Watchman on the Wall

Southwest Radio Ministries: Welcome to Watchman on the Wall, a daily outreach of Southwest Radio Ministries and swrc.com. God is still on the throne, and prayer changes things. Is artificial intelligence simply changing our world, or could it be preparing the way for something much bigger?

Today, we continue our fascinating conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis about AI, Bible prophecy, and his new book, The Final Algorithm. Ladies, living out your faith in today's world isn't always easy, but you don't have to face life's challenges without the wisdom of God's word.

Join Bible teacher Susan Butler each week for Living on the Front Lines from Southwest Radio Ministries. Susan brings practical, scripture-centered teaching, helping you better understand the Bible, strengthen your walk with Christ, and stand firm in a culture that seems to be changing by the minute. Because wherever God has placed you, that's your front line.

Watch Living on the Front Lines anytime at swrc.com or find every episode on the Southwest Radio Ministries YouTube channel. New episodes debut every Thursday. Join Susan Butler each week for biblical truth, practical encouragement, and faith for where you live today. Living on the Front Lines from Southwest Radio Ministries.

Yesterday, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis began opening our eyes to the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence. Today, we continue that fascinating conversation looking at where AI may be taking us, its possible prophetic implications, and Bob's new book, The Final Algorithm. To continue the conversation, here's Dr. Larry Spargimino and Robert Maginnis.

Dr. Larry Spargimino: We are back with Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Maginnis talking about his latest book, The Final Algorithm. This is a volume that offers clarity for those who are determined to remain faithful when seeing is no longer believing. Thank you, Bob, for doing this second show. There may be some who were not with us for our first program. Maybe you could take a minute or two to summarize what we covered because we covered a lot, but it’s all very important.

Robert Maginnis: The Final Algorithm, Larry, is not about fearing technology. It’s about understanding. It’s a call to remember who we are in Christ and the image of God as it says in Genesis 1:27. That’s what we’re made in. We’re supposed to be humans, not machines, and yet machines, especially artificial intelligence, would like a siren song coax us into acting like machines.

We need to use the tool. We need to test the voices. We need to protect the image of God that’s within the believer. Do not rely upon code; rely upon Christ.

Dr. Larry Spargimino: Our world puts a premium on spirituality. People are resorting to different religions, and of course, we should not equate spirituality with Christianity. Is it possible that AI is creating a synthetic spirituality?

Robert Maginnis: Of course. You can throw into that whole transhumanist issue that goes back to Huxley. Basically, what they're saying is that you don't need God. What you need to do is to improve yourself physically and mentally.

You do that either through brain implants or you do it through total reliance upon artificial intelligence, which will guide your decision-making and the like. Of course, the real futurists out there, if you read them as I do and write about them, you find out that they do talk in salvific terms.

They do talk of AI and the Antichrist. They speak of eternal destiny, uploading your conscience into the electron so it can skip across the massive universe for eternity. These are not things that I’ve made up. These are things that these elitists in the AI world are advocating for more reliance on AI.

Keep in mind, today we only have what I consider rather primitive forms of artificial intelligence: the Siris, the Alexas, the generative AIs such as Claude or ChatGPT. What the big firms, the Anthropic, the OpenAIs, are really pushing hard on is artificial general intelligence and then what we call singularity or superintelligence, in which we really become passé. We become an encumbrance to what the future might be.

These people are serious. In straight faces, they’ll tell you they are aggressively pursuing this. Time will tell, but it’s not going to replace the God of heaven, the God of creation, and yet these people are pushing it on our culture.

Dr. Larry Spargimino: There’s another very important issue that comes up, and that is accountability. Accountability is very important to the functioning of a modern society. We need to know who is responsible for an issue or problem, but you say that accountability is collapsing. How does AI destroy accountability?

Robert Maginnis: I write about accountability in the book but also interestingly you mentioned Washington Stand, where I write a lot about temporary life's accountability. I’ll give you a personal vignette. I had a warranty with a big-box store company and I had a problem with my washer.

The only way I could interface with the warranty department there was through AI. AI has a pleasant voice, but she never had an off-ramp. She never connected me to a human being. I was totally in a do-loop all the time. I would say something and then they would send me to another AI.

I never got out of the AI world. If you’ve experienced this, and I suspect more people have than like to acknowledge, we end up in a system that has no accountability. If you don’t like the flavor that they give you, then there’s no other flavor that you’re going to get. Authority and accountability are going out the window.

The same thing with the court cases against Meta which are being brought to the courts by attorneys general from across this country. It could amount to one and a half trillion dollars of accountability. Yet, Meta is going to argue that we didn’t addict anybody, we just presented a service, and the service is something they can choose or not choose.

Tongue in cheek, that’s not necessarily my take on it because they want to escape accountability. Yet, these algorithms, these systems that are being foisted upon every aspect of our lives, there’s no human that is showing their face. What we end up with is the non-person AI is stuck with responsibility. We’ve got to fix that.

We need to have laws. We need to understand what we’re dealing with here. Yet, Congress has yet to pass a single law on this stuff. Of course, the administration and President Trump has published a whole host of executive orders, one of which I attended a conference on, Genesis Mission, which is supposed to be harnessing AI for the nation’s best interest, especially in competition against the Chinese. However, it’s not wrestling to the ground the whole issue of accountability. If I fall victim to some sort of AI, what human do I go after to find accountability for? That’s not clear.

Dr. Larry Spargimino: We’re speaking to Colonel Bob Maginnis. The book is The Final Algorithm. You can have your own copy by calling 1-800-652-1144. This is a 461-page book. It’s got so many great features, but I want to read a section from page 262.

"We acknowledge a few truths we cannot afford to forget. Technology is a tool, not a substitute for parentage. Ease and convenience are never good reasons to lower moral guardrails. Our children’s spiritual formation matters more than their entertainment. What we allow into our own lives teaches louder than anything we say."

This is a tremendous book. Every Christian needs to get a copy of this. Bob, do you believe that Christians today could accidentally take the mark of the beast?

Robert Maginnis: I do not. However, I would remind you what Christ says in Matthew 24, and that is that even the saved can be deceived. We’re all subject to deception, and that’s why discernment for the Christian is absolutely essential in this day. I think it’s going to become more so as we have to deal with these artificial agents all around us in every aspect of life.

Dr. Larry Spargimino: Some of our critics say warnings about AI and the Book of Revelation are fear-based, just to frighten people, that there's really no substance to them and we shouldn't get alarmed by these prophecy cooks. How do you respond?

Robert Maginnis: I read the scripture and it certainly outlines what seems to be possible. The scaffolding for the prophecies, especially in Revelation 13 and 14 and elsewhere, seem to be satisfied by artificial intelligence. I don’t think it’s fear-based. I just think it’s that acknowledgment.

For 2,000 years, we didn’t see this. Now we do see it, and it’s almost intuitive as we consider what these algorithms can do. They can basically create an image of avatar with a genuine voice, with very intelligent responses, and they can demand obedience. That’s what it says in Revelation 13.

Then, of course, the mark of the beast we talked about, and then the whole issue of idolatry and deception. Deception is something that the political establishment in our country has really reeled from because we can put out messages that totally are made up, and yet they can besmirch the reputation of a political person.

I think that we’re beginning to see the framework that might be available. I’m not saying AI is the Antichrist, by no means. However, it will be a tool that could be used in the end times.

Dr. Larry Spargimino: This kind of my personal view, but as I listen to you talk and as I’ve read your books, it seems to me that this is really an endorsement of biblical authority. How did John know about this 2,000 years ago? Revelation 13 is so amazing. The thought is, maybe God was speaking through the Apostle John and maybe it’s God’s word.

On a positive side, I think this really pushes prophecy. It pushes the Bible as being the word of God and the word of truth. As you have been emphasizing, we need to be in the word of God and develop discernment from the word of God. What should Christians do right now?

Robert Maginnis: Number of things. Don’t surrender to artificial intelligence. Don’t grant it moral and spiritual weight, because it’s not. It can be incredibly persuasive, but it can also be incredibly deceptive. Don’t feel as if you have to trust it. Question it. Use discernment.

Plausibility is not fulfillment. In other words, sensational claims or date setting is not something that I will make in regard to artificial intelligence, though I see it as an infrastructure that could be used for end-times situations. I really think that we’re in a major anthropological and spiritual battle.

In other words, AI wants to be like humans. It really does, and some people want to create AI in such a way that it is treated like a human being and relegated that sort of authority in the legal framework. These are issues that we have to come to grips with and Christians have to understand that we’re moving into an era in which the artificial is trying to replace the human. The human difference is critical here, and you need to understand that in context with the scriptures.

Dr. Larry Spargimino: Why spend time preparing if you believe in the pretribulational rapture like we do?

Robert Maginnis: I am pretribulational. However, I do have an obligation as it says in scripture to share the good news of Jesus Christ. I don’t know whether or not you or someone else is going to come to Christ before the rapture. I’m supposed to be here and be obedient.

As I wait for the coming of my Lord, meanwhile, I need to be a good disciple, a good spokesman, someone who is salt and light in the world in which I live. I don’t know the exact time; it is coming. When it comes, glory Hallelujah. However, until that time, I have to be obedient to what He’s called me to do.

Dr. Larry Spargimino: Even we who are pretribbers can see so much happening now. Even in the present time, there are Christians who are suffering horribly all over the world. It’s not like you believe in the pretrib rapture as an escape hatch because even in the present time, there’s a lot of terrible things going on to Christians.

I think of Christians in places like China, in North Korea. My, the guy up there is a madman. Somebody fires a test missile like South Korea and they want to go to war, or Japan fires a missile. It’s a terrible situation we’re not really escaping. We’re just giving hope. The tribulation is a time of divine wrath, and we’re not appointed to wrath but to salvation to the glorious appearing of Jesus coming and taking us away.

By the way, I at one time was an amil. I didn’t believe anything about any rapture. But the more I study scripture, the more I come to love Israel, the more I come to love prophecy, the more I study the Book of Revelation chapter 13, it is amazing. You draw strong connections between AI and global economic control. Is that just pure speculation?

Robert Maginnis: We have a lot of global speculation right now with energy. Look at what’s happening in the Strait of Hormuz. You strain down what gets out of there and it has a direct impact on the local gasoline station’s prices charging you to fill your tank.

Yes, our global economy is interconnected. We are transitioning away from cash to more electronic control. The closer we get to total electronic money, basically, the more control governments have and coalitions of governments and non-government entities charged with responsibility for banking. We’re moving in that very direction. I think we all need to wake up and understand what’s happening.

Dr. Larry Spargimino: What practical steps do you recommend without encouraging withdrawal from society? We don’t want to build a bunker somewhere in Alaska and say goodbye.

Robert Maginnis: I love Alaska; it's beautiful. I lived there. I would begin with a survey I have in my book. It’s between you and God. You answer the questions, and it will tell you whether or not you are vulnerable. It’s Appendix F: AI Vulnerability Assessment for Christians.

You go through there, and if you honestly answer it, it will tell you whether or not you’re a little bit or a lot addicted to this stuff and over-reliant and lacking in discernment. Then, I provide some recommendations as to what you ought to be doing based upon the outcome of that survey between you and the Lord.

Dr. Larry Spargimino: That is so helpful and really important. We only have a few minutes, but I did want to address the matter of prayer. I’m coming to see so many Christians don’t really pray. I think there are a lot of pastors who don’t even pray. But prayer is more important. How should looking at this monster affect our prayers, and what should be our petitions and requests concerning our country, concerning the church as a whole, and our own families?

Robert Maginnis: That goes back to discernment. How do I know what the truth is? God has the truth in His word. Prayer is between you and the Lord. He'll reveal to you as you stay in prayer and as you stay in scripture and in fellowship with fellow believers what the truth is.

I've written about this in the Washington Stand about how a large majority of Christians today use AI in one way or another. Interestingly, very few pastors do. And yet the Christians want their pastors to tell them, how do I deal with this stuff? Help me.

The pastors are struggling. I'm not sure how to do that. In part, that's why I wrote these three books because I want to help the Christian community understand what it is, who's controlling it, and where it might be taking us. That where it might be taking us is where you go back to the prayer, the scripture, and understand its influence in everyday lives.

We’re not an exception, Larry. We are subject to the powerful influence of this stuff in every aspect of our lives. We’ve got to really exercise discernment through prayer.

Dr. Larry Spargimino: These books of yours on artificial intelligence have been so important. Thank you so much for your research and writing. I think your effort, and I know you put a lot of effort into it, it’s all footnoted and thoroughly researched. You’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Dear brother, thank you so much. May the Lord bless you and keep you firing those fiery arrows of truth, mercy, and grace.

Robert Maginnis: Thank you, Larry.

Southwest Radio Ministries: Artificial intelligence is changing our world at breathtaking speed. But what happens when AI becomes more than a tool and begins shaping what we believe, what we buy, and even how we live?

In his powerful new book, The Final Algorithm: When Artificial Intelligence Meets the End of Days, national security analyst and bestselling author Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis asks whether today's technology could help create the kind of global system the Bible warned would one day come.

Maginnis examines artificial intelligence, surveillance, biometric identification, digital currencies, predictive algorithms, and their possible connection to the prophetic picture of Revelation 13. But here's why you need this book: The Final Algorithm will help you separate technological hype from genuine concern, recognize the spiritual implications of what's happening, and equip you to approach the AI revolution with biblical discernment instead of fear.

Technology is moving quickly. Christians need to understand it and know how to respond. Get The Final Algorithm by Robert Maginnis today. Order at swrc.com or call 1-800-652-1144. It's time to go behind the scenes at Prophecy in the News. Here's Josh Davis and Lees Cutshof with the latest updates on what's happening and what's coming next from Prophecy in the News.

Josh Davis: Friends, I’m joined in studio by the Prophecy in the News magazine editor, Lees Cutshof. Lees, it’s wonderful to be with you again today.

Lees Cutshof: It’s always great to talk with you, Josh, about anything.

Josh Davis: Yes, it is. We have a great time talking about all kinds of different things at the ministry. Today, we’re talking about a forthcoming magazine issue. It’s going to deal with the subject that we need to address about angels, demons, the spiritual world that’s out there. Could you give us a little bit of a taste for what’s going to be included in this forthcoming issue?

Lees Cutshof: We only have a quick moment today, but we have a lot packed into this issue. I can only give you a quick flyover, which would be articles by you, the famous Josh Davis, the famous Mica Van Huss, the famous Clayton Van Huss, Jake Moody is one of our interns and he’s written on giants and demons.

We have, hopefully, some good excerpts from Derek Gilbert and some other folks that you all will have heard of and/or should hear of out in the world right now, and some spiritual warfare perspectives, which is so important as we look at the differences between angels and demons and what’s going on, as you mentioned, in the world around us.

Josh Davis: I’m glad that we’re going to be including that as a portion of it. It’s not just a theological discussion over what are angels and what are demons and all the various scriptures involved there, but it’s really giving some practical real-world suggestions and spiritual help for people who are going through these kinds of battles. The scripture is clear that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness. We want people to be equipped with what they need to stand in these days.

Lees Cutshof: Absolutely. There’s so much going on around us. Some of it is national news, some of it is international news, some of it is happening in our own communities. To get perspectives on how we as Christians can navigate is going to be through Jesus and His strength and His protection.

We’ve got so many different really awesome perspectives including a new book or an excerpt from a new book that is actually a classic by David Webster. That’s the son of E.F. Webster, the founder of Southwest Radio Ministries. His son, David Webster’s son, the grandson of E.F., has been working on editing and putting together a book about God's messengers from David's actual sermons. We're really excited about that and premiering that in the magazine.

Josh Davis: I know we hear from people who listen to Watchman on the Wall and they say, "I’ve listened to SWRC for many years. I remember David Webster and he was a long-time host of this ministry and of Watchman on the Wall." That will be a special blessing for our listeners.

Edward Webster serves as our Director of Operations, and I know that he's very excited to have something from his dad back in print. That's going to be a wonderful piece of this magazine. How can folks subscribe to the magazine? How can they get a copy of this particular issue when it comes out?

Lees Cutshof: They can obtain single issues and/or subscriptions by reaching out to us in numerous ways: online at swrc.com, at prophecyinthenews.com, and then also by calling us because we still love to speak to our supporters in person at 1-800-652-1144. Please contact us. Again, you can get single magazines, multiple copies of particular magazines, or also subscribe. That's a blessing to us. Thank you for your support.

Josh Davis: Not all these articles are going to have the same perspective. There are a lot of different takes on these things. I say that because I know what’s in mine. I have a different perspective on some of the things like with Genesis 6 compared to my good friend Mica Van Huss and some of the others.

It’s going to have some different perspectives and have a biblical friendly discussion on some of these things. Friends, check out the Prophecy in the News magazine, all the wonderful things that will be coming out soon. We’re excited about these new products that we’re bringing your way to help you remain informed and equipped with what you need to stand firm in these days. Lees, thank you so much for joining me.

Lees Cutshof: Thank you, Josh. I look forward to getting this magazine to our folks and for them to see that point-counterpoint about which you spoke and many, many other perspectives on angels and demons and spiritual warfare.

Southwest Radio Ministries: Artificial intelligence is changing our world at breathtaking speed. But where is it taking us? In The Final Algorithm: When Artificial Intelligence Meets the End of Days, national security analyst Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis examines AI, surveillance, digital currencies, biometric technology, and their possible connection to the prophetic warnings of Revelation 13.

This book will help you understand the technology reshaping our world and approach it with biblical discernment, not fear. Get The Final Algorithm today at swrc.com or call 1-800-652-1144. Understand the technology, recognize the signs, and be prepared. 1-800-652-1144. Tomorrow, we get the latest headlines from the end times with Josh Davis, so be sure to tune in. Watchman on the Wall is a production of Southwest Radio Ministries and is supported by faithful listeners like you. Visit swrc.com.