My Year 2011 Forecast

There are currently many pundits and analysts providing their 2011 predictions about all sorts of topics, including: politics, entertainment, investing, economics, gaming, sports, technology, etc. Since many people are currently providing their 2011 predictions I figured that I should provide my thoughts on what events and trends I anticipate are going to take place during the next year. Today I share my thoughts with you.


Before I begin I want to state emphatically again that I am not a prophet. I don’t pretend to be one or ever want to suggest that I am. I am totally fallible so there’s no guarantee that the trends or events I mention in my forecast are going to come to fruition. Now that I’ve gotten the disclaimer out of the way it’s time for my 2011 forecast…


I believe understanding the spiritual/religious context in which events are taking place is important to anticipating what might happen in 2011 and in any other year. As I’ve said before, events take place in context of an ongoing spiritual war between the forces of good (God and His heavenly host) and the forces of evil (Satan and his minions). Therefore, I believe it is a mistake to assume that events take place randomly; without any force guiding them. In addition, I believe it is a mistake to ignore the ongoing spiritual war because by ignoring it you’ll miss out on the driving force behind many events.


The Bible suggests that we will see increased famine, pestilence, wars and rumors of war, commotion (i.e. political instability), earthquakes, etc as we approach Christ’s Second Coming (Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13). I anticipate that these “birth pang” signs will become more prevalent or pronounced this year as we are another year closer to the time of Christ’s Second Coming.


  • More Wars and Rumors of Wars: A report issued the International Crisis Group suggests that there are currently at least sixteen politically unstable areas around the world that could potentially escalate this year to become the world’s next conflicts.
  • Greater Political and Social Instability: I expect there to be far more unrest in Europe this year than in 2010. The latter part of 2010 saw a noticeable pickup in instability throughout Europe with violent protests in places like Rome and Britain. One reason why unrest is likely going to pick up further in Europe is that heavily-indebted countries like Spain and Portugal are likely going to need a bailout to the dismay of other Europeans whose taxpayer dollars may have to be used to bailout them. Another reason why unrest is likely going to pick up further in Europe is that European governments are likely going to attempt to implement reforms and benefit cuts that are unpopular with their citizens. These factors and probably more are likely going to make massive demonstrations and probably some violent demonstrations more common in Europe in 2011 than in 2010.


In addition, I would also not be surprised if the following events or trends took place:


  • The Federal Reserve Engages in Quantitative Easing 3.0 (QE3): The Federal Reserve hopes that the widely unpopular Quantitative Easing 2.0 (QE2) is enough to prevent a major downturn in the U.S. economy. However, not long after QE2 was announced the Federal Reserve already began to publicly hint that QE3 could take place if needed. I expect the Federal Reserve to pursue QE3 at some point in 2011.
  • Prices of Essential, Everyday Items Rise: Countries across the globe are competing in a global currency war. The objective for these countries is to devalue their currencies so they can gain an export trade advantage. A consequence of currency devaluation is that paper money is able to buy less. I expect this global currency war to continue in 2011, so the paper money people have will buy less of the everyday items they need, or in other words, the price of everyday items in terms of paper money will go up.
  • Nothing Substantial Gets Done in the U.S. Congress: To get things done in the U.S., Congress (the House of Representatives and Senate) and the President have to work together. Right now only the Senate and the President are aligned. The House of Representatives are full of Republicans who are likely going to pursue an agenda that is opposed to the President and the Senate’s agenda. As a result, it should be very difficult for any major laws to get passed in the U.S. in 2011.
  • The Growing American Tea Party: If little gets done in Congress there could be an even greater level of dissatisfaction with the status quo and with political elites in office. You could see a significant rise in Tea Party membership as more Americans join to voice their displeasure.
  • The Chinese Economy Becomes A Concern: Some pundits for years have forecasted a slowdown in the Chinese economy without a slowdown actually taking place. Currently, the risk of a slowdown in the Chinese economy is higher than ever because Chinese policymakers are purposely attempting to slow it down to stop a terrible inflation problem that could destabilize Chinese society if it is not stopped. If a major slowdown in the Chinese economy takes place it could be a new source of global and economic instability.

Note of Caution: The events and trends I discussed in this article may or may not actually happen in 2011. If not, there's the potential for these events to still happen later... Ultimately, God is in control so He decides when events do and do not take place. We must acknowledge Him and understand there is probably a good reason if something expected or unexpected does or does not happen this year.


Let’s see what 2011 has to offer to us…

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