As we once again begin another new year, it’s time to take a look at some of what I believe to be the most prophetically significant events and issues of 2021. If you’re interested in taking a look at the previous years, below are articles I wrote for 2020, 2019, and 2018 that also served as a year in summary of the significant biblical issues at the time.
Below are the subjects I’ll be focusing on. This article’s a lengthier one (and despite that there’s still much more that could’ve been included!) so feel free to read through them all or skip to a particular section of interest for now and come back to another one later. Note that these aren’t in order of significance, but are put into alphabetical order. All of these areas are worth our attention and contributes to the convergence we’re witnessing in our time.
Table of Contents:
- Antisemitism
- Christian Persecution
- Digital Currency
- Globalism
- Lawlessness
- The Middle East
- Technology
- The Third Temple
- UFO Phenomenon
- Weather Disasters
Antisemitism
In 2021, we saw a sharp increase in antisemitism in Europe, Canada, the US and other parts of the world. Israel365News reported in December that anti-Jewish hate crimes in New York City for example were up 50% from 2020, “Jewish groups are sounding the alarm after the New York City Police Department released statistics on Wednesday indicating that hate crimes have doubled in a single year”.
There has been a “dangerous and drastic surge” in antisemitism in the US, and around the world, in recent days linked to the fighting between Israel and terror groups in the Gaza Strip, the Anti-Defamation League said…“As the violence between Israel and Hamas continues to escalate, we are witnessing a dangerous and drastic surge in anti-Jewish hate right here at home…(The times of israel)
This was largely due to the fact that in May Hamas and Israel had a skirmish in which Hamas sent over 3,000 rockets into Israel, the majority of which Israel’s Iron Dome defense system intercepted and destroyed. Later, Israel retaliated by carefully striking key Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in order to minimize casualties and spare civilians from being caught in the cross fire – something Hamas doesn’t care about.
However, due to the prevailing narrative that Israel was actually the aggressor many around the world expressed their rage towards Israel on social media and in real life. Below are some articles that highlighted this news.
The reason the rise in antisemitism is worth paying attention to is because this trend is what scripture highlights to us. Zechariah 12:1-3 shows that by Christ’s return, all nations will be against the Jewish people on account of Jerusalem. Zechariah 13:8-9 tells us that by the end of the tribulation period, only 1/3 of the Jews will be brought out of it, while unfortunately 2/3 will perish through persecution.
And it’s in Revelation 12 where this picture of persecution is highlighted to us as well as the source behind it – Satan. It’s during the tribulation that Satan will attempt to wipe out the Jewish people but will fail to do so as God will supernaturally protect a remnant for the latter half (Revelation 12:6, 13-16).
It’s due to the understanding of this truth that can then lead us to conclude that if we’re seeing an escalation in antisemitism now, it shows us how close the tribulation period is. Now, we’re merely seeing shadows of what’s to come.
Christian Persecution
Just like 2020, Christian persecution was an ongoing issue in 2021. We not only saw an increase in persecution in the usual countries such as China and Nigeria, but an increase in Western nations as well. The spotlight was more so on Canada in 2021 as several pastors were arrested for gathering under lockdown regulations while over 45 Canadian churches were set on fire or attacked.
Although here in the US we didn’t see as strict of a crack down as in Canada, what we did see early 2021 was still worth keeping our eyes on and I believe may further set the stage for what’s to come. Last year, on January 6th, the US capital was stormed as the US elections were being finalized.
What we saw after that were some using that event as a springboard to then point to Christians/Christianity/biblical views as being part of the problem that led to the event. For example, in The Conversation’s article, Why creationism bears all the hallmarks of a conspiracy theory, they start off the article talking about the January 6th event and then related those who participated in the event with Christians that believe in creationism. They then referred to other conspiracy theories as they critiqued creationism to essentially come to the conclusion that it’s a dangerous and problematic view.
Although being labeled as a conspiracy theorist for holding biblical beliefs isn’t on the level of being arrested for holding church or at the far extreme, being tortured or killed, it shows that the rhetoric we’re seeing in the US is increasing.
Prophetically speaking we also know this will not slow down but will increase and “explode” during the tribulation culminating in vast numbers of martyrs such as the “great multitude” (Revelation 6:9-11, 7:9-16, 15:2, 16:4-7, 20:4). Let’s remember to keep our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world in prayer!
Digital Currency
2021 saw a plethora of news related to Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in what is being deemed by some now as a “digital currency race”. China began using their digital Yuan as one of 81 nations currently looking into or implementing CBDC.
Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Africa jointly tested Multiple Central Bank Digital Currencies (M-CBDC) in what seemed to me to be part of the stage setting for a global digital currency system. Other nations such as Israel, the US, Russia, and Venezuela also made some headway in this arena or announced preparations into delving further into this.
This issue is an important one as I’ve noted in several of my articles that if a completely cashless society is on the horizon, that would then allow for further surveillance and control of the population which will need to be in place for the mark of the beast system (Revelation 13:16-17).
Globalism
When comparing 2021 to 2020, not much changed in regards to the topic of globalism as we continued to see a push this year as well for global systems to be put into place. In January of 2021 we saw how Tony Blair, a former Prime Minister of the UK, urged Boris Johnson to create a global coronavirus vaccine passport.
This was then revisited in September when Tony Blair (along with others) called for a global vaccine certification system. To add to this, in April, 24 world leaders such as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Emmanuel Macron called for a global treaty to help prevent future pandemics.
Then like clockwork the World Health Organization reiterated that same call in November. See the pattern yet? The bible does in fact tell us there’s a coming global government that will emerge during the tribulation so seeing this shows us how much closer we’re getting to that reality.
Lawlessness
From the start of 2021 we began to see an increase in lawlessness and violence around major cities in the US.
On December 8th, ABC News reported all time high homicide records broken in 12 major cities in the US, “At least 12 major U.S. cities have broken annual homicide records in 2021 — and there’s still three weeks to go in the year. Of the dozen cities that have already surpassed the grim milestones for killings, five topped records that were set or tied just last year.”
From random unprovoked attacks to an increase in car jackings, homicides, and store lootings, 2021 was truly a year where those who may normally have been repelled by the law, become more emboldened to carry out the acts that they did.
The reason this increase in lawlessness is important to note is because in Matthew 24 Jesus details the signs of the end of the age to His disciples and says, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold,” (Matthew 24:12). Lawlessness will be one thing that categorizes that coming time period so if we’re seeing it continue to increase along with the other plethora of signs, it shouldn’t evade our notice.
The Middle East
As I mentioned in the section on Antisemitism, the Middle East was no doubt explosive due to the skirmish between Hamas and Israel. However, that wasn’t the only reason. Towards the end of the year we saw the US disastrously pull their troops out of Afghanistan leading to strained trust in the US on the part of their allies and an emboldening of their enemies.
In my article, The Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan Signaling a ‘Post-American World Order’?, I discussed how I believe the pullout could add to the stage setting for Ezekiel 38. What the pull out from Afghanistan showed was a decreasing US presence in the Middle East with other nations filling in that vacuum.
As time went on however we quickly saw another ripple effect of the pullout in the form of an “Iraq Neighborhood Summit” which brought hope for Iraq to regain their significant role in the Middle East. As I believe that Babylon will be rebuilt in the last days in Iraq, this news was incredibly thrilling to see!
We also saw a continued effort to expand upon the Abraham Accords by the Biden Administration as well as former US Ambassador David Friedman could both be helping to set the stage for the confirmed covenant in Daniel 9:27 as well as the peaceful and prosperous conditions of Ezekiel 38.
Technology
2021 was replete with advancements in technology that had us thinking about the tribulation period and coming mark of the beast system. One of these was “The Giant”, a 10-Story statue created by an Irish firm that reminded many of us of the image of the beast spoken of in Revelation 13:14-15.
The Metaverse was another hot topic that came towards the end of the year due to Facebook’s name change to “Meta”. It claims to bring the internet to the next phase of evolution as it seeks to merge the real world with the digital until we can no longer tell the difference between the two. Tech companies such as Facebook are now avidly working to bring this dream to life.
Artificial Intelligence and gene editing were also on the forefront of our minds bringing into question the direction society is headed as it relates to the possible worship of this technology and how this could eventually pose an existential threat to humanity.
We also saw an increased push to not only get vaccinated, but to ensure we can identify the vaccinated from the unvaccinated through a physical identifier of some kind. This came in the form of the ImmunaBand bracelets, QR codes, and microchips.
Although none of this technology is the mark of the beast as I explain in my article, Does the Mark of the Beast Currently Exist?, it’s clear to many of us that as technology advances it seems to progressively set the stage for what will ultimately exist during the tribulation period.
The Third Temple
Normally, any news related to the third temple would’ve been in the section on the Middle East but the news in 2021 related to the third temple, to me, was significant enough to make its own category. In March, there was a twitter Saudi campaign that downplayed the ties and importance of the temple mount for Muslims and instead recognized the ties of the Jewish people to the temple mount! Some even went as far as to call for the building of the third temple.
One tweet said, “DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, JOIN THE SAUDI HASHTAG “قبلة_اليهود_لاتعني_لنا#”. THIS RECENT SAUDI TWITTER MOVEMENT BELIEVES THAT THERE IS NO IMPORTANCE OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT TO MUSLIMS, AND THE WAITING FOR THE [JEWISH] THIRD TEMPLE. A NEW ERA, ONE OF PEACE?️?#قبلة_اليهود_لاتعني_لنا”
Although this was on twitter, news like this shows us the changing mindset of the Saudis and other Muslims regarding what they believe to be important Holy sites for Muslims! Then towards the end of the year we learned that Jewish prayer on the temple mount sharply increased in 2021.
Since the third temple must be in existence at the midpoint of the tribulation for the abomination of desolation to occur (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15) as we see this kind of news come to light, it shows us the nearness of the tribulation period. Therefore, this is something that we should definitely be paying attention to!
UFO Phenomenon
2021 was an eventful year for the topic of UFOs to say the least. The first half of the year saw much more of a fervor surrounding this topic due to the highly anticipated UFO Intelligence Report that was expected in June. Before the report came out, we found out in January that the CIA released over 2,000 pages of UFO documents and that in February, the Pentagon admitted to testing wreckage from UFO crashes.
Then came the UFO Intelligence Report. The details presented in the report were nothing groundbreaking. It was essentially 9 pages of them making the below points:
- They don’t know what the UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) are
- The UAPs pose a threat to national security
- They’ll continue looking into the matter
Towards the end of the year however we learned that NASA hired 24 theologians to look into how the major world religions may react in the event that we encounter or “discover” extraterrestrial life. What we’re witnessing is a growing acceptance and preparation for an extraterrestrial reality that I believe is not extraterrestrial in nature but is instead interdimensional or otherwise, demonic. None of this is a coincidence and I believe it expressly speaks to the times we’re living in.
Weather Disasters
Lastly, as the usual pattern goes, we yet again witnessed another year of record breaking natural disasters as they increased in frequency and intensity – nothing new to the bible believer who’s familiar with bible prophecy. In January of last year we saw a report from AccuWeather showing that “‘Monster’ hurricanes keep getting even stronger”.
The US experienced scorching heatwaves causing what The Guardian called the worst drought in 1,200 years, while Hawaii also saw one of its largest wildfires in history. The Times of Israel reported on the UN’s report on “unprecedented global warming” as The Guardian noted July as the hottest month ever recorded and that weather disasters are truly getting stronger and more frequent.
All of these weather disasters cost $20 billion more than in 2020. It’s clear that we see something’s going on here. Even the secular world is noticing it although they attribute it to different things. For the believer in Christ this should be no surprise as the bible tells us this is what we should be expecting in these last days preceding the Lord’s return.
What Should we Expect in 2022?
With each new year I bring the same question and also the same response: an escalation of everything we’ve been keeping our eyes on. As heated as 2021 was, I’m sure 2022 will be another record breaking year of natural disasters, lawlessness, advancement in technology that further sets the stage for the tribulation period, UFO news, increasing calls for measures that are globalist in nature, an uptick in antisemitism and Christian persecution, adoption of digital currency, and escalation of events in the Middle East and more specifically, Israel.
We don’t wish for these things to be so, but from scripture we know this is what we are to expect. As we face this new year, my exhortation to you isn’t to let this news frighten you or cause you any anxiety. As we see these things happen, we see confirmation of the truth of God’s word as what it describes will happen during the last days is happening.
We are truly in the season of the Lord’s return and this should fill us with hope as we place our trust in what God has already revealed to us. Our redemption truly draws near!
Sources
- Weather disasters around world cost $20 billion more than last year (December 26th, 2021) – The Times of Israel
- Weather disasters ‘stronger and more frequent than in 1970s’ (September 1st, 2021) – The Guardian
- July was world’s hottest month ever recorded, US scientists confirm (August 13th, 2021) – The Guardian
- ‘Code red for humanity’: UN report warns of unprecedented global warming (August 9th, 2021) – The Times of Israel
- ‘A perfect storm’: Hawaii firefighters confront Big Island’s largest wildfire in history (August 4th, 2021) – The Guardian
- NEW STUDY REVEALS 912 PERCENT INCREASE IN ANTI-SEMITIC CONTENT ON TIKTOK (July 13th, 2021) – Israel365News
- ‘Potentially the worst drought in 1,200 years’: scientists on the scorching US heatwave (June 18th, 2021) – The Guardian
- Canada’s Jews reeling after wave of antisemitic attacks sparked by Gaza conflict (May 28th, 2021) – The Times of Israel
- ADL: ‘Dangerous and drastic surge’ in antisemitism in US linked to Gaza violence (May 21st, 2021) – The Christian Post
- European Jews brace, yet again, for antisemitic attacks spurred by Gaza unrest (May 14th, 2021) – The Times of Israel
- Canadian Police Arrest Pastor for Holding ‘Illegal In-Person Gathering’ (May 9th, 2021) – CBN News
- ‘Monster’ hurricanes keep getting even stronger, analysis shows (January 14th, 2021) – AccuWeather