In all your getting, get understanding. Prov. 4:7
On October 5, Steve Jobs finally succumbed to his long bout with pancreatic cancer. As co-founder and former CEO of both Apple Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios, Jobs was a true visionary. Much of the technological and media world around us bears his imprint. If you have ever used an iPod, iPad, iPhone, Mac, or iTunes, you have benefited from his award-winning products. If you or your children have ever seen Finding Nemo, Cars, or Toy Story, you have been entertained by his animation company.
But Steve Jobs is just one of many who have radically changed our lives through developments in computers. And the changes have been far-reaching. Name just about any field of human endeavor, and you’ll find that computers are helping drive its advancement.
Perhaps even more amazing is just how quickly this impact has occurred. Gordon Moore, a legendary innovator in his own right, anticipated this explosion of knowledge. As co-founder of Intel, it was his company that invented the first microprocessor. As far back as 1965, he foresaw a world dominated by mobile phones, home computers, and cars that would eventually drive themselves.1
He is perhaps most famous for coming up with the law that now bears his name: The number of transistors on a chip will double approximately every two years.2 So what’s the big deal? In short, Moore was basically saying that mankind’s ability to produce data would double every two years for the foreseeable future. Consequently, mankind’s knowledge would grow exponentially.
The last several decades have demonstrated this to be the case. Here is a brief timeline of some of the major advances in computer processing history:
1943 – British Intelligence commissions the building of Colossus, the first electronic computer, to break the Enigma ciphers used by the German Navy during WWII. It is estimated to have performed 5,000 calculations/second.
1964 – Seymour Cray engineers the world’s first supercomputer. It is able to perform 3 million calculations/second.
1976 – The Cray I supercomputer goes online at Los Alamos National Laboratory. At 160 million calculations/second, it breaks all records.
1990 – Supercomputers cross the billion calculations/second threshold.
1997 – IBM develops a computer called Deep Blue which beats the world’s reigning chess champion, Gary Kasparov, 3.5 to 2.5 in a set of six games. Deep Blue operates at 1 teraflop (1 trillion calculations/second).
2004 – Named in honor of the Space Shuttle crew that had been lost the previous year, NASA rolls out Columbia. This supercomputer is a collaborative effort with Intel and Silicon Graphics International. It functions at 50 teraflops.
2005 – Not to be outdone, IBM deploys BlueGene/L at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This giant runs at a clip of 478.2 teraflops.
2009 – A Japanese firm named Riken rolls out the MD Grape-3. This is the first machine publically known to have crossed the petaflop threshold: one quadrillion calculations/second.
Furthermore, we’ll probably never hear of the world’s fastest computer. It is theorized that the US military and intelligence communities have generally been a step ahead of everyone in computer processing abilities.
Technology and the Bible?
So what does all of this have to do with Bible prophecy? Over 2500 years ago, looking forward to the end times, Daniel recorded: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Dan. 12:4).
The period of time described in this passage has to do with the end of this age—what Scripture refers to as the Great Tribulation. We see these interesting expressions associated with the time of the end: “many shall run to and fro” and “knowledge shall increase.” The Hebrew words at play here are fascinating. The expression “shall run to and fro” comes from Hebrew shuwt or ?????. It means “to go and rove about, and to do so quickly or eagerly.”3
Finally, and perhaps most interesting of all, the Hebrew word for “increase” is rabah or ?????. It means to “become many, to multiply, to greatly increase.”4
Rabah shows up in Genesis 7:17 and is used to describe the rise in the floodwaters as they covered the earth. Another enticing use of rabah is in Genesis 1:22. On the fifth day of creation, after making the birds and sea creatures, God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and multiply [rabah], and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply [rabah] on the earth.” In both Genesis chapters 1 and 7, rabah is describing exponential growth!
In light of this, there is a tremendous amount of conjecture as to what Daniel 12:4 is really predicting. Two schools of thought have arisen in the commentaries:5
View 1 Knowledge of the Bible
Some believe that this verse is saying that at the time of the end, there will be a search as never before to understand Bible prophecy. People will go to and fro examining Scripture in an effort to increase knowledge of future events. As a result, they will have a grasp of eschatology like never before.
There can be no doubt that the body of Christ has available today clearer information for end time events than it has had since the time of the apostles. Much of Christendom’s history has been erroneously amillennial, wrongly ascribing God’s promises for Israel to the Church.
In fact, those who have a Scriptural framework of dispensational theology and who grasp the hope of the imminent return of Christ, have contributed as much to understanding the end times as any group in Church history.
Some take this approach even further and say that what’s in view is not just prophecy, but Scripture as a whole. As we draw closer to the Lord’s return, the church will have a better grasp on the entirety of God’s Word.
This, too, is a valid argument. Hermeneutical studies are front and center today as never before in Church history. Scholarly understanding of the historical context and background has grown significantly in recent years. People have more tools at their disposal to get at the meaning of the Bible.
Again, this is in large part owing to the influence of those men who rediscovered the priesthood of all believers. Every believer is expected to understand the Bible for himself and not be dependent upon a few to study the Bible for them.
View 2 Knowledge in all spheres
Others believe these verses may also hint at the technological explosion we now see taking place in the world. In this view, it’s not just that understanding of the Bible will increase, but all of the world’s knowledge will grow in the end times—and it will do so exponentially!
Coupled with this would be the incredible advancement in the world’s modes of transport. The “going to and fro” is thought to be a hint at the rapid expansion in the world’s transportation capabilities.
This brings us full circle back to Steve Jobs and those like Gordon Moore who have had such an impact on the computer sciences. The last 100 years have seen an exponential increase in knowledge, much of which would not have been possible prior to the computer age. And we all know what has happened in the transportation industry over the past century. The Wright brothers’ flight was a little over 100 years ago. Yet look where we are today!
Finally, do you realize how many prophecies in the Bible have a technological component to them? There are many that could not have seen their fulfillment prior to this generation and the technology that only now exists.
If you would like to learn more on this topic, please visit the Christian Evidences website at www.christianevidences.org
1. http://bbc.in/man-behind-Moores-law
2. http://intel.ly/moores-law-embedded-tech
3. http://bit.ly/StrongsH7751
4. http://bit.ly/z1O4CK
5. John F. Walvoord, Daniel – The Key to Prophetic Revelation (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1971), pp. 291f.
Note: The technology and any other products, services or brands mentioned in this article are the property of their respective owners.