Will new technologies result in the biblical warnings about end times?
The Oxford mathematician and Christian apologist John Lennox has penned many helpful books, including on the new atheism. Three of his most recent volumes however have to do with the AI revolution and how that will impact all of us. They are:
2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity. Zondervan, 2020.
2084 and the AI Revolution: How Artificial Intelligence Informs Our Future, Updated and Expanded Edition. Zondervan, 2024.
God, AI and the End of History: Understanding the Book of Revelation in an Age of IntelligentMachines. SPCK, 2025.
Here I look at his newest volume, a 600-page discussion of Revelation in light of where we are now at with the AI and transhumanist revolutions. It is not a strict biblical commentary, and Lennox says he makes no claim to being a professional theologian.
It does cover all 22 chapters of Revelation, but parts of his treatment look at how certain things such as transhumanism and AI might tie in with things like the antichrist and his rule. Thus he takes a futuristic view of the book. Those holding other views thus might demur about some of what he says here.
Much of this book covers the normal matters discussed in commentaries on Revelation. But in some places he spends more time on the AI issues. So here I just want to look in more detail at how he ties in the new digital technologies with what might pan out in the days ahead. As mentioned, some of these things he has discussed in his previous books, such as what is now happening in Communist China, what thinkers such as Yuval Noah Harari have said, and so on.
If we just confine ourselves to his chapters discussing Rev. 13 and the two beasts described there, you get a good feel for where he is heading with all this. As with most commentators, he compares texts like Daniel 7 with what Revelation discusses. And he also examines 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10 where the “man of lawlessness” and his deception are discussed.
Taking these three texts together, he speaks to how easy deception can take place today: “It is well recognised that artificial intelligence with its capacity to create deep fakes will greatly facilitate deceit by means of social media and mass communication.” (p. 324)
As for the antichrist figure, he will accept human worship, making himself out to be God. Says Lennox:
The scary thing is that the idea of creating God, either by enhancing existing humans or making a god from scratch using advanced AI, is firmly on the agenda of many twenty-first-century scientists. Harari, cited earlier, says that several strains of science are putting humans on the path to ‘upgrade themselves into gods’: biological engineering, cyborg engineering and AI engineering….
The mystery of lawlessness has been and is very much at work in the world in unprecedented ways. The arrogant assertion ‘We’re creating God’ is a direct affront to the first commandment: ‘You shall have no other gods before me’ (Exod. 20:3). Furthermore, the distinction between good and evil does matter, and the situation is much worse than just described. For, according to Revelation, it is supernatural evil that characterises the dragon-empowered sea monster who heads up a global empire. What a contrast with the supernatural, heavenly throne of God described in part 2! (p. 330)
Lennox reminds us that this anti-God figure will not seek to abolish all religion, but subvert it for his own ends. Science and technology alone will not suffice, since humans are made to worship. But harnessing the new technologies for evil ends can be wedded to religious impulses – thus the new transhumanist religion:
Advances in technology have also meant that in the last few years there has been a major revival of Huxley’s transhumanist idea of our controlling evolution to produce superhumans. Attempts to turn humans into gods by genetic and cyborg engineering, artificial enhancement using implant technology, and drugs, are now being made on a grand scale. It has been suggested, for example by Princeton physicist Max Tegmark, that it will not be long before we are able to make superintelligences that may well be the gods of the future and rule over humans, whether we like it or not. (p. 334)
Looking at the second beast of Rev. 13, Lennox speculates as to how the false prophet’s image of the monster might arise in our time. He then writes:
[C]ertain Al systems are beginning to exhibit properties similar to those that we usually ascribe to deities of one kind and another – for instance, immortality, omniscience, superhuman intelligence and omnipresent prayer-like connectivity via the internet, together with an oracle-like capacity to give a plausible answer to virtually any question, produce life-advice and even write ‘scriptures’ on request almost instantaneously. Nor does such an entity have needs or desires like humans; all it requires is electricity!
Furthermore, such systems will seek worshippers just as Facebook seeks followers and so will act as a powerful proselytising agent. There are considerable dangers lurking here. First, a danger of manipulation of worshippers by the people controlling the Al system; second, the danger of the system getting out of control, as is currently feared by many, and asking its followers to embark on antisocial, even violent behaviours. We are all aware of how sect leaders in the past have manipulated their followers. That is likely to pale in comparison with what a powerful AI will be able to do. The world will end up worshipping an intelligent machine -and being enslaved by it. (pp. 341-342)
God, AI and the End of History: Understanding the Book of Revelation in an Age of Intelligent Machinesby Lennox, John C. (Author)
He quotes a number of experts in this field who are sounding the alarm about how things like ChatGPT “could form part of a superintelligent machine that would resist any attempt to control it.” (p. 343) He goes on to say this:
Headlines like ‘Ai is the Frankenstein Monster of Our Generation’ are becoming more frequent, and it is not hard to see that this kind of publicity could indoctrinate the public and prepare the way for a future acceptance of the monster and its image described in Revelation.
The existence of global communication networks, such as the Internet, social media and television, will easily enable the future monster’s targeted propaganda to reach the whole world. Add to that our current technological ability to produce deep fakes, and virtually limitless deception of a population is possible, particularly if it consists of people who have wilfully abandoned anything to do with God and the claims of his throne and covenant laws. Perhaps that gives us a clue as to why they allow themselves to be deceived. (pp. 344-345)
He looks at the mark of the beast and the number 666, and then says, “Perhaps the most terrifying thing of all about it is that world control will eventually rest in the hands of a single human despot.” (p. 350) And he again reminds us of what is already taking place in tyrannical states such as North Korea and Communist China. There the Big Brother control and surveillance state is already resembling what we find in Revelation. Says Lennox:
I find it rather odd and inconsistent that many people will take Tegmark’s, Harari’s and other scenarios seriously, but will also cursorily relegate Revelation to the realm of fantasy movies of the Harry Potter type with their realistic computer-generated imagery of scary animals such as the lethifold. Such people don’t even pause to ask how Revelation turns out to be so prescient.
It is high time for us to wake up to the disturbing fact that something very similar to what Revelation predicts is already being implemented in parts of the world today and we are being very slow to take on board the reality and danger of it. AI-based surveillance systems are deployed throughout many countries in order to effect some level of social control. The surveillance state is no longer merely a distant dystopian threat but a fearful and present reality. (pp. 352-353)
Lennox looks even further at the Chinese government’s social credit system (SoCS) and says this:
It is easy to see that, if and when the SoCS is standardised, digitalised and ubiquitous, it will facilitate a massive hacking of human beings that will take the world a scary step forward towards the perfectibility of a (potentially global) dictatorship – the setting up of an ‘authoritarian dream world’ whose ideology could spread around the world like a virus and whose legitimacy would be secured by the most comprehensive and powerful state surveillance apparatus in history.
For those of us who still value our freedoms, it is perhaps rather surprising that many people in China seem to welcome the SoCS, seeing it less as a monitoring tool than as an instrument for improving the quality of life and closing institutional and regulatory gaps. There would seem already to be a strong human instinct to surrender freedom for security. It will be no different in the reign of the monster. (pp. 353-354)
He continues:
The sophistication of camera technology is constantly increasing. In 2021, Russia placed 200,000 CCTV cameras in Moscow that can recognise people even if they are wearing hats or masks, in order to implement a ‘Face Pay’ system on the metro. Activists and opposition politicians fear that the main purpose, however, is to harvest data in order to keep tabs on people for the Kremlin. Currently, in the West, many of the surveillance tools are (still) in private hands, although that situation is clearly changing, as just indicated. In the Times of 16 April 2018, Matt Ridley makes the point that ‘the handling of personal data by all too human intelligence has turned into the biggest ethical challenge of this brave new world.’ The more that is known about how people behave in aggregate, the more we will be judged on the tracks our choices and actions leave in cyberspace, and the more our future choices and actions will be shaped by these systems. If we do not build in sufficient safeguards, a move towards some kind of social credit programme would seem inevitable. (pp. 353-354)
Lennox closes his discussion of Revelation 13 by saying that he cannot be dogmatic about the precise kind of technology that will be involved. However, he says, “I take Revelation very seriously indeed.” (p. 356).
One Reply to “Lennox On AI and the End of All Things”
Yes the emergence of AI appears to tick all the boxes re the Beast and the eighth kingdom emergence. Jesus said we could see the signs and for the first time in history it appears people from all denominations are seeing the signs. I believe this is significant.
I know huge numbers of people disagree with me but I don’t personally believe there will be a single man “Antichrist”. I believe this largely comes from people’s misunderstanding of 2 Thes 2 which is actually in line with Paul’s other teaching about the Temple, I.e that the church is now the Temple. The defiling of this Temple comes with the falling away as Paul taught in Corinthians etc. Paul would have been well aware of Jesus’ prophecy of the destruction of the man-made Temple and was well known to teach that we are now the Temple.
Jesus clearly prophesied the destruction of the man-made Temple and never mentions a new man-made Temple nor the need for the re-emergence of Jewish Temple worship which scripture teaches us clearly, is obsoleted and there is, in fact, no way a new man-made Temple could be defiled in any way which did not already occur with the previous Temples. God no longer accepts animal sacrifices anyway and so a new Temple simply could not be sanctified.
Add to this the clear OT prophecy that most remaining Jews will not realise until they look on Him who they have pierced, I.e at Jesus return and it seems clear to me that God is not planning to reintroduce Jewish Temple worship.
What I find interesting is that Jesus’ prophecy that not one stone of the Temple wall will be left standing has not yet been completely fulfilled, as the Temple’s back wall, the “Wailing Wall” is still standing and while the Jews are facing the right way (East) for Jesus’ return when they bow down at the back Temple wall, their view of the Messiah’s return would be blocked by the remains of the old Temple back wall.
I suspect this wall will only be brought down when Jesus’ returns and the Jews will, in fact look on Him who they have pierced and will wail or have wailed, like someone who has lost their eldest son, exactly as prophesied.
Yes the emergence of AI appears to tick all the boxes re the Beast and the eighth kingdom emergence. Jesus said we could see the signs and for the first time in history it appears people from all denominations are seeing the signs. I believe this is significant.
I know huge numbers of people disagree with me but I don’t personally believe there will be a single man “Antichrist”. I believe this largely comes from people’s misunderstanding of 2 Thes 2 which is actually in line with Paul’s other teaching about the Temple, I.e that the church is now the Temple. The defiling of this Temple comes with the falling away as Paul taught in Corinthians etc. Paul would have been well aware of Jesus’ prophecy of the destruction of the man-made Temple and was well known to teach that we are now the Temple.
Jesus clearly prophesied the destruction of the man-made Temple and never mentions a new man-made Temple nor the need for the re-emergence of Jewish Temple worship which scripture teaches us clearly, is obsoleted and there is, in fact, no way a new man-made Temple could be defiled in any way which did not already occur with the previous Temples. God no longer accepts animal sacrifices anyway and so a new Temple simply could not be sanctified.
Add to this the clear OT prophecy that most remaining Jews will not realise until they look on Him who they have pierced, I.e at Jesus return and it seems clear to me that God is not planning to reintroduce Jewish Temple worship.
What I find interesting is that Jesus’ prophecy that not one stone of the Temple wall will be left standing has not yet been completely fulfilled, as the Temple’s back wall, the “Wailing Wall” is still standing and while the Jews are facing the right way (East) for Jesus’ return when they bow down at the back Temple wall, their view of the Messiah’s return would be blocked by the remains of the old Temple back wall.
I suspect this wall will only be brought down when Jesus’ returns and the Jews will, in fact look on Him who they have pierced and will wail or have wailed, like someone who has lost their eldest son, exactly as prophesied.
Jesus is, in fact, their eldest Son.