As I See 2023

 Several people say they were glad 2022 was over and that 2023 would be better. In my gloom and doom-mind, I see 2023 pushing the world towards more war, famine, pandemics, nature on the rampage, and the breakdown of civilization. 2023 history will read like Bible prophecy. 

In the Gospel, according to Matthew chapter 24, Jesus gives us a summary of what is going to happen in the end times. 

 Jesus warns us not to be fooled by anyone. He told his disciples that many people would come in His name. They would say they were the Messiah and deceive many people. 

 He told the disciples; you will hear about wars being fought. And you will listen to stories about other wars beginning. But don't be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. Nations will fight against other countries. Kingdoms will fight against other domains.  

 There will be times when there needs to be food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in unusual places. These things are only the beginning of troubles, like the first pains of a woman giving birth. 

 "Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and killed. People all over the world will hate you because you believe in me. During that time, many believers will lose their faith. They will turn against each other and hate each other. Many false prophets will come and cause many people to believe wrong things. There will be so much evil in the world that the love of most believers will grow cold. But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved, and the Good News I have shared about God's kingdom will be told worldwide. It will be spread to every nation. Then the end will come. 

 How can anyone paying even cursory attention to what is happening in our government not see the destruction happening to our country? In just the past two years, our national government has spent $13 trillion (about $40,000 per person in the US) and authorized spending trillions more. Politicians use words and phrases like "investments," "long-term savings," "reducing inflation," "protecting Ukraine's sovereignty," etc., to justify this. They are either lying or living in a fantasy world. Most of the money is used to pay off campaign contributors and special interest groups, such as the climate change lobby, or to make politicians look good. The creator of the "died suddenly" vaccine Pfizer bought favor with the GOP for $1 million. Pfizer's $1 million donation topped a series of corporate contributions totaling $1.65 million in the last three months of 2022, and the report filed recently with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. 

 We must now sort out the truth about inflation. Inflation spiked to nine percent in June 2022, so the Federal Open Market Committee began raising interest rates to fight it. As interest rates rose, the stock market tanked. In 2023, interest rates will increase further, sending us into a deeper recession. 

 We should again be worried about China and the increase in COVID spreading among their workers. According to the Chinese government, COVID is out of control, leading to other complications, such as pneumonia. Since the Chinese communists do not like to be embarrassed, if China is suffering, they may want everyone else to suffer, too. That seems to coincide with reports that half of the airline passengers from China have tested positive for COVID. They caused a pandemic once. Why not twice? 

 Supply chains are a second issue. Who will make the products we usually buy if Chinese workers are sick? Yes, I know this sounds like a "who cares" thing. But if they are not shipping parts, our factories will halt. You thought the 2022 supply chain was a problem; wait for what is coming in 2023. We have already felt the crunch with antibiotics. Everyone knows that we must rely on China for antibiotics.  

The short supply of medicine is not an issue until you need it. Hospitals across the country have reported a surge in RSV cases. Can you imagine how young parents feel when the infant needs medical treatment and medicine is in short supply? If the Chinese workers are sick and using the drug they produce, they may have little to export. What do we do with antibiotics already in short supply in the U.S.? We forget the dark days of life in America before we had sulfa drugs and penicillin. Look at your family history in the 1800s and see the number of children and infants that died. It is a sobering view of what could come without the proper medicine. Look for an increase in the death rate among the vaccinated. Remember, they promised "safe and effective", and we got "sudden and unexpected." 

Under the present administration, we allow people who enter our country illegally to bring infectious diseases into our country. The CDC cites the possibility of the cross-border movement of HIV, measles, pertussis, rubella, rabies, hepatitis A, influenza, tuberculosis, shigellosis, and syphilis. Chris Cabrera, a Border Patrol agent in South Texas, warned: "What's coming over into the U.S. could harm everyone. We are starting to see scabies, chickenpox, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, and different viruses." Some of the youngsters illegally entering our country are known to carry lice and suffer from various illnesses. Because there have been no medical examinations of undocumented immigrants, we have no idea how many are carrying infectious diseases that might endanger American children when these immigrants enter schools across our nation. 

 Then we have the issues of Ukraine and Russia, China and Taiwan, Israel and Iran, and Turkey and Greece in significant conflicts. What is lurking behind each conflict is the U.S. government. Our elected leaders and government bureaucrats have harmed every American with their actions and policies.  

 On January 17, 1961, Dwight D. Eisenhower ended his presidential term by warning the nation about the increasing power of the military-industrial complex. 

 His remarks, issued during a televised farewell address to the American people, were particularly significant since Ike had famously served the nation as military commander of the Allied forces during WWII. Eisenhower urged his successors to strike a balance between a strong national defense and diplomacy in dealing with the Soviet Union. 

 Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peacetime or, indeed, by the fighting men of World War II or Korea. 

 Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now, we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations. 

 This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources, and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. 

 In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. 

 We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together. 

 Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades. 

 In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of the Federal government. 

 Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers. 

 The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded. Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite. 

 It is the task of statesmanship to mold, balance, and integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system -- ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society. 

In 2023 this warning is being ignored by both elected and non-elected leaders of our nation. 

 Our government is supporting conflicts and wars, often started by our CIA and State Department, to protect the political power and wealth of those who wish to gain world domination. 

 In 2023, Russia is protecting its border. China is claiming territory. Israel is defending its nation. Greece and Turkey are fighting over an island. The world is at war, and the U.S. government is behind each conflict. This is the fulfillment of "nation shall rise against nation" and "there will be wars and rumors of war." This is all part of what is predicted in the Bible concerning the end times. Each one of these conflicts has nuclear capabilities. It would take one mistake, and the entire world could be on fire. We are so close to such destruction that we should all be concerned about what is happening in the world now.  

 How long will the powers controlling the world leaders stay in the background? Our present leader cannot put two sentences together, and his second-in-command laughs at every genuine problem she faces. Both political parties are traitors. They care only for their interests and do not represent the people that elected them. So, what is going to make 2023 better than 2022? The only thing that will help America is to wake up and push back against the direction we are headed. It is time for the true believer to wake up.  

 Paul wrote to the church about the end times. He said, "Now, brothers and sisters, we don't need to write to you about times and dates. You know very well that the day when the Lord comes again will be a surprise, like a thief who comes at night. People will say, "We have peace, and we are safe." At that time, destruction will come to them quickly, like the pains of a woman giving birth. And those people will not escape. 

 But you, brothers, and sisters, are not living in darkness. And so that day will not surprise you like a thief. You are all people who belong to the light. You belong to the day. We do not belong to the night or darkness. So, we should not be like other people. We should not be sleeping. We should be awake and have self-control. People who sleep, sleep at night. Those who drink, drink at night and are not in control. But we belong to the day, and so we should control ourselves. We should wear faith and love to protect us. And the hope of salvation should be our helmet. God did not choose us to suffer his anger. God chose us to have salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us so that we could live together with him. It is not essential if we are alive or dead when Jesus comes. So, encourage each other and help each other grow stronger in faith, just as you are already doing. 

 Keep your head up and your faith strong. Stay awake, alert to what is happening, for the LORD is coming back.