I was watching a commercial on YouTube yesterday, when I noticed that they mentioned that computer automation was going to be the next revolution just like the industrial revolution that started in the late 19th century. I agree with the notion that computer automation will be the next revolution.

There were 2 previous revolutions that mankind experienced. The first revolution was going from hunter gatherer system to an agriculture system. This revolution allowed mankind to go from food that had to be found to food that could be cultivated. This revolution caused hunter gatherer tribes to be pushed off good agricultural land into more arid lands. This caused the deaths of millions of tribesmen to die of war and starvation. Many people blame European immigrants for the deaths of millions of native Americans because they were pushed off good farmland into the arid regions of the United States. Those that blame Europeans for this are being hypocritical because this war on hunter gatherer tribes has happened all over the world. In Northern Africa, it was between the Egyptians and the Bantu people. In Southern Africa, it was between the Bantu people and the Pigmies. In India, it was between the Moghuls and the Tamils. In Japan, it was between the Chinese and the Ainu. In England, it was between the Germans and the Welsh. I could go on and on, but the displacement of hunter gatherer tribes has been going on all over the world, not just in the Americas. The advantage of the agricultural system was that you could feed far more people on less land and you could feed them consistently.

The next revolution was the industrial revolution. This revolution displaced millions of people who had to leave overcrowded farms to near by cities for work. What would happen is, a man would have several sons to inherit his land for their own, but the land was not enough to support the large number of people that would need to eat. Some of the sons had no choice but to leave the farm to find food elsewhere. Before the industrial revolution, these men would have to form raiding parties to steal food from other farms. The Vikings were a classic example of this. Mankind started looking for new ways to farm to increase the yield of their fields. This fueled the industrial revolution. The factories produced iron plows, tractors, liquid and powdered fertilizer and harvesting machines. So, the end result was actually very good for mankind, because extra sons did not need to steal food any more, they just went to the city for work, and bought the food they needed. These jobs, however were dirty, dangerous and tedious.

Enter the computer automation revolution. To free mankind of the large number of dirty, dangerous and tedious jobs, mankind started to develop ways of automating these jobs. The first example was the cotton gin. It freed up men from having to pick cotton fibers out of the plant. Some may wondered what happened to these freed men, they ended up harvesting more cotton! No one lost any jobs. Recently however, people have been losing jobs as the types of jobs eliminated by automation increased though the use of computers. Another reason people are losing their jobs is being able to work remotely, also via computers. No longer do you have to go to a place of work, you can now connect to your office and do “paper work” from anywhere in the world. When people who live in foreign countries can work for far less money than where the work place is located, they get these “paper work” jobs and the people who live near the workplace, lose their jobs.

What people are concerned about, are large quantities of people who will not be able to find jobs. We are already seeing this happen in the USA. In previous revolutions, the displacement of people was handled by the revolution itself. In the present revolution, there is no clear way that the loss of jobs or support will be handled. While computer automation does create a lot of new jobs, it has the potential of not creating enough. So, what will all these displaced people do?

In my opinion, several things could happen. First, people will move to part time jobs, and use “homesteading” to make up the difference. There are many people leveraging their suburban properties to grow vegetables and raise chickens. Second, growth into space and the oceans will create new jobs. Nether of these areas have been fully explored for their ability to support mankind. Third, the “third world” will have increasing numbers of local jobs as their cultures transition to “first world” living standards. This will increase their standard of living and decrease their attractiveness in the world job market, and the people who lost their jobs in “first world” countries will get them back. Fourth, due to data analytics, new jobs will be created to take advantage of opportunities discovered as a result of the data analysis. Fifth, many nations will go to a socialist system where all citizens will receive an income from the state, whether they work or not.

The last solution is the most dangerous to Christians.

From the book of Daniel (12:5) it says: “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.” This is the prophesy of the world we now live in. This increase in knowledge will result in government control of buying and selling. From the book of Revelation: (13:17) in says “and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark…” This is how this control will work. It is the missing ingredient of socialism, the ability to stop black markets and to punish people who do not obey the rules. Socialism has not really worked for mankind yet, but people still seem hell bent to keep trying it. With the ability to control buying and selling, a government exercises ultimate control over a population, enabling them to overcome the major problems of socialism, getting around the controls via a black market or not working due to the lack of incentive. Add to this, the implementation of income without having to work, proponents of socialism now have the ability to be successful.

Christians will not be able to take the mark, because the Bible makes it quite clear to do so is a sin. From the book of Revelation: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed ^[c]in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and ^[d]brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.” We will not be able to work (since the government will control who works), not able to buy food even if we have money, and not able to sell anything to make money. We will need to trust that God will provide for us in those times, just like the ancient Israelites had to trust God for water and food (manna) in the desert.

May we have the faith of a mustard seed. Thank you Lord Jesus!