The Information Age, marked by the rapid, worldwide spread of data, fulfills the prophecy in Daniel 12:4, where many run to and fro while knowledge increases beyond manageable limits. This flood of information and conflicting opinions produces widespread uncertainty, as people question sources, facts, ideologies, and motives, leaving them unsure what to believe. Advancing technology, including AI capable of generating deep fakes and countless contradictory narratives, collapses shared reality and makes verification impossible. These conditions connect to the warning in II Thessalonians 2, that God will send strong delusion so those lacking love for the truth believe the lie. The steadying counter lies in divine guidance through God's law and revelation, supplying the standard for judging right from wrong.

Playlist:

playlist Go to the Information Age (topic) playlist

Filter by Categories

A Christian's Information Filter

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

We live in the Information Age, where news reaches us from every corner of the earth in mere minutes. Images flash before us on screens of televisions, computers, and phones, while the Internet hums with data on countless subjects, both significant and trivial. We have access to more timely information than we can manage, making it hard to recall a time before this constant flood of data enveloped the world. Children and young adults, raised in a digital universe, find using new gadgets as natural as running and jumping, while many older individuals struggle with the shift from analog to digital, some resisting the change entirely. Despite the push from industry giants to adopt the latest technologies, not everyone is eager to join this information revolution, as the level of data inundation often exceeds what most can handle. The human brain, though superior to any computer, easily overloads due to its awareness of the value and impact of the information it receives, making judgments—consciously or unconsciously—about what enters the mind, which affects individuals over time. In this information-heavy age, filtering out false data and ensuring that only true and good information shapes our decisions is more critical than ever, especially when making daily moral and ethical choices based on the information we hold in our minds.

The Rise of AI

Sermonette by Ryan McClure

With each new development of AI, God's people must exercise caution, realizing that access to truth will be in short supply, requiring vigilance and guarding.

What to Believe?

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The flood of available information and opinions in the present age produces widespread uncertainty, as individuals encounter persuasive rhetoric, new facts, and conflicting angles that toss them about without clear resolution. This overload leaves people questioning sources, the accuracy of facts, the validity of ideologies, the true causes behind reported effects, and the motives of those providing the data, whether rooted in righteousness or self-interest. The war with Iraq illustrates the resulting chaos, where every pundit and politician marshals selected facts, probabilities, and philosophies to support divergent conclusions. Listening to one source may yield partial agreement, yet adding further sources either refines or confuses the picture until a coherent conclusion becomes nearly impossible for most. In contrast, simple and consistent messaging, such as the assertion that Saddam Hussein possesses weapons of mass destruction, threatens neighbors, supports terrorism, and must be removed by decisive force, stands against alternative views from Democrats demanding proof and United Nations involvement, Libertarians and Constitutionalists decrying lost freedoms, European nations opposing unilateralism, human rights groups fearing casualties, Arab nations rejecting perceived imperialism, and conspiracy theorists alleging personal or global agendas. Such multiplicity of perspectives leaves many unsure what to believe or who truly knows the reality. This condition matches the description of the time of the end, when many run to and fro in frantic uncertainty while knowledge increases beyond manageable limits. The steadying counter to this disorientation lies in divine guidance through God's law and revelation of right and wrong, which supplies the standard for judging actions of individuals and nations alike, replacing crazed uncertainty with genuine happiness for those who obey.

Children in the Era of AI (Part One)

Commentary by Martin G. Collins

Artificial intelligence devices interact with children, filling the gap left by near-absentee parents. We must be aware of the potential abuse of AI.

No More Secrets

Commentary by Ryan McClure

The governmental intrusions into privacy, depicted by the movie Sneakers, have become a grim reality. With life online, nothing is secret.

Man's Greatest Creation?

Sermonette by Bill Onisick

The current focus on fusing human brains with computerized intelligence threatens to put applied science on a collision course with God's plan for mankind.

Always on Call

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Must I have a cell phone? Do I really need the extra expense? Do I have to relate information right now? Can I not wait until I tell the person directly?

What Is Your Social Credit Ranking?

Commentary by Martin G. Collins

Social scoring is the rating of a person's influence by such criteria as the number of social media followers. The effect will be to create a caste system.

Human's Replacement

Sermonette by Bill Onisick

A robot has been developed with self-awareness and able to recombine knowledge, providing an artificial intelligence which could make humans obsolete.

Remember the Luddites!

Commentary by Joseph B. Baity

Some accept any innovation without calculating the damage it might bring to the culture, while others find it difficult to accept any technological changes.

Children in the Era of AI (Part Two)

Commentary by Martin G. Collins

As AI toys befriend children, parents should be alarmed about the values these virtual assistants are teaching them. AI has officially become a religion.

Staying On Point

Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

We need to carefully consider whether TV and the Internet are really a blessing or a potentially life-threatening curse—another pull we are forced to resist.

A Famine of The Word (Part One)

Commentary by Martin G. Collins

Billionaires have commandeered Apple, Twitter, Google, and Facebook, all ostensibly created for promoting free speech, for the purpose of censoring comments.

Following the Bean

'WorldWatch' by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Keeping an eye on the news in order to 'watch world events' can be both time-consuming and maddening. Is it distracting us from more important pursuits?

News Is In The News

Commentary by

Satan is the author of slander and fake news. We must be diligent, not allowing out minds to be twisted along with a sizable portion of our fellow citizens.

Let No One Deceive You

'Prophecy Watch' by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Increasing knowledge and other modern factors lend themselves to deception, yet this is one of the primary end-time trends that Jesus warns us against.

Think First of What We Say

Commentary by Bill Onisick

The information from media and the internet have demonstrated various degrees of inaccuracy. Consequently, we are vulnerable to spreading false reports.

Navigating the Third Wave

'Prophecy Watch' by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Third Wave is the Information Age, highlighted by instant communication, rapid transportation and ready information on any conceivable topic.

What's Your Source?

Commentary by David C. Grabbe

No matter how finely tuned is one's baloney detector, wrong-headed thinking etches wrong concepts into minds around the world, even in the church of God.

No Time to Think!

Commentary by Martin G. Collins

The media attempt to hypnotize the citizenry to hate Donald Trump and love Hillary, pretending to explain complex situations by two second sound-bites.

Day of Deception

Commentary by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Our vulnerability to deception has been increased with the exponential explosion of information, via Facebook, Twitter, and other internet sources.

Beating the Rat Race (Part One)

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Peace is almost impossible to achieve, much less to find, in hectic times. We must come out of that confused, pulsating lifestyle before we can have real peace.

Another Mark of the Beast

Commentary by David F. Maas

Big Tech is creating a new mode of governance through which data analytics are used to create algorithms that decide rewards and punishment for targeted behaviors.

A Light To The World

Commentary by Mark Schindler

Exposure to more than two hours per day on digital screens lowers scores on thinking and language tests. We must not abandon our children to smartphones.

Indistractable

Commentary by Bill Onisick

Social media, text messages, e-mails, websites and blogs are competing for our time, eroding our attention spans and exhausting our ability to concentrate.

Believe the Lie

Sermonette by Ronny H. Graham

The increase of knowledge prophesied in Daniel 12:4 is presented as the defining feature of the present Information Age, a period of unprecedented expansion that raises the question of how much farther such growth can proceed. This surge is traced from early artificial intelligence research begun in the 1950s, initially funded by military interests, through repeated predictions of machines surpassing human capability that remain unfulfilled. Contemporary developments are illustrated by the capacity of AI systems to generate deep fakes, fabricate supporting eyewitness accounts, and produce thousands of contradictory narratives each hour, thereby shifting society from polarized disagreement to the collapse of any shared reality. In this environment, verification becomes impossible, institutional authority erodes, and authoritarian actors or technology platforms emerge as self-appointed arbiters of truth. The resulting psychosocial condition leaves people unable to distinguish real events from fabrications, fostering apathy, tribal antagonism, and lawlessness. Such conditions are directly linked to the warning in II Thessalonians 2 that God will send strong delusion so that those lacking love for the truth will believe the lie, with the possibility that AI could simulate signs in the heavens or even a false return of Christ. The discussion therefore positions the Information Age not as neutral progress but as a mechanism that amplifies deception, underscoring the necessity of holding fast to revealed truth to avoid condemnation.

Beware the Second Flood (Part One)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

The immediate danger lies not as much in the specific teachings of the flood from the serpent but in their sheer volume. The peril lies in being swept away.

How Many Wars?

Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Jesus tells us not to be troubled about the wars and rumors of wars, for they are like false labor pains. We are now at the beginning of sorrows.

Vision (Part Two)

Commentary by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

We must protect ourselves from toxic information overload by keeping the vision of our calling in front of us, living for the future. We cannot be distracted.

Faith and Technology

Sermonette by

As technology becomes more available, the material world threatens to crowd God out of the picture. The information age will destroy us unless we manage it.

Globalism (Part One): Founded on Fear and Faithlessness

'Prophecy Watch' by Charles Whitaker

What is globalism? Where is it headed? Does it have a balancing counterpart? Who is driving it? What does it have to do with the prophecies of the end time?

How to Combat Future Shock

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Alvin Toffler described a phenomenon known as Future Shock, a stressful malady caused by an inability to adjust to rapid change and over-stimulation.

Submitting to Sin?

Sermonette by John W. Ritenbaugh

We must analyze and evaluate everything that enters our minds from the media sources that primarily promote a leftist, secular humanist agenda.

What Is Truth?

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Our problem is more difficult than Pilate's was only in the fact that we are faced with a tsunami of information each day, as compared to his trickle of news.

Disintegration

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

Our advanced communications, which have allowed globalism, are also bringing about tribalism. Rather than uniting everyone, they are dividing.

The Flood Is Upon Us!

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

Revelation 12 pictures a flood proceeding from the mouth of the dragon, sweeping many away in a torrent of information that drowns out the truth.

Beware the Second Flood (Part Two)

CGG Weekly by David C. Grabbe

Our minds adapt to what we focus on. We can damage or even destroy faith through abuse or neglect. Without being refreshed in what He says, faith weakens.

Are We Mentally Fit?

Commentary by Bill Onisick

People are now battling sleep difficulty, anxiety, depression, and loneliness as never before in history.

Our Trusted Source of Truth (Part One)

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

The Olivet Prophecy lists deceit as the first danger confronting Christians who will be living in the disinformation age, strong enough to deceive the elect.

Cancel Culture

Commentary by Ryan McClure

Offense will be common in the end times, and many will attempt to cancel those who disagree, as the Pharisees cancelled Jesus Christ by execution.

Don't Be Indifferent

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The frightful Trumpet Plagues are coming on the world because of the breaking of covenants on the part of people who should have known better.

Christ Our Wisdom

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Regardless of knowledge, true wisdom can only be attained through the fear of the Lord and keeping His Commandments through the power of His Holy Spirit.

Deuteronomy: Hearing

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

By listening, taking heed, and drinking in of God's Word daily, we take on the wisdom of God, upending and making foolish the wisdom of man.

The Same Mind, Judgment, and Speech

Sermonette by David C. Grabbe

With the mind of Christ, we can agree with our spiritual siblings. We do not receive the fullness of Christ's mind at baptism; we must continue to seek it.

Points of Reference

Sermonette by Joseph B. Baity

Ancient mariners recognized they were off course due to stormy weather, unlike those of us today who may be unaware that we are off course on our journey.

The Gun Lap Is Looming

Sermon by John O. Reid

As we near the conclusion of our spiritual journey, the more dangerous obstacles we will face. Satan will pull out all stops to destroy us.

Communication and Leaving Babylon (Part One)

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

We are open to invisible communication from the spirit world—communication designed to conform us to the course of this world. Recognizing it is vital.