Technology
One of the areas in which believers who are waiting for the coming of the Lord must be alert and observant is technology. A lot is going on regarding technology at the moment. Indeed it is a revolution. With the advent of computer technology and Artificial Intelligence(AI), technology has been revolutionized and taken to a completely new level. And this revolution affects every aspect of human existence. Satan will use developments in these areas to make ready for the Coming Prince.
“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”(Daniel 9:26 KJV).
Everything needed must be put in place before the arrival of the antiChrist on the world stage. He is the Coming Prince. In this short article, we shall draw the attention of watchers to a few areas that are germane to the End Times.
Digital Currency And Cashlessness
These new developments are wonderful. There is far less risk in monetary transactions when it is cashless than when it involves physical cash. Cash can be lost in transit, creating a big hole in the finance of the one involved. With cashlessness, heists are virtually eliminated. Most businesses, even private individuals encourage and prefer online transfers to cash payments. In Sweden for instance, close to 95% of transactions are online. Most banks encourage online transfers. It reduces the workload on banks. It requires few staff to run. In some rural areas in Germany banks have closed because of online banking. Even in a third world country like Nigeria, a lot of money transfers are done online through ATM or mobile bank apps. Every bank in Nigeria has Mobile App.
Digital currencies have been with us for a while now the most popular of which is bitcoin. China has developed its own national digital currency. Most nations will soon develop digital currencies. There are rumours about the coming digital Dollar. A few months ago, at the hight of Coronavirus pandemic, Microsoft patented a crytocurrency using bodily activity data, WO/2020/060606. The patency number 060606 is a bit scary being just 666 because 0 means nothing. Are we getting closer to the Mark Of The Beast? What will most probably happen in the future is the development of one world digital currency. It will make international trade easier, and there will be no need for tariffs on imported goods. Hopefully, that will be the end of trade wars.
One of the things that will happen before the emergence of the antiChrist is globalization in its full orb. Globalization or Global Village is the modern equivalent of The Tower Of Babel(Gen.11:1-9). The world will become a global village. The internet is at the frontier of this innovation. Very soon, there will be Internet of Things(IoT). What this means is that all the goods and services available on Earth will be on display on the internet. A produce in a remote African village will be on display on the net. It may be soled to the highest bidder in China, US, Britain, India etc. How this will happen is that the produce will be purchased by one of the approved big corporations which will now put it on display on the net. In this way one can purchase almost anything on the internet. Small businesses are going to go out of business. Some major economic meltdown due to pandemic or war or lockdown will force the small and medium size businesses out of business. The big corporations will take over world trade and commerce. One would have no choice other than to do one’s purchase through anyone of these big corporations. Big coöperatives will spring up in cities and towns through which farmers will sell their produce. Individual farmers will be forced out of business living only corporate farms. It is either a farmers belongs to one of these coöperatives or else forced out of business altogether.
Digital Identity
Digital identity in the form of Radio Frenqency Identity(RFID) is fast becoming popular especially in Sweden, China, US etc. It has any number of uses. It can be used to track people with dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, any neurological disease and mental illness, do purchases online, buy train tickets, book Uber services or make hotel reservations. The Big brother can use it to monitor criminals and felons, and sex offenders like pedophiles and rapists. Some school systems use it to monitor absenteeism. And parents can use it to know the whereabouts of their wards at anytime. It can to a large extent curb child kidnapping. At the moment, wherever it is in use, it is voluntary. But time comes, when it will be mandatory by legislation. When coupled with contact tracing and tracking which developed as a result of social distancing in the wake of Coronavirus, the situation looks grim.
India of all places has introduce digital identity for all its citizens. The Nigeria government is now touting digital identity for all Nigerians postcovid. The motivation and catch phrase or buzz word is financial inclusion. We have National Identifcation Number(NIN) in Nigeria. It is not compulsory, but it required for so many necessary things that it is as though it were mandatory. We need it to open a new bank account, acquire international passport, driver’s license and to register any business ventures with Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC). Students need it to write WASCE, JAMB, or register in any institution of higher learning. Refusal to acquire it is like imposing an economic boycott and ostracism from the society on oneself. All these are precursors to the Mark Of The Beast spoken about in Rev.13:16,17.
Artificial Intelligence
This is a fast developing field. It holds the future of the world. Elon Musk and Tesla have dazzled us with driverless cars. Nearly all the big tech corporations are developing theirs. Drones and robots are now commonplace in Europe, North America and China. In Malawi, a poor third world African country for instance, there is only one tertiary laboratory in Blantyre that serves the whole Nation. Samples are sent to it by drones from towns and rural areas, processed and the results returned by drones. This is wonderful. There is no need to duplicate laboratories all over the nation which will be a wastage of resources and manpower. Robots serve as servants in the homes of some tech gurus. Some men are tired of women and have replaced them with sexbots.
Swarming drones can be used in contact tracing and tracking, and targeted killings. Isreal has driverless tanks that run supplies to the war front and are used for surveillance. In the event of a major global war, nearly all the superpowers can field robotic soldiers. Soon robotic policemen will be in service in some major cities of the Globe. The future of warfare is in the field of robotics. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President said: “if my robots have defeated your robots, you have no choice but to surrender.” There are robotic soldiers. The greatest use of robots so far is in the manufacturing industry. In Germany for instance, some manufacturing processes are carried out entirely by robots. Some of these industries use public spaces during the day which at night serve as restaurants and pubs. Wonderful!
Biometric Implants And Transhumanism
We have talked about RFIDs. There are other biometric implants like nanobots(nanoparticles) and neural laces. These can be implanted in the blood vessels, the brain, and other parts of the body. Recently Elon Musk and his Nueralink wowed us with brain implant in a pig. Nanobots will certainly be implanted in the brain in the future to improve memory and augment brain capacity in various areas and treat dementia. Nanobots in blood vessels can cure disease and increase longevity and athletic performances. Neural lace implanted into the brain through neural mesh can turn the wearer into a Beethoven, or Mozart or Joseph Haiden, Pele, Usein Bolt etc depending on the purpose for which it is intended. Wearing nanobots in the brain linked to neocotices in the cloud can transform us into our own legal and medical advisors. There will be no need to memorize anything. One can access any information at an instance on the go without any resort to external aid like augmented reality headsets, smartphone, tablets, laptops, and desktops.
A person so transformed is no longer just human but transhuman or humanoid. He has become a cyborg. A cyborg will certainly be more productive. He is a hybrid human. He has been hybridized by technology. It will not be long before the superpowers will field supersoldiers and superpolicemen. Believers should not become hybrid humans or cyborgs. But that is where the world is headed. We cannot reverse it. No amount of prayer will achieve that feat. It can only temporarily delay it. It will be difficult for believers in Jesus the Messiah to function in the society at that time. Without transforming into a cyborg, one would become economically obsolescent. To avoid economic obsolescence, loss of job to robots, the majority of Earth’s inhabitants will become cyborgs, especially the younger generation. At the apogee of it all which the proponents like Raymond Kursweil call Singularity, men would merge with machines. Human-machine meld is antiGod.
Smart Cities Of The Future
Smart cities are going to spring up all over the world. All the houses in a smart city will be smart houses. Google is building one in Canada. China is constructing one. Very soon all nations will have have smart cities. One can count on the petrodollar. Wealthy Arab nations like UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, even a big nation like KSA will be transformed into one big smart city. To live in a smart city one has to be a cyborg. In smart cities, there will be minimal human contact. In a smart city, there will be no need for post office, markets or malls. Purchases will be made online, and customers will be supplied by drones or robots. Dispatch riders will not be needed. Their jobs will be taken over by robotic cars and machines. The city mall may not have human staff on duty. Human staff if any will be skeletal. Orders will be filled and supplied by robots. Most inhabitants of smart cities will work from their homes. Most staff of big corporations will operate from their home offices. Only the most senior staff will show up at the corporate headquarters from time to time. To a large extent, the corporate office may be manned by robots and a few skeletal staff.
Cyborgs And Transdentalism
Believers should not dream of living or working in smart cities and houses because one has to be hybridized to live in smart cities and houses of the future. The smart city dwellers will be cyborgs and believers should not become cyborgs because cyborgs are humanoids or transhumans.
God’s holiness is not attractive to the natural man. But man in his fallen state wants to live his life independent of God. As a matter of fact, man wants to be God to himself without overcoming sin. This is the goal of Singularity. Man wants to attain divinity through technological innovations. Any true believer in Jesus Christ who has read the works of Raymond Kursweil’s Singularity Is Near or Noah Yuval Hariri’s book, Homo Deus, will see that. What these men are advocating is not pure Science; it is a combination of science and human-demon interface through the pseudoscience of Artificial Intelligence. I write this little section with some degree of reservation because I know there are believers who do not share my view. Indeed some will call for my head because to them AI is pure Science. But these believers are not AI programmers neither have they really studied the works of those who are at the cutting edge of AI development. The men who are at the cutting edge of AI innovations say they do not know what it is. Elon Musk has warned that “by AI we are summoning the demon.” What does he mean by that? Some have had gory experiences with Google Alexa. Through AI men interface with demons. The algorithms in the net that run AI are subject to demonic manipulations. Why do AI programmers use terms and phrase like, summoning, daemon, and fuzzy logic? When they want to begin to write an AI programme, they say, “let us go summoning.” Elon Musk has warned: “by AI we are summoning the demon.”
Man wants to live for ever in this sin-laden death-doomed body of ours. Man wants to live for ever without overcoming sin. It was this suggestion from the serpent that attracted Eve to taste the forbidden fruit. The KJV translation is not accurate here. The Hebrew word rendered gods is “elohim.” It is no doubt plural. But what is implied here is the plurality of Majesty not the plurality of numbers. It is GOD that is implied not the fallen angelic beings who are the gods of the nations that men worship. Eve did not desire to be like the fallen angels but GOD.
Satan pursued this goal in Gen.6. He tried to hybridize man through fallen angel and human female intermarriage which produced the “nephilim.” God wiped out the predeluvian earth-dwellers sparing only Noah and his family because they were the only pure humans. In this day and age, Satan is using a multipronged approach. Transdentalism can be achieved through technological means like gene alteration through gene sequencing and slicing, incorporating animal and plant genes into the human genome, immunization with mRNA and rDNA vaccines and by transforming humans into cyborgs. The human female and fallen angelic intermarriage is still ongoing. Not everyone we see on Earth is a pure human being. There are demonized humans and humanized demons and hybrid humans. Believers should follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in their choice of life partners because not everyone we see is a pure human. If we marry humanoids, our offspring will be humanoids. No humanoid will enter Heaven. Humanoids cannot be saved.
Concluding Remarks
Recently a brother posted a video on our WhatsApp platform in which a drone made a delivery of a carton of indomie to a customer. The customer spoke to the drone to drop the carton on a table. It did. He further said he wanted to make payment. The drone whipped out a POS from underneath it. The customer paid with ATM debit card and immediately the alert dropped in his phone. His account has been debited. The transaction was complete and over. What we saw in that video was a tip of the iceberg. When fully developed, there will be no need for debit card nor conversation with the delivery drone. Purchase will be made online using one’s security number, RFID of sorts(mark of the Beast), and delivery will be made by drones or robots at one’s residence or designated spot. Once purchase is made, the drone or robot will use Google maps to plot out the coordinates of the location. The Big Brother’s giant computer is looking at one while he or she places the order. With 5G, 6G etc, there will be nothing hidden from the prying eyes of the antiMessiah. These are part of the technological developments that inform us of the nearness of His Coming.
With nanobots in the brain interfacing with neocortices in the cloud we could become our own Beethovens and Mozarts, and legal experts etc. Life will be more wonderful. There will be no need for international passports to travel. Applications for visas will be made online and approved online or else approved at the port of entry; infact, the bearer of the mark of the Beast is a global citizen and is no longer subject to these scrutinies and formalities.
There will be fewer students on campuses as many courses will be offered online. Students will have more time to study and work at the same time. The economy will be booming. For those who are sucked in by the lies of the antiChrist, it would be as though Heaven has come down on Earth. It will be easy to market oneself and products on the net. Buyers can come from anywhere in the world. A produce from Iperu, a remote village in Ogun State, Nigeria, can be sold to the highest bidder in China, India, Russia, Russia, Britain, Canada, USA, KSA, SA etc.
It will be extremely difficult to give up these allurements especially for the younger generations. That is why it is very dangerous to tell people they will not go through the Great Tribulation. We must begin now to prepare our hearts for martyrdom, and more so the younger generations. Can you Imagine leaving these allurements of modern technology to live off the land in the bush or forest or desert? Those whose hearts have not been prepared ahead of time will not be able to resist the allurements and adapt to the new lifestyle of becoming a scavenger in man’s economy in the big cities as Dr. Jaiye puts it or a sedentary life in the forest or wilderness. The opposite will be hardship and death. That is why family members will betray one another, even some brethren will betray one another. “Because iniquity shall abound, the love many shall wax cold.”(Matt.24:12).
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”(Matthew 24:9-13 KJV).
What will cause the father to betray the son to death and vice versa? What will cause the mother to betray the daughter or daughter-in-law to death and vice versa?
“And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.”(Luke 21:16 KJV).
“And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.”(Matthew 10:21-23 KJV).
The world is fast approaching cashlessness and digital identity and reprogramming human beings to become cyborgs. They will urge us to become cyborgs to avoid economic obsolescence. What will happen to our children in higher institutions if they fail to upgrade to Homo Deus and wear nanobots and neural laces in the brain? Very soon, it will be as though everything going in the world is against the believer, and indeed will be against the believer. Our sole comfort will be in the Scriptures. Time is short, and He has promised He will never leave us nor forsake us(Heb.13:5). He has promised to be with us till the end of the ages(Matt.28:20).
The Igbos have a saying that “that which can bite the dog to death can really bite.” The situation will be horrible and scary no matter how one looks at it.
There is no doubt that some jobs may be taken over by robots and cyborgs. Some new jobs will also be created. These new jobs will no doubt be reserved for highly skilled workers. Some would have to retrain themselves to acquire new skills in order to be economically viable and relevant. The danger for the believers lies in the fact that those who submit themselves to be implanted with chips so as to remain economically relevant shall have been surreptitiously reprogrammed into humanoids. Cyborgs are humanoids or transhumans. Humans so altered either by genetic manipulation through gene slicing and sequencing and immunisation or by interfacing with machine via AI are unacceptable to God. Hard economic times lie ahead of the believer who would strive to remain pure and unblemished by the world. Difficult choices would have to made. For example, one may have to opt out of the work force or educational system to remain faithful to Christ. Believers would have to be well educated/informed/sensitized in the intricacies of the End Times in order to make the right choices. Retrogression or reversal, if you would like, to subsistence existence is a cardinal principle.
One of the motivations for us to remain pure and unblemished is that the trial is for a short time, transitory. Soon it will be over and the Lord shall appear in the Heavens with His mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God nor obey the gospel of our Jesus The Christ(2 Thess.1:6-10).
A dear brother in his sixties(last quartile of his bios according to him) has decided he will not obtain NIN. That means he will not renew his international passport, driver’s license, nor open a new bank account nor register a new business venture with CAC not travel out of the country. However, the hardship associated with opting out now before NIN will be required by law to be implanted under the skin(hypodermically or subdermally) will be harder and longer. Whoever makes this decision should be aware of that. In my opinion, it is extraordinarily cautious but unnecessary for many who have not the resources to go through the longer period of hardship of self-imposed economic boycott and ostracism.
Brethren, this is our brother’s personal choice. We are by no means advocating it for every believer: I do not think he is advising his sons to do so now. We are not telling believers not to have NIN. I have NIN. We are rather telling them to reject it and any other when it is to be implanted in any part of their body: right hand, left hand or forehead. The game is up. God commanded the children of Israel not to put any marks on their persons as their heathen neighbors did because these marks indicate ownership. And the children of Israel belonged to the God of Israel not to the gods or idols of the nations that the heathens worship.
“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. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”Rev.13:16-18 KJV).
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”(Rev.14:9-12 KJV).
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”(Rev.20:4 KJV).
We have seen the reason(s) our brother has given. Whoever makes this choice will suffer a longer period of economic boycott and hardship. If you do not have the resources for the long haul, do not go for it. I do not think this is a light decision for anyone at all let alone the younger generation. If you decide to make this choice, make sure you are fully aware of the implications, persuaded and prepared for the attendant longer period of hardship and economic boycott and ostracism.
For the purpose of clarity, I would like to throw more light on this issue. NIN is needed for anyone to do the following: acquire driver’s licence; acquire international passport; register for and write School Certificate Examinations or General Certificate Of Education; register and write JME; register in any institutions of Higher learning like universities and polytechnics etc; register any setup with CAC(Corporate Affairs Commission); Get a new bank account etc. In the light of all these, anyone who wants to do any of these will have to acquire NIN. NIN in its present form is not the Mark Of The Beast. Besides, there is no order to have it implanted in any part of the body. The plastic NIN is no longer valid.
The plan of the present Administration in Nigeria is for every Nigerian to have a digital Identity for the purpose of financial inclusion. This is actually a UN directive. See Dr. Jaiye’s article on this and the speech by the Vice President on the plan of the government to give every Nigerian a digital ID for the purpose of financial inclusion postCovid. Anyone, especially of the younger generations who declines to acquire NIN or the new digital ID would voluntarily have ostracised oneself from the society and would suffer the consequences of economic boycott. The one will not be able to go to school, drive a car, travel abroad or own a bank account or register an NGO etc. The one has condemned oneself to a life of subsistent existence. Some private employers may also require NIN and TIN(Tax Identification Number). This age is the digital age. Our generation is preoccupied with numbers. We cannot do anything without numbers: telephone numbers, bank account numbers, NIN, BVN(Bank Verification Number), TIN(Tax Identification Number), international passport numbers, driver’s license numbers etc.
These are our citizenship rights and privileges. Time comes when believers will have to give up all these citizenship rights, privileges, and benefits because one would have given up one’s citizenship by refusal to be reprogrammed into cyborgs or humanoids or to bear the Mark Of The Beast as the case maybe. For one to begin now, especially the youth is in my reasoned and informed opinion to impose on oneself an unnecessarily longer period of hardship, economic boycott and ostracism. I think it is far better to be observers of the times and seasons in the light of the Scriptures in order that we might know when to opt of the society without imposing on ourselves harder and longer period of economic hardship and deprivation.
Avraham Shallom.
References
(1) https://mtzionheritageministries.com/2020/08/16/satans-number-is-up-2/.
Mt Zion Heritage Ministries 