Ripening Times #9

Over the decades, I have been to countless conferences (some of these prophecy conferences … others secular economics meetings) where at least one speaker will fire-up the audience with many charts showing soaring debts. A frequent representation has always been a picture showing stacks of $100 bills reaching the moon … and so on.

Catastrophe is always just around the corner according to these speakers … some even claiming that certain “insiders” have told them that a monetary collapse is just weeks away. But here we are, some half a century and more later, and outstanding debts are accelerating anew as perhaps never before in history.

These speakers (and we mean no personal harm when we say this) almost always miss the essential point. For one, we must not overlook that every penny of debt in the entire world is owned by someone or some entity somewhere. If debt is increasing overall (and we will not burden readers with reams of statistics), the heaping of wealth must also increase. Of course, there are many underlying processes at work that bring about such extreme wealth imbalances.

Why Was the Levitical System Needed?

Since time immemorial, there has always been a human tendency to produce a rich class. In part, it is the outcome of the innate human penchants (these being the greatest weaknesses of human beings) of the love of money and economic security. Wealth would heap itself up (see James 5).

Over time, left to its natural course, the majority of wealth will most always be held by a small minority. Here we again recall that debt imbalances almost always go hand in hand with the heaping up of wealth. Many economists overlook this flipside relationship, as mentioned.

Extreme debt levels lead to a destruction of benevolent governance, resulting in oligarchy and plutocracy. Why? Because, as already pointed out, the more debt that exists, the more concentrated wealth will become over time. The wealthy become wealthier.

There is a tendency then to become oppressors … not allowing the debt captivity of the populaces to be reversed. Arnold Toynbee was one of the very few modern economists who understood that the role of debt would lead to concentration of wealth. This is exactly the process unfolding today … worldwide.

Therefore, the emergence of an oppressive, entrenched rich class was always a threat to societies—to a greater or lesser extent. (Rest assured, this is not a diatribe against the rich. These are statements about natural, innate human behaviors.)

God commanded the Hebrews to follow the Levitical system … not one like the Roman system. Under the Levitical system, there still existed plenty of reward and opportunity for entrepreneurs and industrious workers.

Crucially, the Levitical laws prohibited (and prevented) chronic economic slavery and a perpetual poor class. We may call it the Ancient Monetary Theory. It stands in direct contrast to the new Modern Monetary Theory, as well as Roman philosophy, which upheld the sanctity of debt, not its cancellation.

Ancient Wisdom of Debt Forgiveness

In ancient agrarian societies, the burden of debt tended to expand until it exceeded the ability of the debtors to repay. One drought was often enough to force farmers into deep indebtedness. Often, they would need to borrow in order to pay their taxes. At the very least, farmers would need to buy their seed to be able to plant the next year’s crops.

Readers may be familiar with Hammurabi (who wrote the famous Code of Laws). He announced one or more debt Jubilees. (As an interesting time reference, he may actually have been a contemporary of Abraham of the Bible.) As part of a Jubilee (also referred to as a debt amnesty or clean slate), debts were written off or canceled.

Debt clean slates were a wise policy. It had a healthful impact on many households and overall economic activity. The rise of plutocrats (a super-rich class that dominated everything, including rulers) was held at bay by doing so.

The Levitical 7- and 50-year debt cycles of the Hebrews were very similar in effect. The Hebrews were mandated by God to flatten all debts every 7th and 50th year. In the latter cycle, labor contracts would be canceled, and property ownership would return to its original familial owners.

A leading researcher of Middle East cultures in this field has been Dr. Michael Hudson. His most recent book, …And Forgive Them Their Debts: Lending, Foreclosure and Redemption from Bronze Age Finance to the Jubilee Year (Dresden: ISLET-Verlag, 2018), lays out the history of these practices.

Of course, the status quo has not been quick to endorse his work. Much to the contrary. Why? Because, as mentioned, we today live in the Roman Era, which pursues a much more oppressive treatment of debt. The Roman-style creditor system is supreme and powerful today and has no intention of redistributing the wealth of its prosperous elites to the poor.

Given that the current-day systems are so entrenched and oppressive … holding captives … for this system to be overturned on earth requires a “deliverer.” Thankfully, the Bible says that there will be one such person.

That is the reason why the Lord Jesus Christ said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19; cf. Isaiah 61:1-2).

For the world systems, a great global Jubilee is prophesied, and it is identified with “the acceptable day of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).

Still Living in the Roman Era

There can be no doubt that we are still living in the Roman Era today. The Bible verifies this view. As such, it only follows that the creditor/debtor relations that prevail today are also of Roman origin.

According to the book of Revelation, the Roman Era is identified as the sixth king. We quote Apostle John, who said, “They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while” (Revelation 17:10).

The one “that is” (existing now) is most certainly the sixth and Roman king. Given the pace of acceleration in debt growth, however, we would not be surprised if the 7th king were at the very door. Whenever the rule of the 7th king emerges, it will be only for a short while. Clearly, it serves as a prelude to great disaster (The Great Tribulation).

Eight for Eight Reasons

We consider rising world indebtedness as one of the “signs of the ripening times.” In summary, what are the grounds for our case?

At the very beginning of this Ripening Times series, we laid out 8 qualifying criteria with which to screen end-time factors of significance. Above all, each “ripening” development must be supported Biblically. Crucially, the Bible does directly indicate that a worldwide debt explosion plays a key role in the Last Days. In addition, our screen of 7 other indicators also validates debt as a “ripening factor.” We will list them briefly.

1. Acceleration: Any “accelerating” trend, particularly so beginning after 1948 (this being the point in which God’s timepiece, Israel, again became a sovereign entity in its original land) and/or post 1880s (the beginning of Zionism). If the Lord sees fit to clearly alert us to such momentous time points in His plan, then we would be wise to expect other indicators to emerge as well.
2. Recency: While the “recency effect” (meaning that one tends to be biased by what is seen presently) is the bane of all secular forecasters and interpreters of Biblical signs alike, a “recently accelerating trend” is much more notable than one having begun a long time ago. Why? Because the Bible frequently tells us that last day events will come “quickly.” “The great day of the LORD is near—near and coming quickly” (Zephaniah 1:14). Pre-Rapture Christians should be able to discern increasing intensity in world affairs and the convergence of the signs of the times to final events.
3. Improbability: We find ourselves asking “why” regarding the unlikely emergence of a factor… and “why now and not at some other time in history.” Why would policymakers respond with policies that are directly contrary to historical knowledge? The very improbability and inexplicability of such emerging trends qualify as a possible sign.
4. Global Scope: Trends that have a worldwide influence (not just applying locally or to North America) are an indicative criterion… i.e., identifying them as a potential “significant” trend. After all, end-time Bible prophecy is global in scope. For example, the Tribulation … the world’s leaders conspiring to unshackle their chains (Psalm 2:3) … etc. are all global fulfillments. Therefore, we are particularly alert for “global” trends.
5. Interconnection: Any trend that has confluence or interconnection with another accelerating trend of “significance”—interweaving and reinforcing each other—likely qualifies as also being a “significant” trend. In this case, for example, global debt dynamics are interrelated to “heaping up of wealth” …another ripening sign of the times.
6. Suddenness: A tell-tale key identifying a “significant trend” is its suddenness and rapidity. The entire global rise of the credit/debtor situation that we witness today has unfolded in less than a century.
7. Godlessness: We have stated that significant “signs” are also likely to be in the service of Mammon, humanism, greed and immorality. It would not be incongruous if they cater to political and economic expediency. Godlessness is rife.

All seven characteristics validate an end-time debt explosion as a qualifying candidate trend of prophetic significance. While we will not want to engage in speculation on the near-term timing of the world’s debt explosion, we nevertheless can identify a clear-cut ripening trend of prophetic significance.

These “ripening signs” of the end times are indeed well underway, as we have shown in this series.

Points to Ponder

The Creator deliberately designed the universe to comprise dualities … good and bad, hot and cold … etc. But the major overriding duality of all consists of these two realms that oppose each other: God and Mammon. God created it as such that one must willingly continue (choose) to love Him completely.

It is not possible to love Mammon and to love God at the same time. And, God foreknew, of course, that Mammon—this being Satan’s realm of influence over humanity—would entirely mislead and corrupt the world. A Roman-style credit and debt system is a key part of this program.

Massive indebtedness is, therefore, a sign of the ripening times.

All of the above is not to say that God intended all to be equal … everything to be egalitarian. Far from it. The Bible recognizes that everyone has special giftings; that everyone is different. At the same time, people who do not work do not merit to eat: “[…] we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat'” (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

It surely will not be overlooked that rising debt (in real and per capita terms) carries with it severe consequences “eventually.” The time point will arrive … as it must … where the debt piles implode upon themselves.

As the situation exists now, with global debt levels already at all-time highs, the world finds itself reliant (addicted) upon continued borrowed economic growth. Why? Because there really is no possibility of reversal. The world has embarked upon a path of no return. As we have said, this alone suggests prophetic significance: There exists today a record amount of debt globally, causing the world to be on an irreversible trajectory. Its final impact can only be of Biblical proportions, as described in Bible prophecy.

And, as we have shown, 8 of the 8 criteria that we use to confirm “ripening trends of prophetic significance” unanimously apply in the case of global indebtedness.

Complicating this situation is the fact that the world’s population continues to age. For now, these dynamics are contributing to elevated financial markets (for the short-term) … being deceptively and dangerously alluring. This delusive state of affairs could last some time yet because policymakers and individual citizens “want to believe.”

Why? “[…] Wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10). This is the aspect that many long-time “doom and gloom” forecasters have overlooked. While they may be correct in their theoretical diagnosis, they have failed to recognize the human capacity for self-deception. People will believe what they want to hear.

What is the Bible’s view on debt forgiveness? It is the same as with sin. Both are to be forgiven. Both sinners and debtors are captives. A great Jubilee is coming … a great resetting of the world’s systems. How wonderful are the words, “Forgive us our debts […]” (Matthew 6:12) to, “Forgive us our sins […]” (Luke 11:4)

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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

Ripening Times #9

What came first—money or debt? Most anthropologists claim that money came first. As mankind became more sophisticated and “advanced,” money was invented. So go their theories, further adding that mankind originally was comprised of “hunter-gatherer societies” that had no use for money. Such views are not Biblical.

What came first? Without a doubt, debt.

While there is no Biblical record of Adam having either borrowed or lent money, it can nevertheless be said that everyone is born with an innate sense of debt. From the beginning, we owe our Creator (this being called primordial debt). Mankind naturally has a sense of what others may owe to them. We all keep a private register in our minds as to who owes what.

So, it is not surprising that Assyriologists (these being anthropologists that study ancient Middle Eastern history) discovered that complex credit/debt systems existed well before the invention of money.

The topic of debt imbalances is, therefore, an old one. Living in a world of Mammon—the world of Money—and given the ingrained human proclivity to pursue riches and money, the topic of debt is a crucial one. It plays a key role in the cosmological story of mankind. It is, therefore, also a key topic of Bible prophecy.

In this two-part series, we will lay out the case as to why debt is a “ripening sign” of prophetic significance.

New Concepts of Debt in the Modern Era

An astounding philosophy is sweeping the world at this time. Global policymakers have found reason to want worldwide debt to soar. Actually, they are actively urging governments, corporations, and households to increase debts all at the same time … virtually without abandon. We would say that these policies are both desperate and risible, were it not for the coming tragic consequences and nefarious agendas.

We have many times written about the new wave of policymakers who are promoting what has been dubbed “Modern Monetary Theory” (MMT). It is gaining many adherents these days. (The most recent article on this topic was published in the October 2019 issue of MCM under the title, “Prophecy and Future Cash Flow: The World Economic Saga.”)

What is MMT? Actually, it is not a new idea nor a sophisticated one.

The biggest motivating idea behind MMT is the more people spend and consume with debt (whether consumer, corporate, government), the stronger will be the economy, household earnings, and corporate profits. It is even suggested that debt issued by governments (and bought by the central bank with fiat money) can be permanent … without harm and never to be repaid.

Anyone with a bit of common sense will see through the MMT gambit right away. The whole program requires massive issuance of new debt and massive increases in government deficits. Yes, in short, this is the new wisdom according to its promoters.

Will this tactic of pump-priming economic growth work? For one, say the experts, the funds being borrowed will have a powerful impact upon spending. Second, there is no need to worry about soaring debts these days because interest rates are very, very low, and population growth is flagging worldwide.

The usual side-effect of such reckless policies is rising inflation (possibly explosively). However, here we are told that this is not a serious risk. Were there to be a virulent outbreak of inflation, we are assured that policymakers will be on guard.

However, we have reason to be skeptical. Many classical economists have warned just how deceitful and invasive is the nature of inflation. Its many manifestations are difficult to discern … if at all. The venerated economist Ludwig von Mises warned that inflation has all kinds of pernicious effects. It is like a chameleon.

As it is, economists have overlooked some of the biggest inflationary trends of all time. Consider the steep rise in the cost of retirement in recent years. Very few policymakers have recognized this to be a pernicious form of inflation. Yet, the proponents of MMT confidently coo and coax that they can foresee and forewarn of its dangers.

Admittedly, we have grossly simplified the nuances of MMT. Economists are still trying to agree on its common definitions. Nevertheless, the alluring core of MMT’s supposed new wisdom is that high debts are not to be feared. Rather, they are beneficial … serving as a sort of economic savior for mankind.

In the face of criticism, MMT promoters make the case that debt increases are only intended for a short period of time. The massive debt hikes are being pitched as “temporary.” This reminds of a quip by the late Milton Friedman—a very influential economist: “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.” The second reason has already been mentioned. We should not be troubled, apparently, because we can rely on wise policymakers to be on guard against any future harm.

Why this rapid shift in thinking? “There is no alternative” (TINA).

Consider that at the start of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) 12 or so years ago, many economists were still of the opinion that debts must first decline before new economic recoveries could begin anew. That was the typical pattern observed in past centuries following financial crises. But, worryingly, this did not occur in the post-GFC period. Viewed on a worldwide scale, debt levels did not decline. So, what to do?

This predicament spurred policymakers to find a solution that we see today: The most politically enticing option to deal with problems is to defer them into the future. And so, debt is now soaring higher. Only a little more than a decade after the GFC, a completely opposite view is now being sanctioned and recommended by eminent economists.

As the situation exists now, with global debt levels already at all-time highs, the world finds itself reliant (addicted) upon continued borrowed economic growth. Why? Because there really is no possibility of reversal. The solutions to do so are much too unpalatable for politicians to carry out. And so, the world has entered upon a path of no return. This alone suggests prophetic significance: Today, there exists a world with record amounts of debt that is on an irreversible trajectory. Its final impact can only be of Biblical proportions, which aligns with Bible prophecy.

Can the MMT promoters instill any confidence? Would blind faith in their statements be warranted? One only needs to look at the track record of policymakers and central bankers over recent decades to answer this question. Was it not just a decade or so ago that the great Global Financial Crisis (GFC)—which ushered in the greatest economic recession since the 1930s—was blamed primarily upon over-indebtedness and the incompetence of macro-economists? How then do macro-economists and the promotion of even higher debt deserve any credibility today?

This revisionism of policies that is now underway reminds of a parallel situation: when Apostle Paul commented upon people’s preference: “[…] they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they […] shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

In a sense, the same is happening in the fields of public financial policy globally. People (including proverbial Wall Street) will favor any policy that slakes their desire for short-term profits, financial prosperity, and deferring problems to the future.

The economic lockdowns triggered by the massive, fear-driven hysterics surrounding the Covid-19 outbreak grease the slide into even more debt. Increases have literally mushroomed since Covid-19 came on the scene. Government fiscal deficits are blowing out, and central banks are expanding (inflating) their lending to levels no one would have imagined just a year ago.

According to estimates from S&P Global Ratings, total global outstanding debt—including that of governments, corporations and households—is to rise 10% to $200 trillion, peaking at 265% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020 year-end.

Can amounts this large be imagined? It will continue to rise rapidly as policymakers rampage ahead with MMT actions.

Debt: Reaping What Is Sown

We must collectively ask the following question: What will be the consequences of all the above-mentioned debt actions? Remarkably, very few of the promoters of MMT seem to acknowledge any serious dangers. This could not be more misleading.

First, one must recognize that for every lender, there is a borrower; for every creditor, a debtor; for every buyer, a seller. If debts are rising in a credit-based system, then so must also wealth (whether paper-based or tangible). For every person becoming more indebted, some other party is increasing its wealth.

Ultimately, therefore, high debt levels also produce a skewed wealth distribution … namely, the rich becoming richer. On the other hand, the poorer (those relatively poor) become more “captive” over time. These imbalances are already at extremes and will continue to widen. (See the articles in the MCM issues of August and September 2019, entitled “Ripening Times: An Endtime Wealth Explosion.”)

Prophetic Significance of Debt

We ask: Are these enormous debt developments that we see in the world today part of an end-time footprint … a “ripening” of the times? We must answer carefully, as prophetic interpretation down through the centuries has tended to be influenced by recency. Prophecy interpreters would often read their present era into the Bible.

Purely on the basis of simple logic, we have already concluded that the world’s debt imbalances are of “Biblical proportions.”

We will answer further: Based on the evidence, we are definitely convinced that mankind’s dealings with debt and credit have a cosmic timeline that will play (and are playing) a critical role in the Last Days.

If so, how close is the world to facing the economic and financial upheavals prophesied for the Last Days? Here we must provide a cautionary answer.

We can have no way of knowing the world’s exact position on this prophetic debt timeline. When mankind gives himself over to delusion, there is no telling just how severe and bizarre conditions might yet become. In addition: “[…] God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11).

The Cosmic Timeline of Global Indebtedness

Is our era’s explosion in worldwide indebtedness of prophetic significance? We have said yes. However, we have yet to fully provide our reasoning.

To begin, we must recall a bit of history.

Living in our current pocket of time early in the 21st century, we may like to think that conditions of today have always existed. We might also believe that our current political economics are so much more enlightened than they were millennia ago. We, therefore, may imagine that the credit and debt dynamics of today have always been that way. But to believe this would be wrong.

Crucially, the basic creditor/debtor philosophies that dominate the current world system originated in the Roman Era. Indeed, much of the world today is modeled on Roman-based systems and philosophies.

Creditor relations were very different before that time.

In the Roman system, the creditor tended to come out on top. Roman laws protected the lender. Debtors were systemically oppressed in favor of the creditor.

When debts rise to such high levels that households become trapped and economies begin to falter, little relief is provided to the borrower. Eventually, a perpetual poor class would form.

But, as mentioned, this state of affairs did not exist from time immemorial. Indebtedness was handled very differently in earlier times. Whenever debts became unsustainable or oppressive, a debt forgiveness (Jubilee) would be announced by the ruler.

This is a new finding of great significance. Amazingly, Assyriologists in recent decades have discovered that debt forgiveness (also called a Clean Slate Law, debt amnesty, or Jubilee) was a normal practice in many societies before the Roman Era. Accounts from ancient Babylonia Akkadia, Sumer, Ur, and other Mid-East societies all mention debt jubilees.

This debt reduction policy, archaeologists have learned, was more the rule rather than the exception. This would not be the first time that a commonly held belief is discovered to be wrong, thanks to new archaeological discoveries.

In Part II of this series, we will prove why it is the Roman-based financial system that will be judged. Its growing global oppression is a ripening sign of prophetic significance.

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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