THESIS: The explosive growth of the Church requires an ordered, high-functioning material substrate. The West is actively dismantling this substrate, while the "Godless" Red Dragon is inadvertently perfecting it.
1. The Iron Substrate (Rome & America)
The early Church did not grow in chaos; it grew on the roads of Rome. The "Iron Legs" of Daniel 2 represented a brutal pagan system, but they established the Pax Romana—the safe travel and objective law required for the Gospel to travel.
This pattern repeated in the American Century (1860-1970). The physical infrastructure (Interstates) and societal infrastructure (Nuclear Family/Objective Law) created the perfect incubator for a localized, reproducing faith.
2. The Western Deconstruction
A critical failure occurs when a society wages war against its own substrate.
"For God is not a God of confusion but of peace."
1 Corinthians 14:33
The West is currently inverting the values required for the Logos to thrive:
- Rejection of Cultivation: Infrastructure is viewed as parasitic ("De-growth").
- Reversal of Justice: Criminality is excused; law-abiding citizens are penalized.
- Demographic Collapse: The non-reproducing population is venerated; the family unit is mocked.
It is exceedingly difficult for a Logos-driven faith to scale in a culture that despises the mechanics of biological and societal continuity.
3. The Red Dragon Incubator
China, the apex Lithophage, is now the primary builder of the world's order.
DATA POINT: Since 2010, China has consumed ~50% of all global aggregates (sand/stone). It is the undisputed engine of the earth's crust.
Crucially, the authoritarian state enforces the exact architecture the West has abandoned:
- Veneration of Order: Violent crime is rare; consequence is swift.
- The Family Ideal: The stable, monogamous family is universally respected as the ultimate economic goal.
THE INVERSION: Because China enforces objective reality and massive infrastructure cultivation to survive economically, it has unwittingly built the perfect soil for the Church. The state built the hardware (High-Speed Rail, Safe Cities), but the Logos is overwriting the software.
PROJECTION: By 2030, China is projected to host the world's largest Christian population (247-300 Million). The "Refiner's Fire" of persecution has stripped away the lukewarm, leaving only a high-fidelity faith running on superior hardware.