Transhumanism is a not a new concept. Known as the father of transhumanism, Julian Huxley, brother of the famed writer Aldous Huxley, described this concept in a 1957 essay saying “the human species can, if it wishes, transcend itself—not just sporadically, an individual here in one way, an individual there in another way, but in its entirely, as humanity.” Similarly, Elon Musk has long sought to upgrade humanity claiming that “to avoid becoming like monkeys, humans must merge with machines.” This argument is based on a materialistic and in some cases an evolutionary worldview that concludes we must improve upon evolution’s current iteration of humanity or be left behind by the rise of sophisticated machines.

Introduction to Prophecy, part 6: Jesus’ Olivet Discourse closes with the exhortation to be ready and be faithful, while Paul encourages the Thessalonians with the teaching on the Rapture and his warning about the signs of the Day of the Lord.

I had addressed the subject of assisted dying in an edition of Issues on 25 January 2025. But what is occurring in Quebec, Canada is alarming. Hence, I want to return to the topic of assisted dying in this edition of Issues in Perspective.

Introduction to Prophecy, part 5: The Olivet Discourse of Jesus (Matthew 24): Jesus answers His disciples’ questions about the sign of His coming and the end of the age.

Traditional religion in the United States has suffered huge losses in recent decades. The number of Americans identifying as “not religious” has increased remarkably. Religious affiliation, service attendance, and belief in God have declined. More and more people claim to be “spiritual but not religious.” Religious organizations have been reeling from revelations of sexual and financial scandals and cover-ups. Public trust in “organized religion” has declined significantly. Crucially, these religious losses are concentrated among younger generations. This means that, barring unlikely religious revivals among youth, the losses will continue and accelerate in time, as less-religious younger Americans replace older more-religious ones and increasingly fewer American children are raised by religious parents.

Jeremiah promises of the “branch of David” (23) and the New Covenant (31) are complemented by the prophecies of Ezekiel 36 and 37 on the New and Davidic Covenants.

In mid-April, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled that trans women do not fall within the legal definition of women under the country’s equality legislation. This landmark 88-page ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, is a blow to campaigners for transgender rights. As Lizzie Dearden of the New York Times reported, “[T]he five judges involved in the ruling emphasized that they were not commenting more broadly on whether trans women are women, saying it was not the role of the court to adjudicate on the meaning of gender or sex. Instead, the judgment is limited to the precise interpretation of language in the 2010 Equality Act, which aims to prevent discrimination.”

Daniel’s concern about how God’s covenant people fit into the framework laid out in chapters 2, 7 and 8 is answered by the angel Gabriel and the details of the 70th week.

Over the last several months, President Trump has acted to withhold federal funds from a raft of elite universities: Harvard ($2.26 billion), Cornell ($1 billion), Northwestern ($790 million), Brown ($510 million), Columbia ($400 million), Princeton ($210 million) and the University of Pennsylvania ($175 million). His complaint is the “abject failure of these institutions to deal with antisemitism on campus, but the president has also demanded a broader crackdown on DEI compulsions and an expansion of viewpoint diversity among predominantly progressive faculty.”

Daniel presents a four-kingdom sequence for world history with history ending with the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.