All language subtitles for The End Times Sign of Technology (2020) 720p WEB x264 Dr3adLoX.ENG

>>[music]

>>Hello! I'm Nathan
Jones, Internet Evangelist here

at Lamb & Lion Ministries, and
your host. How do we know the

end times are upon us and that
Jesus Christ is returning soon?

One of the surest ways we can
know is through the incredible

end times sign of technology.
God has revealed in the Bible

that when certain centuries-old
prophecies concerning future

technology, especially those
technologies that greatly

increase knowledge and travel,
become a part of everyday life,

then the final days of this
age leading up to Christ's

Millennial Kingdom will have at
last come upon us. The long-ago

prophesied technologies that we
today now take for granted prove

that Jesus is returning soon.
Let's explore just nine of the

end times signs related to
technology foretold in the

Bible. All of this and more,
coming up!

>>[music]

Before we take a look into this
jaw-dropping end times sign, let

me first ask you a question. How
do you feel personally about

technology? Do you love
technology, and so consider

yourself a technophile, or hate
it, and are proud of the label

technophobe? Or, are you just
floating in blissful ambivalence

somewhere in the middle of the
love-to-hate technology scale?

>>[music]

For those who dislike
technology, or at least keep a

wary eye upon it, you probably
have some very good reasons for

why you feel the way you do.
When struggling to operate the

latest and greatest gizmo, maybe
the experience of merely turning

it on leaves you feeling
frustrated. We've all felt

frustrated using some new piece
of tech, and also felt so much

better after hurling the device
against the wall. Maybe the nerd

factor keeps you at a distance.
You avoid Best Buys at all cost,

worried that upon entering
you'll be transformed into the

next Steve Urkel. Who would
ever want to end up as a social

stigma in suspenders? Or, maybe
you fear that technology will

eventually become so advanced
that it will evolve, and once it

reaches self-awareness, will
seek to destroy all of humanity

with an army of glowing-eyed,
Schwarzenegger-like Terminators.

Why take the chance of our own
creations rebelling against us

just as we have been doing with
God? Or, maybe in the process of

assimilating all of this tech
into our lives, and even into

our bodies, we worry that we
will lose our humanity and

become more Borg than organism.
For those who love technology, I

believe the real reason that we
have created so many new devices

is because we like to find
creative ways to torment our

pets. It's true! Who hasn't
turned on their vacuum cleaner

and received a good laugh out of
watching the dog bolt for cover?

Or, gotten some kind of demented
glee out of watching their cat

frantically chase the penlight's
beam zigzagging around the

carpet? Or, chuckled as your
fish took a ride up the bubble

stream glugging out of the
tank's treasure chest? Or, taken

your wiener dog scuba diving?
Well, maybe not that. With all

of our human ingenuity, you'd
think we'd at least use our

creativity for more constructive
purposes, but alas, for all our

creative genius we humans tend
to misuse our ingenuity more

than we use it. We create many
of our new technologies in the

name of convenience, but in the
end, they often end up making us

look quite silly. Who in a
public bathroom hasn't waved

their dripping hands in front of
an automatic dispenser and had

the device mock us by refusing
to eject a paper towel? Or,

cursed your leaf blower for
blowing leaves from one side of

your yard back to the same spot
again? Or, spent every Christmas

Eve untangling a Gordian knot
forged out of those little

blinking tree lights? Or, had
your smart phone's autocorrect

wish your spouse, "Happy
birthday, dead husband"? Or,

when mounting lasers to the
heads of sharks? Well, maybe not

the last one either, but you
get the point. Rooms full of

corporate gadget makers have
long been belly laughing at our

expense. Where do I personally
fall on the love-to-hate

technology scale? I made it
through college on a typewriter,

even though a fully-equipped
computer lab lay at my disposal.

But, then, I got over my
reticence and devoted my early

career to being a Web developer
and designer. And, now as an

Internet and television
evangelist, I've embraced the

tremendous benefits of our
modern-day communications

technology because it provides
unlimited possibilities in

sharing the Gospel with the
world. I may not be the first in

line to shell out obscene
amounts of money for the latest

iPhone, but then, neither am I
the last. A simple Appalachian

cabin would suit me fine, just
as long as a wireless connection

to my Netflix account was
readily available. I'd imagine

most of us fall along that point
on the scale.

>>[music]

>>Before moving any further into
our look

at how today's technology
heralds the end times, we

first need to define
terms, because you are going

to hear the word "technology" a
whole lot here. The

Greek word tekhnologia provides
the root for where we get our

English word "technology,"
meaning "the systematic

treatment of art and skill." The
Science Dictionary clarifies

Aristotle's nebulous definition
with "the use of scientific

knowledge to solve practical
problems." But, is science

absolutely necessary to solve
our problems? Maybe technology

is more about "the practical
application of knowledge."

That's a pretty good definition.
Or, how about this one? "The sum

of the ways in which social
groups provide themselves with

material objects of their
civilization." I believe these

curious definitions tend to beat
around the bush, and so I'm

going to give you my own
definition of what technology

is: "Applying what you know to
fix problems and make stuff."

Technology, therefore, is not
just the gizmos and gadgets we

make, but the technical skills
and creativity it initially

takes to invent and forge these
tools.

>>[music]

>>So, technology does what
again?

It fixes problems and it
makes stuff.

For those who dislike
technology, fixing problems and

making stuff isn't so bad,
right? Right, because I am now

going to prove that technology
can certainly be a good thing.

After all, do you know where
knowledge and the wisdom to

properly wield technology
actually comes from? It

originates directly from God
Almighty. Job once asked, "Can

anyone teach God knowledge?" The
obvious answer is no; no one can

teach an all-knowing God. Job
later referred to God as, "Him

who is perfect in knowledge."
That means that God is,

absolute, flawless, and perfect.
He is the ultimate in knowing

all things. He even knows all
things down to the tiniest

minutia, such as the number of
hairs on each of our heads. The

prophet Isaiah also asked such
similar rhetorical questions:

>>[music]

>>"With whom did He
take counsel, and who instructed

Him, and taught Him in the path
of justice? Who taught Him

knowledge, and showed Him the
way of understanding?" Nobody!

God is the Author and the
Creator. All that ever was to be

known, is known, or will be
known has been authored by God.

To have real knowledge then
means to know what God already

knows. You can understand then
why the Apostle Paul cried out:

>>"Oh, the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and knowledge

of God! How unsearchable are
His judgments and His ways past

finding out!" >>That means that
everything that mankind has ever

known has originated from God.
That also means that when we

finally get to Heaven and live
with our omniscient Savior

forever and ever, we will also
continually learn forever and

ever. We will never catch up to
what God already knows because

what He knows is infinite. Isn't
that exciting? Christians will

have an eternity of learning and
growing ahead of us.

>>[music]

>>Not only is God the source of
knowledge, but He is also the

keeper of knowledge. The
Proverbs reveal that: >>"The

eyes of the Lord preserve
knowledge." >>In other words,

God protects knowledge as if it
were a commodity. Paul explained

the reason as, "in whom are
hidden all the treasures of

wisdom and knowledge." God sees
both wisdom and knowledge as

actual treasure. And, He doles
out those treasures as He sees

fit, keeping the keys to certain
scientific breakthroughs hidden

until He wants mankind to at
last discover them. Bear in mind

that wisdom, like technology, is
simply the practical application

of knowledge. Therefore, God
as the keeper of wisdom is,

therefore, also the keeper of
technology.

>>[music]

>>God may be the source and the
keeper of knowledge,

but He's also generous in
sharing what He knows.

God then becomes the provider of
knowledge,

and so therefore technology.
That means

that all those technologies that
mankind has invented and taken

credit for, well, it can be
argued that they in truth came

from the very mind of God, the
Provider, when He saw fit to

release that knowledge. The
Proverbs teach that: >>"For the

Lord gives wisdom; from His
mouth comes knowledge and

understanding." >>When E.F.
Hutton talks, people listen, but

every time God talks, we learn
something eternal. That's why

it's so important that we read
God's Word. The author of

Ecclesiastes wrote: >>"For God
gives wisdom and knowledge and

joy to a man who is good in His
sight." >>And, how are we good

in His sight? How do we please
God? By doing His will for,

"Whatever we ask we receive
from Him, because we keep His

commandments and do those things
that are pleasing in His sight."

That the all-knowing God of the
universe is the source, keeper,

and provider of all knowledge
is, to quote Donald Trump:

>>Sometimes they say huge.
>>It's so huge, in fact, that I

must stop for a second and point
this out again, for I'm going to

keep making the argument that
the technology that we have

today was given to us by God
only when He saw fit to give it

to us. Former President Obama
once accused our nation's

companies saying: >>"You didn't
build that. Somebody else made

that happen." >>He meant that
without government's help, our

companies could never have ever
made the widgets and services

that they make. Obama was wrong
about the government part, but

he would have been correct if he
had attributed the production of

our technology to God. God
provided the knowledge and

inspiration to produce certain
technologies at key times He had

designated, all because He is
the provider of knowledge. The

prophet Daniel added to this
vital point with: >>"He gives

wisdom to the wise and
knowledge to those who have

understanding." >>Here we
learn that God gives even more

knowledge, and the wisdom to
apply that knowledge, to those

who know how to utilize
knowledge. And, if you happen to

be knowledgeable and wise, it's
because the Holy Spirit has made

you that way. Paul added:
>>"For to one is given the word

of wisdom through the Spirit, to
another the word of knowledge

through the same Spirit." >>God
made us each with a certain

level of knowledge, skills, and
wisdom; and we apply each of

those to fixing our problems and
making stuff.

>>[music]

>>Did you know that God has made
certain promises concerning

knowledge? Young Timothy learned
from his mentor, Paul, that when

it comes to the knowledge about
salvation that God, "desires all

men to be saved and to come to
the knowledge of the truth." Who

does God want to have the
knowledge of the truth of

salvation and so be saved? All
of mankind! Every one of us.

Whether people accept that
saving knowledge or not, well,

that's up to them. But, when
it comes to the knowledge

concerning salvation, God
provides that freely. Titus

learned from Paul that the hope
of eternal life in God, who

cannot lie, was actually
promised before time began. God

promised the knowledge about
salvation before the beginning

of time, and long before mankind
had ever sinned.

>>[music]

>>We'd agree that there are
many smart people out there who

clearly have a good amount of
knowledge. And, we'd agree that

there are just as many people
out there who clearly are

lacking in knowledge. What
happens when people lack

knowledge? Proverbs tells us:
>>"The fear of the Lord is the

beginning of wisdom, and the
knowledge of the Holy One is

understanding." >>If you have no
knowledge of the Holy One, what

do you really have? Well,
nothing! Without a respect for

God, to seek Him and to learn
about Him, our manmade knowledge

becomes absolutely worthless.
This verse is an emphatic

declaration that the first step
to attaining true knowledge must

begin with accepting the fact
there is a God, if we are to

really know anything at all. If
we don't first begin our quest

for attaining knowledge by
acknowledging there is a God and

follow that by identifying Him
as the God of the Bible, then we

end up with the opposite of
knowledge, which is ignorance.

Take for instance Paul's warning
to Timothy to: >>"Guard what

was committed to your trust,
avoiding the profane and idle

babblings and contradictions
of what is falsely called

knowledge." >>So, there's godly
knowledge, and then there's

mankind's knowledge. Mankind's
knowledge is rarely built upon

God's knowledge, and so it ends
up being, in reality, not even

knowledge at all. Mankind's
knowledge, apart from God's

knowledge, is false and
worthless. So-called knowledge

apart from God turns geniuses
into ignoramuses. Ignorance has

consequences. God through the
prophet Hosea bemoaned: >>"My

people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge." >>Without knowing

Jesus Christ as our Savior, we
die unforgiven of our sins and

face an eternal punishment for
our rebellion against God in

Hell. Not knowing the source
and provider of knowledge,

especially when it comes to the
knowledge concerning salvation,

is literally killing us in this
life and ultimately in Hell in

the next life.

>>[music]

>>Does knowledge have a
destiny?

The Bible tells us so, and it's
two-fold. First: >>"Whether

there is knowledge, it will
vanish away." >>That manmade

earthly knowledge that we're so
keen on stoking, which puffs up

so many egos and leads so many
people astray from the saving

knowledge of Jesus Christ, well,
it will all end, and someday

soon. And, second, that manmade
earthly knowledge that we put so

much stock into, it will
ultimately be replaced with:

>>"For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the glory

of the Lord, as the waters cover
the sea." >>God's knowledge is

all that matters, for manmade
knowledge will be replaced

totally, universally, and
forever by the wonderful truth

of God - the source, the keeper,
the provider of knowledge. And

that brings us back to my
initial question: How do you

feel personally about
technology? After all, now that

you know that God is the source
and provider of all true

knowledge, and that knowing Him
is the ultimate application of

that knowledge, ergo wisdom,
then is using His knowledge to

create technology inherently a
bad thing? I would argue that

since God Himself is the Creator
who made His children in His

image to also be creators, and
that He doles out knowledge as

He sees fit for the purpose of
leading mankind to invent new

technologies, then technology
is inherently good. After all,

don't we all have the need from
time to time to fix our problems

and make stuff? When mankind
shivered out there in the wild

in the cold of night, they
figured out how to make a fire,

then control the fire, then
safely bring the fire indoors.

When their legs grew weary from
walking and saddle-sore from

riding, they invented the wheel
and buggy, and later the monster

truck. When the heavy earthen
pots became too burdensome to

carry back and forth from the
well, they designed irrigation

systems, mastered glass blowing
and created light-weight

pitchers, and eventually the
thermos. When people got tired

of burning their hands over an
open fire while cooking their

latest kill, they invented the
charcoal grill and invited all

their friends over for a BBQ.
And, when their backsides grew

red and raw from using pinecones
in the outhouses, the Chinese,

God bless them, invented toilet
paper. Who can really argue with

these technologies? These
technologies, and so many more

like them, fix mankind's
problems. So, technology, good

or bad? I'd conclude that
technology is inherently good,

but with this caveat, in the
wrong hands technology can

certainly can be misused.

>>[music]

>>When I was a kid back in
the 1980s,

I faced some
very serious dilemmas. The tough

decisions I was forced to make
affected my life so monumentally

that, should I have ended up
making the wrong choices, they

would have forever sent me
down the dark path of social

obscurity. VHS or Betamax? Kodak
35mm film or Polaroid camera?

Sony Walkman or Sound Burger 33
1/3 RPM record player? Slide

deck or overhead projector?
Commodore 64 or Apple Macintosh?

Nintendo NES or Sega Master
System? Transformers or Gobots?

As you can see, the 80s were a
minefield of new technologies in

which to navigate. Choose
wrongly, and you may end up like

Donovan from the movie Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade.

Unless you're a toddler playing
with your mother's Android, you

have enough history to look back
and see that technology has

changed a lot, a whole lot, over
the last few decades. Let's not

even talk in decades, but in
just years. The child attaining

adulthood today can with a
shudder look back to 2002 when

there was no Wikipedia, no
Gmail, no social media like

Facebook and Twitter, no cloud
computing, no tablets, no smart

phones, and certainly
no high-speed Internet

connectivity. Remember the sound
a modem made when connecting a

surfer to the World Wide Web?
>>[connecting to the modem

sounds] >>Well, ask a ten year
old that question today and they

couldn't even tell you. Even Bob
Dylan couldn't have imagined how

much things would be changing
when way back in the stone ages

of 1963 he sang, "The Times
They Are A-changin'." Times

a-changin' wasn't always the
way things were, though. For

thousands of years of human
history, life remained pretty

much the same. Sure, every 300
years or so the world eked out a

technological innovation that
revolutionized the world, moving

humanity from say the Bronze Age
to the Iron Age. But, for the

most part, limitations in travel
left most inventions cordoned

off to a tiny corner of the
world. But, then, AD 1454

finally arrived, and the German
goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg

released the very first mobile,
reusable type press, kind of

like an antique photocopier. At
last knowledge could be mass

copied onto paper and be
distributed far and wide. The

age of the printed book
revolutionized the world, and

Gutenberg started with the fount
of all knowledge, the Bible.

It'd be hundreds of years
later before other monumental

inventions transformed society:
Eli Whitney and the cotton gin.

Thomas Newcomen and the steam
engine. Samuel Morse and the

telegraph. Thomas Edison and the
light bulb. Alexander Graham

Bell and the telephone.
Alexander Fleming and antibiotic

penicillin. Guglielmo Marconi
and the radio. Philo Taylor

Farnsworth and the television.
William Shockley and team the

transistor, and Jack Kilby and
Robert Noyce the microchip. Were

you surprised to learn from your
history classes that the most

world-changing technologies were
invented in the last 150 years

or so? And, as we got closer to
our own day and age, how each

technological discovery came
about faster and faster and

faster, and how each grew more
and more and more powerful, as

one invention was built on top
of another on top of another?

This increasingly rapid
acceleration of technological

discovery has been called
the exponential curve. Our

technology has been experiencing
an exponential growth as one

discovery builds upon another
at an increasingly faster and

faster pace. Let's just look
at the exponential curve of

computers, for instance. The old
joke is, "How do you know when

your computer is obsolete?" The
answer, "When you take it out of

the box." Well, that's not too
far from the truth, though.

Computer companies tend to
double computer processing

speeds every 18 months. Known as
Moore's Law, this is just one

manifestation of the greater
trend in how all technological

change happens to be occurring
at an exponential rate. By 2023,

computers are expected to
possess the processing speed

equivalent to the human brain.
By 2045, in a mere quarter of a

century, Moore's Law predicts we
will possess computers with the

computational ability equivalent
to the entire human race! The

exponential curve is not just
limited to computers. Other

technologies in biomedicine,
space science, chemical

engineering, human engineering,
and all the other sciences have

been climbing faster and steeper
up their own exponential curves

with each and every passing day.
It's expected that in the next

five years the world's
technology will be 32 times more

advanced than it is today. It's
also been estimated that 65% of

today's kindergarteners, once
they finally graduate from

college, will ultimately end up
working in completely new jobs

that, at this time, don't yet
even exist. This exponential

curve in all areas of technology
reminds me of another

exponential curve, one Jesus
described in the Bible. The

Apostles once asked Jesus:
>>"What will be the sign of your

coming, and of the end of the
age?" >>Jesus answered by

providing ten signs to look out
for that would reveal to us when

His second advent would be upon
us. A marked increase in false

prophets and false messiah, wars
and rumors of wars, earthquakes,

famines, plagues, fearful
events, signs in the sky, the

persecution of Christians, and
the world's focus on Jerusalem

would encompass the first nine
signs, with the tenth sign

involving the unnatural
disasters that will directly

precede the Messiah's return.
Jesus added that these signs

would increase in frequency and
intensity, much like a woman's

birth pains, the closer we came
to His return. Exponential

curves become, in and of
themselves, their own sign that

marks the advent of the
Messiah's return to this earth.

>>[music]

>>How does the
intersection of the two

exponential curves, the end
times signs curve and the

technology curve, indicate that
Jesus Christ is returning soon?

Before we dive deep into
answering that question, I want

to back it up a bit and confront
a general misconception. Let's

take a moment to look at those
technologies historically found

in the Bible, particularly way
back in the very beginnings of

the Old Testament. Since we're
looking at God's Word for the

answers to where technology is
going, we first need to bust a

myth. Men like famed astronomer
Neil deGrasse Tyson have scoffed

that, "God is an ever-receding
pocket of scientific ignorance."

Atheists like him claim that the
Bible is merely a "religious

book" filled with primitive
people tromping around in the

mud and hating science. As we
take a look into the Bible,

we'll see that's certainly not
the case. The Bible is just full

of science. Let's, like H.G.
Wells, hop into our time machine

and travel back to the age
before the Flood. Let's look at

the era between the Creation,
say 4000 BC, and 2348 BC when

Creation Scientists have
calculated the Flood to have

occurred. This era covers some
1,652 years. Let's explore some

of the various technologies that
early man used to fix their

problems and make stuff. >>"Then
the Lord God took the man and

put him in the Garden of Eden to
tend and keep it." >>Even before

the fall of mankind, Adam and
Eve were working the land.

Horticulture, botany, farming,
and all the agrarian sciences

were being discovered and new
technologies and tools invented

to handle agricultural work.
And, we're talking about just

two people figuring all of this
out. Our ancient parents must

have been incredibly intelligent
people! >>"And they sowed fig

leaves together and made
themselves coverings." >>As soon

as Adam and Eve sinned and
realized they were walking

around in the buff, they ran off
behind a tree and sewed some

clothes together. They didn't
just lick and stick a bunch of

leaves all over themselves. They
had at least already invented

the needle and the thread. They
knew how to make textiles.

>>"So, He drove out the man and
He placed cherubim at the east

of the Garden of Eden, and a
flaming sword which turned every

way to guard the way to the Tree
of Life." >>Even before Adam and

Eve were expelled from the
Garden of Eden, weaponry like

swords already existed in the
heavenly realm. Genesis records

that two angels flashed a
flaming sword back and forth to

prevent mankind from accessing
the Tree of Life. The first

couple had observed Heaven's
arsenal before needing to learn

how to construct their own
weaponry to ward off the

velociraptors. >>"Now Abel was
a keep of sheep, but Cain was a

tiller of the ground." >>How
did Abel shear his sheep? He had

to invent the clipper and the
comb. And, did Cain dig with his

hands? No, he invented tools
such as hoes, and rakes, and

sickles and other farm
implementations. Cain wouldn't

have been able to farm very well
without these tools. Even as

early as the second generation,
humanity had developed tools.

>>"And he, Cain, built a city."
>>After Cain had killed his

brother and was ordered by God
to wander the earth, Cain went

right ahead and disobeyed God by
building an entire city. Sure,

there may once have been people
living in caves, but cavemen?

No! The earliest of peoples
possessed the ability to build

buildings. >>"Tubal-cain an
instructor of every craftsman in

bronze and iron." >>All the way
back to the earliest chapters in

Genesis, mankind possessed the
technology to mine metals,

refine the ores in furnaces,
utilize measuring devices, and

work with blacksmith's tools.
They constructed pickaxes, and

drills and chisels in order to
mine the earth. >>"Make yourself

an ark of gopher wood." >>Noah
was asked to build a boat, and

not just any boat, probably the
most massive boat the world up

to that point had ever seen.
Sure, the task took him one

hundred years or so to
accomplish, but it still takes a

lot of technology to build a
boat. Noah knew how to cut,

fell, and shape wood. He had the
ability to measure lengths with

various measuring devices. He
needed a crane. And, did Noah

even know how to sail? He would
have needed some knowledge about

yachting. The ability to build
and master ships was already in

existence by Noah's day. >>"And
Noah began to be a famer, and he

planted a vineyard, then he
drank of the wine." >>Almost as

soon as Noah got out of the ark,
what did he do? He cultivated

vines, constructed vats,
fermented grapes, and then got

passed-out drunk. Noah had
earlier mastered how to distill

alcohol. People have long been
searching for a stiff drink.

Even in those early days, back
when people were starting all

over again after the Flood,
Noah's descendants still had

problems that needed fixing and
so they continued to make stuff.

>>"And Joseph commanded his
servants, the physicians, to

embalm his father. So, the
physicians embalmed Israel."

>>Ancient Egypt had medical
personnel who were proficient in

various plant remedies,
chemistry, and healing

treatments. They even knew how
to preserve dead bodies against

the dry desert elements.
Egyptians were master doctors at

the time. Even some of today's
medical methodology originated

back in those ancient lands.
>>"And he took off their chariot

wheels, so that they drove them
with difficulty." >>This very

first mention of the wheel in
the Bible shows that ancient

people relied on this vital bit
of technology to travel and

transport cargo. Ancient
people weren't just exhausting

themselves from pushing pallets
about but used wheel technology

to increase their productivity
and get themselves home from

work faster in time for dinner.
>>"Then the Lord said to Moses,

'Write this for a memorial in
the book.'" >>By Moses' day,

people had already long mastered
verbal and written languages,

recording words on clay tablets
and antique forms of paper. Adam

actually had already invented
language back when God had

commanded him to name
everything. So, no, ancient

people didn't go around grunting
and saying "Oog!" Language has

been around since the very
beginning, and the written

language for thousands of years.
Even today, writing continues to

be an advanced skill. >>"So,
you shall speak to all who are

gifted artisans. And He has
filled him with the spirit of

God in wisdom and understanding,
in knowledge in all manner of

workmanship." >>These passages
tell us the story of the

construction of the Tabernacle,
which became the most ornate

tent ever seen in early Israel.
Tent-making involves all sorts

of skills in weaving and design
work, metallurgy, and textiles.

Here again, God who is the
source of all knowledge,

provided His people with the
skills and abilities to craft

such a magnificent pavilion. >>
"Praise Him with the sound of

the trumpet! Praise Him with the
lute and harp! Praise Him with

the timbrel and dance! Praise
Him with stringed instruments

and flutes!" >>Have you ever
learned how to play a musical

instrument? Just think about
how complicated most musical

instruments are. They involve
a combination of all sorts of

craftsman's skills, artistically
implemented, in order to

construct a musical instrument.
Plus, music is a language all of

its own, and a mathematically
complicated one at that. So,

this whole belief that ancient
man started off as a bunch of

uneducated, grunting primitives
who pulled their women along by

their hair and lived in dank
caves is pure nonsense.

Mankind's ability to combine
intellect and knowledge in order

to discover and invent new
technologies that would fix

their problems and make stuff
has been around ever since God

first created Adam and Eve.
After all, God is the source of

all of mankind's knowledge,
which He shared with our ancient

ancestors.

>>[music]

>>Let's at
last take a look at where the

technological exponential curve
is leading us. Let's look at the

signs of technology revealed in
the Bible that point to the fact

that we are now living in the
end times and which indicate

that Jesus will soon return. The
following are, I believe, nine

of the most prominent signs of
technology. The first sign is

the sign of knowledge. Not
only does this sign stand out

particularly as the most
revealing out of all the

technological signs, but it also
provides the foundation that the

others in this list build upon.
We find the source text for this

prophecy in the book of Daniel.
>>"But you, Daniel, shut up the

words, and seal the book until
the time of the end; many shall

run to and fro, and knowledge
shall increase" >>Daniel had

been listening across many
chapters to an angel pronouncing

a mind-blowing message from God.
Through the angel, God revealed

the rise and the fall of great
empires, leading eventually to a

global empire led by a world
ruler whom the Apostle John

would later call the Antichrist.
Of course, all these great

empires were still future from
Daniel's perspective, so he was

quite perplexed over all he was
hearing. Rubbing his forehead in

confusion, he asked the angel
for an explanation. To his

dismay, no luck! The angel
basically told Daniel that he

could never understand these
prophecies because too much

needed to happen first. This
would include a great increase

in mankind's knowledge which
would mark the "time of the

end," or end times. Only those
living in the end times and who

were "wise" would at last
understand these prophecies and

recognize that the exponential
increase in knowledge heralded

the soon return of the Messiah.
Have you ever considered that

just a hundred years ago all
that most people learned

throughout their entire lifetime
equaled to one Sunday edition of

the New York Times? Our ability
today to practically consume

that same amount of data on a
daily basis shows just how far

mankind's knowledge has
increased in so short an amount

of time. What technologies have
helped us facilitate the advent

of this massive explosion in
the growth of knowledge? You

probably answered "computers,"
and you'd be absolutely correct.

Not only has the exponential
curve in all areas of computer

technology increased our
knowledge to stupendous levels,

but computers have aided in all
the major scientific discoveries

of our day. We don't need to
cram all of those facts into our

brains anymore either, for the
ability to easily store and

access data means we can
continue to learn like we've

never learned before in all
of human history. Today's

exponential increase in
knowledge points to the fact

that Jesus Christ is returning
soon.

>>[music]

>>Notice in that same prophecy
the angel

told Daniel that, besides
a great

increase in knowledge, "many
shall run to and fro." This

tremendous increase in travel
would also occur in the same

context, that being the end
times. God was revealing that

once people began to run to and
fro, both farther and faster,

that those final years before
Christ returned to set up His

Millennial Kingdom were finally
upon us. Stop and think how

people traveled a single century
ago. Most roads weren't even

paved yet and were traveled
along by horse-drawn wagons.

Look at this video of San
Francisco taken way back in

1906. You see far more horses
than horseless carriages! People

rarely, if ever, left their
hometowns. Animal domestication

and the early beginnings of
decent roads, then bicycles,

balloons, boats, and simple
automobiles were developing

technologies, but not widely
received. Since the early part

of the twentieth century,
mankind went on to invent

airplanes and jets, and we've
even left the Earth's atmosphere

in rockets and space shuttles.
It used to take months for

people to travel by boat
overseas, but now we travel that

same distance abroad in mere
hours. In today's world, people

are always on the move, just as
the angel prophesied to Daniel.

Today's exponential increase in
travel points to the fact that

Jesus Christ is returning soon.

>>[music]

The third sign involves those
technologies

which will make the Mark of the
Beast the

terror of the world. The
book of Revelation

forewarns: >>"He also forced
everyone to receive a mark on

his right hand or his forehead,
so that no one could buy or sell

except he had the mark." >>Let
me provide you with a little

context here concerning the
Mark of the Beast. A seven-year

Tribulation time period is
coming when God will be pouring

out His wrath upon the world,
just as He did during the days

of the Flood. Revelation reveals
that at the mid-point of the

Tribulation, the Antichrist and
his False Prophet will set up a

system of commerce whereby a
person cannot buy or sell unless

they have sworn allegiance to
the Antichrist. They do so by

writing his name or the number
666 on their right hand or

forehead. What kinds of
technologies would be required

to control the world's commerce?
The Apostle John could visibly

read the name and the number
etched on the people who had

sworn their allegiance to the
Antichrist, so some kind of

tattooing is certainly involved.
Magnetic inks can store a

person's personal, financial,
and health information; and then

digital readers would scan
the ink in order to authorize

whether that person is allowed
to buy or sell. Maybe a RFID

microchip is also involved,
embedded in a rice-sized glass

case underneath the readable
mark. Global commerce also needs

a way to collect all that
countless terabytes of

information, and so would
require the constructing of

giant data centers in order to
store a planetary population

full of data. That data would
need to move lightning-fast

using high speed Internet
connectivity, complex ecommerce

systems, wireless networks,
billion-dollar satellites, and

so on. The closest system we
have today to the Mark of the

Beast is China's social credit
score, which has already been

instituted in their more
populated cities. The Chinese

government has positioned
millions of cameras everywhere

in order to spy on their
citizens. Computer algorithms

then rate the citizen's
allegiance to the government,

granting benefits to those who
are more loyal and restrictions

on those the computer deems as
not being patriotic enough. Just

imagine that horribly
restrictive system instituted on

a global scale! All of these
ecommerce technologies, which

make today's buying and selling
so much easier, are actually all

coming together so that the
Antichrist can control all of

the world's commerce, and
thereby control all of the

people under his rule. A lot of
fear surrounds taking the Mark

of the Beast, and rightly so,
for those who take it God says

will have lost their hope of
becoming saved. But, we today

should have no fear of
accidently taking the Mark, for

it will not be instituted
until half-way through the

Tribulation, well after the
Church has been raptured up to

Heaven. Therefore, don't sweat
chips and barcodes and credit

cards. They have nothing to do
with the Mark of the Beast...

yet. Today's global ecommerce
network points to the fact that

Jesus Christ is
returning soon.

>>[music]

>>Sign number four is

actually a wonderful sign, for
it's a positive one. This sign

prophesies that the entire world
will be evangelized in the end

times. >>"And this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached in the

whole world as a testimony to
all nations, and then the end

will come." >>God wants the
Church to preach the Good News

of His salvation to the entire
world, and so He's provided us

with powerful communication
tools for sharing the Gospel.

Today's exponential curve in
communications technology has

played a vital role in reaching
more of the world for Christ

than has ever been reached in
the previous nineteen centuries.

Technologies such as cameras and
microphones, televisions and

tablets, smart phones and cell
towers, communications networks

and satellites, the Internet
and the airwaves, big media and

social media they all work
together to form the largest

pulpit the world has ever known.
And while all these breathtaking

technologies are leading people
to Christ by the thousands each

day, the entire world, as Jesus
referred to it, will not all

hear the Gospel before the
Rapture happens. That blessing

awaits the Second Coming at
the end of the Tribulation.

Communications technologies will
continue to spread the Gospel to

the post-Rapture world. In
addition, God will send forth

144,000 Jewish evangelists, the
Two Witnesses, and even the

Gospel Angel to preach
throughout the whole world.

Every person on the planet will
be evangelized by the end of the

Tribulation. God will leave
no person without a chance to

choose His Son and so be
saved. Today's communication

technologies point to the fact
that Jesus Christ is returning

soon.

>>[music]

>>The fifth sign
involves the living image of the

Antichrist. >>"And he performed
great and miraculous signs, even

causing fire to come down. He
was given power to give breath

to the image of the first
beast, so that it could speak."

Revelation reveals that during
the Tribulation the Antichrist

will order his False Prophet to
set up an image of himself in

the newly built Jewish Temple
and order the world to worship

him as if he were God. This is
the same scenario all over again

when the Babylonian King
Nebuchadnezzar set up a statue

of himself and ordered everybody
to worship it. Daniel tells of

how Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego refused and so were

thrown into a fiery furnace.
This is all going to happen

again during the Tribulation,
but instead of chucking people

into ovens, the False Prophet
will rain down fire and

incinerate those people
who refuse to worship the

Antichrist. How will the False
Prophet make fire fall down from

the sky and consume people?
Assuming there's nothing

supernatural going on, let's
look at the technologies

involved in producing
pyrotechnics. Maybe John was

referring to jets or drones
dropping bombs and other

incendiary weapons. And,
satellite-based weapon systems,

such as missile or laser
systems, could simply zap people

from high up in orbit. Remember
that the Antichrist must use

technology because he is a
counterfeit. His False Prophet

will not be a real miracle
maker, and so will use today's

military technology to destroy
people with just the touch of a

button. What's so peculiar about
the story of this image is that

John reveals that it was given
life. Nebuchadnezzar's statue

didn't get up and walk around
and sing and dance and all that;

it didn't even move. But, the
image of the Antichrist will

appear to be alive! Assuming
there's nothing supernatural

involved in making the illusion
of a living statue, such as the

demonic possession of an object,
statues after all still cannot

move. They lack the proper
joints and musculature. What

kinds of technology could the
False Prophet use then to make

an image move? John may have
been the very first person to

watch television. The
Antichrist's image may appear at

regular intervals on a person's
TV set or mobile device, and

once broadcast, everyone is
expected to fall down and

worship his image. Or, the
image may involve robotic and

artificial intelligence, AI
technologies. How about a fully

functional hologram? Japan
especially has been hard at work

developing both robotics and
holographic technologies. Why,

for years now, one of Japan's
biggest pop stars has been

Hatsune Miku who is a fully
interactive hologram that sings

in live concerts. With the
proper Alexa-like technology,

the Antichrist's living image,
be it robot or hologram, could

fully interact with his adoring
acolytes. Today's weapons and

robotic technologies point to
the fact that Jesus Christ is

returning soon.

>>[music]

>>The sixth sign of
technology that

points to the fact that we are
living in the end times involves

a great population explosion.
Revelation reveals: >>"Then the

sixth angel poured out his bowl
on the great river Euphrates,

and its water was dried up, so
that the way of the kings from

the east might be prepared."
>>Prepare the way for what?

>>"The number of the mounted
troops was two hundred million.

I heard their number." >>And,
what happens to this army?

>>"And the winepress was
trampled outside the city, and

blood came out of the winepress,
up to the horses' bridles."

>>In context, as the Tribulation
winds mercifully to a close, the

Antichrist's empire begins to
crumble due to a number of

rebellions led by various
sub-rulers. Just as the

Antichrist squashes a rebellion
in Africa, he must turn his

loyal forces north to deal with
a rebellion coming from the

East. Both armies meet in the
Valley of Armageddon located in

northern Israel. While these
armies are busy slaughtering

each other, they will see Jesus
and his armies returning out of

the heavens and unite against
Him. The King of Kings will

easily defeat the world's armies
just by speaking. The blood from

the vanquished armies will flow
as high as a horse's head for a

staggering 180 miles! By the end
of the Tribulation, most of the

world's population will have
been wiped out, and still these

prophesied Kings of the East can
amass a 200-million-man army.

This prophecy must have just
blown John's mind, for in his

first century day, there were
only 200 million people living

on the whole earth. How then
does the human population get so

large that, despite the massive
death toll of the Tribulation,

the East can assemble such a
staggeringly large army? How do

we have the billions that we
now have today? The answer:

medicine. As each successive
generation produces more and

more people, aided by medicines
that greatly reduce infant

mortality and keep people
healthier and allow us to live

longer, we've reached a massive
global population numbering

nearly eight billion people.
China and India have been able

to mount a 200 million soldier
army ever since the 1960s, and

so could easily do so during the
Tribulation. The exponential

curve strikes again! Today's
medical technologies point to

the fact that Jesus Christ is
returning soon.

>>[music]

>>The seventh sign of
technology involves

the inevitable release of
the world's

nuclear arsenal.
Both the Old and New Testaments

describe the destruction of much
of the world by a series of

nuclear cataclysms. >>"Then
behold, at eventide, trouble!

And before the morning, he is no
more." >>In context, Isaiah and

Jeremiah prophesied the
destruction of the oldest city

on the planet, Damascus, by
Israel suddenly and in just one

night. How do you destroy an
entire city in just one night?

Israel will have to use a
nuclear bomb. >>"Men's hearts

failing them from fear and the
expectation of those things

which are coming on the earth,
for the powers of the heavens

will be shaken." >>In this
verse Jesus prophesied that the

horrors unleashed during the
Tribulation will actually cause

heart attacks. >>"The sky
receded like a scroll, rolling

up, and every mountain and
island was removed from its

place." >>Revelation adds that
"the kings of the earth, the

great men, the rich men, the
commanders, the mighty men,

every slave and every free man,
hid themselves in the caves and

in the rocks of the mountains,
and said to the mountains and

rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us
from the face of Him who sits on

the throne and from the wrath of
the Lamb! For the great day of

His wrath has come, and who is
able to stand?'" The Sixth Seal

Judgment uncannily describes
what a nuclear blast looks like,

and how the people will hide
in caves to escape all the

destruction and radiation these
bombs will rain down upon them.

>>"The first angel sounded: And
hail and fire followed, mingled

with blood, and they were thrown
to the earth. And a third of the

trees were burned up, and all
green grass was burned up."

>>The First Trumpet Judgment
describes yet another cataclysm

that sounds very much nuclear
in nature. >>"By these three

plagues a third of mankind was
killed, by the fire and the

smoke and the brimstone which
came out of their mouths."

>>During the Sixth Trumpet
Judgment, demonic creatures will

be let loose to incinerate
millions with their nuclear

fire-like breath. >>"And this
shall be the plague with which

the Lord will strike all the
people who fought against

Jerusalem: their flesh shall
dissolve while they stand on

their feet, their eyes shall
dissolve in their sockets, and

their tongues shall dissolve
in their mouths." >>Zechariah

describes what will happen to
the Antichrist's armies upon the

Messiah's return. No nukes may
be involved, but the weapon of

the Messiah's own words will
produce the same effect as the

setting off of a nuclear bomb.
Many of God's judgments during

the Tribulation sound like a
first century man's attempt to

explain a nuclear holocaust.
Many believe that the two atomic

bombs dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki during World War II

have been the only atomic
weapons released, but no, in the

last 70-plus years over 2,500
nuclear warheads have been set

off in testing. Nine countries
have stockpiled an estimated

15,000 nuclear weapons, with
1,800 always standing at alert

and prepped for immediate
launch. The fact that the world

hasn't already annihilated
itself in a nuclear holocaust

proves that God's restraining
hand is holding mankind's worst

destructive proclivities at bay.
But, that time will end when

God's restraining influence will
be taken away, along with the

Church, at the Rapture. During
the first year or so after the

Tribulation begins, half of the
world's population will perish.

A nuclear holocaust is indeed
about to be unleashed upon this

world, and one day soon. The
technologies involved in the

making of nuclear weapons
are among the most complex

technologies ever developed.
Heavy metal mining and

refinement, nuclear containment,
nuclear plants, submarines and

silos for delivery, missiles
for deployment, all these

super-duper advanced
technologies have been in

development for decades. The
world sleeps blissfully unaware

of the constant threat of
nuclear self-annihilation.

Today's nuclear technologies
point to the fact that Jesus

Christ is returning soon.

>>[music]

>>The eighth sign of technology
involves

our cutting-edge
space science

technologies, particularly the
International Space Station or

the ISS, that we utilize in our
attempt to explore outer space.

The source verse reads: >>"How
you are fallen from heaven, O

Lucifer, son of the morning! How
you are cut down to the ground,

you who weakened the nations!"
>>Other translations of this

Isaiah passage render Lucifer's
name as the Morning Star. During

the Tribulation, Satan - the
Morning Star - will possess and

be worshiped through the
Antichrist. Because the earth

will face utter annihilation
due to God's 21 judgments as

described in Revelation, I've
often wondered where Satan and

the Antichrist would feel safe
and able to rule unimpeded,

insulated from all the disasters
ravaging the planet. As the

International Space Station
orbits over the earth, it can

best be viewed from the ground
during the mornings and looks

like a bright star sailing
slowly across the heavens.

That's lead the ISS to be
nicknamed, the Morning Star. How

would one escape a world that is
being annihilated, to sit safely

from on high, in order to rule
over the world? Most likely from

high up in the orbit. The
eighth sign of technology I

consider a tentative sign,
though. I have no biblical proof

that the Antichrist will rule
from up in orbit. But, with the

space station costing somewhere
between 150 billion and half a

trillion dollars, the ISS must
have more of a long-term purpose

than just seeing how earthworms
float. Today's space science

technologies point to the
fact that

Jesus Christ is
returning soon.

>>[music]

>>The ninth and final sign of
technology in this

list actually has to do with
technology's limitations. Have

you ever considered that our
technology has limits? It does!

For one, supplies of rare earth
metals are running dangerously

low. Did you know that the
computer, tablet, and smart

phone, that are surely an arm's
length away from you, are made

out of rare earth metals? The
metals used to make these

advanced technologies, those
technologies that we've become

so dependent on, can only be
found in certain places, and the

supplies are quickly dwindling.
Nearly 95% of these metals can

only be found in hostile
countries such as China and

Afghanistan. Unless alternatives
can be synthesized, our ability

to build laptops, cell phones,
TV's, you name it, is quickly

going to disappear. Once the
limited amounts of these rare

earth metals run out, so will
much of today's technology.

Also, are there limits to how
far our technology will take us

into outer space? It appears,
according to the Bible, not very

far. The prophet Zechariah
prophesied that all the nations

of the earth will be gathered
against Jerusalem in the last

days. >>"All the nations of the
earth are gathered against her."

>>Once Jesus returns, He will
defeat the armies of the

Antichrist gathered around the
city of Jerusalem. And once

these armies are destroyed,
Jesus will then send His angels

to collect every single person
and gather them together for

what's called the Sheep-Goat
Judgment. Since all the remnants

of the nations will stand before
Jesus Christ and be judged, that

means there cannot be people
living on space stations, and

lunar colonies, and Martian
colonies, and extra-earth

settlements, or safely tucked
away on spaceships traveling

beyond our solar system. The
gathering of every human being

against Jesus at Armageddon, and
then again at the Sheep-Goat

Judgment, means that humanity
will still be confined to the

earth. Our optimistic hope of
settling outer space will not be

happening, at least in this age,
according to these limits set in

the Bible. Technology during
the Tribulation will have also

reached its limit. If four
prophesied catastrophic

earthquakes shake the world
apart, what will happen to all

the mountains? They will be
leveled. What happens to cell

towers during earthquakes? They
fall over. What happens when

solar flares burn the sky?
The radiation destroys the

satellites and interferes with
communications. What happens

when the oceans are filled with
blood and dead sea creatures

clog the waters? Ships can't
bring oil and goods to port, and

so distribution channels are
disrupted. I could go on and on

with disaster scenarios, but you
know that even in the tamest of

rain storms our power companies
struggle to keep the lights on.

Now, imagine the whole world
ravaged by endless natural,

manmade, and divine disasters.
That's why I believe that by the

end of the Tribulation most of
our technology, mankind's last

crutch and our own Tower of
Babel, will be rendered useless.

The prophets indicated that by
the end of the Tribulation, the

survivors will be out fighting
with bows and arrows and horses

again. Certainly, there must
still be tanks and other

technological weapons of war
that I'm sure the Antichrist

will protect. But still, God
appears to eliminate much of the

world's technology so that by
the end of the Tribulation

desperate people are left with
nothing to kill each other with

but primitive weaponry.
Knowledge, travel, the Mark of

the Beast, evangelism, the image
of the Antichrist, a great

population explosion, nuclear
weapons, space science, and now

the limitations of our
technology, they all today point

to the fact that Jesus Christ is
returning soon.

>>[music]

>>I hope I've made my case that
the sign of technology, which

is merely one of many categories
of end times signs, points to

the fact that Jesus Christ is
returning soon. Knowing this

wonderful day will inevitably
arrive, how then should we apply

this truth to our own lives? Is
there an App for that? First,

when you have at last accepted
the fact that the Lord could

return at any moment, and by
looking through the filter of

the Bible at all these wondrous
yet fearful events playing out

before us, you will begin to
recognize the times in which we

are living. You will be
comforted knowing that God's got

it all under control, that He
has a great big plan in place,

and that God's children play a
vital role in that plan. Life,

therefore, isn't meaningless,
but purposeful. Christians are

called to serve God in these
dark times, so serve Him with

all our unique talents, gifts,
time, money, and experience.

For those of you who haven't yet
accepted Jesus Christ as your

Savior, but now recognize that
we are living in the end times,

the realization should act like
an alarm clock buzzing you awake

to the fact that the world
doesn't have much time left to

it. We are all living on
borrowed time. Therefore,

embrace the fact that God loved
the world so much that He gave

His one and only Son, and that
whosoever believes in Him should

not perish, but have eternal
life. Respond to the Holy

Spirit's leading, praying
from your heart in faith and

repentance something like:
"Dear, Jesus, please forgive me

of my sins and be my Lord and
Savior." And, He will do just

that. Jesus Christ will free you
of the guilt of your sins and

transform you into a brand new
person. He will also grant you

the blessed hope of knowing
that, one day soon, Jesus is

coming to take you up to Heaven
to live with our Heavenly Father

forever. Our Lord, our Savior,
the one who loves us so much and

who calls us His children, He
has an eternal plan for your

life. Embrace it! Don't live
another minute without having

accepted Jesus Christ as your
personal savior. And, second,

knowing that our Savior will be
returning soon, consider how you

can utilize all of the great
technologies that God has given

us to evangelize the world for
Jesus Christ. After all, did you

know that as of 2018, 88% of
the people in the United States

access the Internet? China's
Internet access has quickly

grown from 10% to 54% of the
population in just a decade.

Overall, you can now reach out
to 55% of the entire world

through the Internet, and
that number is climbing up an

exponential curve as well. Even
language barriers may be a thing

of the past, as translation
software continues to improve.

That means over half of the
world is now available at your

fingertips. So, go, get online!
And, share the Good News about

Jesus Christ and His
soon return.

>>[music]