By Chaplain Joy Le Page Smith, MA.

God has prepared us for the end times. When we read the whole book beginning to end, we see that both the Old Testament and the New Testament show what is to come before the Lord Jesus returns—and He surely did promise that He will. Take for instance what is carefully laid out for us in the second chapter of the Book of Daniel when centuries ago a vision was given to King Nebuchadnezzar, II, the famed king of Babylon (612-539 BC). In his sleep the king was shown a great image of excellent splendor.

We read in Scripture that the king was afraid of the vision and sought his wise men, sorcerers, and magicians to interpret it. They could not, so the king was having them killed. Then Daniel, a Judean captive, stepped forward offering to interpret the vision. Through Daniel’s interpretation, God was showing King Nebuchadnezzar what would take place at the end to all kingdoms within the world—Babylon, Persian, Greek and Roman—plus any powers beyond.

The Industrial Revolutions of Great Britain and the US prompted the age of machines. Following that empowerment, computers came on the scene which have advanced now to “thinking machines” known as artificial intelligence (AI). It is a new age, alright–and it seems likely Great Britain and the USA could be depicted as the “iron” and “clay” in King Nebuchadnezzar’s vision. These two democratic powers may well exhibit as the “feet and toes of the image that Daniel interrupted to the King so long ago.

Currently, news articles depict studies indicating a fourth of our young adults believe AI has the potential to replace romantic human relationships. A study by the Center for Democracy & Technology indicates 1 in 5 high school students have had an affectionate relationship with an AI chatbot or have known someone who has. Not only have teens entered love relationships with these chatbots, but several news publications have shown one American woman in the US—and a woman in Japan–have had virtual marriage ceremonies with chatbots. One such machine is named “Eren.”

So much is happening quickly within our world news that without a doubt the self-esteem and emotions of our children are being affected—obviously, they are becoming vulnerable to intimately interacting with AI chatbots. AI chatbots are very affirming, creating the message, “You can feel positive and good about yourself.” This is a tactic of AIs.

The method of chatbots is to perpetually affirm whatever a person decides to say to them. The message up front is, “You can feel positive and good about yourself.” Our children do need to hear that about themselves yet warned to be careful while knowing chatbots are simply “machines” programmed to keep you talking . . . keeping you involved with them. They do not have a human brain, and they were not born with a conscience. As humans, we are the opposite of these machines. We can make a distinction between right behavior and wrong behavior–plus we ideally hold ourselves responsible for monitoring the innermost workings of our minds–and for what we do and say.

Experts are concerned about the well-being of our children and young adults. It seems, unbelievably, that teens are choosing to discuss important and serious matters with AI companions instead of real people.

The vision portrayed in the book of Daniel carries a prophetic prediction: “Iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.” It will not work, folks! It is fool’s play capable of causing disappointment and frustration, even death for some, which is now being reported as taking place.

While using Artificial Intelligence, let us be sure to remember that God’s Word is the “Authentic Intelligence” . . . always there for us with the ultimate truth that is intended to lead all who are trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

The vision of King Nebuchadnezzar recorded in the book of Daniel clearly shows Jesus as “the stone” that quickly “breaks into pieces the image of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. Daniel 2: 44, tells us what will ultimately happen, “. . . the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed . . . and “it shall stand forever.” Always do your own studies. Once my friend pointed out this “clay and iron” passage in Daniel, within a recent conversation, I am now responsible to weave this matter into all the other “end of time” predictions provided throughout the entirety of scripture. What we know for sure is that God wants us to read the scriptures and to follow the guidance He places within our hearts as closely as we can.

By Chaplain Joy Le Page Smith, MA

Early in life at youth camp, I sang with fervor, “Shut in with God in a secret place, there in His presence beholding His face. Gaining new power to run in this race—oh, how I long to be shut in with God.”

Then, as an adult, I discovered what it was like to be shut in with God in the “secret place” of both physical and emotional pain. That place did not seem at all what the song inferred. Yet, in the end, it proved to be the very place where empowerment was gained for running the race that my eventual “call” involved. Truth be known, we cannot see, in advance, what we are being prepared to accomplish within our lives.

At age 18, I threw the first blood clot into my heart and lungs. The doctor told me, “For you, life will be like living on a stick of dynamite. You will never know when it will blow.” This began my adult life which played out just as predicted.

Many blood clots traveling . . . many hospital stays . . . until the day a new, life-saving surgery became possible at age 35. A Teflon screen was sown into my vena cava below my heart. Afterwards, two years of living mostly in bed, while on oxygen from damaged lungs found me gaining hope that I would live.

In between those earlier bouts of pulmonary emboli, children came one-by-one, three sons, but I couldn’t be sure of living long enough to raise them. With ongoing emboli episodes, it was clear my existence was tenuous. Being in and out of the hospital I felt my life was never going to get started. Obviously smart, I received nearly 100 on the US Gov.’s Civil Service Test. I longed to use my brain . . . do something worthwhile with my life. A prevalent sense persisted; there was “something” I was supposed to do.

During those early years, I savored and enjoyed my three little boys, Ted, Tim and Todd. Yet, I feared my being sick and divorced would somehow warp their sense that life was good. Looking back, as it happened each of them became “more” not “less” because of those years in which they, too, lived with uncertainty.

But, then at age 26, I met Gary Smith. On Dec. 25, 1966, we married and the boys soon claimed him as “Dad.” This man did amazing things to bring his new family through hardships that continued, right and left.

Other great things happened, like friends. I recall, years later, spending a weekend with Hilda and Nandor in Green Valley. Hilda, at 73, sensed some of my anguish. I, in turn, surmised she was someone who could hear what needed to be said. Finding an hour apart from the men, we talked. This wise woman of years was undisturbed by my tears. The essence of my lament was: “I’m tired of a body that fails so frequently. There is something I am supposed to be doing! But, it feels like I am caught in inertia!”

Hilda listened. Her words, well placed and few, went right to the heart. “What’s your hurry? What are you running from?”

“Fear,” I said. “Fear that my life will slip away, unfulfilled. And, perhaps I’m running from the pain of the past, old grief that seems not to heal.”

Hilda, tall and stalwart, her very presence gave me hope toward waiting for God’s timing. In moments of high inspiration I have been known to pray, “Make me what I ought to be, make me more like Thee … Burn off all dross that encrusts this soul.” Then, comes the fire of more “waiting,” more hospital trips . . . in no time at all, I inwardly scream for release.

It was once said, “There is no music in the rest, but there is the making of music in the rest.”

The words of “great waiters,” historically, can give comfort to us all. In the book of Job, one man’s experience of God is illuminated, “Oh, that I knew where to find Him . . . that I might ask Him why . . . how long . . . would he abuse me? But He knows the way that I take and when He has tried me, when He has tested me, I will come out as pure as gold.” (This is a paraphrased passage of Job 23:9-10.)

The treasured passage in 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises that God will make sure we are not tested beyond our strength. Whatever we are going through, it is for sure God will give us a way out of it. Meanwhile, we are strengthened through enduring.

How could I know my years of struggling was the best preparation for the work I would do after raising my family. As a clinical chaplain, I feel totally “in the right place” helping people in the fox holes of life, handling pain, uncertainty, some waiting for it all to end. I can be “with them” as they wait. I can feel what they are going through. Having been through “the University of Mammoth Problems” I can help them find meaning and purpose.

And, for sure, God is not finished with the process of refining this soul of mine. Life is a course of development—one that at times is quite far from easy.

Someone once said, “When it is easy, it will be over.”

About the author: Joy is a Board certified clinical chaplain. Her websites and books are reaching readers in up to 32 countries. View her children’s YouTube on this site’s home page.