Over half of the world’s population is slated to hold national elections in 2024. Is this significant? As we see it, this contributes to the growing fluidity of geopolitical change in our times. Prophecy students know that the “10 kings” will emerge rapidly and suddenly. Revelation 17:12 says, “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.” We would say that this requires fluidity. Democratic nations can contribute to this condition.
Malleable and Fluid Democracy
Democracy … whether weak, strong, or flawed … is practiced by some 60% of the world’s population (less than 10% is fully democratic). Democracy is hailed and defended by most as the best political system on earth. Supposedly, people’s rights are upheld, and checks and balances of the rule of the majority prevail. Is this system virtuous? No. Democracy, assuredly a human system with many good facilities, still harbors the fatal flaw that will enable a spiritually blind world to willingly allow the Antichrist to come to power.
What many may not realize is that democracy itself is only a system. Its benefits and good are entirely reliant upon the hearts of its people and not the system. If most people are godless or larcenous, for example, democracy will be corrupt and godless. It will be shifty … vulnerable to major changes.
Already, year-to-date in 2024, there have been some surprising upsets and shifts among larger nations. Narendra Modi, President of India—with the largest population in the world—surprised the consensus with a very weak showing in India’s election in June. Financial markets shuddered and sold off deeply in the ensuing panic. French President Emmanuel Macron suffered a rebuke at the polls, triggering major changes in its fiscal policies. Elsewhere there have been a number of “hard right” shifts … as well as others swinging to the left.
Crucially, these shifts also contribute to an environment of geopolitical fragmentation. Many countries are becoming more concerned with their own affairs rather than global cooperation. This is fertile ground for the emergence of the 10 kings. While elections in 2025 may not be as numerous as in 2024, it would not be surprising to see fluidity of change continuing to increase. After all, many endtime developments are marked by sudden and rapid change.
Women in Political Roles
What role will women play as heads of state in the future? Indeed, there have been some very well-known and respected female presidents since the interwar period (1918–1939). Consider Indira Gandhi (India), Golda Meir (Israel), Margaret Thatcher (Britain), Eva Peron (Argentina), and others.
At no time, however, could it be said that there were many heads of state that were women. In recent decades, however, this has somewhat changed. According to the UN, as of mid-2024, there were 24 female heads of state in the world. Over the years, less than one-third of United Nations member states have ever had a woman leader.
Very recently, another woman moved onto this list. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo was elected to become President of Mexico. She is the first female head of state for Mexico.
Could this also happen north of its border, now that Kamala Harris has been confirmed as the presidential nominee of the Democratic party? If so, this could be of great significance from a Biblical perspective. America has never before had a female president.
Where do we find the Biblical link to this question?
The Bible says that 10 kings will converge in the last days, just before or near the appearance of the Antichrist. We must make an obvious statement: These ten kings must all be males. Of the 2,481 mentions of the word “king” (singular) in the Bible, all refer to males.
The clear takeaway here is that any country with a female head of state cannot, therefore, be one of the last-day 10 kings. The equivalent in our time is heads of state. As such, any country with a head of state that is female will not be a member of the 10-king coalition. Why will this restriction of women be the case? We do not know.
Were Kamala Harris to become the next president, the US could not be a candidate for membership in the 10K group on these grounds alone. Is this good or bad? It depends. In one sense, it would be better for a country not to be a member of the 10 kings. They would, therefore, not be required to support the Antichrist.
Globalism on the Ropes
As mentioned, the long-running trend of globalism is beginning to fade in our time. For the time being, the US is still the most powerful nation in the world. It represents a very big toe … so big, in fact, that it can still render any other coalition of 10 kings ineffective. As such, we recognize that a resizing of the relative powers of 10 major nations must yet happen before the prophesied time of the 10 kings will occur.
Will America fit into the shoe, or not at all? Are we now seeing these necessary changes beginning to unfold … the big toe stubbed?
Since Bible prophecy clearly outlines that there will be a 10-nation power coalition, not a foot with one big toe, we can conclude that this big toe must then become comparatively smaller. While the British Empire has been removed from the pinnacle of power for more than half a century, its younger cousin (the US) now undoubtedly also faces a relative decline. By whatever means—the Rapture, self-inflicted, deserved or divinely willed—this has to happen if the Bible is to be proved correct. In fact, viewed against the pace of human history, it must be said that this shift with respect to America is happening quickly (even so without a Rapture).
For the last three centuries, there has only been one big toe in existence at any given time. But this cannot continue if prophecy is to be fulfilled. This change is very likely already underfoot. The rise of other nations such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, and others could be seen as part of this rebalancing process.
Surely, the facts outlined to this point will not be regarded as being very hopeful. But that could be a wrong perception. It is never too late for a nation to repent. God said to Israel, “[…] if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Repentance is an option … provided that it is not past the point of return, where God refuses to listen. But we must not make the mistake of Jonah. He was upset with God when the citizens of Nineveh chose to heed his message of judgment. As a result, Nineveh’s demise was delayed for another 150 years or so.
Our Lord, for the most part, allows us the freedom to choose to follow His precepts and ways voluntarily. Yes, God foreknows what our choices will be, but that is not the same as predestinating our willful actions.
Yet, according to Bible prophecy, America must decline relative to the 10 kings in one way or another. But that is not to say that it is prophetically necessary for America to rush to accelerate the fulfillment of prophecy by collapsing into a toothless tiger. Prophecy, in this case, can be fulfilled in a number of ways. Ten other kings could become powerful enough to supersede the geopolitical position of the US, or at the other extreme, America be disastrously downsized … either becoming one of the 10 kings or not at all. Which will it be?
The jury is out. It is up to the nations’ leaders and citizens. However, to date, the signs are not hopeful. In recent times, Christian candidates have been openly ridiculed, and topics such as the “end of days” are fodder for public scoffing. Greater shifts to immorality and rebelliousness may now lie ahead.
Any person who can deliver such policies will be thankfully accepted as a type of savior. Morality and godliness can wait.
Religion and Politics
Personal religion is a topic that rarely surfaces on Wall Street. Very few economists discuss the impact of religion upon GDP … or political economy. This is quite an oversight. Why? Because every human being harbors metaphysical ideas and impulses of some type … at some level or other. Religion matters. A middle-aged Hindu, for example, will have a different demand or hierarchy preference than, say, a Millennial living in Manhattan.
There are quite a number of countries, political parties, and terrorist groups that are, in fact, organizationally or constitutionally religious (consider Pakistan or India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party). This drives human behavior. Most certainly, religion frames agendas and policies and can have enormous impact and influence on politics.
India’s President Modi is seeking to impose the Hindutva ideology of supremacist Hinduism on India’s estimated 204 million Muslims. This is an attempt to mix oil with water, it seems. Suffice it to say that religion has a big impact on geopolitics.
Though Wall Street remains largely silent on such developments, ignoring religious activism would not be wise. Actions born of religious beliefs are ongoing.
Consider this year’s elections in Turkey. President Erdogan continues his slow and steady re-Islamization of Turkey. (Atatürk would not have been pleased.) Erdogan says he wants to create pious Turks with the Koran in one hand and a laptop in the other. Efforts to achieve this are in process with the Imam Hatip schooling system (now making up 11 percent of the total upper school population). The funding is double the amount spent per pupil at mainstream schools.
Otherwise, all over the world, right-wing politicians are turning to religion to boost their appeal. There is no end to further examples of political cohabitation with religion that could be listed.
Thoughts to Ponder
Religion will play a heightened role in volatile geopolitical times. Extreme election swings may soon be commonplace. Democracy must remain dominant to facilitate political changes. “Minilateralism” is spreading quickly. All of these factors contribute to a high state of geopolitical fluidity. This lays the foundation for the rapid events that will usher in the 10 kings. Crucially, this, in turn, alerts “those with eyes to see” that the Rapture and our redemption are nigh.
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Wilfred J. Hahn is a global economist/strategist. Formerly a top-ranked global analyst, research director for a major Wall Street investment bank, and head of Canada’s largest global investment operation, his writings focus on the endtime roles of money, economics and globalization. He has been quoted around the world and his writings reproduced in numerous other publications and languages. His 2002 book The Endtime Money Snare: How to live free accurately anticipated and prepared its readers for the Global Financial Crisis. A following book, Global Financial Apocalypse Prophesied: Preserving true riches in an age of deception and trouble, looks further into the prophetic future.
Do you have questions or other perspectives? You can contact Wilfred at: staff@eternalvalue.com. Please note that for reasons of volume and investment securities regulation, he cannot give financial advice.