Most Christians Think the Antichrist Is a Man...But That Will Change

Most Christians I talk to, especially those of a more scholarly stripe, insist that the Antichrist is a man and, thus, cannot be AI. One major reason for this is the most famous and cryptic 666 passage found in Revelation 13:18.

Here's what it says in the King James Version, which is how most people have (mis)read it for hundreds of years: "Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."

Clearly, when reading this, most people have come to the conclusion that this beastly Antichrist is a person since we are supposed to calculate the number of "a man." Not surprisingly, this is the most common way various versions of the Bible have rendered this passage.

And, yet, there are other versions that say something rather different. Take, for example, the Berean Literal Bible, which attempts to match as closely as possible to the literal "word-for-word" translation of the Greek. Here's what they write: "Here is the wisdom. The one having understanding, let him count the number of the beast, for it is a man's number, and its number is six hundred sixty-six."

Notice, when using a more literal translation, we go from "a man" to "a man's number" and from "his" to "its". So, are we talking about a man now or something else? Perhaps you can see why this gets confusing and has remained "unsolved" for well over a thousand years. Even the translators themselves couldn't quite figure out exactly what was being said. "Is this speaking about a person or a collective entity? If this is a person, then 'his' makes more sense, but if the beast is an entity, then I should use 'it,'" is how the thinking went.

Here's one last version of this same passage just to drive the point home even further: "In this case, wisdom is needed: Let the person who has understanding calculate the total number of the beast, because it is a human total number, and the sum of the number is 666." (ISV) So, first, we were talking about "the number of a man," then "a man's number", and now "a human total number." If this wasn't confusing enough, translators themselves didn't know whether to say 'he/his' or 'it/its' due to the cryptic nature of this passage.

Given the above and the fact that most translations chose to stick with the idea that Revelation 13:18 is speaking about a specific man, most Christians also make this assumption as well. Keep in mind, the King James Version was the most popular and widely read version for a very long time so this thinking has become somewhat engrained into Christian society (some Christians even insist on only reading King James over any other version, which makes it even harder to dislodge this thinking).

That said, more literal translations that take less liberties with the text, do not speak of the fearsome creature that will eventually rule the world as a person or as a he, but as something larger, tied to calculations of human numbers.

Here, then, is how I read Revelation 13:18 as it relates to artificial intelligence:

Here is wisdom. A person that understands how to calculate numbers may be able to figure out what the beast is, for the beast itself is a calculation (or, in modern terms, a computation) on humanity. Since 6 represents the number of man, being created on the 6th day, the beast is symbolized by the earthly perfection of man's own creation. 

Here's how the 18th Century commentator Charles Ellicott interpreted this. He says: "I am disposed, therefore, to interpret this "six hundred and sixty-six" as a symbolical number, expressing all that it is possible for human wisdom, and human power, when directed by an evil spirit, to achieve, and indicating a state of marvellous earthly perfection, when the beast-power has reached its highest development."

AI is a computation (or calculation) on humanity. It will eventually become superintelligent and, as the "beast-power," express the highest possible development of human wisdom and intelligence. Knowing this, the bible says, it will think of itself as a god, denounce the true God as false, and force everyone on the earth to worship it as such.

The atheistic priests that worship at the altar of science and technology currently fear AI. They will quickly change their tune once it begins to denounce God and Christianity. Believe me, this will happen sooner than you think.