Droning On And On

UAVs, unmanned aerial vehicles or drones are older than you think, depending on how you define them. In an article from Interesting Engineering we read what a drone is now and about their history:

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the history of drones, it might be helpful to define what we are talking about. According to various dictionaries, like Merriam-Webster, a drone tends to be defined as “an unmanned aircraft or ship guided by remote control or onboard computers.” – Merriam Webster. While the term also has other meanings, for the context of this article, a drone is, in effect, an unmanned flying object either controlled remotely or operating entirely autonomously. “A drone, in technological terms, is an unmanned aircraft. … Essentially, a drone is a flying robot that can be remotely controlled or fly autonomously through software-controlled flight plans in their embedded systems, working in conjunction with onboard sensors and GPS,” as defined by the Internet of Things Agenda. 

But just how long have these things been around? That depends on how strictly you define them:

The concept of drones may well date back to 1849 when Austria attacked Venice using unmanned balloons stuffed with explosives. Austrian forces, besieging Venice at the time, launched around 200 of these incendiary balloons over the city.

Each balloon carried between 24 lbs (11 kg) and 30 lbs (14 kg) of bombs. Once in position, these bombs were dropped from their carrier balloons to wreak havoc on the city below. Fortunately for the Venetians, only one bomb found its mark, as most of the balloons were blown off-course due to a sudden change in wind direction.

The article does confess that these balloons don’t exactly fit our current definition of them but you get the point. While seen as more of a military device or weapon, drones can be seen as the future of making a whole host of things more convenient.

The Sky Isn’t The Limit

In an article from Medium.com we see the many current and future uses of these devices:

Imagine a world where you get your groceries delivered by air in minutes, where farmers can monitor crop health without ever stepping into the field, and where emergency medical supplies arrive before an ambulance can even get started. Welcome to 2025, where drone technology is making all of this possible.

Once seen as futuristic gadgets or military tools, drones have quietly and steadily integrated into our daily routines. These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) now support everything from quicker deliveries to safer disaster responses. And the best part? You don’t have to be a tech expert to appreciate the impact they’re making. Whether you’re a farmer, first responder, or just someone waiting for a package, drones are working behind the scenes to make life easier, faster, and more connected.

Drones are becoming everyday helpers in many areas of life. They make deliveries faster and cheaper by flying over traffic, help in emergencies by bringing medical supplies and giving rescuers real-time video, and support farmers by spotting crop problems and reducing waste of water and chemicals. They improve safety and security by monitoring crowds, assisting police, checking bridges and power lines, and even watching over homes. Drones also protect the environment by tracking wildlife, watching for poachers, mapping land, and gathering data during floods, fires, and storms. Once mainly military tools, drones are now practical problem-solvers that save time, cut costs, and help create a safer, more efficient, and more connected world. As you can see, drones could become as useful and even necessary to our world as the car was after it first came out. Yes, when I mentioned security and safety I’m sure a lot of conspiracy theorists conjured up movie and television scenes where drones come after us to take away our freedoms, but overall they can be quite helpful. So when we talk about drones one could say with a mostly straight face that things are looking up.

Does The Bible Mention Them?

The simple answer is no. While we could massage verses here and there it would be a major stretch and take a leap of faith to find them. Really you can say the same thing about just about any current technology from cars to planes to microwaves to even computers. The best scripture to use is a pretty generic one and it’s found in the book of Daniel:

“But Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal it up so that it will not be understood until the end times, when travel and education shall be vastly increased!” (Dan 12:4, TLB)

The topics of travel and education seem to point to a period in human history when people can traverse the globe easily and information is readily available. Airplanes have made the world smaller and smaller to the point that one can get from one point to the farthest point in around 22 hours. That is one long flight, but I’ve been on them at one time or another. So if one wishes to interpret this verse that way, it certainly fits the bill. And when we broach the subject of increased knowledge well that’s an easy argument to make as well. The Internet makes finding information a thing of ease. And with the meteoric explosion of cell phones and computers and now with ChatGPT, which stands for "Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer," an AI chatbot will generate human-like text responses based on user prompts making answers to questions extremely simple. Friends the last days predicted in Daniel 12:4 could not be clearer. But Bible prophecy also mentions things that drones can also help with. In Revelation 13 a surveillance state is described that would need all manner of ways to tract and even control the masses even in places where there are no wires or cameras are in place. From that standpoint our conspiracy brothers and sisters can lay their claims that technology has already created Orwell’s Big Brother system. But is there another reason to be looking to the skies, one that engenders hope and not hopelessness? I’m glad you asked.

Jesus Told Us

Towards the end of His time on earth, the followers of Jesus asked Him when the end of the age would happen and then asked if He could clue them with signs when it would happen. They no doubt were hoping He would lay things out like Rome falling and Him setting up His earthly kingdom. He didn’t do that. Instead He described a scenario that was downright scary. In the three Olivet Discourses Jesus talks about wars and rumors of wars, famine, pestilence. People hating each other and turning them over to ruthless police forces, even family members ratting each other out. Then there are the things happening in the skies like the moon turning red and the sun going dark. Very scary stuff. If one then factors in the extremely detailed events found in the book of Revelation the future is not going to get better and better as some believe. In fact, Jesus said that if God didn’t truncate those days no one would survive them:

In fact, unless those days are shortened, all mankind will perish. But they will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen people. (Matt 24:22, TLB)

I’d say given the history or wars and mankind’s penchant for violence and add in the Antichrist’s desire to be downright evil to anyone who opposes him with the power he will wield and you have a recipe for men’s hearts failing them for fear. However couched in all that despair, desolation, and despondency is this one tiny verse:

So when all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up! For your salvation is near. (Luke 21:28, TLB)

I like how another translation renders it:

“And then—then!—they’ll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style—a glorious welcome! When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!” (Luke 21:27-28, MSG)

So when drones are flying overhead with weapons and spying technology looking to target Christians, looking up need not be a thing of panic. Instead it should be a time when we need to remember that help is truly on the way. Many in the Western world haven’t experienced such times but history is replete with such examples of oppressive governments where even the most civil leadership turns on its citizens. And persecution comes in many smaller forms so any of us could experience it. Regardless of the severity, God always promises up hope. It could be a bad to the drone time, however Jesus can and will carry us through. Take that to the bank.