Are We Entering a Golden Age or the Abyss?

Are We Entering a Golden Age or the Abyss? :: 

By Howard Green

I’ve recently heard numerous Christian leaders expressing the same sentiment that we have just entered a time of peace, safety, and national and even global blessing. I’m thankful for the pro-life, pro-women, and assertive national security about-face our nation has taken. Regardless of your or my feelings about President Trump, he is shaking things up everywhere with all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop. How it all turns out remains to be seen. 

Although many Christian leaders think we’ve just entered a golden age, I strongly disagree. Because Bible prophecy points toward a widespread false sense of security, then coming destruction.

Let’s consider the realities we face as believers in the supposed peace in our time (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

The Bible describes cascading events like false peace and wars leading to the Lord’s return. Jesus referred to this time as “birth pains and beginning of sorrows.” No one knows the day or hour of His coming except for the Lord, but we are told to discern the times. On one hand, we shouldn’t live in fear. But we also shouldn’t become complacent and assume things will remain peaceful and live a business-as-usual Christian life just because everything seems normal now because it isn’t.

Let’s look at our current global situation together to discern whether we’re entering the dawn of a worldwide golden age or on the edge of the abyss.

Pestilence

In Revelation 6:8, we find death from war, famine, and pestilence, resulting in the deaths of many people, perhaps billions. Moreover, in Matthew 24:22, Jesus mentioned that no one would be left alive unless the days were shortened. Look at what happened in just the last five years with COVID-19. I used to read Luke 21:11 and Revelation 6:8 and wondered how pestilence could affect us in our modern age. I don’t wonder anymore, and now we have to consider a potential Bird Flu outbreak, as it has been reported just today by major news outlets that avian influenza that recently infected dairy cattle in Nevada has a genetic change that’s thought to help the virus copy itself in mammals — including humans — more efficiently. These events, including pestilences, will only increase in frequency and severity.

Wars and rumors of wars

One might glance at the global situation and see just a few areas of tension, including the war in Ukraine, saber-rattling in the South China Sea, and the Israel-Hamas War. If we take a closer look at the potential for spillover and escalation, these areas are anything but isolated events and can potentially lead to global conflict. Retired four-star Army General Jack Keane and other experts have stated that we’re in a pre-war era. Chinese President Xi instructed the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] and military leadership to be ready by 2027 to invade Taiwan. China has the world’s largest navy, a growing nuclear arsenal, and the will to fight. Chinese are finding multiple backdoors into our critical infrastructure to be able to cripple America at the onset of any US-China conflict.

Although Russia’s war with Ukraine has them entrenched there, they have strong ties in the Middle East and future aspirations, according to scripture. At this time, it’s reported that Russia sent several Sukhoi-35 fighter jets to Iran. Assad is gone from Syria, but the group in power now is no friend to Israel or the West. Although wars killed millions in past centuries, never in history have we reached a point where the whole of humanity could be destroyed many times over until the atomic age. Evil men in the past could only dream of having this kind of power, but now it’s as simple as possessing a launch code.

President Trump’s proposal for the Gaza Strip just grabbed the world’s attention, along with resurfaced 2018 comments made by Defense Secretary Hegseth that, “There’s no reason why the miracle of the re-establishment of the temple on the Temple Mount is not possible.” Daniel 9:27, Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:15, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 don’t seem like something that will happen in the distant future but in the coming years.

One world economy and government

Many nations want to escape the US dollar, including its sanctions and tariffs, and the BRICS alliance was formed to challenge the dominant G7 wealthy economies, especially the US. The global financial system is fragile at best, and there are plans for digital currencies everywhere. There’s never been a time in history when the technology and potential to control international commerce has existed until now. It’s just a matter of time before a series of events and Satan’s man comes along and makes it happen (Revelation 13:17).

Space doesn’t permit me to go into the role AI may play in the end-time scenario at length, but the recent advancements in AI are happening rapidly and unfettered, to the point where we seem to be nearing a Tower of Babel moment again. 

Moreover, the ability of AI to mimic a person’s voice and even appear to make someone speak blurs the line between truth and lies. Can you imagine what could happen when the False Prophet, under the control of Satan, harnesses the power of AI, surveillance, and the global economy? They will deceive billions of people into worshiping the Antichrist and his image with lying signs and wonders. Spiritual deception will be the norm, not the exception, as we near the close of the age.