On "lieing wonders".

[Outsider]

Is this you in the video?

I'm afraid so. I'm not paying for you eye doctor.

[Outsider]

The antichrist is an athiest. His "wonders" are technological, and decieve men into believing they are the highest form of existence.

I thought that the whole point with Batman was technology. He had no superpowers except being very rich and creating technology to fight the bad guys. Maybe Batman is an anti-Christ too. Finding other ways to save people besides Christ.

The point isn't the technology. Technology is just a tool. Like a hammer, or any other tool. It's how the tool is used. Batman is like a fireman- only a little more violent. My point is the antichrist (the "man of sin"- which I believe is an archetype, not a particular person) will use technology to convince people that God isn't real. i.e. You can flick a switch and get lights, but miracles don't happen on demand by men. Just as the Pharisees.

[Outsider]

I'm not completely sold on the idea the powers of darkness are incapable of producing wonders. The Egyptian sorcerers opposing God in the Exodus seemed capable of it. I suspect part of the seduction of the evil powers is their ability to produce some type of results.

I would expand his thoughts on the atheism of the anti-christ by including the 1st century definition of "believe", which contained something of the idea of "serve". Post enlightenment we imagine a dichotomy between belief and knowledge that didn't necessarily exist previously. I think, in the ancient sense, an atheist can believe in the existence of a God but choose not to serve him.

https://youtube.com/shorts/q8QtQ3j3O1w? ... En1yB4R--Y

This is about as close to supernatural power (other than messing with the minds of men) the devil has.

[barnhart]

That looks like AI to me. As the old saying goes, don't believe most of what you hear and only half of what you see.

[Bootstrap]

The point isn't the technology. Technology is just a tool. Like a hammer, or any other tool. It's how the tool is used. Batman is like a fireman- only a little more violent. My point is the antichrist (the "man of sin"- which I believe is an archetype, not a particular person) will use technology to convince people that God isn't real. i.e. You can flick a switch and get lights, but miracles don't happen on demand by men. Just as the Pharisees.

I don't think the Bible says anything about the antichrist using technology to convince people. I'm quite certain that technology is being used to lead people astray, but so are many other things.

As Barnhart points out, Pharaoh's magicians were able to do some of the same miracles Moses did. Deuteronomy 13 gives this warning:

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.

2 Thessalonians 2 says this:

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

In Revelation 13, the Beast performs miracles:

Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

[Bootstrap]

Thought experiment: take all the passages that mention the Antichrist or antichrists and make a bullet point list of the things the Bible tells us about them. For instance:

- The spirit of the antichrist does not confess Jesus is from God. That is the literal meaning of "anti"-Christ, not necessarily atheistic.
- A deceiver. Denies the incarnation.

I am not sure if the "Man of Lawlessness" is the same or different from the Antichrist. They sure seem to have a lot in common.

2 Thessalonians 2:

He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

- Associated with lawlessness
- Exalts himself, sets himself up to be worshiped
- Full of deception

Revelation 13: the Beast

The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

- Performs miracles
- Sets himself up to be worshiped
- Uses signs to compel loyalty

[Outsider]

That looks like AI to me. As the old saying goes, don't believe most of what you hear and only half of what you see.

Magicians can do that. It's no big deal.

[Outsider]

The point isn't the technology. Technology is just a tool. Like a hammer, or any other tool. It's how the tool is used. Batman is like a fireman- only a little more violent. My point is the antichrist (the "man of sin"- which I believe is an archetype, not a particular person) will use technology to convince people that God isn't real. i.e. You can flick a switch and get lights, but miracles don't happen on demand by men. Just as the Pharisees.

I don't think the Bible says anything about the antichrist using technology to convince people. I'm quite certain that technology is being used to lead people astray, but so are many other things.

As Barnhart points out, Pharaoh's magicians were able to do some of the same miracles Moses did. Deuteronomy 13 gives this warning:

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.

2 Thessalonians 2 says this:

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

In Revelation 13, the Beast performs miracles:

Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

Just about all modern technology could be passed off as miraculous in the 1st century. And there were magicians performing "miracles" even then:

https://brownhistory.substack.com/p/the ... trick-from



And those are just the first two that pop into my head. Carl Sagan claims in "Cosmos" (not the greatest source, I know- as a historian, Sagan was a decent astronomer) that there was a temple of Neptune in one of the great greek cities where they used magnetism to levitate a horse (sacred to Neptune) and make it fly around the temple to awe the masses.

[Bootstrap]

Just about all modern technology could be passed off as miraculous in the 1st century.

Here's my main issue with your videos. Instead of focusing on what the Bible teaches us about these things, you focus on your own speculation, treating it as though it had biblical authority.

Everyone has the right to speculate, but only the Bible has that kind of authority.

I have real concerns about AI, the outrage economy, and what that means for Christians living in our society today. And some of that may well rhyme with things we see in the Bible. But I would start by focusing on what the warning signs are according to the Bible itself and work out from there.

If these technologies are being used in pursuit of the things that the Beast, the Man of Lawlessness, and antichrists do, that should tell us something. Other people may use the same technologies for good. For instance, we are using the Internet right now, and I think a lot of bad actors are doing the same.

[Outsider]

Just about all modern technology could be passed off as miraculous in the 1st century.

Here's my main issue with your videos. Instead of focusing on what the Bible teaches us about these things, you focus on your own speculation, treating it as though it had biblical authority.

Everyone has the right to speculate, but only the Bible has that kind of authority.

I have real concerns about AI, the outrage economy, and what that means for Christians living in our society today. And some of that may well rhyme with things we see in the Bible. But I would start by focusing on what the warning signs are according to the Bible itself and work out from there.

If these technologies are being used in pursuit of the things that the Beast, the Man of Lawlessness, and antichrists do, that should tell us something. Other people may use the same technologies for good. For instance, we are using the Internet right now, and I think a lot of bad actors are doing the same.

This is what I get out of the Bible- what I believe biblical authority is. And despite Pharoh's magicians,

Exodus 15:11

Who [is] like Thee among the gods, O Jehovah? Who [is] like Thee -- honourable in holiness -- Fearful in praises -- doing wonders?
Read full chapter

Psalm 72:18
18
Blessed is Jehovah God, God of Israel, He alone is doing wonders,
Read full chapter

So yes, I BELIEVE that it is biblical. You are free to believe otherwise. I don't think you'll go to hell for it. I just would encourage you not to be quick to judge someone who might perform miracles- who might have a history as checkered as Paul's, for example.