Storm Warning: Technological and Societal Signs

Which technological advances indicate when Jesus Christ will return? Are there societal signs that point to the end times? Find out with guests Dave Bowen and Patrick Oliver along with hosts Tim Moore and Nathan Jones on the television program, Christ in Prophecy!

Air Date: September 17, 2022

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Transcript

Tim Moore: Greetings once again in the name of Jesus our Blessed Hope, and welcome to another episode of Christ in Prophecy! We’re continuing our series about a very important end times topic, one that God has laid heavy on our hearts – the urgency of the Rapture.

We believe the signs of the end times are increasing in frequency and intensity, just as Jesus prophesied, which means He is indeed standing at the very precipice of Heaven, ready to return in the clouds to snatch away the Church in the Rapture.

Nathan Jones: And because we are living in very tumultuous times, we here at Lamb & Lion Ministries gathered a team of watchmen to warn that the superstorm of the Tribulation is drawing near. We gathered just outside of Dallas, Texas for our ministry’s annual Bible prophecy conference. The theme was “Storm Warning: The Urgency of the Rapture.” Besides Tim and myself, we were joined by Dr. David Reagan and the Prophecy Pros, Jeff Kinley and Todd Hampson, along with many other gifted Bible prophecy teachers.

Each dynamic speaker covered one of the main categories of end times signs. In our last episode, we began with an excerpt from my teaching covering the sign of nature, particularly extreme weather in prophecy, as well as Vic Batista’s presentation about the spiritual signs, both negative and positive.

Tim Moore: In this episode, Dr. David Bowen, the Senior Pastor of Standing Stones Community Church in Phoenix, Arizona, will address the sign of technology. He will be followed by Dr. Patrick Oliver, a Cedarville University professor of criminology and the former police chief of Cleveland, Ohio, who will address the sign of society. Here now are David and Patrick.

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Part 1- Presentation on Technology by David Bowen

David Bowen: Technology is evil, so says Greenville University. Now, in fairness, they say technology itself may not be evil, it’s how it’s being used. Now we are in a place right now, we’re really heading towards a place where reality is people depend more on technology than they do God. And this is not new. This is a common pattern in Scripture. People are worshiping God and then they find something else. They get distracted and they begin to focus on that. And then they justify that by saying, well, this new thing is a blessing from God. And then before long, they are no longer worshiping God, they’re worshiping whatever it is. And in our day, it’s technology.

Now, technology does have some good appeals to it. When you look at technology, where would modern medicine be without technology? The Gospel has benefited from technology. But technology is always changing. When you understand the place where it’s come from and how quickly it’s changing.

How many people remember when a computer was something in a science fiction movie? How many people remember when memory was something you lost with old age? A CD was a bank account? A cursor was a bad word. A keyboard was a musical instrument. An application was for a job. A program was on TV. To log on meant you put more wood on the fire. A hard drive was something you did on Sunday afternoon. You would cut with a knife and paste with glue. A web was from a spider and a virus was the flu. But things have changed.

That’s November 1995. People didn’t know what the Internet was. So, we know where technology has been. But where is it going? Daniel 12:4, God tells Daniel to, He’s talking about end times, He says, “Take this and seal these words up until the end. Put this away until the end. When a time comes when knowledge will increase.” Well, people will be a critic of this, those who are critics of the Bible will say, well, Daniel chapter 12 says knowledge will increase, it doesn’t say anything about technology. Okay, well I. Really? Can you really have technology if knowledge is not increasing?

But to save debating the critics there are plenty of places in scripture where technology plays a role in the end times. Places such as the Antichrist system. The Antichrist system has to be in place when he comes in. When he comes on to the world stage, he will not set up his system, it will already be set up. His system being in place is a sign that the Rapture is coming. The Antichrist system being set up, the Antichrist system cannot exist without technology. It cannot exist without technology.

When you look at the Antichrist system, it is a system that is multifaceted. It will control people. It will have oversight. It will track people’s movements. It will take away freedom and control. It will control your finances. It will take away the worship of God. That’s what the Antichrist system is designed to do. Technology has to be in place for that to happen.

The Mark of the Beast. In order for that to happen, technology has to be in place to be implemented. There has to be a moment where everybody in the world can watch an act take place live at the same time. We have that technology now. In the book of Revelation, that would be the killing of the two witnesses.

And most importantly about technology, what has to be towards the end times is the acceptance of technology. People, the common people, everyday people have to be willing to accept, to embrace and to yield to technology. Are we living in that day? Yes. How close are we to that?

Well, let me take you back to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, December 17th, 1903. Many people know this. This is the Wright brothers. There are able to fly 120 feet for 12 seconds. They were able to take this gas powered biplane and fly for 12 seconds. Men became a bird. We finally were able to fly 120 feet. Now, folks, keep in mind, from the time of Creation to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, that took 5,900 years. From Creation to man, being able to fly is 5,900 years. What has happened since Kitty Hawk? Well, in less than 120 years, we went from flying 120 feet for 12 seconds to this. This is SpaceX’s starship, it’s still a prototype, but it’s designed to take the average citizens into space. They want to take you to the moon and even to Mars. Don’t know if they’ll do that. But this is a 120, less than 120 years from Kitty Hawk; 5,900 years just to fly for 12 seconds. Now they’re talking about taking us to the moon.

In December, just this past December, they actually did launch people into space for a few moments, they went up and they came back down the same day, but they got the average citizen into space. That’s technology.

You know, back in Daniel chapter three, Nebuchadnezzar ruled the world. What he did, he created a statue, and he had everybody bow down to it. You had to worship the statue. If you didn’t worship when you heard the music play, if you didn’t worship, what happened to you? You were thrown into the fiery furnace. Well, that’s Daniel chapter three. Nebuchadnezzar ruled the world by using fear. When the Antichrist comes, he’s going to use technology. He’s going to use charisma. He’s going to use deception.

Daniel chapter eight says that when the Antichrist comes in the end time, he will come in with peace. The world will be in chaos, and he will come on a platform in peace and people will embrace him. He will speak words that will mesmerize people. But he’s going to enslave people. And his system is designed to put people to death. That’s what’s coming. The Antichrist system needs technology.

The Jerusalem Post just put this headline out, this was done in May of 2022, May 1st, It’s Time for the Fourth Technological Revolution. What is that? A.I. Artificial intelligence. The Jerusalem Post is saying we need to move there. Business leaders are saying A.I. is designed to help the workers, but in reality, it’s not going to help workers, it’s going to replace workers. They’re saying that the machine has an advantage over humans, it doesn’t wear out, and it doesn’t make mistakes. That is what business leaders are saying. How do we know the Rapture is near? People are already accepting this A.I. technology. When people start accepting this, we know that we are going home very, very soon.

Are we accepting this? Yes, we are. How many people use GPS? No pun intended. How many people will be lost without GPS? That’s accepting A.I. technology. That’s a satellite telling you where to go and what turns to make. You know, how many times this this I call her Sally, how many times does she have to recalculate because you missed a turn? GPS we are accepting that as A.I. technology.

The RFDI chip people are accepting that as well. Some people really do understand A.I. so some people have heard about Sophia. Sophia actually is the first robot who is a citizen. She’s a citizen of Saudi Arabia. When you look at Sophia, she’s also an ambassador to the United Nations. She’s a robot. She’s designed after Audrey Hepburn. Some people know that. Some people go, who? But that’s who her features are after. She was made in Hong Kong, she actually made her U.S. appearance, first public appearance here in Texas, in Austin, Texas, at the South by Southwest Festival.

Now, if you don’t know about Sophia, I think a lot of people know about Alexa. That’s A.I.. Well you see she’s been around since 2014. She’s your personal assistant. You can come home and tell her to play your favorite music. You can tell her to turn your lights on. Turn your lights off. She can do whatever you want her to do. So, when you look at Alexa, that is a A.I. that we’re looking at. She’ll go shopping for you, you don’t need to leave your couch.

But this comes at a cost. Because when you understand that this is a headline from the USA Today. Alexa, you’re turning my kid into a brat, into a jerk. How? Because if the kid can come in and order Alexa around, then why can’t he order people around? If they never have to say thank you or please to an A.I. machine, why do they say thank you or please to human beings? And they’re saying this becomes a problem. The American Academy of Pediatrics, they’ve actually done studies on how do children look at robots? Because that’s the future. And what they found is that kids think, robots think and feel, they do not eat or breathe, but a robot thinks and feels. That’s the acceptance that the younger generation has for A.I.

This wide acceptance of A.I. has led basically to virtual immorality. When you look at games that are online, websites that are online, the things that you can do, it’s all just immorality. You can attack celebrities with games online. You can mug innocent people. You can kill law enforcement. All this stuff is online. It’s just evil. It’s wrong. But that’s what’s were it is leading us. This is where A.I. is leading us, and we’re accepting it. Technology has enormous power over our belief and our attitude. We have moved into a place where technology has taken over our social life. It’s leading to idolatry. It’s leading to addiction.

Social media, do you realize Facebook has over 2 billion users right now and increasing it? If Facebook were a country it would be the third largest country in the world. It’s double the population of the U.S. population. There are more people on Facebook right now than there were alive 200 years ago. One in five couples now meet online. One in five divorces are blamed on Facebook because people are hooking up with their exes.

When you look at the social media, 92% of our kids have a digital footprint. Every second, two new members join LinkedIn. Every minute 72 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube. Right now, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry have more Twitter followers than the populations of Germany, Turkey, South Africa, Canada, Argentina, the United Kingdom and Egypt. That’s where social media is going. It’s causing pride. It’s causing selfishness.

And again, in 2 Timothy 3 we’re told in the last day, people would be boastful, they’ll be proud, they’ll be abusive, ungrateful, unholy, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Folks. Welcome to social media and technology. This is where we’re going.

Now, technology have been used for evil as well. We’ve had some mass shootings take place recently in Buffalo, New York, and again here in Texas. 19 kids, two teachers, both of those shooters in Buffalo and here in Texas broadcast what they were going to do on social media. The hate, the violence, the evil. It’s all part of setting up the Antichrist kingdom. That’s what it’s all about.

Matthew 24, we’ve already talked about the Olivet Discourse and the birth pains. The last birth pain is the Gospel being proclaimed around the world. With technology that’s made that a realistic action. You have the printing press going to the world, travel, being able to fly around and do things to radio, to Internet, technology has allowed God’s Word to go everywhere around the world.

However, we’re moving towards a place where people rely more on technology than they do God. Now, let me end with a test. Let me kind of challenge you with a test here. How many people have a Bible? Most of you. Would you take a week and put away the Bible? No Bible reading, no going to church, no prayer time, just put God aside for one week.

Are you out of your mind?

No, I’m not. I want you to put God aside for one week. Don’t go to church, don’t pray, don’t read one week. Then the second week, I want you to do this. I want you have no technology. I want you to turn your cell phone off right now, and not turn it back on again for a week. A week of no technology, no internet, no computer, no cell phones, no nothing. Now, when the two weeks are up, what are you going to miss more? When the two weeks are up, what’s going to be harder not having your cell phone on, not texting, not emailing or not going to church? Which would be more of a challenge for you? Folks, be prepared for the Rapture is near. God bless you.

Part 2 – Presentation of Societal Signs by Patrick Oliver

Patrick Oliver: An understanding of Bible prophecy and society trends indicate we’re living in the midnight hour or the season of the Lord’s return. The societal trends presented here for us living in the United States indicate that we’re living in a time of increased immorality and violence. Some of these trends are law enforcement related and are reflective of my background and training. These trends and statistics are not presented as political statements, but they are indicative of the signs of the times we live in. Each of these trends should be considered a benchmark for evaluating the moral temperature of our society. Each day we are drawing closer and closer to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Don’t let the concept of time or daily life prevent you from thinking about God’s prophetic calendar. James 4:14 states, “You do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What your life will be. For you are a bit of smoke that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

“First, be aware of this scoffers will come in the last days to scoff following their own lusts, saying where is the promise of His coming? Forever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation,” 2 Peter 3:3-4. The world as it exists today will not continue indefinitely. Bible prophecy is meant to reveal and not conceal, to prepare us and not scare us.

Matthew 24:37-39, “But as the days of Noah were, so shall be the coming of the son of man. For as the days that were before the flood, they were eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark. And they knew not until the flood came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” The Bible is teaching here that the coming of the Son of Man will come suddenly on those who are immersed in worldly affairs, that they forget about eternity.

The Apostle Paul described what people in general would be like during the latter days. We are told in the last days, critical times that are difficult to deal with will be here. Second Timothy 3:1-5, Paul said “that people would be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal. Not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God, having an appearance of godliness but denying its power.”

Jesus foretold that most people would ignore the evidence that we were living in the last days. The destruction of the wicked will come suddenly and unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. It will catch most people by surprise.

First Thessalonians 5:2-3, verse 3 states, “While people are saying peace and safety, destruction will come on them suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant women and they would not escape.” God does not want His people, Christians to be caught unaware. This is a purpose of Bible prophecy.

Here are some of the signs of society that are God’s wakeup call. Less practicing Christians. According to the Barna Research Group in 2000, 45% of Americans sampled qualified as practicing Christians; currently, just one in four is a practicing Christian. The number of practicing Christians has nearly dropped in half since the year 2000. Being a practicing Christian is a measure of three variables, one calling oneself a Christian, two, strongly prioritizing faith, and three, regular church attendance. A good question for each of us is do I fit this description?

Part 3

Nathan Jones: I wish we had the time in this episode to show David Bowen’s entire message about technology in the end times, as well as Patrick Oliver’s list of shocking statistics concerning our nation’s rising gun crime, tragic police deaths, and out-of-control debt. Fortunately, you can still watch the conference in its entirety on our Christ in Prophecy YouTube channel. And, for those who prefer DVDs, we’re offering the entire album for a donation of $25 or more, and that includes shipping. Check out ordering details in the next segment of this program and on our website at lamblion.com.

Tim Moore: We held three question and answer sessions during our Storm Warning Conference. Let’s see how our watchmen answered my question, “What is the most foreboding sign of our day?”

But, before this, we want to let you know about our next exciting Bible prophecy conference titled “The Convergence: What Is God Doing in World Politics?” We hope that you’ll join us this fall.

Todd Hutchinson: Will Russia soon attack Israel in the Gog Magog War? Is the Chinese Communist superpower destined to take over the planet? Will the European Union unite the world under a new global government? Will Iran threaten the Middle East with nuclear weapons? How will Israel survive as a nation? And what is America’s role in the end times? What exactly is God doing in world politics? Get the answers to today’s hard political questions from what the Bible prophesied so long ago. Join Lamb & Lion Ministries at the Convergence Bible Prophecy Conference this October 8th and 9th at Immanuel Bible Church in Three Springs, Pennsylvania. Lamb & Lion Ministries, evangelist Tim Moore and Nathan Jones are joined by Mondo Gonzales of Prophecy Watchers, Al Gist and pastor Steve Heaster. Seating is limited so register right now on our website at lamblion.com. For those who cannot attend in person, watch via live stream over our Christ in Prophecy YouTube Channel. Understand what God is doing today in world politics. Join Lamb & Lion Ministries this fall in Pennsylvania.

Part 4- Storm Warning Q&A Session

Tim Moore: Okay. So, here’s another question: What would you say is the most exciting, or depending upon your perception or perspective, the most foreboding sign that we’ve seen just in recent times, the last year or so?

Michael Branch: I would say from a pastor’s heart, looking around the churches in the US and seeing a falling away, a falling away from solid biblical preaching and the true Gospel. And I think we need to really begin to push that more and more. We need to stand strong. Be clear on what the true Gospel is. And then that’s the answer. We know that’s the answer.

Tim Moore: You just gave a plug for Vick’s presentation tomorrow.

Vic Batista: I appreciate that.

Tim Moore: So welcome. You also just got a haircut, right?

Vic Batista: Yeah. Half price.

Tim Moore: Half price?

Vic Batista: There not charging me full price.

Tim Moore: All right. That’s a good thing to know. All right. Hey, it was a plug for his thing. I had to recognize, you know.

Patrick Oliver: One of the most interesting signs in the signs of society is the current views on abortion. As all of you know, Roe vs Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court. And the reason it was overturned is because the court understood they had no jurisdiction in the matter and remanded it or returned it back to the states. Consistent with the 10th Amendment. And so, abortion is still very much a serious problem. And so please don’t assume just because Roe vs Wade is overturned that we’re going to see less abortion. So, I’m going to talk about some facts or some views on abortion today.

Dr. Reagan: I think one of the most important signs that has occurred in the last few years is the pandemic. How it has swept the world in a very short period of time. And I think God is calling the whole world to realize that life is very precarious. It’s here one moment, it’s gone the next, and that we need to think about eternity. And I think that a lot of people’s attention has been grabbed by that, and hopefully so. But it certainly has been a major sign. You know, we look at signs of nature, all kinds of things like earthquakes and tornadoes and all that. But one of the signs of nature is plagues. And we tend to think that we’re so sophisticated and our medicine is so advanced that we just can’t have a worldwide plague anymore. And all of a sudden we had one.

Vic Batista: Also, another thing piggybacking on what Dr. Reagan just said, also, because of the situation with the economy right now, the situation with Russia, the situation with Ukraine and instability that we’re seeing gas prices and just everything as a whole, it’s really opened up a great opportunity, though, for us to be able to speak about what’s going on, especially prophetic. And I’ve seen people now a lot more open to hearing about the end times than they were before. So, I think that’s also a great opportunity for us.

Jeff Kinley: I was going to just echo the same thing is that we’re seeing the global crisis is opening up the avenue for the Antichrist, and it’s grooming the earth. In fact, with the pandemic, basically what the pandemic, did was groom the whole planet. It made the ground fallow for the next crisis to come along. And for the first time really in my lifetime, I would say in your lifetime, the entire planet was talking about one thing, everybody had the same narrative from every nation to every neighborhood. And that sets up the Antichrist to be able to come in and bring a solution for this. We’re not done with the crises yet, but I think that really helped to groom the planet.

And on the positive side of that, I would completely concur with the fact that there is a growing apostasy that is rising in the end times, I wrote a whole book on it, so it’s definitely happening out there. The interesting thing about spiritual warfare is that it’s not just an ebb and flow, but it’s both and, so at the same time, we’re having apostasy in the pulpit and among believers and churches closing down with the lowest church attendance in the history of America right now. At the same time, we are witnessing a spiritual awakening among a remnant of believers in this country, and they are getting turned on to Bible prophecy because they’re not hearing, perhaps unlike these great men here, preaching about it in the pulpit, they’re being awakened by the Holy Spirit themselves, and they’re seeking out conferences like this and books and videos and programs like Christ in Prophecy. So, there’s good news and there’s bad news and we just want to make sure we stay on the side of the good news and keep fanning those flames.

David Bowen: I think one of the sad signs too is technology, because we become so dependent and reliant on that and we have accepted it to such a level that we’re rejecting God even more.

Closing

Tim Moore: We hope that this episode in our series about the urgency of the Rapture has been a blessing to you and has helped you understand how vital it is that Christians get the hope-filled message of Jesus Christ’s soon return out as time is short. Tune in to our next episode as our ministry’s founder, Dr. David Reagan, explores a unique aspect of the end times sign of Israel.

Nathan Jones: Until then, look up and be watchful, for the Rapture of the Church is drawing near!

End of Program

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