Faith and Fandom
To Boldly Go Into All the World, Preaching the Good News...Where No One Has Gone Before

Universal Translators and End Time Prophecy

What’s the connection, you ask? As exploitative entrepreneur John Hammond said immediately after the first dinosaur sighting in Jurassic Park (1993), “I’ll show you.”

For those “not of the body” (reference
TOS episode “The Return of the Archons”), the universal translator (hereafter UT) is a high-tech piece of 23rd - 24th century technology that can instantaneously translate any known (Note: UTs are not as effective with languages based on metaphor, i.e. that of the Tamarians in TNG’s “Darmok”) language in the universe into the user’s native tongue. UTs are usually housed within personal communicators, but can also be cobbled together from spare parts by industrious Vulcans (TOS’s “Metamorphosis”).

When the original series aired in the 60s, the concept of a UT was pretty far-fetched; just a twinkle in the mind’s eye of sci-fi writers and tech nerds subsisting on Coca-Cola and Doritos. However, the speculation surrounding such a device isn’t so outlandish anymore.

With the current state of technology, which is becoming more portable and powerful with each new model or iteration, it’s completely conceivable that a UT prototype will be manufactured within the next few years. In addition to instant translations of common phrases, idioms, slang, etc, a UT might also contain algorithms capable of interpreting the subtleties of voice inflections, i.e. subtext and sarcasm.

What if this handheld unit could cross-translate every language in the world? Just imagine vacationing in say…Paris, and having the ability to speak to anyone on the street with the assistance of a small device. How much richer would the trip be if you could converse with the locals as if they were your neighbors? One thing’s for sure, asking for directions would be a lot easier (so long Rosetta Stone).

In addition to alleviating some of the hassles and stresses associated with international travel, UTs would also aid in foreign affairs. Careers as a translator would become the occupational equivalent of the dodo bird. Though the applications of this technology seem nearly endless, many potential dangers exist, both with the technology itself and in the motives of those using it.

The Old Testament story of “The Tower of Babel” (Gen. 11:1-9) has a lot to say about a comprehensive language system. Here’s the gist of the Biblical account: a group of wicked humans conspired to ascend into heaven for the express purpose of killing God with an arrow. Working efficiently and with an unholy zeal, the people constructed a massive tower that reached straight into the sky—a humanistic endeavor to end all others.

A few facts about the tower builders: first, they dwelled in the land called Shinar, which, in today’s vernacular, means Babylonia. Secondly, the Babylonians had a mutual, all-consuming goal…to reach the heavens and make a name for themselves (v. 4). Finally, and most importantly, verse one tells us they all spoke the same language (remember, a universal language had been in use from the time God created Adam and Eve).

The key to the entire story is in verse six: God states, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” Coming from the God of the impossible, that’s a staggering statement.

God quashed the Babylonian uprising by toppling their tower, confusing their speech and scattering them throughout the earth. And since that time, the people of the world have never unified for any single purpose (sadly, not even for a sci-fi convention). Fragmented, Earth’s nations have waged wars over land, money, natural resources, and religious ideologies ever since; our inability to effectively communicate with each other further exacerbating geopolitical and socio-cultural tensions.

This story invites several poignant questions. What would happen if the restrictions established at Babel were abolished by a technological breakthrough? What would the world be like if everyone could speak the same language?

A one-world language would certainly adopt characteristics of politically correct speech, which has already introduced the world to an all-inclusive, non-offensive mode of communication. And, of course, it’s easy to extrapolate that a one-world language would lend itself to a one-world government and one-world religion.

Most people would agree that world peace is a desirable goal and, as such, a one-world language would facilitate that idealistic objective. But, as the Bible warns, “While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly” (I Thess. 5:3). Additionally, Christ cautioned that in the end times there would be wars and rumors of wars (Matt. 24:6). A one-world language would also preclude the possibility of a one-world army…the words Antichrist and Armageddon immediately come to mind.

Even though UTs would be a quantum leap forward in the evolution of portable electronic devices, their existence would eventually lead us back to the Tower of Babel and God’s wrath. As is the case with any scientific breakthrough, designers and engineers can become so focused on pushing the boundaries of what’s possible that they fail to consider the ethical and societal ramifications of their so-called advancements.

Dr. Ian Malcolm said it best in
Jurassic Park, “[You] were so preoccupied with whether or not you could, you didn’t stop to think if you should.”

August 1997