However, not everyone is looking at this situation from the same perspective. There are those who are enmeshed and readily accept the conveniences of technology and artificial intelligence in our everyday life -- after all, it is nearly impossible to escape it. Alexis and Siri offer helpful suggestions, and nanotech is becoming a pervasive element in our lives. Have you considered the ramifications of the following nanotechnology: that nanoparticles in pharmaceutical products improve their absorption within the body and make them easier to deliver [insert]; that most sunscreens today are made from nanoparticles that effectively absorb light (see this post on how AI can bend light in our bodies); or that thanks to nanotechnology, a huge variety of chemical sensors can be programmed to detect a particular chemical at amazingly low levels? This capability is ideal for surveillance and security systems at labs, industrial sites, and airports ... and more. Think it might be useful for the "Beast System"?
Then there are Christians who are either so convinced that nothing will harm them because Jesus is going to whisk them away before "the bad stuff happens", so they're just going to remain "of the world" with all it has to offer -- or the Christians who are so certain that we are on the doorstep of the Apocalypse that they don't ever accomplish anything for the Kingdom. And neither are much good at "occupying" until our Lord returns.
So, now I would like to get to the point of this article. I do not wake up each morning wondering if this is the day that the Antichrist will show up, but I am alert to the indicators in our world that point to increasing lawlessness and a disregard for God's laws. You see, I am a follower of Christ who knows that my God is a God of order and He expects us to be obedient to His statutes and commandments. My God is the same God who is revealed in the Bible -- the whole Bible. So as I read the accounts of the ancient kings and kingdoms, and how God instructed them, I know that those same laws/commands/statutes/rules apply to modern kings and kingdoms. Our God is immutable; never-changing. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And I know that just as some of the greatest kings of history fell away in disobedience to God and fell from positions of power, the same thing can happen today. Furthermore, it is incumbent upon me as an Ambassador of Heaven's government to be watchful for men and systems and structures and networks that could ensnare and entrap mankind into serving the Antichrist.
And that is why the reign of Solomon is so interesting. The Bible tells us that because Solomon [upon attaining the throne of Israel] asked God for wisdom and knowledge to rule and judge God's people -- rather than riches, wealth, honor, a long life, or great victories over his enemies -- God "strengthened his kingdom, was with Solomon, and elevated his stature" (2 Chronicles 1:1-10).
But as has happened to kings, both past and present, it started off better than it ended. As the son of King David, a man after God's own heart, Solomon was given this piece of advice before David's death: "Keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. . . for you are a wise man."
For awhile, Solomon was successful, quelling a civil war and the treachery of his half-brother Adonijah, General Joab, and Abiathar the Priest. Israel's success and prosperity, as a nation, were due to his reforms and innovations such as the improvement of defense measures; the expansion of the royal court; the financial windfall from more sophisticated taxation; labor conscriptions of Canaanites and Israelites; tributes and gifts from foreign countries [who were under the influence of Israel and its king]; and a land and sea trading system that utilized a powerful navy and army to protect assets and trade routes. According to the Hebrew scriptures, “The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as the sycamores, which are in the lowland”.
But as happens so often, men [and kings] are deceived by the temptations of this world and their own pride. Solomon forgot the wise advice offered by his father, King David, and forgot the statutes God commanded as set forth by Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy. According to Deuteronomy 17:16, God demanded that a king of Israel was not to increase his number of horses or make the people return to Egypt to increase his horses.Yet, King Solomon formed alliances [in the name of peace] with other nearby powerful nations such as Egypt, Moab, Tyre, and Arabia -- enemies of Israel! But in 1 Kings 4:26, we find that "Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots and twelve thousand horsemen"; a direct violation of Deuteronomy 17:16.
But that's not the only reason Solomon fell out of favor with God. In Deuteronomy 17:17, God establishes another of His statutes: "Neither shall he [the king] multiply wives to himself, so that his heart is turned away; neither shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself". Yet 1 Kings 11:3 says, Solomon "had seven hundred wives who were princesses and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away". And 1 Kings 10:22 says Solomon had a fleet of ships, and every three years they brought in gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks. In addition verse 14 says "Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold". King Solomon reigned for 40 years, so that's approximately $64.3 billion in tribute alone. I find it interesting that the number 666 is mentioned only twice in the Bible, once here in reference to Solomon's gold trade, and once in Revelation 13:18, identifying the Antichrist.
Solomon also married foreign women, which God said not to do. According to his wisdom, what better way to secure peace than by marrying the daughters of foreign kings? But it was a direct affront to God's commands. He achieved peace at a very expensive cost. And again, we see Solomon rebelling against God's command in Deuteronomy 7:5, But this is how you shall deal with them [foreign nations]: you shall tear down their altars and smash to pieces their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah), and burn their carved or sculpted images in the fire.
Yet, what did Solomon do? Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. Would it surprise you to know that Milcom and Molech are gods dedicated to child sacrifice? They reign today in our practice of abortion. The god Chemosh was influential in child molestation; he rules today in the child porn and sex trafficking industries. I guess Solomon knew what he was talking about when he said "there is nothing new under the sun".
I ask you to consider the concepts I have brought before you today. When the time of the Antichrist comes upon the earth and its peoples, it will be a time when lawlessness is legalized. Just as in Solomon's days, or Hitler's, or Stalin's, the "kings" of the world are influenced by the antichrist spirit to legalize child sacrifice, genocide of whole populations, abortion, drugs, same-sex marriage, and all things immoral and abominable to the God we serve.
While it is important to note that the Antichrist is certain to come in the End Times [and that we are not necessarily exempt from his persecution], it is even more important to remember that the spirit of the Antichrist is always with us. Maybe, instead of trying to figure out who he will be, we should be concentrating on what he will be doing and what systems and programs he will putting in place to control and manipulate the whole world. The Bible doesn't give us an exact idea of who "the Beast" is -- it could be a man, a system, a network, or a structure. The one thing we do know is that the Bible tells us he/it will deceive the world by the signs [wonders, miracles] that he/it is given by Satan. Could we be seeing those signs emerging in our advancing technology and artificial intelligence, which are certainly being heralded as "wonders" and "miracles" of this age? Is it outside the realm of possibility that, with the rapid advancement of AI and medical technology, a human computer hybrid could be developed and demand to be worshiped? And just as in King Solomon's age, we are seeing alliances among former enemy nations [Russia, China, and Iran] and disparate religions [think Chrislam] -- all united under one system called "globalism".
I do not claim to be able to identify the Antichrist. Nor do I want to be a sensationalist. But it is foolish to put our heads in the sand and ignore the lawlessness and ungodly practices that are apparent everywhere around us. And, because I see things from this perspective, I can recognize the spirit of Antichrist and warn others to reject it. It is my prayer that more of us will rise up in the strength of the Lord as the children of Israel did -- to discern our times like the sons of Issachar and respond to this time, in this age that we have been born into, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We need not be afraid, but be like the children of Zebulon, going forth into spiritual warfare with all the weapons of our Lord. He will not forsake us, nor leave us; and the victory is ours!
1 Chronicles 12:32-33 Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do ... Zebulun, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David with singleness of purpose.
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