Peace, Prosperity & Prophecy (full)

You’ve seen the news. You’ve seen the chaos. But have you truly understood what’s happening?

Millions of people, news outlets and investors are celebrating Trump’s victory. They believe hope has been restored. Already we see big changes across the world.

I’m an American living in Brazil, and even here people are asking me what I think about his re-election. Their interpretation is overwhelmingly positive for America, Brazil and the world. His re-election has boosted their hope for the future.

What if I told you this is falling perfectly in line with biblical prophecies regarding the Antichrist, the Rapture, and possibly the end of civilization as we know it?

What if, in 3.5 years, an apocalyptic black swan event occurs which cripples the United States and it’s allies. Another world power quickly rises up, consolidates global control to itself, and begins asserting it’s dominance. But the struggle to maintain this system slowly disintegrates and culminates in an Armageddon-like battle.

Don’t believe me? Save this and read it again in 3.5 years.

‘For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them.’”

Peace and Safety

Global Safety

Trump is a strong leader. He is a tough negotiator. His critics see him as a bully but this is exactly why other nations don’t mess with him. He knows he has power, he knows how to leverage it and they legitimately think he would use it under the right circumstances.

We already see Putin talking about winding his war with Ukraine down. Other nations who had been taking advantage of weak US leadership have begun changing their tune already. And that was before he took office. This is a sign of strength.

Additionally, Trump is very vocal about his anti-war stance. He does not want to fight wars all over the world. He is very much anti-military-industrial complex.

It is a very unique blend of power and negotiation that creates peace while also letting the bad actors know he means business.

National Security

During his first term, illegal immigration plummeted, and he nearly built a wall stretching across the entire southern border of the US. This was a massive feat. After leaving office, the wall was abandoned and illegal immigration skyrocketed to record-breaking levels. We’ve all seen the terrible incidents on the news of violence and anarchy carried out by many of those who entered the country illegally. People looking to make an honest living is one thing, but violent gangs are another.

Trump has promised to deal with this ruthlessly, intelligently, and quickly.

Economic Prosperity

Relative global peace and security within the US will benefit the economy.

During his first term, the economy boomed and nearly every metric improved for business owners, investors and the average person. We see optimism soaring again, now. The past 4 years have people itching for Trump 2.0. He’s already talking about doubling down on what he did the first time and even proposing doing new things like making overtime hours tax-free, and drill baby, drill.

Additionally, he’s brought in masterminds from Silicon Valley and Wall Street. They say he’s assembled the greatest team of businessmen and entrepreneurs ever. They want to unleash the American spirit of innovation and ambition.

Now add in how he has embraced Bitcoin. This revolutionary financial technology has taken the world by storm. The most powerful financial institutions in the world are either adopting it or actively working to find a way to gain exposure to it. He’s even proposed creating a strategic reserve of Bitcoin and using it to back the US dollar. The ethos, strength and soundness of Bitcoin are very promising for a world being crushed by debt and unsustainable monetary policies.

These three things (and many more) could create a very stable and prosperous world. This is the hope. If every nation benefits from a peaceful America (no wars and internal stability), and the financial situation of their citizens improves slightly yet materially, we could be in for an unprecedented period of peace, security and prosperity.

A Great Awakening

Not only does Trump’s election usher in an economic boom and global stability, but it also ushers in a spiritual revival.

The same disenchantment that caused people to support Trump are the same conditions that are causing people to look for something beyond politics and manmade solutions. People are seeking God. This is music to Christians’ ears. Proselytizing is their favorite pastime. Some would even call it a passion. Jesus made it The Commission.

And Trump is strongly in favor of Christians. He recently released a video empowering them and promising protection.

Due to this convergence of desperate people seeking answers and spiritual help right now, and Christians actively and passionately meeting this need, there could be a historical revival.

Individuals will experience miraculous conversions. Marriages and families will be restored and healed. Communities will be transformed by responding to the supernatural Gospel and implementing the sound-living principles and ethos of Jesus’ teachings and imperatives.

It won’t be a utopia. But it could be pretty amazing to behold.

The Black Swan

"A black swan is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences." This phrase was popularized by Nicholas Taleb in his book, The Black Swan. Two recent examples of a Black Swan are COVID-19 and the Financial Crisis of 2008.

What Black Swan Event am I hypothesizing?

"For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."

Like a thief in the night, when no one is expecting, the Rapture will happen. This divinely appointed Black Swan event will nearly cripple the entire world.

Doctors, first responders, drivers, pilots, military, bankers, families, community leaders… millions will disappear. Critical services in society like water treatment, food supply, oil and gas are suddenly and severely disrupted. Businesses and banks immediately collapse, which begins to cause a global collapse.

The economies of the world are so inter-dependent, that when one fails it risks bringing others down. This is the domino effect of the delicate house of cards that our global economy is. An event of this enormous size will be unprecedented and will bring nearly everything down. It will be a domino-style apocalypse.

Nations with the highest Christian population will collapse. Without a doubt, the US will therefore be in shambles. But those nations who are affected least will move quickly to take advantage of the crisis. I'll let you speculate which nations those may be.

It will be chaos and tragedy everywhere. Some will blame aliens, some climate change, others AI technology, and of course, nations will blame each other. Quickly on the brink of war and nuclear annihilation, someone will step in and present a plan to sort things out.

Who will this be?

Antichrist

The man or government who saves the day is called "the beast" in Christian prophecy. He is commonly referred to as "The Antichrist."

Who is the Antichrist?

The Beast is a man or government who is not only intolerant of Christianity, but also a skillful and ruthless politician. In scripture, "antichrist" is used to describe the spirit that animates those who oppose Christianity. However, all of these oppositionists, whether from history or present day, pale in comparison to the Beast - The Antichrist.

The Bible says the Beast will establish a covenant that is going to produce peace and safety. This environment will continue for 3.5 years, and then it will be suddenly, and almost inexplicably, broken. He will consolidate global political power, and exercise dominance over the entire world. According to the Bible, this is the beginning of the Tribulation period.

Why is he understood to be dangerous?

The chaos he unleashes during this Tribulation period is the ultimate war of good vs evil.

Prophecy describes his reign as evil and terrifying. By the time his war-to-end-all-wars happens, probably anywhere from 2-4 billion people will have died. This will be due to political and religious persecution, sickness, famine, natural disasters and violence.

Are you familiar with how governments who rejected Christianity have behaved throughout history? Just the last 150 years of history is enough to blow your mind. Now pick the worst one, but this time imagine it with the full power of modern technology behind them and no one to resist them. MLK Jr said, "The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals." The Beast is that guy.

It will be hell on earth because he knows his time is short. It will all culminate in the Battle of Armageddon.

How does Trump facilitate his takeover?

By now you’re probably asking, “So how exactly does Trump pave the way for this guy and his global government?"

Or you think I'm postulating that Trump is the Beast.

I’ll be clear: I do not believe Trump is the antichrist. But it is possible the decisions and actions Trump is taking now will create the conditions for a perfect storm. Every day we accelerate towards the conditions of the wrong person with the right technology. Order and progress and great until they are in the hands of a genius madman whose populace has surrendered their sovereignty.

The US president’s term is four years long. That’s pretty close to 3.5 years. Remember what happens in 3.5 years? The covenant of peace and prosperity is broken and chaos ensues.

So what could happen near the end of Trump’s term that disrupts this covenant of peace, unity and prosperity? Surely just the thought of the next president and/or the opposing party cannot be that bad. Surely a simple change of power would not be catastrophic. It is quite the leap of doomsday faith the think a lame-duck president would cause the end of the world.

But the Rapture is the ultimate game changer. The void left behind will be exactly what has enabled massive power grabs and power shifts throughout history. Some were fast, some were slower. Given the accelerated nature of everything nowadays, this one is going to be lightning quick. The future is faster than you think.

But this still begs the question: WHO IS THE BEAST? IF NOT TRUMP, THEN WHO?

Understanding prophecy, it’s obvious the Beast is responsible for the covenant of peace and prosperity. He does not suddenly step out of the shadows in 3.5 years. He is an integral part of the stability and alliances the entire time. He is very astute, calculated strategic and patient.

What if I told you the Beast is not just one person, but the entirety of the globalist governing body? Something like the UN but with the power and will to actually do something. All it needs is the right crisis to take advantage of.

This is not stretching scripture to fit some pizza-inspired dream I had. The book of Daniel and Revelation speak of creatures, beasts, and figures who represent various kingdoms throughout history.

Does this mean powerful leaders across the world are all conspiring together? Some definitely are. The thing about prophecy is we see how God uses people's and nations' interests and actions to play into His plans. All these seemingly separate decisions and governments are actually working together towards a catastrophic convergence. The apparent newfound resurgence of America could be playing perfectly into this wild ending.

Trump promises to usher in the “Golden Age” of America. Assuming this happens, it will definitely be an exceptional time to be alive. The exceptional rise could be followed by a cataclysmic fall. The void left behind will quickly be filled.

Follow the Money

Now let’s consider something we know about the antichrist: his power and influence will have a lot to do with money.

If you haven’t studied central banking, study it. Follow the money and be prepared to have an existential crisis. The power they wield definitely has antichrist undertones.

If you don’t know much about Bitcoin, go study it. But be prepared for another existential crisis (It’s wild how many of the people who dive down the Bitcoin rabbit-hole end up in the Empty Tomb).

I won’t attempt to explain it thoroughly, but here is a short summary: Bitcoin is a decentralized technology that is worth a lot of money. It is unhackable, is the most incorruptible monetary technology on the planet, is not controlled by anyone, is accessible by anyone with an internet connection, and you can give it to anyone without using a bank or any other middleman. If you want to call it money, it is the best money the world has ever seen.

Trump has a lot of Bitcoiners around him. Some of them hope it could one day replace central banks. But many central bank supporters despise Bitcoin because it is a threat to their choke-hold. So, the best thing for them to do is either destroy it or co-opt it. I believe they will find a way for both of them to coexist.

Trump has already said he does not want to replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. So the central banks are safe. Instead, he wants to possibly back the dollar with Bitcoin (instead of gold or oil. Or maybe I should say along with gold and oil).

As Bitcoin adoption accelerates over the next couple years (for reasons I will not explain here), the economic situation in the US and possibly globally, will improve. I am making some big leaps here because trying to explain the tension and interplay between Bitcoin and central banking/fractional reserve banking would take too long.

Additionally, and maybe more importantly, things are going to take place which allow money to become even more attached to your identity. Think: computer chips, identity protection, NFTs, etc. The technology is here. It is amazing and it is only getting better.

Before we get lost on this cryptocurrency tangent, let’s retreat back to my point: we will have international peace and stability, combined with an internally secure and strong United States, along with a robust economy. Due to the sound money principles and increasing influence of Bitcoin, crypto and banking the unbanked, even the poorest among the world will have seen their situations beginning to improve substantially. This is a perfect set up for the worst black swan event in history: the Rapture.

But when they say peace and safety…

Antichrist government

Considering that the influence of Christianity will have been largely removed, what sort of government will take over? That brief study you did of history earlier showed you how governments behave when they have little-to-no Christian influence.

This government will be inherently anti-Christ because Christians are gone. Now reach back in your recent memory and remember how quickly and harshly governments cracked down on everyone during COVID. Now imagine, if you can, an undeniable crisis with undeniable chaos, and no time for ethics, questions, nuance or anything. It will be an undeniable emergency. If you resist, you are a threat, and therefore public enemy number one.

In order to establish stability and ensure people are cared for and accounted for, governments across the world will find it necessary to register everyone in a unified, global way. It makes sense: millions are gone. Who is left? People will accept this easily due to the tragedy and chaos. This will be possible because of technological developments made in blockchain and other financial technologies.

It sounds like a stretch. But even in the US we are more and more comfortable relinquishing our privacy and identification data to whoever needs it as long as it makes the next transaction or membership more convenient.

In Brazil (where I currently live) everyone gets a CPF number (it’s like a social security number in the US) and it is tied to everything you do. They even regularly require it for simple purchases. It’s the middle ground between the US Social Security Number and the Chinese social credit score tracking. Could you imagine the wrong person at the right time using that?

Additionally, here in Brazil they use a fintech app called PIX. It’s like Zelle, Venmo and CashApp. Literally, anyone can send money to anyone with a phone, regardless of the bank. And the transaction is proudly backed by the central bank (!!). This is touted as a security feature. But it just shows all the money is really controlled by one institution. If you don’t have a bank account, you’re stuck. You cannot buy or sell unless you have cash.

And who still uses cash? Less and less people every day, that's who. Soon cash is going to be gone like the Christians in the rapture.

Historically, in times of war, nations abandoned their monetary gold-standard. Desperate times call for desperate measures, they said. It is not unreasonable to think the Rapture will cause the same level of mass paranoia and desperation. People will surrender and do anything they’re told at that point. Again, remember COVID? This will be a worse and undeniable situation with even less detractors.

The struggle between centralized, digitally controlled money following your identity and the digital decentralized money allowing you anonymity and freedom will come to a head. The Central Banks of the world will say, enough of this mess. They will make a calculated move to either crush Bitcoin, or they will have sufficiently co-opted and compromised it by owning so much of it that anything anyone does with it will essentially be irrelevant to the actions of the Big Banksters. No more anonymity and no more freedom.

The government (aka the globalist Beast) could simply say people transacting in anonymous ways (like cash or cryptocurrencies) are enemies and not to be trusted. Governments will track when and how you’re paying your bills (they already due this to a certain extent now). When they notice you are inactive, they’ll come for you. They know nearly everything about you already because you surrendered all your privacy over the years. So they’ll have no trouble finding you and coercing you into their system in the future. Fraud will be harder than ever for those attempting to evade.

A Fool’s Errand: Don’t Predict, Prepare

The Bible urges believers to interpret the signs of the times with discernment but not to over-speculate. Date-setting is stupid. Jesus himself warned against setting specific dates for his return. Instead, believers are encouraged to stay alert and prepared spiritually.

I am not prophesying these things or promoting them as if I have conviction that I'm right. This is a "thought experiment" regarding a possible way real events in the future could play out.

Scripture doesn’t explicitly link our current events to prophecy, but the patterns described in Daniel, Revelation, and other texts suggest that:

1. Human systems promising peace are often temporary and fragile.

2. Global unity in politics, economy, or religion may set the stage for the rise of the Antichrist.

3. A sudden and catastrophic event could trigger the tribulation and align with the Bible’s descriptions of end-time events.

It is a sort of Paschal's Wager: if I'm wrong, what do you have to lose? If I'm right, however, you stand to gain (or lose) a lot.

My goal is to provoke you to consider, "How should we then live?" not spend time critiquing the chronology of events or criticizing my understanding of macro-politics.

I am not against peace and cooperation between nations. I am not against AI and financial technologies like Bitcoin. Nor am I afraid of them. But we also must be sure to not replace G-O-D with G-O-V.

We must remain vigilant, recognizing the difference between temporary human solutions and eternal divine truth. We can participate in and benefit from political and financial systems but should avoid idolizing them.

The current wave of hope offers opportunities to share the enduring and unchanging hope found in Christ. Rather than focusing on specific timelines, hiding in fear, or searching for the Antichrist, Christians are called to:

• Be Spiritually Prepared: Live with an eternal perspective, focusing on your relationship with Christ and readiness for His return.

• Engage with Current Systems Wisely: Recognize the benefits of political and economic developments while staying vigilant against idolatry or over-reliance on worldly systems.

• Share the Gospel Boldly & Cleary: Use the current wave of hope and innovation to point others toward the ultimate hope in Jesus, not manmade systems.

The whole purpose of the Rapture is because God wants His people, the Bride of Christ to be united with Jesus. God does not want any to be lost, but for everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth and have eternal life.

If you aren't saved, get saved. If you are saved, stay saved. Now is not the time to backslide.