The reader likely may be wondering, “Just what is really going on in the financial world? And why are so many financial precedents unfolding now?” Where do we find the prophetic connections in the Bible these days?
The ripening of humanism brings with it enormous consequences. In this writer’s opinion, the massive shifts in human values and beliefs today likely play a major role in creating the conditions to reach full catharsis later in the Tribulation period.
This being the case, what then are the most critical “human” proclivities and lusts that are contributing to the ongoing development of an end-time money snare? We will examine just two such human tendencies: 1. Epic human demographic shifts and 2: ingrained behavioral biases of humans. This latter factor refers to the responses and reactions that are seemingly hardwired into the fleshly brains of mankind. Experts have come to call this field of study “neural finance” or “neural programming.”
We begin our examination of the role of these two “human change factors” with the latter—demographics. We must then first ask the question: just what is demographics? Demographic analysis is the study of a population based on factors such as age, race, and sex.
Just what is unfolding today that demographic trends reveal? In short, there are two main contributing trends—one good, the other bad. First, human longevity (length of life) has continued to increase for much of the world … to the continued surprise of actuaries. This trend is largely the outcome of advancing medical technology and prosperity. Its main impact is revealed in the aging of the population.
Lengthening longevity has traditionally been considered a beneficial development. This past century, people have lived longer than ever before. A “good old age” was once considered a blessing according to the Bible. But sadly, today, a long life has begun to be regarded as a curse. To understand this, we must also connect another demographic trend—plunging fertility. It is a highly malignant factor that will continue to accelerate worldwide.
Increasingly, households are deciding not to have children (or cannot have more children). This is partly attributable to post- or anti-familialism. More and more, people choose not to have children or to marry. Families are under increasing attack.
Shockingly, not only are female fertility rates at new lows, but male fertility is also decaying rapidly. In the case of males, we must point out that the decline in fertility is not entirely the result of human choice. For some (still unexplained) reason, sperm counts have declined at a steep pace over recent decades.
Lengthening longevity and post-familialism are the major causes of slowing population growth and the aging of the world’s population. Critically, these factors are accelerating.
But how do these demographic trends connect with Biblical end-time prophecies? The main conduit is through the worldwide money trap.
Today, the future has arrived—the chickens having come home to roost. And so, the demographic trends and human values shift have now become more widely evident to most. This has unleashed desperate responses.
People are clamoring to save for their retirement years and to find sufficient future financial income. With interest rates so low and investment prices so high, this is virtually impossible. A very large cohort of older people will experience difficult retirement years. They will not be able to afford a comfortable retirement as they may have once anticipated.
At the same time, workforces and pension systems must rely on the support of a young cohort of the population. However, that will not be sufficient. Consider the shattering scale of this age shift. We quote a report by Fabius Maximus (a respected political research organization): “The 2nd generation after the present one will be only 40% as large as today’s. The 4th generation will be only 15% as large. These are astonishing numbers. The worst large-scale pandemics killed 1/4 to 1/3 of the affected population. Only the most severe inflicted such damage.”
There can be no doubt: The scale of these demographic trends is unprecedented … even dwarfing the impact of previous pandemics (most certainly also the impact of Covid 19).
The resultant financial and social pressures upon the world will truly be profound (as is already happening). Eventually, as simple math will confirm, financial markets will become greatly distressed. Seen overall, pension funds, for example, cannot deliver adequate future income if succeeding generations are less populous than the previous one. (We had dubbed this trend the “global income crisis” some three decades ago.)
These impacts are already evident. But here emerges a surprise. At the outset, financial markets will soar … not crash as most will expect … at least for a time. How so? Policymakers see an oncoming demographic disaster and, therefore, will aggressively seek to delay the consequences (even though this will worsen world affairs later).
In a sense, policymakers have no choice. They must pump up the value of stock market prices … real estate … and keep interest rates low.
We, therefore, witness a great deception. On the one hand, the global income crisis worsens. Yet, asset markets continue to rise for a time. Therefore, the negative underlying developments are being masked to appear as a wealth-enhancing environment. Many will be caught unawares. After all, if asset prices are going up in value, then how could anything negative occur? Or so people will think.
In our view, the deceptions that are unfolding are already well established globally.
Finding Peace in an Upside-down World
Should Christians worry about end-time financial challenges? How can they avoid the world’s fixation with money and wealth?
Jesus had a practical answer to this question, though somewhat unrelated. He said to leave earthly matters (of the spiritually dead) to the dead. He told them, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:22).
We see parallels here in these statements. Let the world worry about financial crises. These are matters for the dead (spiritually), which do not lead to Life. Therefore, of course, churches and preachers should only focus on the important spiritual matters … and not dwell on financial and economic crisis.
As it is, one cannot love Mammon and God at the same time (Luke 16:13). Therefore, one must not mix up or merge these realms! It cannot be done without great harm. Trying to sit on the fence between these two opposing forces can only lead to a compromised testimony for Christians. One cannot be concerned about spiritual matters and worry about financial matters at the same time.
Beware of False Prophets
None of our perspectives here deny the veracity of Bible prophecy. All Bible prophecy has been and will be fulfilled. But even with the inviolable foreknowledge of prophecy, we are admonished, “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6). While prophecy provides a light in a dark place (2 Peter 1:19), it provides no guidance as to short-term events.
Sadly, though teachers and preachers may be well-meaning in their warnings and prophecies about predicted financial, geopolitical, or economic trends, they are on thin ice.
In our view, they are at risk of causing much harm, as many of their views are unbiblical and simply plain wrong. Moreover, they play an unwitting role in the facilitation of a worldwide, end-time trap.
Not only do they discredit the pulpit, but also they are inadvertently aiding the agenda of the Destroyer, who uses fear and greed as his agents to bring about advances in his master plan.
This writer has witnessed many ill-advised financial and economic predictions from the pulpit. As it is, secular professionals who may specialize in geopolitics or currency markets, for example, are also often wrong in their predictions (if not almost always).
We must conclude that such types of “crisis” prophecies are likely to be unreliable. It is no surprise that some securities market regulators these days require that wealth advisory professionals declare whether they have influence over their congregations.
To repeat, what we observe today is a worldwide shifting in human values … a shift like none other in history in terms of scale and rapidity. It surely is symptomatic of a godless end that is coming “like a flood” (Daniel 9:26).
Thoughts to Ponder
Today’s financial perversions are attributable to worldwide godlessness, denial of Truth, and transgressions against God. A final and inevitable financial collapse should be seen as part of God’s wrath and judgment upon mankind, which will unfold in the Tribulation period. The exact timing one cannot know, and in any case, would not be of concern to Pre-Tribulation Christians.
This is yet one other unscriptural aspect of the “doomster business” … what is being fomented in pulpits, newsletters and elsewhere. The advice and solutions found there only cater to those that can afford it. Only people with financial means are eligible to be offered such solutions and survival services. To the extent that such services are offered as an accredited Christian activity, this would not be Biblical.
The exact opposite holds true: Says Isaiah: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost” (Isaiah 55:1). The spirit of prophecy gives testimony to the thirsty that they will be given “water without cost from the spring of the water of life” (Revelation 21:6).
God’s salvation is free. God would not allow that only the wealthy be given access to His deliverance. The building up of supplies to survive the Tribulation period is not needed (nor will this be possible in any case).
God has a better plan.
Salvation is for ALL without cost. So is the Rapture. All Premillennial Christians have equal access to the rescue of the Rapture. As such, Christians need not fret. Purchase of survival supplies is not necessary.
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Wilfred J. Hahn is a global economist/strategist. Formerly a top-ranked global analyst, research director for a major Wall Street investment bank, and head of Canada’s largest global investment operation, his writings focus on the endtime roles of money, economics and globalization. He has been quoted around the world and his writings reproduced in numerous other publications and languages. His 2002 book The Endtime Money Snare: How to live free accurately anticipated and prepared its readers for the Global Financial Crisis. A following book, Global Financial Apocalypse Prophesied: Preserving true riches in an age of deception and trouble, looks further into the prophetic future.
Contact Wilfred at: staff@eternalvalue.com