Demographics
Desperate demographics make countries do desperate things. To survive as viable nations, countries need strong families, economic growth and functional militaries. Obviously, this requires a steady supply of young people. Well, the world isn’t having nearly as many kids as it used to. In some places, certain ethnic groups are actually decreasing in number.
For example, China has a rapidly aging and shrinking population. According to The Guardian, “By 2050 as much as a third of the country’s population will be made up of people over the age of 60, putting severe strain on state services and the children who bear the brunt of caring for elderly relatives.” The disastrous one-child policy is starting to have an impact. With a smaller working-age population, Chinese consumer spending continues to decline.
Of more relevance to Bible prophecy, ethnic Russians are dying out. Russia’s natural population decline recently hit an 11-year record. Russia’s total population dropped in 2018. The migration which Russia receives is generally from Central Asia, which is gradually making Russia a more Muslim country. On top of that, ethnic Russians have lower birth rates than Chechens and other predominantly Muslim, non-Slavic minorities. In other words, Russia will continue to exist, but over time it’ll be smaller, less Russian and less nominally Christian. The Russians will have to go beyond their borders just to survive, which probably explains their current adventurism in the Middle East and Africa.
On the flip side, there’s one ethnic group that’s growing: Israeli Jews. For the first time in Israel’s history, Jewish women are having more children than Arab women. The fastest growing segment of Israel’s population is the Haredi community. Also known as ultra-Orthodox, numbers from 2017 indicate that Haredi women have about 7 kids on average. The birth rate for non-Haredi Jewish women is 2.4. That’s a big difference, which means Israel’s population is not only getting more ethnically Jewish, but also more religiously Jewish. According to The Jerusalem Post, “The Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) sector is projected to comprise 16% of the total population by 2030, and Haredim will constitute a third of all citizens and 40% of the Jewish population in 2065.”
Of course, Haredi usually pursue religious studies instead of working. They’re also exempt from national service. In the future, the Israeli economy is going to have a difficult time subsidizing these large Haredi families with proportionally fewer people working and paying taxes. This is one reason why Israel is having its third national election in about a year. Israelis are divided about the future of the ultra-Orthodox population. Should these full-time Torah students be exempt from national service or not? Should they continue to receive government subsidies?
If the leader of the Blue and White party, Benny Gantz, ever obtains a majority, he’ll likely steer Israel in a more secular direction. Expect religious Jews to cling more tightly to their religious traditions. Could this explain the devout 144,000 Jewish men who are protected by God during the end times?
Technology
Wired once asked, “Will Artificial Intelligence Enhance or Hack Humanity?” In response, Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari said that once you link to AI, “what you get is the ability to hack humans.” He explained that hacking, in this context, refers to creating “an algorithm that understands me better than I understand myself, and can therefore manipulate me, enhance me, or replace me.” Let’s be real. The concept of hacking humanity isn’t all that different from demonic possession. In fact, demons don’t just possess humans. They can possess animals and apparently even some inanimate objects, such as idols. Why wouldn’t they be able to possess artificial intelligence? Or, in today’s modern technological terms, why wouldn’t demons be able to hack AI?
In November of 2017, the US Department of Defense requested help to develop “automatic target recognition of personnel and vehicles from an unmanned aerial system using learning algorithms.” Translation? The DOD was looking to create drones that are “capable of deciding for themselves and without human supervision.” No word on if they succeeded or not, but there’s no doubt: AI could enable drones to kill on their own. What if a demon “hacked” the algorithm? In Revelation 13:15, it says that the image of the beast will be able to speak and it will have the power to kill anyone that doesn’t worship it. That’s right, the image itself will able to kill. Does that sound like some sort of demonic-AI hybrid? It’s certainly a possibility.
Naturally, the technology for the mark of the beast also exists. In Revelation 13:16-17, we read that in the end times, everyone will have to receive “a mark on their right hand or on their forehead.” Those who refuse won’t “be able to buy or to sell.” Microchips with near field communication (NFC) technology have made this possible. In Sweden, one company already injects such microchips into their employees’ hands.
As for not being able to buy and sell, unfortunately, modern banks have the power to completely deny us access to our money. In our increasingly cashless world, being “unpersoned” is dangerous. Unpersoning is the process of shutting down someone’s platform and denying them access to express themselves. It’s also known as deplatforming and this fairly recent trend isn’t just limited to being banned from social media. JPMorgan Chase has been accused of denying banking services to conservative activists, going so far as to close existing accounts. That’s foreshadowing.
Geopolitics
The United States has become the world leader in consumption and production of natural gas. In fact, we’re on track to “become one of the world’s top gas exporters by 2020.” The US has also become a net exporter of oil. We’re energy independent. We don’t need to protect the Persian Gulf or prop-up friendly dictators in oil-rich nations and we don’t need to bribe countries to be our friends anymore. We’re the world’s destination market. Every country wants access to our huge consumer market. In fact, many countries depend on it for survival. Sadly, for them, the Americans are done being taken advantage of.
President Trump once said, “I was elected on getting out of these ridiculous endless wars, where our great Military functions as a policing operation to the benefit of people who don’t even like the USA.” For decades, we’ve made the world safe for free and everybody hates us for it. Our middle class was gutted to finance European socialism and China’s manufacturing boom; some of our finest young men were sent halfway across the world to fight wars that weren’t in our national interest. President Trump was elected to put a stop to all of this nonsense. He’s delivering.
The United States is done being the world’s policeman. Eventually, our navy will stop defending global shipping lanes and we’ll no longer give the world unrestricted access to our market. With an energy-independent United States gradually withdrawing from global affairs, the next several years are going to be a mad scramble for resources and influence amongst the world’s regional powers. Without unrestricted access to the American market and without the US Navy to guarantee the safety of international shipping, get ready for a more chaotic world, in particular a more chaotic Middle East.