A brief lesson on the Antichrist for anyone interested:
The Spirit of Antichrist is extremely dominant in the minds of our nation. It permeates the political, economic, religious, corporate, and mass-communications worlds we all live-in. The influence of that evil spirit is quite existential. The topic is Biblical and it is very serious. One alarming problem is that Christians have acted more blind to this reality over the past few years than I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. So a lack of discernment is arguably one of the greatest deficiencies of our times in the church-world.
But there is another problem on the other side, among those who are properly concerned about this evil influence.
I do not write the following to in any way leave the impression that this is not a serious subject that should be treated with respect. I do, however, want to address another side of the issue that I also find troubling.
Here goes:
The Antichrist is not credit-cards, but he may conceivably use some credit-cards. I recall during my second year of college that a musician in the church I attended in Tulsa, insisted to me "credit-cards are the Antichrist! Flee the Beast from the Sea!" Yes, that did happen on a Sunday morning.
The Antichrist is not U.S. cash, either, but he may conceivably use some cash in a store some time.
The Antichrist is not Bitcoin or any other digital currency, but he may own or spend some from his digital wallet, and I suspect use some form of digital currency as a means to control people.
The Antichrist is not guns, but he will probably shoot them very often, or order others to shoot them at innocent people.
The Antichrist is not the military, but he will certainly control one.
The Antichrist is not the institution of government (which was a gift from Father God), but he will be popularly elected by foolish, idolatrous voters who ignore Exodus 18:21 and through their disobedience as a necessary aid, he will eventually control one.
The Antichrist is not a vaccine, but he may conceivably force people to take one.
I have noticed over the last many decades that many folks have very strange ideas about the Antichrist that aren't really rational, much-less Biblical.
Let me help you with another example: pornographers and child sex-trafficker's use e-mail ten-thousand times a minute to allure men, women and children into their dark, sick world.
But the technology of e-mail is not human. E-mails are not living-beings with souls. E-mails are just electronic messages. So the technology is not sinful, evil, holy or righteous.
It is just a tool.
It is inanimate.
It is not sentient and can not commit a sin.
Your grandmother uses the tool of e-mail (when she can remember how to turn-on the interwebs machine). Her use of e-mail to send you a "if you love Jesus you will forward this to 1000 people" meme does not make her guilty of the sin of pornography. (I will agree it may make her tiring).
Now take these extremely simple truths (what should be extremely simple truths, in my opinion) and apply them to every other tool I listed above, and refrain from demonizing these tools that wicked persons (like the Antichrist) might use as though the tool itself is a sentient being with demons riding upon its electrons.
It is ok to use technology in a righteous way.
You don't have to take the path of the Amish to be a good follower of Jesus.
Cary Gordon is the Senior Pastor of Cornerstone World Ourtreach in Sioux City, Iowa, and is the author of the book "A Storm, A Message, A Bottle." This article first appeared on Cary Gordon's personal page. Reprinted by Don McCullen with Premission by the author.