Someday, perhaps in our lifetimes, perhaps not, but someday, not too far, events will arrive to break down the structure of societies as we know them.

Such is one prediction in the 1990 prophecy, and so, in my series on "expect the unexpected," I must now focus on how the world has diverted so much from the way God intended that there will be a reorientation after which we will see a simpler, more peasant (and pleasant) way of living.

Might the world as we know it really "melt" down? Could our system of infrastructures fail? And what might the world look like if indeed this prediction is valid?

We can start with how our system could fail. In the aftermath of September 11, we saw how two buildings in New York affected the entire transportation, communication, and economic systems. For the better part of a week, there was no air travel, no trains, no room on buses, few if any rental cars. Folks (I was one of them) were stranded.

The destruction of two buildings in New York that constituted less than two percent of the office space in New York and a minuscule percent of the office space in America paralyzed us. Such events serve as precursors.

Hurricanes? There was Katrina, and with it what we had was a storm that totally overwhelmed local officials and strained the federal government to its limits (and perhaps beyond) -- a severe storm, but a single one, and not even the most severe that can occur.

Meditate on the fact that the worst of Katrina missed New Orleans.

But still, there was great destruction in the Big Easy and it affected the entire nation east of the Mississippi -- a single category-three storm. There were gas lines. There were shootings at the pump. There were marauding thieves. There were food shortages: All because a storm had hit a city that has an important port and a florid reputation but was not even one of the country's top thirty urban areas!

What would happen if a more intense storm hit a bigger city like Houston, or Miami? What if an event occurred that took out several cities -- perhaps even New York or (as the 1990 prophecy hints) an entire region?

What would happen if  there is a gargantuan regional event or series of events that starts the ball rolling?

I believe that many different situations will conspire to rearrange our world. There are natural disasters, of course, and there is the specter of terrorism; but there are also trends that will slowly grind us into a new circumstance. There is the chance that we will be broken down piecemeal through factors such as economics.

If you want a sign of that time, look at the way we live with the gyrations of stocks and the frenzy of money.

More and more is the reality setting in that we live in a culture that cannot go on, not at this level of consumerism. Never before have so many had so many "toys," never have so many been "rich" (there are more than a thousand billionaires in the U.S., and more than 7.5 million millionaire households), and never has obesity been the major health issue, as it is now, even and even especially among the "poor."

We have become an economy of gluttony, and it is doubtful that God likes that as our plan.

Meanwhile, "experts" tell us that the global economy, as never before, is soaring. It certainly seems that way from the stock market. But there are dark clouds. Americans are deeply in debt, it is a paper economy, the nation is no longer a producing nation (not even making television sets any more; perhaps soon not cars; depending on China for just about everything), and a gargantuan segment of its population is set to retire.

It is not a call to doom; it is a call to simplicity and change.

There soon will be nearly as many retirees -- many collecting tremendous pensions, as well as lucrative benefits -- as there are working folks, at the same time that the country attempts to absorb immigrants. There are about 76 million baby boomers in the U.S. (those born between 1945 and 1963). Are they going to be able to spend all that free time shopping at all those supercenters?

As an intelligence officer in the U.S. military recently wrote me, "My research on financial matters strongly suggests the severe economic decline may start as early as next year. Currently the official U.S. position, as expressed by the Federal Reserve, is that the economy will slow down in 2007, avoid a recession, and pick up in the later part of the year. A few private sector financial analysts have a different view and I’ve been in contact with them to help determine the timing and extent of the decline.

"They believe an economic decline or crash will happen unexpectedly and thus catch senior officials and analysts off-guard. As a result, quality analysis will be quickly needed to help senior decision-makers comprehend the ramifications. Therefore I'm preparing a preliminary assessment of the resulting civil unrest for the regions we monitor."

The timelines all vary, but there is the simple sense that we cannot continue at the pace we have now.

A watch word: roaming gangs.

"Unable to cope with the harsh new economic environment, growing numbers of Americans will end up on the streets -- confused, homeless, and hungry," writes Michael Panzer in Financial Armageddon.

As Harry S. Dent Jr., president of a major investment research group, adds, "A major economic slowdown will occur in North America and Europe from 2010 into 2020-2024 that will be marked by a series of dramatic stock crashes." Although Asia and other developing areas will continue to grow rapidly and buoy the world economy for several more decades, they too will reach a peak within this century due to aging populations, leading to the greatest demographic and economic shift in modern times.

I believe this will occur in a convergence with natural indicators. I believe that we should welcome immigrants, but also that the government has lost control of its borders, which is a very large crisis. There has been no time for assimilation -- for immigrants to turn American. Take Mexicans: they are wonderful people -- and Catholic to boot (Guadalupe!) -- but like the rest must be integrated sensibly.

If not, this will add to disturbances, and even rebellion.

That too can be a regional event. Across society, we have a great rebellion stirring in our youth. School administrators are afraid of the students -- the reverse of how it used to be. The revolution is heard in iPods and written in tattoos.

Upheaval. As far as terrorism, mayhem. The word "explosion" crosses many lips.

So it is that we can see how a number of trends and events can conspire to reshape the world in which we live.

Our inventions, our electrical grid, our banks, our supply of energy (as long as we depend on oil), and our communications are all more fragile than we think.

Try going for several days without electricity, and you will see how dependent we have become on that unnatural but totally convenient source of power.

It would take but a week without our power grid (which can happen in a solar storm, federal experts told me) to bring a country to its knees -- to the level of peasantry.

An interesting expression, this: bring a country to its knees.

Is that what it will take for God to shake us out of our lethargy, our pride, and our materialism, to bring us to prayer?

Listen to a larger question: Are we meant to be more in tune with nature -- with what He made, instead of what we have? Are we headed for the Great Simplification?

I discuss the many prospects for the future in Tower of Light, and will be elaborating on this in a series of retreats, starting in the Philadelphia area. For now, let's end with a focus on the word "peasant," as spelled out in the 1990 prophecy. For here we find some revelations. The dictionary tells us that a peasant is a member of a class of persons who are small farmers or farm laborers of low social rank. Were we meant to be that way, on small farms, instead of creating a mass-produced, synthetic culture? Is this what God will break down?

"Peasant" comes from the word pais which is derived from pagensis and pagus: from the "country or rural district." Those who label all prophecy as apocalyptic miss the point that the prophecy does not see the end of the world, but after chastisement a new beginning, a more natural life, and some form of manifestation.

"Your era is ending," the prophecy asserts. "Soon the world will not be the world you know. I am not speaking of a barren world, or one depopulated, but of the end of your technological era. Many inventions of mankind will be broken down and there will be more of a peasant attitude and way of life everywhere."

Those words allegedly came from the Lord, Who was born in a manger, was clothed as simply as one can be clothed, and Whose parents worked with their hands and cooked with simple, natural, and wholesome ingredients.

It was a world of peasants.

And perhaps one day soon, whether in our lifetimes, or not, but not too far off, it will be like that when in whatever fashion (the prophecy says in towering light) He returns.

7/17/07