“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” (Matthew 17:26-30)
In Matthew 17, Jesus gave clear warning as to what it would be like in the period that leads up to His return; – “as in the days of Noah.” What exactly did he mean? Scholars debate the issue. But there seem to be several points that Christ may have been trying to make. So what was it like in the days of Noah and Lot? Here are some of its characteristics.
- It was a time of unbridled violence. Genesis 6:11 tells us: “And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”
- It was a time of incredible sexual depravity. Genesis 19 details how the men of Sodom surrounded the house that Lot was staying in demanding to be allowed to have their sexual way with his visitors.
- Homosexuality would become normalized. The Babylonian Talmud – (Jewish commentaries that were compiled during the early centuries after Christ) – reveal a very interesting fact. As Dr Jeffrey Satinover has put it: “There was only one time in history, according to these writings, where men were given in marriage to men, and women given in marriage to women…The one time in history when homosexual ‘marriage’ was practiced was … during the days of Noah….that’s what the ‘Babylonian Talmud’ attributes as the final straw that led to the Flood.”[i] [ii]
- It was a time of scoffing at God’s word. Noah preached the coming judgment for 120 years without a single convert outside his family. It was a time of unbelief. 2Peter 3:3 confirms that “there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts.” (KJV)
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But here’s the craziest one. Perhaps the most significant characteristic that describes the ‘Days of Noah’ – and the one that can explain the existence of all the others – is that it will be a time of the return of the Nephilim. Referred to as giants in some translations, these were the product of sexual unions between fallen angels and the “daughters of men.” These rebellious angels had corrupted the DNA of mankind, creating a race of their own making. Genesis 6:4 explains. “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” (KJV)
It’s off of this last one that we’ll spend a little time; looking at what today’s developments and how they might play in to the age that is unfolding.
TRANSHUMANISM: A SEARCH FOR PERFECTION
“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5)
The ultimate in human ambition: To be like God. Check out this conference that was held at the University of Utah a few years back. It was a Transhumanism and Spirituality Conference. ‘OK, What’s that all about’, you ask. Here’s a definition. “Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics and capacities.” Another tells us that it “refers to an evolutionary transition from the human to the posthuman.”[iii] That means that they’re looking at something that is beyond human. In their terms, an improvement! Playing at God, they are. As the article in the Daily Utah Chronicle explained, transhumanists were “producing technology to eliminate aging and enhance human intellectual, physical and psychological capacities.” [Ah! Isn’t that beautiful? It makes me all warm and fuzzy and my heart begins to pitter patter.] To them, there is “no reason to settle” for the normal human limitations. As the article was kind enough to admit, the Transhumanist movement “does have some of the same functions people seek in religion”. And its adherents, for the most part, “do not believe in a higher being.”[iv] By at least 2018 & 2019, there were Christian Transhumanist Conferences in place that were looking for “an opportunity for Science, Faith & Technology to work together to create a better future.”[v]
What this is all about – on the technological level – is creating artificial intelligence (AI) by combining digital, computer technology and neuroscience. In the not-to-distant future they hope to be able to replicate the circuitry of the brain, housing that in some sort of robot equipped with sensory organs. By 2018, scientists had created a hippocampal neural prosthesis that was hooked-up to a subject’s brain to boost memory, with tests showing that it improved memory by 37%.[vi] A somewhat related technology involves the quest to be able to upload our minds – our consciousness – to improve cognitive processing and create a sort-of immortality. Still in the theoretical stages, many believe that it will one-day be possible. [Why that’s as crazy as ….going to the moon!] A paper by The Lifeboat Foundation’s Michael Anissimov – [and he must be smart with a name like that] – makes the argument that we are “‘just’ data structures being implemented as computational automata on biological neurons….. once we dismiss the possibility of an immaterial soul, we must acknowledge the mind as a material pattern implemented in physical configurations….If entirely synthetic brains are possible, then there’s nothing stopping such persons from inhabiting computer networks.”[vii] In fact, there is a start-up company out there that is “pitching a mind-uploading service” with one unfortunate side effect. It is “100% fatal.” You have to be euthanized to take advantage of their service.[viii] [I think you can probably get same-day-service. Don’t imagine the lines being too long for that one.]
That begs a very important question: What is it that is being created. Ryan A Piccirillo asks some searing questions about the meaning and value of life in the light of the creative horizon. “A machine which has a brain identical to the human brain; a machine which has sensory organs and a nervous system; a machine which has a metabolic mechanism for energy autonomy; a machine that, by virtue of the fact it was designed after its human creators, can replicate itself asexually. Must we ascribe life to this machine? More importantly, if we must, what does that say about human life? If the above outline one day becomes a reality – if in the future we build a robot that is humanity’s cognitive twin – how will the value of its life be determined?”[ix]
Terry James of Rapture Ready asks a most natural follow up question. “Are we the last generation of humans as God made them?” He points out that we’ve gone way beyond the spiritual technology of Ouija boards – all the way to nanotechnology, genetic manipulation, AI and Transhumanist philosophy. James argues that those rebellious angels were all about producing soulless beings – neither human nor angelic – that had no chance at redemption. These were the Nephilim, the “spiritual heirs to their fallen b’nai ha Elohim progenitors.”[x] [To explain, the term b’nai ha Elohim is translated “sons of God” and refers to angelic beings; or specifically in this case, the rebellious segment of the heavenly host.] Now just hang on to that definition. It will come into play later, as we reveal what is going on. So it seems, ‘Science’, may be cooperating in a similar attempt to create “soulless” beings. Here’s some of what’s going on.
The technological advancements of recent years are nothing less than astounding – mind boggling – species-transforming. Transhumanism can be described as a cultural movement that envisions a directed-evolution – (yes, in the physical sense as well as the spiritual) – of the human organism. Tom Horn tells us how it envisions the “use of biotechnology, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, cybernetics, and artificial intelligence as tools that will radically redesign our minds, our memories, our physiology, our offspring, and even perhaps— as Joel Garreau, in his bestselling book Radical Evolution, claims—our very souls.”[xi] Sound crazy and overblown? Wait till you see what exactly they’re working on. The term that is being kicked around these days is posthuman – and it has very real meaning.
Take first the field of Synthetic Biology. Scientists are not working at creating entirely new genomes. Midway through 2010, biologist Craig Ventner synthesized a DNA code and injected it into a single bacteria creating what many are calling, “artificial life”. To what purpose, you may ask. Some uses may be to create organisms capable of sucking up oil spills or fabricating drugs.[xii] This, and other similar experiments, are all about controlling the very building blocks of life. Jerome Glenn, writing for the Millennium Project, explains. Just as software is developed for our computers, “genetic code will be written to create life forms to augment civilization.”[xiii] We’ve already seen how scientific experimentation has resulted in the patenting of new lines of seeds. Now this is spreading to animal, plant and synthetic life forms. In the words of Charles Colson and his co-authors, “The patenting of genes and other human tissue has already begun to turn human nature into property.”[xiv] The implication of such developments are naturally turning traditional morality on its head.
The consequences of such squishy thinking is evident in the now almost-routine stories that we get of human-animal embryos being created in laboratories. Human DNA was being inserted into pig embryos as far back as 2000.[xv] The production of the hybrids was approved in the UK back in 2008; – all in the name of finding cures for Parkinson’s disease and the like.[xvi] Plans are on the table now to combine human embryonic cells with rabbits and cows.[xvii] So far much of the research has centered on the creation of stem cells that can be turned into other more specialized to advance the curing of diseases and genetic conditions. But some thinkers naturally see the day when embryos will be created for ‘spare parts’ for other human beings.[xviii] And that’s just the issue. When does life begin? We cannot develop the thought fully here, but I believe that the Biblical argument is clear. From the human perspective: Life begins at conception. From God’s point of view it seems to originate even before that. Our essence and worth come from the fact that we are made in the image of God – by the very will of God. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Psalm 139:15-16 reveals that we are formed in the secret place – in the mind of God. “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Therefore the creation of even 8 cell human organisms presupposes the existence of a soul. But what happens when the DNA is tainted through combination with animal life forms such a pig? Does that presage the fabrication of ‘soulless’ life form? And what of resurrections? It was reported in 2009 that an extinct mountain goat, the Pyrean ibex, was brought back to life from dead tissues. There is talk now of reviving Tasmanian tigers and wooly mammoths from recovered tissue samples. And there is a very real argument going on to “Resurrect” the Neanderthals. Think of the spiritual confusion that may result. Of course if we are all just the product of evolution…[xix] [xx]
The attack on humanity continues. The science of genetics is now beginning to be applied to the task of “genetically modifying human genes in very early embryos, sperm and eggs.” This is “human-enhancement technology” and is perhaps the most dangerous as these genetic changes will be passed down to succeeding generations. They seek to make better human beings by reassembling “the very nature of humanity.”[xxi] Some researchers seek to create human beings with “sonar, magnetic orientation, or sensors for electricity and vibration.”
But altering human DNA is not the only means of moving mankind toward its rendezvous with its revolutionary destiny. Discussions by such pretentiously august groups as the World Academy of Arts and Sciences, take on subjects “creating abilities” not natural to the organism and symbiosis between “people and intelligent machines”.[xxii] We’re talking here about something called nanotechnology and its adoption will truly create a revolution in the way that mankind looks at what it means to be human. The ability to combine human and machine intelligence would transcend the boundaries of humanity. Already, pieces are being put in place to advance the cause. Some examples. Military organizations around the globe are already using “Electro Magnetic Fields to control the psychological state of the population in a city or geographic area.” Even TIME Magazine recently reported that the Pentagon is developing ‘mind control helmets’ that would allow “direct mental control of military systems by thought alone.” In other words they are working toward communication using only thoughts. Commentator Paul Maguire goes on to explain some of the other uses the military is looking at. You see, eventually HQ will be able to control the soldier’s mind as he fights on the battlefield. These helmets would use neurotechnology to create de-facto cyborg warriors. “The Pentagon is developing these special military helmets that control a soldier’s psychiatric status, which includes cognitive enhancement, alertness, reducing stress, blocking pain and allows soldiers to stay awake for days at a time.” It is a short step to a chip that will allow such control all the time.[xxiii] [xxiv]
Some of the latest technological breakthroughs are coming in the following areas.
- Cryonics – The “high-fidelity preservation” of the body and brain through freezing. [Johnny, I told you not to leave that freezer door open. Grandma’s going to thaw!…And you’ll be cleaning up the puddles.”]
- Gene Therapy & RNA Interference – Human beings playing with the genetic code: What could possibly go wrong with that?
- Autonomous Self-Replacing – (And Evolving) – Robots – Don’t think I need to comment on the dangers in that concept.
- Mind Uploading – (Already covered)
- Artificial Intelligence – The creation of systems that go beyond the ability to compute but are also capable of “thinking, feeling, imagining, creating, communicating, thoughtful synthetic intelligences with conscious experiences.” That’s scary enough, but Michael Anissimov dreams of a day of universal consciousness. “ If raw materials such as sand can be converted into computer chips and then into intelligent minds, eventually the majority of material in the solar system could be made intelligent and conscious.”[xxv]
Mind-control, human-machine combos, human-animal combos, ‘humans’ enhanced with the abilities of animals, gene manipulation that will increase capabilities and manipulate future generations. Who are we? What does it mean to be human? And what does it say about the days in which we are living? These are questions that we will be begin to tackle ….next time.
[i] Gay marriage: the ‘days of Noah’ return, GCM Watch, June 24, 2008
[ii] Janet Porter, How same-sex marriage points to end of the world, World Net Daily, May 20, 2008
[iii] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism, viewed October 7, 2010
[iv] Technology, spirituality merge in conference, Daily Utah Chronicle, September 28, 2010
[v] The Christian Transhumanist Conference 2018, Wired, August 21, 2018
[vi] Robbie Gonzalez, A Brain-Boosting Prosthesis Moves From Rats to Humans, Wired, April 6, 2018
[vii] Michael Anissimov, Top Ten Transhumanist Technologies, The Lifeboat Foundation, monitored September 6, 2019
[viii] Antonio Regalado, A startup is pitching a mind-uploading service that is “100 percent fatal”, MIT Technology Review,
Mar 13, 2018
[ix] Ryan A Piccirillo, The Mind in the Brain, the Brain in a Robot, Student Pulse, October 4, 2010
[x] Terry James, Are we the last generation of humans as God made them, Rapture Ready, August 26, 2010
[xi] Thomas R Horn, AN OPEN LETTER TO CHRISTIAN LEADERS ON BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE OF MAN,
Raiders News Network, September 14, 2010
[xii] Scientist accused of playing God…, Daily Mail, June 3, 2010
[xiii] Jerome Glenn, The state of the future 2010, INSTITUTO DE GLOBALIZACIÓN Y PROSPECTIVA-IGP, July 14, 2010 –
Originally cited by Tom Horn in AN OPEN LETTER TO CHRISTIAN LEADERS ON BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE
FUTURE OF MAN
[xiv] Charles W. Colson, Nigel M. de S. Cameron, Human Dignity in the Biotech Century, Intervarsity Press, 2004, pg 8
[xv] Gene Engineers Grow Pig Embryos with Human Genes,Organic Consumer, October 8, 2000
[xvi] Hybrid Human-Animal Embryo Research Approved In The UK, Science Daily, January 18, 2008
[xvii] Thomas Horn, Forbidden Gates, Part 12, Defender Publishing, September 11, 2010
[xviii] CLONING HUMAN EMBRYOS FOR SPARE CELLS AND TISSUES – An Ethical Dilemma,
Society, Religion and Technology Project, Church of Scotland, January 2000, (Dr Donald Bruce, Director)
[xix] Extinct ibex is resurrected by cloning, Telegraph (UK), January 31, 2009
[xx] Tom Horn, Forbidden Gates Part 18, Defender Publishing, October 5, 2010
[xxi] Thomas R Horn, AN OPEN LETTER TO CHRISTIAN LEADERS ON BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE OF MAN,
Raiders News Network, September 14, 2010
[xxii] Walter Truett Anderson, Augmentation, symbiosis, transcendence: technology and the future(s) of human identity,
World Academy of Art and Science, Science Direct, February 21, 2003
[xxiii] Paul McGuire, AMERICAN SOLDIERS MIND CONTROL, BIOCHIP, TRANSHUMANISM & THE OCCULT,
September 2010
[xxiv] Mark Thompson, The Army’s Totally Serious Mind-Control Project, TIME Magazine, September 14, 2008
[xxv] Michael Anissimov, Top Ten Transhumanist Technologies, The Lifeboat Foundation, monitored September 6, 2019
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