Foreseeing 2020

by Mike Bennett
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What will life be like in five years? Predictions often focus primarily on amazing technology, but an ancient book of wisdom gives a transcendent perspective.

You can find a vast array of predictions and prognostications—especially at this time of year.

Futurists envision the year 2020

Here are three fascinating visions from the professionals:

According to Ariane Van de Ven, global trends expert at Telefonica I+D, in 2020 “there will be more robots used as therapists, companions, assistants, and even friends to help people … every day. People will be able to purchase their robots through Amazon-type vendors; they will customise them according to their needs through bots sold in digital marketplaces similar to iTunes or Spotify.”

Dave Evans, chief futurist at Cisco, predicts, “By 2020 predicting the future will be commonplace for the average person—futurists could be out of a job.

“We are amassing unprecedented amounts of data—a zettabyte alone this year. This data is social and public (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, etc.). Billions of devices (25-50 billion by 2020) will contribute exponentially to this avalanche of data.”

Réjean Bourgault, cofounder of 5Deka, predicts that in 2020 “Bluetooth Wireless headsets are replaced by fully embedded hearing devices at the back of your ear. No more Star Trek look, but people will talk in the ‘emptiness’ even more. The power consumption of such a device will be minimal and will be powered wirelessly. This will allow the user not only to communicate with their personal communication devices (the natural evolution of the cell phone) but with many other type of devices available around them (car, computer, automated machines around the city, etc.).”

Human predictions can be fun and intriguing, or scary and foreboding—and oftentimes dead wrong. A transcendent view

Such human predictions can be fun and intriguing, or scary and foreboding—and oftentimes dead wrong.

But there is a source for predictions that transcends even the most forward-thinking futurist. This source claims to come from a universe beyond our own and to be able to control time and events like we drive a car.

“I am God, and there in none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. … Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it” (Isaiah 46:9-11).

The Holy Bible is full of God’s predictions—prophecies—that have already occurred. (For more on this, see our article “Fulfilled Prophecy.”) These help confirm the validity of the hundreds of additional prophecies that are still in our future.

In this blog post I’m not claiming to know if any of the major, earthshaking prophecies will occur in the next five years, but let’s look at an important prophecy that will surely be part of the landscape of the next five years.

Perilous times

Read the following remarkable, nearly 2,000-year-old prediction of the zeitgeist (spirit of the times) of our modern era, which continues to trend worse and worse:

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Narcissistic young people. Greedy and corrupt politicians. Brutal terrorists. Headstrong and haughty world leaders. Pleasure-obsessed, uncontrolled celebrities. And the list could go on and on. Many of those descriptions seem ripped from the headlines of 2014—and there is no sign that 2020 won’t be even worse.

But there’s good news!

Thankfully, the Bible also predicts that a message of hope and good news will go out in our troubled times. Jesus Christ, the greatest Prophet, said:

“And this gospel [literally, good news] of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

The amazing technological advances of our age are playing a part in spreading that message of a coming Kingdom of peace. The Internet makes possible a global reach never before possible in the history of the world. Life, Hope & Truth has many plans in the works to proclaim this message with greater power and effectiveness.

What is the “end” Jesus predicted, and why is it good news? You need to read our article “End of the World—Why It’s Good News!”

Date Posted: January 1, 2015