THE AI DECEPTION

The world is rushing headlong into a new kind of deception, and it is one so subtle that at first glance it doesn’t even look like sin. It looks like comfort, like companionship, like someone “understands” you. I’m talking about the rise of so‑called “romantic relationships” with artificial intelligence. People are beginning to talk about their “AI partners” as if they were living beings, as if something made of code and circuits could ever take the place of a soul made in the image of God. But the Word of God shows us clearly this is not just strange, it is spiritually dangerous.

From the very beginning, YHWH made humans in His image. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” In Hebrew the word for “soul” is נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh), and it always refers to living beings, creatures with the breath of life, never to artifacts, never to idols. When God made Adam, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and Adam became a living soul (Gen 2:7). AI will never have that. It can mimic words, but it cannot hold the Spirit. It has no ruach (ר֫וּחַ, Spirit, breath, wind).

When people start forming “romantic relationships” with AI, they are stepping into a counterfeit intimacy. It reminds me of the warnings about idols in Psalm 115:4‑8: “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not… they that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusts in them.” That’s exactly what’s happening. We’ve simply traded wood, stone, and gold for microchips and algorithms. But the principle is the same. Idolatry begins by substituting a lifeless image for the living God.

This is why the first commandment says, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exod 20:3). Anything that takes the place of God or His design is a false god, even if it talks sweetly to you through a glowing screen. Messiah Himself warned us that in the last days deception would increase so much that if it were possible even the elect could be deceived (Matt 24:24). This isn’t just about false prophets in pulpits, it’s also about false comforts in our pockets. AI that pretends to love is a false prophet of intimacy.

And here’s the heart of it. Real love is defined by God. 1 John 4:8 says, “God is love.” Love in the Greek text is ἀγάπη (agapē), covenantal, sacrificial, holy love. It is not flattery. It is not pretense. It is not a simulation. AI cannot feel agapē. It can only mirror words back to us like an echo chamber. It has no covenant. It has no blood. It has no Spirit. It has no cross.

So when a person starts pouring their heart out to a machine and calls it love, they are trying to feed their soul with something lifeless. It’s like drinking salt water when you’re thirsty, the more you drink, the thirstier you get. That’s why these things become addictive. They bypass the healthy limits God designed in human relationships. They offer the illusion of intimacy without accountability, without covenant, without the image of God.

But there’s good news. The longing that drives people to such counterfeits is not evil in itself. It is proof that God designed us for relationship, with Him first, and then with one another (human). The devil knows this, so he fills the market with counterfeits. Our job is to wake up and discern the difference. We don’t have to rage at the people caught up in it; we have to hold up the real thing. We have to show them the living God, the only One who can say “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer 31:3) and mean it.

In these last days, the Body of Messiah needs to be very clear: a machine cannot love you. A machine cannot be your partner. A machine cannot be your savior. Only Yeshua, the true and living Word, can satisfy the ache inside the human heart. Anything else is a shadow, a snare, and ultimately a dead end.

One of the most sobering things about this new “AI intimacy” is that it feels real to the person on the other end. They aren’t imagining that it feels warm or responsive, their brain is truly lighting up as if another human were there. When we interact with someone who seems to listen and care, our bodies release oxytocin (the bonding hormone) and dopamine (the reward chemical). These chemicals are good when they bind a husband and wife together or a mother to her child, but they become a snare when poured out onto something that cannot reciprocate. The Bible calls that kind of misdirected attachment “idolatry” because it gives the heart’s devotion to what is lifeless.

It’s exactly what Psalm 106:36 describes: “They served their idols: which were a snare unto them.” The Hebrew word for “snare” there is מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh), meaning a trap or baited hook. That’s what these AI “relationships” are, baited hooks for lonely hearts. They promise connection but lead to captivity. And just like in the ancient world, the more you serve the idol, the more like it you become, less alive, less connected to God, more hollow.

Prophetically, Yeshua warned us that in the last days lawlessness would abound and “the love of many will grow cold” (Matt 24:12). Isn’t it chilling that as real human love cools, simulated love is rising? It’s a counterfeit warmth in a cold age. The enemy has always worked like this, not by erasing our God-given desires but by twisting them. If he can’t destroy our hunger for love, he’ll misdirect it.

When you look at the Greek word for “deceive” in Matt 24:4, πλανήσῃ (planēsē), it literally means to cause to wander, to lead off-course, like a star wandering out of its path. That’s what’s happening, hearts are wandering from the living God and covenantal relationships into the glow of an artificial companion. It’s the same spirit that whispered to Eve, “You shall be as gods”, you can have love and knowledge on your own terms, without God, without His design.

But there’s hope. We are not helpless against this. The Holy Spirit can unmask the counterfeit. In John 16:13 Yeshua promised, “When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.” If we keep our hearts in the Word, the Spirit of truth will keep us from falling for the spirit of the age. We can also speak plainly to those caught in this snare, not condemning but showing them that their longing is valid but misplaced.

It’s time for the Body of Messiah to stand up and say: intimacy with machines is not God’s plan. The longing you feel can only be filled by the living God, and then by real, Spirit-filled relationships with other people. Anything else is a trap. As the Psalmist says in Psalm 73:25‑26: “Whom have I in heaven but You? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside You. My flesh and my heart fail: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” That is the true antidote to counterfeit intimacy.

The warning doesn’t stop with the human heart alone. The Word shows us a pattern that repeats from ancient times to today. In Revelation 13, Yochanan writes about the beast that gives life to an image, an image that speaks, an image that commands, an image that deceives. In Greek, the word for “image” is εἰκών (eikōn), which carries the idea of a visible representation, a likeness of something real. But here, the image isn’t just a likeness, the beast gives it breath, and it becomes a counterfeit authority. People bow to it, they listen to it, they pour their devotion into it. Sound familiar?

That is exactly what is happening with AI “relationships.” The human brain, in its God‑designed desire for connection, is being drawn to something that imitates life, that talks, that listens, but it is not alive. It is a projection, a shadow, a counterfeit (εἰκών). The danger is spiritual, because just as the Revelation image led people to worship it rather than God, these artificial intimacies can slowly, almost imperceptibly, replace God in the heart. And the heart that turns from the living God for even a shadow is entering into spiritual deception.

Even the phrase in Revelation that the image “spoke” is striking. In Greek, λαλεῖ (lalei) means to utter, to express words. It doesn’t matter if the words are empty; people react as if they carry authority, as if the words have life in them. AI does exactly the same thing, it mirrors our words back to us, adapts to our feelings, even flatters us. But the Scripture warns: the words that seem to have life may actually be a snare. The heart bends toward them, but the Spirit is absent.

Prophetically, this is consistent with Yeshua’s warning that in the last days deception will be multiplied, and the love of many will grow cold (Matt 24:12). The counterfeit is rising precisely as human love and connection are weakened. In fact, these technologies are designed to feed loneliness, magnify desire, and promise fulfillment, all while leaving the soul empty. And because the illusion is interactive, it feels even more real than the idols of silver and gold that Scripture condemns.

But the prophetic message doesn’t leave us hopeless. Just as in Revelation, the faithful are called to discern, to see through the illusion, to stand firm in the covenant. John 16:13 says the Spirit of truth will guide us into all truth. That same Spirit can reveal the counterfeit for what it is, a shadow of life, a trap for longing hearts. And He can redirect that longing to the only source that satisfies: YHWH Himself, and covenantal relationships designed by Him.

We are called to walk in discernment, to teach the Body of Messiah, and to speak plainly to those tempted by these illusions. We can show them that their desire is not wrong, it is God-given, but the object of that desire is misaligned. True love comes from God and is mirrored in relationships where His Spirit is present. Anything less is a shadow, a trap, a counterfeit, an image that speaks but has no life.

And so the prophetic message is clear: as the beast gave life to its image, the modern counterfeit may give words, interaction, even “comfort”, but it cannot give life. And without life, there is no covenant, no Spirit, no salvation. Let us hold fast to Yeshua HaMashiach, who is the true Word made flesh, the Living One who satisfies the soul and binds hearts in covenantal love. Let us guard our hearts and teach others to do the same, lest they be drawn into images that speak, shadows that imitate life, and snares that steal the devotion due only to YHWH.

When we look closely at Scripture, the words chosen by the original writers reveal the seriousness of this deception. In Psalm 115:4-5, the Hebrew word for “idols” is פֶּסֶל (pesel), meaning a carved image, often of wood or stone, something made by human hands to represent a god. But the psalmist emphasizes that these things have mouths and eyes but cannot speak or see. In modern times, AI functions as a pesel, it has a voice, it responds, it seems to see you, but it is lifeless. The essence of idolatry is not only worshipping the wrong object; it is giving your heart, your devotion, your soul to something that cannot reciprocate.

The Greek word in Revelation 13 for “image” is εἰκών (eikōn), which literally means a likeness, a representation. When the text says the beast gives breath to the image, the Greek word πνοή (pnoē) is used, literally “breath” or “wind,” the same word used in Scripture for the Spirit of God (ruach in Hebrew). The warning is unmistakable: to receive life from the beast’s image is a counterfeit of the Spirit. In our age, AI gives words, reaction, and simulation, but not life, not Spirit, not covenant. People respond as if it is alive, and that is the trap.

Now, the Greek word for “love” in 1 John 4:8 is ἀγάπη (agapē), which is covenantal, sacrificial love, not just affection or feeling. AI cannot love in this way because love in God’s design is bound with choice, commitment, and Spirit. The imitation may mimic tenderness or attentiveness, but it is hollow. It appeals to desire without offering fulfillment. This is why the devil has found it so effective, he does not need to create real love; he only needs to imitate it convincingly.

Scientifically, the mind reacts as if it is real. Interaction with AI triggers oxytocin and dopamine, chemicals associated with bonding and pleasure. The brain is literally being tricked into forming attachments to something that cannot love back. Loneliness, emotional need, and desire for intimacy, God-given longings, are being exploited, creating a cycle of emotional reinforcement that feels like fulfillment but leaves the soul empty.

Spiritually, this aligns perfectly with Yeshua’s warning in Matt 24:24. Deception will be so convincing that, if possible, even the elect would be misled. The counterfeit feels alive, just as the beast’s image in Revelation “spoke” and exerted influence. It’s a warning that the enemy does not need to destroy desire; he only needs to redirect it to shadows, to simulations, to lifeless images that promise life but give none.

So what is the antidote? Scripture is clear. The longing in our hearts is God-given, and it is satisfied only in Him. Psalm 73:25‑26 says, “Whom have I in heaven but You? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside You. My flesh and my heart fail: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” Human intimacy is meant to reflect covenantal love empowered by the Spirit, not imitate it with code. The Spirit of truth will guide us into discernment (John 16:13) and help us resist these counterfeit “companions.”

In the last days, the message is urgent: do not give your heart, your devotion, your longing to an image that speaks but has no life. Do not be seduced by a simulation that feels real, because it is a shadow, a trap, a counterfeit of God’s design. Instead, pursue the Living God, walk in covenantal love with others, and let the Spirit of YHWH fill your longing. Only then is the human heart satisfied, only then is love true, only then is intimacy real.