By Mitchel Plaisted

For as long as I can remember, the phrase ‘New World Order’ was only uttered by conspiracy theorists. However, recently there have been heads of state and other government officials who have used this charged phrase. An Australian health official used it, as well as President Biden himself. There also was a Biden official who used the similar phrase ‘Liberal World Order.’ Why is this phrase, once regulated to conspiratorial communities, now being used by our government leaders? Because there is a ‘new world order’ emerging and we should be paying attention (independent.co.uk) (the sun.com) (nypost.com).

Now, before you write me off as a ‘conspiracy nut,’ let me define what I mean when I write ‘New World Order:‘A restructuring of the power hierarchies in the global economic, scientific, educational, and political systems that significantly modifies or replaces the previous hierarchy.’

You may notice that this definition does not require any hidden conspiracy or even an immoral intent.

CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE

While I believe this change to the world order has roots that stretch back decades, there have been multiple catalysts for change in the last years.

  • TRUMP – One catalyst for change would be the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Whether you love or hate Trump you cannot deny that he was destabilizing to the established order of power in the United States and even the world. This does not necessarily mean he made the order of power worse or better, merely that he was a major change from the norms. The US political system has been slowly drifting in a similar direction for a long time. Many in this country, on both sides of the political debate, do not like the direction of this drift. Trump was sent to Washington to stop this drift by his (primarily rightwing) supporters. Examples of this would be his pledge to ‘drain the swamp’ in the 2016 election or his recent pledge to fire much of the establishment if elected in 2024. All the while, in the US, we are struggling with even the most fundamental questions of society and are more politically divided than ever. The US is falling apart, and I do not see Trump as the cause but a response, regardless of whether that response is useful or not. (news.cgtn.com) (thenewamerican.com) (www.breitbart.com) (www.rushlimbaugh.com) (www.dailywire.com) (www.theguardian.com)
  • COVID 19 – Another catalyst would be COVID-19. COVID-19 and the government policies that were enacted in its name significantly changed the way society functioned during the height of the pandemic. They also provided a unique opportunity for norms to be permanently changed in the aftermath. World leaders have voiced their desire to take advantage of this opportunity to restructure the world order. Both political and private sector figures have voiced this sentiment. Notable would be the Build Back Better phraseology and associated policies, used by both Biden in the US and Johnson in the UK, as well as the ‘The Great Reset Initiative’ pushed by the World Economic Forum.
  • WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM – Speaking of the World Economic Forum, that group definitely has a desire to reshape the world. In the words of their chairman Klaus Schwab: “The future is not just happening. The future is built by us, by a powerful community as you here in this room. We have the means to improve the state of the world, but two conditions are necessary. The first one is that we act all as stakeholders of larger communities. That we serve not only self-interest, but we serve the community. That’s what we call stakeholder responsibility. And second, that we collaborate” (livescience.com) (www.bbc.com) (weforum.org)(whitehouse.gov)(youtube.com) (realclearpolitics.com). I do not mean to be conspiratorial, but if you look at the partners of the World Economic Forum, Schwab is probably correct, in that they have the power to have a major part in shaping the future. The only real question is what goals they have and how competent they will be. Their partners include: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Shell, The LEGO Brand Group, Tyson Foods, Hyundai Motor, Gulfstream Aerospace, CVS Health, Bloomberg, Airbus, ASUS, Nord Security, Adobe, Apple, Cargill, LinkedIn, The New York Times, SWIFT, Zoom, Walmart Inc., and Boeing among many others. Their Board of Trustees also includes figures like Al Gore – former Vice-President of the United States, Christine Lagarde – President of the European Central Bank, and Laurence D. Fink – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock. Finally, the list of attendees for their 2022 meeting included multiple US Governors, Senators, and Representatives. This is in addition to many other politicians from other countries including fifty Heads of State and Government (weforum.org)(weforum.org)(3.weforum.org).
  • INTERNATIONAL ISSUES – The US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine, and China’s aggression would all be catalysts as well. They are both symptoms of the crumbling current order while also pushing the nations of the world to arm themselves in response and, thus, pushing the world closer to another world war. These developments are some of the most unpredictable. They would increase the possibility of a violent change in the order of the world, as opposed to a mostly peaceful change  (bbc.com) (breakingdefense.com) (bbc.com).

There is much more I could say about these events, but for the sake of this discussion, I have tried to limit the examples and keep my opinions to a minimum and rather focus on things that are objectively true as much as is possible. If you want more information on these issues or dispute the factual components of what I have laid out, all the sources are available below (Note: Listing as a source is not an endorsement of the publication or even the entirety of the article).

WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

With all this in mind, what are we to do? Initially, we should all realize that the world is changing, and even if those in places of power happen to have the best of intentions, things will be imperfect and unpredictable for the time being. This could mean economic instability, food shortages, supply chain issues, and possibly even war.

I am not recommending that we all run to the mountains. I would, however, recommend that we all take some precautions to ensure that we are not dependent on mainstream society. As Christians, we are called to engage with the world and make disciples, but that doesn’t mean we need to blindly trust the grocery store will be stocked. Instead, I would see Romans 13:8, as it instructs us to stay out of debt, to be a call to not put ourselves in a position where the world has the leverage to compromise our witness. Also, as I strive to follow the instruction of 1 Thessalonians 4:11, which calls us to live a quiet life, my desire is to keep myself able to provide for my family in a way that fits with that verse, even if our society does collapse. This also includes surrounding ourselves with other believers who we can be with in community and fellowship. We also should recognize that this preparation should include mental and emotional preparation. What lies ahead may be alarming, and we should prepare ourselves to trust God through whatever we may face (businessinsider.com) (supplychaindive.com)(thesun.co.uk).

BE PREPARED – I have come to a place where I no longer have any faith that mainstream society can be relied upon. This means that I try to always have extra food on hand. I also work to learn as many generalized skills that would be required to survive apart from society as I can in case our specialization-based society collapses. I also surround myself with other like-minded individuals to augment those skills as much as possible. I am not saying that I am sure everything will collapse or that we should immediately sell everything and buy sustainable farms. I am saying that we should do what we can to be prepared. This world is fallen, and as followers of Christ, we should strive to be able to continue to be a witness and help others no matter what happens in the world.

KINGDOM OF GOD – Finally, we should remember that we have only been discussing the world order, and, as Jesus said, His kingdom is not of this world. Although it is hard for us to truly grasp in the United States and other developed countries, war and famine have always been a normal part of human civilization, and nothing we are facing is abnormal before the backdrop of this fallen world. God is still on the throne, and we must trust and follow Him. This comes before any advice I or any other may give you. Most importantly, we should pray. Pray that His will be done in all these happenings. Pray that His will be done in our lives. We are his chosen and we can trust that He has a plan for our lives. Our place is to merely trust and follow through it all, knowing that our Lord will have the final word.

RESOURCES – Links to all online resources: