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:
Artificial Intelligence and Antichrist: Will There Be a Connection?
Mimicking Christianity: How AI is Setting the Stage for Antichrist
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.
From uscatholic.org
**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 Hagia Sophia. 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.
Read what gotquestions.org says about this:
“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?
From crytalinks.com (New Age on Steroids)
Sophia, Goddess of Wisdom
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.org did 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:
Jan Markell and Pastor Billy Crone on Artificial Intelligence part 1 & 2
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.
Shalom b’Yeshua
MARANATHA!