Jerry’s Place
By Thomas Ice
And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7)
One of the most compelling, yet often misunderstood, arguments for pretribulationism relates to the Holy Spirit’s role to the church and the tribulation period. Most holding to the pre-trib position believe that 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 refers to the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit through the agency of the Church. Thus, when the church is raptured before the tribulation, that ministry of the Holy Spirit will be removed as well. If this interpretation is correct, then it is a strong argument for pretribulationism.
The Restrainer
Second Thessalonians 2:1-12 discusses a man of lawlessness being held back until a later time. Interpreting the restrainer of evil (2:6) as the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit at work through the body of Christ during the current Church Age, supports pretribulationism. Since “the lawless one” (the beast or Antichrist) cannot be revealed until the Restrainer (the Holy Spirit) is taken away (2:7-8), the tribulation, (called the day of the Lord in this passage), cannot occur until after the church is removed. Of all the rapture positions, only the pre-trib position can be harmonized when we understand that the Restrainer is referring to the Holy Spirit.
I believe the correct interpretation of this passage understands the restrainer to refer to the Holy Spirit as He functions during the present church age through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and indwelling of believers. These are ministries that are unique to the Church Age. Both the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit began on the Day of Pentecost as Acts 2 describes. Therefore, these ministries of the Holy Spirit were not active in this way before the birth of the Church.
The cryptic reference to the Holy Spirit’s present work in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 explains the unusual grammar employed in the passage. In verse six “the restrainer” is in the neuter gender (to katŽchon) while in verse seven “the Restrainer” is masculine (o katech™n). The significance of such grammar and how it relates to the Holy Spirit and the rapture is explained by Dr. Robert Thomas below.
Key to the above scenario is whether the Holy Spirit is the Restrainer. After surveying various interpretations of the passage he concludes:
To one familiar with the Lord Jesus’ Upper Room Discourse, as Paul undoubtedly was, fluctuation between neuter and masculine recalls how the Holy Spirit is spoken of. Either gender is appropriate, depending on whether the speaker (or writer) thinks of natural agreement (masc. because of the Spirit’s personality) or grammatical (neuter because of the noun pneuma; see John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13, 14) . . . This identification of the restrainer with deep roots in church history . . . is most appealing. The special presence of the Spirit as the indweller of saints will terminate abruptly at the parousia as it began abruptly at Pentecost. Once the body of Christ has been caught away to heaven, the Spirit’s ministry will revert back to what he did for believers during the OT period . . . . His function of restraining evil through the body of Christ (John 16:7-11; 1 John 4:4) will cease similarly to the way he terminated his striving in the days of Noah (Gen. 6:3). At that point the reins will be removed from lawlessness and the Satanically inspired rebellion will begin. It appears that to katechon (”what is holding back”) was well known at Thessalonica as a title for the Holy Spirit on whom the readers had come to depend in their personal attempts to combat lawlessness (1 Thess. 1:6; 4:8; 5:19; 2 Thess. 2:13).
Dr. Gerald Stanton cites six reasons why this passage should be understood to refer to the Holy Spirit’s restraining ministry through the church.
By mere elimination, the Holy Spirit must be the restrainer. All other possibilities fall short of meeting the requirements of one who is to hold in check the forces of evil until the manifestation of Antichrist. . . .
The Wicked One is a personality and his operations include the realm of the spiritual. The restrainer must likewise be a personality and of a spiritual order, to resist the wiles of the Devil and to hold Antichrist in check until the time of his revealing. .
To achieve all that is to be accomplished, the restrainer must be a member of the Godhead. He must be stronger than the Man of Sin, and stronger than Satan. . . .
This present age is in a particular sense the “dispensation of the Spirit,” for He works in a way uncommon to other ages as an abiding Presence within the children of God. . . .
The work of the Spirit since His advent has included the restraint of evil. The Spirit is God’s righteous Agent for the age, and there are many reasons to be grateful for His restraining hand upon this world’s iniquity. None but the Lawful One could restrain this world’s iniquity. . . .
It is not difficult to establish that although the Spirit was not resident on earth during Old Testament days, whatever restraint was exerted was by the Spirit. . . . (Isa. 59:19) . . . The wickedness of Noah’s day and the fact that life went on as usual in blindness to impending destruction is used of the Spirit in vivid portrayal of careless and wicked men upon whom Tribulation judgment shall fall. . . .
In light of this Scriptural parallel, it is exceedingly significant that in the days immediately preceding the destruction of the flood, the restraining work of the Spirit is emphasized. . . .
The Church Age
The Church began on the Day of Pentecost with a visitation of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 2. The Church ends at the rapture with the translation of living saints and the resurrection of those who have died in Christ (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Until the rapture, God is gathering out from the Gentiles a people for His name (Acts 15:14) and combining them with the elect remnant of Israel (Rom. 11:5; Eph. 2:11–22) into one new body called the Church (Eph. 2:11–3:13; Col. 1:24–27). This great task is accomplished by a unique ministry of the Holy Spirit only during the Church Age called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For by one Spirit were we all [Jewish and Gentile Believers] baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” Such a work of the Holy Spirit is only for the Church—the Body of Christ. Therefore, it is not surprising that since the tribulation cannot start until after the Church is completed and taken to heaven in the rapture that the man of lawlessness is restrained through the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth indwelling Church Age Believers. This current work of the Holy Spirit is unique to the church. Dr. John Walvoord explains:
We search the prophetic Scriptures in vain for any reference to baptism of the Spirit except in regard to the church, the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). While, therefore, the Spirit continues a ministry in the world in the tribulation, there is no longer a corporate body of believers knit into one living organism. There is rather a return to national distinctions and fulfillment of national promises in preparation for the millennium.
Conclusion
Those who do not hold to pretribulationism often mischaracterize our view of the Holy Spirit in the tribulation. They often say that pretribulationists do not believe that the Holy Spirit will be present during the tribulation. This is not what we are saying! We do believe that the Holy Spirit will be present and active during the tribulation. We do believe the Holy Spirit will not be carrying out His present unique ministry related to the Church since the completed body of Christ will be in heaven. Further, we are saying that the Holy Spirit will be present in His transdispensational ministry of bringing the elect of the tribulation to faith in Christ, even though they will not be part of the body of Christ—the Church. The Holy Spirit will also aid Tribulation Believers as they live holy lives unto the Lord. The Holy Spirit will also function to seal and protect the 144,000 Jewish witnesses for their great evangelistic ministry as noted in Revelation 7 and 14 and the two witnesses of Revelation 11.
The Rapture could very well be the greatest evangelistic tool in human history. When millions of people disappear from the face of the earth in a split second of time, all kinds of theories and explanations will surface. But many will remember the warnings of friends and loved ones about the truth of the Rapture. In a moment of time, they will realize what has happened. They have been left behind. God will use this mind-numbing realization to bring them to faith in His Son. The Holy Spirit will be active, as He always has throughout history, to bring the elect to salvation in Christ.
Even though pretribulationists believe that many unique aspects of the current work of the Holy Spirit will cease at the rapture, it is not correct to say that we believe the Holy Spirit will not be present during the tribulation. Just as the Holy Spirit will engage in some ministries during the tribulation, relating to the 144,000 witnesses and the two witnesses, that are not occurring during the current church age, so there will cease certain ministries unique to the church which will enable the man of sin to come onto the stage of history. Maranatha!
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How to Interpret the Bible
By Jack Kelley
The Bible isn’t such a complex document that it requires years of formal education before you can begin to comprehend it. I’ve always believed the Bible was meant to be understood by any believer who can read and has a serious interest in knowing what it says. I say this because I believe the Bible is best approached by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit rather than one’s own intellect. James 1:5 says that any of us who lacks wisdom need only ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault.
Conversely the man without the Spirit can not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God regardless of his mental prowess. (1 Cor. 2:14) This is why we hear of people who tried to read the Bible as non-believers and found they couldn’t figure it out, but as soon as they were born again it began to make sense. They didn’t suddenly become more intelligent, they simply gained the supernatural insight of the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things. (John 14:26)
Over the 25 years or so I’ve been studying the Bible I’ve picked up a handful of principles that have also given me a better understanding of what it says. They help keep me honest so I know it’s the Holy Spirit teaching me, and not just my sin infested intellect coming to its own conclusion. From time to time I get asked about these principles, having mentioned them in answers to various questions, so here they are.
The Golden Rule of Interpretation
“When the plain sense of scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.” - Dr. D.L. Cooper
This hasn’t become known as the Golden Rule of Interpretation for nothing. If you ignore all the others and only follow this one rule you will avoid almost all the mistakes people make in reading the Bible. And the next one is like it, sort of an expanded version of the first.
Literal, Historical, Grammatical, Contextual
These could be called the most important words in Biblical Hermeneutics, which is the science of properly interpreting the Bible.
Literal means that each word is given the same exact basic meaning it would have in normal, ordinary, customary usage, whether employed in writing, speaking or thinking. Unless it’s clearly indicated otherwise, we’re to assume the Bible means exactly what it says. Examples of passages that are not intended to be taken literally are parables, dreams, and visions. These are all identified as such, alerting us to the fact that they’re meant to be understood symbolically.
Historical means that each passage is put into its proper historical setting and surrounded with the thoughts, attitudes, and feelings prevalent at the time of its writing. In Biblical times the Jewish view of the Messiah was one of a charismatic leader like King David. In other words, a man, not God in human form. Knowing that helps us understand how they failed to recognize Him, and why they accused Him of blasphemy when He claimed to be God.
Grammatical means that words are given meanings consistent with their common understanding in the original language at the time of writing. Grammatical interpretation also includes following recognized rules of grammar and in its more advanced form, applying the nuances of the Hebrew and Greek languages to the understanding of a passage.
A good example showing the importance of following the rules of grammar can found in Daniel 9:27 where the subject of the first sentence in the verse is a personal pronoun.
“He will confirm a covenant with (the) many.”
The rule of grammar regarding personal pronouns is that they refer to the closest preceding personal noun. In this case it’s “the ruler who will come” in verse 26 indicating that the person who will confirm the covenant with Israel is the anti-Christ, not the Lord as some commentators assert.
Contextual interpretation involves always taking the surrounding context of a verse/passage into consideration when trying to determine its meaning. The Holy Spirit has usually prompted the Bible’s writers to place indicators in the text surrounding a passage to guide you in interpreting it. In 1 Cor. 9:24-27 Paul compares our life to that of an athlete, training and competing for crowns. The mention of crowns tells us the passage is not about salvation, which is a free gift, but rewards believers can win after being saved. (In this case it’s the crown of victory, awarded to those who overcome the ways of the flesh by getting rid of selfish desires, bad habits and attitudes, etc.)
When you stop to think about it, reading the Bible this way actually makes perfect sense. If you received a letter from a friend you wouldn’t have to be reminded to apply these principles. You would naturally assume that your friend was using words that meant the same thing to both of you. You would understand them within the parameters of your shared history, you would assume that the rules of grammar you had both been taught applied, and you would interpret what was written within the context of your relationship. You would expect your friend to alert you if any of these assumptions were not going to apply, and explain the reason for it.
The only difference with the Bible is that it was written over a long period of time, during which the meanings of some words changed, and society is generally different now than it was when the Bible was written. This makes books on Bible history and a good concordance valuable additions to your library.
Expositional Constancy
This is a fancy term to remind us that symbolism in scripture tends to be consistent. For example, through out the Bible leaven, or yeast, is used symbolically to stand for sin. Therefore there’s no justification for claiming that in the Parable of the Yeast (Matt. 13:33) and there alone, it stands for the Gospel. Expositional Constancy only applies to words that are used symbolically, so be careful. Peter’s statement in 2 Peter 3:9 that with the Lord a day is like 1000 years and 1000 years is like a day does not justify substituting 1000 years for a day every time it comes up. Peter was simply explaining that the Lord’s concept of time is way different from ours.
Internal Consistency
The Bible, being the word of God, cannot contradict itself. The Lord is just and righteous so He can’t say something in one place and something different in another. He knows the end from the beginning so He can’t change His mind or take back something He’s given. Everything He says has to agree with everything else He says. For example, if the Bible says it’s God who makes us stand firm in Christ, that He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us and put His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee of what’s to come (2 Cor. 1:21-22), then it can’t say that we can walk away from our salvation or have it taken away from us someplace else.
Principle of First Mention
Often when an important concept is mentioned for the first time there is elevated significance in the context of the passage in which it appears. The first mention of the Church is in Matt.16:18 where Peter declared that Jesus is the Messiah, son of the living God. Jesus said that this truth would be the foundation upon which He would build His Church. Notice who’s going to be doing the building and whose Church it is. Studying the passage where an important concept first appears can be very helpful in interpreting subsequent passages on the same subject.
Use Clear Passages to Interpret Obscure Ones
Some passages of Scripture are more difficult to interpret correctly than others. When confronting one of these, it’s best to locate the clearest verses on the subject and use them to help interpret the difficult one. A classic example is Hebrews 6:4-6 which, when taken alone, seems to say that we can fall away and lose our salvation, and if that should happen we can never get it back. But the clearest verses on salvation are Ephesians 1:13-14 and 2 Cor. 1:21-22, and they plainly state the opposite. The Ephesians passage says we were included in Christ when we first heard and believed the gospel. Having believed we were sealed with the Holy Spirit, a deposit that guarantees our inheritance. In 2 Corinthians Paul went even further saying that God himself has accepted responsibility for making us stand firm in Christ and has set His seal of ownership on us, like a rancher brands his cattle.
Applying the principles above we must conclude that the writer to Hebrews had to be talking about something else. When we look at the context of the letter, we find that it was written to Jewish believers who were being lured back into the Levitical system, which used the sacrifice of a lamb to atone for sins. For the Church, the Lord’s death fulfilled what the sacrifice only symbolized, so going back to this was tantamount to sacrificing Him all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace, because by their actions they were saying that His death was not sufficient to atone for their sins.
And as if that wasn’t bad enough, going back to the sacrifice was no longer acceptable to God because the Law was only a shadow of the good things that are coming, not the realities themselves. For that reason it could never make perfect those who draw near to worship no matter how many times they repeated it. (Hebrews 10:1) But when the Lord offered His sacrifice once for all time, He made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Hebrews 10:12-14) During the Church Age all we have to do after sinning is confess our sins to receive forgiveness, be brought back to repentance, and be purified from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) Now Hebrews 6:4-6 makes sense because it conforms to the internal consistency of God’s Word.
There are lots of other rules and principles man has developed for application to God’s word, but in my opinion if we just apply the ones I’ve listed above we’ll stand a good chance of avoiding the errors and misinterpretations that seem to be so common these days.
The Bible is quite simply the most incredible book ever written. Some parts of it were written at least 4000 years ago, and by 95AD its most recent chapters were finished. But according to Paul it was written to teach us, upon whom the end of the age has come. (Romans 15:4, 1 Cor. 10:11) If we’ll just read it the way we would any other document, as if it means what it says, the Holy Spirit will reveal wondrous truths from within its pages. Truths that will give us an anchor against the storms of deceit and controversy that have become so common in our time. Maybe that’s why it was written primarily to us.
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What’s in a Bow?
By Jack Kinsella
One would think that President Obama has handlers that advise him on local customs and practices in nations that he visits. And assuming that is true, that raises another question. Does he listen?
The admiral seen in this photo greeting Emperor Ahito of Japan is sending a carefully choreographed, if time-worn message to both the Japanese and the American people. The Admiral represents the United States military forces that gave their lives to defeat Japanese emperor-worship during World War II. The Emperor represents the system that they defeated. Note that it is the emperor in the photograph who is bowing slightly in deference to the American admiral, and not the other way around.
It was devotion to Emperor Ahito’s father, Emperor Hirohito that inspired the fanaticism of the Japanese soldiers at places like Okinawa and Saipan that ultimately led to the decision to nuke Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The cost of overcoming that same fanaticism by invading Japan with conventional forces was estimated at nearly a million US casualties and many times that many civilians.
Hirohito sat on Japan’s Chrysanthemum Throne as a god from 1926 to 1945. Contemporary revisionist history blames Japan’s Imperialism on the Japanese military, but Hirohito was no figurehead.
Hirohito personally ratified the proposal by the Japanese army to remove constraints on the treatment of Chinese prisoners. Hirohito specifically authorized the use of chemical weapons on at least 375 occasions against the Chinese.
Hirohito personally approved Japan’s alliance with Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Fascist Italy, forming the Axis Powers of WWII. Hirohito authorized the attack on Pearl Harbor and all the atrocities that followed.
Hirohito personally chose General Hideki Tojo (hanged by the Allies for war crimes) as his wartime Prime Minister, and was briefed regularly on Japan’s military situation right up to the point of surrender.
Under Article 4 of Japan’s pre-war Constitution, the Emperor was the head of the Empire. Article 6 made him the nation’s supreme lawmaker and article 11 named him Commander in Chief of Japanese army and navy.
Emperor Hirohito was thus the leader of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, just as Adolf Hitler was Fuhrer of the German Reich and supreme commander of the German High Command. Japan did not surrender when the Enola Gay obliterated Hiroshima. Japan did not surrender when Nagasaki was vaporized a few days later. Japanese forces only surrendered when Hirohito told them to lay down their weapons. Nobody else in the Japanese High Command had the authority to order them to surrender except Emperor Hirohito. He had that same authority throughout the war and could have stopped it at any time with a single word.
General Douglas MacArthur, who had first-hand experience with Japanese fanatical devotion to the Emperor, thought retaining the Emperor symbolically significant and insisted he be permitted to remain on the throne as a figurehead. MacArthur’s decision made Hirohito as a useful partner in getting the Japanese to accept the US occupation. Tactically, it was a brilliant stroke. But many still question whether the price was worth it.
Emperor Hirohito was not put on trial, but he was required to explicitly reject the Shinto claim that the Emperor was an incarnate god. And for the rest of his long life, Hirohito escaped any responsibility for the conduct of the Imperial Japanese during World War II, dying of old age in 1989.
The American admiral’s pictured greeting of Japanese Emperor Ahito set precisely the correct tone, given the circumstances. It showed due respect to the current Emperor of a strong US ally - while acknowledging the American veterans that brought about the defeat of his father’s empire.
Returning to the issue of President Obama’s handlers - they should know all of this. I didn’t have to dig very deeply. It takes a willful ignorance to believe that Hirohito was not as guilty of war crimes as either Hitler or Mussolini, despite the official cover-up.
With these facts in mind, President Obama’s deep bow before Emperor Ahito could only be explained away in one of two possible ways. Either the entire Obama administration team is composed of complete incompetents, or Obama was deliberately sending a message of his own.
Japanese protocol for bowing is very strict and is scrupulously interpreted by the Japanese people. A Japanese bow, depending on the circumstances and its depth, can say anything from “hello” to “excuse me” - what is significant is the depth of the bow.
A typical Japanese bow consists of about a 15-degree tilt. That is approximately the tilt of the bow offered by the emperor in response to the admiral’s handshake. A deeper bow is an expression of deep respect, bordering on submission.
The bow of 45-degrees offered by President Obama is equal to what Hirohito would have rated from a Japanese Imperial army officer. It was certainly excessive, almost embarrassing, coming from an American president.
It reminded me of the deep and reverential bow offered by Obama to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and King of Mecca and Medina.
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace, root and branch of the Wahhabi-inspired jihadist strain of militant Islam. Fifteen of nineteen 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals, as is Osama bin Laden.
Evidence linking members of the Saudi royal family to al-Qaeda is damning and irrefutable.
Whether or not King Abdullah is personally funding the Islamic effort to destroy America is irrelevant. As the Saudi King of Mecca, he is a symbol, as inextricably linked to his nation’s reputation as is Emperor Ahito of Japan.
Ahito as only a little prince during WWII - but both are symbols of efforts to destroy the United States of America.
On the other hand is America’s legendary alliance with Great Britain, one of the most reliable allies of the American 20th century. When President Obama first met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his official gift offered as a token of American friendship was a Wal-Mart DVD collection of old American movies.
His official gift to Queen Elizabeth of England was an iPod loaded with his favorite music. Although past American presidents have always carefully followed British royal protocol to the letter, the Obamas threw protocol out the window during that visit.
After all, it was only the Queen of England. Obama violated protocol by shaking the Queen’s hand. (No bow) Mrs. Obama started hugging the Queen and patting her like the Queen was some old lady in her dotage. (”Awww. Ain’t she cute!)
British society was appalled. It was as if the Obamas had studied protocol with the deliberate intention of violating it in as many ways as possible.
It appears that the Obama administration’s foreign policy theme is one of respect for America’s enemies and contempt for her friends.
Again, one assumes Obama is following the advice of his handlers, which gives one pause to wonder . . . of all the choices available to the administration - from across the entire spectrum of liberal American intelligentsia - this is the cream of the crop?
But assuming that Obama is not necessarily following protocol, but instead is following his own instincts, then what it reveals is a deep-seated contempt for America - together with a shared contempt for America’s allies.
I can only imagine what the living survivors of the Bataan Death March felt seeing the President of the United States bow low to the son of Emperor Hirohito like a common cooly.
They probably felt a lot similar to the way the 9/11 families and survivors felt seeing Obama scrape before King Abdullah. As for how the rest of us felt, I can only speak for myself.
I wept.
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Thanksgiving and Spiritual Blessings
By David Reagan
I want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very blessed season of Thanksgiving!
During this Thanksgiving season are you counting your blessings? I hope so. We all need to be doing that. What do you consider to be your greatest blessing? Is it your health, your job, your family? What about spiritual blessings? Are you counting them? If so, what are they?
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year — a time of family, fellowship, and good food. I have many wonderful memories of family gatherings at Thanksgiving and I am sure you do, too. Personally, I believe that for a Christian every day of the year should be a day of thanksgiving. I have found over the years that a heart filled with thanksgiving is one of the best medicines for emotional and physical health.
I make it a point at least once a month if not more frequently to sit down and make a list of things in my prayer journal that I am thankful for. I sometimes spend as much as 30-45 minutes working on the list. And, in the process, I try to think about things that we tend to take for granted — things like pure water, electricity, air conditioning, a house to live in and a car to drive.
Did you know that 80% of all sickness in the world is attributable to unsafe drinking water? Did you know that if you keep food in a refrigerator, clothes in a closet, and sleep in a bed with a roof over your head, you are richer than 75% of the entire population of the world? Did you know that out of every 100 people in this world 18 struggle to live on less than one dollar a day and 53 struggle to live on two dollars a day?
We have so much to be thankful for in this country, and we tend to be so unthankful. We fret over the fact that we don’t have a color TV set in every room, when most of the world lives without access to electricity. It’s one of the reasons that I believe that every American teenager should be sent to live a couple of weeks in a third world country like Mexico just to see how most people in the world are involved in a daily struggle to merely survive. All of us in the United States should be living with an attitude of gratitude.
One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Psalm 100 which is labeled with a superscription that says, “A Psalm of Thanksgiving.” It is the only Psalm that bears such a label. And it says in part, “Shout joyfully to the Lord all the Earth, serve the Lord with gladness. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.” That is the attitude we should live with, even in tough times when things are not going smoothly for us.
The thing we should be most grateful for is the salvation that Jesus provided for us through His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. What a glorious gift! And, it is precisely that — a gift. The Bible teaches very clearly that the forgiveness of our sins is something that cannot be earned. It is a free gift of God through faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Have you ever thought about the fact that salvation by grace through faith is one of the things that sets Christianity apart from all other religions?
Every other religion in the world teaches the satanic concept of salvation through good works. Christianity alone teaches that one cannot be saved by good works. Our only hope is the righteousness of Jesus which is applied to us when we put our faith in Him. Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas has a wonderful way of putting it. He says, “Every religion in the world except Christianity is spelled ‘D-O,’ only Christianity is spelled ‘D-O-N-E.’” In other words, Jesus did it all for us by sacrificing His perfect life for our sins.
A second spiritual blessing I want to thank God for is one that is yet to take place. It is based upon a promise of God that can be found in John 14, 1 Corinthians 15, and 1 Thessalonians 4. It is called the Rapture of the Church. The apostle Paul describes the Rapture in detail in 1 Thessalonians 4 beginning with verse 13. When Paul finishes his explanation of it, he writes in verse 18, “Comfort one another with these words.” The promise of the Rapture is supposed to be a source of great comfort to those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ.
Don’t pass up this Thanksgiving season without accepting Jesus as your Savior. Remember to thank Him for His loving sacrifice on your behalf. Give praise for the great hope Jesus has given us, for we know that those who love Him will soon be gathered home to Heaven.
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The Last Days Apostasy of the Church - Part 1
By Andy Woods
Many other topics would be more pleasant to write about rather than the last days apostasy of the church. It would be far easier to talk about the positive topic of God’s love rather than something as negative as apostasy. Yet, this subject must be broached since it is part of God’s message in the Bible. In fact, this series will contend that it is impossible to understand God’s plan for the end times without understanding what Scripture reveals about the last days apostasy of the church.
Let’s begin with a definition of apostasy. The English word apostasy is derived from two Greek words. The first word is the preposition apo, which means “away from.” The second word is the verb histēmi, which means, “to stand.” Thus, apostasy means, “to stand away from.” Apostasy refers to a departure from known or previously embraced truth. The subject of apostasy has little to do with the condition of the unsaved world, which has always rejected divine truth and therefore has nothing from which to depart. Rather, apostasy pertains to the spiritual temperature within God’s church. While some might think that apostasy relates to some external factor such as whether the economy is up or down, the subject of biblical apostasy relates to internal church conditions.
Because comprehension of what Scripture reveals concerning apostasy is critical toward completely understanding God’s end-time program, this series will develop several general characteristics of apostasy. They include the following: apostasy is a sign of the last days, is warned against repeatedly in the New Testament, impacts every major doctrine, is internal, knows no limits in terms of who becomes involved in it, can happen quickly, is satanically energized, is destructive, makes life difficult for the man of God, and can be guarded against.
A Sign of the Last Days
Apostasy is a sign of the last days of the church. When we speak of the signs of the end, many subjects come to mind such as the return of the Jews to their land or the trend toward one-world government. However, these kinds of signs concern God’s future program for Israel rather than the church. Apostasy is another sign, often taking place right under our noses, which we fail to recognize as a sign of the end. Apostasy is the specific scriptural sign given indicating that the church is nearing the completion of her earthly mission.
Second Timothy 3:1 says,
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.”
Paul’s words to Timothy here are important since this letter represents Paul’s last will and testament. Because they were given just prior to the apostle’s death (2 Tim 4:6), they represent a time in his life when he was most serious. Also, this book, along with 1 Tim and Titus, is a pastoral epistle designed to give young Timothy apostolic guidance regarding how to pastor God’s church. Here, Paul does not predict a last days revival but rather the coming of dangerous times. Later on in the same chapter Paul explains,
“But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim 3:13; italics added).
Thus, Paul in this final letter seems to be anticipating an increasing drifting away from truth throughout the church age.
The prediction of growing apostasy throughout the present age can also be seen in the eight Matthew 13 parables. In Matt 12, it is apparent that Israel was going to reject her king and His offer of the kingdom. Israel’s religious leaders had even attributed Christ’s miracles to Satan (Matt 12:24). Thus, in Matt 13, Christ through the use of eight parables outlines the course of a new intervening age to elapse in between Israel’s rejection of the king and when she will accept Him in the future. This new age represents truth unrevealed in prior revelation (Matt 13:16-17). While encompassing the church age (which exists in between the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2 and the rapture), this new era extends beyond it as well. It begins with Israel’s formal rejection of Christ’s kingdom offer (prior to Acts 2) and ends when Israel accepts her king (after the rapture). When taken together, these eight parables describe the course of this new era.
The parable of the sower teaches that the gospel will be preached throughout the new age with various results depending upon how the hearer’s heart has been prepared (13:1-9, 18-23). The parable of the wheat and the tares teaches that it will be difficult to distinguish between the saved and the unsaved throughout professing Christendom and a separation between them will not transpire until the age’s conclusion (13:24-30, 36-43). The parable of the mustard seed teaches that Christendom will experience great numerical and geographic expansion from a humble beginning (13:31-32). The parable of the leaven working its way through the meal teaches that professing Christendom will experience increasing moral and doctrinal corruption as the age progresses (13:33).
This parable is the most important in terms of predicting increasing apostasy throughout the present age. Unfortunately, many interpreters miss this crucial point by interpreting the leaven as something good rather than evil. Walvoord explains:
What does the leaven represent? Postmillenarians and amillenarians…usually assume dogmatically that leaven cannot represent evil in the parable, although it is universally used to represent evil in both the Old and New Testaments…It is more evident than ever in the last third of the twentieth century that the gospel has not permeated the world and that evil tends to permeate the entire professing church, which is exactly what Matthew 13 teaches. In the Old Testament leaven is consistently used to represent evil…In the New Testament, leaven was used by Christ of the externalism of the Pharisees, of the unbelief of the Sadducees, and of the worldliness of the Herodians, and in general of evil doctrine (Mt 16:6-12; Mk 8:14-21). In Paul’s letters, likewise, leaven represents evil, as in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 and Galatians 5:7-10. In the parable, the meal represents that which is good…The professing church, however, is permeated by evil doctrine, externalism, unbelief, and worldliness, which tends to inflate the church and make it larger in appearance, even as the leaven inflates the dough but actually adds nothing of real worth. The history of the church has all too accurately fulfilled this anticipation, and the professing church in the world, large and powerful though it may be, is permeated by the leaven of evil which will be judged in the oven of divine judgment at the end of the age…To some extent, evil will extend even to…the body of true believers in the church as well as those that come to Christ after the rapture…even true believers fall far short of perfection and can embrace to some extent worldliness, externalism, and bad doctrine.
Toussaint similarly notes:
The discussion revolves around the significance of the word “leaven” (zymē). Many contend that leaven is used here in a good sense and pictures the spread of the gospel throughout the earth. Others state that the word represents evil and is used to illustrate the growth of evil within the group which professes to inherit the kingdom. This latter interpretation has the stronger support. It is consistent with the doctrine of Scripture concerning the evil character of the end of the church age and the tribulation (1 Timothy 4; 2 Timothy 3; Jude; 2 Peter 3; Revelation 6–19). One of the greatest supports for the interpretation that leaven speaks of evil is the use of the word in Scripture. Invariably leaven pictures sin (Exodus 12; Leviticus 2:11; 6:17; 10:12; Matthew 16:12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 5:9). Finally the verb used here, “to hide”…is very unusual if leaven represents good. It is a much more fitting word if leaven is to have a sinister effect. This is similar to the idea in the parable of the wheat and the darnel. The way the woman hides the leaven in the meal parallels very closely the manner in which the enemy sowed darnel by night. This parable reveals the fact that evil will run its course and dominate the new age. But it also indicates that when the program of evil has been fulfilled, the kingdom will come.
The parable of the hidden treasure teaches that national Israel (Exodus 19:5) will remain in unbelief only to be converted at the age’s conclusion (13:44). The pearl of great price teaches that the Lord will gain a treasure from among the Gentiles throughout the interadvent age (13:45-46). The parable of the dragnet teaches the same message as the wheat and tares or the co-existence of good and evil only to be separated at the age’s conclusion (13:47-50). The parable of the householder depicting the man bringing both new and old treasures from his house teaches that these parables describing fresh and new truths about the course of the present age must be considered alongside what prior revelation teaches about the future kingdom in order to understand God’s total program (13:51-52).
Thus, the present age represents a period when the gospel is preached resulting in the salvation of some. However, a counterfeit sowing will also take place. Despite God’s work throughout the church age, Christendom will experience an increasing doctrinal and moral corruption. Therefore, the teaching concerning the increasing apostasy of the church can be found not only in Paul’s final letter but also in the Matthew 13 parables.
This teaching on the apostasy of the church does not mean that God cannot sovereignly send refreshing waves of revival and reformation, as He has done at various times. However, these refreshing seasons are not the norm but rather occur only intermittently throughout church history. Also, a proper understanding of apostasy represents a worldview that is diametrically opposed to “kingdom now” theology, which is the idea that the church will gradually Christianize the world thereby ushering in long-term cultural progress. The only way “kingdom-now” theology can be defended from Scripture is to ignore what the New Testament predicts concerning the apostasy of the church.
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Differences Between the Rapture and Second Coming
By Nathan Jones
As Web Minister for Lamb & Lion Ministries, I get the blessing each day of responding to an in-boxful of great questions related to Bible prophecy. Many of these questions come from people wanting to know more about the return of Jesus Christ.
Concerning Jesus’ prophesied return, it comes as a surprise to some to find out that the Rapture is an event that is going to occur separate and apart from the Second Coming. Here’s how I explain it:
When you look at the Bible verses on the Rapture — John 14:1-14, 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 — and then you look at other verses that talk about the Second Coming — Zechariah 14:1-12, Jesus’ account in Matthew 24:29-31 and in Mark 13:24-27, Luke 21:25-27, and Revelation 19 — when compared they tell a different story. We go into reading these verses as if they are supposed to be all about the Second Coming, but discover there is a vast difference between the two accounts.
For instance, if you look at the verses particularly about the Rapture, they tell that when Jesus comes He comes in the air. Believers are brought from the ground up into the air to be with Christ. But, in Second Coming verses, the order occurs the other way around — Jesus is coming down and He actually lands on Earth. So, for the Rapture Jesus is up in the air, but for the Second Coming Jesus comes to the ground.
Also, take the Mount of Olives. In the Rapture verses believers in Christ are brought up into the air and Jesus is waiting for them. But, in the Second Coming verses Jesus comes down to Earth and when He lands (especially in Zechariah 14 explains this) the Mount of Olives splits forming a new valley on the East side of Jerusalem. For such a remarkable event, there is oddly no mention of that in the Rapture verses.
It is like the Rapture and the Second Coming are two different stories — two different events — and so I think that is indeed the case.
Again, let’s look at the location of believers in Christ during these events. The believers are brought up to Heaven in the Rapture verses, but when Jesus comes back to Earth there are believers on the Earth. So, if Jesus brought all the believers up at the Rapture, how could there be believers still on the Earth at the Second Coming? A significant time lapse would have had to occur between the Rapture and Second Coming for so many people to come to believe in Jesus as Savior. So, again, these have to be two separate and distinct events.
When you read like 1 Thessalonians 4 and you compare it to Revelation 19 you find they don’t have anything in common except that they both focus upon Jesus Christ. In one account Jesus appears in the heavens, but in the other account He comes down to Earth. In one He appears for His believers and the other He returns with His believers.
Even the nature of Christ’s return is different. In the Rapture account He is appearing as a Deliverer and as a Bridegroom for His Bride, but in the Second Coming account He is coming back to Earth for the purpose of pouring out the wrath of God upon those who have rejected the grace, mercy and love of God, and He comes with His believers and He comes to be a King. They have to be two different events because the stories just don’t line up.
What these differences mean is that the Second Coming of Jesus is going to occur in two stages — first the Rapture for the Church and second the later return to the Earth of Jesus with His Church to reign.
Having the Second Coming in two separate stages solves a problem with the differences in accounts, in that the Bible tells us that we cannot know anything about the timing of the Lord’s return (Matt. 24:36-24). And, yet, if we go over to the book of Revelation we’ll see it says that once the Antichrist signs a peace covenant the time will be exactly seven years until Jesus returns (Dan. 9; Rev. 11). These scriptures give us the exact amount of time that God is going to pour out His wrath on this Earth — 84 months. So, when Jesus in Matthew 24 speaks about not knowing when Christ’s coming will happen, it has to be referring to the Rapture. Even Jesus says He doesn’t know when He is supposed to come back to the Earth. If the Antichrist signed a peace treaty and then 3 1/2 years later desecrated the newly rebuilt Temple, Jesus could say, “Okay, I’ve got this many days before I am going to show up.”
Because of these differences in the accounts, the Rapture and the Second Coming must be separate events within Jesus’ prophesied return.
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On the 150th Anniversary of Darwin’s Origin
By Chuck Missler
November 24 will mark the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species, one of the most influential books on biology ever written, and arguably the most controversial. One hundred and fifty years after Darwin made popular the idea that the diversity of life on planet Earth today descended (or ascended?) from lower life forms over millions of years, the general theory of evolution is still not accepted by vast numbers of people, to the chagrin of large numbers of evolutionary biologists.
Did all of life really descend from one-celled organisms that developed in primordial waters billions of years ago? Is that really what happened? If so, we should see plenty of evidence of it all around us, and there are significant numbers of scientists who argue that we indeed find just that. They argue that there are a sufficient number of transitional forms in the fossil record to support Darwin’s theory. They argue that natural selection, acting to preserve small beneficial mutations and weed out the bad ones, can indeed slowly but surely bring about the development of sophisticated structures like eyes and circulatory systems. These scientists may disagree over specifics, but in general buy the evolutionary model of origins.
While still in the minority of vocal opponents of Darwinian evolution, a growing list of degreed scientists are willing to confess they are skeptical of Darwinism’s ability to explain life on earth as we know it. These argue that evolutionary explanations are simplistic and full of holes. Some point out problems in the favorite sequences of transitional forms, or argue that the human tree looks more like a bush without any true common stem. Some of the famous Intelligent Design theorists argue that natural selection, acting on small mutations, is vastly insufficient to explain the brilliance of even the “simplest” of life’s structures.
At that point, as the weedy scientific material gets hacked through, the dirt under the scientists’ feet begins to show. And what is that dirt, that ground, that foundation? It all gets down to the nitty gritty of a scientist’s philosophy about how science should be done.
In his July 2002 article in Scientific American, John Rennie writes what he believes are “15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense.” In that article, he offers a basic description of the philosophy of modern science, saying:
“A central tenet of modern science is methodological naturalism - it seeks to explain the universe purely in terms of observed or testable natural mechanisms.”
That right there is the blessing and curse of this whole debate. Now, it’s correct that scientists use the natural world to explain the natural world. After all, the only thing we can scientifically test and weigh and directly observe is the physical world around us. It is also the job of science to strive to explain things as much as possible through testable natural mechanisms.
Yet, according to this specific philosophy on the way science should be done, God can’t be a part of the equation. Ever. Scientists have to proceed under the assumption that God is not, and that frankly limits modern science.
Let’s have a little “what if.” What if God really does exist? What if He really is the cause of things? How would modern science be able to detect Him, even indirectly? According to John Rennie, it can’t.
In other words, evolution in some form or another has to be the scientific explanation for the incredible brilliance of life. Some evolutionists acknowledge that life looks engineered, but will insist that intelligent design is simply an illusion. They believe the history of earth’s life has to be one of microbes-to-man evolution because that is the only explanation that modern scientific philosophy allows.
Over the next few weeks, we want to look more closely at some of the basic arguments in the intelligent design/evolution debate and examine them, including their underlying assumptions, as carefully and honestly as we can.
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Rapture Reference
By Nathan Jones
Dr. David Reagan and myself recently got together for a Christ in Prophecy TV interview to talk about how some people don’t believe the word “Rapture” can be found in the Bible. If you were wondering yourself just where one can find the exact reference — read on!
Dr. Reagan: When I think of the promises of God, I always think of something the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:9, he wrote, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has the mind of man conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” But, the next verse says, “God has revealed those things to us through His Holy Spirit.” That revelation is, of course, contained in the Bible.
One of the greatest promises of God’s Word is that one day soon He will send His Son for His Church. Jesus will appear in the heavens. His appearance will be heralded by the shout of an archangel and the blowing of a trumpet. The dead in Christ will be resurrected and those living who have put their faith in Jesus will be caught up to meet Him in the sky, being translated in route from mortal to immortal. This promise is called the Rapture.
I have found that the moment you start talking about the Rapture people always seem to jump down your throat and say, “Ah, come on, that is a concept that is not even in the Bible. You can’t find it anywhere in the Bible.” What about it?
Nathan Jones: They haven’t read 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Now, in our modern English versions the verse will say “caught up.” The Bible wasn’t written in English, though, it was written in Hebrew and Aramaic and Greek. In the original Greek 1 Thessalonians 4:17’s “caught up” is harpazo. For 1500 years we had the Latin Vulgate translation of the Scriptures before the English version, and that version has the Latin word for harpazo as rapio (or rapiemur or raptus depending on the declension), where we get the word “rapture.”
The idea behind the reference to the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is to be caught up, snatched up, taken away. The act is similar to me going to Papa John’s and snatching up that pizza and taking it away home — same meaning.
Dr. Reagan: Well, you are so exactly right, the concept is certainly there. I mean, you could talk about the fact that the word “trinity” is not in the Bible.
Nathan Jones: Well, the word “Bible” is not in the Bible.
Dr. Reagan: The word’s “Shekinah Glory” of God is not there in our English translations. But, those are terms that we have developed to express a truth that is in there. Clearly the Trinity is a truth that is in the Bible. The Shekinah is a truth that is in the Bible. The Rapture is a truth that is in the Bible. But, in this case of the Rapture, the word really is in there, it’s just been translated.
Nathan Jones: It is so much easier to say “Rapture” than “The Great Catching Up” or “The Great Taking Away.”
Dr. Reagan: In English we have to use a term like “taking out, snatching away, catching up,” and we all like to talk in shorthand. So, what we have done is just go back and pick up the Latin word rapio, put it into English as “rapture,” and that word is actually there in 1 Thessalonians 4 using the only translation we had for 1,500 years, which was the Latin Vulgate. That was the translation that says the Rapture. So, that is what we use.
“Rapture” is a biblical term and it is a biblical concept. People who say it is not just simply do not understand what’s going on in the text.
Nathan Jones: Exactly!
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Is the Bubble About to Burst?
By Gary Kah
Yes, it’s true! The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the organization that “insures” your bank deposits, is officially broke. It ran out of money in early October due to the large number of banks that are continuing to fail. This news came in spite of the fact that the FDIC had raised its rates to member banks earlier in the year in an attempt to shore up its dwindling reserves.
When the financial crisis began in September of last year, the FDIC reported that 117 banks were in trouble. Since then approximately 80 percent of the banking companies on that list have gone under. To make matters worse, according to the FDIC the current number of troubled banks has risen to over 400. Let’s think positive and say that only 50 percent of these institutions will fail during the next year; that could mean the closing of another 200 banks – twice as many as in the last 12 months. (Seven banks failed in just one day on October 23rd.)
The FDIC has a special arrangement to borrow up to $20 billion of additional funds from the US Treasury in an emergency, but that will only get the agency through a few more months. What happens when that fund dries up?
At some point the American people will realize how dire the circumstances are and, having lost confidence in the system, will seek to withdraw their money before their banks go under as well. If you believe such a scenario is unlikely, consider the fact that the FDIC recently announced it expected to be “in the red” through 2012.
This situation is compounded by the scores of jobless Americans who are depleting their bank accounts in order to survive. Although the government reports the unemployment rate to be at 9.8 percent, the real unemployment rate is closer to 17 percent. Millions of Americans have stopped looking for jobs or have taken on part-time positions and therefore no longer appear in the government’s statistics. This drain on wealth is putting an increasing number of banks at risk.
The US Government is also being affected. As a result of the dramatic rise in unemployment, Uncle Sam is taking in less and less tax revenue. The government’s tax base is faltering not only because of fewer jobs and a slumping GDP, but also due to the colossal amount of this year’s tax write-offs resulting from last year’s business and investment losses. Economist John Williams, who publishes the website Shadow Government Statistics, recently reported that the federal budget deficit for 2008 was $5.1 trillion based on a GAAP accounting basis. And, calculations from the 2008 Financial Report of the US Government showed that the negative net worth of the federal government had increased to $59.3 trillion, with total federal obligations now totaling $65.5 trillion (based on GAAP). This figure is expected to climb to more than $70 trillion by the end of this year.
Where is this Leading?
It’s really quite simple: We are broke as a nation! Were it not for the escalating amount of money the US Treasury is printing and the funds that we are continuing to borrow from foreign sources, our economy would have already come to a grinding halt. Many people who can see the handwriting on the wall are wondering how much longer we have, what will happen next, and what they should do to prepare.
Although I have my opinions, I have been hesitant to share them – especially when it comes to a timetable for future events. This is because of my belief that nothing happens unless God allows it. Global planners may do everything possible to create financial chaos in order to move the US into a new world monetary system, but if God chooses to intervene, it will not happen. Having prefaced my opinions with this statement, I will share with you the following thoughts.
I believe there is a growing possibility that a more serious financial collapse could occur between now and the end of 2010. I also believe that Barack Obama is “the anointed one” of the international elite and has been designated to take the United States into the new world order. As long as he is making unhindered progress toward their goals, they probably will continue to pump a measure of money into the US economy to create a “softer landing.” However, if resistance to Obama increases to the point where he is no longer able to effectively push forward their (and his) agenda for world government, they could pull the financial plug and throw America into a crisis that makes our current situation seem benign. Globalization efforts by the international elite could soon be accelerated through a designed crisis if they fear Obama might lose his majority in the House and Senate in next year’s election.
Most of the pieces are in place and our economic sovereignty has, for all practical purposes, already been handed over to international interests. This took place, unbeknownst to the American public, through agreements made at the G-20 summit in London (last April) and was finalized at the summit in Pittsburgh (this September). As a result, a group known as the Financial Stability Board – composed of the top central bankers of the world – is now running the show.
From now on the FSB will be making the most important financial decisions impacting the United States and the rest of the world. Six of the twelve national members on this board are from European countries. The United States, with a GDP three times that of the next largest G-20 member (Japan), will have only one vote.
Europe’s top financiers are making a strong case against the US dollar. Joining them are the Arabs, Brazilians, Russians, Japanese, and Chinese. On September 6, Cheng Siwei, a top member of China’s Communist hierarchy and the former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee stated,
If they [the US Treasury] keep printing money to buy bonds it will lead to inflation, and after a year or two the dollar will fall hard. Most of our foreign reserves are in US bonds and this is very difficult to change, so we will diversify incremental reserves into euros, yen, and other currencies.
Mr. Cheng went on to say,
“Gold is definitely an alternative, but when we buy, the price goes up. We have to do it carefully so as not to stimulate the markets.”
China bears close watching, as it is the world’s largest holder of US and other foreign bond reserves – valued at more than $2 trillion. If it ceases to buy US bonds, or if it were to transfer a substantial amount of its reserves held in US bonds into gold and other more stable currencies, it would push the price of gold and these other currencies significantly higher while driving the dollar down.
On a related front, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to stop using the US dollar for oil trading. On October 6, The Independent reported that leaders of these countries are moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.
According to The Independent,
Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars. The plans, confirmed to The Independent by both Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong, may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices…The transitional currency in the move away from dollars, according to Chinese banking sources, may well be gold. An indication of the huge amounts involved can be gained from the wealth of Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar who together hold an estimated $2.1 trillion in dollar reserves.
The report continued:
The Chinese believe…that the Americans persuaded Britain to stay out of the euro in order to prevent an earlier move away from the dollar. But Chinese banking sources say their discussions have gone too far to be blocked now. “The Russians will eventually bring in the ruble to the basket of currencies,” a prominent Hong Kong broker told The Independent. “The Brits are stuck in the middle and will come into the euro. They have no choice because they won’t be able to use the US dollar.”
“…These plans will change the face of international financial transactions,” one Chinese banker said. “America and Britain must be very worried. You will know how worried by the thunder of denials this news will generate.”
Transition Underway
Even though the stated deadline for the completion of this currency transition isn’t until 2018, the dominos have already begun to fall. Iran, for example, announced in late September that it would henceforth be selling its oil in euros rather than dollars. The nations of the world have begun moving away from the dollar, and the Obama administration is doing little, if anything, to stand in the way of these developments.
Meanwhile, the 2009 Trade and Development Report issued by the UN Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva, presents a blueprint for getting nations on a new SDR (Special Drawing Rights) world system in the near future. If they succeed it would facilitate a rapid move away from the US dollar as the world’s main reserve currency.
There are many complex developments and plans to sort out; the aforementioned represent just the tip of the iceberg, making it difficult to project exactly how events will unfold. But here is what we know for sure. The financial movers and shakers of the world want to replace the dollar with a new international currency. They will do whatever it takes to make this happen and are eager to do it sooner rather than later, while Barack Obama is at their beck and call.
What we do not know is exactly how long this transition will take, and whether the US will first be moved into a regional currency or if this step will be by-passed in favor of an immediate global currency. There are other questions, including: How much resistance will there be from the people of the United States and Britain, and their legislative bodies? Will there be a partial or complete collapse of our economy? Will other types of crises be precipitated (via terror, war, disease, etc.) to accommodate this change? And, will God in his mercy intervene to give us more time? These variables make it impossible to set dates with any degree of accuracy. However, it is important to get prepared now in case things fall into place quickly, which they could.
Every indication suggests that when the new currency is issued, it will involve a major revaluation. Rumor has it that if the new currency were to be released soon (within the next year or so) we could expect a 6:1 devaluation. In other words, if you have $6,000 in a bank account, you would have only 1,000 units of the new currency when your bank reopens. If such an event were to occur, banks would shut down for a period of time, meaning you would not have access to your accounts and probably not your safety deposit box for several days to several weeks. In some cases involving currency revaluations in other countries, bank authorities have seized the contents of citizens’ deposit boxes. For this reason I would consider moving valuables out of my box to another location – possibly a fireproof safe in my home.
What to Do
Although my professional background is in economics and international business, I have been reluctant to tell people what to do with their personal finances, as everyone’s circumstances are different. Furthermore, I am not a professional financial planner or advisor. However, because so many people continue to call or write us on this matter, I will give an example of what I personally would do if I had significant money to invest.
First of all, I would get out of debt, while giving generously to biblically solid ministries who are speaking the truth. But if I had cash left to invest after doing so, here is what I would do with it. I would keep up to 5% of my money on hand in the form of cash. This would be for short-term purchases of groceries, gas, and day-to-day items in case a banking holiday is declared where banks would shut down for a few days or weeks before introducing a new currency. Eventually all old currency will be worthless unless it is traded in for the new, so I would not hoard large amounts of cash – only enough to get through a brief period of time. All of my other investments would be geared toward off-setting the affects of a currency revaluation that would likely occur if the dollar is replaced with a new regional or global currency.
I would plan to remain in such investments until the new currency is introduced and any revaluation of the “old” US dollar has taken place. After this transition has occurred, some or all of these investments could be traded back in for the new currency. By temporarily putting my dollars into items more likely to hold their value it would help off-set any losses that might occur with a revaluation. For example, if I would eventually be given only one new currency unit for every six dollars, then it would have been better if I had put my dollars into gold or other stable currencies and then sell them off in exchange for the new currency once it comes out.
This is how I would invest my remaining 95 percent. I would put 10% of my money into silver coins that could be used to barter for goods and services. Silver is perhaps the most practical of the precious metals because of its affordability and potential use as a bartering item. Historically, it has at times been valued at 10% of the price of gold. It is currently trading at less than $20 an ounce (2% the price of gold). I consider this to be a good price.
Another 25% of my portfolio would be put into a combination of gold and platinum, which should continue to trade in the $1,000 range for the near future – possibly going significantly higher if China and other countries continue to buy gold or if the crisis intensifies. I would also consider putting 25% into Swiss francs or a combination of other stable foreign currencies. All such purchases would depend to some degree on whether prices are favorable at the time I consider the purchase. Also, the percentages of what I invest in would be conditional on the amount of wealth I have. Someone with a million dollars, for example, would invest differently than someone with $10,000. I am basing my scenario on what I would do with $100,000.
I would invest the remaining 35% in survival related items. I would purchase a few acres of land with available firewood and a fresh spring that could also be used for growing food. The fact is people can’t eat silver and gold. Food and water are necessary for survival. In planning ahead it would be a good idea to keep some extra food and basics on hand for difficult times.
As Christians, anything we do to prepare should be done unselfishly, keeping others in mind. If we are in a position to help others when things come crashing down, it will be a strong testimony to those who are unprepared. Difficult times could present unique opportunities to share the gospel of Christ with those who’ve been unwilling to listen before.
While Christians should be prudent and plan wisely as the Lord directs, our number one focus must be on our relationship with Him. We should use this time to grow in our walk, learning to depend on His direction in every facet of our lives. Just getting our houses in financial order won’t be enough in the days ahead. We will need supernatural discernment and perseverance that only the Holy Spirit can bring. Draw close to Jesus and He will provide the strength you need to stand firm while facing the challenges ahead!
For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1:7
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