AI: Way to Man’s Stomach

A very old saying is: “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

This, of course, is a reference to romanticism—a saying that links a woman’s ability to cook delicious food to winning a man’s love for her. I have no idea about the validity of that connection, but I’ve heard the expression many times over the decades—and long before the saying became more or less passé.

Another saying is: “An army travels on its stomach.” By this, it doesn’t mean soldiers crawl on a battlefield to maintain a low profile to prevent hostile fire from hitting them. It refers to an army needing to be well fed to maintain top fighting form—in the same way the army’s war machinery, like tanks, must be kept fueled properly to be effective fighting tools in battle.     

A time is coming when food will be the primary commodity that will fuel Antichrist’s machine of control over most of the earth. The unfortunate people alive at the time will comply with the demands of the man of sin’s regime—or face starvation.

Here is the Scripture verifying that this demand is on the prophetic horizon:

“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: 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” (Revelation 13:16-17).

This prophecy, of course, is about the 666 mark those of the Tribulation era must receive—or otherwise be killed, as the prophecy goes on to indicate. It involves the personal pledge of worship to Antichrist that allows people to interact within the economic system of that horrific time.

To most believers who have deeply considered this future time Jesus said will be the worst of all human history (Matthew 24:21), there is little doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) will play a major part in fulfilling Antichrist’s ability to, for a time, control almost all of the world’s population. That swiftly developing technology will, without a doubt, be used to control who eats and who doesn’t.

Those who accept the 666 mark, signifying that they worship the Beast (Antichrist), will have given their souls over to the satanic realm. They will be lost forever—no chance of redemption, according to Revelation 14.

In this sense, AI will be the way to humankind’s stomach, thus to their heart.

I once heard Dr. J. Vernon McGee say that, in the Tribulation, he wouldn’t blame people for breaking into stores and stealing food, because their little children will be starving and will need to eat.

Well, I would—because of the question of age of accountability—have some contention with this great old preacher about whether there will be children of any age beyond toddlers on earth at that time (which is another topic for another commentary). And, with the AI lockdowns and surveillance capability no doubt a thousand times greater even than it is now, it is doubtful that it will be possible to break in and steal from the Antichrist regime’s food stores.

While there will be many believing martyrs, the Holy Spirit and God’s direct intervention during those years will doubtless be tremendous, so likely miracles from on high will be almost routine. Many refusing the mark will, we can expect, be supernaturally protected and assisted by angelic activity.

That system of Luciferian control, we believe, is currently developing at a pace that is beyond astounding. We can understand the speed of things going on in AI through reports such as the following:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP), part of the Department of Homeland Security, has bought millions of dollars worth of software from a company that uses artificial intelligence to detect “sentiment and emotion” in online posts, according to a cache of documents…

CBP told 404 Media it is using technology to analyze open source information related to inbound and outbound travelers who the agency believes may threaten public safety, national security, or lawful trade and travel. In this case, the specific company called Fivecast also offers “AI-enabled” object recognition in images and video, and detection of “risk terms and phrases” across multiple languages, according to one of the documents.

Fivecast, according to its mission statement, is “used and trusted by leading defense, national security, law enforcement, corporate security and financial intelligence organizations around the world” and “deploys unique data collection and AI-enabled analytics to solve the most complex intelligence challenges.” It claims to work with the intelligence agencies of all five nations that comprise the so-called “Five Eyes” — the United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.

Among the many red flags that Fivecast claims to be able to detect with its software are the emotions of the social media user. Charts contained in the marketing materials uncovered by 404 show metrics regarding various emotions such as “sadness,” “fear,” “anger,” and “disgust” on social media over time. “One chart shows peaks of anger and disgust throughout an early 2020 timeframe of a target, for example,” 404 reports.

Logistical difficulties of AI assessing human emotion aside, this would theoretically open the door for the government to surveil and censor not just the substance of speech but also the alleged emotion behind that speech (which could potentially, at some point, be admissible in court to impune the intent/motive of defendants). It’s almost impossible to overestimate the dystopian applications of this technology, which, for obvious reasons, governments around the world are eager beavers to adopt. (“Techno-Hell: U.S. Government Now Using AI to Suss Out ‘Sentiment and Emotion’ in Social Media Posts” By Ben Bartee, PJ Media, September 7, 2023)

Food shortages are being reported around the world—much of it deliberately contrived by despotic governmental agents. Severe food shortage of the deadliest kind is foretold in God’s Word:

“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine” (Revelation 6:5-6).

Starvation is indicated in this prophecy. The pale horse follows the black horse of starvation, meaning the deaths of many will result from food deprivation. This lack of food availability will certainly be a way Antichrist will control the populations of earth by causing many to worship him or die of starvation.

AI, as we’ve seen, is setting the stage for fulfillment of the rider on the black horse.

You don’t want to be on this judgment-bound planet when the rider on the black horse rides across the globe. Here is how to be in the presence of the Lord through the Rapture, and instead be sitting down to the supper of the Lamb, the greatest meal ever served, while billions on earth are starving because of rejection of God’s way of salvation:

“That if thou shalt believe with thine heart the Lord Jesus, and shalt confess with thy mouth that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

—Terry

 

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We Must Be Getting Close

Biblical prophecy is coming to life like never before. The convergence of a myriad of signs tells us that the Day of the Lord is on our doorstep and, with it, the Rapture. In 1 Thessalonians 5:10, Paul said that Jesus would come for His church before the “sudden destruction” of the Day of the Lord falls upon an unsuspecting world.

The Old Testament Prophets predicted that this day would include an outpouring of God’s wrath on the world ahead of the Lord’s coming to earth to set up His kingdom. The book of Revelation depicts 21 judgments that will fall upon the world during this period that we also refer to as the Tribulation.

There’s one particular recent news story that, for me, points to its nearness.

As a continuation of the Abrahamic Accords, the U.S. is seeking to broker a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia that would formalize peace between the two nations as well as resolve the Palestinian issue (no small task). On September 1, 2023, the Jerusalem Post reported that Benjamin Netanyahu was willing to step down as Israeli Prime Minister if it meant completing the “peace deal with Saudi Arabia.”

In a September 10, 2023, article on his blog, Michael Snyder provided a comprehensive update on the progress of the negotiations, citing several sources. He stated that although the “negotiations are fairly advanced at this state,” many details still need to be worked out between the parties. Snyder quoted a source as saying:

The Biden administration told the Israeli government last week that it would have to make significant concessions to the Palestinians as part of any possible mega-deal with Saudi Arabia that includes normalization between the kingdom and Israel, four U.S. officials and a source briefed on the issue told Axios.

We know Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will never support an independent nation for the Palestinians. However, the leaked terms of this agreement state that “Gaza and the West Bank would be demilitarized and reincorporated as part of Jordan, perhaps the West Bank first and Gaza sometime later.” Perhaps that is more agreeable to him.

Snyder quoted a reliable source in the Muslim world as saying that in return for a national identity, the Palestinians would give up all claims of the city of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount.

(It’s rather difficult for me to imagine that the Palestinians or Saudi Arabia would give up such rights.)

What makes this deal significant prophetically?

First, it would formalize the dividing up of the Land that God gave to Israel. Joel 3:1-3 cites such action as something that will bring the Lord’s wrath upon the nations during the Day of the Lord. A future completion of this accord will result in the kindling of God’s fierce anger toward all those involved, including the U.S. for its role in negotiating the agreement and putting great pressure on all the parties to make it happen.

Second, even if never agreed upon, this proposed covenant might further the agenda of the Antichrist. Can you imagine how the push for such a peace accord would accelerate after the Rapture and Gog/Magog War? All the parties might then be quite eager to sign such a peace deal even if it allows Israel complete control of the Temple Mount. And the “man of lawlessness” will be more than happy to make it happen.

(Update: On August 14, 2023, the Times of Israel reported that Saudi Arabia wants a “two-state” solution, which sounds different than the one that would join the West Bank and Gaza with Jordan. Could this be a roadblock in the current negotiations?)

I cannot leave the topic of the Day of the Lord without mentioning the great wickedness and violence of our day, which surely grieves the Lord and will someday bring His wrath to the earth.

When one considers the evils that brought God’s judgments on ancient Judah and other places such as Sodom and Gomorrah, it’s clear that much of the world, including the U.S., is living on borrowed time. The evils of our day go far beyond what happened in biblical times, which resulted in His fierce anger.

The blood that flows from abortion mills in the U.S. will surely lead to an outpouring of His wrath, such as the Bible says will happen during the Day of the Lord. The sex trafficking horror for so many innocent children is sanctioned and promoted at the highest levels of the U.S. government. How close must we be to the destruction of America?

How much longer can such sickening behavior continue before God shouts “enough,” sends His Son to retrieve His Church, and brings His wrath to an unsuspecting world?

Psalm 75:8 assures us that the Lord sees what’s happening and is preparing His response:

“For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs” (ESV).

The nearness of the Day of the Lord, along with so many other signs, screams with the message that we must be getting ever so close to our homegoing.

We dare not set dates, but neither do we make the mistake of assuming the Rapture cannot happen today or in the very near future.

Maranatha!

-Jonathan

 

God’s Measured Judgment

While walking from my office, passing through to another part of our home, I hear my wife’s music CDs playing. On many occasions, I hear the same song, obviously among Margaret’s favorites.

Now I find myself humming that song, which has become much more meaningful and even deeply etched into my mind and spirit.

The song is “Teach Us to Number Our Days.” My wife’s favorite version—and now mine—is by Marty Goetz, a Jewish-American songwriter and singer.

The words, as I said, powerfully resonate within my spirit. Perhaps that’s because of my advancing age toward the hereafter. However, I believe it to be more and more a God-prompted reminder of just how near I am to facing the Lord Jesus Christ in that glorious, twinkling-of-an-eye instant of Rapture. It might just be a heads-up alerting us to how near all believers, dead and alive, are to looking into Christ’s omniscient eyes at any second and standing before Him to be judged for rewards and crowns at the bema –the Judgment Seat of Christ.

The lyrics of Goetz’s song, based on the words of the following Psalm, are doubly meaningful to those who look for Christ’s soon return. Scripture indicates we should realize the time is drawing near when we will stand before Him; thus, we should ask to be totally aware and living righteously every conscious second of our lives.

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants” (Psalms 90:12-13).

The days each of us has been granted are indeed numbered in God’s heavenly accounting system. God’s Word puts it this way:

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

The Creator of all things measures everything with unerring precision. We’re told that every star is named. Every hair on our heads is numbered. Each and every created order is accounted for. The heavens are stretched and measured. The Creator intimates that He is aware of each grain of sand. His omniscience is without error; there is no place that He isn’t there.

Thinking on asking this great God to teach us to number our days brings to mind, in considering His dealing with rebels down throughout the millennia, His judgment against disobedient humankind.

The thing that stands out to me is that His judgment is measured. We see this truth time after time. He always shows divine patience. He never changes His mind about not being willing for anyone to perish but wanting all to repent.

Consider the time of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Lord talking with Abraham about measuring the sins of the people of Sodom. The Lord had obviously been patient but now came down Himself to assess the wicked city’s sins. Finally, when not even ten righteous people could be found, His judgment fell—after He removed Lot and his daughters to safety.

Consider how He dealt with Pharaoh in the days of the great Exodus. His judgment was measured. Each succeeding plague became more punishing until the Israelites were free to go.

Think of Babylon and the wickedness there. God had finally had it after years of Belshazzar’s evil doings. God’s divine measurement system was on full display—and was visible for all to see as His own hand wrote on the wall.

“And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting” (Daniel 5:25-27).    

Almighty God measures and numbers everything. All is under His all-seeing eye and His omnipotence. We are made in His image. He wants us to number all things in our lives and measure our actions so we will be accounted worthy when we stand before Him in judgment.

We’re told to judge ourselves in this regard so we won’t have to be deemed unworthy by Him:

“For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31).

The prophetic application is that God’s measured judgment system is weighing all that is going on at this very moment. We are witnessing warnings of coming judgment because this world of rebels is being “weighed in the balances, and… found wanting.”

Still, the heavenly assessment is measured slowly, deliberately. God is still not willing for anyone to perish, but He wants all to come to repentance.

But judgment and wrath are on the way, make no mistake. And when they come, it will be the most destructive justice ever delivered:

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).   

Even during that most horrific time of all human history, the judgment and wrath will be measured carefully and precisely.

There will be twenty-one specific judgments to call humanity to repentance while devastating those filled with anti-God rebelliousness. The seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls of God’s wrath will incrementally rain down God’s holy and righteous anger in measured degrees.

You don’t want to be on this fallen sphere when that judgment falls. God wants us to number our days and live them through Holy Spirit-indwelt righteousness. This means you must be reconciled—made righteous under God’s way of salvation. Here again is how to make sure you go to Christ when He Calls, whether through death or in the Rapture—which we believe can happen at any moment, considering all the signs that are manifesting.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10: 9-10).

—Terry

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Will September Be a Month to Remember?

A glance at the UN calendar for September clearly reveals their agenda. I took the following from https://www.un.org/events/81993:

September 7, 2023: International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies

September 16, 2023: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone layer

September 18-19, 2023: SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) Summit

September 20, 2023: Climate Ambition Summit

The quote below is taken from the UN’s website regarding the upcoming SDG Summit, September 18-19, during which time the globalists at the UN will ask the leaders of the world to commit to a seven-year initiative to achieve all the SDG goals of Agenda 2030:

The SDG Summit in September 2023 must signal a genuine turning point. It must mobilize the political commitment and breakthroughs our world desperately needs. It must deliver a rescue plan for people and planet.

At the center of this rescue plan, Heads of State and Government must recommit to seven years of accelerated, sustained, and transformative action, both nationally and internationally, to deliver on the promise of the SDGs. Leaders can show their resolve by adopting an ambitious and forward-looking political declaration at the SDG Summit and presenting global and national commitments for SDG transformation.

I know the readers of the Nearing Midnight column recognize the agenda behind the UN’s call to action regarding the so-called climate emergency. It’s all about the formation of a one-world government on the wings of crisis, which the globalists claim requires their solution. But it’s all a ruse.

Is it not also revealing that they are thinking in terms of a “seven-year initiative”? Since it doesn’t involve Israel, it’s not the covenant that will start the Tribulation. But wow, they are thinking in terms of a seven-year agreement!

It’s nothing short of prophecy coming to life. The SDGs go far beyond their contrived climate emergency; they point to a world where a totalitarian government enslaves people under a communist regime. The Bible says this will happen during the Tribulation.

Here are just a few of the fallacies that lie behind the power-hungry oligarchs at the World Economic Forum (WEF), UN, and many other organizations telling us that a one-world government is the only answer to the current climate emergency.

They are the ones damaging the environment. The last phrase of Revelation 11:18 aligns well with the deception agenda of the climate alarmists that call for draconian measures to avoid certain doom.

“The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” (Emphasis added)

The globalists are themselves damaging the environment with fires and train derailments spilling hazardous materials. The frequency of these things suggests that an evil motive lies behind most, if not all, of these catastrophes. They start the fires and then tell us that “climate change” is the culprit.

The sight of chemical trails in the sky is not the illusion of conspiracy theorists. One day this past summer, I looked up to see at least fifteen trails left by planes all bunched together in the western sky. They couldn’t be contrails because we never have so many planes flying that close to our home in such a short time, and the pattern in the sky was larger and lasted much longer than with contrails I had seen in the past.

In his book, Spirit of the Antichrist, Volume One, pastor and prophecy speaker J.B. Hixon devoted an entire chapter (pages 111-129) to evidence regarding the geoengineering of weather by the government. He listed fourteen articles from Popular Science magazine from 2005 to 2021, all dealing with the science of changing weather patterns through geoengineering.

Those warning us of the changing weather patterns are the very ones manipulating them so they can claim that they are evidence of the “climate emergency.”

Scientists don’t agree that a climate emergency exists. Just last month, a group of 1,609 scientists from all around the world, including 321 such U.S. professionals, signed a statement stating that there “is no climate emergency.” They said, “The coalition pointed out that Earth’s climate has varied as long as it has existed, with the planet experiencing several cold and warm phases.” (https://www.ntd.com/over-1600-scientists-sign-no-climate-emergency-declaration_938916.html)

The promoters of the climate emergency fraud know it’s a lie. The behavior of those shouting the loudest for drastic action betrays their words. Many of them own multiple mansions (some at sea level), possess multiple cars and yachts, and fly all over the world in private jets. Their multiple failed predictions of doom fail to wake up those deceived by the fallacy of their repeated warnings of doom.

The world leaders who will agree to the seven-year plan of the UN at their meeting later this month are also well aware that there’s no crisis; it’s all about a quest for power and riches. They believe their obedience to the agenda will be rewarded in the future.

This great deception of our day, and it’s certainly not the only one, reminds me of the first words Jesus spoke when asked about the last days. “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:4). Even the lies of globalists reveal that we live in the last days.

The sad reality for this world is that Satan’s deception will get a whole lot worse after Jesus takes us to Heaven, although it’s difficult for me to imagine a greater acceptance of outright lies than what we already see happening today. How close must we be to our homegoing if we are already witnessing such mass deception on such a vast scale?

Will September be a month to remember with the UN furthering its one-world government agenda on the road to unwittingly fulfilling more prophecy? That’s likely to happen.

Could this be the month of our homegoing? Only time will tell. But if our calendars should turn to October and we are still here, please know that Jesus is coming for us very, very soon. He will keep His promise to take us home before His wrath descends on the world.

Maranatha!

-Jonathan