The Electronics Age in Bible Prophecy

 

Who could have ever envisioned where the discovery of electricity would lead mankind. Basic electricity was the engine that drove the industrial revolution and the nuclear age. Electronics have driven the digital age, resulting in a smart-phone computer in the hands of 70% of individuals world-wide (more people than have indoor plumbing). AI is now at the finger-tips of every man, woman and child. AI automates factories, businesses, vehicles, missiles and drones, often replacing humans. Generative AI produces images, voices, videos, music. We hardly need human brain-power, or spirit led creativity. If ever Man has reached into the heavens and become like God, it is our present age.

Christians accept the digital age far too casually. They not only endorse it, they are elated over every new-found creative enablement. They have not a clue that Bible prophecy speaks eloquently about the Age of Electronics. God said that electronics would be a strategic factor at the end of the age. What seems so innocent and convenient is actually deceptively alluring, empowering, and manipulative. So much so that it is destined to meet up with God’s wrath, judgment and destruction. I am not making any of this up, I assure you, it is clearly laid out in Scripture. But even if someone were to point it out most Christians would not believe it.  Their bias is just too strong, predisposed to condone the electronics age as totally innocent and inert, not even a blip on the mind of God.

Revelation 13 contains the most detailed prophecy of the electronics age. It does not describe electronics in modern, straightforward vernacular, though. It is an apocalyptic vision using first-century concepts. The electronics age is the false prophet of the last half of Revelation 13. The beast out of the earth is not actually called the false prophet until later (Rev16:13; 19:20), but they are one and the same. The vision starts with a beast coming up out of the earth with two horns, seeming like a lamb, but speaking like a dragon. It ends with the enigmatic number, 666. For me, this is one of the most intriguing visions in Revelation, packed with real-world relevance for today. It is pinpoint accurate. Once again, history interprets prophecy, squashing speculation and conjecture.

The two horns on the beast represent positive and negative current. Why does it come out of the ground? Because electricity does not work without the electrical current returning to a ground rod. Why the lamb and the dragon? Electrical inventions all seem so innocent, practical, and helpful at the start. But with the development of electronics the innocent lamb became a false prophet, speaking like a dragon. The digital age has given birth to computers, unlimited information, the internet, social media, and now artificial intelligence. All of these are replete with deception and corruption. They exert great power and authority, capable of great control, manipulation, threat, and harm. And that’s not even considering the dark web. The false prophet imagery does not depict a man, such as the Antichrist, but rather the dominance and deception of electronics in the last days.

How does electronics live up to the designation, false prophet? Prophets purport to dispense truth, wisdom and guidance. But a false prophet is deceiving, misleading, and destructive, all the while pretending to be a lamb. It promises life and truth, but delivers deception, bondage, and slavery. Stop and realize how much our world – our morals, our activities, our beliefs, our loyalties – are shaped by the electronic messages and images we devour each and every day.

What about the number, 666? When history unveiled the number 666 it became the key to identifying the beast, the false prophet. “Solve a riddle: Put your heads together and figure out the meaning of the number of the beast. It’s a human number: 666” (Rev 13:18, MSG). The barcode, invented in 1974, uses the number six to signify the beginning, midpoint and ending of the scan. Barcodes, UPC labels, QR codes, smart cards, and other forms of electronic codes have controlled commerce for the last fifty years. You cannot transact business without electronics – buy, sell, inventory, shipping, delivery, cash register – nothing. In essence, the bar code solves the riddle of what the two-horned beast represents. (It has nothing to do with a chip implant demanded by the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation.)

Another significant prophecy about the electronics age comes from an unlikely source. Peter prophesied that “the elements in the heavens will be destroyed by fire, and the works of mankind will be laid bare” (II Pet 3:10). This is speaking of the satellite-dependent electronics technology that is the very lifeblood of mankind in these last hours before the Day of the Lord.  The electronics age will come to an end. This unheralded prediction correlates with Revelation, where it is prophesied that the false prophet (remember, that is the electronics age, not a person) will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 19:19-21). In the context it seems that this will occur concurrently with Christ’s second coming, when He will establish His Millennial kingdom.  Just think of it, a kingdom of peace and righteousness, free of all electronics.