“Many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many.”(Mark 13:6)

One of our ministry staff recently met with an executive from Google, who happened to be Jewish but not familiar with either the Tanakh (old Testament) or the Brit Chadashah (New Testament).

As the Google executive spoke about artificial intelligence (AI) and how it is being programmed into every industry, such as robots and cars, he also described how AI is evolving and how the government is monitoring and controlling people through technology today.

It sounded like he was describing words right out of the Book of Revelation.

What he explained is already in development at Google and through ventures like The 2045 Initiative, which was started and funded in 2011 by a Russian billionaire.

For many years, however, scientists and very wealthy people have been diligently working on similar projects around the world that integrate technology with our human bodies.

In the last phase of the 2045 Initiative, nano-technology will be interwoven into our brains to bring us cybernetic immortality and what some are calling “spiritual self-improvement.”

The 2045 Initiative video below is a glimpse of future technology being developed now, and how robots and artificial intelligence will play a part in controlling society.

The technologies in this video above might seem far-fetched, but let’s not forget that not too long ago, science fiction movies portrayed “far-fetched” technologies that are in use today.

Remember the Jetsons cartoon characters with their self-flying taxis?  Uber has developed their own Uber Air taxi service, which they plan to operate on a limited scale in just two years — 2020.

The futuristic technology of cryogenic freezing in the Tom Cruise movie Vanilla Sky (2001) is now available.

Also in Cruises’ 2002 movie Minority Report, the technologies of driverless cars, personal billboards now being produced by IBM, as well as streaming services (that resemble Twitter), and home automation like Amazon Echo to control your home — were all in the movie.

And do you remember Dick Tracy?  Since 1946 (over 70 years ago), he has been making phone calls with his watch.  You can do that today with the Apple and Android watches.

When we saw these movies and cartoons, we could never imagine them being part of our lives; it was just science fiction.  But here we are today and these are just “normal” things!

In 1972 (almost 50 years ago), Mark IV Pictures, a Christian film company, began producing a series of movies, the first one was titled A Thief in the Night, about the end times based on the Book of Revelation.

In these “old” movies, a one-world government takes over society.

In that new-world order, the government can listen to all of our phone calls, while placing transmitters on each person to keep track of them.  This government demanded total loyalty and obedience.  Believers who resisted were put in prison and even killed when they did not give up their faith in Yeshua (Jesus).

The Open Doors organization says that 1 in 12 Christians worldwide is currently persecuted for their faith, with 255 a month being killed.

Today, dozens of companies such as Google and Facebook are tracking where we are right now because we have given them access through the location tracking options on our cell phones, computers, and tablet devices.  Even the location of new cars are being tracked.

The next time you drive, look up and you may see cameras on street corners and highways that watch us.  And anyone with the skill to do so can hack into the microphones in our TV monitors, laptops, and internet-connected home technology products to potentially listen to our private conversations.  The government certainly can do so.

The Google executive said that obtaining data is the key; it will be used to modify individual behavior as we head into a cashless society, with cryptocurrencies becoming commonplace.

Every day, more and more consumer brand companies are accepting Bitcoin.

It’s also not so far-fetched to imagine a life-like being — an anti-Christ — being in charge of it all as described in the book of Revelation.  In the future, that being just might be an avatar controlled by Satan.

The title of Antichrist causes many people to believe that it belongs to a person.

We cannot know for sure if it will be one person guided by Satan or perhaps Satan himself in the flesh, or a spirit that embodies many people, including a single leader.

For instance, some Rabbis believe that the little horn in Daniel represents Islam; others believe it is a person.

Nevertheless, whether the Antichrist (meaning the opposite of Christ/Messiah) will be a literal human being who is Satan himself or directed by Satan as a spirit of deception, it will turn people away from worshiping and trusting in the One, True God.

Therefore, we must be aware of the signs of its arrival.

The Google executive said that people are “unaware that they are being controlled today by technology.”

He explained that Google’s Waymo self-driving car, which now operates in parts of the US will become standard as Google along with all the major car companies want to replace the cars we drive today with a driverless system within the next 5 years.  

Uber and other companies have also entered this driverless market.

He said that society is like a “frog that has been put in boiling water.”  It just sits in the water and before it knows that it’s being cooked, it’s too late.

This Jewish Google executive who does not know the Bible alluded to the events in the Book of Revelation chapter 13 when “the beast” gains control of the nations for 3 1/2 years.  The technology to do so has already begun through the mining of our personal data.  Sadly, the millennial generation is being raised to accept our data-driven world as a normal way of life, without any concerns.

“It’s scary,” he said.

Let’s now take a closer look at how this is happening and its connection to the Book of Revelation.

The Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation after receiving a personal vision from the Lord.

His vision is consistent with end-time prophecies in the books of the prophets Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel.

Believers need to read and understand this last book of the New Testament so that they will not be deceived into following the plans of a counterfeit god, an anti-Messiah, whose goal is to destroy our souls.

That is why God promises a blessing for reading this book:

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)

Let’s see how technology will allow the anti-Messiah to deceive and control the nations.

Integrating Technology into Humanity

Elon Musk, who founded SpaceX rocket company and Tesla Cars, sounded an alarm that robots which are now programmed with Artificial Intelligence (AI) could take over the world.

For instance, each year Boston Dynamics releases new videos of the progress of their robots.  This company was previously owned by Google.

Watch how these robots with artificial intelligence could one day become an army controlling our human populations.

And to substantiate what was envisioned in the 2045 Initiative video (at the top of this article) about integrating our human bodies with technology . . . well, it is being developed faster than the Russian billionaire originally estimated.

Hugh Herr, professor and head of the Biomechatronics Research Group at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Media Lab lost both of his legs due to frostbite in a climbing accident.

He and his team created bionic (robotic) feet and limbs that mimic human feet and limbs.  He can walk and run just by thinking that he wants to walk and run. That’s a magnificent application for this technology.

However, that’s only the beginning.

“The electrical interfacing between humans and machines is exciting.

“We can achieve neurological embodiment where the technology and machine becomes one with the person,” he went on to say.

“This technology is not just for amputees, it can be used by everyone.

“In the future, each human being will have a choice of many bionic interventions they can apply to enhance their cognition, emotions, and physical experience,” the Professor said.

Integrating Humanity into Avatars

In Revelation chapter 13, we are given very specific signs to help us identify the counterfeit god, the Anti-Messiah.  For instance, he will blaspheme the God of Israel, and the world will believe that he is the true God.

One of the reasons people will believe in this counterfeit is that, amazingly, a mortal wound will be healed and an image of this “god” will come alive (Revelation 13:14).  How can this be done?

One way is through an avatar.

Today in the Western world, avatars are simply illustrations we use on websites instead of images of ourselves.  Or they can be 3D characters that we control in video games.

The avatar that is in development today, however, will be a life-like synthetic human that carries the brain function, consciousness, and personality of a real person.  How is this possible?

Just as prosthetics can replace body parts, brain parts are already being reproduced.

For example, the hippocampus in our brain, which controls learning and creates memory has recently been emulated in rats by Dr. Theodore Berger at the University of Southern California.  

He is looking forward to the day when he will develop and transport his own brain into an avatar so that he can help create solutions on how to become a better human being, in light of long-term evolution. 

Trials of the prosthetic hippocampus in humans will likely result in medical devices implanted in brains that will bypass damaged areas of the hippocampus or simply enhance human memory.

That’s the short-term, beneficial use.

The long-term application, however, is that eventually every part of the brain will be emulated and scientists will learn how to connect these parts to each other.

Then, an entire brain can be transferred into a non-human carrier, like the avatar.

Here are the proposed stages of this avatar development for the 2045 Initiative.

In Japan, scientists are creating humanoids (robots that look and act like humans) to integrate with society.  

The Japanese population of Believers (Christians) is only about 1%,  Much of the nation, alternatively, embraces animism.

Animism in Japanese culture is the belief that inanimate objects possess a spirit. So, the people are open to experimenting with “new life forms” to meet their social and economic needs, like these robots that could become avatars that carry human concsiousness.

Watch this CBS News report from Japan:

Taking the Mark

In the Book of Revelation, it says that after seeing and hearing incredible “signs and wonders,” like fire coming down from heaven, the people will marvel at, follow, and worship the counterfeit god.

These followers will take a mark on their right hand (yad in Hebrew) or forehead with the “false god’s” own name.

Though the Book of Revelation was written in Greek, its author John had a Hebrew mindset.  The Hebrew word yad, can mean hand or forearm.

In Revelation 13:17, it says, “Those who don’t place the mark on themselves will not be able to buy or sell.”

How Will People Take the Mark?

The “mark” could be something as simple as a tattoo, but let’s consider how people will be prevented from buying and selling.

The average tattoo is not able to do anything except serve as a mark of some sort.

Another kind of tattoo, however, is already in production to be both a mark and a gateway to the marketplace, such as the DuoSkin tattoo in the image above.

About 12% of Americans are already wearing technology, such as wristbands to monitor their heart rate and other medical issues, why not wearable tattoos? (Business Insider)

Remember, as the Google executive said to one of our ministry staff: people today are like a frog that is being boiled.  They won’t understand until it is too late.

In addition, thousands of microchips have been implanted in people around the world for doing tasks as simple as swiping the password on their workplace photocopy machine or entering a sporting arena without tickets.

Between now and 2025, forecasters project $15 trillion will be spent to develop ways to connect things to the internet so they can be monitored and controlled.

For instance, the Tesla car does not need to come into a dealer to get a checkup.  It can stay in your garage while the service technician monitors the car’s health, diagnoses issues, and upgrades its software from the comfort of his or her own office computer.

That kind of technology is called the Internet of Things (IoT), where anything can transmit data and/or be controlled through the internet.

Now, imagine yourself being monitored, diagnosed, and updated through the technology in you.

By the year 2025, it is forecasted that there will be more than 55 billion IoT devices placed on and in things like cars, appliances, clothes, and most importantly, people to make life “easier” and “more efficient.”  (Business Insider)

As the Apostle John wrote, “This calls for wisdom.”  (Revelation 13:18)

Experts in the data industry are debating how the data collected from these devices should be shared, since the knowledge about people can be used for either good or evil.

Spirit-filled, mature Believers have the wisdom to help influence that discussion.

As Believers, we need to ask God for divine wisdom as technology advances so that we remain faithful witnesses to Yeshua (Jesus) by refusing to worship the beast and his image, whatever form that takes.

These overcomers are, His called, chosen and faithful followers of the Lamb of God who is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings (Revelation 17:14).

Here are the consequences to those who follow the beast:

“If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury.

“They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.  And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever.”  (Revelation 14:9–11)

Preparing to Say No to the Beast

“Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (Revelation 14:7)

God Himself tells us how to prepare spiritually for the persecution that will come upon Believers who decide to only worship the one True God:  have patient endurance, keep His commands, and remain faithful to Yeshua (Revelation 14:12).

With His Spirit in us, we can overcome the pressure to worship the counterfeit God and enter the Presence of our Father, our King forever.

We are near the time of decision, when each person will clearly need to make a decision between following the true God or the counterfeit god of this world.

The consequence for choosing the counterfeit is tragic:

“If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.

“They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.  And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”  (Revelation 14:9-11)

Let us not be deceived into this tragic ending but be wise and remain faithful to our Father in Heaven and Messiah Yeshua, forever.

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”  (Philippians 4:13)