We continue our series of “ripening trends” of prophetic significance. We live during a time of great and accelerating change in the world. Unfortunately, many do not see the significance of these many developments. They are caught in the maelstrom of worldly confusion. Bible-believing Christians, on the other hand, are charged to be “watching”; to be on the alert for “significant” world trends.

Why? Because the Bible instructs us to do so. We are expressly mandated to recognize the season and to “watch.” To recall, Jesus said: “[…] keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42). Therefore, let us keep watch. We know that the “last days” are treacherous and will close like a trap (Luke 21:34).

During the course of this series, we have periodically laid out the criteria for identifying such prophetically “significant” trends (most recently, in the November issue of Midnight Call). To date, we have described five such trends. In this column, we present the sixth—world urbanization.

Grasping for Prosperity

Economists and policymakers around the world have begun to realize that economic growth and prosperity will be leaner in the future.  Many of the causes and factors that contributed to the great global wealth explosion over the last century (accelerating during the post-WWII period) have waned, disappeared or reversed. This is attributable to an abrupt reversal of population growth trends. (In this series, we have already discussed the demographic development, which also qualifies as a “ripening trend.”)

Policymakers ponder, just how can global prosperity then be boosted? A main source of hope (among a few other factors) is this: accelerating world urbanization. Many international organizations and economic thinktanks, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a host of others, all identify this development as an engine of economic hope.

What is urbanization? Wikipedia says: “[Urbanization] refers to the population shift from rural areas to urban areas, the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas, and the ways in which each society adapts to this change. It is predominantly the process by which towns and cities are formed and become larger as more people begin living and working in central areas.”1

The biggest contributor to prosperity is population growth (everything else being equal). To the modern humanist, this may sound like an old-fashioned notion. Yet, this is an inviolable fact of economics. Why? Economics is about “humans.” It couldn’t be any other way. The slower the population growth, the slower the economic expansion. The maximum wealth and prosperity that can exist in the world is mostly defined by total labor output. And, as reviewed in this series, population growth rates are collapsing around the world.

Therefore, policymakers encourage urbanization, because it stands to boost economic growth. The more people living in cities, the more the need for infrastructure … roads, mass transit systems, bridges, etc. Moreover, activities in cities tend to attract higher wages, consumer spending and housing values.

Given that world population growth is waning, policymakers hope that by concentrating the world’s population into cities, the negative impact upon economies can be offset somewhat.

 

The Rapidity of City Life

We therefore observe that an ever greater share of the world population is moving from rural areas to urban ones … to the city life. Today, more people live in urban areas than in rural, with 55 percent of the world’s population residing in urban areas in 2018. By contrast, in 1950, only 30 percent of the world’s population was urban.

According to UNPD (United Nations Population Division) forecasts, by 2050, 68 percent of the world’s population is projected to be urban. As such, some 13% of the world’s population will move to a city over the next 30 years. Assuming this forecast is correct, more than two-thirds of the world’s population (or 6.3 billion people) will then be living in cities.

Readers will note the rapidity of spreading urbanization and the growth of large cities. But, how was it in the distant past? Looking over history, it was more the norm to have lived in rural areas. To be sure, urbanization has an ancient history, beginning quite early in Mesopotamia (4300-3100 BC).

Crucially, however, it was not until the early 1800s that urbanization truly began accelerating. Then, the world urbanization ratio was only 7.3% (for the US at that time, only 6.07%). It has soared rapidly ever since. Given this speed and that it is a phenomenon that has occurred so recently in the timeline of humans on earth (basically, within only two centuries), we are alerted to the possibility that urbanization is a “significant trend.”

 

The Boom of Large Cities

The outgrowth of increasing urbanization of course is more cities … and specifically, big cities. That means greater agglomerations of people. While there were only 18 urban agglomerations with an excess of 5 million people in the world in 1970 (Tokyo, New York, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Paris, Bombay, Calcutta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seoul and more), there are 67 or so today. The UNPD forecasts that there will be 109 cities with a population of 5 million or more by 2030. Most names of these large cities will likely be unfamiliar to the Westerner; for example, Ningbo, Abuja, Harbin, Belo Horizonte, Jinan, Shandong, Luanda, Douala … and many more.

Most cities mentioned in the Bible would likely have had less than 3,000 inhabitants. Cities were historically filthy and unhealthy places to live, given that there were usually no adequate sewage systems. The incidence of disease was high. This was generally not the case with the Hebrews, as their strict Levitical laws served to avoid such risks.

A few large cities are mentioned in the Bible, among these Nineveh, said to be 120,000 in population and to be a “very large city” (Jonah 3:3); Babylon, which would have even been larger; and most certainly, the ancient metropolis of Babel. Compare this to city sizes of 25 million and more in our time today. (Tokyo has the largest population—37.5 million, twice that of New York-Newark.)

As cities become larger and more dense, the logistics of administrating them become ever more challenging. Consider the traffic systems. These must be well planned … and, far in advance. It is well documented that even though modern-day automobiles can drive at speeds of 200 KPH and more, the average speed in large cities and major interstate highways has become ever slower. For example, the average highway speed in Los Angeles during rush hour is now 17 MPH (Hwy 101).

Similar challenges are evident in other large cities. For example, in Dhaka (capital of Bangladesh) according to the World Bank, the average traffic speed fell from 12 kilometers per hour in 2008 to 7 kph in 2018. It is one of the densest populated cities in the world. It now has no choice but to ban rickshaws.

 

The Trouble with Big Cities

How large was Babel’s population? No one knows. Yet it stands as an example of an agglomeration of people of which God did not approve. Was it the size of Babel’s population that caused God to disperse this city? Not likely for that fact alone. Rather, what incensed the Lord was susceptibility to immorality and, the emergence of the humanist spirit … the brazen attitude of self-determination that prevailed in Babel.

According to the Bible, the inhabitants said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4).

We note that the people had built Babel expressly so that they would not be “scattered over the face of the earth.” But, to recall, originally God had commanded otherwise.

God said to Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). This human mandate was again confirmed with Noah. “As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it” (Genesis 9:7).

As a result of Babel’s waywardness, God intervened: He dispersed the people of Babel “over all the earth” (Genesis 11:8) with a confusion of languages. In the end, they were all thrust to rural life.

In the next issue, we will complete our examination of this prophetically significant world trend of urbanization.

Wilfred J. Hahn is a global economist/strategist. Formerly a top-ranked global analyst, research director for a major Wall Street investment bank, and head of Canada’s largest global investment operation, his writings focus on the endtime roles of money, economics and globalization. He has been quoted around the world and his writings reproduced in numerous other publications and languages. His 2002 book The Endtime Money Snare: How to live free accurately anticipated and prepared its readers for the Global Financial Crisis. A following book, Global Financial Apocalypse Prophesied: Preserving true riches in an age of deception and trouble, looks further into the prophetic future.

Contact Wilfred at: staff@eternalvalue.com

 

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanization

China in and out of Bible Prophecy

The Bible is not silent about Far East Asia, both past and future. Of course, all people of the world are contemplated in the general address of much of the prophetic literature of the Bible. However, there are several prophecies that clearly involve this region in a specific way.

First, revealing the most eastern nation noted in the Bible, China itself is mentioned in a prophetic context in Isaiah 49:12: “Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.” Just what and where is Sinim? Most sources agree that “Sinim” refers to the far eastern region of China.1 Things related to China today are still referred to as “sino”; for example, the word “sinology” means the study of China.

In the Arabic language, China is still referred to as “Sin.” The word “Sin” likely comes from the word Ch’in (or Tsin), as in the Ch’in Dynasty which ruled China between 221 and 206 BC, or some other word derivation from before that time. The word “Sinim” in Hebrew would therefore simply be the plural form of “Sin.”

What we can deduce from Isaiah’s word, written some 2,700 years ago, is that Sinim (China) will most certainly exist in the last days and into the following Millennial period. Moreover, we can also reasonably deduce that China must be a substantial entity at that time, since its name is used in this prophecy to describe the general geographical direction of “east.”

Wonderfully, Isaiah indicates that the people of Sinim will also be in that number that will eventually go to worship in the new Israel of the 1,000-year Millennial Period. The US, on the other hand, is not directly mentioned in Bible prophecy (though possibly included among the group of countries that the Bible refers to as the “islands”).

 

Further Biblical Mention of Asia in the Last Days

Revelation 16:12 mentions yet another event involving Asia. This takes place in the vicinity of the Euphrates River: “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.”

This verse occurs at the time that the sixth angel pours out a sixth bowl of wrath; sometime in the second half of the Tribulation period. As we learn from these verses, this important border for Israel—the Euphrates River—will be breached when the Kings of the East go over to the west side of this river. Nothing more appears to be directly attributed to the “Kings of the East” anywhere in the Bible, this being the only verse in which these kings are mentioned.

Undoubtedly, we think, the Kings of the East will be the leaders of a number of countries in Far East Asia—namely, nations on the east side of the Euphrates River.

But, why will the Kings of the East cross the Euphrates? The reason is unclear. However, we must let all of Scripture speak. This verse reveals that the great Euphrates will be dried up. What does this mean? This writer concludes that it likely symbolized economic difficulties … perhaps a deep economic depression. In the Old Testament, a dry riverbed is always equated with economic disaster. This would certainly be the case for agrarian countries. As such, we do not see the drying of the river as preparing a route for the Kings of the East to cross into the west side of the Euphrates—an area promised to the Israelites by God. In our day and age, there are plenty of ways to cross a river.

 

One More Key Prophetic Deduction: A Non-Mention

We now address a question that we posed earlier: Will China also play a significant geopolitical role in the last days, perhaps being a key member of a final world order? The answer, we believe, is again both yes and no. Yes, in our opinion China (and some other select Asian nations) will play a role in last-day geopolitical developments. But the Bible clearly rules out any role for China in the post-globalism, minilateralism period of a “10-king” ruling order just before the Antichrist comes on the scene.

How do we know this? There is one additional verse in the Bible which applies to some key Asian countries today that we have not examined. It is a perspective that is often overlooked, found in Revelation 17:12, which supports an important deduction. It reads: “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.” Just how does this verse connect to Asian countries today?

We must, of course, first assume that we are indeed living in the very last of the last days. As such, the world today would then be very near the time that the 10 kings will emerge on the world scene. The verse we have quoted from Revelation specifically refers to these 10 kings and reveals a crucial clue.

John the Revelator tells us here that these 10 kings “have not yet received a kingdom.” This means that neither the kings nor their kingdoms referred to in this verse had yet existed either at or by the time that Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation (approx. 90—95 AD).

As such, we can validly draw some conclusions from Revelation 17:12: Any nation today that existed at or prior to the time of John’s prophecy can therefore not qualify as one of the 10 final kings … in other words, one of the final 10 nations. If we apply this principle, it reveals that such nations as China, India, Persia and perhaps others will not be part of the final 10-king world power coalition. (In the past, we have named this group the Global Power Coalition.)

China already existed in New Testament times. According to historians, the Han Dynasty, a predecessor to modern-day China, was in power at the time of John’s prophecies. The same may be concluded for the nation of Japan.

The nation referred to as “Hodu” (India … earlier named Hindustan) in the Bible had already existed much earlier. The book of Esther confirms the existence of Hodu at the time of Xerxes. The record of Hodu before then, however, is not clear. Crucially, therefore, we discover here that most of these large and influential Asian nations that we observe today, will not be part of the last-day rulership represented on the 7^th head of the beasts shown in Revelation 12, 13 and 17 … the 10 kings. According to our understanding of Scripture, most of the 10 kings will be from Europe.

 

Thoughts to Ponder

What light could the information that we reviewed possibly shed on our times today? For one, without a doubt, there indeed will be “Kings of the East” that fulfill their action as described in Revelation 16:12, confirming their existence at that time. However, we expect that these nations will be dominated by the 10 kings, as the 7^th head that they represent is the final power that then rules over the entire world with the Antichrist (see Daniel 7).

Beyond the certainty that these nations will not be part of the world ruling order at the time that Antichrist assumes global control, we can only attempt a few additional speculative scenarios.

One that appears plausible is that the formation of the final 10 kings may very well be a counter strategy to the perceived threats and aggressive actions of other global players, these very possibly including the Kings of the East.

There is no doubt that China is strategically placed geographically, allowing it to become a naval power that can control much of Asia. A number of geographers and geo-strategists have long thought this to be the case. As it happens, China today has sharply increased its spending on its naval capabilities.

Scripture seems to indicate that the Kings of the East are an opposition force … an aggressor. They rise up, crossing the Euphrates River against an unknown enemy. The catalysts may be economic or geopolitical. We simply do not know.

The 10 kings, on the other hand, come together to collect power to then give it to the Antichrist. The Bible tells us that, “These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast” (Revelation 17:13). It is possible that the specter we see developing in Asia today could very well be the world power dynamic that hastens the formation of the 10 kings. If so, the time may already be very short.

While it surely is factual and significant that economic and geopolitical power has begun to be more widely distributed around the world away from the Roman-type nations (this potentially an important alignment with endtime prophecy), consensus predictions that the Asian nations will dominate the world are not likely to be correct.

At the same time, the emergence of certain Asian countries to greater world prominence plays an integral and necessary part in the events and trends that lead to the conditions of the upcoming Tribulation period.

Using our diagnostical list, examining the rise of Asia, six tell-tale characteristics of a “last-day season phenomena” can be observed: 1. Recency … a trend observed after 1948; 2. Seeming improbability and inexplicability of its occurrence … at least at first; 3. Evidence of acceleration; 4. Global impact; 5. Humanist Agenda; 6. Suddenness and rapidity; and, above all, Bible prophecy.

Though very few specific events may be pinpointed from Bible prophecy, Asia’s influence and likely endtime roles can also be discerned through deduction. As in astronomy, “black holes” are not directly visible, but they can be discerned through their impact on other celestial bodies. In the same way, we can observe trends in the Middle East and the Roman-heritage world, informed by both facilitating and parallel developments in other parts of the world.

In any case, the speed of change and the nature of the developments underway in Asia today are simply astounding. Following the lead of other Asian countries, we see that a sleeping giant—China—has been awakened in the past half-century.

The rise of Asia qualifies as a “significant event,” and as we have shown, broadly aligns with Bible prophecy.

Wilfred J. Hahn is a global economist/strategist. Formerly a top-ranked global analyst, research director for a major Wall Street investment bank, and head of Canada’s largest global investment operation, his writings focus on the endtime roles of money, economics and globalization. He has been quoted around the world and his writings reproduced in numerous other publications and languages. His 2002 book The Endtime Money Snare: How to live free accurately anticipated and prepared its readers for the Global Financial Crisis. A following book, Global Financial Apocalypse Prophesied: Preserving true riches in an age of deception and trouble, looks further into the prophetic future.

You can contact Wilfred at: staff@eternalvalue.com

 

1 James H. Strong, Exhaustive Concordance, p. 5515. “Sinim is a distant Oriental region.”