Jan 29, 2014
Tonight I was watching one of the few television shows that I try to catch weekly. And I need to stress: few. There are only about four shows that I frequent and there are two main reasons as to why I don’t watch much TV.
For one, I dislike wasting time sitting idly in front of the screen. The other is… well, there just isn’t anything good on TV anymore that really fits with my biblical worldview.
To that end – tonight I am ticked.
Tonight, the need to “choose” about my future viewership of this show has been thrust upon me.
The show in question is the scifi, apocalyptic drama called Revolution. Produced by the brilliant J.J. Abrams, it has no nudity, the language is bearable and the portrayed violence is relatively bloodless. In addition, there is some semblance of family values in the loyalty of the characters to one another. It’s not perfect from a Christian standpoint, but it is television.
However, tonight this show turned a very disturbing corner. It was a corner that caused me to turn it off in mid-broadcast, stopping it in its tracks.
Remember, we are talking about my time of choosing and not necessarily a TV program. Nonetheless, it would help you to understand where I’m coming from if I gave you some background.
In a nutshell, the show is about how the electricity all over the world, went out at the same time. As episodes progressed, we find out that the reason is a technology called “Nanites” that some scientists released into the air.
These Nanites multiplied and more importantly, sucked all (and I do mean all) of the electricity out of the air. As a consequence, nothing in this world that depended on electricity will work again… ever.
We found out few episodes back that the Nanites became “self-aware”, i.e. artificial intelligence, and began to communicate and aid their Creator, a character in the show. Who that character is and how they aided him is less important than the fact that these Nanites were very powerful and could do all kinds of crazy stuff in this new world without electricity.
In tonight’s episode, the Nanites directed the Creator to a small town in Texas and they told him that he would “find all” of his answers there.
Interestingly, this Nanite technology, or more appropriately, nano technology is, in fact, real. If you’ve visited my website, you may have seen articles posted that speak about how it’s being used in medicine and manufacturing. Regardless, it is true that the show’s premise of a hybrid of this technology is able to shut down the electrical grid is a bit fantastic and truly fictional. My point is that at its core, it is a real technology, so keep that in mind as you continue to read.
As evidence of this, I point to Tom Horn’s work. Tom has done impressive research on transhumanism, singularity and artificial intelligence. Recently he co-authored a book called Beast Tech that delves into the issue of how this technology could aid in the spawning of The Mark of the Beast system which will eventually enslave all of humanity. Nano technology exists today and according to recent medical publications, this year we will see a significant increase in its use.
It is here where I found myself struggling with Revolution.
The biblical scenario of a one-world currency in which everyone who buys and sells will need to use a mark on his head or hand is not science fiction. Words of warning on this issue were written long ago in the Bible for the sole purpose of keeping Believers from being taken by surprise with the technology.
Yet, it is astonishing to me that the vast majority of Christian Believers are unaware that this system is being implemented in real time right before our eyes. This is because its implementation in the form of technology, today’s Church doesn’t give it a second glance.
Now back to my dilemma.
You will recall that I said these Nanites became self-aware. The journey that they took their Creator on was to a town in Texas where some people were having a church service. In that church service, the Preacher brought forward a woman who was blind. He then “prayed” that God would “send his light” to heal the woman.
What I saw next was most disturbing.
The Nanites, which manifested as firefly looking glowing dots, surrounded the woman for a moment and healed her blindness.
The people in the church gave thanks to God, but the Nanites’ Creator knew what really healed the woman: his technology. Yet the people made this technology out to be god.
That’s where I turned it off.
You’re thinking to yourself, “What’s the big deal?! It’s only TV! It’s not real!”
You couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Nimrod said during the building of the tower of Babel that he wanted to be “like God”. Satan himself said that he wanted to “be like the most high”. The idea that from time to time, God’s creation gets greedy and desires to be like Him is not a new one. Twenty-first century television has just managed to wrap this rebellious attitude in a technological disguise.
The point is that that technology in a simple TV program was credited as god. And in the moment, when pressed by the Holy Spirit, I became acutely aware of the enemy’s subtle plan.
At best – it was mass conditioning of a viewing public in order to see the benefits of the technology as superseding a “religious belief”. In other words, believing in God is old fashioned and there is something real, tangible and powerful like technology that everyone should embrace.
At worst – it was blasphemy, pure and simple. However, it was so subtle, so smooth, that I even had to ask myself, “What’s the big deal? It’s only television. It’s not real. I can finish the show and go about my evening without offending God.
The Word tells us that the devil masquerades as an angel of light. He is very smooth. In this subtle attack on an ignorant viewership, he intended to program the masses to begin to think that technology gives mankind the ability to do everything that God can do. Thus – why do we God?
Make no mistake; in the days in which we live, there is a huge push back against our God and who He is.
That push back takes on many forms. An obvious satanic ritual would not work on most of us. However, watching a show in the comfort of our own home that desensitizes us to the all-out assault against our God – is no less evil!
This is why I’m ticked.
As a writer, I enjoy a good, thought out story. I have watched that show from the very beginning. Many of the interesting twists and turns of the plot are now providing answers. Yet, it doesn’t matter how vested I am in Revolution. I will no longer watch it. The enemy has overplayed his hand. And I will not sit idly by and let myself be programed to think different about our God.
So… when it comes to the conditioning of the masses – What will you do?
Will you sit there and take it? Will you push aside any chastisement by the Holy Spirit as just an overreaction on your part? What happens when the attacks become even more blatant? Will you be so desensitized that you will no longer be able to see the assault for what it is?
Whether it be television, lifestyle choices, pop culture or out and out sin, the days are becoming perilous for the Christian Believer and his relationship to a Living God.
Many times it is a small choice. However, the consequences of a myriad of small, insignificant choices can indeed have eternal ramifications when compounded with all that we face in a world that has turned a corner.
If you haven’t already, soon you too will face… A Time of Choosing.