Surveillance Technology & The Coming Police State

By Don McGee

Late one quiet night well over 40 years ago at a U.S. Army Security Agency field station in Europe one young soldier said to another, “If the American people knew what was happening in the world tonight they would not sleep so peacefully.” What was happening? Well, there was a tactical war of insurgency going on in Southeast Asia where eventually over 58,000 American fighting men would die in vain, and there was a strategic cold war going on in Europe that was perilously susceptible to any number of flash-points.

The force of his comment, however, had something of a double entendre. Obviously, the first had to do with foreign enemies. But, the second part was the subtle part of the comment, something his comrade-in-arms understood clearly. It had to do with the phenomenal capabilities of governments to see deeply into the private lives of people — any people, both friend and foe — without detection. Frankly, America’s enemies knew then, and know now what is going on and they accept the rules of the game; they just don’t always know how successful America is, or is not, at spying. But, spying on loyal citizens? Until recently most didn’t have a clue they were even being watched. George Orwell’s fictitious 1949 novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four” is today’s reality.

It is not the purpose of this article to engage in debate regarding such governmental intrusions, but it is most definitely the purpose to hold up these hyper-technical monitoring capabilities to the light of Bible prophecy. And the two are most definitely connected.

It is a fact that it is impossible to explain all of what Jesus showed John in Revelation with mere technology; we simply cannot make a definitive call on some things. For example, how will fire come from the mouths of the two witnesses of Revelation 11:5? This is, no doubt, symbolism of some kind, yet the action it portrays is equally, without doubt, contextually literal. Another good example of symbolism portraying something literal is that the red dragon in chapter 12 is clearly identified as Satan. So, regarding all those prophecies whose fulfillments are not so easily understood, we must simply rest knowing God will make it all very clear when it happens.

But, that does not mean we are to throw all prophetic scripture into some box labeled “Don’t Know” and let it gather dust in a corner. The gist of this whole subject is that a number of the prophecies described in Revelation were unclear prior to the 20th Century, a period that introduced mega-leaps in technology. Much of what was once perplexing is now made clear, and the literalness of those prophecies is now more easily understood. The officially organized and self-canonized church has always laughed at those who believed in the literal interpretation of those things Jesus revealed to the apostle John. And they still laugh, though today it is no stretch whatsoever to see how a number of those prophecies will be carried out literally. And, it is the advent of modern technology that has opened the door to some of this clarity.

For example, 150 years ago no one could imagine how the entire world would be able to witness the spectacle of Revelation 11:9. But, with modern satellite communications it will be no more of a rarity than seeing a local news broadcast.

One of the boldest indicators pointing to our living in the end time is the tsunami effect technology is having on humanity. The impossibility of yesterday is the reality of today and the antiquated of tomorrow. For the Holy Spirit to have given Daniel and John details of how their visions, dreams, and revelations would evolve and unfold with obvious clarity would not have furthered the understanding of their early readers. Because a type of “fullness of time” had not yet arrived, any explanation would have been more perplexing than the actual events.

Interestingly, and as a sidebar, the marriage of modern technology with genuine science actually makes it much easier and more logical to believe in creationism than evolution. The truth of the matter is that contemporary tools of examination and investigation reveal that Darwinism is darker and more irrational and inconsistent than was obvious 100 years ago.

In Daniel chapter 12 God twice said to the prophet that the meaning of what he was shown in the visions would be sealed up “until the end time”. He also said that in the end time those who have insight will understand. In context of that passage it seems clear that the insight spoken of would be a matter of choice in the last days. That such insight would be a matter of choice in the end time was emphasized six hundred years later in one of Jesus’ rebukes of the religious leaders of His day. He said they could read the signs of the weather, but could not read the signs of the times (Matthew 16:3). They did not understand because they did not want to understand. Little has changed in biased hearts in 2000 years.

If the recent revelations regarding the intrusion of government into the private lives of citizens has any up side to it, that up side has less to do with national security than it does with the glaring fact that it can actually be done. Current events make it obvious that classified, high-powered technology will play a direct role in the police state of the future. The vanguard of such a police state is here. As Christians, we would do well to look at this intrusion from a prophetic standpoint in addition to any Constitution-based viewpoints we might have.

The ability of a government to identify and monitor specific target groups is here. Thus, the events and governmental invasions into personal matters so clearly defined in Revelation 13 are no longer bizarre, or implausible. What Antichrist will do to the people on this earth post-rapture is now a verifiable reality. Though 50 years early in his thinking, Orwell would no doubt be amazed.

The main article in the May, 2012 CSM Newsletter was, “Building the Tribulation GESTAPO”. It pointed out that there is a parallel between what Hitler built for the subjugation and control of the masses in 1933 and what is being built today for the same purpose. The technology for massive surveillance is here, and it is ostensibly being used solely in the pursuit of “national security”. However, the system of which this technology is presently a part will soon morph into a veritable machine whose authority and power will oversee a global political, economic and religious system, and what people consider as national security today will have nothing to do with it.

As the human authority behind this tripartite, Antichrist will necessarily need a means of public intrusion. Early in his consolidation of power he will disregard any nation’s constitution and will eventually make no effort to conceal his use of any means of observation and control. Not only will human rights be ignored, but the concept of private property as people have known it along with the protection of confidential legal, medical and other personal information will be disregarded. Realistically, privacy is quickly going the way of the Dodo bird. All in the name of safety, of course.

continue article at RaptureReady.com:

http://www.raptureready.com/soap/mcgee14.html

Crown & Sickle Ministries

crownandsickle.org
Email for Don McGee: [email protected]