Perspective                                     

No one doubts the days of old are gone, basically due to the change in the economy of the world. The world for a long time was based on an agrarian system where dad, mom and the children worked together to take care of a farm to survive. Families didn’t have much, but because they worked together, they had a closeness. 

The great affluence of this age came about because of the new industries of the 20th century. Men like Rockefeller, Carnegie, Henry Ford and other titans of industry got the world headed down the road of business, which put millions of men to work. It provided a standard of living for the masses which allowed for a better way of life. It created a middle class which could enjoy the accoutrements of a decent life, like a home and a car, and at the same time, it left the family unit intact. 

The Changing Family

Mom was still at home for the children when dad went to work and returned home at the end of the day. Such a configuration in most homes today does not exist. It is estimated that over 40 percent of children return home after school to an empty home, and they must wait for their mother and father to return from work. In more extreme situations, some children spend so much time without their parents they are labeled as “latch key children.” 

How did it become this way? The big change came during World War II. Millions of men went off to war and the factories which produced armaments for war were suddenly shorthanded. The United States, which had resisted entering the war but now as a participant lacked the manpower to produce the jeeps, tanks, aircraft and other war materiel needed to fight the war against Germany and the Axis Powers. Women with the missing breadwinner lacked the income to support the family and were forced from the home to find work. 

Women by the millions sought employment in industry in order to fill the income needs of their families. Children were left at home when not in school to fend for themselves or were looked after by extended family members such as grandparents. 

By the time World War II ended in Europe on May 7, 1945, the die was cast for American families. When the fathers came home, the mothers very often did not stop working outside the home, and so it has been increasingly for the last 78 years. Nowadays the inflationary economy and the rapidly rising cost of living has forced families to have two incomes to survive, and even with two incomes it is still getting more difficult to maintain a decent standard of living. A new survey found that Americans living paycheck to paycheck increased over the last year, with about 64 percent of consumers saying they were living paycheck to paycheck at the end of 2022, according to a report from Pymnts and LendingClub. The modern way of supporting a family obviously for many just is not sustainable, and something needs to change for many to survive financially.

Remember the Old Paths Which Worked for the Family

We struggle to hold fast to right ways in our families and personal lives. Jeremiah 6:16 says: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, “We will not walk in it.”’”

Man has stubbornly resisted and rejected God’s ways. This world will not turn around and recapture the values which worked in the past. 

Where is the world heading? The pre-industrialized world, which was based on farming, was more stable because a family could adjust in a national crisis; they could produce food for themselves. Families today don’t generally have that option. What would happen if the economic structure of this world collapsed? Most would be ill equipped to survive, and many would go hungry or starve. 

In both World Wars millions of families had their own gardens to feed themselves. “Victory gardens,” also called war gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia during World War I and World War II. In wartime governments encouraged people to plant these survival gardens.

Wise Preparation for the Great Demise of Our Standard of Living

Some saw the coming great economic demise of this world’s economic system long ago. Herbert W. Armstrong, who was ahead of his time, wrote an article in the January, 1980, Plain Truth, titled, “Prepare to Greatly Reduce Your Standard of Living.”

Do we believe the economies of this world could collapse? Consider this, the emergence of the Antichrist will very likely occur to rescue a collapsed financial system, and he will rise up and stabilize the economy; it will be a system where no one can buy or sell without his mark. Of course, we cannot and will not take the mark of the beast; anyone who does will partake in the end time plagues (Revelation 16:2; 18:4; 19:20; 20:4).     

First and foremost, God’s people trust God with all their heart, soul and mind. We have faith in God’s divine care. Secondly, since most don’t live on farms or in the country, as much as possible, we ought to, in a balanced manner, prepare for difficult times should they come. 

It is unwise to go overboard as some have done in the past, but it is prudent to lay up some emergency supplies for your family to survive a few weeks should something suddenly happen. We should not rely on the government or others in such a time to come to our immediate rescue. Proverbs 27:12 says, “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” 

Wisdom would dictate we be prepared as we would for any disaster like a tornado, or an earthquake. Above all, we prepare spiritually, asking our Father for His Spirit to be renewed in us daily and to lead us as we navigate uncertain times when we may have to greatly reduce our standard of living. 

This is my Perspective and the current edition of the Prophetic Times follows below: 

Prophetic Times

Cuba, Iran presidents meet in Havana, vow to confront 'Yankee imperialism' 

June 15, 2023 reuters.com reported

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel on Thursday, his last stop on a three-nation Latin American tour aimed at shoring up support among Latin American allies saddled, like Iran, by U.S. sanctions. 

Raisi told reporters at a trade forum in Havana early on Thursday that Cuba and Iran would seek opportunities to work together in electricity generation, biotechnology, and mining, among other areas.

"The conditions and circumstances in which Cuba and Iran find themselves today have many things in common," Raisi said in a conversation with Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel. "Every day our relations grow stronger."

Raisi said Top officials signed administrative agreements vowing to boost cooperation between the countries' ministries of justice, and customs agencies, as well as in telecommunications.

Raisi earlier this week visited with leaders of fellow oil-producer Venezuela, where he pledged to ramp up bilateral trade and expand cooperation in petrochemicals. Prior to arriving in Cuba, the Iranian president also met with Nicaragua´s Daniel Ortega in the Central American country.

"Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Iran are among the countries that have had to heroically confront sanctions (...) threats, blockades and interference by Yankee imperialism and its allies with a tenacious resistance," Diaz-Canel told his Iranian counterpart.

NATO begins unprecedented air drill in ‘show of strength’

June 14, 2023 spacewar.com reported:

NATO began its largest ever air force deployment exercise in Europe on Monday, in a display of unity toward partners and potential threats such as Russia. 

The German-led ‘Air Defender 23’ will include some 250 military aircraft from 25 NATO and partner countries including Japan and Sweden, which is bidding to join the alliance. It will run until June 23. Up to 10,000 service members are to participate in the drills intended to boost interoperability and preparedness to protect against drones and cruise missiles in the case of an attack within NATO territory.

‘The significant message we’re sending is that we can defend ourselves,’ Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz of the German Luftwaffe told public television.

Iran seeks South American influence with Cuba, Venezuela tour

June 13, 2023 jpost.com reported:

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is heading to South America for what the country is billing as an important tour of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. Venezuela’s leader was recently in the region to attend the Turkish president’s inauguration and also to travel to the Gulf. Iran’s President is heading to Latin America after speaking with France’s president. 

Iranian media profiled the trip noting that Iran’s president believes that the countries of South America want to pursue an ‘independent’ policy. Meaning that they want to be independent of the US. Iran would like to cultivate ties with more countries, such as Brazil and Columbia, and perhaps Argentina as well. Iran is highlighting its ties with Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. These are countries whose leadership has been hostile to the US. 

In addition, these countries work with Russia, China and sometimes Turkey as well. Tehran sees them as prime candidates for drone sales, trade in energy and also as part of its overall agenda to threaten the West. In addition, Iran wants to get around sanctions and has in the past sought to exploit South America by using proxies like Hezbollah and others to engage in drug trade and other illicit activities.

Source: ‘If Iran enriches uranium to 90%, Israel will attack’

June 12, 2023 israelnationalnews.com reported:

A senior source in Israel responded to the concern of the diplomatic and security echelons following reports that Iran and the West may reach an agreement on a nuclear deal. Speaking to Israel Hayom, the source said, ‘Iran knows that if it breaks out uranium enrichment to 90%, there will be an Israeli attack.’

He added that the US and the West know that Israel’s red line is 90% enrichment. In a series of conversations Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held in European capitals at the beginning of his term, he told the leaders of Germany, Italy, France, and Britain that 90% enrichment would be a red line from Israel’s perspective.

China Expands Nuclear Arsenal as Global Tensions Grow

June 12, 2023 voanews.com reported:

The nuclear arsenals of several countries, especially China, grew last year and other atomic powers continued to modernize theirs as geopolitical tensions rise, researchers said Monday.

‘We are approaching, or maybe have already reached, the end of a long period of the number of nuclear weapons worldwide declining,’ Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told AFP.

The total amount of nuclear warheads among the nine nuclear powers — Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States — was down to 12,512 at the outset of 2023, from 12,710 at the start of 2022, according to SIPRI. Of those, 9,576 were in ‘military stockpiles for potential use,’ 86 more than a year earlier. SIPRI distinguishes between countries’ stockpiles available for use and their total inventory, which includes older ones scheduled to be dismantled.

WEF Calls for AI to Rewrite Bible, Create ‘Religions That Are Actually Correct’

June 10, 2023 slaynews.com reported:

A top official with the World Economic Forum (WEF) has called for religious scripture to be “rewritten” by artificial intelligence (AI) to create a globalized “new Bible.”

Yuval Noah Harari, the senior advisor to the WEF and its chairman Klaus Schwab, argues that using AI to replace scriptures will create unified “religions that are actually correct.”

Harari, an influential author and professor, made the call while giving a talk on the “future of humanity.”

According to Harari, the power of AI can be harnessed and used to reshape spirituality into the WEF’s globalist vision of “equity” and inclusivism. Speaking with journalist Pedro Pinto in Lisbon, Portugal, Harari told the elitist audience: “It’s the first technology ever that can create new ideas. 

“You know, the printing press, radio, television, they broadcast, they spread the ideas created by the human brain, by the human mind. They cannot create a new idea.”

“You know, [Johannes] Gutenberg printed the Bible in the middle of the 15th century; the printing press printed as many copies of the Bible as Gutenberg instructed it, but it did not create a single new page.

“It had no ideas of its own about the Bible: Is it good? Is it bad? How to interpret this? How to interpret that?” Harari then revealed that he and his allies at the WEF have a solution to the supposed problems he’d just highlighted.

“AI can create new ideas; [it] can even write a new Bible,” he declared. “Throughout history, religions dreamt about having a book written by a superhuman intelligence, by a non-human entity,” he added. 

“In a few years, there might be religions that are actually correct … just think about a religion whose holy book is written by a superhuman intelligence, by a non-human entity,” he added.

WEF Member Calls for 86% Reduction in World’s Population 

May 3, 2023 slaynews.com reported:

A celebrated member of the globalist World Economic Forum (WEF) has called for a staggering 86 percent reduction in the population of humans, arguing that the goal can be achieved “peacefully.”

Dennis Meadows, one of the main authors of the Club of Rome’s 1972 pro-depopulation book “The Limits to Growth.”
Meadows is an honorary member of the Club of Rome and a member of the World Economic Forum. Despite his book being published over 50 years ago, his ideology is still very anti-human. Meadows argues that most of the world’s population must be wiped out so that the survivors can “have freedom” and a “high standard of living.”

During a 2017 interview, Meadows claims that genocide of 86% of the world’s population is “inevitable.” However, he insists that a “benevolent” dictatorship could accomplish the mass de-population “peacefully.”

“We could have eight or nine billion, probably,” he says of the world’s growing population. “If we have a very strong dictatorship which is smart … and [people have] a low standard of living,” Meadows says as he explains how the population reduction agenda could be triggered. “But we want to have freedom and we want to have a high standard of living so we’re going to have a billion people.”

“And we’re now at seven, so we have to get back down. I hope that this can be slow, relatively slow, and that it can be done in a way which is relatively equal, you know, so that people share the experience.”