CGI STILL PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR BILL WATSON’S COVID-19 MESSAGING

For a moment, it looked like Vance Stinson and Jeff Reed were trying to turn the page on the current events/headline prophecy and anti-public health messaging of Pastor Bill Watson of Ohio and Pastor Adrian Davis of Canada. For a moment, it looked like they would finally insist that the messaging coming from their platforms be in sync with that which is outlined in their mission statement and statement of beliefs (the Gospel). Unfortunately, one only has to turn to page fourteen of the current issue (Vol. 43, No. 1) of The International News to see that the moment passed in the twinkling of an eye!

On that page, you will find “A Bio-Digital World is Emerging” by the same old Bill Watson – completely unrepentant and without apology. The article’s bold type lead tells you everything you need to know about what is to follow: “Klaus Schwab, founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, has some major plans that include redefining what it means to be human. He is an adamant advocate of trans–humanism and is the author of The Fourth Industrial Revolution and The Great Reset, which speak to the development of nanotechnology implants that intend to augment human beings with AI. Where is this leading us?” Rest assured, Bill’s answer to that question is that it is NOT leading us to a good place! Like many right-wing conspiracy theorists, The Great Reset means great government control and less economic freedom for individual citizens. What does all of this have to do with Jesus Christ, the Bible, the Church, and the Gospel? Keep reading, Bill has an answer for that question!

Bill opened his article with what he obviously feels should not be a controversial statement: “Regardless of what you might think of this SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, I’m sure we can all agree our lifestyles have been affected in a variety of ways. At present, depending on whether or not you elected to be inoculated, the effect on your lifestyle will vary in degree.” It is as they say, however, the devil is in the details. For Bill, most of those impacts on our lifestyles really don’t have anything to do with the virus, and the overwhelming majority of them have been instituted by an insidious global cabal that does NOT have our best interests at heart! Forget about trying to prevent the spread of the virus, ensure global cooperation, protect the weak, and save lives. For Bill, all of those public health measures are about government control!

Watson talked about “how easy it was, under the threat of a worldwide pandemic, to lock down so many national economies in unified succession. Many have been surprised by the ease of this coordinated event of economic shutdowns in multiple countries.” He then proceeded to point out that over the course of the last two years that there has been a lot of “governmental monitoring, surveillance, and data acquisition.” Continuing, he noted: “There has been an enormous amount of information collected by federal governments and health agencies, which has resulted in the documentation and profiling of millions of people that have been inoculated and issued what is now labeled a ‘vaccine passport.’” For Bill, once again, this is about government control!

From there, Bill launched into a not so subtle discourse about the “Mark of the Beast.” He pointed out that “This ‘mark’ will be used as leverage to control the population of those that are under its jurisdiction.” He then proceeded to quote the sixteenth and seventeenth verses of the thirteenth chapter of Revelation: “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” The clear implication, of course, is that vaccine mandates and passports are the kinds of governmental controls which might constitute this “mark” at some point in the future.

Trying to anticipate the criticism that such a suggestion might provoke from his critics, Bill did issue a disclaimer of sorts. He wrote: “Now, I’m not saying the inoculation is the mark of the Beast—far from it! That is absolutely not my intent, so please don’t read that idea into what I’m saying here.” However, he then went on to state: “I’m simply saying that what we have seen in this pandemic helps us to see how an external mechanism—government-mandated protocols—can serve as a means of deployment by governments for social engineering.” Is it just me or does that sound an awful lot like doublespeak?

To be clear, the “Mark of the Beast” spoken of in the book of Revelation was clearly intended by the author of the book to represent a kind of anti-Shema. In other words, this “mark” was meant to represent the antithesis of the Shema recorded in the book of Deuteronomy. We read there: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) God then proceeded to tell the Israelites that his words should be kept in their hearts at all times and taught to their children (verses 6-7). Symbolically (and literally in some cases), God commanded them: “thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” (Verse 8) Notice how this language parallels the language employed in the book of Revelation (cited earlier) about receiving the mark “in their right hand, or in their foreheads.” Moreover, most serious students of the Bible understand that the Beast is meant to represent all of the systems which humans have devised to govern themselves down through the ages (in the days when the book was authored, more particularly, the Roman Empire). Hence, any suggestion that the “Mark of the Beast” could be anything like a vaccine mandate or passport is absurd on its face!

However, never one to be deterred by explanations which make more sense, Bill went on to ask if all of this “could be leading to digital identification?” According to him, “it should be plain to all of us that methods, technologies, strategies, and new systems of doing business have clearly emerged from the disruption and have seriously changed the landscape of the world’s geopolitical, technological, and workplace conditions. And these new circumstances are currently becoming the genesis of new processes on how to manage commerce and the populations of nations around the world.” Once again, for Bill, it’s all about government control!

For Bill, exhibit one in the move toward this new world order is Canada. In this section of the article, Watson focuses on a project within the Canadian government known as Policy Horizons. Watson quotes extensively from literature associated with the project to underscore what he sees as their sinister intent. Talk about fearmongering! Bill quoted the following statement from the project’s Director General: “’In the coming years, bio-digital technologies could be woven into our lives in the way that digital technologies are now. Biological and digital systems are converging, and could change the way we work, live, and even evolve as a SPECIES. More than a technological change, this bio-digital convergence may transform the way we understand ourselves and cause us to redefine what we consider HUMAN, or NATURAL’ (emphasis mine).”

However, as disturbing as Bill found their own statements to be, he simply could not resist the temptation to paint an even more frightening scenario of his own. He wrote: “Policy Horizons openly admits this ‘bio-digital convergence’ (a.k.a. trans-humanism) will open doors to change human beings—our bodies, minds, and behaviors. It will change or create other organisms and alter ecosystems. It will provide new ways to sense, store, process, and transmit information as well as manage biological innovation, meaning the enhancement of human capabilities. (Do you remember the T.V shows back in the 1970s called The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Women?) We’re talking about a whole new world— a ‘Brave New World’ that is moving in a direction of consolidation for a globalization of humanity, controlled by what may be leading to what Daniel <the prophet> described.”

After a brief diversion to quote the book of Daniel in an attempt to tie his speculation back to the book of Revelation he quoted earlier in the article, Bill went on to assure his readers that “the exponential development of so many technologies over the last few decades has caused world leaders to consider globalization a growing necessity, especially since trends have been going that way for a long time.” For those who are familiar with Bill’s writing and speaking, the mention here of his long-time boogeyman, the globalists, will not come as any great surprise. Indeed, they are an essential component of most of his conspiracy theories.

It is, however, in this latter part of the article where his borrowing from right-wing conspiracy theorists is the most obvious and transparent. It is here that he talks about Agenda 21 and Agenda 30. I know - most of you who are unfamiliar with extremist, right-wing media are wondering what in the hell Bill is talking about here! Once again, I’ll let Bill explain in his own words. He wrote: “Keep in mind, thirty years ago the UN held a summit meeting to reveal their Agenda 21. A total of 179 heads-of-state signed on, boldly claiming it to be a ‘Comprehensive blueprint for the reorganization of human society.’ This Agenda has moved along in recent years with some additional ideas from organizations like the WHO, the IMF, and the World Economic Forum and World Bank, along with many non-government organizations (NGOs) to claim what Agenda 21 was all about, but with an enhanced explanation (now Agenda 30) that is plainly explained in Klaus Schwab’s book entitled COVID–19: The Great Reset.”

Where is Bill getting this stuff? While we can’t be certain which sites Bill visited to glean his information for this article (because, like the founder of Armstrongism, he rarely cites his sources), we know for certain the kinds of sites which supply this stuff (I know – I’m being charitable). Sites like The Post Sustainability Institute and Unity News Network are the sources for this kind of anti-United Nations, anti-globalist information/propaganda.

Bill went on to conclude: “So, it’s become obvious, a lot of what will be needed for future control to manage a global community is being developed and beginning to be used in a variety of areas. People are getting used to the digitization of information and the deployment of merging it into our biology for the purpose of accomplishing the bio-digitization that Klaus Schwab calls trans-humanism! The technology is here and growing in use!” He continued: “How it will be used and for what purpose and how it will be presented to the world’s population for acceptance, all remains to be seen. But, one thing is for sure, there will be decisions to be made along the way, just like what we’re going through today regarding the choices we’re faced with when contending with this pandemic—it’s the same principle—it’s like a practice run! And the question all of us will have to face at some point out ahead concerning this future ‘mark’ is, what will we decide to do when faced with the choice of not being able to work, eat, shop, travel, or enjoy some entertainment or sports event within the social structure, without it—what will be our choice?”

I know – many of you are still wondering how all of this relates to the commission which Christ gave to his disciples, and to the great questions concerning salvation and the Kingdom of God. I share your confusion. Moreover, it is difficult to discern how this isn’t a total retreat on the part of CGI’s leadership from their insistence that their platforms NOT be used to promulgate this kind of messaging about Covid-19 public health measures. At any rate, let’s all hope that the majority of the folks who happen to read this tripe will see it for exactly what it is – a bunch of ridiculous speculation with little to NO basis in Scripture!