THE TREND INFLUENCING THE WORLD
We’re living during the greatest time the world has ever seen. There’s global tensions and shakings, but God is also raising up people who are called to shift different parts of society. When our worldview changes and we can see events in the world as opportunities rather than problems, we begin to realize that God brought you into the world at this strategic point in time to make a difference—to bring Kingdom principles into your area of influence.
In the coming weeks, we’ll look at what God is doing in the world today and how you can make a difference. Today, I want to focus on what’s happening in the world. It’s tough to tell what’s really going on, since truth rarely makes the news anymore. But since Biblical times, world events have followed a cyclical pattern that continue even today. If you follow this cycle, it’s easier to predict what may come, and understand how God’s plans and actions in the world intersect in an amazing way.
The Cycle that Influenced History
The world was created in a unipolar system, meaning one nation ruled or held primary influence. Their currency, laws, and religion reigned supreme and were emulated by other nations. This system was blessed and established by God, and worked quite well when leaders reflected His heart. God chose nations to lead based on morality, but when that nation began to lose its morality and connection to the goodness of God, it would deteriorate. Then another moral leader would rise up—with the backing of miraculous favor from God—and the cycle continued. We saw this all throughout the Old Testament.
We also saw this during the time Jesus was born. Rome was the superpower of the day and led the world to a period of relative peace known as Pax Romana. But eventually, power corrupted. The government began practices like heavy taxation, gruesome persecution, and other forms of perversion. Jesus’ birth during this time was very strategic. He was needed to change the prevailing culture and bring Heaven to Earth during a time that eventually led to a Jewish revolt against the Romans.
When any nation starts to lose its morality, other nations will rise up against them. This leads to a bipolar or multipolar world, where two or more countries vie for power or hold superpower status.
This happened again in the 1800s when the British Empire was the world’s hegemonic power and held a period of relative peace for 100 years (Pax Britannica). There were positive developments that came out of this time: the Gospel expanded and revival broke out, and this Kingdom influence spread from England to different areas of the world. But when England lost its morality and people grew tired of their oppression, other nations rose up, and it led to World War 1.
We saw this yet again when the world was in a bipolar state during the Cold War—America and the Soviet Union were the two superpowers. There was an us vs. them mentality. People begin to ask, “Are you capitalist or communist?” There’s no other option. This led to an uprising. This time, it would be a proxy war, not a direct war —that ultimately led to the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1989, with America emerging as the unipolar nation.
In the 90s, there was a great mobilization of the church, largely based on the idea that Jesus would return by 2000. The Gospel of salvation and “finishing the task” reigned supreme, but despite the intent behind it, there was still a great harvest and expansion of the Gospel. Then in 2001, the enemy attacked.
In the following years, America started to lose its morality. It responded to 9/11 with the War in Iraq, which evolved into a string of wars moving into Afghanistan—the longest war to date. The world largely supported America at first, but this changed quickly after a series of responses other countries disagreed with. Nations started positioning themselves for future power, making deals behind-the-scenes. This brings us to where we are today.
Where is the World Now?
To clarify, a unipolar society—which can include more than one nation—is meant for the purpose of blessing others. God blesses so nations can be a blessing. He doesn’t remove His blessing, but when morality is lost, people turn from God and block His power through choice. Some of the deterioration into a multipolar world is connected to the orphan spirit. People start to ask, “Who’s gonna get the biggest piece of the pie? Why do I need your currency? How can we rob other nations of the world so we can be the best?”
During this time, countries position themselves and make alliances. Society becomes polarized—whose side will you be on? It builds a system that costs the global economy so much, and it effectuates the resources that could actually be used to help people. We’re entering this area again today; a shift from an American superpower to a multipolar world. Polarization is becoming more extreme in American politics and all around the world. In China, society is built around a polarizing point system based on fear and performance. In much of the Arab world, countries still operate on a caste system and there is no room for disagreement or compromise. It’s quite different from a Kingdom government, which focuses more on the hearts and identity of people rather than political systems and power.
So here we find ourselves again at a critical point. Who will emerge from the chaos? Nations are trying to get countries on their side by offering “mutual” benefits that mainly benefit the would-be superpower. We can see roughly five major powers positioning themselves right now, buying world resources, looking for opportunities to influence and buy loyalty. You’re seeing many strong rulers (Trump, Putin, Erdowen, Jinping, etc.) and countries are feeling a strong sense of nationalism.
The Good News
These are often the indicators that war is on the horizon. But here’s the fascinating wild card: this is also the point where Kingdom people are stepping up to the plate in this new revival that’s happening (more on this in the next few articles!). You are about to become the trendsetters that are placed strategically in America and the nations—the Esthers, Daniels, and Josephs—that will actually change the happenings and seasons in government, business, education, etc.
These world changers have the Issachar anointing and know their calling. They understand that though the world is being shaken up right now, it’s not unprecedented, and the outcomes are not fixed. What determines the outcome of the shaking is the position of your heart. Will you love and have wisdom in the midst of shaking? Or be swayed by the opinions around you? When people remain steadfast and focused on Him, shaking ends in their absolute victory—like Joshua, you can emerge from a shaking season picking up the spoils for days.
Imagine if leaders in every industry asked, “How can the world be a better place? What would it look like in my industry to lead with the Love that transforms nations? Imagine if a world leader asked these questions rather than focusing on power, policing the world, and propagating an us vs. them mentality. If a government fosters a country where each person is valued, it creates freedom that isn’t forced.
I encourage you to dream with God about your passions—your family, church, industry, or any other key area. How would they look if you saw everyone through His eyes? Genius Kingdom ideas would emerge. Systemic poverty, corruption, and polarization wouldn’t look so hopeless, because God is giving you the strategies to fix them and the favor to speak in front of Kings. If God’s creative power seems absent, we may have become too comfortable with the prevailing culture. Step beyond the comfortable paradigms of culture and step into the exciting unknown with Father God.