technology and the end times

[BlaznFattyz]

when the second coming of christ happens all will see his glory as he comes down in the clouds. when the two witnesses appear all will see and hear them. when the antichrist makes all take the mark maybe it is RFID (radio frequency identification). cashless society where none can buy or sell unless they have the mark, think implanted credit cards. satellite tracking and broadcasting of television. countries dependant on oil and imports, think computers and telephones on wallstreet, etc. is there much else that needs to happen for the end time to come as far as technology is concerned? and do you think the invention of computers, tv, and radio is around because god allowed us to discover for these reasons?

 

[wil]

In the US the advent of the social security number was hailed as an indication. To me those that wish to will and have seen and decried the end of times with every single advancement in society and technology.

It all gets pretty tiring...As Janis Joplin says, 'There is no tomorrow', similar to the sign behind the bar 'Free beer tomorrow'.

Live your life as you see fit...and live it today. Love today, not because tomorrow may not be...but because it is now.

Of course I would think one whose monikor is BlaznFattyz is already living for today...and find that name quite in variance of many posts...

but that is just me....

 

[Prober]

In Revelation it talks about the assistant of the antichrist being able make the appearance of fire coming down from heaven.

Space-based missile defense system?

 

[BlaznFattyz]

In Revelation it talks about the assistant of the antichrist being able make the appearance of fire coming down from heaven.

Space-based missile defense system?

well, the prophets of old by the power of god brought fire down from heaven, so i dont think that would classify as technology-dependent.

 

[Quahom1]

when the second coming of christ happens all will see his glory as he comes down in the clouds. when the two witnesses appear all will see and hear them. when the antichrist makes all take the mark maybe it is RFID (radio frequency identification). cashless society where none can buy or sell unless they have the mark, think implanted credit cards. satellite tracking and broadcasting of television. countries dependant on oil and imports, think computers and telephones on wallstreet, etc. is there much else that needs to happen for the end time to come as far as technology is concerned? and do you think the invention of computers, tv, and radio is around because god allowed us to discover for these reasons?

Then there will be those that head for the hills, and each will have a talent the other lacks. Barter will be the money of the day. Old ways will become new ways again. Neighbor will depend on neighbor.

 

[Saltmeister]

when the second coming of christ happens all will see his glory as he comes down in the clouds. when the two witnesses appear all will see and hear them. when the antichrist makes all take the mark maybe it is RFID (radio frequency identification). cashless society where none can buy or sell unless they have the mark, think implanted credit cards. satellite tracking and broadcasting of television. countries dependant on oil and imports, think computers and telephones on wallstreet, etc. is there much else that needs to happen for the end time to come as far as technology is concerned? and do you think the invention of computers, tv, and radio is around because god allowed us to discover for these reasons?

I think there'd be a lot more that the Antichrist would need to do to suddenly take control of the world. The nature of present-day computer systems wouldn't permit an Antichrist to swiftly take control of the world. Computers currently used have different software and hardware architectures. There are no consistent global standards. There is also encryption, access codes, passwords and firewalls to deal with.

The Antichrist would have to take control from the inside, from the very top of nations' military-political power structures. That is how you would gain control of an entire country's resources, without fear of the operation being foiled.

But one man isn't enough. The Antichrist needs followers. This means that a sudden, world-wide takeover isn't possible if the Antichrist doesn't have agents infiltrating governments all over the world. You see, it's not computers and technology that will make the prophecies in Revelation come true. It will always involve people.

This Antichrist could well have an Underground Secret Society to catapult himself into power. At a predetermined time, the agents that have infiltrated governments all over the world will execute a plan formulated long ago, or communicate with each other via encrypted channels and secretly launch their coup de'tat.

Yes, coup de'tat's and power struggles. Sudden overthrow of a government by swift maneuvers. Sounds exciting eh? It's the kind of conspiracy theory I like thinking about. You're probably going to tell me that I'm insane and that I've got a sick mind. Gotta love it.

But he also will be sneaky. He won't take over all governments at the same time. It will happen a piece at a time. Bit by bit, agents loyal to the Antichrist will rise to prominent positions in world governments and start to influence world affairs in favour of his rise to power. Soon his ascension will be inevitable. Nobody could possibly anticipate or expect such a leader to rise to power because the movements are hidden. The people who make it happen belong to a Secret Society.

Moreover, they can't reverse the Antichrist's rise to power because once agents have risen to prominent positions in government, there will be practically nobody to stop him because all the people in the top places are working for him. That puts him firmly in power and makes him practically unvulnerable from a political perspective. Nobody has the authority to remove him from power.

If we were ever to prevent it from happening, we'd have to detect this Secret Network of agents that the Antichrist will use to set himself up and stay in control.

But if you were to ask me, I don't anticipate it happening in the next 5 or 10 years. Considering today's politics, we've still got a long way to go from a world-wide government. Consider the number of things you'd have to do to size power over the whole world. It can't happen today, maybe not even in the next 20-40 years. Ok, I'm no prophet. Don't take my word for it. Just saying it's not likely in the next 20-40 years.

 

[Faithfulservant]

It will take a global crisis for the world to accept the antichrist as a ruler... biblically its there.. there will be a global crisis.. whether its nuclear or the rapture.. the world will be rocked by tragedy and the anti christ will seem to be a savior with all the answers. I wont be here but its interesting to speculate how it will happen and we are closer now than ever before.

 

[BlaznFattyz]

 

[BlaznFattyz]

so lets say if the christian church was raptured today, would the world's technology be in place to handle this event? and how do you think it would react?

 

[Quahom1]

I think there'd be a lot more that the Antichrist would need to do to suddenly take control of the world. The nature of present-day computer systems wouldn't permit an Antichrist to swiftly take control of the world. Computers currently used have different software and hardware architectures. There are no consistent global standards. There is also encryption, access codes, passwords and firewalls to deal with.

The Antichrist would have to take control from the inside, from the very top of nations' military-political power structures. That is how you would gain control of an entire country's resources, without fear of the operation being foiled.

But one man isn't enough. The Antichrist needs followers. This means that a sudden, world-wide takeover isn't possible if the Antichrist doesn't have agents infiltrating governments all over the world. You see, it's not computers and technology that will make the prophecies in Revelation come true. It will always involve people.

This Antichrist could well have an Underground Secret Society to catapult himself into power. At a predetermined time, the agents that have infiltrated governments all over the world will execute a plan formulated long ago, or communicate with each other via encrypted channels and secretly launch their coup de'tat.

Yes, coup de'tat's and power struggles. Sudden overthrow of a government by swift maneuvers. Sounds exciting eh? It's the kind of conspiracy theory I like thinking about. You're probably going to tell me that I'm insane and that I've got a sick mind. Gotta love it.

But he also will be sneaky. He won't take over all governments at the same time. It will happen a piece at a time. Bit by bit, agents loyal to the Antichrist will rise to prominent positions in world governments and start to influence world affairs in favour of his rise to power. Soon his ascension will be inevitable. Nobody could possibly anticipate or expect such a leader to rise to power because the movements are hidden. The people who make it happen belong to a Secret Society.

Moreover, they can't reverse the Antichrist's rise to power because once agents have risen to prominent positions in government, there will be practically nobody to stop him because all the people in the top places are working for him. That puts him firmly in power and makes him practically unvulnerable from a political perspective. Nobody has the authority to remove him from power.

If we were ever to prevent it from happening, we'd have to detect this Secret Network of agents that the Antichrist will use to set himself up and stay in control.

But if you were to ask me, I don't anticipate it happening in the next 5 or 10 years. Considering today's politics, we've still got a long way to go from a world-wide government. Consider the number of things you'd have to do to size power over the whole world. It can't happen today, maybe not even in the next 20-40 years. Ok, I'm no prophet. Don't take my word for it. Just saying it's not likely in the next 20-40 years.

Lol, Hitler didn't have computers...nor was he subtle.

 

[flowperson]

Hmmmm...well those who do not know a lot about technology should not speculate on its effects which might contribute to the ending of the world unless they take the time to educate themselves on the issues. Aside from the obvious threats of nuclear weapons and zero-point energy manipulation, IMO, biotechnology and nanotechnology are the biggest concerns that might bring about a world ending scenario.

Here's a little news item to whet your appetities.

flow....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/world/19annan.html

 

[Saltmeister]

Lol, Hitler didn't have computers...nor was he subtle.

But there was no "Hitler" before the Hitler we know.

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, but we haven't exactly forgotten history have we?

Hitler was a figure who reigned in a time when the world was naive about leaders such as himself.

But the world has learnt its lesson. Don't let leaders like Hitler, Stalin or Pol Pot take over your country.

If there was a nuclear war things might be different . . .

 

[Faithfulservant]

so lets say if the christian church was raptured today, would the world's technology be in place to handle this event? and how do you think it would react?

I think it would be looking for someone to handle it... someone to take control.. I think it will happen quickly because everytime there is a crisis you get the anarchy mentality... remember New Orleans and you had the looting and violence..I think that will happen for sure.. then there will probably be marshal law established until someone steps up to the plate. As far as technology... its certainly ready.. all we have to do is read the news. I think the technology has been ready for at least a decade or more. The US gov't have been talking about the New World order since the Bush/Clinton presidential debate.

 

[Thomas]

All the antichrist has to do is convince us we can determine for ourselves who God is, and what God wants, and that no-one has the right to say otherwise.

It's called divide and conquer.

While that's going on, we can have all the technology we want.

One can view the anti-Christ as being opposite to what Christ is ... so if Christ is One, then the antichrist will be many ... and if we are all 'one in Him', then under the antichrist we are all alone ... separate ... isolated ... 'my name is legion' ...

In my view, a world under the antichirst would be a culture frightened to step outdoors, 'comfortably numb' with a technology that means they don't have to speak or deal with anyone else directly ... where you wouldn't even know who your neighbour is, let alone love him ... technology rich, but time poor ... always on the move, never a moments rest ... where we can escape even having to face ourselves by going to the gym, to the therapist, to the cosmetic surgeon ...

just some idle thoughts...

Thomas

 

[flowperson]

Thomas:
I thoroughly agree with most of your idle thoughts, especially your last paragraph, but I disagree that the adoption of technologies is automatically some sort of sign that the anti-christ is operating through them. Technologies are dual use creations used by civilizations. They may be used for ultimately bad ends, or directed towards the improvement of civilizations in general. This has been the case for thousands of years now, and the system as it is works fairly well IMO, or we wouldn't be conversing in a civil manner over thousands of miles through wires and air.

But there are larger changes already underway as I detailed above when I posted the article on Mr. Annan's speech. There are predominantly more good beings than bad beings, so we all move sideways and forward most of the time and not backwards. The thing that will be different in the future is that much more powerful life destroying technologies will increasingly be held in the hands of fewer and fewer people and organizations, rendering the balancing system in place for the creation, use, and improvement of technologies less effective in curbing technology's use to harm life.

The growing evidence of "class warfare" in western societies points to such an imbalance in the future, hence our current obsessions with security. This seems to be where the "legions" are going in their pursuit of the degradation of just societies through their use of technologies.

flow....

 

[Thomas]

Hi Flow –
I disagree that the adoption of technologies is automatically some sort of sign that the anti-christ is operating through them.

It's not a case of automatically evil, it's rather a sounding that technology is not automatically good. We need to keep an eye open, that's all I was offering by another view...

As Rene Guenon said, it is 'a sign of the times'.

BTW – I agree with the rest of your post. It seems who will control the water supply will be the next big thing.

Thomas

 

[flowperson]

This popped-up on the NYTimes site today, and I thought it apropos to the battles that are raging elsewhere as we trade posts. Obviously the issues won't be solved by others reading what we write, but by which faction in this piles up the most dead bodies (figuratively) in the end. But isn't that how it's always been ? Thomas...BTW, I believe that we tend to agree more than we disagree.

flow....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/21/science/21belief.html?8dpc=&_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all

 

[JosephM]

Perhaps technology is less important a factor in end times as the identification of the beast which I find exposed by the Bible quite well here:

L. Ray Smith - THE LAKE OF FIRE - Part 13

If one follows it all the way through, it is obvious his conclusion is highly in accordance with Biblical writings. Technology is only secondary and not as important as the identification exposed.

Love in Christ,
JM

 

[Saltmeister]

Thomas:
I thoroughly agree with most of your idle thoughts, especially your last paragraph, but I disagree that the adoption of technologies is automatically some sort of sign that the anti-christ is operating through them. Technologies are dual use creations used by civilizations. They may be used for ultimately bad ends, or directed towards the improvement of civilizations in general. This has been the case for thousands of years now, and the system as it is works fairly well IMO, or we wouldn't be conversing in a civil manner over thousands of miles through wires and air.

It's not a case of automatically evil, it's rather a sounding that technology is not automatically good. We need to keep an eye open, that's all I was offering by another view...

I technology is just a stepping stone. Control of a country's resources, industries and military can be made more efficient through technology. But the Antichrist will sure need people who will work for him. Technology by itself does not create evil. It's how it's used. His followers will have an ideology.

What I think would make the forces of the Antichrist "evil" is not the fact that they use technology, but that they will use whatever means is possible in their present reality to take control over a country or nation. In other words it's the methods they use. The point is that he will seize power (coup de'tat) and stay in control. Another thing that will make it "evil" is how he takes power illegally, dishonourably and how he proceeds to change our government for diabolical and malevolent ends.

When Antiochus IV of the Seleucid Empire took control, he didn't have machine guns and nuclear bombs. Yet, he's seen as a prototype for Antichrist because of the methods he used to take power and stay in power. Antiochus IV desecrating the Jewish Temple was another thing. He knew how to make himself public enemy number one. Getting the Jewish people to worship his gods was another thing. It was as if the Jewish people lost face. Allowing Antiochus to desecrate the Temple was a loss of honour for the Jewish people. Imagine if someone went into the White House and burned the documents of the American Constitution. Allowing people to be deceived into worshipping his gods was another thing. Gods and ideologies are the tools for gaining control of a country by getting people to align themselves to concepts that favour your agenda.

I don't think technology is the most important thing about the Antichrist. It's about politics. It's about conspiracies, deception, changing the laws of a country for the worst, making yourself public enemy number one, etc. He violates the rules of engagement. Attacks armies without a declaration of war. Infiltrates enemy governments with his agents. Violates international treaties. Assassinates people. Tortures people. Burns books. Distorts history.

Being Antichrist will probably be about using the most underhanded methods you can possibly imagine. Add to that some brainwashing, mind control and you have a cult. It's not technology that will make him powerful. It will be his willingness to lie and deceive, and to sacrifice the lives millions of people in the armies he'll use to seize power and stay in power. It may come in the form of mass brainwashing and indoctrination, culturally and politically. In the days of Antiochus IV there were gods. In today's world, people are driven by ideology. Ideologies are the gods of today's world.

Much more powerful life destroying technologies will increasingly be held in the hands of fewer and fewer people and organizations, rendering the balancing system in place for the creation, use, and improvement of technologies less effective in curbing technology's use to harm life.

So . . . is that bad in your opinion?

 

[flowperson]

Saltmeister:

Based upon the two previous paragraphs that you wrote before your statement about the rightness or wrongness of the secret and limited holding of life-threatening technologies by the few, yes. The fewer there are in a power structure with such control and knowledge, IMO, the greater the possibility for ultimate disasters to happen. There are simply fewer people to turn and corrupt who have the authority to enable such disasters to happen. If you haven't watched it for a while, get a copy of Dr. Strangelove and watch it a few times.

The concept of western democracy is that the PEOPLE are to have ultimate oversight over such things, but these days that is effectively not happening...mostly because if we really knew the secret stuff...we would all be scared witless much of the time. I don't know what the answers are to this dilemma, but it is clear that current policies aren't working very well. That's part of the reason why the people spoke so clearly in the last election.

flow....