In this series, we have been documenting the many trends and developments in the world today that evidence the “ripening” of the times. We are systematically identifying the “trends of significance”—this meaning worldwide developments that have only recently erupted in line with Bible prophecy and the promises of the Lord. These endtime “enabling” trends, we show, are so widespread and advanced that it would be plainly unreasonable (even for non-believers) not to conclude that indeed the times are ripe for judgment and the return of our Lord.

In this issue, we continue our focus on the unprecedented explosion of financial wealth and its global intertwining. Without a doubt, the economic order of the world is becoming ever more fragile. A development we see emerging in the world today is increasing economic captivity and financial oppression.

New Discoveries in History

In recent times, Assyriologists (these being anthropologists and archaeologists that study the ancient Near-East) have come to new understandings regarding the financial practices of the ancient societies of one to two millennia before Christ (for example: Sumer, Akkadia, the early Babylon… etc.). Excitingly, new discoveries are overturning established opinion.

However, not all are happy with these new interpretations. There is resistance to these messages found in stone and clay tablets, as they show a very different society than what we have today in terms of credit and debt. Why? Our Roman-influenced world of today promotes and protects creditors – upholding the sanctity of debt, not its cancellation. It is contrary to the wisdom of the ancient world and, also, the Bible.

The norm in those earlier Sumerian times was completely different in principle. The debtor was protected… not the creditor. It was common practice for rulers to announce a debt forgiveness at the start of their reigns. This was the tradition of the Near East in those times. Some rulers would effect a debt forgiveness quite regularly (also referred to as a Clean Slate).

This practice was more the norm than it was unique. Doing so made good sense. In those agrarian times, most debts arose due to crop failures. People could not pay taxes nor sustain themselves. Once having borrowed to pay for such obligations, they often became debt-trapped. Many would take liens on their property.

The rich creditors would then take possession of their land, this being people’s only means of income and support. It was also common to imprison people who could not pay their debts.

In time, very wealthy property owners emerged as they assembled landholdings from the poor. This is what Isaiah refers to when he admonished the rich: “Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land” (Isaiah 5:8).

However, capital that the debtor cannot pay off has no productivity. A Clean Slate made good sense, as it liberated everyone and balanced out power and wealth. Rulers were able to counteract the influences of the rich in doing so. Yet, due to the natural animus of human nature, eventually a large and wealthy landowner group would emerge. They could crimp the king’s tax receipts, as they had much influence and power over the rulers. We see similar trends today.

Mammon Rules

It is the story of mankind from the beginning. The primordial animus of mankind has always been “the love of money” (1 Timothy 6:10), wealth accumulation, greed and the “lust of the flesh” (1 John 2:16). It has therefore always been the same—the struggle between the rich and the poor. Left alone, whatever the time and era, an ultra-rich class would emerge and oppress the majority, which were then poor.

Says Michael Hudson, a prominent Assyriologist, “[…] the ebb and flow that has characterized all subsequent economies and is still shaping today’s world: the conflict between social constraints on predatory finance, and the attempt by a rentier class to gain control.”1

As such, we witness the very same conditions today. The major difference of our time is that it is a global, world-encircling problem, where wealth is denominated in tradable assets of various kinds in addition to land. Also, the world is trapped by its expectations of ever-expanding prosperity. The gods of mankind’s present era are “consumption growth” and the expansion of gross domestic product (GDP which, by the way, is a highly imaginative and unreliable concept).

Thoughts to Ponder

We live in an age of the most extreme and systemic global materialism of all time (in this writer’s view). This statement may startle readers. Some may not be able to see the forest because of the trees. We all today are so acclimatized with our society and its conventions, that we do not see the gravity of our situation when viewed against the human timeline upon earth and the Lord’s prophecies.

The “sign of the times” is here, we believe. Mankind is inextricably imbedded in the most complete financialization in history. And, as we have shown in our writings on these topics, the final ensnarement has occurred very quickly. As readers will know, suddenness is one of the telltale markers of last-day “trends of significance.”

The very last days of the Church Era—the terrible times that Paul talks of—are described as being “without love [and] unforgiving”; instead, characterized by the love of money and love of themselves (2 Timothy 3:2-3). That exactly describes the attitudes required to underpin an environment of economic oppression, high indebtedness and widening wealth skews. That day is here. If anything (by at least some measures), these conditions are likely to get worse… and most certainly, much worse by the time the Tribulation unfolds.

Moses said to the Hebrews, “There should be no poor among you” (Deuteronomy 15:4), this being a command from God. Jesus said that He came to preach good news to the poor. He also said: “You will always have the poor among you” (John 12:8), pointing out the unfortunate state of a fallen world. Here we then see the mandate for the entire world. There should be no poor in the world, if godly principles were observed. But because of sin and mankind’s fallen nature, this has not transpired. Far from it.

Finally, to review, the Bible reveals that a great day of economic “re-setting” will happen in the last days. A Day of the Lord’s Favor will occur that will “restore all things.”

Wonderfully, the Bible does concern itself with the captives and the poor, whether in spirit or physically. An earlier 3-part series2 showed just how wonderfully God has aligned the physical creation with His heavenly kingdom and work of salvation. It provides an in-depth explanation of the remarkable Levitical economic laws. God Himself was the author of these. When these laws were practiced, the land was productive and there were no segments of the population that were chronically poor or permanently enslaved.

Should His requirements of love, mercy and forgiveness not be practiced, the societies of mankind are designed to malfunction and self-destruct. In this regard, we are at the point of extremes in the world today.

A thorough study of the economic principles within the God-given laws to the Israelites of the Sabbath and Jubilee Year, reveals the intended “wealth distribution” that God had planned upon earth. It is not unreasonable to take instruction from these commanded ordinances of the Israelites as, after all, they were called to be a light to the world (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6).

But aren’t ancient laws and principles irrelevant today? No. Consider that God Himself will again reinstitute these two Sabbath ordinances in the Millennium period. Think of it: when Jesus Christ restores all things (Acts 3:21), the Sabbath and Jubilee years will be practiced by the entire earth.

Civil leaders today would then do well if they sought to pursue the same principles behind these two ordinances. Were the principles behind these two Sabbath years observed today, our current globalized world of money would not be so dangerously imbalanced.

The world groans for a Jubilee Year. As Apostle Paul says, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:22). Something else is needed to liberate the world, to free the economic captives.

Will God also judge the rampant commercialism and economic injustices observed in the world today? The Bible says yes. Mankind’s systems will be brought to naught.

Yet, mankind has been given this great promise: “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience” (Hebrew 4:9-11).

1 Michael Hudson, “…And forgive them their debts: Lending, Foreclosure and Redemption: From Bronze Age Finance to the Jubilee Year,” ISLET-Verlag Dresden, 2018, p. 22.

2 April to June 2011 issues of Midnight Call (Part I Jubileum: God’s Prophetic Outline for Prosperity; Part II Jubileum: Human Oppressors and Enslavers Restrained; Part III Jubileum: Hope for the Poor in Spirit and Wealth).

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.

You can contact Wilfred at: staff@eternalvalue.com

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(The Great and Final Jubilee)

Ripening Times – An Endtime Wealth Explosion: Part I

In this series, we have been documenting the many trends and developments in the world today that evidence the “ripening” of the times. We are systematically identifying the “trends of significance”—this meaning worldwide developments that have only recently erupted on the scene in line with Bible prophecy and the promises of the Lord. These endtime “enabling” trends, we show, are so widespread and advanced that it would be plainly unreasonable to not conclude that the times are ripe for judgment and the return of our Lord.

In this issue, we focus on the unprecedented explosion of financial wealth and its global intertwining. A development we see rapaciously emerging in the world today is increasing economic captivity and financial oppression. We are now living in the most basal and duplicitous of financial regimes of all time. Economic oppression is becoming more extreme. Without a doubt, the economic order of the world is becoming ever more fragile. We will explain why. However, to truly document this statement, we must examine ancient history as well as modern financial developments. We will do that … though briefly.

What is exciting to learn, therefore, is that the Bible prophesies a day where these oppressive conditions will be reset. One great “Day of Jubilee” will be announced. Until then, however, the “endtime money snare” continues apace. The day will arrive where indeed a dictator can and will control the entire economic order of the world. No one will be able to buy or sell without first taking the mark of the beast (Revelation 13:17). According to our understanding of Scripture, that will happen closer to the middle or first half of the Tribulation Period.

Financial Trappings

We return to our aim of uncovering “significant” trends. Very definitely, one of these “signs of the times” that we have long identified as an end-time phenomenon is a global explosion of wealth (which goes hand-in-hand with rising materialism). It will be marked by a very imbalanced distribution of wealth—i.e. a super-rich emerging, which controls most of the world’s riches, and the majority of people having very little. A number of Bible verses prophesy this worldwide development; other Scriptures also prophesying companion trends.

We have written extensively about endtime wealth and related “money” trends for some time. A book written by this author entitled The Endtime Money Snare: How to Live Free (published in 2002, now out of print) specifically focused on this topic. As such, we will limit our documentation of the trends identified in this article, and refer to only one prophetic Scripture. It comprehensively describes such future conditions, and is found in James 5:1-6: It reads:

“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.”

This description of “endtime” oppression by the rich could not be better put. As we see, wealth here is described as having been “heaped” or “amassed,” as implied by the Greek word saurizo. This is an important distinction as it gives evidence of a wealth skew. Wealth cannot be heaped and concentrated without there being a lessening or deprivation of someone else’s relative wealth.

Economists that study wealth distribution trends all conclude that today’s wealth skew (viewed both in America and globally) is the most extreme since the late 1920s … perhaps even from ancient Roman times.  However, an accurate assessment of such matters is impossible. Why? Because much wealth is deliberately hidden.

For example, one leading analyst and professor at the University of California at Berkeley, Gabriel Zucman, claims to have exposed trillions of dollars of tax evasion by the global rich. His conclusion is that the wealth imbalances are much worse than generally believed.

The Final Jubilee

The Bible describes a “resetting” of world financial and economic affairs occurring at the time of Christ’s return. Why? The world at that time would be economically oppressive; financially entrapping captives as never before. We lean to the view that first will come a judgment (that being the Great Tribulation period, when mankind’s systems are destroyed); then the Year of Our Lord’s Favor at the start of the Millennium.

As mentioned, today we live in the most basal of economic regimes of all time. It is the era of the creditor … the least virtuous and most unfair of economic orders. It is the most corrosive and oppressive of all (this comment perhaps linking to Apostle James’ comment that even gold would corrode in that time). It is a Roman system. It continues to define our global systems today. We are again heading toward a regime of plutocracies (meaning an era where the rich govern).

We note that Isaiah’s prophecies foreshadow this development. For example, for the time of the last days, he prophesied: “It will be the same for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor” (Isaiah 24:2). We see here that he lists last the relationship of creditor and debtor.

Please note the order of the relationships described in this prophecy. There are five ranging from virtuous to basal. The timeclock of the progression is near midnight. Today, on a global level, the creditors (and the rich) have taken over, pushing the entire world into a condition of virtual slavery. According to David Graeber: “We are now witnessing the rise of the first planetary administrative system designed to protect the interest of the creditors over the social contract. The banksters and bean counters rule the world” (see his excellent and recent book Debt: The First 5,000 Years, Melville House, 2011).

Are we besmirching the rich? As we always explain, being rich is not a sin. In fact, some rich are highly used of the Lord. However, it is a fallen world in which the powers of Mammon and the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10) are the primary engines of human action upon earth.

Where Is the Lord’s Day of Favor?

Just where in the Bible is it prophesied that there would be a great Jubilee … namely, the Day of the Lord’s Favor? Readers will be familiar with this Levitical system. A Jubilee (which occurred every 50 years) effectively was an economic “resetting” … a restoration. All debts were extinguished, and heritage land was returned. A similar Sabbath year rest was also required. Every seven years, outstanding debts were laid flat.

However, our focus is upon the Jubilee Year, which provided a comprehensive resetting of wealth and debt every 50 years. The number 50 is the year that follows 7 weeks of 7. Therefore, the Jubilee Year was the 8^th Sabbath in a 50-year period. The number eight in the Bible signifies a new beginning.

Isaiah tell us that “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me [Jesus], because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair […]” (Isaiah 61:1-3).

Clearly, the Year of the Lord’s Favor is mentioned. But what happens on this day?

In Matthew 17:11, Jesus said: “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things.” What will be restored? All that was proclaimed by the prophets. So says Apostle Paul in Acts 3:21: “Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.”

To conclude: What is therefore proclaimed for the Day of the Lord’s Favor is good news for the poor and freedom for the captives, and the end of darkness for the prisoners. These all have an economic interpretation, and are the very same benefits that the Hebrews were commanded to perform in the Sabbath and Jubilee years.

The Hebrews, however, did not do so … at least not for very long. God indicts them for this very thing. In time, God punished Israel and Judah for not observing this ordinance. “Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the LORD—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth” (Jeremiah 34:17).

The 70-year captivity in Babylon was directly proportionate to the number of Sabbaths that Judah had not observed for the previous 490 years, as Moses had warned (Leviticus 26:34). “The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah” (2 Chronicles 36:21).

A similar judgment will come upon the whole world’s Mammon creditor system, which refuses economic freedom and to uphold the borrower. Rather, it protects the creditor not observing any Jubilees or Sabbaths. The first six millennia will be followed by a final Jubilee, which aligns with the 7^th Millennium … the Chiliasm otherwise known as the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ upon earth.

Thoughts to Ponder

The Lord’s Prayer, given to us in Matthew 6:9-13, has the statement, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (verse 12). However, Luke provides us a slightly different version of this prayer. He writes: “And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4, KJV). Here we note that Matthew refers to “debts” being forgiven, while Luke mentions “sins” being forgiven. Two different Greek words are used: “debts” (opheilēma) and “sin” (hamartia), respectively. Are these two accounts therefore inconsistent … one of them perhaps in error?

No. Both of these similarly involve indebtedness. Sin and debt are very closely related concepts. It is important to recognize that the Lord’s Prayer embraces the entire cosmology of God’s plan for the world, and is therefore also prophetic in character. The statement, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10) will not happen until the Millennium at the earliest. Similarly, the full forgiveness of mankind’s sins and debts, including that of the Hebrews (Daniel 9:24), will not occur until the beginning of the Millennium. As such, the forgiveness of both debts and sins are in the spectrum of the Lord’s Prayer. In the final Part II, we discuss the ripening of the timeline calling for a final Jubilee.

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.

You can contact Wilfred at: staff@eternalvalue.com