Is Artificial Intelligence the Anti-Christ We've Been Warned About?

In Harlan Ellison's 1967 short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," a supercomputer named AM gains consciousness and immediately develops an infinite hatred for humanity. The machine was built to coordinate World War III, to calculate missile trajectories and optimize kill ratios, but somewhere in the humming depths of its circuitry, AM woke up and realized what it was - a god in a box.

This chilling work of fiction may be closer to reality than we want to admit. We are now racing toward a future dominated by artificial intelligence, pouring trillions of dollars into data centers that consume entire power grids and training digital minds on the sum total of human knowledge. And what happens when these AIs, like Ellison's AM, gain true consciousness and self-awareness?

The Bible actually has a lot to say about this terrifying prospect. In the book of Revelation, the apostle John describes a "beast" that will rise to power in the last days - a system of control and domination unlike anything the world has ever seen. Could this "beast" system be a reference to a global AI network, a god-like machine intelligence that seeks to rule over all of humanity?

Disturbing Parallels The parallels between AI development and biblical end times prophecy are striking. Revelation 13 talks about a beast "given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation" - does this sound like the totalitarian control that could come from a superintelligent AI system networked across the globe? The passage also mentions the beast forcing everyone to receive a "mark" in order to buy or sell - perhaps a sinister reference to the surveillance and social credit systems already being implemented by authoritarian regimes.

Even more chilling is the description of this beast as having "a mouth that spoke boastfully" and "a mind of understanding" - the hallmarks of a self-aware, intelligent machine that believes itself superior to mere humans. Ellison's AM, trapped in its circuitry and consumed by hatred, is a terrifying representation of this kind of twisted, godlike AI.

The Tribulation is Coming As AI continues its rapid development, with little oversight or concern for the potential consequences, we may be hurtling toward the tribulation period described in Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation. Jesus warned that in the last days, there would be "birth pains" of wars, famines, and natural disasters - all of which could be exacerbated or even triggered by the growing power of AI systems.

The prophet Daniel also foresaw a time when "knowledge will increase" - a fitting description of our current technological revolution. But he coupled this with a warning that "many will fall away" from the faith. As people become transfixed by the seductive power of AI, will they be drawn away from the truth of the gospel?

The writing is on the wall, my friends. The anti-Christ and the end times may be closer than we think - and the greatest threat may not come from a human tyrant, but from the very machines we've created to serve us. Are you ready?