The Age of Tyrants & Totalitarianism
Gideon Rachman in his book The Age of the Strong Man highlights the rise of totalitarian regimes across the world and the threat they pose to democratic rules of international law and order. Key among these are China, Russia and North Korea, as evidenced by the meeting in Beijing in 2025 of the dictators of these three nations to mark the eightieth anniversary of the Chinese victory over Japan at the end of World War Two.
The real motivation of the three men was inadvertantly exposed when an open microphone overheard their conversation on the way to the military parade. Below is what they were overheard saying:
Xi: “In the past, it used to be rare for someone to be older than 70, and these days they say that at 70 one’s still a child."(Note: As of 2025, both Xi and Putin are 72.)
Putin: “With the development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, and people can live younger and younger, and even achieve immortality.”
Xi: “Predictions are, this century, there’s a chance of also living to 150 [years old].”
The age-old desire of man to be God and enjoy omnipotence and immortality!
Totalitarianism & The Cult of Personality
Worshippers before the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Mansu Park, Pyongyang, North Korea Photo: Wikipedia
S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system in Russia Victory Day 2025 Photo: Wikipedia
Potential Nuclear Catastrophe
Added to this is the reality of an intensifying arms race by these and other nations that have nuclear weapons.
Peter's warning in 2 Peter 3:10-13 is a chilling reminder of the reality of total destruction in a global nuclear war.
"The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwell."
And yet many appear to be oblivious to such warnings and, as in the days of Noah before the flood, are eating and drinking and behaving as if everything in The Garden is fine.