Global Debt Oppression Prophesied: Part I :: By Wilfred Hahn

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

Rapture Chronicles Part 4: A Sure Doctrine of the Bible :: By Wilfred Hahn

 Our study of the Rapture Chronicle Series yielded a very important proof. The Rapture can only occur at the start of—or just before—the Tribulation begins. We have decisively proven that the Rapture cannot occur at the mid, the pre-wrath point, or post/the end of the Tribulation. To repeat: As we have shown, Scripture only supports the pre-Trib position. This view also perfectly lines up with the character and nature of God. We can rejoice about that: Our LORD is faithful. “The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does” (Psalm 145:17).

Another clear conclusion is that there are two streams of Christians in the last days. There are those who trust Jesus Christ as their Savior before the Rapture takes place, and those who do so thereafter. Their paths are very different. This is a very important distinction to keep straight.

If one mixes up these two streams, the narrative of the books of Daniel and Revelation (as well as a few other verses outside these two books) risks not making much sense. The whole detailed record will not fall precisely into place. Raptured Christians meet the Lord “in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17), their bodies will be made glorious (Philippians 3:21), and they will reign with the Lord forever. Wherever Christ is, there we will be also. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3).

As for those who become Christians after the Tribulation period begins, they will face much persecution on earth. In our Rapture Chronicles to date, we concluded that ALL Tribulation Christians will perish, and that this extermination will occur no later than the mid-point of the 7-year Tribulation.

This “persecution by slaughter” is connected with the False Prophet’s attempts to make all bow before the First Beast, to take his “mark,” at the threat of being cut off from the world’s financial system should one not comply (see Revelation 13 for the full account). This is most pivotal—the capstone of Satan’s cosmological scheming, and his last.

While we may have reached our conclusions about the Rapture by studying the Bible, others will continue to reject this doctrine. One of the reasons some people have rejected the Rapture doctrine is that they may have confused the two separate categories of Christians (as we have explained). Or, people may simply choose what they believe no matter the facts. The latter is often the case with other Biblical truths.

Most sadly, this denial may be attributable to the fact that “[…] the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3). And, being “[…] tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14).

Some choose to ridicule Rapture believers, employing personal attacks and blustery debate tactics. Often, when we mention that we have adopted a pre-millennial, pre-tribulational view and believe that there will be a Rapture—absurdity of all absurdities—we receive responses of surprise.

Apparently, to believe that a Rapture will occur reveals that one is “low brow,” “gullible,” and an “escapist.” But, even as a spirit of derisiveness and smugness is becoming more prevalent among the Rapture naysayers, the reality is that their arguments have generally been invalidated as perhaps never before.

These “nay” respondents will usually agree that any differences in perspectives are nothing over which to lose fellowship (as long as both parties are pre-millennial), and that it is not a salvation issue. Yet, “nay Rapture” proponents seem to adamantly want to convert Rapture believers … even to “deliver” them to a post- or mid-tribulational perspective.

We wonder why there is such an opposition to the Rapture view. Just what spirit—or irritant—is behind these attacks? Naysayer counter-arguments and viewpoints range from the thoughtful to pure vitriol.

Conversely, those who hold the Rapture view do not feel it an imperative to expunge the world of Rapture naysayers. As readers will know, this doctrine is not a salvation issue. The Rapture believer knows that the non-Rapture-believing Christian is given salvation through grace as anyone else. The nay-rapturists, on the other hand, generally do not see it that way.

So, why “proselytize” naysayers to the Rapture view? This writer is not suggesting that this is a priority. Nevertheless, while not every variant of doctrine threatens one’s salvation, every deviation from Biblical truth does have its price, we believe. Good doctrine is therefore important. We are charged to “[…] teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1).

However, as already mentioned, “[…] the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.” That time is certainly today!

Not surprisingly, therefore, some Christians do succumb to the notions of the naysayers.

To illustrate, some time ago, a friend (with an evangelical background, who was raised with the Rapture expectation) rather suddenly changed his mind, announcing that he no longer believed in the Rapture.

This writer was curious about what was behind this “conversion.” Apparently, my friend had swallowed the argument that the Rapture was a “new” doctrine, supposedly popularized by a delusional young woman named Margaret MacDonald in the 1800s.

This couldn’t be further from the truth in many respects. To fall for such shallow arguments is to ignore Scripture and the full history of the Christian church. There has been much research done in recent years that sheds additional light on the unfounded allegations of the naysayers. Pro-Rapture scholars have roundly invalidated the claims of those that claim the Rapture is a new teaching.

Dear reader, what is your view on the Rapture, and can you support it in the face of mockery and derision? We suspect that many Christians are “closet Rapture believers,” who will only admit their views in safe company.

We present here a short “checklist” of five points that will be helpful in countering doctrinal error in the matter of the Rapture.

  1. Back to the Source. First, we must begin with the document that is claimed to be all-sufficient for teaching, rebuking and admonishing (2 Timothy 3:16). Its truth towers far above that of all other documents in the world. The Rapture doctrine finds its source in Scripture—nowhere else. Not only is it spoken of specifically, but also it is foreshadowed and deductive based on the character and actions of God Himself.

The doctrine of the Rapture must stand on the Bible “full stop.” The view of any later church father, pope, or entranced young girl cannot add any credence nor pedigree to what Scripture has said. As it is, a so-called church father can be found and quoted to support almost any theological view. We may have our favorites, but quoting them adds nothing proof-worthy to this main point: The Rapture is a Scriptural doctrine.

  1. Since When New? Rapture doubters often claim that a teaching cannot be true if it is “new” … i.e., a view that was popularized in recent centuries or times. This argument is not valid for a number of reasons. For one, just because a Scriptural doctrine has been rediscovered recently says nothing of its veracity or history. If it is Scriptural, it is therefore correct … whether it is a recent understanding or not.

Rapture doubters like to say that the “church has historically not taught the Rapture.” We ask, What church, and during what era? Was it the founding church that was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the New Testament? Or a later church that preached a different Bible and a different gospel?

  1. Context: The History of the Church. Rapture naysayers like to sweep away the record of Christian history, and while doing so, ignore the warnings of the New Testament from its outset. Early on—nearly 2,000 years ago—Christians were already warned about the infiltration of false doctrines, and that deceivers would creep in unawares. Sadly, this was clearly an issue already during the time of the apostles themselves (See 2 Timothy 3:8; 4:3; 2 Peter 2:1-3).

Once the apostles had passed on, the dilution of the gospel happened quickly. Over the course of a few centuries, many false doctrines (surely, driven by many “antichrists”: see 1 John 2:18; 1 John 4:3) became embedded in various teachings. However, crucially, these were not “new” teachings. Rather, they were largely restored teachings that were originally based on Scripture.

  1. Solid Scholarship and Proofs. Today, we have the benefit of much scholarship on the origins of Christian doctrines. Within this record are the teachings of various preachers and theologians of the 16th to 19th centuries (outside the Roman Catholic Church), which have been found and uncovered. Plain to see in these records is the dominance of pre-millennial interpretations of the Bible.

Moreover, there is much proof of the Rapture being taught once the systematic oppression of Christians (or those with merely opposing Scriptural views) began to be lifted. The Rapture view was held by some clergy centuries before the alleged “trance revelations” of Margaret MacDonald. John Nelson Darby is shown to be influenced by these teachings of more than 200 years before his time (and not deliriums).

Today, we can say with confidence that the trance allegations of the “anti-Rapture” crowd have been thoroughly debunked and invalidated, based on scholarship and hard evidence.

  1. Logic and Apologetics. There are many excellent books available on the doctrine of the Rapture. Hence, as already mentioned, we can hardly do credit to this body of work … especially so in such a short article. Students of the entire Bible (Old and New Testaments) can sense in their spirit God’s divine plan behind the Rapture.

God always called out and preserved the believing remnant before unleashing His wrath. Consider the preservation of the families of Noah and Lot. Why then would the Church (what Jesus calls His Bride) be allowed to be utterly slaughtered under the justice of His wrath? As pointed out in this Rapture Chronicles series, it is ALL Christians who were not part of the church who will perish in the Tribulation period. Not His Bride.

None who refuse to take the mark and worship the beast (Revelation 20:4) will survive. Contrary to the Bible, if one presumes that Christians will not be “[…] caught up together […] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17), then what “blessed hope” is there (Titus 2:13)?

To the contrary, says Jesus Christ to the Philadelphian church, “[…] I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

But do we not all deserve wrath? Yes. As such, the Partial Rapture Theory (that only some Christians will be raptured and not all) can appear logical. Why? To the human, it simply doesn’t seem just that Jesus Christ would rapture all Christians; though hardly any of them are as worthy as perhaps Elijah and Enoch of the Old Testament, who were also raptured.

But, if the Lord saves us “while we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8) through grace, then the Rapture is equally undeserved for last-day Christians.

In conclusion, today, the attacks against the Rapture (except on the basis of Scriptural evidence) can be ignored. Our short, five-point checklist shows that the main arguments against the Rapture are fallacious … and sometimes nothing more than mean-spirited “hatchet jobs.”

ALL present-day Christians are both saved and raptured by grace!

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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