Ripening Times #5 – The Rise of Asia: Part II :: By Wilfred Hahn

(Ripening Times Asia Part 2)

The Modern Asian Phenomenon

We continue our series of “Ripening Times—Discerning Trends of Significance.” We proceed with our explanation of why the sudden rise of Asia qualifies as one such trend.

A significant impulse that has rocked the world in recent decades is the rapid emergence of a group of Asian economic dynamos. Large countries with huge populations, such as India and China, seem to have awoken rather suddenly. After years of slumbering, this cocooned region began its butterfly transformation only some 60 to 70 years ago. Today, as some of these nations have muscled onto the world stage as economic titans, they are projecting a wide wake—one that has washed up on the shores of all the high-income countries around the world, particularly North America and Europe. In the process, these Asian nations have become more influential geopolitically.

It would be instructive to get a sense of the epic nature of the Asian phenomenon of the past half-century. It is yet a rapid trend that has direct linkages to economic, financial and geopolitical developments. Even more significant, the rise of Asia finds Scriptural alignments. We must ask: How does Satan benefit from these sudden developments?

Small Beginnings with Big Consequences

It wasn’t that long ago—not much more than 50 years past—that the Western world still looked upon the Far East with a certain aloofness. It was and remains a diverse part of the world, comprising roughly 40% of the world’s landmass and approximately 60% of the earth’s population. To illustrate, the countries of China and India evoked belittling visions of rice paddies and countryside peasants; or, respectively, teeming Hindus living in the stifling suburbs of Calcutta, between their wandering, sacred cows. Westerners would donate their nickels and dimes to alleviate the hungry and homeless in this region … perhaps, the lepers in India.

The Mao uniforms that were worn in the Middle Kingdom (China)—unisex brown khakis for everyone—were also a familiar picture. These Asian peoples, different as they were, seemed a world away—certainly far out of harm’s way and of no fathomable threat to America or any other high-income country.

We considered them less fortunate, backward and undeveloped—beneath the enlightened ways of the West’s so-called Hellenistic and progressive cultures. Their customs and religions were strange. This is what Westerners thought.

It then began with a whimper. In mid-century, the world witnessed the first beginnings of Asia’s economic miracles in a select number of smaller countries.

Japan was the first Asian nation in the post-war period to enter take-off into rapid economic development.

While it had been a force to be reckoned with during World War II, Japan economically was seen as diminutive and non-threatening in the post-war period. Its economy in 1960 represented only 3% of world economic output. Its population accounted for a similar proportion.

Then, suddenly, beginning in the late 1950s, Japan’s economy was sparked to grow more than two to three times as fast as those of America and Europe during this early growth phase. Japan began a hyperactive period of economic growth and development, rapidly rising from its relatively poor status to eventually become the world’s second largest economic powerhouse.

South Korea was next. It seemed even less significant, its economy in 1960 amounting to less than 1/3 of 1% of world output and possessing less than 1% of the world’s population.

Beginning in the early 1960s, this Asian competitor to Japan began its journey to eventually become one of the high-income nations of the world. Only 25 years later, in 1996,1 it would become one of the 30 members of the Organization of Economic Development (OECD)—the rich country club of the world.

The Awakening Spreads to China?

As a world-traveling investment executive, this writer had only come to fully grasp the significance of China’s economic awakening somewhat late. I remember the very day that my awareness was alerted. On a research trip to Asia in 1992, I visited with the Chief Investment Officer of a major family fortune (with Mainland connections) in Hong Kong. This man, who was Chinese and educated in Australia, was more than forthcoming about what was happening in China.

His message was this: Western corporate executives were so greedy they were willing to supply all their technology free to China—and significant investment capital to boot—if they could have an opportunity to access China’s domestic consumer market. He was chuckling as he said it.

He was amused with the transparent gullibility and greed of the wai lo—literally meaning “foreign devils.” It was the Chinese version of a capitalist “monkey trap.” That conversation took place already a full decade after the “economic opening” to the rest of the world, which was begun by Premier Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s.

Communist China had woken up and realized that a large and growing economy was the equivalent of power and might. And indeed, many Western multinational corporations were very eager to build factories in China. At one point, as much as 50% of China’s goods exports were the output of American- and European-owned companies in China. Western companies made huge profits by “off-shoring” their products to China and its Asian manufacturing hub.

China and Asia Continue to Advance

While the advances of Japan and South Korea were monumentally fast, it is the economic awakening of China that attracts the most emphasis in this review. Firstly, it is crucial to realize that the Chinese have an inordinately large influence on the entire Asian region. Not only is China the largest trade partner with many other Asian countries, but also a large percentage of major businesses in southeast Asia are owned or controlled by Chinese families.

Though a minority ethnic group in Asia (outside of China), they are its main business people. The Chinese diasporas, triggered by political unrest and wars of the late 19th century and the middle 20th (the time of the Great Revolution and victory of Mao Zedong), spread a Chinese business network across the entire region from Malaysia to Indonesia. These large business empires have directed much investment to China in recent decades, and have made a large contribution to the economic rise of China.

Secondly, China, either individually or in concert with other Asian countries, believes they will eventually challenge America and other Western countries. China itself may have less inhibitions in destabilizing the current world order, as it is much more than “a big country, inhabited by many Chinese,” as the French President Charles de Gaulle once opined.

Its agendas find deep motivations. China’s deportment is heavily influenced by the fact that it has existed as a country, millennia before the US and other high-income countries of today. After all, China was the world’s largest economy for 18 of the last 20 centuries.

Finally, China is not militarily reliant upon the West as was Japan when it entered its fast-growth phase. This affords a measure of autonomy. It can choose to align itself against the West. In conclusion, China is no one’s lap dog. It is an independent and proud player on the world scene. Foreign pressure (gaiatsu) is not likely to be effective. Can anyone stop China from pursuing its own interest?

Our opinion: Yes and no, as we will explain.

Is a Dominant Asia Inevitable?

Though it may today appear that the economic advance of China and other Asian nations is unstoppable, this is not necessarily a valid conclusion. In fact, it is not at all likely that Far-East Asian nations will come to dominate the world anytime soon, if ever. To the contrary.

While competitive pressures and conflicts with the Western world (Roman world) are surely to heighten, Bible prophecy as well as other developments observable today suggest otherwise.

It is a strange twist of fate that Asia as a region possesses so little resources and energy reserves in comparison to other parts of the world. The vast abundance of the world’s resources—certainly so when measured on a per capita basis—is found elsewhere. This is a structural reality of the world.

It means that an awakening Asia, as it seeks to attain the prosperity levels of the US, Canada and Europe, is sure to test the limitations of commodity supplies. This has already been the case over the last several decades.

Another hurdle stems from the fact that birth rates have fallen dramatically over the past several decades in China (and also Asia generally). At some point this will cause economic difficulties, as there will be insufficient young people entering the workforce. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that China’s ascendancy cannot continue indefinitely.

However, there is one further indication that Asian countries will not take over or lead the world. The reason is revealed in Bible prophecy.

In the final part of this series about the rise of Asia, we examine what the Bible has to say about the futures of both Asia and China.

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 OECD Website. “Korea signed the Convention founding the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on 12 December 1996, thereby pledged its full dedication to achieving the Organization’s fundamental aims.”

Ripening Times #5: Rise of Asia, Part I :: By Wilfred Hahn

This issue, we return to our series of “Ripening Times—Discerning Trends of Significance.” Before we proceed, a short review is in order.

We live in a season where the world is experiencing unprecedented conditions of rapid change. Not only are there sudden developments, but they are also accelerating. Our generation assumes that this rate of change is normal … a symptom of modernity. But, really, only the last several generations or so have been witnesses of this extraordinary phenomenon. Which trends should we observe? What is it all about?

Well, Christians should always 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).

However, if we are to be watching, then what should we be looking for? What would qualify as a “significant” sign of the Lord’s season? A concise answer would be this: Anything that has to do with the Bible’s prophetic timeline and the Lord’s promises.

In our opinion, our age today is “ripe” with many such “significant” trends. No one will doubt that the world has embarked on an accelerating course over recent decades and centuries. Humanity is on a rushed agenda to “rendezvous with history.”

The Bible uses the metaphor of ripening grapes to indicate time for judgment. “Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow—so great is their wickedness!” (Joel 3:13; cf. Revelation 14:18). In this sense, we indeed see that the world is ripe with last-day preparatory trends and is quickly approaching the time of fruition.

What then should be the diagnostics that one can use to discern the candidate “cosmologically significant” trends today? It is important to have a solid framework for doing so. Many people, however, have no framework and consequently spread misinformation and speculative opinions. To begin, one must have a rock-solid Biblical worldview—one that is based on the literal, plain-sense interpretation of the Bible. However, in doing so, one must not go beyond what Scripture says (1 Corinthians 4:6).

With such a foundation, one is then better able to discern trends and developments that “enable,” signify, or “precede” actual fulfilled prophecies.

Briefly reviewed, there are at least eight characteristics that will help us identify possible candidates qualifying as a “significant” world trend:

  1. Evidence of Acceleration: A crucial qualifier is any emerging trend showing “acceleration” … particularly so since the 1880s. Why then? That is the beginning of Zionism … a key marker of prophecy beginning to be fulfilled. Recognizing this, it would then be strategically crucial as of that point for the Enemy of Israel to launch countermeasures. As soon as signs of a return to Israel began to be manifested, Satan realized that little time remained. Even more significant would be any accelerating trend beginning after 1948. That is the time that God’s timepiece, Israel, again became a sovereign entity in its original land. We, therefore, should not be surprised that the surge of significant world trends of recent history will have been spurred by an evil architect with urgent objectives and a tight timeline.
  2. Recency. A recent trend showing steepening acceleration (particularly so over the last 70 plus years since the return to Israel) is potentially much more notable than one having started a long time ago. Why? Because the time is becoming increasingly short, and the Bible frequently tells us that last-day events will come “quickly.” “The great day of the LORD is near—near and coming quickly” (Zephaniah 1:14). The Book of Revelation mentions that several events happen in “one hour.” Pre-Rapture Christians should be able to discern increasing intensity in world affairs and the convergence of significant signs that lead to final events. This writer believes that once the Rapture occurs, world developments will indeed move to hyper-speed.
  3. Improbability: We observe many rapid world developments today that we had not anticipated. We find ourselves asking “why” their emergence … and why now and not at some other time of history? The very improbability and inexplicability of such emerging trends can indicate “significance.”
  4. Global Scope & Impact: To qualify as a “significant trend,” a development must have worldwide influence (not just applying locally—or to North America only). Eschatology is focused globally. For example, the Tribulation applies to the entire earth. It is the collective of the world’s leaders that conspire to unshackle their chains (Psalms 2:3), not just a local ruler. Therefore, one should be particularly alert for “global” trends. (We do observe a tendency among Bible prophecy interpreters to cite only evidence seen domestically—i.e. the United States—and not “global” manifestations.)
  5. Interconnection: Any trend that has confluence or interconnection with another accelerating trend of “significance”—interweaving and reinforcing each other—may qualify as being a “significant trend.”
  6. Suddenness: A reader may well question whether the concept of “suddenness” overlaps with that of “acceleration” and “recency” (already discussed above). Though the differences may be subtle, we would regard “suddenness” as a distinct factor. Why? The Bible uses the word “suddenly” frequently, meaning that something occurs surprisingly and unsuspectingly. For example: “While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3); or, “[…] that day will close on you suddenly like a trap” (Luke 21:34).
  7. Humanist Agenda: It follows that very few, if any last-day trends will be marked by pure and godly motives. Rather, quite likely, the opposite will be the case. “Significant trends” are likely to be in the service of Mammon, humanism, greed, immorality, and other objectives that Satan may have. It would not be a surprise if “significant trends” also cater to the “lust of the flesh.”

We have listed seven potential diagnostic identifiers of world “significant trends.” Crucially, there is one more qualifier, and it is the most important of all. What is it? Bible prophecy itself. Any trend that lines up with Bible prophecy or is an expression of prophecy that is being fulfilled or a prophecy enabler, is most obviously validated as “significant.”

This Biblical validation is vital and sufficient alone to discern a “significant trend.” No matter what the other seven qualifiers indicate, if a candidate “significant trend” does not align with Scripture, it does not qualify.

While mankind has been on earth for many millennia, it is only over the last several hundred years that such a burst of “significant trends” has taken place. Change today is on a hot boil.

To date in this column, we have qualified four “significant trends”: A Wealth Explosion; spreading Post-Familialism; Honored Elites (emergence of global plutocrats); and, Advances of the Titans (the sudden emergence of multinational companies). There are many more “significant trends” yet to be discussed.

Next on our list, we will discuss the phenomenon of a rising Asia, a controversial topic these days. At the time of this writing, the United States had been conducting a trade war with China … also concertedly trying to slow down China’s ascendancy. We will not provide any perspectives on these geopolitical matters. However, it is true—in fact, incredibly unprecedented—that the rise of Asia has been very rapid. How can this be explained? Why has this emergence occurred so suddenly?

Will an Asian group of countries continue to gain strength, perhaps even eventually dominating world trade and geopolitics? Are the developments the world is witnessing in Asia today of prophetic significance?

Our answer to the latter question would be “yes.” We definitely consider the sudden rising of Asia as another sign of the ripening times. In the next part, we will explain why and will also identify aligning prophecies from the Bible.

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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