Sounding the alert that Jesus Christ is coming soon!
October 4, 2007
Transhumanism and the Great Rebellion
by Britt Gillette
This generation is witness to the emergence of a radical new social movement known as transhumanism. Expressing an unshakable faith in the continued and rapid advance of human technology, transhumanists look to the future with what can only be described as a religious fervor. Many of this movement’s adherents point to the singularity (an exponential increase in technological advancement so rapid the unaided human mind is unable to grasp its implications) as the climax of human civilization. Believing this event will usher in a new era for the human race in which limited mortals transcend their biological bodies and set out to conquer the universe, transhumanist anticipation of the singularity is comparable to Christian anticipation of the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Ironically, the bible points out that in the time just prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ the world will be characterized by unparalleled human arrogance. Led by the Antichrist, the human race will not only launch a spiritual rebellion against God, but an actual physical confrontation between themselves and the King of kings, Jesus Christ.
The apostle Paul foresaw this conflict almost 2,000 years ago:
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (KJV)
The Tower of Babel
To properly understand the origins of this rebellion, we must first examine the development of human civilization in the aftermath of the flood. It is a time marked by another rebellion first chronicled in Genesis Chapter 11. It’s the story of the Tower of Babel:
“And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.” Genesis 11:1-9 (KJV)
In this story, God scatters the human race and confuses them with different languages. His reason for doing so is to avoid the inevitable disaster wrought by global government and a common language. Why are these things a concern? Because if they continue unabated, in due time, “nothing will be restrained” for the human race “which they have imagined to do.” This is more than a flippant comment by God. It’s a prophecy of things to come.
It’s a prophecy of something so bad, God put a stop to it the moment He first saw it. God knew that, left to pursue its technological development, the human race would one day challenge Him. After all, what was the motive for building the Tower of Babel in the first place?
“And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4 (KJV)
The human race set out to build a monument to its own greatness, exalting mankind above God and extending its tower far into heaven with the sole intent of usurping God’s glory and authority. This innate human desire did not end with the Tower of Babel. It continues to this day, and soon it will result in one final attempt to usurp the authority of God.
The Great Lie
The motive for this great rebellion will be predicated on lies. The bible predicts that deception will be rampant in the end times. And just as God hardened the heart of Pharaoh for putting faith in his own power, He will do the same to the inhabitants of the earth who will become drunk with their own power:
“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11 (KJV)
Paul makes it clear that these people will be deluded into believing “a lie.” But what exactly is the “lie” to which he refers? A cursory examination of the first book of the Bible reveals a quote from the originator of lies. In fact, it’s the very first lie referenced in the bible:
“And the serpent said unto the woman, ‘Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’” Genesis 3:4-5 (KJV)
This lie from the Garden of Eden is the same lie to which Paul refers. The same lies which brought sin into the world will be the same lies which spark the ultimate rebellion against God Almighty. Humanity will come full circle. In the last days, the same construction projects envisioned by the Tower of Babel architects will result in mankind achieving a level of technological sophistication so advanced that “nothing will be restrained from them.” The human race will come to believe the great lies of the serpent.
In his arrogance, man will believe he is:
1) Immortal
2) All-Knowing
and
3) Just like God
Mankind will mimic the earth-shattering arrogance of Lucifer by freely joining in his rebellious attempt to usurp the throne of God. Because, without Jesus Christ, fallen mankind’s ambition is the same as Lucifer’s. Centuries ago, Isaiah described this fallen being and his sinister motives:
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Isaiah 14:12-14 (KJV)
In the last days, this passage will not only be an accurate depiction of Satan, but of all mankind.
The Transhumanist Movement
The latest incarnation of man’s rebellion against God is the transhumanist movement. Many within the movement believe the singularity will lead to the emergence of “post-biological humans” who are able to shed their biological bodies and “upgrade their hardware.” Others believe that by downloading themselves into a network, they will effectively become “immortal.” True believers have modified their diets, exercise regimens, and entire lifestyle in an effort to increase the likelihood of living to witness human reversal of the aging process and eventual human “immortality.”
Ray Kurzweil – inventor, author, and transhumanist – is considered one of the best in the world at accurately forecasting short-term and intermediate technological trends. In Chapter 7 of his bestselling book “The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology,” he describes his view of the ultimate outcome of our technological advance:
“The matter and energy in our vicinity will become infused with the intelligence, knowledge, creativity, beauty, and emotional intelligence (the ability to love, for example) of our human-machine civilization. Our civilization will then expand outward, turning all the dumb matter and energy we encounter into sublimely intelligent – transcendent – matter and energy. So in a sense, we can say the Singularity will ultimately infuse the universe with spirit.”
According to Kurzweil, the universe will be infused with “spirit” as a result of the natural advance of our human-machine civilization. This infers that the universe is not already infused with “spirit,” and that if God exists, His designs are inferior to those that will be created by the predicted human-machine civilization.
In the next paragraph, he describes the advancement of the human-machine civilization as approaching the very conception of God. Ironically, he admits that the accelerating growth of evolution can never achieve the infinite character traits exclusive to God:
“Evolution moves toward greater complexity, greater elegance, greater knowledge, greater intelligence, greater beauty, greater creativity, and greater levels of subtle attributes such as love. In every monotheistic tradition God is likewise described as all of these qualities, only without any limitation: infinite knowledge, infinite intelligence, infinite beauty, infinite creativity, infinite love, and so on. Of course, even the accelerating growth of evolution never achieves an infinite level, but as it explodes exponentially it certainly moves rapidly in that direction. So evolution moves inexorably toward this conception of God, although never quite reaching this ideal. We can regard, therefore, the freeing of our thinking from the severe limitations of its biological form to be an essentially spiritual undertaking.”
The concluding sentence of this paragraph should send up red flags for every student of bible prophecy. According to Kurzweil, as the human race moves forward, it will seek to free its thinking “from the severe limitations of its biological form”. The bible reveals that one day mankind will gather its armies in an attempt to “break the chains of God and set themselves free from His bondage.” Psalm 2 describes this confrontation:
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.” Psalm 2:1-4 (KJV)
Could this passage describe an attempt by post-biological humans to overthrow the rule of God? Could the chains which hold them in bondage be the “severe limitations of their biological form”? Remember, when this event occurs, Satan and his fallen angels are also inhabitants of the earth:
“Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Revelation 12:12 (KJV)
In his arrogance and desperation, Satan will advance the dark powers of the spiritual realm, aided by a fallen mankind with powers beyond our current limitations, in a last ditch effort to defeat God. The technological advancements of the near future will provide mankind with unprecedented power, and the ambitious goals of the transhumanist movement are already in direct conflict with God Himself.
The following verse provides additional support for believing transhumanism will play a pivotal role in this final rebellion. In the New Testament, when Jesus describes the signs of His Coming to the disciples, He makes an interesting statement in light of our times:
“And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.” Matthew 24:22 (KJV)
Throughout the centuries, this verse has been interpreted as meaning the Second Coming of Christ will arrive just in time to save the human race from itself, meaning human wars would threaten to cause the extinction of the human race. However, it might mean that “no flesh will be saved” because a nakedly ambitious human race will transform itself into a race of “post-biological humans” intent on reshaping the universe according to an alternative agenda.
Given the history of human rebellion against God, it would be unwise to discount this possibility.
The Great Rebellion
Just as Paul prophesied, human ambition will ultimately lead to a great rebellion against God. This rebellion will reach its zenith at Armageddon, an actual geographical location in modern day Israel. The gathering of the world’s armies at Armageddon will not be (as some believe) a war of humans versus humans, but rather a literal physical confrontation between rebellious mankind and the King of kings, Jesus Christ. In addition to Psalm 2, this battle is referenced multiple times in scripture, and it’s clearly referenced twice in the Book of Revelation:
“For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:14 (KJV)
“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.” Revelation 19:19 (KJV)
The “one sitting on the horse” is identified as Jesus Christ. Literally interpreted, both these passages state that the world will gather for battle against Jesus Christ. The bible is clear about this, yet for countless generations, these passages have been interpreted as a mere spiritual battle and not as a literal physical conflict. It’s not difficult to image why. The idea of mankind physically engaging God in battle seems so preposterous that these passages have given way to numerous symbolic interpretations over the years. Yet scripture is clear. Remember what God Himself said about the human race that will ultimately fulfill His Tower of Babel prophecy – “nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do.”
In fact, the Book of Daniel reveals that the Antichrist will manage to attack the heavenly armies, throwing some of the heavenly beings and stars to the ground and trampling them:
“And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down.” Daniel 8:9-11 (KJV)
The power of the Antichrist and the human beings of his era will far exceed what our generation can currently imagine. As proof, Daniel describes a time when the Antichrist will engage Jesus Christ Himself in battle:
“he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.” Daniel 8:25 (KJV)
The human race, led by the Antichrist, will take on the Lord Himself in battle. Like the Tower of Babel generation, the arrogance of this final generation will extend all the way into the heavens, where the human race will attempt to usurp the glory and authority of God Himself. But just like the Tower of Babel generation, their efforts will end in utter failure.
Conclusion
The transhumanist agenda serves as a reminder of what the human race is without the blood of Jesus Christ – an enemy of God. A movement which views its ultimate purpose as bringing enlightenment to the universe sets itself up in direct opposition to God’s own purpose. This is the very definition of rebellion, and it’s the inevitable result of fallen mankind’s sinful nature.
Yet despite our sinful nature, God provided us with the free gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. All we have to do is accept this gift. Those who accept it will experience peace and everlasting life, but those who reject it will become slaves to sin, and their ambition – like Satan’s – will one day lead to an outright physical confrontation with God Himself. It’s a battle that God will win.
Britt Gillette is the founder of BrittGillette.Com, a website examining the relationship between bible prophecy and emerging trends in technology. For more information or to sign up for his email alerts, please visit his site.
Posted by Michael G. Mickey at 8:01 AM
Labels: angels, Antichrist, Armageddon, Bible, Bible prophecy, Britt Gillette, end times, rebellion, transhumanism
1 comments:
Michael G. Mickey said...
That's deep, Britt.
You take an interesting position on Matthew 24:22, one I certainly have never considered a possibility.
While I tend to believe in the traditional interpretation, I concur that if the transhumanist movement progresses to the point they hope to see it move to, the Scripture could take on a whole new meaning.
I have given a great deal of thought to the Singularity since you originally shared that information with me and, like you, I think we're reaching a point wherein our scientific knowledge is moving so fast that humanity can barely keep up with its latest developments. And we can expect that trend to continue no doubt.
I like that you took us back to the Tower of Babel here as what God did at the Tower of Babel, which was to give many tongues to those involved in that rebellion, is trying to be undone by the revived Roman empire we today call the European Union, one of its mottos being, "Many tongues, one voice."
Another very thought-provoking look at the end times, Britt. Thanks for your contributions to the site.
October 4, 2007 8:19 AM
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