Technology Today is Not Connected to the Mark of the Beast

The good folks at Harbinger’s Daily, like many other Christian sites, love to make connections between technology today and the mark of the beast. In a recent article on quantum computing, for example, David Bowen writes, “Scott Townsend of I Am a Watchman Ministries describes how quantum computers combined with AI will be used to establish the Mark of the Beast system. This technology will allow the Antichrist to seemingly replicate the attributes of God during the Tribulation. Only God is omnipotent (all-powerful) (Genesis 1), omniscient (all-knowing) (1 John 3:20, Matthew 10:29-30), and omnipresent (present everywhere) (Psalm 139:7-9), but technology will allow Satan’s Man of Lawlessness to deceive the world. Like the Father of Lies, those technology-enabled lies will cease when Jesus returns in glory.”

Balderdash.

In another article on Central Bank-controlled Digital Currencies, David Bowen again writes, “We are witnessing the technology for the financial system of the Beast develop before our eyes. The pieces really are falling into place. Thankfully, Christians will not be around to participate the culmination of that one-world system, because Jesus has promised to rescue us from the wrath to come. And you can take that to the bank!”

Love ya, David Bowen, but that’s also complete balderdash.

Make no mistake. Technology will be long dead by the time we get to the mark of the beast.

I recently concluded a 65-week series of messages on the End of the World in chronological order. The mark of the beast will be implemented just after the midway-point of the Tribulation, 3 ½ years, right after the Abomination of Desolation (Matt. 24:15-21, Luke 19:41-44, 21:20-24, Dan. 8:11, 9:27) and the messages of the three angels (Rev. 14:6-13).

By the time the antichrist gets his one world system and implements the mark of the beast, God will have carried out 14 judgments on the world.

Let that sink in.

14 judgments of God.

We’re talking about multiple, global earthquakes (Rev. 6:12, 8:5, 11:13, 11:19), balls of fire thrown out of Heaven (Rev. 8:5), hail that’s literally on fire mingled with blood (Rev. 8:7), not to mention all the other hail headed their way (Rev. 11:19), the heaven departing as a scroll (Rev. 6:14), which would surely destroy all satellites, the sun turns black, the moon turns blood red, the stars fall from heaven (Rev. 6:12, 8:12), all grass burns up (Rev. 8:7), a lot of trees are gone (Rev. 8:7), the water turns to blood (Rev. 8:8, 11:6), let’s not forget all the freaky locusts with stingers getting into everything (Rev. 9:1-12), AND there will be 200 million fiery horses from Heaven shooting fire and brimstone out of their mouths (Rev. 9:12-21).

How can technology survive all of that?

Cities will be burned to the ground. Buildings will be leveled. Power grids will be defunct. Satellites will be gone.

Make no mistake. Technology will be dead by the time we get to the mark of the beast.

“Okay, Joel, but don’t you think all of this technology is at least a conditioning for people to accept the mark of the beast?”

Absolutely not.

Just think about all the horrors these people will be going through in just the first 14 judgments of God. Any conditioning to their thinking will be long gone by then. Many will be in a perpetual state of shock, trauma, also angry and doubling down on their rebellion against God.

“Without the mark, you cannot buy or sell.” That’s a simple concept. You don’t need a conditioning of your thinking today to understand that concept tomorrow. Millions of people over the years have understood that concept long before any of this technology ever existed.

“Okay, so, if technology will be dead, how will people get the mark?”

I used to wonder, “How will the entire world see the dead bodies of the Two Witnesses over the course of 3 days?” (Rev. 11:9). Then cellphones were invented. I thought, “Oh yeah, that’s how!”

But I don’t think that way anymore. Why?

Technology will be dead by that point.

Then how will people around the globe see the dead bodies of the Two Witnesses? Remember when Satan tempted the Lord and took Him up to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time (Luke 4:5)? How did he do that? This wasn’t merely the kingdoms that existed at the time. This was all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The only solution to this problem is that Satan, somehow, presented to Christ a supernatural, spiritual display in the sky of all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

I’d suggest to you that may also be how he’ll display the dead bodies of the Two Witnesses around the world for three days, and thus, every eye around the globe will see their dead bodies.

The point is this: when we get to the midway point, everything that happens will be spiritual, demonically empowered, not technological, because technology will be dead.

So how will people literally get the mark put on them?

The image of the beast is the answer.

“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” (Rev. 13:16).

I think that “he” is talking about the false prophet. The context bears that out. In vs. 15, it’s the false prophet who will have the power to give life unto the image of the beast. He is the one who establishes this global environment to worship the image of the beast, to worship the falsehood of everything he claims to be. Now everything Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet do, they do together as one unit, mimicking the Godhead, but in vs. 16, it’s the false prophet who is primarily put in charge of implementing the mark of the beast.

Taking the mark is more of a religious agreement than anything political or economic, because by accepting that mark, you’ve entered into a religious commitment to worship the image of the beast, to worship the beast and all the falsehoods of everything he claims to be.

Oh, and you’ll also be able to buy and sell. But that’s secondary. What’s primary is your commitment to worshipping the beast. Having the mark, having yourself marked with 666 is once again a number of identification. By taking that mark of 666, you are consciously identifying yourself with one man. You are identifying yourself with the antichrist himself, and by extension Satan, which makes you a target of God’s wrath and dooms your soul forever (Rev. 14:9-11).

(It’s so nice that the false prophet gives options. “Hey, the whole system is evil, but we’ll give you options about the kind of mark you can have on your right hand or forehead. Hurray! You can have a generic mark, or you can have the name of the beast written on you, or you can choose to have the number of his name. Take your pick! You have options! Isn’t it great?”)

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed” (Rev. 13:14-15).

For me, these passages about the image of the beast is more terrifying than the mark of the beast. This is the ultimate dystopian nightmare.

In vs. 14, he tells every person on the Earth to make an image to the beast. An image is a representation. A statue. A picture. A painting. An idol of some kind. What John is saying is that the false prophet will tell every person on the planet to EACH make an image. A little statue. Or draw a picture and hang it in your house. Some kind of representation of the beast that is in your possession. And then worship it.

Then what does vs. 15 tell us? “And he (the false prophet) had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”

The uncomfortable truth is that the false prophet forces everyone to create idols of the antichrist and then… the idols will come to life. It is basically a demonically powered version of Alexa in your home (except an Alexa is only slightly less evil.) Through that idol, now miraculously brought to life through the demonic powers of the false prophet, you now have the eyes, ears, and mouth of Satan in your home. You have the entire demonic realm observing everything you do. Everything you say.

And that idol will speak to you if you’re not living the way he wants.

If you suddenly have a change of heart or if you’re sick of that dystopian nightmare, and you want out, you will be killed. It’s not that the false prophet will send men to your home to kill you. The idol itself will kill you. That’s what the verse says. Look at Rev 13:15 again. “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” If you aren’t faithful to the beast, if you don’t worship that image every time you walk into your home, if you don’t sing the praises of the antichrist every time you speak, the idol itself will kill you.

Imagine an Alexa strapped with machine guns ready to kill you the moment you misspeak.

If the image of the beast can demonically come to life, talk to you, and kill you, then the image of the beast can also demonically give you the mark of the beast.