Invention of the Devil

     There are some days that the Holy Spirit shows me something and my human spirit screams "Noooo!" At the same time it hears the Lord say, "My people perish for lack of knowledge. Show them this." I promise you that what you are about to read is absolutely 100% true and for those with spiritual eyes to see, it will be a warning of things to come on the earth.
     If you have any awareness at all of what is going on in the world, then you cannot ignore the rapid advancement of technology and the growing relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and human beings.
     Six years ago, in 2013, I was writing a series of posts on this phenomenon and shouting the warning signs of how Satan will use this to separate mankind from God. At that time, the Holy Spirit counseled me to focus on those aspects of the world [for a season]. Then God pointed me in a different direction that ultimately led to our Inner Healing Ministry and an assignment to write/teach on the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Kingdom of God. But when I saw an article on Elon Musk's new start-up tech company, Neuralink, I was prompted to go back to see how far the Enemy has advanced his agenda in the last six years.

     In 2013, Holy Spirit was shining a light on Ray Kurzweil, who had been the Director of Engineering at Google, but whose fame is now centered around his reputation as a revered futurist. In a June 2013 article on a U.K. website, he claimed that we are not far away from replacing our flesh and blood body parts with mechanical parts. Combine that with the scientific community's plan to develop a technological system by which your mind can live forever in a digital state, and you basically get a robot version of yourself. In the article, Kurzweil said, "Based on conservative estimates of the amount of computation you need to functionally simulate a human brain, we'll be able to expand the scope of our intelligence a billion-fold." Because of the astounding developments that have taken place in genetic sequencing and 3D printing over just the last few years, scientists will be able to combine the abilities of a computer with God's created human brain, and basically usurp man's natural state and produce a machine that we were never meant to be.  We will no longer be made in the image of God, but in the likeness of a machine-driven computer.
     That may sound like I am fear-mongering, but consider Ray Kurzweil's forecast: "We're going to become increasingly non-biological to the point where the non-biological part dominates and the biological part is not important any more. In fact the non-biological part [the machine part] will be so powerful it can completely model and understand the biological part. So even if that biological part went away it wouldn't make any difference."
     Back in 2013, he predicted that the intelligence gap between humans and computers would be closed by 2029. Here's how he made his case: "We can now see inside a living brain and see individual inter-neural connections being formed and firing in real time. We can see your brain create your thoughts and thoughts create your brain. A lot of this research reveals how the mechanism of the neocortex works, which is where we do our thinking. This provides biologically inspired methods that we can emulate in our computers. We’re already doing that. The deep learning technique that I developed uses multilayered neural nets that are inspired by how the brain works. Using these biologically inspired models, plus all of the research that’s been done over the decades in artificial intelligence, combined with exponentially expanding hardware, we will achieve human levels within two decades." He said that in 2013, which was six years ago. According to his timeline, we are within 14 years of that nefarious accomplishment.

     So, advance to 2019, and an article on TechCrunch.com, and the announcement that Elon Musk, a technology entrepreneur and engineer, has a start-up company called Neuralink, that is ready to "begin outfitting human brains with faster input and output by next year". Neuralink is working on technology that’s based around “threads,” which it says can be implanted in human brains with much less potential impact to the surrounding brain tissue versus what’s currently used for today’s brain-computer interfaces. “Most people don’t realize, we can solve that with a chip,” Musk said to kick off Neuralink’s launch event, talking about some of the brain disorders and issues the company hopes to solve. 
     Notice how casually he talks about implanting a chip to solve brain "disorders and issues". I'm not disputing that there are very real health issues involving the brain, but when Musk says that, long-term, Neuralink really is about figuring out a way to “achieve a sort of symbiosis with artificial intelligence" and "for now, the aim is medical" ... well, I get shivers down my spine, and that's when my spirit starts the aforementioned screaming of "Nooooo!". And, I have to say, it more than concerns me when I read that "the plan is also that the electrodes implanted in the brain will be able to communicate wirelessly with chips outside the brain, providing real-time monitoring".
     That's especially troubling when Holy Spirit reminds me that in 2013 Ray Kurzweil was noted as being a strong proponent for what he calls an "exponential growth of knowledge" and was focused on controlling the neocortex part of our brain (where we do our thinking).  He even went so far as to trying to understand why some people (like me) are so resistant to accepting this kind of research.  He seems to think that people who are resistant have disorganized neocortexes (read there is "something else" that prohibits us from being manipulated).  See if you can guess what that "something else" might be from this statement he made in reference to his friend, the late Steve Jobs (of Apple fame).  Jobs famously proclaimed, “Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent.”

     But Kurzweil had a very unique perspective on Jobs's thought.  "I call this a deathist statement .... Religion, which emerged in prescientific times, did the next best thing, which is to say, ‘Oh, that tragic thing? That’s really a good thing.” We rationalized that because we had to accept it. But in my mind death is a tragedy. Our initial reaction to hearing that someone has died is a profound loss of knowledge and skill and talents and relationships." 
      It's at this point that my spirit and my brain ask, "Where is God in this technology?" Can you see what a lack of God does for you?  Because my initial reaction to hearing that someone has died is, "What is it like standing in the presence of Jesus?"  The irony of the whole Artificial Intelligence system is that the researchers and scientists see only the significance of the human brain.  They deny the plausibility of our spirit and connection to a living God.  So while vehemently denying the existence of God, they are, in effect, trying to play God.  (Boy, are they in for a surprise!)
      I may not be able to fight their system on a scientific level, but I have to ask this question .... in light of how I plan to spend eternity versus their strategy for expanding [and controlling] knowledge, who is really the intelligent one?
     If you understand nothing else from this post, please grasp this truth:  the Age of Computers is a tool in the hands of the one who would separate us from our Creator.  But only if we let him!  Can anyone dispute that their iPhone or iPad occupy "countless ways of killing time" -- ways that keep us from engaging with God?  And can inventors such as Kurzweil and Musk deny that their goal is to fundamentally change who we are as humans, and that as scientists/inventors, they now conceive of themselves as their own god?  The tragedy is that through their inventions, they will entice far too many of us to take our eyes and hearts off the true Creator.
     Just like Nimrod and the folks at the Tower of Babel, our modern-day technological geniuses want to become famous by displacing the need for God.  Motivated by pride and arrogance, they have made a name for themselves.  But perhaps they should revisit that section of the Bible and learn of the destruction that was the result of such conceit.  God will not allow His Sovereignty to be usurped; and not only did they not achieve the greatness they sought, but they suffered His Divine Judgment.  Watch and see ... history is going to repeat itself.

Luke 1:51     He has done mighty deeds with His [powerful] arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.
     

Uncleanness, Regeneration, & "The Internet of Things"

    I'm going to tell you, right off the bat, that I'm not sure why the Holy Spirit is connecting these seemingly disparate concepts, but I'm going to just go where He is leading me, and pray that it makes some kind of sense at the end of this post.... and that you don't think I've gone completely off the deep end!
     You know when a thought or idea comes from out of nowhere and you're not sure why it is suddenly being brought into focus? Well, that happened to me when a dear reader began an email conversation about taking another look at Genesis 6:1-5. These few verses have caused perhaps more confusion and misinformation among the Body of Christ than any other Scripture -- yet they are at the foundation of so much of what Jesus prophecies and what we see happening on the earth today.
    This reader was expressing her consternation that the Body of Christ overwhelmingly ignores these verses, and very often just skips over them without seeking to understand their meaning. As I was contemplating her thoughts and reviewing the implications of this Genesis passage, I recalled Jesus's words regarding "unclean spirits". In Matthew 12, He says, Now when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it roams through waterless (dry, arid) places in search of rest, but it does not find it. Then in Mark, Chapter 5, Scripture tells us the story of the Gerasene demoniac [or as he is more commonly known, the Gadarene madman]. The Word specifically says, When Jesus got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him. 

     Various translations of the Bible use "demon" or "evil spirit" in place of "unclean spirit". But my mind began connecting the dots as I discerned that what Jesus was seeing and speaking about was connected back to Genesis 6. Let me show you how I got there.... and for the sake of keeping this post focused on my original topic, I am not going to give my complete explanation of Genesis 6. And for the purpose of staying on track with this post, let me just say that based on the Septuagint (the earliest Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew), Genesis 6:2-4 reads, "that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and desirable; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose and desired ...  The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them."  Here, "sons of God" are not earthly men, but as translated from Hebrew (Bene Ha Elohim), it means "angels of God". Therefore, I do not subscribe to the "Sethite theory" that this verse is referring to the offspring of Adam's son Seth, who procreated with earthly women and bore the giants called the Nephilim. No! Scripture means what it says ... "angels of God" (fallen angels) saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, mated with them and created a hybrid race of angel/human beings that were not what God designed or planned. [For a more detailed debate on the Fallen Angel vs. Sethite theories, read my blog post from 2014 by clicking here.] Furthermore, how does a normal human man and woman produce children that become "men of renown" (demi-gods)? And the extra-Biblical Book of Enoch [which is referenced in Jude, 2 Peter and John) states And the women became pregnant, and they bare large giants, whose height was three hundred cubits (450 feet tall)!
     Moving on ... the Nephilim were the subsequent offspring of fallen angels and human women. Since these creatures were not made in the image of God, when they died they could not return to the Father [who is pure]; but rather their spirits were left to wander the earth in the form of demons, or evil spirits, or "unclean" spirits. The Holy Spirit made this so abundantly clear to me when I understood the meaning of unclean according to the Hebrew and Greek. "Unclean" in Hebrew means to be contaminated, polluted, foul, opposite of pure. In the Greek, it is interpreted as being filthy or impure. These same spirits are still upon the earth and present today; polluted and corrupted [impure hybrids] -- perfect tools to be used by the Enemy to torment the true children of God.
      But, on the opposite end of the spectrum, what happens to us, as humans, when we accept Christ as our Savior? We are regenerated, just as Titus 3:5 says: He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we have done, but because of His own compassion and mercy, by the cleansing of the new birth (spiritual transformation, regeneration) and renewing by the Holy Spirit.  In essence, we are "re-gened", if that makes sense. We are restored to the divine image of our Father; there is a new birth that takes place. And Christian scientists are now seeing changes in the DNA of people who have gone from Sinner to Redeemed! 
     Let's continue ... how are Uncleanness and Regeneration connected to this term, "The Internet of Things"? First of all, you might want to take a look at a post I wrote in 2015, titled "The Terasem Movement, Second Life, & The Rise of the New Nephilim". I know, I know ... it all sounds like a bad science fiction movie title --- but it is all too real and being played out before our very eyes! And I do not write this to exploit radical conspiracy theories. On the contrary, I believe our God is greater than any of Satan's diabolical plans. Rather, I am being prompted by the Holy Spirit to remind Christians not to take their eyes off these schemes, even as we grow in our knowledge and practice of Kingdom living. We must be aware of all the fronts we face in our spiritual battles.

     So.... just what is "The Internet of Things"? It is defined as follows: The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. Sounds like a bunch of geeky technology language, right? But my spirit discerns that it is just the progression of Ray Kurzweil's theory of "Singularity", which is the point at which machines, intelligence, humans (and yes, animals) would merge -- i.e., Transhumanism -- or when machines, animals, and humans will have the ability to interface or interact (merge).  
     Does anyone else see the danger in that? Or can you hear the warnings of this present danger mirrored in the following Scriptures? In Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus says, " For it will be exactly like it was in the days of Noah when the Son of Man appears. Before the flood, people lived their lives eating, drinking, marrying, and having children. They didn’t realize the end was near until Noah entered the ark, and then suddenly, the flood came and took them all away in judgment. It will happen the same way when the Son of Man appears".  Also, in Revelation 18, John reports hearing an angel thunder from Heaven, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a demonic dwelling place, a prison for every unclean spirit, unclean bird, and every unclean, detestable beast. All the nations have drunk of the wine of her immoral passion, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and merchants of the earth have grown wealthy because of her power and luxury.”
     Both passages speak of the polluted, impure, foul, and unclean state of mankind in the Last Days. Jesus warns that the same activities that took place in the days of Noah before the flood will occur again before He returns. Heaven, itself, warns in the last Book of the Bible that mankind will become drunk with their power and wealth from the ability to create unclean hybrids. If you pay close attention to the news, they are already mixing animal genes in our vaccines, merging man and machine in Artificial Intelligence, and even exploring implantable smartphones and uploading our brains to the Cloud. None of this preserves us as being made in the image of God!
     So, while I do not advocate turning our attention away from our Commission of advancing the Kingdom, I clearly discern that the Holy Spirit does not want us to ignore these warning signals of "the days of Noah". The direction the world is taking will surely affect the next generations and we must not abdicate our responsibility to war in the spirit for them.  So make sure you have your spiritual armor in place and ask the Holy Spirit for supernatural discernment of what is coming against us in the coming years. It has been several years since these "unclean" technological developments have captured the headlines, but do not be lulled into complacency. Yes, we are being directed to advance the Kingdom, but we have not been told to stand down from guarding against the unholy machinations and inventions of men. 
     I apologize if this topic seems out of character from my normal message. I do not feel called to make this a priority, but I will always listen to the Holy Spirit's prompting and speak from my heart. So, just receive this warning and continue to listen to the Spirit in your own lives. He will not lead us astray. As the song from the Christian band, Mercy Me, says, "Lead me through the darkness. Lead me through the unknown. Oh, Lead me, Holy Ghost"! Blessings to you all, in the Mighty Name of Jesus! Amen!

Luke 21:28    And at last, when you see how the Son of Man comes—surrounded with a cloud, with great power and miracles, in the radiance of his splendor, and with great glory and praises—it will make you jump for joy! For the day of your full transformation has arrived.
    
     

Is Technology Threatening Our Spirit?

     This post explores the boundaries between our hearts, minds, and Spirit; and whether we are in danger of exceeding those boundaries as set forth by our Creator.  I recently read a very disturbing article in The Sun, stating that FACEBOOK founder Mark Zuckerberg is funding the development of technology with the potential to read humans’ minds. Of course, the Billionaire and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are doing it for the "good of mankind", and they hope to cure, prevent, or manage all diseases in the span of a couple of generations.

     According to The Sun, one of the researchers who will receive funding is Dr. Rikky Muller, CEO and founder of a firm called Cortera. She is purportedly working to develop brain implants that will have the potential to change people’s behavior by altering their “physiological responses” – the term for reactions which take place in response to external stimuli; like allowing paralyzed people to control prosthetic limbs, for instance. These implants would work by monitoring the electrical signals sent within the brain.
     Now, you might be thinking that this doesn't sound any different than the tremendous number of dynamic technological advances that have marked the last 50 years or so. But the more I am becoming aware of living "in the spirit", the more concerned I become about the "advancements in technology" that threaten my connection to God. And by now, I'm sure you're wondering how technology and our spirit can come into conflict.  See if you can follow my train of thought....
     I want to begin by pointing out that this technological research is multi-faceted.  Among the goals stated by these scientists are the ability to interface with the brain for long-term, minimally-invasive neurological recording; monitoring and manipulation of neural circuits; and to develop 3D imaging technology which can probe the “deep structures of the brain” and is “essential for unravelling neural activity”.  Now let's examine how God made our unique souls and spirits to "interface" with Him (if you will allow me to use that technological term).
     In a fascinating article by Andrew Freed, entitled Understanding the Heart and Spirit Realm Connection, Mr. Freed starts off with a bang:  "The heart is the doorway to the supernatural.  Through our heart we have access to the spirit realm, and through the heart the spirit realm has access to us".  This is borne out by the many references to "the heart" we find in the Bible.  And the excellent website, Bible Study Tools, offers an extensive discussion of the heart, in which they identify Scripture that supports Mr. Freed's premise.
     Jesus says that the heart's secrets are betrayed by the mouth, even as a tree's fruit discloses its nature ( Matt 12:33-34 ). "A wise man's heart guides his mouth, " says Solomon ( Prov 16:23 ). Most importantly, the mouth confesses what the heart trusts ( Rom 10:9 ; Deut 30:14 ).  Furthermore,  the heart's reasoning, as well as its feeling, depends on its moral condition. Jesus said that "from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts" ( Mark 7:21 ). Because the human heart is deceitful above all things ( Jer 17:9 ) and folly is found up in the heart of a child ( Prov 22:15 ), the Spirit of God must give humans a new heart ( Jer 31:33 ; Ezek 36:26 ) through faith that purifies it (Eph 3:17). If you take the time to look up all those Scriptures, you will get the idea ... the heart is essential to our relationship with God, and there is a definite relationship between our heart and mind.  But how does technology link to possible threats to those relationships?
     That's where Mr. Freed's article takes an interesting turn.  He writes that decades ago the medical community thought the only communication between the heart and the brain was through nerve endings.  (This is how the brain regulates heart rate).  He says that today we know the heart sends signals to the brain through the unseen realm in the form of electromagnetic waves ... your heart communicates like a transceiver and the mind speaks to the heart through nerve endings, while the heart speaks to the mind through wave endings. Are you starting to get the picture?
     You see, the word "Heart" (Lebab/Leb in Hebrew) occurs over one thousand times in the Bible, and the ancient Israelites understood that there was a connection between our heart and our minds (or brain), and more often than not, there was a battle between the two. There are so many verses that point to this Truth:  I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds (Jeremiah 17:10; Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding [or thoughts from your mind] (Proverbs 3:5); The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience [which comes from the mind] and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5).
     So can you discern the danger involved with brain/computer interfaces?  If these technology scientists are interested in interacting with nerve endings to stimulate the brain -- and nerve endings are how the mind speaks to the heart (see above in bold) -- and if the heart is our connection point to the supernatural, and by inference, to God and the Holy Spirit -- then it seems logical to me that technology could interrupt or corrupt our communication with our Creator.
     Technology and their scientists will tell us that they want to change people’s behavior by altering their “physiological responses” to external stimuli and help paralyzed people control prosthetic limbs and walk again, but I honestly fear that Satan could use this research to alter our reactions to the external stimuli of God and the Holy Spirit.
     When you think about it, it is quite cunning of Satan to influence technology in this manner.  While I do not believe that Satan can read our minds, he can influence our thoughts through our hearts.  He certainly did that in Acts, Chapter 5, when his influence on the hearts of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, resulted in their thoughts to deceive the early Church.  That is why part of our spiritual armor from God is a helmet of salvation.  I believe part of that helmet's job is to protect our minds from the attempts of the Enemy to corrupt our hearts through our thoughts.  This idea is further expounded upon by the Word: We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Arguments and opinions come from our mind/brain, while obedience to Christ originates in our hearts.
     So, when the article in The Sun states that Mark Zuckerberg is funding "technology [that] could one day be used to directly record human thoughts and allow artificial intelligence to read our minds", then the Holy Spirit tells me we are on fragile ground.  Scripture tells us that we are to guard our heart, for from it flows the springs of life.  That tells me that my eternal life depends on the state of my heart.  And I am well aware how my thoughts can derail my relationship with Jesus.  Do I really want technology to advance to the point that they can manipulate my brain and try to corrupt [or possibly eliminate] my spiritual connection to my Lord?  It's something to think about.

Psalm 26:2   "Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind".

"Stranger Things": Seeing This Secular Production Through Spiritual Eyes

     With a nod to nerds and the popularity of science fiction, the Netflix series Stranger Things has taken the entertainment industry by storm.  It has been interesting to hear the disparate reactions of those whose spirits discern a dark, spiritual undertone, and those who just see the slick and scary surface image that Hollywood is so good at projecting.
     I wanted to write this particular post because I want Christians to start seeing the world through spiritual eyes.  I want them to begin discerning the spiritual warnings that are hidden in plain sight, so they can be prepared; with their spiritual armor on and the Sword of the Spirit at the ready!
     Why do I think it is important enough to talk about this specific mini-series?  Because this is one more instance of the New World Order [as an agent of satan] revealing their agenda and de-sensitizing us to what they have planned.  I find it very interesting that the series was originally titled Montauk, which references The Montauk Project, an alleged series of secret United States government projects conducted at Camp Hero (or Montauk Air Force Station) on Montauk, Long Island for the purpose of developing psychological warfare techniques and exotic research including time travel.  Other alleged experiments by our government and military included teleportation, mind control, contact with alien life and staging faked Apollo Moon landings.  If nothing else, the allegations about The Montauk Project certainly served as the inspiration for the popular mini-series.
     While there are those who might consider all this just a bunch of conspiracy theories, I cannot discount them as such.  There is simply far too much research and interviews with people who claim they were involved with the project.  And it certainly explains some of the strange occurrences and violence we are seeing in the world today.  Add to this the speculation that The Montauk Project was an extension of the Philadelphia Project, an effort to study the possibility of rendering things and people invisible.

     Here's a little of that history:  In 1933, Nikola Tesla, famed inventor, physicist, electrical engineer, and futurist worked with a coalition of scientists at the California Institute of Technology which included Albert Einstein, Dr. John Erich Von Neumann, and later a team of scientists that were coming to the U.S. from Germany until WW II started in 1939.  All this led to the Philadelphia Project, which was an alleged military experiment that is said to have been carried out by the U.S. Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania some time around October 28, 1943. The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Eldridge (DE-173) was claimed to have been rendered invisible (or "cloaked") to enemy devices. 
     The fact that Tesla was involved in both the Philadelphia Project and the Montauk Project -- he was Chief Director of Operations --  makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.  If you recall an earlier blog post I wrote, in which I connected the dots between Tesla and Fallen Angel Technology, you will understand why.  (I wrote that post nearly two years ago, and to this day, I get comments that decry my suggestion that Tesla's experiments with energy and light involved information he received from demonic entities).
     But the truth is that Tesla and others were hired by the government to work with energy reactors and light streams to rip a hole in the atmosphere (otherwise known as portals) -- all under the guise of experimenting with electricity, but with a clandestine plan to look into other realms.  Think about it, the best scientific minds in mathematics and physics all come together to work at the same facility, and you can honestly say they would be incapable of developing space-time quantum physics?  Yet, that's just what they did; bending physics in the atmosphere and opening up holes into other dimensional realms.  The results were other-worldly, to say the least, and you can read more in-depth details here.
      Naysayers will label these claims as hoaxes and say none of the allegations about the experiments have ever been proven.  Yet, here are few of the assertions about the experiments that took place, and they sound eerily familiar and would explain some of the bizarre events we are witnessing today:
•  Homeless people and orphans were abducted and subjected to huge amounts of electromagnetic radiation to test mind control technology and remote brain programming. Few survived.  Doesn't that make you wonder about this statistic from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: roughly 800,000 children are reported missing each year in the United States -- that's roughly 2,000 per day. Of those, there are 115 child "stranger abduction" cases each year, which means the child was taken by an unknown person.
•  Mind control experiments were conducted and runaway and kidnapped boys were abducted and brought out to the base where they underwent excruciating periods of both physical and mental torture in order to break their minds; then their minds were re-programmed. Many were supposedly killed during the process and buried on the site. Others were released with programming as mind-slaves with alternate personalities to be sleeper cells who could be activated to perform missions.  Doesn't that make you wonder about the unexplained incidents whereby normal people suddenly "snap" and commit horrendous crimes?  Wouldn't this be a valuable weapon in the hands of evil people who wanted to do great harm to this country?
•  Contact was made with alien extraterrestrials through the Time Tunnel and technology was exchanged with them which enhanced the project. This allowed broader access to "hyperspace".  This makes me think of the Tower of Babel and if it isn't possible that Nimrod, who "began to become a mighty one" received advanced technological information in order to know how to construct a tower that would reach to heaven.  And wouldn't that mean a hole in the atmosphere would have to be made?  Was that the first portal? And were Tesla and his cohorts just continuing that exchange of advanced ideas?

•  Mass psychological experiments, such as the use of enormous subliminal messages projects and the creation of a "Men in Black" corps to confuse and frighten the public, were invented there.  We see all of this in the spectacular mini-series Stranger Things.  The series points to mind control, subliminal messages, DNA experimentations to create hybrids, and time travel, which all speak of spiritual warfare to me.
     I know there will be many who ask why I am even bothering with this topic, or who fail to see the connection to parallel universes, overlapping dimensions, and real evil.  What does it have to  do with Scripture or what God wants us to know?  Well, have you considered that in Isaiah, Chapter 38, God adds 15 years to Hezekiah's life, and turns the sun backwards 10 degrees?  Both of these events would seem to indicate distortion of time.  And what about Jesus's warning of "As it was in the days of Noah"?  I certainly see the indication of demon spirits or evil angelic beings trying to pollute and corrupt the human race through forced DNA experimentation.
     And it does not escape my notice that all this, plus the theme of Stranger Things, furthers the theory of "ancient aliens" being promoted by the History Channel; a theory that in ancient history, extraterrestrials landed on Earth, where they were hailed as gods and helped shape human knowledge by giving primitive man the knowledge of the solar system, concepts of engineering and mathematics, and knowledge that became the basis for humanity's religions and cultures.
    Then take it one step further, and consider what the miniseries suggests; that mankind, in their attempt to gain more power by harnessing the knowledge of otherworldly entities have crossed the line, opening portals that have allowed these evil entities to enter our dimension.  That is essentially the fear that surrounds projects like the Large Hadron Collider at Cern.
     I know this all sounds completely crazy, but can you see it yet?  Technology has always been a tool that the Enemy has used to entice man to help the false god set up his kingdom on earth.  And one branch of that technology has created the entertainment industry, which not only shows us what the Adversary's mission and plan is for mankind on earth, but lulls us into an acceptance of it by subliminal messages and repetitive conditioning.  Stranger Things may look like just another harmless science fiction show with scary monsters, but I contend that it is mirroring the planned spiritual attacks that will be launched by another round of fallen angels that will visit the earth ... just like in the "days of Noah".
     So it is okay to enjoy this fantastically entertaining mini-series, and to look forward to a much-anticipated Season Two.  Just know what you're really being shown; look at it beyond the surface level and discern the message with spiritual eyes.  Yes, it's a message of a corrupt and nefarious government, but it's also a picture of a very real and physical spiritual war that is prophesied in the Bible.  There's a reason those of us with spiritual discernment are seeing beyond the obvious...

Revelation 12:9   "And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."

   
   

Scientists and Sin: What They Don't Understand

   

     In light of yesterday's post, I just want to point out the obvious.  Now that the futurists and scientists are gleefully clapping their hands over the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a powerful possibility for the human race, they are contemplating a new reality and philosophical question ... what if AI decides to turn on its creators; and can it be pre-programmed to make moral and ethical decisions?  Will it be responsible for its actions?
     Hmmm, don't those considerations sound, well, distinctly "human"?  Is the Intelligentsia unknowingly coming into conflict with what we Christians innately know as flaws in our human nature ... Sin?  Could it be that even if they are able to create a "being" that is as much computer as it is human, they cannot escape the inevitable sins that serve to endanger the existence of not only the created robots, but their human creators, as well?
     Secularists and Scientists and Skeptics, through medicine and philosophy, have tried to cure humanity of the pesky reality called "sin" for several generations now.  Moral relativism and Atheism have done their best to convince society that God is unnecessary, and we are capable of managing ourselves and plotting our own future.  Just in the last 100 years, we have had two World Wars, countless regional conflicts, and at least 7 attempted genocides resulting in nearly 18,000,000 deaths  (Armenians in Turkey; Stalin's forced famine; the Japanese atrocities at Nanking; the Nazi Holocaust; Pol Pot in Cambodia; Rwanda; and Bosnia-Herzegovina) ... so how has that worked for us?  Do they really think if they create drones that can decide for themselves when to pull the trigger, that it will result in a better outcome?  Or that they can avoid that annoying certainty called "death" by developing ways to isolate our brains from our decaying bodies?  If they only knew how disdainfully their Creator looks upon their schemes.
     There is no better description of the vanity of man and the depravity of human nature, than that described by David in the Bible:  The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord?  (Psalm 1-4).
     Yet, it is amazing to me how safe and secure these small "c" creators feel in their godless world.  They do not see their wickedness, their folly, or the danger they are in.  They are what the Bible calls "workers of iniquity".  As the noted theologian Matthew Henry describes them:  "they design it, they practice it, and take as much pleasure in it as ever any man did in his business."  They refuse to acknowledge the role God plays in His Universe, and their view of themselves as superior in the knowledge of what the future holds, only serves to showcase their blind and selfish motivations, as well as their utter foolishness. They mock God and they have no idea of the eternal danger in which they have placed their souls.
     But wait ... they aren't interested in "souls", are they?  After all, they are trying to redesign human existence and remove the "spirit" component from the human mind/body/spirit bond, which was made in God's image.  Yet, they will one day learn that those who refuse to fear God will reap the rewards of their folly.  They, who refused to admit His existence; who saw themselves above His Righteous Judgment and Sovereignty, and felt capable of creating their own eternity, will stand in awe and abject terror at what their pride has cost them.  Oh, they will experience eternity, alright -- it just won't be where, or when, or how they convinced themselves it would be.

Proverbs 17:24    "The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth."

     

How Close Are We To A Post-Human World?

     That is a question that Sir Martin Rees, the British Astronomer Royal attempts to answer in his astute article in The Telegraph.  Before giving you some of his insightful theories on this subject, I must admit that, as a Christian, I believe some of his prognostications will never materialize, because God will not allow His creation to become so violated.  That being said, I absolutely believe that what Sir Martin predicts will be attempted by those who think they can out-maneuver God.  Therefore, it is important for us to be able to recognize the machinations of such "geniuses".
     Much of what Rees reveals is what we've been hearing for awhile ... due to the overcrowding and over heating of the earth, technology will become an important part of our "survival", and it will have profound ramifications on humankind; most importantly, in the sphere of agriculture, biotech, and robotics.  Because our ecology is threatened, and our "footprint" is too big, scientists and futurists tell us that something must be done to save the planet.  So, it all comes down to this realization: We can now control the weather, the development of viruses, and robotic systems; all of which have the potential to affect how -- and if -- we live.
     Perhaps one of the most chilling statements that Sir Martin made was this:  "And there are downsides to the huge advances in biotech, despite the bright prospects these offer for medicine and agriculture. There were reports last month that Chinese researchers had been gene-editing human embryos using a new technique called CRISPR, raising controversial ethical issues about “designer babies”. But more disquieting are the experiments at the University of Wisconsin and in the Netherlands that show it’s surprisingly easy to make an influenza virus more virulent and transmissible. Last October, the US federal government decided to cease funding these so-called “gain of function” experiments."
     Rees pointed out that such "experiments" are hotly debated among his colleagues, with some wanting to stay one step ahead of natural mutations, while others are concerned about the danger and the risks associated with such scary science.  "What would happen, for instance, if an ebola virus were modified to be transmissible through the air? And they worried that the risk of failure to contain the pathogens within the lab is too high to justify the knowledge gained."  I'm glad someone is being clear-sighted!
     But I found it especially frightening when he discussed the dangers that will come from millions of people having the capability to misuse biotech, and who might have access to biomedical labs, just as millions can misuse cybertech today.  "Not all those with “bio” expertise will be balanced and rational. My worst nightmare is an “eco-fanatic”, empowered by the biohacking expertise that may be routine by 2050 [when 2 billion people will occupy the planet], and who thinks that “Gaia” can only be saved if the human population is reduced. The global village will have its village idiots, and they will have global range."
     Sir Martin also joins the chorus of voices such as physicist Stephen Hawking and Tesla Motors CEO and product architect, Elon Musk, who all warn of the dangers of the rapid ascent of artificial intelligence (AI).  "We’re witnessing a momentous speed-up in artificial intelligence (AI) – in the power of machines to learn, communicate and interact with us. Computers don’t learn like we do: they use “brute force” methods... Experts disagree on how long it will take before machines achieve general-purpose human level intelligence. Some say 25 years. Others say “never”. The median guess in a recent survey was about 50 years... And there is disagreement about the route towards human-level intelligence. Some think we should emulate nature and reverse-engineer the human brain. Others say that’s a misguided approach – like designing a flying machine by copying how birds flap their wings. But it’s clear that once a threshold is crossed, there will be an intelligence explosion."
     All these summations bring the question of ethics and responsibility to the forefront.  But when has that ever stopped mankind's sinful nature?  From the Garden of Eden, to Nimrod's Tower of Babel, to the Third Reich's "experiments", to Ray Kurzweil's plans to transcend biology by merging our brains with computers -- the purpose of all these evil designs is to assume the role of God in our own lives.  Is it in our future "to lose our individuality and evolve into a common consciousness" with computers and robots; in essence, to spiritually "go over to the other side"?
     What I found so compelling about Sir Martin's discourse is that he is the Astronomer Royal, the head of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich (a position in existence since 1675) and the official scientific advisor to the British government -- and, I could go into all the conspiratorial implications that this suggests, but that is a different topic for a different day.  Nevertheless, sometimes it is best to listen to what those in prestigious positions have to say; and he appears to be warning us to pay attention and be on the alert for what is going to be inevitable in our near future.
     As the chief expert on the stars and the heavens, so to speak, Rees has a particular viewpoint that I think we should heed.  In the matter of human/computer integration, listen to what he says:  "Let me briefly deploy an astronomical perspective and speculate about the really far future – the post-human era. There are chemical and metabolic limits to the size and processing power of organic brains. Maybe humans are close to these limits already. But there are no such constraints on silicon-based computers (still less, perhaps, quantum computers): for these, the potential for further development could be as dramatic as the evolution from monocellular organisms to humans. So, by any definition of “thinking”, the amount and intensity that’s done by organic human-type brains will, in the far future, be utterly swamped by the cerebrations of AI. Moreover, the Earth’s biosphere in which organic life has symbiotically evolved is not a constraint for advanced AI. Indeed, it is far from optimal – interplanetary and interstellar space will be the preferred arena where robotic fabricators will have the grandest scope for construction, and where non-biological “brains” may develop insights as far beyond our imaginings as string theory is for a mouse... So, in the far future, it won’t be the minds of humans, but those of machines, that will most fully understand the cosmos – and it will be the actions of autonomous machines that will most drastically change our world, and perhaps what lies beyond."  Does anyone else think that this is simply Satan's 21st century plan to recreate the Tower of Babel and help man gain access to the Heavenly realm and God's throne room?
     Can you see how far our human pride has taken us?  Do you really think God is going to let man -- whom He created -- usurp His creation of the Universe?  And if we are really that close to crossing the line into altering the organic make-up (the God-formed structure) of our brains, how long before God decides we've gone far enough, and it's time to pull the plug?  We know that God allows all things for His Glory.  Because of the speed with which these technological events are happening -- and the determination that their "creators" are exhibiting -- His Glory is soon going to fill the earth!  I can hardly wait!!

Isaiah 44: 9, 20:    All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame... a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
   

The Mark of the Beast Is Closer Than We Think

     I know that there are those out there in the blogosphere who reject the idea that technology is bad for us.  They will point to the added convenience and "instant" communication aspects of all of our technological gadgets.  And I realize that I will be called a dinosaur and "out of touch" for not embracing every new app or innovation that comes down the pike.
     I may not be the most savvy techie or eager to be the first in my crowd to own the latest version of anything that begins with an "i", but there's a very good reason.  You see, I can tell where this is all headed, and it's a place I don't want to go.  And you don't even have to be a "conspiracy nut" to get a pretty good picture of what our future holds.
     Great Britain's The Telegraph recently printed a news story by Sophie Curtis about the direction that PayPal wants to take us.  Ever heard of "Natural Body Identification"?  Apparently, it is "a new generation of embeddable, injectable and ingestible devices that could replace passwords as a means of identification."  If you believe the tech giants, there is a massive problem of compromised passwords; with naive and unsophisticated tech users still employing easily hacked passwords such as "123456", or "letmein".
   

Slide taken from Jonathan LeBlanc's presentation, "Kill All Passwords"

     But Paypal's global head of developer evangelism (that's rather strange terminology, don't you think?), Jonathan LeBlanc, thinks monitoring internal body functions like heartbeat, glucose levels and vein recognition can eliminate the need for people to come up with the perfect unhackable password.  It's just the way he wants to do it, that has me creeped out.
     He wants to consider developing devices such as brain implants, wafer-thin silicon chips that can be embedded into the skin, and ingestible devices with batteries that are powered by stomach acid.  Now, he's quick to point out that by talking about new biometric verification technologies, PayPal is not necessarily signaling that it’s thinking about adopting them.  Rather, it hopes to position itself as a "thought leader".  Is that supposed to comfort us?
     They want us to think that it is all about the "evolution" of the password;  that concept will be changing, and all PayPal wants to do is be at the forefront of the developments for that change.  After all, PayPal was a founding member of the FIDO (Fast Identity Online) Alliance, which is an industry consortium launched in February 2013 to address the lack of interoperability among strong authentication devices and the problems users face creating and remembering multiple usernames and passwords.
     PayPal also wants you to know that they were the first to implement fingerprint payments with Samsung ... it's all about removing "the friction" from shopping and making it easier and safer for consumers.   If you believe that, I've got the proverbial beachfront property in Arizona that you might be interested in.
     By now, it should be quite clear that we are edging closer and closer to being controlled as to how we buy and sell.  And if that doesn't ring a bell, then please rush to your nearest Bible and read Revelation 13:16-17.
     Furthermore, there are tech users that are far more savvy than me and they point out the obvious flaw in biometric security devices, namely "there is no advantage whatsoever to using a biometric signal. In fact, it's easier to make a secure key from a series of random numbers and letters because those can be changed. Biometrics CANNOT BE CHANGED - once compromised, they are forever useless. It's like having one password for everything that is the same --- how does that increase security? It doesn't --- it lessens the security."
     Another person showed the flaw in PayPal's argument with this comment:  "This is about tagging you with a tracking device so that the powers that be can better analyze your movement and behavior. It has nothing to do with security or verifying your identity when it actually counts, as in a financial transaction."
     Even I can see the logic in these two arguments against so-called "natural body identification" and biometric verification technologies.  Not that I think it will slow down the "evolution" of ID Security devices.  The time is coming for "the Mark", folks, whether we like it or not.  Just stay alert and aware of the latest innovations, and resist the temptation to bow down at the altar of technology.

Revelation 13:16-17   "And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark,"

We're One Step Closer To The Edge

   

     By now, I'm sure you've heard that Apple has 1,000,000 pre-orders for its newest technology apparatus, the Apple Watch.  The rate at which people signed up for the Watch far surpassed the launch of the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010.
    Excuse me, while I refuse to get in line.  It amazes me that people (many of whom I consider quite intelligent) would so willingly expose themselves to "the plan".  What am I talking about?  For starters, let me show you the path that these "sheeple" are being led down.
     Can you even remember what it was like before personal computers?  Do you remember thinking that you didn't really have much need for that clunky contraption, or that you couldn't imagine why you would need one?  So, how many of you are reading this blog on some form of that very same invention?  I mean, even our 70 and 80-year old parents have one sitting on their desk!
     Next, do you remember any time before cell phones?  Did you even see it coming -- that we would one day be taking our computers with us everywhere?  Or did you ever think you would be glued to yours?  Well, that's how easy it has been to get us accustomed and addicted to our computers.  We can no longer conduct business without one, and if you want to communicate with anyone under the age of 25, you better have one.  Not only that, we get our news, pay our bills, and buy anything we want from this one small device.
     And now we're ready for the next step, right?  The tech gurus have designed a way we can wear our technology on our arms; we no longer have to carry anything, we can wear it right on our person. And a million people can't wait!  It doesn't officially go on sale until this Friday, April 24th, but it's already a blockbuster.  And the Millennials will rush headlong for the nearest Apple Store!
     So, if it's only been a little over 10 years since the push for "a personal computer in every home"; and only 8 years since the iPhone became a necessity; we can probably anticipate the rollout of your own personal computer IN you before the end of this decade ... don't you think?
     And I predict that the lemmings will be just as eager to get in line for this as they have for everything else.  Why not?  With every new innovation, they have continued their impulsive collaboration with the mass movement of technology enthusiasts, and rushed headlong towards their own destruction.  They never question what the end game is, nor look up long enough to see where this all leads.
     Faith seems to play no part in this mania.  Christians who would tell you that they are saved by the blood of Jesus cannot put their phones down long enough to sit through a Bible study.  What idols we have made of technology!  And they don't even recognize that they are enslaved to something that will soon call them to become ungodly.
     Chip implantment is no longer undercover ... it is out in the open and the plan is to make it as commonplace as that computer sitting on every desk in America.  Yes, they will sell the Apple Watch as one more step towards making technology convenient.  It's the next step that you should fear; that's the step that will affect your mortal soul.  Will you get in line?

Psalm 135:15-18    "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them!"

Is It A Good Idea that Tech Moguls Are Funding Longevity Research?

   

     What do you think of when you read this headline: "Tech Titans' Latest Project: Defy Death"?  Do you have any concerns when you read the following paragraph?  "[The tech titans] who founded Google, Facebook, eBay, Napster and Netscape are using their billions to rewrite the nation’s science agenda and transform biomedical research. Their objective is to use the tools of technology — the chips, software programs, algorithms and big data they used in creating an information revolution — to understand and upgrade what they consider to be the most complicated piece of machinery in existence: the human body."
     These are at the center of an article written by Ariana Eunjung Cha for The Washington Post.  All I could think of was the consequences of Adam and Eve eating the tempting fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden ... God knew the next temptation would be to "take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever", so man was banished from the Garden.  (Genesis 3:22-24).  In fact, God knew that man's ego would impel him to seek eternal life on his own; and in order to keep that from happening, God went so far as to set up mighty angels and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life!  Obviously, God does not want us to enter this realm!
     Yet, because of our pride, here we have the Wealthy and the Elite doing just that!  They are as deluded as Adam and Eve -- thinking that they can somehow equal the efforts of God -- become "like" God, which is the same temptation Satan has used since the Garden.  You would think man would get the picture!
     But savvy entrepreneurs like Peter Thiel (Ebay) and Larry Page (co-founder of Google), along with brilliant computer scientists and molecular biologists, are attempting to "rebuild, regenerate and reprogram patients’ organs, limbs, cells and DNA", which they surmise will "enable people to live longer and better."  These millionaire businessmen are essentially funding attempts to usurp God's tree of life.  They want to figure out ways to reprogram the DNA you were born with, and how to digitize your brain so it can live long after your body has died ... thereby creating a virtual you that can then be downloaded into any organism or created entity.
     This scenario was even promulgated on a recent episode of the TV Show, The Blacklist.  The plot of the episode titled, "The Longevity Initiative", can be summarized as follows: "a private company called the Longevity Initiative, dedicated to unlocking the key to human immortality, is funded by tech billionaire Roger Hobbs. Recently discovered bodies in the back of a produce truck were not mutilated, but experimented on; clearly the Longevity Initiative has entered the human-trial phase."  This is supposedly a made-up story for TV, but can you believe it?!?!  The entertainment industry is even aware of what is going on in the name of advancing the human condition!
     So, while the real-life men of our Technology Revolution have accomplished tremendous things in their lives, and are probably considered among the most intelligent and talented of our generation, I find myself amused and saddened at their lack of understanding about this existence we call "life".  Consider this statement by Larry Ellison, CEO of the software company, Oracle:  "Death has never made any sense to me ... How can a person be there and then just vanish, just not be there?  Death makes me angry ... Premature death even angrier."  As evidenced by this statement, these "geniuses" look at the world as if they control it; as if there is nothing bigger than themselves.

     You may consider statements like these as just the musings of selfish men who have more money than they know what to do with.  But as pointed out in the Washington Post article, two-thirds of scientific and medical research is now funded by private industry; a growing share by billionaires accountable to no one and impatient with the pace of innovation.  What this means is that a large portion of the research into defying death and creating immortal life is unregulated and can potentially open a Pandora's box of research in stem cells, neuroscience, genetically modified organisms and viruses -- all of which, if handled in the wrong way or with a malevolent objective, could create a not-so-Brave, but Scary New World.
     I believe that we should be concerned about these wealthy entrepreneurs and "philanthropists" who combine their own sense of self-preservation with the means to direct and command controversial research into prolonging man's lifespan.  We should especially be troubled when they come from the computer and internet fields, and when they look at the health-care system through their technological eyes and see the “data of billions of people,” collected through blood tests, online profiles, food purchases and fitness trackers.   They are quoted as saying, "When that data can be accessed and mined and utilized for good in an instantaneous manner ... that would be shattering in a positive way for the system as we know it."  But for whose good will this data be used; and by whose standard is it positive?  Are we in essence the guinea pigs for their self-funded and self-serving research?  I think we know the answer to that question.
      And suppose they are right -- that the research they are funding results in cures for diseases that have plagued man.  Will only the wealthy, who have funded the research, receive the cures?  And if they are truly selfless humanitarians, how do they suggest that the planet sustain all these people who will certainly strain our natural resources?  Does anyone else think that they are playing God?
      For me, the bottom line of this curiosity to defy death lies in the following paradox:  these wealthy tech magnates are trying to claim the power of something they don't even believe in -- trying to become like God; someone whom they can't even agree exists!  Their money is their god and they think they can do a better job than the real God of the Universe.  Sadly, they are just the latest in a long line of humans that have been deceived by the father of lies.  Just as Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden for their folly, so, too will modern man be defeated in this latest effort to "out-God"  God, Himself.

Proverbs 14:16    "A wise man suspects danger and cautiously avoids evil, but the fool bears himself insolently and is [presumptuously] confident."
      

   

Smartphones, Our Children, and Their Mental Health

     What does the year 2010 and the increase in mental health issues of children have in common?  You can probably guess from the title of this blog that it is Smartphones.  In an article on the website for U.K.'s The Telegraph, one of the country's foremost psychotherapists explains that in 2010, "I saw my work increase by a mad amount and so did others I work with. Suddenly everything got much more dangerous, much more immediate, much more painful."
     Dr. Julie Lynn Evans explained that in the 1990s she might have one or two suicide attempts a year.  Now that number has increased to around four per month.  She reports that the access to the internet that comes with Smartphones has opened up a world of danger to our kids.  These phones, in effect, allow predators easy access to impressionable young minds.  Just consider that anything -- anything -- is available on the internet.  Add to that, the reality that parental approval or supervision is unnecessary and rarely asked for, we are left with an unsupervised generation that is easily exploited.
     We've all seen them ... the adult chat rooms, the pornography sites, the virtual reality rooms where anyone can disguise their real identity.  Children wander into these sites, and spend unlimited amounts of time there, being sucked into dark places they are too inexperienced and unprepared to handle.
     But it is not only pernicious sexual situations that are harming our kids.  Dr. Evans says, "My clients are cutting their arms, thighs, shoulders and stomachs; they are exhibiting signs of seriously disordered eating, they are medicating fast and furiously, they are refusing to go to school, they are sleepless and scared. Some are depressed and anxious, some have conduct disorder and problems with authority, and some are simply terrified. My consulting room, and those of my colleagues, are full of children who are more dramatically unhappy than they were a decade ago."
    As if that's not enough, kids are not developing healthy relationships because Smartphones don't encourage kindness, compassion, or ethics.  Everything is instantaneous and no thought is given to consequences from an unkind or cruel remark.  Bullying has become a constant companion for far too many kids.  And parents are too busy on their Smartphones to notice the warning signs.
     I have spent far too many instances with people who can't stay off their phones long enough to have a complete conversation or share a meal.  Meanwhile, their kids are becoming zombies; glued to their phones and unable to communicate in any other meaningful way.  That has to be affecting their brains, as well as their social skills and ability to solve problems on their own.
    Once again, I find myself lamenting the rapid advancement of technology.  Has it really improved our lives for the better?  Sure, it has brought progress in medicine; helped us to organize our lives better; and expanded our knowledge base.  We can find the answer to almost any question we have on the internet.  But have the negative side effects outweighed the advantages?  Have Facebook and Google advanced our culture, or just taken our attention away from real person-to-person dialogue?  And have we given up our privacy and freedom from intrusion in our daily lives?  Has it been worth it?  Are we a healthier nation -- both mentally and physically?
     I am just afraid that Smartphones have become an unnatural and abnormal lifeline for the youth of this nation.  The devices provide a parent-free, unsupervised world in which they are losing their humanity.  We were not created to live such isolated lives; and Smartphones cannot express human feelings, grant forgiveness, or experience the joy of human contact.  What a perfect way for the Devil to entice our children into a life that lacks God's love.  Yes, technology has made our lives easier, but are our kids paying the price?

To read more about the mental health issues conveyed by Dr. Julie Lynn Evans, please click here or here. 
   
1 John 4:4    "Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
   

One More Step Towards "The Beast System"

     You might be asking what I mean by the "Beast System".  No matter how one views the world, we cannot deny that technology is making rapid progress towards instituting a computerized and cashless society.  Our privacy is being sacrificed to countless methods of "data collection" devices, as we are numbered and categorized according to our tastes, desires, and consumer habits.  "It's all for the sake of customer convenience", we are told.
     However, from the perspective of my Biblical worldview, we are simply being herded towards a pervasive system of control that will rule the world.  It's described in the Bible as "the Mark of the Beast", in which no one will be able to buy or sell without this "mark".  Secularists will say that this is all nonsense.  Mankind is just evolving; we are discovering new and more efficient ways to live our lives, and technology is the means to achieving maximum productivity with a minimum amount of wasted time and effort.
     But it might interest you to know that Barclays, one of the oldest International financial institutions in the world, is storming the "wearables market" and introducing numerous "contactless" methods of payment.  For instance, last Christmas, in the United Kingdom, they introduced gloves that allowed customers to pay for their purchases by touching their gloves to contactless card readers.   The concept went like this:  The Barclaycard contactless chip, which is linked to a debit or credit card account, was embedded in the gloves and could be used to pay for goods up to the value of £20 -- a little over $30 in American currency.  
     Barclays revealed that the contactless gloves were just as popular as Smart Rings and Payment Bands.  The following commentary was taken from a website called Intelligent Environments, and I think you will be amazed at just how far the current generation has come in their embracement of the new technology: (Quote) "This is something absolutely magic! With a movement of your finger you can manipulate things and devices, simplifying your everyday life ... I want to have the option to go out without carrying my purse or my wallet, I want to make my life easier, I want to be able to go everywhere without additional weights, all I need is my phone and my ring: my ring is my wallet, my money, my shortcut, my support, my fashion item. Today I want my “magic” ring. Today I want the future ... This will be the item that can make your childhood dreams come true. Using your “magic wand” you can become the wizard you always dreamt of being, so what are you waiting for? Wear the power!"
     I can't help but be alarmed at some of the terminology of global conglomerates like Barclays, who use language like ... "by allowing customers to use Payment bands for other activities, a range of opportunities, such as loyalty, branding and recognition, would open up for suppliers... This data can then be used by venues to target customers more effectively with ads. and promote correct loyalty schemes, as well as improve customer service.... There is a strong possibility that in the future they could be used to access bank accounts and, why not, to make payments! The contactless technology is currently having such a great success that I would not be surprised if it is adopted on these new wearable advices."
     Computer Weekly reports that "the new generation of banking customers would rather use biometric security devices than PINs and passwords for authentication, according to Visa Europe."  It seems that to "Generation Z" it just feels like passwords are an unnecessary burden.  To them, Biometric authentication using fingerprint recognition or retinal scans offers an ideal solution, combining unique security and ease of use.  What's more, more than half of 16 to 24-year-olds think passwords will no longer be needed or used by the end of 2020, and will be replaced by authentication methods such as facial recognition or fingerprint and retina scanners.
     But what is even scarier is the fact that our youth, are being sucked in to the ease and convenience promised by the new technology.
     But there are even more outlandish methods waiting in the wings.  Are you ready for  Finger Vein Authentication Technology, also known as VeinID?  Or what about Voice biometrics?  If can be imagined, they will develop it!
     So, here's my concern with all this technological advancement:  currently the contactless chip is embedded in gloves -- or rings, or payment bands, or your iPhone.  How long until it is suggested that it will make life easier for consumers, suppliers, and banks -- if it is embedded in you?!?  What is the possibility that in the near future it becomes the mandatory method of payment?  And my biggest fear  is that it will be just fine with the Youth!  This latest generation has known nothing else but the convenience of technology -- it will be a natural development for them.  And what's worse is that they don't know the 1900 year-old prophecy in the last book of the Bible.  They do not know that the Bible says, "he [the Beast] provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name."
     Now, we can argue who or what "the Beast" is and the significance of his number (666) -- but that's a topic for another day.  Today -- right now! -- we need to take note that there is a prophecy that all men will be required to accept "a mark" to buy or sell.  Ultimately, folks, that means in order to eat, to work, to bank ... to survive ... you will need to comply with "the system".
     So, does it look as though technology is taking us to that moment in prophetic time?  I think so.  And I am deeply concerned that my fellow human beings are being seduced by the temptations of more convenience, ease of use, and cutting-edge technology.  Maybe you don't believe in the Bible or the prophecy, but can you deny that it is getting more difficult to act outside the system?  Think about it.  And then take a moment to consider this thought:  what if the there is a possibility that the prophecy is true?  Do you want to take that chance?  Today's Scripture tells you the grave consequences of complying with the system of the Beast.  All would do well to view technology with new eyes and a new understanding.

Revelation 14:9-11     “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.”
   

Technology Targeting Children; From Tots to Teenagers

     I think only the foolish would deny that we encounter at least a modicum of threat from the advancing world of technology.  Take implantable RFID chips, Transhumanism (and the Singularity), and the integration of man and computer, and you have enough options to put the existence of the human race in jeopardy.
     But even if you think that those developments are unlikely or harmless, I would advise you to consider the following:  both Apple and Google have your children in their sights.  They are targeting children for either marketing purposes, data collection, or to promote cultural influence; and if I was guessing, probably all three at once!

     How many of your kids have cell phones or the latest craze in music, Beats headphones?  In case you are unfamiliar with this particular product, the Beats line is primarily focused on headphones and speakers, marketed under the brand Beats by hip hop songster Dr. Dre; in particular, its headphone line characteristically places a heavy emphasis on bass, which, in advertising material, Dr. Dre stated allows listeners to hear "all" of the music.
     Now, here is where I'm going to take you down a rabbit hole.  Researchers at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University recently conducted a study to see if music could transform the psychological state of the listener.  After watching athletes listening to music on headphones to pump themselves up before a big game, they wanted to know what effect music had on the players, and if they could identify a particular component of the music.  Essentially, they wanted to discover if there was a link between music and a sense of power; if so, they wanted to identify not only the consequences, but also a potential cause of this link.
     What they found out was fascinating.  Those who listened to music with heavy bass levels exhibited a higher sense of power, confidence and dominance.  There was a definite music-power link!  And if you want to descend a little deeper down that rabbit hole, there is the well-known story among fans of heavy metal music in which the members of Black Sabbath actually dabbled in the occult, conjuring up a demonic presence.  That not only affected many of their lyrics, but the actual sounds they made with their music.  They successfully used lower bass tones in conjunction with a musical effect called "the Devil's Interval" to create scary, evil-sounding music.  (In fact, "the Devil's Interval" has a long and troublesome history, even to the point of being banned by the medieval Church in Europe).
     So, what does all this riveting trivia have to do with your children, Apple, and Google?  Starting early next year, Apple plans on pushing its Beats music subscription app to every iPhone and iPad.  Apple will rebrand this music subscription under the familiar umbrella of iTunes, and your kids will have access all of the time, to all of the music, with its deep resonating bass.  Now, I'm not prepared to say that the Devil is in the music -- but I think there is enough evidence that power and dominance are associated with heavy bass undertones, and I do not underestimate the Devil's ability to influence our kids through music -- he has certainly been able to exhibit his control over Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and Nikki Minaj.
     Apple's competitor in this market, Google, also has potential to influence your kids.  Not only does it have its own music streaming application (Google Play All Access), but it has announced that it is openly "developing products for the under-13s".  In fact, components such as YouTube, Google Plus and the Chrome browser will now be "child-friendly".  Remember, this is the same corporation whose company motto is "Don't be evil".  They want you, as parents, to have no worries -- they want you to believe that all their services will be "fun and safe".  Make you feel better?

     Here's the way Google looks at it ... kids already understand the technology better than we do; they are online multiple hours of the day, at home and at school.  Why not simply make it easier for the kids to use this technology?   After all, we need to face the fact that all those parental controls don't really stop the kids from accessing things on the net anyway.  Did you know that Facebook, which like other platforms does not allow minors to sign up, was used by 7.5 million under-13s who had concealed their age, according to a 2011 study?  And that's a platform that's not aimed at children!  You can imagine the Pandora's box that will be opened when these corporations actually target kids!!
     But here's the central argument for me -- not only do we need to worry about protecting children from online predators and explicit material, but since when do we want to allow our children to be exploited for gain?  Do you really want your 9-year-old to be marketed to as a consumer?  Why can't we just let them be kids, without exposing them to the preoccupation of adult society for the ever-increasing acquisition of "stuff"?
    And I would like to introduce you to just a few of the games being offered to the modern child:  Club Penguin - A multi-player game aimed at children aged six to 14. Players use penguin avatars and the game takes place in a wintery virtual world. Players buy the game’s currency and spend it on things like clothes for their penguin characters. Moshi Monsters - A website aimed at children aged six to 14 which allows them to choose one of six pet monsters. Children can customize their monster, earn virtual currency, play games and communicate with other users. It has expanded into a multimillion-pound business in Britain.  The Lego Club - A free club and website for children aged 4 to 11. They subscribe to a free magazine, play games and get invited to events. They can also get email newsletters with details of new Lego products.
     So let me close out this warning for the future, with this thought ... Do you really think that you will be able to monitor every minute your child is on one of these sites?  And will you know who will be lurking in that "virtual world" or what influence they will have on your child?  (I'm thinking of the girls who tried to kill a classmate to impress a fictional evil character on the Internet, known as Slender Man).  Will you read and censor all the content in those free magazines, or be aware of the events they are invited to? And will you be able to teach them to be responsible consumers, or will they see it as an entitlement, courtesy of companies that market specifically to them?
     I just can't help but repeat what my spirit discerns ... there have some good outcomes from our increased knowledge via technology; but I would give up a whole lot of our progress for a simpler life and less intrusion.   I fear for our children in the coming years; for their physical and mental safety, and their spiritual health.  God save us from ourselves!

For more information on Google's plans to target your children, click here.  

Proverbs 8:12    "I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions."