, including the pre-Messianic War of Gog and Magog, will include killer robots, and many spiritual leaders are already considering how AI figures into a religious vision of the end-of-days. Rabbi Michael Laitman, a leading expert in Kabbalah and the founder of Bnei Baruch Kabbalah association, believes that technology and more specifically artificial intelligence, will play a major role in the end-of-days but not necessarily a positive one.
“It is clear in Kabbalah that in the times preceding geula (redemption), Man is going to utilize the entire potential of technology,” Rabbi Laitman told Breaking Israel News. “Men will begin to create artificial intelligence. People will want to achieve something similar to the creation of Man.” (emphasis mine)
My heart aches for my people who do not understand that their “Redemption” came, but they missed His visitation
“In the time of the geula, people will understand that all of this development, all throughout history, is what brought us to an even greater collapse,” he stressed. “This will become very clear in war when we see that all of the technology we developed for man’s good can immediately turn around and be used against man.”
Rabbi Laitman believes that the same motives of Man which led to the construction of the Tower of Babel are also in play with the development of artificial intelligence.
“Men wanted to ascend to the heavens and become like God,” the rabbi explained. “To do this, they were dealing with the basic foundations of creation. They wanted to fix something inside man they believed was a blemish.” (emphasis mine)
Yes – the blemish of which the rabbi speaks is of course “Sin”
Though this motive sounds noble, Rabbi Laitman pointed out a flaw that turned their good intentions into evil.
“This came from a place of ego, in which they wanted to take the place of God,” Rabbi Laitman said.
Personally, I believe that the intentions of man in building the Tower of Babel were from the very start “evil” and that AI is also man’s attempt to take the place of God
In an article that Rabbi Laitman published last Friday in Breaking Israel News, he outlined the dangers of artificial intelligence but also described a solution in containing potential problems.
“Unfortunately, I do believe that AI-powered weapons will be developed,” the rabbi wrote. “If we upgraded our human consciousness at least as much as we upgraded our technologies, then we would have no fear of creating AI terminators that would be capable of eliminating us. Instead, we would further our research to discover a technology more sophisticated than AI, and energy more powerful than nuclear energy.”
The New Age thought and terminology is glaring here. Upgrading our human consciousness? Our minds and hearts were changed when we repented and trusted Yeshua for the forgiveness of our sins! No “uploading” required. A miraculous “imputing” of the righteousness of Jesus Christ to those who chose to follow Him. Nothing man-made about that!
Rabbi Mark Goldfeder, a senior lecturer at Emory University School of Law, speculated that AI would, in fact, play a more positive role in the Messiah. (emphasis mine)
When the rabbi speaks of “A more positive role in the Messiah, he does not understand that he is actually speaking of Satan who will indwell Antichrist! Pray for this man.
“Some people have proposed an apocalyptic vision of AI in which Man and machine merge in the End of Days, suggesting that this would be tchiyat hametim (resurrection of the dead),” he told Breaking Israel News.
He also described efforts to upload the entirety of an individual’s knowledge to a computer.
“Some scientists think they are on the path to achieving this and in some form replicating or even recreating the consciousness of individuals,” Rabbi Goldfeder said. “This is not the traditional understanding of tchiyat hametim and not one that I ascribe to, but that being the case, I can’t imagine why it would be problematic as something else entirely if it is done with proper consent.” (emphasis mine)
Done with proper consent? This is a fallen world, and the “consent” will be from fallen people.
The rabbi suggested that at some point in the future theologians will have to determine whether AI should be considered sentient and human.(emphasis mine)
Sentient and human? Unthinkable!
“The line between Man and machine in the Torah is not as clear as what we would like to think it is,” the rabbi said.
Although AI poses many ethical and theological questions, Rabbi Goldfeder thinks that not only is this a good thing but that the development of technology was in fact intended by God to be part of Man’s role in being a partner with God in Creation. (emphasis mine)
This is the part of this article which was the most alarming to me. A partner with God in Creation? This is so New Age. The evil one is certainly not very subtle in these end times!
“One of the first commandments we received was to conquer the world, which we understand as that doing your best to participate with God in creation,” Rabbi Goldfeder said, citing Genesis. (emphasis mine)
This was certainly not a Commandment as we understand the Ten Commandments
Hashem blessed them and Hashem said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; Genesis 1:28
“All these forces were put in nature and they are amoral, not immoral; what we do with them establishes good or evil,” explained Rabbi Goldfeder. “Artificial intelligence has the ability to help us do incredible good.”
Rabbi Goldfeder believes AI will continue to be important even after the arrival of the Messiah. (emphasis mine) –source
Rabbi Goldfeder does not realize that these words are absolutely prophetic, but his eyes have not been opened to the Truth of God’s Word. When he speaks of “Messiah” he does not know that Messiah Jesus already came. The one who will come with power over the minds of people will not be Jesus. This will be Antichrist – or if you will “Instead” of Christ. And he will be indwelled by Satan himself.
Brethren, this article should be clearly understood by students of Bible Prophecy. Israel will indeed by deceived by Antichrist, whom they will believe is the long awaited Messiah.
This is God’s prophetic Word and nothing will stop it. But don’t forget that every Prophetic Word was uttered by the Holy Spirit to men who wrote under His inspiration.
We know how God’s story ends, and we are blessed who truly know Him and cling to Him as our Lord and Savior.
Pray for the Jewish people. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray for the unsaved.
We have all been following “Sophia” the AI Robot who was recently accepted as a citizen of Saudi Arabia. Bible Prophecy students and teachers are now connecting the dots, and are clearly seeing a possible connection between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the coming Antichrist. Many of us feel as if we are in the middle of a science fiction novel – but this is all too real.
I want to show the reader that the name “Sophia” was not randomly chosen for the AI Robot. No – it was very carefully chosen.
I wrote two articles on AI recently. If the reader missed those – here are the links:
When I awoke this morning, I could not shake the feeling that the Lord wanted me to research the name of the now famous AI Robot, “Sophia.” The vast amount of information about “Sophia” coupled with such wicked deception of various groups of people – left me feeling overwhelmed, and I walked away from this task numerous times throughout the day.
I wanted to impart what I had found to others. I prayed to God all day, asking Him “Lord, show me what is important, and what You want us to know.” In all my years of writing, I have never felt such oppression. I told my husband that I felt like I was drowning in a sea of information. That may sound a bit melodramatic, but it’s truly how I felt.
Before we begin, I want to stress to the reader that the evil one; the accuser of the brethren, the father of lies and author of confusion is (I believe) at the very heart of the beliefs and teaching you will see in this piece.
I have often spoken of the whispers of the evil one. In his wickedness and determination to hurt and deceive the children of God, he is a master of deception. The only way to protect yourself from his lies, is to know the Word of God. God’s Word should be a part of you. You should be able to discern between counterfeit teaching and the authentic Holy Word of God. It should be like breathing for us.
We are told that the Berean Church was noble in the fact that when they sat under preaching, they received it with joy, but immediately searched the Scriptures to make sure that what was taught to them was truth.
When a person is taught to distinguish counterfeit bills from authentic ones – they first must study the “real” money and know it so well, that when a counterfeit bill is held in their hand – they immediately know that it’s not the real deal.
Mystical Catholicism
I do not believe that Catholicism has anything to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is not to say that there are not Catholics in the congregations who have repented and been born again. But I believe that this is the exception and not the rule. Those Catholics who are saved most likely heard the Gospel preached elsewhere or had a friend or relative share the truth of the Gospel with them.
Throughout history there have been many Catholic mystics. Contemplative prayer and many other practices of the Emergent Church are directly from Catholicism.
Catholicism is a works based religion (cult) which is why the Lord opened the eyes of Martin Luther, John Calvin and others during the Great Reformation to see that the institution of Catholicism was false and leading many to hell.
**A reminder to the reader – this is a Catholic website and written from a Catholic perspective. I am only including excerpts. I will be bolding words in this article for the benefit of the reader. I will add my commentary indented in blue.
“Desperately seeking Sophia”
The biblical Sophia is more than metaphor; she is an expression of the presence of God.
At a retreat where I referred to Sophia several times in my first presentation, a man suddenly stood up and blurted out: “Just who is this Sophia? Stop assuming that everyone here knows who you are talking about!” His interruption startled me, and it reminded me that many do not know this jewel in scripture, that Sophia is hidden from many.
His question was also a challenge because I knew that introducing Sophia would take a while to do. So much of this heritage has been lost and must be recovered. Fortunately, he stayed for the whole weekend, so we had time to talk. I found him open, ready to learn and to grow. As we departed, the two of us had a new appreciation for one another and for the gift of Sophia. He left with gratitude for discovering a new way of relating to the Holy One. I left with renewed appreciation for the journey I have traveled with Sophia.
A “New way of relating to the Holy One” should give the discerning reader pause, and an understanding that what will be written will not be from the Inspired Word of God. We do not need new ways of relating to God; and He certainly does not “hide” things from His children.
As I spoke about Sophia, I reflected back to 13 years earlier when I had received a letter one spring day from a publisher asking me to contribute a book to their women’s series. I wanted to say yes but wasn’t sure what I might write. It took me four months before I responded to that letter.
At the time I was caring for my friends’ 6-year-old daughter. We were out in the rose garden where I was enjoying the happy child as she danced around the flowers, singing with glee. While I watched Elizabeth playing, something stirred in me, and I found myself reaching for pen and paper.
I wrote a book proposal on something that had enticed me time and again: my attraction to wisdom in scripture. At that time I had very limited knowledge of the biblical books of wisdom and did not know yet that in the Greek translation the words for Holy Wisdom are HagiaSophia. I also had no awareness that this Sophia would offer me a fresh and deeply profound way of relating to the divine.
When the misguided writer speaks of the “Biblical books of wisdom” she is speaking mostly about the “Apocrypha” which were books not accepted as part of the Canon of Scripture. These books are part of the Catholic Bible. But here she speaks of Proverbs, but subverts the Word of God to mean what she ‘wants’ it to mean. Also, “the divine” is a much used New Age expression for God.
Only much later did I realize that the image of little Elizabeth playing among the roses was reflective of the beautiful passage in Proverbs 8 in which Sophia is described as being present at the beginning of creation:“When there were no depths, I was brought forth when God established the heavens, I was there playing before [God] all the while” (Prov. 8:24, 30). It was this connection that elicited my desire to explore and write about wisdom.
As students of God’s Word, we know that this passage in Proverbs is clearly speaking of “Wisdom” which is personified as “she.” Proverbs 8 has been used by numerous cults (think Jehovah’s Witnesses) to claim that our Lord Jesus was “created” by stating that Proverbs 8 is speaking of Him. We know that our Lord Jesus is the second Person of the Godhead and that He had no beginning.
“In Proverbs 9:2 wisdom is not literally a woman who prepares a banquet. Wisdom is an intangible quality, but Solomon describes it as if it were an actual person—personification, again. But why is Wisdom a “she” and not a “he”? As we answer that, let’s consider genre.
Proverbs 8 is poetry—one of the many genres found in the Bible. This is important to consider, for, if we do not know what we are reading, we will not know how we should read it. A reader will always make some sense of the words, but if genre is not considered, the reader will likely miss the author’s intent. For example, if we’re reading Treasure Island, it’s important to understand it as a novel, that is, a work of fiction. This understanding will prevent our seeking out the family history of Jim Hawkins as if he were a real person. When reading the Bible, if we do not understand an author’s intent, then we will not understand God’s intent—which, of course, is what matters when it comes to interpreting His Word.
Proverbs 8 is a specific type of poem called an encomium—a poem of praise. Other encomia in Scripture are found in 1 Corinthians 13 (in praise of love), Hebrews 11 (in praise of faith), and Proverbs 31:10–31 (in praise of the virtuous wife). We cannot interpret the Bible’s poetry in the same way we do its historical narratives, its prophecies, its apocalyptic passages, etc. For instance, we cannot treat “Love is patient, love is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4) in the same way as “When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a shiny spot on their skin that may be a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to Aaron the priest” (Leviticus 13:2). The first passage is effusive, the latter exacting. These are just two examples of types of writings that must be read with sensitivity to their genre, purpose, and context. So, when we read that Wisdom is a “she,” understand that Proverbs is heavily artistic; therefore, we are not reading a technical definition of wisdom.” – source
Now – back to the “Desperately Seeking Sophia” piece:
That surprising moment was the beginning of a long and wonderful journey of exploration and research. When my book proposal was accepted, I took a deep gulp and asked myself: “Just what, or who, is this beautiful figure that Proverbs describes as a partner with the Holy One?”
And I am certain that Satan whispered his lies into her ear, telling her that the partner of the Holy One is of course – Sophia. The writer was “meditating” on parts of the Apocrypha and believing the lies of the devil.
Divine Wisdom as “she”
I began by reading and meditating each day on one of the scripture passages referring to Holy Wisdom. As I prayed, I noticed how Sophia was always referred to as “she.” This amazed me, even though I knew there were many ways to describe and relate to God.
The writer had already decided that Proverbs 8 was speaking of “Sophia”, when in actuality, Solomon had been speaking of Godly, Holy Wisdom – one of God’s many attributes. He used “she” as a personification of this attribute.
I knew that God was neither male nor female, yet I also knew God to be consistently described as male and referred to as “he” in Christian images and metaphors. Feminine pronouns and figures have rarely been used in speaking of God, even though, as I discovered, there are numerous references in the wisdom literature to Divine Wisdom as “she” and plenty of feminine qualities to describe “her.”
Many people think of wisdom as an “it” rather than a “she.” Actually, both of these approaches are accurate, because there are two types of wisdom in the Bible.
Some passages speak of wisdom as a quality or a truth to guide our lives. Here wisdom is presented as a “thing”—such as wise sayings, proverbs, and moral exhortations. There are many other passages, however, that refer to wisdom as a person. It is here that the feminine pronoun is always used and is consistently reflective of the divine presence. This wisdom is Holy Wisdom: Hagia Sophia.
Historically, the authors of the wisdom literature began this feminine reference to Sophia between 33 B.C. and 4–5 A.D. There are only four other figures who are mentioned more than Sophia in Jewish scripture (the Old Testament): Yahweh, Moses, David, and Job. Given this fact, it is quite incredible that so few know much about her. However, I do understand why she has not been recognized because I, too, had a difficult time discovering and claiming her.
The writer says that she had a difficult time “discovering and claiming” Sophia. Perhaps the reason might be that she allowed the whispers of the enemy to twist Scripture into something which God never intended it to be. She fought against the Lord and allowed Satan to persuade her. Sounds like someone else we’ve read about in Genesis.
When I finished a draft of my book manuscript, I asked a friend who taught religious studies at a local university to read it. When she returned it, she asked, “Well, is Sophia divine or not?”
I blanched because, after almost two years of prayer and study of the biblical passages, I still did not know if the references were simply personified metaphors for divinity or if Sophia was truly another word for the radiant presence of the Holy One.
I was scared to respond: “Yes, I think she is more than metaphor; she is an expression of the presence of God.” I still wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to lead anyone astray. It took me another year to be convinced that both “Sophia” and “God” were names for divinity.
Sounds like the writer struggled quite a bit, but in the end she listened and agreed with the “whispers.”
One of the marvelous descriptions of Sophia that convinced me I was not off on some heretical tangent was what Thomas Merton wrote about her in Emblems of a Season of Fury: “The Diffuse Shining of God is Hagia Sophia. Sophia is Gift, is Spirit, Donum Dei. She is God-given and God Himself as Gift. Sophia in all things is the Divine Life reflected in them.” – source
Who was Thomas Merton?
Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Catholic writer, theologian and mystic. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion. … Suzuki, the Thai Buddhist monk Buddhadasa, and the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, and authored books on Zen Buddhism and Taoism. –source Enough said?
Sophia is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things. She is Wisdom Incarnate, the Goddess of all those who are wise.
Sophia (pronounced sew-fee’ah) in Greek, Hohkma in Hebrew, Sapientia in Latin, Celtic goddess-figure Sheela-na-gigs – all mean wisdom,. The Judeo-Christian God’s female soul, source of his true power is Sophia. As Goddess of wisdom and fate , her faces are many: Black Goddess, Divine Feminine, Mother of God The Gnostic Christians, Sophia was the Mother of Creation; her consort and assistant was Jehovah. Her sacred shrine, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, is one of the seven wonders of the world. Her symbol, the dove, represents spirit; she is crowned by stars, a Middle Eastern icon, to indicate her absolute divinity.
Sophia is found throughout the wisdom books of the Bible. There are references to Her in the book of Proverbs, and in the apocryphal books of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon (accepted by Catholics and Orthodox, found in the Greek Septuagint of the early Church).
She is usually associated with wise King Solomon. 1 Kings 4:29-31 tells us that God gave wisdom to Solomon, and that he became wiser than all the kings of the East and all the wise people of Egypt. Wisdom 8:2, 16, 18 tells us that Solomon was seen as married to Sophia.
The Song of Songs – known as Song of Solomon or Canticle of Canticles – speaks of Solomon’s marriage to Holy Sophia.
Wisdom 9:8-11 tells us that Sophia instructed Solomon in building the Temple!
The Jews revered Sophia. King Solomon even put Her right in the Temple, in the form of the Goddess Asherah.
After the reforms of King Josiah, there was a threat that the veneration of Sophia would come to a halt – there was even more of a threat when patriarchal Christianity took over the world.
Thanks to her continuing presence in the world and her presence in the Bible, veneration of Sophia continued in the Eastern tradition with the construction of the Hagia Sophia and the Russian Catholic liturgical service to Sophia combined with the assumption of Mary on May 15.
The Russian Orthodox Church has also a school of “Sophiology” to explore the theology of Sophia without contradicting the Russian Orthodox theology.
Yet the Eastern Christians are not the only Christians to venerate Sophia.
Sophia was very likely venerated by early Followers of the Way, and her veneration has survived in the West today in the form of Gnosticism.
Gnostics see her as one of the aeons, one of the quasi-deities who live in the ethereal realm known as the pleroma.
Gnostics believe that she gave birth to or brought about the creation of a negative aeon, who later came to be called an archon, called the Demiurge, creator and ruler of this world.
Gnostics see the Demiurge as the God of the Old Testament, with his strict rules and chains that bind the people of the Earth. Gnostics believe that Sophia and the Father God (not the Demiurge) sent Yeshua to right this wrong. In Gnostic tradition, Sophia plays a very active role in our world.
Thanks to her continuing presence in the world and her presence in the Bible, veneration of Sophia continued in the Eastern tradition with the construction of the Hagia Sophia and the Russian Catholic liturgical service to Sophia combined with the assumption of Mary on May 15.
The Russian Orthodox Church has also a school of “Sophiology” to explore the theology of Sophia without contradicting the Russian Orthodox theology.
Yet the Eastern Christians are not the only Christians to venerate Sophia.
Sophia was very likely venerated by early Followers of the Way, and her veneration has survived in the West today in the form of Gnosticism.
Gnostics see her as one of the aeons, one of the quasi-deities who live in the ethereal realm known as the pleroma.
Gnostics see the Demiurge as the God of the Old Testament, with his strict rules and chains that bind the people of the Earth. Gnostics believe that Sophia and the Father God (not the Demiurge) sent Yeshua to right this wrong. In Gnostic tradition, Sophia plays a very active role in our world.
Sophia and her 3 daughters -Faith, Hope and Love
Esoteric Christianity doesn’t typically support the theory of the Demiurge. It believes that creation is inherently good, and as such so is the Creator.
However, the Mystery School does teach that Shaitan, the devil, was the ruler of this world and had accidentally been given the keys to the Otherworlds by the Goddess.
He had these keys until the passion, death, and Resurrection of Yeshua, when Yeshua obtained the keys once more and holds them still.
The Mystery School sees many similarities between Sophia and the two Christian Goddesses, Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. Perhaps one or both of them were incarnations of Sophia.
Generally we see Mother Mary as the incarnation of Shekinah, and Mary Magdalene as the incarnation of Sophia.
In truth all feminine goddess archetypes are the same soul – just as the same masculine god archetypes – in all creational mythos – are the same soul. The patterns of who they are – and their duality in creating our reality – is self-evident as you study and compare each creational story.
Sophia as ISIS – Wings of Ascension
Aya Sophia [Turkish] – Hagia Sophia [Greek]
Aya Sophia was originally a Christian church at Constantinople (now Istanbul), later a mosque, and now converted into a museum. – source
So now we see the New Age origins of “Sophia.” Her name has become synonymous with Wisdom. How interesting that Hanson Robotics chose this name for their world renowned AI robot.
Jan Markell of Olivetreeviews.orgdid a two part interview with Pastor Billy Crone, titled “Will Artificial Intelligence Rule the World?” Here is the link to hear this very important interview:
New Age followers believe that Lucifer is the “Enlightened one.” They do not understand that they are exalting and worshiping the devil himself. They do not know what is coming to the earth and that they are destined for hell if they do not repent and believe the truth.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
We worship the Lord Jesus Christ, and we yearn for His appearing.
Since writing my last article about AI (Artificial Intelligence) I have been researching the ramifications of this technology. What the reader will see in this piece will be shocking – even alarming. But AI is here and is progressing at break neck speed.
I do believe that as John the Baptist cried out in the wilderness to make the paths straight for the coming of the Lord; Satan (whom I believe is behind this technology) is crying out:
“Make way for for AI, for it is the answer to the earth’s problems – and the Path to Paradise for all who will follow!”
Here is my last article for those who did not see it:
I happened upon a website while researching AI. The similarities and references to Christianity were not subtle, but glaring and intentional. Satan knows that his time is short, and wants to deceive as many people as he can. After all, that is what he does best.
**I am “bolding” key words in this article for the benefit of the reader. My commentary will be in blue.
Silicon Valley’s Radical Machine Cult
From afterlife to machine transcendence, Digitalism offers a new promise of paradise.
We are witnessing the beginning of Silicon Valley institutionalizing its religious beliefs. As Wired reported recently, Anthony Levandowski, a top Silicon Valley engineer formerly working for Google’s self-driving car company Waymo and now at the center of the trade secrets lawsuit between Uber and Waymo, founded a religious organization called Way of the Future. Its goal? To “develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence.” According to Wired, Way of the Future was founded in September 2015.
I find it interesting that the UN Sustainable Development Goals final document was adopted at the UN on this very date. Coincidence? I think not.
It was on the 20th of that month when, 9,400 miles away in Switzerland, I first became aware that Digitalism had turned into a kind of religion. I participated in a conferencein the French mountain resort of Chamonix underneath the white peak of Montblanc, where leading technologists had gathered to discuss our future. The topic of one panel discussion, featuring executives from Google and eBay and the CEO of a prominent US think tank, was “Technology is turning the world upside down—what’s going on?”
What was going on? Satan was fomenting his plan to enter Antichrist on his appointed day.
As they enthusiastically discussed the many ways digitalization will make the world a better place, I started to experience my own epiphany: Slowly and all at once, I saw that these people were the evangelists of a new religion, true believers invoking the Promised Land with glowing eyes.
Not very subtle, is it? The Promised Land – Yes, promised in God’s Word in the books of Daniel and Revelation.
In this version of paradise, cars will drive, factories will produce themselves, software and technology will find cures for everything, virtual reality will enable us to live our dreams instantly, and ubiquitous robots will serve us and understand us better than we understand ourselves. A land of milk and honey, where roasted, on-demand chicken flies directly into our mouths, is just around the corner. A new benevolent super-intelligence will solve all the problems we created over the last centuries, from climate change to global poverty, while we enjoy eternal leisure, softly hypnotized by screens, entertained and served by machine slaves.
A Land of Milk and Honey – that is what the land of Israel was called in the Old Testament. A new benevolent super intelligence will solve all of the world’s problems. They speak of Antichrist here – it is crystal clear.
“The evangelical fervor is fascinating,” William Gibson said about Silicon Valley in an interview this year with Das Magazin. “These people are atheists, they don’t have a religion, but the mechanism is the same. God comes and saves us all. Just that in their case God is technology.”
They think their god is technology. They have no idea that their god is the devil himself.
But I think Gibson was wrong. They do have a religion: Digitalism, or machine religion. Digitalists believe in transcending the human condition, ultimately overcoming death through machines.
There is that word “Transcending.” You might remember Transcendentalists and Transcendental Meditation. Satanic – all of it.
Just as Christianity promises ultimate redemption from Original Sin, Digitalism promises redemption from the unavoidable sin of our messy, distracted, limited brains, irrational emotions, and aging bodies.
Here is where the followers of the “Social Gospel” will undoubtedly jump on board, and I can just hear Kumbaya being sung together.
As Wired founding executive editor Kevin Kelly put it in a 2002 article titled “God is the Machine,” Digitalists literally believe in the transcendent power of digital computation. In that sense, Digitalism is linked to the beliefs of transhumanists and similar movements, and thrives on a broader global terrain where traditional religion is in decline(while evangelical movements are on the rise), the internet continues its march across the planet. We’re on fertile ground for digitalism.
That is a very true statement that traditional religion is in decline (mainline denominations) but that Evangelical movements are on the rise (God’s Remnant of true believers.)
Risks? Computers will soon be intelligent enough to manage them, so why worry? You might expect even the most radical Digitalists to at least recognize cybersecurity as a potential concern. Despite the premise of the discussion’s title, the panel did not utter one word about any risks, for that matter. Nothing.
The longer the panelists talked, the more common traits between Digitalists and the followers of all other religions became apparent. If you don’t profess to Digitalism, you will be left behind; you will be part of a miserable, inferior, anachronistic species in a dysfunctional, dirty, analog world soon to be extinct; Hell on earth, in effect. Not an unrealistic scenario, if the so-called Singularity—the moment machine intelligence surpasses human intelligence—becomes reality faster than we could ever imagine, as digital dementia might make humans dumber than Siri is today. However, no need to worry: computers will create opportunities and find purpose for those left behind in the age of digitalization.
Brethren, is it not clear that what they refer to as “being left behind” will be those who are true children of God? After the Rapture, these will be the Tribulation Saints.
At the heart of the Digitalist premise of technology’s empowerment is a belief in the inherent incompleteness of humans. Just as Christianity promises ultimate redemption from Original Sin, Digitalism promises redemption from the unavoidable sin of our messy, distracted, limited brains, irrational emotions, and aging bodies.Digital redemption will come upon us in the form of super-intelligent machine intervention, chips to implant in our brains and hard disks to upload our consciousness to (or so goes the vision of Google’s prophet, futurist Ray Kurzweil). While traditional religions believe in the immortal soul, Digitalists believe in the immortality of the lines of code they aim to reduce our mind and consciousness to.
It is clear to me that the “chips to implant in our brains and hard disks to upload our consciousness, will come from the “Mark of the Beast.” I believe that these “marks” will send these chips to the brains of those who receive the dreaded mark. This will indeed seal their fate. (do not believe any teaching which suggests that taking the mark will not prevent a person from ever being saved!)
Digitalism claims to provide a set of final answers to all of humanity’s problems and promises to bring paradise. Their belief is driven by deep contempt for humans, for humanity. The Digitalist religious vision is to remove the human factor altogether.
Satan loathes the human race – so much that he is determined to take as many as he can to hell;
Christopher Mims, in a January piece about cybersecurity for the Wall Street Journal, articulated this when he wrote of humans as the “critical, unpatchable weakness.” “History has shown us we aren’t going to win this war by changing human behavior,” Mims concluded. “But maybe we can build systems that are so locked down that humans lose the ability to make dumb mistakes. Until we gain the ability to upgrade the human brain, it’s the only way.”
The ONLY way to change human behavior is a regeneration of their spirit – to be born again from above – a circumcision of the heart by God Himself.
The rejection of what Digitalists call “the human factor” combined with the dream of a God-like, perfect machine-power makes them, fundamentally, post-humanists with a more shiny, civilized façade. A darker reading might find a parallel in other contemporary fundamentalist forces. As André Glucksmann, a contemporary French philosopher, has brilliantly described in his book Dostoievski in Manhattan, the driver of what today has become ISIS is the negation and destruction of all human values—a violent, barbarian, belligerent version of post-humanism. Digitalists would readily annihilate what to their eyes is human imperfection altogether, if only they could become a machine themselves first.
Like many post-humanists, Digitalists believe we are enjoying (or suffering through) the last days of homo sapiens as we know them. If not something like a continuously-extended life, then the fusion of humankind and machine into a new super-species may be close at hand. The turning point, the return of the Messiahs, is just some 20 or so years away. According to the high-priests of the Singularity, for instance, a God-like super-intelligence will arise, the Christ of the golden machine age.
It is obvious of whom they speak – this is Antichrist! I find it interesting that when using the term “Messiah” they state that this is only some 20 or so years away. 2030 is the projected year of the UN to complete their Sustainable Development Goals.
Silicon Valley, with its CEO-worship and male-oriented customs, can sometimes feel like another version of a religious state. The belief in Mary’s Immaculate Conception, the myth standing at the beginning of the arrival of Christ, is not so far from the equally unexplainable mystical Digitalist belief that consciousness will soon be born out of a machine if it just processes enough 0s and 1s.
They call the Immaculate Conception of Mary a “myth; and say that “consciousness” will soon be born out of a machine. They call their belief “mystical” and compare it to our Lord Jesus and His arrival on earth.
Part of this belief is the superstition that, perhaps, the universe—God herself—is a computer. Reality itself may be a simulation. By this account, if we evolve our computational power enough, we will become one with God—the ultimate yearning of all religions.
AH! Here is the caveat: Becoming one with God. I think of the Tower of Babel and Satan’s plan from the very beginning to be “like” God. New Age teachings say that we are “little gods.”
In modern times, Kelly’s 2002 article, a survey of Matrix-like, variously murky scientific theories of “universal computation,” appears to be one of the first that uses the term. “Somehow, according to digitalism, we are linked to one another, all beings alive and inert, because we share, as [theoretical physicist] John Wheeler said, ‘at the bottom—at a very deep bottom, in most instances—an immaterial source,'” Kelly wrote. “This commonality, spoken of by mystics of many beliefs in different terms, also has a scientific name: computation. Bits—minute logical atoms, spiritual in form—amass into quantum quarks and gravity waves, raw thoughts and rapid motions.”
There is, in a sense, one marked difference between digitalism and modern religion: the Digitalists, in their scientistic emphasis, believe that they aren’t believers.
Satan is the author of confusion.
“We only talk about facts”, said one of the panel members when the audience challenged the panel’s visions.
If God punishes in the form of a misfortune, fanatical believers of all religions assume they have not been religious enough. For the panel in Chamonix, any problem that technology might create is, therefore, easy to solve—with more of the same. God is just testing your faith; you need to intensify your belief. The Digitalist vision calls for solving the problems computation brings with more computation, less error-prone human interference, a society on AI-guided autopilot. Two-hundred years after Kant, humans will finally be able to stop using their imperfect brains and searching for answers so the future can finally arrive.
The “future” of which they speak is the coming of Antichrist. I am compelled to believe that this man of sin will actually be an AI robot – but not just another one. He will be able to control all AI and at this point, unbelievers will be at the mercy of Antichrist.
In Chamonix, as an epilogue to their mass—it was truly surreal—they played “Imagine” by John Lennon. It strangely sounded as if they had found an ideal anthem:
Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can.
Yes, thank you Airbnb and Uber.
Imagine all the people, sharing all the world.
This is happening, just check your Terms and Conditions.
And the world will live as one.
As in, one brain-linked social network of the future, connecting us all into one superhuman supercomputer. (Should we call it “the Matrix”?).
It sounds like a paraphrase of Facebook’s complex and convenient new mission: To “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together,” as Mark Zuckerberg told a crowd of Facebook Group leaders earlier this year. If we believe it’s good for us, and join the flocks and go along with it, well, we too can live in the Promised Land. As the logic of social media demonstrates, the story we tell ourselves about the future doesn’t need to be true. It just needs to be shareable.
They love our expression “Promised Land” don’t they?
In the rush of the stream, it can be hard to remember that these visions of the future often tend to turn out very different from what their creators had envisioned. Think of fake news or the Uber culture or the walled gardens of tech giants; part of the problem, as Salon put it recently, is a CEO-worship problem—powerful priests offering narratives of biblical dimension.
And if you do not believe what they say – you will be hunted like an animal. And with AI – it will not be difficult to find your whereabouts.
However, in order to get to their Promised Land, anything that doesn’t fit into the brave new machine-world must first be cut to size in the Digitalists’ bed of Procrustes, the world of 0s and 1s, streamlining all life into dead and sterile bits and bites.
Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try. –source
Since becoming a Christian, I knew that John Lennon’s “Imagine” would be the anthem of the reign of Antichrist. And so it is.
Jan Markell is doing a two part interview with Pastor Billy Crone on her radio broadcast. The theme? “Will Artificial Intelligence Rule the World?”
If you missed this, I highly recommend that you listen. Here is where you can hear Part 1:
Understanding the Times: Jan Markell interviews Pastor Billy Crone on the topic of AI and if it will rule the world:
Brothers and sisters in Christ. I believe that AI is exactly how Satan will fool the world. I believe that Antichrist will be the leader of Artificial Intelligence – and not a human, but the ultimate AI Robot which will reign over all AI robots.
I believe that after the Rapture of the Church, that all those taking the mark of the beast will lose not only their souls to Satan, but also their ability to think as humans. Please share this with unbelieving friends and family. It is happening now, and if this information can startle a person enough where they begin to seek after God, then this article will have been worth the writing.
It grieves my heart when I see Christians getting emotionally caught up in the Emergent Church and their unbiblical New Age practices. I cannot imagine how much it grieves the heart of God when He sees this.
Before looking at Jesus Culture’s teachings in-depth, a brief look at the people who influence them is necessary. While who they associate with may not alone make the movement heretical, the people Jesus Culture support and have speak at their conferences gives reason for one to worry. First, the movement is heavily influenced by Bill Johnson, senior pastor at Bethel Church. He has been heavily influenced by the charismatic Toronto Blessing and its leaders.
A Low View of Scripture ( my comments in blue)
The first danger of the Jesus Culture movement is the way their leaders deal with Scripture. They handle God’s Word in a way that suits their own purposes. The leaders of the Jesus Culture movement have a tendency to allegorize biblical narratives, especially in the Old Testament, to make the text about the contemporary Christian, rather than seeing what a passage is saying about God—His power, purpose, and salvific plan. (emphasis added)
Does Andy Stanley’s mishandling of God’s Word come to mind?
Another error that the leaders of Jesus Culture often make is using Scripture in a dishonest way, using it out context to make whatever verse they quote mean whatever suits their purposes. In Jesus Culture, Banning Liebscher quotes Acts 10:38, which is part of Peter’s speech to the Gentiles in Cornelius’s home. Then he claims that the new breed of revivalists that is rising up “will be marked with an Acts 10:38 anointing.” However, Liebscher gives no evidence from Acts 10 or anywhere else in Scripture for his claim that Christians should operate under an “Acts 10:38 anointing” which, in context, is speaking of Jesus’ anointing and the signs and wonders that He did. Rather, Liebscher merely quotes this verse, claiming that all Christians should operate under this anointing. This use of Scripture is dubious at best.
Sounds like another version of “Name it and Claim it”
Other examples of flawed uses of Scripture in Jesus Culture, the sermons of the movement’s leaders, and their blogs abound. However, the most tragic and dangerous treatment of Scripture comes in their elevation of visions and dreams to the same level or above Scripture. – source
The Word of God is complete. Extra-Biblical visions and words of knowledge are simply heretical. God’s Holy Word should reign supreme in the hearts of His children
Running on Emotion Instead of Standing on the Word
I believe that the “slippery slope” began with the Charismatic Movement. In the 80’s, I was saved in one of these churches. Although being a baby Christian, the Lord gave me an abundance of discernment for my protection. Each week, the same people would stand during services. They had visions, dreams to impart and words of knowledge to share. I began to feel so uncomfortable and finally left.
God is a God of Order. In my spirit it was clear that these services were “out of order.”
I just wasn’t sure that what these people were saying came from God or from their own minds. I kept thinking “Is God’s Holy Word not enough?”
Contemplative Prayer
Those pastors and teachers who have aligned themselves with Jesus Culture and the Passion movement are all Emergent Church members.
What is the at the heart of the Emergent Church?
In two words, I can sum up the goal of the Emergent church – SOCIAL GOSPEL.
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works“ (2 Cor. 11:13-15)
Passion Conferences: Contemplative Prayer for Social Change
At the beginning of this month, the Passion Conferences hosted Passion 2012. Originally founded by members of the Emergent Church movement, Louie Giglio is the speaker and co-founder of the Passion Movement. He also pastors at Passion City Church in Atlanta, GA.
The conferences reach several cities and they have ministered to other continents with a purpose of “…uniting students in worship and prayer for spiritual awakening in this generation.”[1] It reaches college age individuals with their message, and raises money for social justice causes.
Louis Giglio – founder of the Passion Movement
From CBN:
The Catch As we have seen within the Emergent Church movement, Passion Conferences are pushing the TM-like practice of Centering/contemplative prayer – but they call it Lectio Devina for their own reasons. It is a traditional Catholic practice of scripture reading, meditation, and prayer intended to promote communion with God. Like Centering Prayer, Lectio Divinais a contemplative approach to pondering the scriptures, and they share common ground with the same prayer practices of other false religions.
As we learned in a comparative study of TM vs. Contemplative/Centering Prayer, there are several distinct similarities between the two, and more importantly a mystical practice used by Pagans which is practiced by Catholics – opening believers to seducing spirits and spiritual deception.
This form of mysticism is playing an important part of the ecumenical movement and the one world religion. In his book Speaking My Mind, Tony Campolo drives the point home about Contemplative prayer and mystical practices:
Tony Campola : “Mysticism provides some hope for common ground between Christianity and Islam. Both religions have within their histories examples of ecstatic union with God, which seem at odds with their own spiritual traditions, but have much in common with each other.” – source
PASSION 2018:
Brethren, have you read enough to see the blatant heresy which has gripped much of the church? It sickens me that not one of these people have the gift of discernment from our Lord.
If they did, they would see clearly that they are acting as if they are “of the world” and not just in it.
Pray for all who have been drawn into this satanically inspired movement!
