The End Times: Technology

The End Times: Technology
By Chris Schang

The Bible tells us that in the end times and last days that mankind will make great advances in the development of technology. In fact, it was the prophet Daniel who recorded the following word from the Lord:

Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, [even] to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Here we can see that men will eventually run “to and fro” and that knowledge shall be increased. I would imagine that when Daniel penned these words under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that he was simply astonished to see the advancement that mankind would make in some 2,500 or more years later. Imagine the prophet who used horses and mules for transportation seeing visions of automobile, jet planes, and high speed trains. Not to mention fighter aircraft, submarines, speed boats, etc.

In the past one hundred or so years mankind has made tremendous gains in technological knowledge and advancement. Trains of course have been around even longer than say cars and airplanes, but during this time period we have seen airplanes and automobiles developed that would take the transportation industry to a whole new level that could only be dreamed of by people living in the 1800s much less at the time of Daniel. With the advances in the locomotive and development of the automobile and airplane men have been able to “go to and fro” at speeds that were only once imagined but have now become a reality. The development of the automobile and airplane in the early 1900s revolutionized and increased the ability of mankind to communicate, move goods across vast distances at greater speeds, and of course increase recreational leisure. The advancement of the transportation industry has allowed the continents to be bridged and cause an increase in globalization. These advances also brought about a greater improvement in the overall quality of life for the average person who had financial access to these things. Instead of waiting weeks for a rider on horse to make a several hundred mile trip via horseback, a person in a car could arrive at their destination in just half a day or so. This increase in the ability to go “to and fro” has also helped to speed up the fulfillment of other Bible prophecies.

The Daniel 12:4 verse also mentions that knowledge should be greatly increased. It is commonly known that there are more scientists living today than the whole sum of scientists that have ever lived in the past. It is also estimated that about every two years that the total sum of man’s knowledge is doubled. With the invention of television, satellites, the internet, and other advances in other fields such as medicine, etc. mankind has increased his knowledge here in the end times just as the Bible forewarned would happen. The advances in technological knowledge make the fulfillment of future Bible prophecy all the easier to do.

For example, with the invention of satellite television mankind is for the first time in his history is able to fulfill the prophecies concerning Revelation 11:3-10 where the two witnesses are slain by the antichrist and the people of the world are able to marvel at their bodies lying in the street of Jerusalem. Revelation 11:3-12 tells us:

Rev 11:3 And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Rev 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Rev 11:9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
Rev 11:10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

This prophecy could only be fulfilled with the advent of the modern day satellite systems that we use today to broadcast news from around the world live as it is happening. A prime illustration of how the prophecy of the two witnesses could be fulfilled was seen most recently when Pope John Paul had died and his body laid in the Vatican under 24/7 observation through satellite feeds. Only in our lifetime has this prophecy been able to be literally fulfilled. The Lord saw this ahead of time and forewarned mankind through John the prophet as he wrote the book of Revelation on the isle of Patmos.

Another example of technological advancement that is related to Bible prophecy fulfillment involves the development of global positioning systems (GPS) that allows mankind to locate other people anywhere in the world as long as they have a device that will transmit signals to the satellites in space that will then record the movement and position of the person or thing being monitored. The technology now exists to embed RFID microchips inside ones skin that are basically rice-sized capsules that are able to transmit signals so that people can be easily found should say a natural disaster strike. Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans is often used as an example of a recent natural disaster situation where microchips would have been able to aid law enforcement officials in indentifying bodies found in the disaster area. These microchips are also being used to implant inside of Alzheimer’s patients in order to help monitor their whereabouts since they are prone to walking off a nursing facilities grounds and suddenly getting lost. The applications for these microchips is absolutely phenomenal and the market for them will only grow as their application use expands and mankind finds more ways to use the technology.

In the medical community these microchips can be used to store a persons entire medical history and more so that if they were to say suddenly blackout and not be able to give critical medical information to emergency responders, then with the simple swipe of a transmitter receiving device these medical records can be easily retrieved from the embedded microchip. This is now being hailed as a new way to provide patient safety and reduce medical errors. There is even talk of making these implants mandatory in the future. In fact, there are laws now that require livestock in some places to be implanted with microchips to help monitor the outbreak of disease among other things. Governments can use these microchips to keep track of livestock levels held by different farmers so that accurate records can be kept when it comes to comparing livestock and economic reports.

The danger of today’s technological advances are in their misuse. The Bible warns that in the future the one world leader often referred to as the antichrist will implement a “mark of the beast” system that will not allow people to buy or sell unless they have this mark. This system is actually introduced by the antichrist’s sidekick the false prophet but will be for the purpose of pledging allegiance to the antichrist. The Bible says in Revelation 13:11-18:

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the means of] those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six.

What exactly this mark of the beast will be remains to be seen, but the Bible does say that the mark of the beast will be in people’s foreheads or hands. While the mark could simply be a tattoo, it is interesting to note that the best place to implant a microchip is in the forehead or the hand where the skin is the thinnest. This of course has made the RFID microchips a prime suspect of Bible prophecy watchers as it is deemed a good candidate for the future mark of the beast as it can be easily introduced to the world society and if a person doesn’t have the mark (microchip) then they will not be allowed to buy or sell unless they pledge allegiance to the future one world government leader – the antichrist.

With the rise and continued progress of technology in these end times and last days, we are moving ever more quickly to the time of the end. The time when the world is thrust into the the great tribulation period. The final seven years of this age that is often referred to as the “time of Jacob’s trouble” as God pours out his wrath upon unbelieving Israel and unrepentant sinners. But before this final seven year period commences, the rapture of the church will take the bride of Christ to Heaven in a remarkable event that is often referred to as the “blessed hope” for believers. The rapture will happen unexpectedly and without warning. Only people who have placed their faith in the atoning sacrifice and completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ will participate in the rapture. I encourage everyone to make their decision today for the Lord Jesus Christ. For tomorrow could be too late.

God bless.