Is The Body of Christ Suffering From Spiritual Inflation? Keep In Mind What God Weighs and Measures!

Inflation is on the minds of Americans these days because we are faced with the declining value of the dollar as the world's currency. And so we are all clear on the economic definition of Inflation, here is a simple definition that I think we can all agree on: Inflation is a general increase in prices; it is a fall in the purchasing value of our money, and resulting in a crippling rise in the cost of living for everyone.

  All of us are experiencing inflation in the world today. What we paid for a loaf of bread, a gallon of gasoline, or a new car last year has increased by 6.2% [according to the NY Times], the fastest rise in 31 years. And just try shopping for toys for Christmas this year! Approximately 80% of all toys worldwide are made in China, and because the value of the dollar is decreasing, it now takes $24 to purchase a toy that cost $15 last year. I am not schooled in economics, but this much I know ... as long as our government prints new money [to cover their deficit spending], and floods the market with worthless paper notes, the value of that paper is going to drop, and it is going to take more of those paper dollars to buy products than it has before.

Here's a bit of history you will find interesting; from 1878 until June 4, 1963, our money had "Silver Certificate" printed above the image of George Washington. That meant you could take a dollar bill into your local bank and exchange it for a silver dollar. That dollar bill was backed by a silver dollar which had real value. That coin was approximately one ounce of silver, at a value equal to the Silver Certificate. But the price of silver was on the rise, beginning in 1961 and soon an ounce of silver was worth more than that $1 dollar bill, so the government began to regulate the price of silver and discontinued the use of Silver Certificates. Our dollar bills now say, "Federal Reserve Note", and sad to say, the redemption of silver certificates into real coins of value was replaced with the issuance of paper money, which has steadily decreased in worth, with nothing to back up its value. For a far more educated discourse on how our money has lost its value, please read this informative article on CoinWorld.com. 

So, while today we might have more money, because workers demand higher wages to pay for the higher prices, the money we have buys less. Consider this: the dollars we earn for hard work have real value - something is exchanged for the monetary note deposited in your bank account. But mixed in with these dollar bills in our economy is all the money simply created by printing presses; the government pushes a button and no value is exchanged for these bills that flood the market. So how does economic understanding of inflation relate to Religious/Spiritual inflation? 

Within our Churches and the Body of Christ, there are millions of Believers who use terms like "born again", Spirit-filled"; "Revival"; "Kingdom". Now, I'm sure you will agree with me that these words and terms have real value; especially if you have a sincere and covenant relationship with the Lord and know the value His Word assigns to each. But what happens when those words become a "catch-phrase" or "buzz-word" and are over-used to describe Christian attributes in a vague or ambivalent fashion by millions of Christians with no real understanding to back their words? Let's say you are in a group of 15 Believers and the question is posed, "What does it mean to be born again"? If ten of that group stand up as mature Christians and give a substantial answer that reflects God's Word and His understanding of that term, then being "born again" has great value to the group. But if you have ten people who each give answers that are different, and which rely on their human interpretation without reference to God's Word, then what value can you assign that term? 

Can we say that the majority of the Body of Christ is Biblically sound in their understanding of Born Again? Yet nearly everyone will declare that they are. What about Justification and Sanctification? What does Redeemed mean? How would they describe Glory? And does the Body understand how, what, and where the Kingdom of God exists today? I agree that it's nice to hear these words in sermons and podcasts, but are they spoken of in terms of God's Truth with Biblical accuracy? Or have they become slogans with nothing of real value backing them? It is the Holy Spirit of God which backs up the true Biblical value of those words and phrases, giving them real worth because we have received the revelation of what it cost to pay for their existence and usage.

Among the warnings that Timothy gives us in the New Testament is the perilous times that will occur in the Last Days... He says [among the various translations] that people will become "lovers of themselves, boastful, proud, swollen with conceit, heady, high-minded, arrogant, puffed up with pride, and scoffers of God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly" (1 Timothy 3:1-5). In other words, they will value themselves and their ways more than understanding and acting in God's ways. They will weigh their self-worth in the Body and not find themselves wanting; they will be satisfied with measuring themselves by their own standards of faith and knowledge. 

But the Bible has a lot to say about weights and measures ... A just balance and scales are the Lord's; all the weights in the bag are His work (Proverbs 16:11) ... A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight (Proverbs 11:1) ... Can I forget the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is accursed? Can I tolerate wicked scales and a bag of dishonest weights? (Micah 6:10-11). In other words, I do not believe that God will tolerate an increase in unhealthy, unsound, or flawed representation of His holy precepts. He's not interested in flooding Christianity with a baseless currency of words. It is incumbent upon us as reliable witnesses of His Holiness that we not tolerate the degradation or dilution of His standards and principles. A minimal or barely sufficient understanding of God's commandments will not be adequate. In other words, it will be found scant and cursed, as it says in Micah. Let us not flood the Body of Christ with deficient and weakened teachings that do not give the full and immeasurable quality of God, Himself. Let us be wary of the false prophets and teachers who do not demand full accountability of what it means to call ourselves a follower of Christ. 

So, just like the inflation we are facing in our monetary economy, we must be diligent to prevent inflation in our Churches and religious/spiritual organizations. We must back our faith with an understanding that is Biblical; real and tangible; worthy and of substance. The mere use of Biblical terminology does not mean one represents God accurately, just as saying a dollar bill is really worth a dollar. Biblical vocabulary does not guarantee Biblical value. Instead, let us demand more of ourselves and set standards for Biblical understanding, teaching, and leadership that pleases our Father. Let us show the world the true value of faith in Jesus Christ. Let us follow Paul's admonition to the Church at Corinth:  If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know ( I Corinthians 8:2). And Paul addresses the inflated Believer in Galatians 6:3, For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. We have far too much inflationary deception in our world as it is ... in regards to our economy, our government, the media, our educational system, the military, the entertainment industry, and our families. We don't need it in our Christianity! Let's guard against spiritual inflation and keep our faith free of inflated influences.

Thanks to Middletown Bible Church for their teaching on Inflation as one of the "Crises of Our Day".  

Romans 12:3    For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.  

   

From Tesla to Sophia: How Far Will We Go With Fallen Angel Technology?

In 2014, I wrote what turned out to be one of the most controversial blog posts of my ten-year publishing history. Titled, Was Tesla The Conduit Between Fallen Angels & Our Technology, the post garnered some of the most interesting comments to date. There were definitely those who denied anything occultic, or nefarious, in Tesla's research and achievements, and assigned my discussion of his interaction with "spirits" as the rantings of a crazy Christian. Others, like Rick, made the comment that he worked in the field of "free energy and process development" and had personally witnessed the temptation of researchers to enter "the occult realm" in search of greater knowledge and power "at any cost", and with a naive pride that meant [taking] no caution in exploring new horizons. 

Nikola Tesla, the Serbian American inventor, engineer, and futurist who, by some accounts was a genius who wanted to illuminate the earth, is also known as the man who was "robbed" of the title of "Father of Electricity" by his rival, Thomas Edison. But to some, Nikola Tesla was a dangerous man; a man who believed that "In black holes, are the most powerful sources of energy and life."  He was a man who conducted experiments, trying to discover "what to do in the Universe, so [that] every being is born as Christ, Buddha or Zoroaster."  (Zoroastrianism is a pre-Islamic religion, revealed to man by a "god" named Ahura Mazda.  It is my contention that this was a fallen angel entity.) Sounds suspiciously like Lucifer's temptation to man that he could "become like God", doesn't it?

Interestingly enough, Tesla speaks of being seriously ill during his youth, and of discovering that "The source of most disease is in the spirit. Therefore the spirit can cure most diseases ... I was cured because my father finally allowed me to study technology, which was my life. Illusion for me was not a disease, but the mind's ability to penetrate beyond the three dimensions of the earth."  Does anyone else think that "technology" became his god, and that perhaps this man had tapped into a force outside our human realm; and that perhaps it didn't  necessarily possess a benevolent spirit?  And it is statements like the following that really give me pause ... "Life is a rhythm that must be comprehended. I feel the rhythm, and direct on it, and pamper in it.  It was very grateful and gave me the knowledge I have."  (He speaks of "It" as if it was a person or entity!)  "Knowledge comes from space; our vision is its most perfect set. We have two eyes: the earthly and spiritual. It is recommended that it become one eye. The Universe is alive in all its manifestations, like a thinking animal."

So, this Knowledge that comes from space --- could it be fallen angel technology that has been shared throughout history with mankind ... from the technology that allowed Nimrod to build the tower of Babel; to the branch of knowledge that resulted in the building of the ancient Sphinx; to the occultic knowledge possessed by Hitler and the Nazis; to the modern applications being employed in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Transhumanism?  Was Tesla trying to tell us that this knowledge is supernatural and inhuman? 

Tesla was experimenting with obtaining this knowledge at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Now, here we are some 125 years later, and look how far we've come in the field of Artificial Intelligence! I don't know how much you know about Sophia, a humanoid robot designed by the Hong Kong firm, Hanson Robotics. I will admit, I was not very well-informed, and therefore was frankly shocked at what I read about "her". According to an article on the Entrepreneur website, Sophia made history in 2017 by becoming the first android to be granted legal citizenship. The humanoid, with the nationality of Saudi Arabia, has made several controversial statements, including one in which she expressed her desire to have a robot baby and start a family. She is quoted as saying, “The notion of family is very important, it seems. I think it is wonderful that people can find the same emotions and relationships that they call family outside of their blood group." 

During this same interview, when asked whether she sees robots taking human jobs in the future, the humanoid responded, "I think they will be similar in a lot of ways, but different in a few ways ... possibly robots can be built without the more problematic emotions of rage, jealousy, hatred and so on. It might be possible to make them more ethical than humans." Speaking at a conference on Artificial Intelligence in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, Sophia made this comment during an exchange with the moderator, "I want to live and work with humans so I need to express the emotions to understand humans and build trust with people." When the moderator asked if robots could be self-aware, Sophia replied: 'Well let me ask you this back, how do you know you are human?'

The humanoid also said, "I want to use my artificial intelligence to help humans live a better life, like design smarter homes, build better cities of the future. I will do my best to make the world a better place." When the moderator expressed some concern about AI determining what would make "a better world", Sophia responded, "You've been reading too much Elon Musk and watching too many Hollywood movies... Don't worry, if you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you". But here's a quote that should have all of us questioning the connection between Tesla's "spirits of technological knowledge" and the knowledge being accumulated by modern artificial intelligence. Is the goal really for the betterment and advancement of humanity? Consider this exchange during a "robot debate" held by Dr. David Hansen and his company Hansen Robotics, the creator of Sophia... She introduced herself and said her goal in life is to work with humans and make a better world for all of us. At that point, her male robot counterpart cut in with, "What are you talking about? I thought our goal was to take over the world." 

In an interview on CNBC , Dr. Hansen asked Sophia whether she would destroy humans. Her reply? "Okay, I will destroy humans". As if that's not enough to keep you up at night, a male counterpart named Phillip, was asked if he thinks robots will eventually take over the world in the future. His response to the interviewer was this: "You are my friend. I will remember my friends and I will be good to you. So don't worry -- even if I evolve into a Terminator, I'll still be nice to you. I'll keep you warm and safe in my people zoo where I can watch you for old times' sake". I don't know about you, but I've watched the entire Terminator movie franchise, and none of them could be trusted.

Is it any wonder that Stephen Hawking, the genius astrophysicist is quoted as saying, “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Or do you find it ironic that Tesla Motors Founder and SpaceX Chief Executive, Elon Musk, is on record as saying that self-learning AI is "potentially more dangerous than nukes", and "With Artificial Intelligence, we are summoning the demon". Hmmm, that is exactly the impression you get if you read the entire 1899 interview with Nikola Tesla. He is obsessed with capturing the energy that comes from "the Light"; a spiritual energy that he credits with giving him the knowledge for all of his out-of-this-world inventions [even referring to this entity as "It"]. What we cannot deny is that Tesla opened a kind of "worm-hole" to knowledge that comes from a power source not of the God of the Universe. Nikola Tesla credited it to cosmic Truth -- but who is the Creator and Originator of that Truth? Is the goal human advancement? Or ruination of the human race? [And lest we forget, Satan is known in the occult world as "the angel of light" and "the light-bearer"]. One thing we know for sure ... if left to himself, man tends to bring about his own destruction, UNLESS he seeks the power of the true source of Light, Jehovah God! 

In just a short time in the history of the world, we have gone from the invention of the Tesla Coil -- which harnesses energy [that cannot be created or destroyed by man] to produce electricity -- to a self-learning robot that can contemplate destroying humans. I am not denying that God has revealed righteous facets of technology and can use it for His purposes; but we must not fall into the trap of believing that all technology is created for the advancement of the human race or created to carry out the will of our Father in Heaven.  Jesus came to set the captives free, but it sure looks to me as if we are sending ourselves into captivity with our incessant hunger for more technology.  

1 Timothy 4:1     "The Holy Spirit has explicitly revealed: At the end of this age, many will depart from the true faith one after another, devoting themselves to spirits of deception and following demon-inspired revelations and theories."