I recently learned an interesting detail about history and afterward made a connection to something that happened in the Bible around the same exact time. If you haven’t read our article “A Celestial Revolution,” you may want to check that out after reading this, because it makes a similar connection between a big event in world history that paralleled something happening in the church. This occurs way more than we realize and it should cause us to have hope when we see big things (such as Covid-19) happening in the world.

The historical event I’m referring to here is the collapse of what is known as the “Bronze Age.” This was obviously a time when human civilization, particularly militaries, was built around the use of bronze, a combination of copper and tin. After this came the Iron Age and a totally new epoch of advancement in human civilization.

The collapse of the Bronze Age was literally the end of all the major world civilizations at once. This happened around the late 1100s B.C. The reason for this global collapse has mostly remained a mystery to historians although many different theories have been proposed. I believe the wisest theory is proposed by historian Eric Cline, which involves what he called a “perfect storm” of circumstances, including climate change (involving heavy drought and famine), intensified earthquakes, and certain geopolitical changes. Whatever the reason, the world shifted almost overnight as entire empires such as the Hittites disappeared from human history. Even Egypt, the strongest empire at the time, experienced a deathblow. Though the nation continued on, it was tremendously weakened and would never again rise to the prominence it had in days past.

What interested me in learning this was the connection to major events happening in the Bible at the same time. While all the major societies of the world were simultaneously falling apart, I discovered that God’s people in Canaan were experiencing a massive shift in moving from twelve separate tribes to one unified nation under a king (the coming of King Saul and then King David). This blew my mind because I had just decided to do a study with our whole church on the book of 1 Samuel, which is the exact time period I’m referring to! I had no idea that this separate information about the Bronze Age I came across would parallel what I would be studying with the church that same week…

So this got me thinking and praying more into the implications of all of this. There are many people today who believe we are experiencing a “perfect storm” of massive changes, from renewed climate change, to technological advancements, to political turmoil, to Covid-19 as the cherry on top of it all.  What if all of this is making way for a similar transition amongst God’s people?

Though the Bible stopped being written at Revelation 22, the stories of the Holy Spirit working amongst God’s people continue to this day. The same God of the twelve tribes, the Davidic kingdom, the exile, and the apostolic age, is still at work today and He is still “working all things toward the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). God is always on the move and His Kingdom is an ever-increasing Kingdom.

As the Bronze Age ended and societies experienced massive change, the people of Israel were preparing for the arrival of their king. Who knows if this would have happened if Egypt and other major empires didn’t experience a massive blow at the time?

In the same way, I believe that changes in the world today are heralding a new dimension of unity for the global church, just as the twelve tribes finally came together as one nation. This happened right when a new age of technology (iron) dawned. We are similarly in a new age of digital technology and this could be part of a plan for there to be a greater ability for the global church to come together like never before.

(Note: Iron was already in use during the Bronze Age, but it was hard to make and not as profitable, so there weren’t any major investments in it. But when the trade routes to get the material for bronze all collapsed, the people of the time were forced to explore the potential of iron. This opened the door to major technological revolutions and the development of totally new empires. In the same way today, digital technology has been around for some time, but it was not until Covid-19 that an acceleration of digital investment began to occur like never before.)

What if a similar breakthrough in the rule and reign of King Jesus within His church is just on the horizon. Some may think I’m referring to the physical return of the King–and that is certainly possible. However, I wonder if it could just be an increase of His spiritual reign through His body? I believe there is much more He wants to do through His church in this present world.

Either way, it will take a while to see how this all plays out. In the meantime, we should always have hope and know that God oversees all the affairs of man…  And He who sits in the heavens LAUGHS!