The Turnings, Part 4: The Crisis

 Since I began looking at Generational Theory, with few exceptions, I've tested it against the Bible primarily by looking at the historical books. It's time to change that.

If history interests you, then Generational Theory is fascinating enough just for how it finds patterns in what has already taken place. But it's most valuable aspect is probably how those patterns are predictive of future historical cycles...and how that meshes with what God has told us will occur in the future.

WHAT WE KNOW FROM GENERATIONAL THEORY

The four turnings in the saeculum correlate to the four seasons in a year. The crisis is the historical winter. It's dark and bleak for a while...a time for death...and only after the climax, when the worst of the cold subsides and the days lengthen, do we begin adjusting to the favorable weather of the spring and new life.

Since the USA has existed, it has gone through three Crises/Fourth Turnings. The first was when our republic was born--the War of Independence up until the ratification of our Constitution. It was an existential crisis to be sure. Had we not driven the British away, our country would not exist. After that, any number of wrong turns could have also doomed the republic. We could have sputtered on under the Articles of Confederation until it became necessary for the states to splinter. The states might not have insisted on a Bill of Rights, and freedom would have been lost much sooner and much more rapidly. Or we could have become just another monarchy with George Washington as our first king.

The next Crisis was our first civil war. It was kind of existential, and kind of not. The USA would have continued to exist (at least for a while) if the southern states had won and never been reconciled; but would likely be a much different country today, whatever the fate of the Confederacy. But the Union did survive, albeit significantly changed. States' rights were curtailed; federal power increased; and the political landscape was revamped. The fledgling Republican Party of Lincoln would rise to dominate for seven decades, while the pro-slavery Democrats took a back seat (with occasional exceptions like the Woodrow Wilson Administration).

The Civil War of 1861-65 was especially brutal. Contemporary observers remarked that up until then, wars had been fought by gentlemen. Sherman's rampage through Georgia and the burning of Atlanta are just two factors to support their claim. Had either side possessed weapons of mass destruction, they might very well have used them.

Most notably, historians Strauss and Howe point out that the Crisis came too soon that time. As a result, there was no Barn-Raiser (AKA Hero/Civic) generation  in that saeculum. Nomads fought the Civil War, picked up the pieces afterwards, and rebuilt society themselves. The generational cycle skipped from the Nomads straight to the Custodians (AKA Artist/Adaptive). The resolution of the Crisis didn't seem like a victory to the average American. There were no winners--just survivors.

Our last Crisis encompassed the Great Depression and Second World War. That crisis wasn't existential, but was widely perceived as such. Unprecedented tampering with the free market turned the Stock Market crash into the Depression. But politicians, mainstream media, and later, historians, have kept nearly everyone deceived about what caused it, from then until now. Also, there was no realistic chance that any of the Axis Powers could have successfully invaded the USA--much less conquered it. Yet that was believed at the time to have been a credible threat--therefore the crisis was perceived to be existential.

The American High Command had no intention of accepting anything less than unconditional surrender. By that time, weapons of mass destruction were available, and were, in fact, used.

Even more radical changes came about from that Crisis. States and individuals lost more rights, while federal power skyrocketed. And the political landscape shifted in the opposite direction: the Democrats have dominated Congress since 1932--including a 62 year stretch wherein they never lost control of the House of Representatives. This--and how the Supreme Court was realigned during that period, are largely responsible for the political, economic, and cultural reality facing us today.

That brings us to the current Crisis, which began in 2008 according to Strauss and Howe; and began its climax in 2020. The climax might last until 2025 or even 2030, according to Generational Theory.

HOW DOES ALL THIS MESH WITH BIBLE PROPHECY?

Some Christians are in the habit of denying prophecy. Other Christians have been assuming the end times were already upon us...since the First Century. I'm guilty of it, too. As a kid in the 1980s, I was sure I would be obliterated in an atomic blast during a nuclear war between the USA and Soviet Union. In the 1990s, and around 2000, I interpreted current events in a way that convinced me we were almost ready to enter the Tribulation period. So with that on my rap sheet, I don't want to cry wolf or "the sky is falling!" yet again.

However, there are some developments which are worth pondering.

The nations noticeably absent in the Magog Invasion prophesied by Ezekiel are signing treaties with Israel...perhaps paving the way for Israelis to "dwell securely" in the Land. The Russia/Iran Axis is still in place. But not only is Turkey now beating its chest as a regional power, but there are signs the Turks are putting aside their traditional rivalry with the Russians--just as Ezekiel seems to have warned when listing the nations in the Magog coalition. Furthermore, the rising nationalism among Europeans (including Gomer/Germany) suggests that it's going to require at least one more major international crisis before they're ready to permanently embrace the globalism that was prophesied by John in Revelation. And therefore, we might not be far away from Gomer joining the Magog coalition, instead of remaining a part of the European Union aligned against Russia.

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I consider the Magog Invasion to be World War III. It might coincide with the Fourth Seal and the death of a quarter of the Earth's human population. I also believe it is the global catastrophe that will make people so desperate for "world peace" that they will clamor for a strong international dictator to take over everything. (You can already see that attitude rising to prominence on "both sides" of the political spectrum.) In other words; I believe the Magog Invasion will immediately precede "Daniel's 70th Week" (often referred to as "the Tribulation").

Deep State politician Rahm Immanuel once gave voice to a tried-and-true ploy by globalists: "Never let a crisis go to waste." With an adequate crisis, exploited effectively, human beings will surrender freedoms and subject themselves to oppression they never would have accepted otherwise. This adage has served Satan well throughout history. Crisis brought the Soviets to power. Crisis (or perceived crisis) allowed Chancellor Hitler to become Der Fuhrer. Crisis made Americans accept the New Deal; then membership in the United Nations; later the "Patriot Act;" and uncountable other violations of our rights as free men. It only makes sense that the mother of all crises will be used to make every nation, tribe and tongue to accept the Beast and his global system. A whole lot of people are clamoring for a socialist dictator already. Only the Elect will resist one, after an adequate crisis.

Up until the 1990s, it was rather a stretch to refer to Red China as "the kings of the East." But it's perfectly logical now that suicidal and treasonous US policy (in addition to their own cheating and theft) has turned that enemy into a military and economic superpower.

* It's hardly a stretch at all to anticipate that the debit card will be replaced by "the mark."

* Financial organizations like PayPal and the credit card companies have already begun preventing people from buying or selling, if they don't agree with the correct ideology.

* Livestreaming is commonplace around the world right now--no technical advancement is required for people in every country to watch the bodies of the two witnesses lying dead in Jerusalem, when that happens.

And then there's the United States of America--which plays no significant role during Daniel's 70th Week, so far as we can infer from the prophecies revealed to Daniel, John, and others. It's remarkable that a country as rich, powerful, and influential as the USA just doesn't show up in the End Time scenario. Obviously, by the time of the Tribulation, either America is destroyed, or has been rendered so insignificant as to not be worth mentioning.

If you've read my posts on the old Wordpress blog, you may recall my theory that the USA (or at least New York City) is one part of the tripartite Mystery Babylon. If I'm right about that, then she gets destroyed prior to the Tribulation period. A sudden world power vacuum potentially explains some of the turmoil prophesied.

So, look at where Americans are today: Our present Crisis began with the Great Recession of 2008, and is moving into the climax right now as I write this. The quarantines/lockdowns are wrecking what is left of our economy. The death blow to small business (and therefore our middle class) may be imminent, though the woke anti-American megacorporations are profiting like never before. That fits. We are also teetering right on the brink of a descent into socialist despotism and/or civil war. A foreign war might be closer than any of us realize, as well. All that fits, too. This Crisis is, without a doubt, existential. Everything hangs in the balance right now. The stakes could not be higher for the American republic. To survive, we have to handle each aspect of the Crisis the right way...and that's leaving foreign enemies out of the equation.

If the theft of our election stands (which it very well might, since most of the Republican party is nothing but controlled opposition today--neither the Supreme Court, nor the state legislatures can be trusted), then the fundamental transformation of our constitutional republic into a third-world police state will soon be complete. Freedom once lost is seldom regained; and despite all the trash-talking, it's still unclear whether enough Americans are willing to die on their feet rather than live on their knees. Remember: it is the Millennials who are of fighting age right now.

If the theft of the election is thwarted, then the rioting we saw over the spring and summer will prove to be just a preview of a full-blown color revolution. And our Armed Forces seem to be hopelessly woke and corrupt now, too.

Looking at the pattern of American history, we know that economic upheaval is a fixture of fourth turnings. And there has been a war in every Crisis we've experienced as a country. What's worse: wars during a Crisis tend to be total wars. We have nukes, by the way...as well as biological and chemical weapons.

Look at the frothing hatred on the left for people like us. You can bet they will use the nastiest weapons in their arsenal if they have the chance. Meanwhile, patriots seem to be backed into a corner. If our choice is liberty or death, then our choice must therefore be victory or death. It's war to the knife. 

The last two Horsemen (Death and Hades) must be licking their chops at how this is shaping up.

Before speculating further on what might play out, it's important to consider that God has not promised us a Pre-Inconvenience Rapture.

Let's consider two different directions for the USA.

Scenario One: 

Joe Biden is installed in the White House. At that point, whether it was the courts, the state legislatures, and/or the electors who allowed the fraudulent, stolen election to stand, it will all be moot. Biden may be retired in a matter of months, and Harris elevated to become our Pied Piper. Her handlers will have her begin the final phase of the transition of the USA into an unexceptional  socialist regime (and eventually a territorial kingdom of the New World Order). A series of false flags and crises will be manufactured to justify the consolidation of power via "temporary" suspension of individual rights and the rule of law.

The only way to stop the descent, or even just slow it down, will be by way of the 2nd Amendment. There is a question, for some, which side the military and police will come down on. There's little doubt in my mind: the police will side with whoever signs their paychecks and holds their pensions. The military was going NPC woke when I served. It would only make sense that it's far worse, now. Perhaps some in the combat arms would mutiny rather than attack their uncles, fathers, and grandfathers. But again, these are Millennials. They've been raised under the same cultural and psychological conditioning as the BLM/Antifa NPCs fighting for "justice" by stealing iPhones, burning down Auto Zone and murdering people for the crime of wearing MAGA hats. These are not the stout, barefoot and hungry patriot-soldiers who endured the winter at Valley Forge, obeying strange orders only when Baron Von Steuben explained the lawfulness and utility of the task given them.

Hot civil war would be the best-case scenario at that point.

According to the pattern, old institutions die during the Crisis, to be replaced or rebuilt and assigned new purposes. Every single institution has been thoroughly corrupted (and many of them weaponized against political dissidents) already, so change doesn't need to be as radical in Scenario One. The mission of the corrupt institutions will become more explicit, since plausible deniability is only necessary in a free country. The people will no longer be able to hold the ruling class accountable in any way. Their vote will no longer mean anything, and the law will be whatever the ruling class says it is...until they say it's something different. The most noticeable perversions of institutions will likely be against the Church and the nuclear family. The Swamp has been telegraphing this. It's also openly bragging about the compiling of vendetta lists. Anybody who had the audacity to oppose their agenda is being put on those lists, and targeted for "accountability." If this sounds like a prelude to the Night of the Long Knives, that's because it is.

Of course, before the left goes full Storm Trooper, they will go all-in on disarming the people. They will certainly cut off water and electricity to their political enemies. Autocratic governors have already begun such against citizens who don't obey their unconstitutional decrees. You can extrapolate from what is already happening and assume that you won't be able to buy or sell if they identify you as an enemy. You certainly won't enjoy freedom of speech, press, religion, or peaceful assembly. Fourth and Fifth Amendment protections are already selectively nullified thanks to the "Patriot Act," NDAA 2012, FISA Courts, etc. Kiss them goodbye forever, for everyone, under a Harris Administration and what follows. Harris hasn't been exactly subtle about her attitude towards the Bill of Rights. You can bet there will be genocide, theocide, and mass relocations. The scale will depend on the quality and quantity of resistance encountered.

While our countrymen are tearing each other apart, this might be a good time for our foreign enemies to undertake a Middle East invasion with no fear of American interference. This could be easily justified by way of a false flag event. The hatred for Israel is already present, and widespread. Once the USA is sufficiently weakened and distracted, Israel is fresh out of allies on the world stage.

I've mentioned before about the quantum leaps humanity will likely take due to the Magog Invasion. According to Ezekiel, the Lord will intervene in such spectacular fashion that atheism/Darwinism will no longer be a viable belief system. Everyone will know the God of Israel exists. (Of course, the devil will then simply move the goalposts, as always when his lies are exposed. "You're finally mature enough to accept that there is a supreme being...and I'm am He. Now follow my Anointed One and his Prophet, without question.")

The Beast will make war against the saints, and overcome them. If whatever country still exists here has not already been absorbed by the arising global government, it will be at that point. War from a foreign enemy probably won't even be necessary in this scenario, but might happen anyway.

Resolution of the Crisis (completion of the fundamental transformation) would normally be followed by the High. The pseudo-peace of the Beast's reign could fit the bill nicely.

Then again, the American republic could be history for an entire saeculum or more before the Magog Invasion, and the following Tribulation period. God's timetable is His alone to supervise.

In fact, God could decide to disrupt the historical cycle and trigger the end irrespective of where we are in the saeculum. He's God, and can do whatever He wants. I suspect He won't, though. As I mentioned in my very first post on Generational Theory, He follows patterns. And the world He created operates in distinct patterns.

Scenario Two:

The republic prevails. In the short-term, that means Trump remains in the White House. So either the courts, the legislatures, or the electors refuse to be bought, show some guts, and do their jobs. Tall order; but let's imagine they do it...or there's some other method to stop the theft of our election I'm unaware of.

Best case scenario: Team Trump doesn't just do enough to secure his next four years; but he has laid a trap for the traitors and criminals, and begins surgically removing them from the reins of power. It's hard for us to imagine our side actually taking full measures; doing more than taking a few weak, meaningless, token jabs at some minor symptoms of the problem; or slapping a penny-ante henchman or two on the wrist while letting the kingpins remain at large, because we've watched the RINO Establishment sell us out and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory all our lives. But fourth turnings being what they are, major heads should roll before it's all over.

Whether evil heads roll or not...no matter what happens in this scenario...if Trump remains in office, the riots resume. There's a good chance that they merge into the color revolution the CIA has been rehearsing for; or the civil war their useful idiots believe that they want.

In this scenario, it's much more likely that the police, and a good portion of the military, are allied with the patriots. That could result in a shorter (but still bloody) domestic conflict, stopping only when the enemy unconditionally surrenders. Unconditional surrender in this conflict would probably include trials for high crimes and treason, followed by prison terms, deportations, and executions.

Remember: old institutions will be rebuilt, replaced, or disbanded, no matter which side prevails. Some of the institutions just begging to be rebuilt, replaced or disbanded are:

CIA

FBI

IRS

Most other alphabet agencies

The Pentagon/JCS

The Federal Reserve

Planned Parenthood

The existing "justice" system

Big Tech

MSM

Hollywood

Academia

Public Education

Both political parties

Will they be? Can't say for sure; but it would definitely be a better world if all of them were burned to the ground, and only the absolutely necessary ones replaced with new institutions built from scratch.

This scenario is not without its dangers, even if the God-haters suffer a crushing defeat.

America's enemies aren't just internal. There are plenty of external enemies, too. Chaos on the home front could convince a foreign country to engage in a shooting war with us as well, knowing it might be their best chance to achieve regional or global objectives.

Plus, there is plenty of room for disaster even if the Deplorables win both domestic and foreign conflicts. Many among them fantasize about being ruled by a strong man dictator and abolishing individual rights. Many of them claim to be Christian, but are too ignorant of history to recognize the danger of state control over the Church. And, of course, there seems to be no shortage of cultural Marxist/LGBT advocates, and National Socialists/supremacists (worshipers of genetics) who have infiltrated the Deplorables. Satan will offer whatever sin you're susceptible to, and build from there. If the evil isn't purged out, then any initial victory will prove to be just a delay of the same descent into despotism and debauchery.

Which Path For America?

Scenario One would best fit a segue into WWIII (the Magog Invasion) during the resolution of the Crisis climax. Then the High would likely be the "world peace" which ensues, brokered by the Assyrian Son of Perdition--cut short (or at least soured) by the Trumpet and Bowl judgments. The saeculum and its turnings will likely be shortened and accelerated when the Earth enters its final chapter. The Awakening might occur during the first half of Daniel's 70th Week; and the Unraveling during the second half (the Great Tribulation). The next Crisis, of course, would be Armageddon and the Judgment. Again, the length of the turnings might continue to break the format we're familiar with. The following High may last for centuries. Then again, turnings might resume at their normal intervals and the Millennium might be composed of ten or more full-length saeculi. Or, with the Son of God ruling the Earth, the entire Millennium may be a High, followed by an abbreviated, rapid-fire Awakening, Unraveling, and Crisis once Satan is unleashed one last time.

In Scenario Two, only if Americans make mostly good decisions, fixing more than just superficial issues, would it make sense that there is any sort of lasting recovery in the USA. If we do, then perhaps there might be another full-length saeculum (80-90 years) before the final cascade into the climax of history. If we fail to purge evil (regardless of political affiliation), the cancer will spread, regardless if we win the civil war and/or put down the color revolution. Weakened and weary from our internal struggle, our ignorant and Godless countrymen will embrace the Beast's global government just as readily as in Scenario One.

Suppose the Deplorables win the domestic conflict AND purge the degenerate cancer from their own ranks? The USA could still be attacked by a foreign enemy. And being a Fourth Turning, the attack might very well be NBC (Nuclear/Biological/Chemical). Red China is more than willing to do this, if it seems beneficial to their long-term plans. It's also worth noting that Ezekiel prophesied that during the Magog Invasion, God would call down fire on the land of Magog, and on those who dwell in the coastlands. Whether this is a nuclear exchange being described, or purely supernatural, you have to consider what the prophet meant by "the coastlands." If this takes place during a geopolitical situation resembling the present one, then what "coastlands" might God be ready to judge with fire; and what enemy might a Russo-Turkish/Persian-led coalition want to disable with a first strike in order to carry out a Middle Eastern conquest unopposed?

Remember: the city (or one of the cities) alluded to in John's "Mystery Babylon" vision is destroyed in one hour. I've long suspected that the one-hour destruction of The Great Prostitute (at least the New York aspect of her), the Magog Invasion (especially the nuclear exchange--if that's what it is), the ride of the Second Horseman, and the First Trumpet Judgment all overlap. They're possibly all describing the same event, from different angles.

The only possibility I see for the USA to survive for another full-length saeculum is for God's people inside America to humble themselves, pray, seek God's face, and turn from their wicked ways. Then, circa 2025-2030 the Crisis will finally be resolved and we will enter the next High. If that's how it's gonna go, then if my life hasn't ended already, it probably will during the next Awakening.

There's a possibility the USA can last for another saeculum. I just can't see it lasting longer than that.

For right now, and for what it's worth, that's how I see Biblical prophecy meshing with Generational Theory. There are two major scenarios and different variables within them. In all but one variable, the United States of America, as we know it, falls within the next decade, approximately. In the one remaining variable, it could linger for almost another century. In all variables but that one, it would make sense to me if Daniel's 70th Week begins shortly thereafter. But, of course, that doesn't mean it will.