CAN WE EXPECT A RENAISSANCE OR RUIN?

“The end of all things is near…..”. 1 Peter 4:7

By nature, I am an optimist. Thomas Friedman said, “Optimists are usually wrong. But all the great change in history, positive change, was done by optimists”. So, I am grateful for optimists, but it is concerning that we optimists are usually mistaken and believe that all will be well. Reality arrives and gives us a beating.

Pessimists are closer to the truth but seem to be generally more unhappy - because they are realists.

President Reagan told a great story that illustrates the positives and negatives about optimism and pessimism.

I do want to face reality and understand the “signs of the times”, to discern the times and the seasons, like the Sons of Issachar (1 Chronicles 12:32) in ancient Israel. This post is an attempt to face up to the signs of the times and understand what the Bible tells us about the end of history.

My Sons of Issachar Newsletter, more often than not, points to tough times ahead. This is despite me being an optimist. If I take note of the views of those I interact with and what I read more generally, there is an optimistic thread running through the various articles I read and the people I meet. That is probably a survival instinct because if we take a reality check of what is happening around us, we probably would all “chuck in the towel”.

I have been fascinated that although COVID-19 resulted in the greatest erosion of freedom in my lifetime and government overreach, most people believe that all is now well and we can go back to “normal.” This reminds me of the great saying taught to me by a friend years ago: “Denial is not just a river in Egypt!”

Living in denial often makes our lives easier, but there is usually a day of reckoning.

I recently saw an interesting sign that caught my attention: “Normal Isn’t Coming Back—Jesus Is”! The sign reminded me that history is not cyclical but, according to Christian thinking, is moving towards an “end time” when Jesus will return.

I have been thinking about time, history and cycles this week. Sir Steven Wilkinson published a very interesting post last week:

The Road To Serfdom - 80 years later

  The Road to Serfdom – 80 Years Later.

Steven’s post contains many wonderful reflections on la condition humaine. He starts with a quote from F.F. Hayek's book The Road to Serfdom - published toward the end of WWII. Here is a good book summary. Dr Hayek wrote:

“Yet although history never quite repeats itself, and just because no development is inevitable, we can in a measure learn from the past to avoid a repetition of the same process. One need not be a prophet to be aware of impending danger. An accidental combination of experience and interest will often reveal events to one man under aspects which few yet see.” (my emphasis).

Hayek was one of the founders of the Austrian school of economics, and The Road to Serfdom contains many warnings to the West about being attracted to socialism's siren call.

Steven Wilkinson ends his post with the wonderful and optimistic view that things will get better. He writes:

“I am deeply optimistic that as a species, we are evolving slowly but inexorably towards a higher level of consciousness and that with every generation, we have the opportunity and the irresistible pull of destiny to build on what has gone before in increasing harmony with and not in opposition to the cyclical rhythm of the natural world, which created us and of which we are an integral part.”

I want to believe Steven’s optimistic view but given what is happening at the moment, it is hard to see that things will improve in our generation. We are in a stage of decline, which Steven outlined in his post. This brings me to Sir John Glubb.

Sir John Glubb

 As I was thinking of the warnings provided by “experience and interest”, Tim Price – who writes the excellent weekly substack The Price of Everything, -

No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die

focusing on the financial system and world events, sent me a link this week to an article published in 1977 by Sir John Glubb and titled: “The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival” . See this link  for the very readable 26-page pdf.

Sir John Glubb came from a military family, and his schooling included time in Mauritius and Switzerland before entering the Royal Military Academy in September 1914, just after the outbreak of WWI. He was commissioned and served in the Royal Engineers, survived active service in France and Belgium and was awarded the Military Cross. After the war, he took up posts in the Middle East, including Iraq and the Transjordan. He became a brigadier in Transjordan’s Arab Legion and served in this unit until 1956. He then wrote a number of books after returning to England and his autobiography, The Changing Scenes of Life was published in 1983.

I also have been reading Sir John’s short book My Years With the Arabs, published in 1971, as well as his essay on The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival. Both books provide an interesting viewpoint in relation to our current age. His experience reminds you of the extraordinary role Great Britain played in the Middle East from the end of WWI until the late 1950s. An interesting comment from Sir John who lived in Arab cultures in the Middle East when this was rare for an Englishman, was that two qualities he learnt from  living among the Arabs were, courtesy and dignity.

There is a particularly fascinating section in the book on difference between wisdom and knowledge. Sir John notes that since he returned to Great Britain, he noted the lack of understanding of the difference between wisdom and knowledge. Clearly, he believes that in his dealings with the uneducated Arabs, he found a lot of wisdom, often missing in the West. He writes:

“This development (the lack of appreciation of the difference between wisdom and knowledge) is doubtless due to the expansion of science in education, and to the general veering of the attitude of the general public towards what they believe to be science. In general, what we call science is the study of the material facts of this world. These facts can be ascertained and committed to memory. They are normally governed by laws, that is to say that certain processes may be trusted always to produce the same result. Thus material science, like mathematics, is the result of cause and effect and can be mastered with accuracy.

A vast amount of ‘knowledge’ of these material phenomena has been accumulated and can be known. More knowledge of material facts is constantly being acquired and added to the store. Wisdom is as different from knowledge as chalk is from cheese. It is an activity of an entirely different nature. Wisdom cannot be taught to a class nor learned from a textbook. It is the art of living and can only be acquired by experience gained in the process of living. While it is true that it cannot be taught in a set lesson, it can to some extent be ‘caught’ by living with another person or other persons, who are wise. But, really, to know how to live can only be ascertained by living.

Wisdom is thus an art which deals with human beings, for the secret of happy and successful living lies in our relationship with other people. It is an atmosphere, an attitude, at times it almost seems like an aura. Wisdom has no connection with acquired knowledge. An old peasant may be wiser than the world’s greatest scientist. Sometimes, indeed, wisdom and knowledge seem to be incompatible. Great knowledge can often produce intellectual pride, and a contemptuous attitude towards ‘uneducated’ people. Humility is the essence of wisdom. Pride and arrogance are the very antithesis of wisdom.

Glubb, Sir John. My Years with the Arabs: ISF Monograph 8 (ISF Monographs) (pp. 17-18). ISF Publishing. Kindle Edition. (my emphasis)

This reminds me to promote my book: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times. The Bible tells us that the foundation of wisdom is the fear (respect, reverence, awe) of the Lord and the smartest person without the fear of the Lord will struggle to find wisdom. You can buy the book on Amazon and the audiobook on Audible.

It is fascinating to read Sir John Glubb’s writings, and there is much wisdom to be gained. Sir John’s long essay The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival is worthwhile reading in full. However, for my readers who are short of time, I have included Sir John’s excellent summary below.

Summary of Sir John Glubb’s Analysis – The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival

“(a) We do not learn from history because our studies are brief and prejudiced.

(b) In a surprising manner, 250 years emerges as the average length of national greatness.

(c) This average has not varied for 3,000 years. Does it represent ten generations?

(d) The stages of the rise and fall of great nations seem to be:

• The Age of Pioneers (outburst)

• The Age of Conquests

• The Age of Commerce

• The Age of Affluence

• The Age of Intellect

• The Age of Decadence.

(e) Decadence is marked by:

• Defensiveness

• Pessimism

• Materialism

• Frivolity

• An influx of foreigners

• The Welfare State

• A weakening of religion.

(f) Decadence is due to:

• Too long a period of wealth and power

• Selfishness

• Love of money

• The loss of a sense of duty.

(g) The life histories of great states are amazingly similar, and are due to internal factors.

(h) Their falls are diverse, because they are largely the result of external causes.

(i) History should be taught as the history of the human race, though of course with emphasis on the history of the student’s own country.”

Readers can make their own decisions about where we are in the West at the current stage of history, based on Sir John’s analysis. However, it is hard to argue against his idea that we are in the age of decadence.

So – are we trapped in a repeating cycle of renaissance and ruin or will there be an end to the cycles at some point in history?

A Biblical View of History

The Old Testament is a remarkable document that tells us much about God's character. The Old Testament also charts and prophesies the rise and fall of nations, notably in the Book of Daniel.

The appearance of Jesus was a marker that history was never going to be the same. God’s only Son appeared at just the right time in history. He changed the world to such an extent that we now judge time (BC – before Christ; AD – anno Domini – year of our Lord), based on the period before or after His birth in Bethlehem, 2024 years ago.

In the hours before Jesus’ death in Jerusalem, His disciples, not surprisingly, wanted to know about His return and the “end of the age” (Matthew 24:3). Jesus spoke in detail, and from this detail in Matthew 24 and other New Testament passages, people have attempted to construct a timeline about the coming final battle for the world and Jesus’ return.

Many “prophets” have claimed divine guidance and on the basis of various visions and revelations, new religions have been established. There was a particular upsurge in the 1800s with claims about Jesus’ return on a particular date, and the new sects formed included Jehovah’s Witnesses, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), Seventh Day Adventists and others. The failure of any “prophets” to correctly predict Jesus’ return, provides us with an important lesson, found in Jesus command in Mark 13:32 and Matthew 24:36 – “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Jesus then goes on to say:

“Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is” (Mark 13:33). Watching and praying have been the practice of faithful Christians for more than 2,000 years, even though it is clear that Jesus' early disciples fully expected Him to return in their lifetime.

The apostle Peter wrote: “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7). The apostle John wrote in the Book of Revelation (the unveiling) that Jesus said: “Surely, I am coming quickly” (Revelation 22:20).

These issues have come into focus in the last weeks with the solar eclipse in the US this week, which has given rise to many interesting apocalyptic theories, all of which seem to have been incorrect. It is true that it is worthwhile watching events in the heavens. Early in the story of human history, God said: “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years..” (Genesis 1:14). The signs and seasons are significant in God’s calendar and the seven “feasts of the Lord”, outlined in Leviticus 23 provide further context to God’s timing of key events. I have written briefly about this in a previous post.

It is good to watch and pray and be ready for Jesus’ return. It is foolish to try to predict the “day and the hour” but it is wise to understand the signs and the seasons in which we live. This is one of the purposes of The Sons of Issachar Newsletter.

In the period of history leading up to Jesus’ return to the earth, there will be considerable turmoil and conflict in response to the contest for global control. This time of the end is sometimes referred to by Bible writers as the “day of the Lord” and the “last days”. Here are a few key Bible verses:

Peter writes: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up”. (2 Peter 3:10).

Paul warns: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).

Later in this same letter, Paul writes:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

While Jesus told His disciples that they would not know “the day nor hour”, He provided a broader context about the signs that would be seen. These are hard to hang your hat on because the events that Jesus spoke of have been seen for the past 2,000 years. These include: deception, false messiahs, wars and rumours of wars, world conflict, famine, disease, earthquakes, and persecution of those who follow Him. However, most importantly as a marker, Jesus said that His “gospel of the Kingdom” (the good news of Jesus returning to rule the earth in justice) would be preached to all nations, after which the end would come (Matthew 24:4-14).

It is evident that the early Christians were disturbed that they could miss Jesus’ return and wondered how they would know. Paul writes from Corinth to new Christian believers in Thessalonica in AD 51.

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, my emphasis).

Paul’s message - don’t be fooled because before the end there will be: a falling away from faith by many, the antichrist will be revealed and will show who he is because he will declare himself god in the temple in Jerusalem. These are specific indicators and would require big changes to current events in the Middle East.

Biblical End Times

Readers may or may not be Christian believers, and there are many views about events preceding Jesus's return. However, below, I present my viewpoint, formed over the last 30 years of Bible study.

If we examine the various Bible verses that I have outlined here (and others in the Old and New Testaments), I believe that we can form a big-picture context of where history is heading.

As we approach the return of Jesus, the Bible tells us about the following events:

1. There will be rejection of Christian faith, deception and many false messianic figures who come to proclaim that they have the answers. We have already seen many historical instances of “gurus” who have led people into disaster, including Jim Jones with his cyanide-laced Kool-Aid in Guyana in 1978.

2. Wars, famine, disease and earthquakes will be preludes to Jesus’ return and there will be persecution of those who believe in Jesus. The persecution of Christian believers is becoming more common these days, and in the US, a country where Christian belief is proclaimed by a large majority of the population, there is now suspicion that Christians are right-wing extremists, who should be locked up.

3. Lawlessness will be a feature of society. People will lose faith in God, and terrible societal behaviour will become normalized. Paul tells us that people will be " lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).

4. Many will turn away from the truth of the Bible. Christian doctrines that have been well-accepted across time will be rejected and people will turn to false teachers and fables.

5. The gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the ends of the earth. The Bible has now been widely translated and disseminated, and it is estimated that by 2030, the gospel may have been proclaimed to the ends of the earth. Rev John Piper writes about this that:

   “Not: This gospel should be preached.
    Not: This gospel might be preached.
   But: This gospel will be preached.

   This is not a great commission, nor a great commandment. It is a great certainty, a great confidence.”

6. An evil man (the antichrist) will arise, gain global control and demand worship in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. Details about this man (the antichrist, also called the beast) and his prophetic offsider (the false prophet or the second beast) are given in a number of bible verses. To me, the appearance of the antichrist in a reconstructed temple in Jerusalem is the clearest marker that we are nearing the end of days, and of Jesus’ return.

   Currently there is no temple in Jerusalem and the antichrist will need to negotiate a peace treaty between Israel and her neighbours. This doesn’t look likely for some time.

7. Jesus will return and defeat the forces of darkness. It looks bad for those who are not friends of Jesus. The apostle Paul writes:

   “Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

   Paul also tells the Thessalonians a further astounding series of events that will come at the end of history.

   “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

   Jesus appears with a shout and with a trumpet blast. The dead will be resurrected, and those alive at that time will be caught up (the rapture) in the clouds. This sounds ridiculous but is undoubtedly true!

   After the final battle, before which there are many destructive events leading to the antichrist demanding worship in the Jerusalem temple, God says:

   “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4 )

CONCLUSIONS

What is the answer to the question: renaissance or ruin? From a biblical viewpoint, you could say that the answer is: ruin, then eternal renaissance for those who trust in Jesus.

To me, the Bible is clear about the trajectory ahead, when you draw the dotted lines in the direction we are travelling as a society. We are being shepherded into 15-minute cities, where we will be regulated and monitored for thought crimes. Travel will be drastically restricted for most (some at the top will be “more equal than others”). Our digital IDs and mandated use of programmable digital currencies will be combined with our interaction with social media to produce social credit scores and restrict what we can buy and where we can go because of the “climate crisis”. 

If you read the UN's ideas about our future - see this link to the Summit for the Future - despite the almost incomprehensible verbiage (“multilateral solutions for a better tomorrow”), there lies a plan for global control.

The Bible tells us that a sinister figure will arise at the right time and seize global control. He will eventually demand worship in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and people will be unable to buy or sell without taking a mark of allegiance (a digital implant?). However, the period of the reign of the antichrist is brief - only seven years, and only half that time when he reveals his true identity and demands worship. At the end of this period, Jesus will return and usher in a new age after a lot of shocking global events and a final battle.

As shocking as this story is, it is part of God’s plan for redemption. A downpayment has already been made by Jesus when He died to pay the price for our sins. His resurrection is our great hope and provides certainty of a future where:

God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4).

Whatever suffering there is will be just a moment set against the wonders of eternity with God.

Now is the time to be a friend of Jesus. I leave readers with Jesus’ great advice:

“Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is” (Mark 13:33).

STORIES THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION THIS WEEK

World Health Organization (WHO) Rushes to Change International Health Regulations

James Roguski has done an extraordinary job over the last few years of bringing attention to the undemocratic WHO and its Marxist leader. He has written about the danger of changing the international health regulations so that the WHO gains control over national health “emergencies”. The WHO will meet in May in Geneva and Roguski has written the following update this week in his substack:

Open Letter to the WHO

“In late May of this year, it is planned for 194 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) to vote on acceptance of two documents that, taken together, are intended to transform international public health and the way States interact when the Director General of WHO declares an emergency. These drafts, a Pandemic Agreement and amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR), are intended to be legally binding and govern the relationship between States and WHO.

Although they contain significant health, economic and human rights implications, they are still being negotiated by various committees less than two months prior to the intended vote. They have been developed with unusual haste, on the premise that there is a rapidly increasing urgency to mitigate pandemic risk.

While this urgency has now been shown to be contradicted by the data and citations on which WHO and other agencies have relied, the urgency persists. As a result, norms requiring specific review times have been put aside, inevitably undermining equity within the agreements by preventing States with less resources from having time to fully assess the implications for their own populations prior to voting.”

Much of the work of the WHO happens behind closed doors and we could find that pressure is applied to various national representatives so that after May this year we are all legally subject to regulations imposed by a UN body that wants to control our health.

I recommend following Roguski’s substack to stay up-to-date with the latest WHO news.

UN and Bill Gates Behind Digital Public Infrastructure for Global Control

Last week I wrote about the new digital ID laws that are being imposed on Australians by socialists in Canberra. These laws are part of a broader framework that has been promoted by the Gates and Rockefeller Foundations, called “digital public infrastructure”.

Alex Newman has written about this in a recent issue of Liberty Sentinel. He notes:

“Dozens of national governments are joining with the United Nations and billionaire population-control fanatic Bill Gates on a global program to impose “digital public infrastructure” (DPI) on their citizens within five years. This “DPI” includes central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), digital identification, comprehensive data systems, and more, all functional across national borders.

The new scheme, unveiled late last year and moving ahead rapidly, is known as “50 in 5” because 50 governments expect to have the Orwellian “digital infrastructure” of tyranny in place within five years. Almost a dozen governments, including numerous corrupt kleptocracies and socialist regimes, have volunteered their populations to serve as “First Mover” countries so far.”

This project is tied to “accelerating” the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals and seeks to establish a total global surveillance state. We need to resist this push to make us digital slaves and resist attempts to digitalise us.

The Disastrous Israel-Gaza Conflict

There seem to be no winners in this terrible war which after 6 months seems to have turned most of the world against Israel as Hamas has pushed its 7^th October 2023 atrocities into the background and gained international sympathies.

Amir Tsafarti is an Israeli writer who provides a helpful view of current events in Israel and has an interesting Telegram channel where he shares important information about events in Israel. This last week Amir provided to his email subscribers this important context for the current conflict and its relationship to a longer-term war:

“The other war, however, did not begin on October 7. True, it has been exacerbated since then, but it is a battle that has been going on since the early church. This is a spiritual battle for the legitimacy of the Jewish people and, since 1948, the State of Israel. It is astounding to me how many Christians believe that God is done with the Jews. Whether it is because of their idolatrous past that led to their exile or because there were a group of them 2000 years ago who were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus, they feel that God finally had enough of that rebellious people and kicked them to the curb in favor of the church. And, once again, this is nothing new. The whole reason Paul wrote Romans 9-11 was to address this exact fallacy. It’s also the reason why several years ago, I wrote the book Israel and the Church. Every Wednesday morning, the staff of Behold Israel gathers on a Zoom call from their various locations around the world. Yesterday, I took the opportunity to remind them that we are on the front lines of a serious battle. We are not warring in Gaza or up in the north. We are fighting the spiritual battle that the enemy has been waging against God and His chosen people for time immemorial.” (my emphasis)

U.S. Government Report Confirms China Used COVID-19 PCR Tests to Acquire Millions of Americans' DNA

I wondered when I saw thousands of people lining up for their PCR tests for COVID what may be happening to the swabs collected. It seems that some of these were used for nefarious purposes.  Joel Skousen in World Affairs Brief reported last week as follows:

“A 2020 U.S. government report confirms that China used COVID-19 PCR tests to legally collect DNA from Americans and millions of adults and children across 180 countries. The genetic data collected by the PCR tests was sent to the China National GeneBank for China’s global genomic surveillance system and multi-species, gene-editing research. [Karen Kingston]

Some time ago, I covered how China had pursued race-based biological weapons that will only attack Caucasians and not Asians. Here’s the excerpt from the leaked speech of General Chi Haotian, Vice-Chairman Of China’s Military Commission, in December, 2005. The point he was making was that China has run out of arable land to feed its people and needed to capture the productive lands of Canada and the USA, without destroying the land and infrastructure—only the people with biological weapons.

“Only by using non-destructive weapons that can kill many people will we be able to reserve America for ourselves. There has been rapid development of modern biological technology, and new bio-weapons have been invented one after another. Of course, we have not been idle, in the past years we have seized the opportunity to master weapons of this kind. We are capable of achieving our purpose of “cleaning up” America all of a sudden. When Comrade Xiaoping was still with us, the Party Central Committee had the perspicacity to make the right decision not to develop aircraft carrier groups and focus instead on developing lethal weapons that can eliminate mass populations of the enemy country.”

One possible motive for China gathering the DNA information of so many Americans could be that they are still working on these kinds of targeted bioweapons. China has also been siphoning up the personal data of Americans through cellphone apps like Tiktok and cellphone infrastructure and database equipment that can relay that information back to China.