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The 2024 American presidential election will determine the outcome of the current war involving the United States and key nations in the world. This war is bigger than the Cold War with the Soviet Union of the past. It is potentially the biggest world war since the one that ended in 1945. This global war, wherein America's preeminent role in world affairs is being challenged by many nations, will determine whether America remains the leader of the free world.
You might respond that American troops are not fighting in Europe. You could also point out that America has not sent its armies to the current Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, and that no Chinese planes or ships are engaged in direct struggles with U.S. forces. But there is a world war occurring right now nevertheless, and the implications for each of us are vital to understanding the next steps in world affairs.
For nearly 80 years the world has experienced the Pax Americana, a period of relative peace and stability guaranteed by U.S. military, economic and political power. While there have been wars and skirmishes, a repeat of the world wars of the first half of the 20th century has been avoided. The Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991. The American-led peace has fostered an unprecedented era of global economic growth and development.
Most of us do not think enough about what the United States has meant to the world order. We should. For now the nation faces an alliance of hostile forces both abroad and within as well as its own series of missteps, presenting the most dangerous moment of this generation. At the center of it now is the outcome of the November 2024 presidential election.
Barring any unforeseen change, the 2024 election will be a rematch of the 2020 election -- when Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden became president in place of the former Republican president Donald Trump.
Both candidates express deep scorn for one another. President Trump declined to attend Mr. Biden's inaugural ceremony in late January 2021. The situation was especially bitter for President Trump, as he and many other Americans questioned the results of the election, and he was impeached by congressional Democrats along with a few Republicans for the second time, this time claiming he led an insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, a position the country is divided over.
Later, various criminal and civil charges were levied against Donald Trump, ranging from election tampering to campaign finance fraud to overstating real estate values to illegal possession of classified documents -- all disputed. The timing and nature of these charges have raised much discussion and questions about unequal application of justice and lawfare against political opponents. A special counsel assigned by the Justice Department under Biden to investigate his own appropriation and storing of classified documents found that law was violated but recommended against prosecution.
The New York trial that declared Trump guilty of felonies, championed by the Biden administration, the mainstream media and a large part of the country, is looked on by the other large part of the country as legal artifice and miscarriage of justice. This verdict will be appealed.
The various allegations and trials against Trump paint him as a criminal and have kept him off the campaign trail while draining his finances. Has that been the intent, as many believe? What would that bode for the nation going forward? In any case, contributions to his campaign increased after his guilty verdict and his polling numbers remain high.
Of course, many also oppose him, to such a degree that there are concerns over civil strife if he wins. Yet there's also a sizable group that does not like him but fears that another four years of the current administration would be, as the former U.S. attorney general stated, national suicide, alarmed over worsening economic strain and escalating cultural and political upheaval that has already fundamentally changed the national character.
The current administration implemented measures enabling the LGBTQ sexual revolution to be embedded into schools from elementary though college. State social services have been empowered to remove children from parents who try to prevent a child from going trans. Promotion of the LGBTQ agenda has intruded into every major aspect of culture, the problem escalating from pernicious sin into an attack on the essence of human existence. People everywhere are intimidated into accepting diabolical evil as something normal and good.
The enemies of America see this cultural shift to a woke progressive agenda as a weakness to be exploited. Russia, China and Iran, called an axis of evil and an axis of ill-will, look at this one issue alone as a weakness encouraging them to promote and plan disruption of America's world status. How, they reason, can such a morally depraved nation be taken as a serious force that can endure long in its dominant position? When Iran's mullah leaders call America "the Great Satan," they demonstrate their total disdain for the culture.
And besides internal rot, the gates have been flung open to external invasion. More than 10 million illegal immigrants, many of them military-age males, have streamed across America's southern border in the last four years -- an unprecedented national crisis. It's common knowledge that many who have crossed have ties to terrorism. Some fear that cells of such operatives are being placed in strategic locations to be activated in an asymmetric assault that could disrupt key infrastructure elements of the nation, such as the power grid and water and food supplies. The Hamas attacks in Israel of Oct. 7, 2023 could be replicated in the United States.
A country is not a sovereign state if it cannot secure its borders. When national policy removes this key safeguard of national integrity and identity, it signals weakness and lack of resolve to other nations. The damage done by this influx of illegals may well be impossible to turn back regardless of who wins the election. Irreparable damage may already have been done.
The outcome of this year's election could determine the future of American involvement in current conflicts. Since February 2022, the Ukrainians have been fighting back the invasion of Russian forces bent on subjugating the nation and returning it to the Russian fold. It looms as an existential threat to Europe. If Russia wins, and well it might, no nation in Europe is safe. The NATO alliance, which has kept the peace in Europe since 1945, could crumble.
America has supplied Ukraine with military weapons and hardware to carry on this proxy war for others. But America's financial and military support is cracking. Congressional support has kept it trickling in, though many see it as draining U.S. resources and funneling money to profiteers and other bad actors. It's no secret Donald Trump has shown faint support for Ukraine and Europe in particular. He has long been a critic of Europe not shouldering its portion of defense costs. If he again becomes president, the era of an American blank check for the Europeans' defenses is ending. They are on their own. Already Germany and France have increased their defense budgets.
In 2021 Biden ordered the shocking and discreditable U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, allowing the regressive Taliban to regain control. This sent clear signals that America was not a reliable strategic partner, emboldening Putin to go into Ukraine. When criminals see law enforcement pull back from neighborhoods, they see easy prey. The same happens on the world scene.
That brings us to another area of conflict. When and how will China move to take over Taiwan -- or repatriate its people into mainland China, as Communist Chinese leaders describe it? Some experts say it will not happen before 2027. But others say it is imminent, with the U.S. election in view. Jesus warned of not just wars in the last days but "rumors of wars," with still some time before the end (Matthew 24:6). We don't know how these things will pan out.
Some have speculated that China might impose a blockade on Taiwan, cutting off inbound and outbound shipping, strangling the nation. How would America react to honor its commitment to the defense of Taiwan? If this occurred in the term of the next president, what would he do as commander in chief? It's a question that hangs over the coming election. In the real world, leadership matters. Strength matters. When the strong grow tired and weak, lacking resolve, other powers fill the vacuum.
The prophet Isaiah spoke of the nation of Judah as being "sick . . . From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment" (Isaiah 1:5-6). This describes America now, languishing in moral sickness leading to other problems, from the common people up through the presidency of the nation and other government leaders.
In post-Covid America, reckless behavior is epidemic: "Americans gambled a record $66.5 billion in 2023. Compared with 2019, there has been an 18% increase in fatal accidents involving alcohol and a 17% increase in those involving speeding. Over 500 Americans are dying every day from alcohol-related deaths, a 30% increase. Sexually transmitted diseases are rising across the nation, too" ("Four Years Later, Covid Isn't Done With Us," The Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2024).
Anxiety and depression are increasing: "Rates of depression and anxiety in the United States -- fairly stable in the 2000s -- rose by more than 50 percent in many studies from 2010 to 2019. The suicide rate rose 48 percent for adolescents ages 10 to 19. For girls ages 10 to 14, it rose 131 percent" ("The Terrible Costs of Phone-Based Childhood," The Atlantic, March 13, 2024).
Meanwhile, in recent years U.S. drug overdose deaths have skyrocketed to more than 100,000 annually -- much due to dangerous drugs smuggled over the porous southern border. The list of problems, which could go much further, illustrates what we can see happening around us every day. America is coming apart one stitch at a time, and the world is noticing.
Other nations see a country that once led the world being unable to lead itself out of a deepening pit of problems. Despite the wealth, the power, the outward bravado of moralistic posturing, the nations are watching America. They see the problems and rightly ask, What does the future hold? They entertain themselves by watching the U.S. political circus, but within they know there are problems signaling monumental change. And these problems are spreading out to affect them as well.
The coming presidential election in America will not solve such deep problems. Neither of the main candidates can articulate a vision to lead the people to the outcome God ultimately desires for everyone.
We asked this question in the previous issue of Beyond Today. To add to that article, you can rouse yourself from a sense of complacency and awake with a sense of urgency. We live in troubled times, and we are closer to the markers Jesus said would herald the end of this age and the dawn of His return with the Kingdom of God. Let that be a wonderful source of comfort and hope as world conditions worsen.
Jesus explained of the time leading up to His return: "'. . . But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.' Then He said to them, 'Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven'" (Luke 21:9-11).
What can you as a disciple of Jesus Christ do? In these times, and even worse times to come, do not be terrified. He went on to encourage them to have settled hearts and clear thinking, which promote patience (verses 14-19).
Turn your fascination and interest in American politics to a functional reality. America matters in the world, but the time is rapidly approaching when America's sins will devour her vitality and promise. God will bring a judgment. A different world, with a new yet old power, will arise. It is not pleasant to consider. Yet Bible prophecy shows it is coming. America's time of supremacy is coming to a close. Prepare yourself by understanding what the Bible says about this moment.
While it may be too late for America to reverse course no matter which candidate wins, it's not too late for you. Turn to God. Repent of your sins. Focus on the coming rule of Jesus Christ over the world, the only One who can lead all nations into a better world without pain and uncertainty and evil.
With Christ's help, you can endure
Editors' note: We at Beyond Today do not endorseany political party or candidate but strive to analyze major news of our day through a biblical worldview.
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