Pay Attention to the Global Economy

This week I went to lunch with a friend who works in the financial industry. We began talking about what a lot of people have been talking to me about lately…the direction of the global economy and how it fits into Bible Prophecy.

PCC is hosting a special two week series on Bible Prophecy at the end of July. I have been studying a great deal to prepare for this series. Because so many people are talking to me about where the economy is going, I wanted to sit down and share with you a few of my thoughts.

By sharing my thoughts, I realize that many will disagree. I am not saying that America is going to face dark days. However, I am saying that the possibility is very likely. I’m going to attempt to show you why. My hope is that if you have never thought about these issues that it will cause you to think and more…that it will cause you to prepare for any type of crisis we may face, be it natural or man-made. Solomon gives us sound wisdom in Ecclesiastes 11:2, “Give a portion to seven or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on the earth.” I pay attention to that kind of wisdom in my own life and I hope you will as well.

An Intensifying of Global Events
Are you noticing a growing intensity in global events? You should follow CNNMoney on Facebook and look at the last few weeks of headlines. There’s an intensity building. Each day seems to confirm more and more of what the Bible has already predicted. For those of us who believe deeply in both the sovereignty of God and the truth of Scripture, these headlines should not frighten nor overwhelm us.

2 Minute Warning
So why does it feel as though world events are intensifying? Have you ever watched your favorite sports team be down at half time, only to come back and play just as lackadaisical as they did in the first half? I’ve seen my favorite teams continue to play like they have all the time in the world all the way entire the 4th quarter.

It’s always odd to me when the 2-minute warning happens. All of a sudden there is an urgency to how the team plays. Instead of business as usual, they become laser focused and begin to move the ball down the field to score. I’m always left thinking why didn’t they play with that kind of urgency during the 3rd and 4th quarters? There is just something different about the 2-minute warning. Well, in a similar way I believe we are in the last 2 minutes of God’s prophetic time clock.

Pay Attention to the Global Economy
The global economy is becoming more and more unpredictable. If you are paying attention to what is happening in Greece and China, you can see how shaky things are becoming. Greece may not feel as important of a crisis. But for countries that loaned Greece Billion, countries like Germany, France, Italy and Spain not to mention the IMF and the Eurozone, it will have a deep impact in their economies, not to mention the ripple effect it could have in the global market.

However, China is much more troublesome. Some say a crash in their stock market, which they are artificially propping up, will not affect their economy the way our stock market would affect our economy in the United States. Yet it’s still the second largest economy in the world and it will have serious ramifications for the global economy. Now we are seeing news reports that the economies of Latin America will be the next crisis of the global economy. They even used the term I keep using, “a domino effect.”

So my question is why does this matter? Should it concern us as Americans and more importantly, as Christians? I believe what we are seeing and what will come is of huge importance because it is pushing us closer to a global economy, which is exactly what the Bible predicts in the last days. The Bible says there will be one global currency. What would usher in a global currency faster than a worldwide economic crisis?

Think it’s a far-fetched idea? I don’t. Because the world’s markets are so globalized, these will not be isolated incidents. I believe we will see a domino effect as countries begin to default under the massive weights of debt.

Can’t we just keep printing money?
President Nixon took the United States off the gold standard in 1971, meaning there was not anything tangible backing our currency, only the good faith and promise of the United States government. Because the United States is the world’s reserve currency, we have the ability to print money. It’s because we have, what seems to be an unlimited printing press, this is why our elected officials make the disastrous decisions they do. They give out billions and trillions of dollars we don’t really have. We print it out of thin air.

Switzerland was the last nation to remove its currency from being backed by gold in 1999. So that means that all the currencies of the world are backed by nothing but the promise and faith of their governments. In my mind, that means paper money is no more than smoke and mirrors.

Why is this significant to Biblical prophecy? Well, as one nation, most likely Greece, defaults, it will affect the other nations that loaned billions to them, like Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The IMF & The Eurozone. This could very easily trigger a domino effect in other global currencies. Think I’m crazy?

Just as a family cannot survive going deeper and deeper into unstainable debt, neither can governments. At some point, it all will come crashing down. When it does, or if it does, are you prepared?

Are you a Doomsdayer?
I hope I never have to use my house insurance because of a fire. I hope I never have to use my health insurance in a medical emergency. I certainly hope I don’t have to use my life insurance anytime soon. But just because I don’t think I will need those insurances in the next little while, I still have them. I don’t mind paying my insurance premiums because I know I am protected against life’s uncertainties.

So for someone to ask me, “Are you a doomsdayer?” I don’ think that is the right question. Instead, I think the right questions are…do I believe our government can sustain trillions of dollars of debt? No. Especially if we lose the status of the world’s reserve currency…which could happen. Do I believe the Bible predicts a global economy? Yes. Are global currencies backed by anything other than the faith and promise of the government? No. Should I prepare for my family for dark and uncertain days? Yes.

What should you do?
First, you should pray and repent! Whether we see any kind of financial crisis or not, the question remains…is your life right with the Lord? I feel an urgency and believe He is returning soon. If you are a fake Christian or there are areas of your life displeasing to the Lord, you need to repent because soon the door will shut as Christ taught in the parable of Matthew 25:11.

Second, you need to prepare your family for shaky and unsettled days to come. Without sounding all doom and gloom, I do believe we are moving toward some dark days in our nation. I do believe as a country, we have defied the Lord and I do believe there will be consequences in the days ahead. Are you prepared if we see a financial crisis in the future?

Lastly, you need to be watching global events. There is no need to be alarmed. The Bible predicts these things. Wars and rumors of wars, famine, earthquakes…read Matthew 24. We are living in the last of the last days and it is an exciting time to see the Bible come to life.

Read and ponder the words Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Church
The Day of the Lord Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11