Is the World on the Brink of Seeing Revelation 13:4 Fulfilled?

Technological Trends Indicate a Global Empire is Near…

A global empire is coming. You can be certain of it. After all, the Bible tells us it’s coming, and when it does, one man (the Antichrist) will rule over every person on the planet:

"And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation." Revelation 13:7 (NLT)

The big question is this… How will it happen? Will the nations of the world willingly yield their sovereignty to one man? Or will the Antichrist be a great conqueror?

I believe the Bible teaches the latter. While the Bible describes the Antichrist as a "master of intrigue" (Daniel 8:23) and a “master of deception” (Daniel 8:25), it also describes him as a man wielding immense military power:

“They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they also worshiped the beast. ‘Who is as great as the beast?’ they exclaimed. ‘Who is able to fight against him?’” Revelation 13:4 (NLT)

The Bible is clear – the Antichrist will be a man of unprecedented power, so much so, the people of the world will genuinely ask, “Who is able to fight against him?” And the Bible is also clear about this – no human will be able to stand against him. In the end, it’s Jesus who defeats the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:8):

"He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power." Daniel 8:25 (NLT)

How will the Antichrist acquire such power? While the Bible tells us his power is demonic in nature (2 Thessalonians 2:9), I believe advanced technology will play a significant role in the Antichrist’s rise to power and his ability to rule the earth.

How Could This Happen?

Right now, I believe the world is on the brink of witnessing the development of several advanced technologies which will necessitate many of the outcomes we read about in the Book of Revelation.

For example, once A.I.-powered biomimetic drones can be manufactured at scale, mutual assured destruction (MAD) will become obsolete.

The nation or allied group of nations with first-mover advantage in the development of such weaponry will face a stark choice:

1) An unstable arms race ending in global annihilation, or

2) Global empire

Simple logic says they'll choose global empire.

In other words, unless bible prophecy is fulfilled in some other way (and very soon), the deployment of A.I.-powered biomimetic drones manufactured at scale will fulfill bible prophecy.

After all, the Bible doesn’t mention a global empire which precedes the global empire of the Antichrist. And the development of these advanced technologies will result in the establishment of a global empire with complete control over every aspect of human civilization.

No one will be able to fight against such a military power (Revelation 13:4). A.I. and other advanced technologies will enable such a global empire to surveil and govern everyone (Revelation 13:7). Also, through the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC), tokenized assets, and digital IDs, a global empire will be more than capable of controlling who can “buy or sell anything” (Revelation 13:16-17).

In short, current technological trends tell us the world is on the cusp of witnessing the fulfillment of these end times bible prophecies.

As I wrote in "The Future of Warfare: Rise of the Drones" back in 2018:

Synchronized drones let us see the future of warfare. Why do I say that? Let me ask you another question. Have you ever seen a large flock of birds flying in unison? They look like a cloud. And the whole flock can shift left, right, up, or down - all in a split second.

Despite their quick shifts, these birds act as one. They aren't disorganized or disjointed. They fly in perfect harmony as if they have a single mind. We observe similar behavior in schools of fish, bees, locusts, gnats, and all sorts of animals.

Now, imagine one of these groups is coming to get you. That's right. Imagine a swarm of bees is coming after you. Would a shotgun do you much good? Not really. You can fire into a swarm of bees, and you might take out one or more.

But you know what? The swarm will keep coming. This is because the power of a swarm is decentralized. A single strike won't stop it.

Sound scary? It should. Because this is the future of warfare. It's called swarm technology. As technology advances, synchronized drones will get smaller and smaller, faster and faster, and ever more powerful. In the near future, one nation will use them to attack a nation only armed with conventional weapons.

What do you think will happen when combat drones traveling like a swarm of bees attack a conventional army? How effective will tank fire or heat seeking missiles be when directed at a swarm? That's right. They'll be just as effective as firing a shotgun at a swarm of bees.

Have no doubt, this is where our world is headed. Those nations who are first to develop swarm technology will rule over those nations who are slow to adapt. History has proved this lesson time and again. Think about it. Charging columns of soldiers were effective once - until machine guns arrived.

Racing soldiers on horseback were once effective too - until armored tanks arrived. We can all cite countless examples of new military technologies making tried-and-true weapons and tactics obsolete. The same will prove true with swarm technology. And it will completely transform the world's current balance of power.

In my opinion, this remains the future of warfare. While much has changed in the world since that article was first written, one thing hasn't changed – the world is inexorably marching toward an era of decentralized, A.I.-controlled drone swarms that will dominate every military engagement.

As this march continues, expect smaller drones arriving in larger swarms. Drones can inflict just as much damage as any conventional weapon, and because they’re unmanned, the attacking nation can deny any involvement.

Drones are inexpensive to produce and easy to deploy. They can mimic flocks of birds and even evade radar. Because they blend into the environment, they can appear out of nowhere, surprising the enemy. They present a new threat, and most conventional armies have no defense against them.

Sophisticated drone swarms are the future of warfare, and they’re coming sooner than most people think. Drone swarms embedded with artificial intelligence offer a number of benefits and advantages to nation states. They’re less expensive to build and maintain than large standing armies. They don’t require large numbers of highly trained personnel. They can be controlled from a remote, secure location. They can be deployed anywhere in the world, often undetected (just think Ukraine’s recent attack on Russia or Israel’s Operation Rising Lion). This means they magnify the military capabilities of smaller nations. They close the gap between weaker nations and world superpowers.

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Imagine conventional forces trying to counter an attacking swarm of drones which mimic bees or locusts. Tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry advance on the battlefield. From the sky, a swarm of millions of drones descend on the conventional army. They cover every tank, vehicle, and piece of equipment. In minutes, they quickly destroy or disable the entire army, leaving them defenseless. Firearms, artillery shells, and missiles have little impact on a swarm. Just think of a swarm of locusts descending on a field. A farmer can fire his shotgun and swat at them all he wants. But in mere minutes, they’ll devour all his crops. Drone warfare brings the same capabilities to the battlefield.

Future drone swarms will resemble swarms of bees…

A.I.-controlled drone swarms will be able to completely overwhelm conventional military weapons and personnel. But mutual assured destruction (MAD) will remain in place as long as the major nuclear powers can maintain secrecy regarding the location of their nuclear-armed submarines. Once enough drones can be cost effectively manufactured to track everything in the world’s oceans and waterways, MAD will come to an end.

Molecular Manufacturing

The key to overturning MAD is molecular manufacturing. Molecular manufacturing will give whatever nation (or group of nations) that develop it first the ability to create millions, billions, and trillions of drones in short order. These drones could even be manufactured in real-time on the battlefield, enabling the deployment of wave after wave of drone swarms (if necessary) in order to conquer a territory.

Is it possible these technologies are the "mighty sword" referred to in Revelation 6?

"Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its rider was given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. And there was war and slaughter everywhere." Revelation 6:4 (NLT)

Here we have a figure, I believe symbolically pointing to the Antichrist, who wields a great sword or weapon of war. Is this great sword A.I.-powered biomimetic drones deployed at vast scale?

We can't be certain, but I believe it's a real possibility.

Others say it's not. They say A.I.-powered biomimetic drone swarms will never conquer the world. They say drones are easily countered and neutralized. I believe they're wrong, but let's take a closer look at the counter argument.

Countering Drone Swarms

Despite the fact drones currently dominate conflicts in Russia-Ukraine, the Red Sea, and the Middle East, many people continue to minimize the impact of drone warfare. They claim new countermeasures will easily defeat drone swarms. As of right now, here are the most promising countermeasures:

High-Powered Microwave (HPM)

U.S. defense contractor Epirus touts its Epirus Leonidas HPM as "the premier counter drone swarm solution." Perhaps it is, but if so, it only underscores the complex challenge offensive drone swarms present. Here's a video illustrating what the Epirus system will supposedly be able to do 👇

Watching this video, you would think a 100% effective countermeasure has been developed to take out incoming drones. But this should raise a number of red flags. For instance:

1) All the incoming drones in this video approach the target from the same direction. What happens when multiple swarms approach from multiple directions?

2) High-powered microwave (HPM) systems do not have unlimited range. If they do, it significantly increases the risk of friendly fire disabling one’s own military or satellite systems. From what I can find, the exact range of the Epirus Leonidas HPM is classified. Why is it classified? Because if drones can identify the system ahead of time and operate outside of its range, it becomes completely ineffective. But drones can easily gather such data over the course of time, and A.I.-powered drones will adapt their tactics in order to avoid neutralization.

3) This video also assumes an ideal environment. The drones approach from a forested area. It's not an urban environment. No friendly infrastructure or military assets are in the path of the high-powered microwave. This won't always be the case. Even if you surround the perimeter of a military installation with these systems, what stops the drones from flying over the range of the Epirus Leonidas HPM before quickly descending to attack the installation from directly above its target? And if the Epirus Leonidas HPM system swivels to fire at the drones coming from above, what are the odds it hits friendly assets on the installation? What if a second drone swarm attacks from behind once the system turns to fire on the first swarm?

These are just a few questions, not a definitive list. Are these high-powered microwave systems innovating and adapting on a monthly or weekly basis to account for tactical adjustments? No. And this is one of the biggest problems with these types of systems.

They follow the traditional defense contractor procurement process which involves years of design and development (often more than a decade). Meanwhile, due to their low cost and outsized effectiveness, drones are evolving in real-time on the battlefield. Drone innovation is too quick for these types of clunky defense systems to keep up.

Here's another example taken from the homepage of the Epirus website, where you can find an animated illustration of this image 👇

The comments and red arrows on the image above are my markups, pointing out the deficiencies in these defensive systems. They simply won’t work in real world battlefield conditions (aside from when facing the most technologically backward adversary).

In this video, Epirus highlights the low cost of each drone kill as "five cents per shot" 👇

The idea they’re trying to convey is this “evens the playing field,” because currently most $2,000 to $50,000 drones are shot down using missiles that cost anywhere from half a million to two million dollars. That’s a big math problem – especially given the cost of manufacturing drones is declining over time.

The prospect of lowering the cost to “five cents per shot” seems enticing, but it’s misleading at best. It completely ignores the upfront cost of the system itself, which likely runs in the millions of dollars. It also makes the assumption that Epirus Leonidas HPM is actually effective in real-world battlefield conditions, and as we just discussed, that’s highly unlikely.

Any success these systems might have in a present day battle will soon be negated as artificial intelligence is onboarded onto more sophisticated drones. A.I. will enable drone swarms to learn and adapt in real-time on the battlefield in a way these defensive systems simply can not. The result? These types of defensive systems will prove useless in the face of A.I.-powered biomimetic drone swarms.

Lasers

We also see laser weapons being proposed as a solution to drones 👇

This video highlights some of the obstacles when it comes to countering drones using lasers 👇

Furthermore, the countermeasure highlighted in this video uses a single laser beam that can take up to 15 seconds to neutralize its target. That’s fine if you’re under assault from a single drone, but what happens when a swarm is coming? What happens if multiple drones come from multiple directions?

Also, lasers become less effective (if not completely ineffective) in fog or heavy rain. As with high-powered microwaves, you encounter many of the same problems involving depth of range and ability to adapt.

You also encounter the same problem as conventional projectiles. How do lasers take out a swarm? Using a single laser beam to take out a swarm is really no different than using a single bullet to take out a swarm of bees. You might hit one, maybe two – but the rest of the swarm will still be coming after you.

So why not use 500 lasers against the incoming swarm of 500 drones? First, it’s not so easy to deploy 500 lasers, but even if you do, what kind of battlefield environment does that create when you have 500 laser beams scattering in every direction. Think you’ll accidentally harm your own assets or infrastructure? Yes. The prospects for friendly fire increase dramatically.

Additional Problems with Drone Countermeasures

Electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) weapons fall into the same category of directed energy weapons, and they'll face the same problems as high-powered microwaves (HPM) and lasers. And as technology advances, it's likely to make EMP and HPM weapons completely obsolete even under the most ideal battlefield conditions.

Why? Because biological computing is about to go mainstream, and once human neurons are used in drones in place of electronic circuitry, EMP and HPM won't impact incoming drone swarms at all. And biological computing is about to go mainstream 👇

Furthermore, A.I.-powered drones have the ability to learn and adapt in real-time on the battlefield, and the A.I. learning curve will only accelerate. Every new countermeasure developed to stop drone swarms will rapidly be overcome as A.I. exploits its inevitable vulnerabilities. In the end, no adequate defense exists which can stop such a lethal combination of technologies. A.I.-powered biomimetic drones swarms manufactured inexpensively at mass scale via molecular manufacturing will have the potential to launch endless waves of offensive strikes. They’ll simply overwhelm any conventional defenses. In the end, they can’t be stopped.

The Bible Tells Us What’s Coming…

The Bible tells us a global empire is coming, and I believe we’re on the threshold of global empire right now. If current technological trends continue, the global empire prophesied in the Bible will be a reality in our expected lifetime. Why do I say this? Because molecular manufacturing and other advanced technologies will transform the post-World War II global geopolitical order. They’ll come with several unavoidable consequences. One of those is global empire.

Ultimately, the rise of artificial intelligence and drone swarms is a destabilizing event. Together, these new technologies will overturn the post-World War II stability of MAD. Once this happens, World War III will break out.

When the dust settles, one nation will dominate the globe. That nation will be the leader in the development of these new military technologies. Does this surprise you? It shouldn’t. The Bible says another world war is in our future (Revelation 6:4). It also tells us what the world will look like when World War III ends. One man will rule the earth (Revelation 13:7). Expect to see smaller, smarter, and more powerful drones. Expect A.I. to power ever larger, decentralized drone swarms. Expect to see MAD overturned, and expect to see a global empire established as a result.

Is all this just a coincidence? No. It’s yet another sign we’re on the verge of the seven-year Tribulation and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It also means we’re quickly approaching the rapture of the church. So take advantage of every opportunity you have to spread the Gospel and tell others about the love of Jesus. Time is short. He’s coming soon!

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