Thursday, October 14, 2010

From Crisis To Consolidation

This past Sunday, I watched another segment of Dr. David Jeremiah's sermon series, The Coming Economic Armageddon. Doesn't it seem as though it is already here? The jobless claims just came out again and we have hemorrhaged another 462,000 jobs last week!

If you have studied end times prophecy, you already know that as we get closer to the Rapture, our lives here on earth will continue to spiral down because of the evil, sin and death that is being unleashed. The chaos [known as the seven years of Tribulation] that will ensue after millions of Christians disappear simultaneously from the earth will result in the rise of the most evil dictator and "leader" the world has ever known - the Antichrist.

As the whole world groans under the harsh oppression unleashed by the unholy trio known as the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the Beast; those who become new believers will figure out what happened during the great disappearance and they will become the remnant here on earth who will help those who don't know Jesus Christ to become believers. After the seven years of tribulation, the triumphant return of Jesus Christ to this earth will result in the holy and righteous 1,000-year reign of the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

I am still waiting for the delivery of Dr. Jeremiah's new book. In the meantime, I have been following the series via his Sunday morning T.V. broadcast. There is an interesting little mini-series that appears before each broadcast called "Haven's Light." [Note: Can view episodes 1-4 as of 10/10/10.]


Haven’s Light is a brand new Turning Point mini-series chronicling the end-times events as seen by underground video blogger, Haven Light.


About Haven's Light:

Shot sometime in the future, this “end times” journal is recorded by underground video blogger, Haven Light. Haven is part of a resistance movement opposing the world monetary takeover which they believe is leading to an apocalyptic end of the earth.

Haven’s weekly video installment is secretly recorded in various “safe places” in and around New York City. Shot in guerrilla video style and rough-cut together, this ten-week series chronicles the lives of these "end times" survivors as they search out and report on the events of the day and connect them to Scripture and biblical teaching they've uncovered.

Haven and his team post an exciting video entry on the web each week.

This sobering video journal allows the audience to catch a glimpse into the future and will motivate them to take seriously the biblical warnings about the new global economy and its role in the ultimate destruction of the earth.


The Story:

In the not so distant future, in a time some call the beginning of "the end," one lone voice cries out in the chaos. Broken economies, worthless currency, widespread poverty―all around him the marks of a global economic Armageddon. A cashless society. A one-world monetary system. Computer chips implanted into humans determines who can buy or sell. The world is now controlled by those who promise peace, but threaten destruction.

But his voice won’t be silenced.

A rebel not by choice but by necessity, Haven seeks only compliance with the serious warnings he has discovered in the pages of a Bible his grandmother gave him before she disappeared. A deep calling in his soul compels him to share the unfolding story around him with others who are curious about the events of the day that connect to Bible prophecy. Haven, along with others in an underground resistance group, chronicles the cataclysmic events of their world on video, and post cyber reports on the Internet by hacking into the global government-controlled worldwide web. Though this technological breech could cost him his life, he and the others take the risk required so the world will know the truth about the economic Armageddon.


Haven's Light Character:

Former television reporter, Haven Light, has lost everything in the collapse of the American economy and now lives in squalor in New York City. The devastation of the global financial landscape causes Haven to wonder if what the world is experiencing could be the "end times" scenario religious leaders once warned about. Haven looks outward for clues in the unfolding chaos around him, and inward at a spiritual stirring he has never experienced before.

Utilizing his skills as a reporter, expertise in technology, and the Bible his grandmother left him before she vanished in the “Great Disappearance,” Haven decides to reach out to others by reporting on the downward spiral of the global political landscape. His intention is to connect with others who share his concerns, and warn people about what he fears is a financial, political, and spiritual takeover of the world. Haven begins the first of many rogue video blogs by hacking into the government controlled Internet.


Also see: Haven's Light Production Blog


To view last Sunday's broadcast "From Crisis to Consolidation"[click the green Watch Now icon], the previous broadcasts [click Broadcast Archives], and the Haven's Light mini-series episodes [click on small video screen, then when larger screen appears, click on "episodes"], go to David Jeremiah.org and click on the appropriate links.

Excerpt:


The Coming Economic Armageddon

ABOUT THE CURRENT TELEVISION SERIES

Every mother knows this about births: They are unpredictable; each one is different. There’s another birth―the only one of its kind in history―that is coming due soon, and its timing will be unpredictable as well: the birth of the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus Christ is coming back to earth to establish His kingdom to rule and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords for one thousand years.

Even though we don’t know exactly when the specific events leading up to the birth of the kingdom will take place―events like the Rapture of the Church, followed by the seven-year Tribulation―we will experience “birth pangs” that tell us the time is drawing near. Every mother knows “that feeling” that comes with the onset of labor, the pains that tell her the blessed event is drawing nigh. And it will be the same with the coming kingdom of God: pain and discomfort on a global scale―“groans and labors with birth pangs” (Romans 8:22).

The world began experiencing discomfort in a serious way in 2008―economic birth pangs causing unprecedented degrees of pain and suffering around the world. And as of the publishing of this study guide, the pains show no signs of letting up. Bad financial policy at many levels came to a head in the fall of 2008 and caused a collapse of confidence in the world’s economic infrastructure. Those waves of upheaval have trickled down to the man and woman on the street―loss of jobs and income, evaporating savings, home foreclosures, and the revelation that financial institutions and authorities don’t always operate with the best interests of the public in mind.

But there is another dimension of the crisis that discernment will discover. The steps taken by governments around the world to put a hedge around the growing financial chaos have created new forms of consolidation and control that will have ominous repercussions. Governments have inflated their money supplies by printing massive amounts of currency―paper money with no backing―in order to rescue financial institutions and stimulate economies. They have incurred billions, in some cases trillions, of dollars of debt which stand no chance of being repaid. And at the same time they have extended their reach into the lives of private citizens―such as the health care entitlement mandated by the United States government.

All this government activity, set in motion either because of, or commensurate with the economic upheaval beginning in 2008, has resulted in increased calls for a “new world order” or a “new economic order”―a world-level structure that would put some kind of government body in charge of solving the problems faced by the global community. And because everything―food, clothing, shelter, jobs―is a function of finances, a combination “new world economic order” seems destined to emerge.

Students of biblical prophecy will not be caught off guard by these developments. As far back as the prophet Daniel, Scripture has foretold the rise of an end-time government led by the most despotic dictator in history. This leader will be “Satan’s CEO,” empowered by the devil to move people’s eyes away from Christ and toward himself, the Antichrist. Because of his power, this leader will control who can buy and who can sell in the world. And people who are hungry will swear allegiance to him rather than starve.

The Coming Economic Armageddon has been created to help you understand what was foretold in the past, what is happening right now, and how to prepare for the future. But most of all, it has been prepared to encourage you to put your trust and hope in God―the One who knows the beginning from the end, the One who is surprised by nothing, the One who can deliver you safely through the economic storms of our day.


Hat Tips:

Fox News.com

David Jeremiah.org

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Christine, I was reading a CNN article which said our trade deficit with China is 42.6 Billion Dollars and CNN has another article that says our recession was created by them.

The Recession Was Made in China
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-11/opinion/frum.china.currency_1_chinese-currency-china-chinese-government?_s=PM:OPINION

Trade Deficit with China is $42.6 Billion. This article is two days old.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/09/09/news/economy/trade/index.htm

Sosthenes

Unknown said...

I took a look at the article. It does say that the recession was made in China. It in no way demonstrates that the recession was made in China, but it says it.

That doesn't say that Chinese monetary policy may not have a hand in making things worse, but the Chinese are not threatening US producers with higher taxes and greater labor costs. Nor are they regularly demonizing the businesses that create jobs and provide loans, transfering huge sums of capital from productive to unproductive people, or otherwise increasing the level of cost or uncertainty in American business. That honor belongs to Democrats and Unions. As long as the White House and Congress maintain the attitude that whatever we earn should be at their disposal to spend as they deem necessary, with the promise of more theft on the way, no one with large amounts of money to invest is going to do so.

Christinewjc said...

Thanks Sothenes and Gary. Haven't had the chance to look at the link yet. However, I wanted to write that I read something that I thought was totally bizarre. The writer of an article (or blog post - need to find it again) was accusing Hilary Clinton of selling off land her in the U.S. to keep China from collapsing our economy by not allowing loans to us anymore. Has anyone else heard that? Sounds crazy to me - but these days there is A LOT of crazy going on!

Back to preparing dinner!

Anonymous said...

Yes it does, Gary.

"Yet behind both is a more fundamental cause: China's financial rise. As much as the products in the aisles at Wal-Mart, this recession was made in China."

Then the next seven reasons it lists are Economic reasons and you have to take Economics 101 and Microeconomics to understand it because it deals with the supply side of money. There is a supply and demand to all products. If there is no money then you can't buy and when America owes 42.6 Billion then there are problems making loan payments. Any accountant waits for money to come in for a company and companies wait to pay their bills. A company decides which bills are owed and which bills to pay first by estimating which of their bills will get paid so the company can pay their debts.

Sosthenes

Unknown said...

Sosthenes,

Thank you for your concern about my education. Allow me to reciprocate.

A trade "deficit" is not a deficit in the sense that any additional money is owed. It reflects an imbalance of purchase. In this case, we bought 42.7 billion more from the Chinese than they bought from us. There is nothing about that which will directly cause a problem. As economist Dr. Walter Williams points out, I have a trade deficit with my grocer. I have his meat and he has my money. There is nothing about that which will prevent me from earning more money to buy meat, and nothing about having my money will prevent him from exchanging that money for more meat to prepare and sell to me.

Where trade deficits can become a problem is when there is such a huge imbalance over such a long period of time, that the other country no longer wants to hold more currency. You see, we have dollars, but Chinese workers get paid in their currency. To pay them, we need to exchange dollars for their money. When they buy US goods, they need dollars. Since their is an imbalance, over time they have more dollars. If they decide they don't want more dollars, they may raise the price of their currency relative to the dollar. This would make their goods more expensive. So far, they have shown no desire to do that. In fact, the Chinese government has been accused of keeping their currency artificially low to keep Americans buying.

Now, the reasoning listed in the CNN article is fine as far as it goes, but it deals with an isolated case and ignores many other realities. For example, even though a 42.7 billion dollar trade imbalance sounds huge, it represents a relatively small percentage of the entire economy. While China's economy is growing, it is still far below that of the major industrialized nations. We have lots of trading partners. You can also make a case that the cheap price of Chinese goods leaves people much more disposable income for investment, hiring, etc. Which brings us back to our major problem: The President and the Congress.

Every economic signal they give promises that they will punish people who succeed in business. Capital gains taxes are about to increase, punishing investment. Income taxes are about to increase, reducing disposable income. New government mandates, such as health care and cap and tax, if passed, are going to drastically increase the cost of doing busines.

You don't have to look at foriegn shores to find out why this recession is hanging around. The President has attacked American business far more severely than the Chinese.

You might want to ask for a refund on those economics courses.

Anonymous said...

Gary,

I went to an accredited college and I earned my degree and I don't care about your negative comments because "...the Federal Government's auditor, argues that the U.S. is on a fiscally 'unsustainable' path ."-Wikipedia

The Wall Street Journal reported:

"The jump came from a $4.1 billion increase in imports, which far exceeded the $239 million increase in U.S. exports during the month. A wider trade deficit is a drag on domestic growth, because it means more of what the nation is consuming is coming from overseas rather than from production at home."

Therefore it doesn't represent what you say "even though a 42.7 billion dollar trade imbalance sounds huge, it represents a relatively small percentage of the entire economy."

If it represents a small percentage of the entire economy then we wouldn't be borrowing money from China and your comments contradict what is reported in Wikipedia.

"The national debt equates to $30,400 per person U.S. population, or $60,100 per member of the U.S. working population,[36] as of February 2008.
In 2008, $242 billion was spent on interest payments servicing the debt, out of a total tax revenue of $2.5 trillion, or 9.6%. Including non-cash interest accrued primarily for Social Security, interest was $454 billion or 18% of tax revenue.[37]"-Wikipedia


"The United States public debt is in excess of $13 trillion and continues to grow at a rate of about $3.83 billion each day.[18]"-Wikipedia

"Key drivers of these risks relate to the unwillingness of the U.S. to live within its means, both from a budget deficit and trade deficit standpoint. For example, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Federal Government's auditor, argues that the U.S. is on a fiscally 'unsustainable' path and that politicians and the electorate have been unwilling to change this path.[46] The 2010 U.S. budget indicates annual debt increases of nearly $1 trillion annually through 2019. By 2019 the total U.S. national debt is projected to be $18.4 trillion.[47] Further, the subprime mortgage crisis has significantly increased the financial burden on the U.S. government, with over $10 trillion in commitments or guarantees and $2.6 trillion in investments or expenditures as of May 2009, only some of which are included in the budget document.[48]

The U.S. also has a large trade deficit, meaning imports exceed exports. Financing these deficits requires the USA to borrow large sums from abroad, much of it from countries running trade surpluses, mainly the emerging economies in Asia and oil-exporting nations. The balance of payments identity requires that a country (such as the USA) running a current account deficit also have a capital account (investment) surplus of the same amount."

Here is a Monopoly lesson for you. You go around the board and it doesn't matter how many properties you own. If you are paying out to your neighbors more than you make then you will lose in three to four rounds even though the excess is in relatively smaller proportion than the Monopoly economy, it is more than the loser has and therefore someone goes broke due to the imbalance.

My father in law was an engineer and he was seeing all the jobs disappear to China. I contracted under my employer for a Fortune 500 company that use to have 60 metalworkers and they now closed their metal shop. Do you want something made? Go to China.

Sosthenes

Unknown said...

Sosthenes,

"I went to an accredited college and I earned my degree"

Which is fine, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you developed critical thinking skills needed to evaluate the truth or falsity of the claims you make. Refer to "Inside American Education," by Thomas Sowell (Dr. of Economics at Cornell, I believe).

"the Federal Government's auditor, argues that the U.S. is on a fiscally 'unsustainable' path "

Which is true, but says nothing about how much the reasons you list contribute to that. What is far more damaging is the fact that over half of the budget now reflects entitlement spending, and that is set to increase as more of the baby boomers retire and SS and medicare costs drastically incease.

Likewise, your note about the national debt in the next paragraph are correct, but that debt is due to borrowing in the form of selling bonds and treasury bills, not a result of any number of trade deficits. Each time we buy materials from overseas, we pay in full and they pay when they buy. There is no "debt." This is simply a measure of the imbalance between how much we buy from them as opposed to how much they buy from us.

"The U.S. also has a large trade deficit, meaning imports exceed exports. Financing these deficits requires the USA to borrow large sums from abroad, much of it from countries running trade surpluses, mainly the emerging economies in Asia and oil-exporting nations."

No! No! NO!!!! Just because we import than we export does not mean that we "owe" these countries. The government does not participate in these transactions, so it cannot become part of the national debt. The "National Debt" refers to what government owes in outstanding liabilities. This includes things like SS payments, medicare payments, and government pensions. If China sells us 10,000 rolls of toilet paper and only buys 500 of ours, that has no effect on the National Debt. The reason that China holds a great portion of the NATIONAL DEBT is that to finance deficit spending, the government sells treasury bonds. China buys them. To the extent that they will get that money back plus interest, they hold a great deal of US debt. If they decided to stop buying our bonds tomorrow, then we would have a very difficult time selling bonds to raise money. This would limit our government borrowing money. To respond, they would probably raise the amount of interest paid, which would increase the cost of future debt. That is the debt of concern. Again: IT DOES NOT RELATE TO OUR TRADE DEFICIT.

Unknown said...

"the Federal Government's auditor, argues that the U.S. is on a fiscally 'unsustainable' path and that politicians and the electorate have been unwilling to change this path."

Again, correct, but related to government spending and pensions. Since the government has been unwilling to slow the growth of benefits, and indeed with OBAMACARE threatens to drastically increase it, the course is unsustainable.

"You go around the board and it doesn't matter how many properties you own."

Of course it does. Statistically speaking, if you own the most of the high-value properties, you win most of the time. Of course, if you are stupid and your government is constantly mortgaging the properties to throw "Free Parking" at everyone, you rapidly lose rent income and the interest will eventually kill you. That's what our government has done.

"Do you want something made? Go to China."

Or I could go to Japan. That's the place where the autoworkers get about $40 per hour by the time you include benefits. The problem is that the unions demanded that American workers get about $70 per hour by the time benefits got thrown in. They also set up the GM "worker pool" were workers could be idled for up to three years at about 90% pay. Meanwhile, they killed off Saturn which made at least as good a product, did it cheaper, but had a weaker union. And the Obama administration was quite complicit in this.

You want to see something made? Go find a place where people want to work. You want to see what happens to a place that expects the unions and government to take care of them? Go to Detroit. The median house price is about $7000, so you can get in cheap. Of course, there's nothing there worth going to.
My father wasn't an engineer. He was a blue collar worker. My mom was a housewife that ended up working in retail. But because they taught me that value of work, I am now an engineer. I see the jobs going overseas to. They go where they can get fair labor for fair pay. Until more Americans face the truth of that, they will continue to decline, and deservedly so.