Looking Ahead After the Election

On November 5, 2024, the United States decisively elected Donald J. Trump to be its president through both the Electoral College and the popular vote. Many of Mr. Trump’s supporters see him as a messianic figure—a savior of the country. But, though polls showed that three-quarters of Americans feel that their country has been on the wrong track, many Trump voters were not necessarily happy with their own choice. Based on anecdotal evidence, quite a few figuratively “held their noses” when they selected him, voting for what they perceived as “the lesser of two evils.”

So, what might we expect over the next four years? Can the Trump administration solve America’s problems? One problem no president can solve is America’s moral decline, which is at the core of all its other problems. Covetousness and a lack of self-control are behind a staggering national debt. By the time you read this, the U.S. national debt will be more than $36 trillion, a figure that continues climbing at a dizzying rate.

It is easy to blame politicians—and both parties are guilty—but it is the electorate that rewards politicians for bribing people with their own money. A nation that fights for the right to kill its babies (the difference between the two parties often comes down to when it is okay to do so) does not sit well with God. Nor does a nation hooked on pornography, adultery, lying, stealing, violence, and every other kind of sin.

The prophet Isaiah mostly addressed the house of Judah—the Jews of his day in the eighth century BC. But some of his prophecies applied to the northern house of Israel—non-Jews—and even Gentile peoples. His prophecies also had a dual aspect, with both a former fulfillment and a still-future, end-time fulfillment. Through understanding how those prophecies apply to us today, we draw lessons in understanding the mind of God.

God’s Mind and Judgment

Though many claim that the U.S. is a Christian nation, consider how God through His prophet accurately describes our world today: “These people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men” (Isaiah 29:13). And does this not also describe the United Kingdom and the British-descended peoples of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa?

Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and note it on a scroll, that it may be for time to come, forever and ever: that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the Lord; who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us” (Isaiah 30:8–11).

Isaiah then shows God’s mind and judgment on such a people unless they change their way of thinking:

Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: “Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perversity, and rely on them, therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall, a bulge in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant. And He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel, which is broken in pieces; He shall not spare” (Isaiah 30:12–14).

We all hope that the next four years will be better than the last four, and we hope that our nations will turn to God in sincerity and truth—but that remains to be seen. For now, it looks as though the U.S. will place its trust in a man rather than the Creator of the universe. This reminds us of the aftermath of 9/11, when Americans substituted patriotism for repentance. While that brought a temporary benefit, is our world safer today than it was in 2001? Many believe we are closer to World War III than ever. All it would take is one miscalculation for the nukes to fly.

Bible Prophecy and Reliable Predictions for 2025

So, what can Americans and other citizens of our world expect for 2025 and the years immediately following? Where must we look for the answer?

Many prognosticators are predicting what’s ahead in the near future. Some base their predictions on their understanding of geopolitics. There are those who, like Nostradamus, have made cryptic pronouncements and vague statements from which followers try to make something out of nothing. Others make wild interpretations of scriptures as they read their pet theories into the Bible. Yet it is to the Bible that we at Tomorrow’s World know we must turn to understand the future of our world—and while we cannot know the exact timing of most Bible prophecies, we can know the general timeframe of what is ahead.

Some people erroneously conclude that we can have no idea when Christ will return—“He could come tonight or a thousand years from now.” Even famous televangelists make such ignorant assertions. To promote their idea that He might return “tonight or a thousand years from now,” many mistakenly quote Christ’s statement that “of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matthew 24:36). But taking this passage out of its context does great damage to the understanding of Jesus’ words.

The statement is, of course, true—no one knows the day or the hour. However, we must look to the context in which He made that statement, giving us detailed signs leading up to the end of the age and His return. Two questions at the beginning of this prophecy—often called the Olivet Prophecy because of the location where Christ gave it—set the stage for what follows: “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be [the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, v. 2]? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’” (Matthew 24:3).

Yes, there was a former fulfillment in AD 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple—and there will also be an end-time fulfillment. Some signs Christ gave applied to both. Since He did not return in AD 70, verses 32–33 must also apply to the time of His return. After giving numerous signs, Jesus gave this warning: “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors” (Matthew 24:32–33). This is the context of not knowing that “day and hour,” and it hardly sounds like the proclamation of an open-ended timeframe for the end of the age.

We at Tomorrow’s World take seriously this warning: “Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, ‘Surely we did not know this,’ does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?” (Proverbs 24:11–12).

This is why Tomorrow’s World turns to Bible prophecy and shares it with our subscribers. I hope you will read my article in this issue discussing three biblical prophecies that will affect all of us in the coming years. And don’t forget Wallace Smith’s article about what the world needs from America, also in this issue. You will see for yourself how Bible prophecies are not a total mystery to Jesus Christ’s faithful followers—and how they will, in fact, greatly affect the lives of you and your loved ones in the years ahead.