Artificial Intelligence In Bible Prophecy

Our title for this message is Artificial Intelligence in Bible Prophecy.

There are rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence that are going to usher in radical changes to life as we know it. We have already experienced the prelude to this through the current computer revolution. In recent years the introduction of the Internet along with the proliferation of commuters has produced a world that looks and operates very different than it did few decades ago. iPhones and iPads are now in the hands of people in remote regions of the world. Toddles in our own households are using the technology as young as three and four years old. Most of my work is done on a computer. We already know how profoundly advances in technology can affect our lives.

Work behind the scenes on Artificial Intelligence or AI has been immense in recent years. The technology that is emerging will blow your mind. A couple of months ago, a company named OpenAI, founded by Elon Musk, released a sophisticated chatbox call ChatGPT. GPT stands for generative pre-trained transformer. It is “a program that can realistically write like a human.”i This is Cliff Notes on steroids. In her explanation of this technology,

Caitlyn Hart says, “GPT essentially searches a massive amount of written text by reading millions of articles and books online. It produces work that has perfect grammar, correct punctuation, and no spelling mistakes. After analyzing a text based on users’ input it then captures the style of writing for all new articles.

It will automatically plan sentences that will be followed by other paragraphs using advanced natural language processing techniques to complete the final product.”ii

I tried to test the technology this week, but the site is operating at capacity So I could not get into it. But Professor Christian Terwiesch tested it against the MBA entrance exam at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, and it passed the exam.iii Jordon Peterson recently shared his experience with the technology. He was alarmed by its current abilities and even more taken back by its potential for the near future. He provided ChatGPT with a couple of very difficult tasks. The chatbox completed each one in about three seconds. It is currently smarter than you and me, but in a couple of years it will be way smarter.iv

Imagine the impact this will have on the education system. How will it affect the way we work in the future? Who will control its power? This increases potential productivity, but it also presents new challenges. For example, it escalates the dangers of fake news exponentially. It’s influence on the way people think could be enormous. Hold onto your hat, for we are in for a ride during the next few years.

How do we respond to all this?

First, understand technology is morally neutral. A gun can be used to put food on the table or slaughter innocent people. A computer can be used to spread the gospel or spread hate. Nuclear power can be used to light up a city or annihilate its population. We should not withdraw from

technological advancements just because some people will use it in destructive ways. Instead, we should make the most of the opportunities it affords.v

As Christians, we are in the world but not of it. Our citizenship is in heaven. Our hearts are toward the Lord. We look for His return and the establishment of His rule over the earth.vi Many in the world are putting their faith in technological breakthroughs. Even now there are people trying to orchestrate their own resurrection through cryonics technology. “Cryonics is the practice of preserving human bodies in extremely cold temperatures with the hope of reviving them sometime in the future.”vii The sad thing about this deception is that it turns their attention from the One who is the resurrection and the life toward hopeless fantasies.viii

In John 17:15-16 Jesus prayed for His followers saying, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”ix So, we are here to be salt and light to a lost world.x In biblical times, salt was primarily used to keep meat from rotting. To fulfil that function, it had to be rubbed into the meat as a preservative. Likewise, we are to be in the world retarding the moral corruption. We are to provide light and hope to those who live in spiritual darkness.

We stay engaged with the world no matter what technological develops come and go. We keep proclaiming the message of Christ because we are not willing that any would perish, but all would come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).