Is the economic meltdown we are seeing in
this nation and around the world God's
judgment? Back in early 2008, I wrote a
Devotional on how God could use the economy
as an instrument of His judgment on the
United States. As we are now in August of
2011, 3 1/2 years later, do you still think
what we are watching before our very eyes is
an economic problem as opposed to a
spiritual problem?
Have you seen the headlines lately? Our
nation is over $15 trillion in debt and
climbing, with our current obligations
totaling well over $60 trillion. Friday
evening, for the first time in the history
of our nation, our credit rating has been
downgraded from AAA by one of the major
ratings agencies. At this moment, a larger
percentage of our population is unemployed
than we have seen in over 40 years, and a
large percentage of those jobs are gone and
never coming back. While President Obama
celebrated his birthday with a lavish
star-studded White House party last
Thursday, over 1.2 TRILLION dollars of
wealth was lost in the market sell-off that
day. One out of seven people are now on food
stamps!
In addition to these cold financial
numbers, you are seeing anarchy in the
streets. Every day I read about thieves
stealing copper tubing from air
conditioners, steel manhole covers, and
metals of every kind. You have flash mobs of
violence popping up all over the nation.
This past weekend at the Wisconsin state
fair, a mob of young black men attacked
white fair goers, pulling people out of
their cars and beating them. Acts of
domestic violence are on a rise in all 50
states. As financial conditions worsen,
these criminal acts are only going to
increase.
DO YOU STILL THINK WHAT WE ARE WATCHING
BEFORE OUR VERY EYES IS SIMPLY AN ECONOMIC
PROBLEM, AND NOT A SPIRITUAL PROBLEM?
My friend, God's judgment can come in
many forms. Most people think of God's
judgment as what we read about in the Book
of Revelation when His wrath is poured out
on the world in the final days through
devastating natural disasters that will
affect huge percentages of the world's
population. We also think of how God judged
the children of Israel in the Old Testament
when He allowed their enemies to take their
land and enslave them. However, today, I
want to take a look at another form of God's
judgment that is also in the Bible, but one
that most people never really think about,
and that is the economy. I have personally
felt that using the economy is not only the
most likely form of God's judgment on this
nation, but would be easily the most
devastating since it will affect the lives
of every person in some way.
The first issue to discuss is why would
we even be talking about God's judgment on
the United States? My friend, you don't need
to be much of a Bible scholar to know that
this nation is not only due God's judgment,
it is OVERDUE God's judgment. In the Book of
Deuteronomy the Bible warns," If you ever
forget the LORD your God and follow other
gods and worship and bow down to them, I
testify against you today that you will
surely be destroyed."
As I have told you many times, the
promises in God's Word are true but so are
the warnings. This nation was founded on the
Word of God and the hope of Jesus Christ.
God blessed this nation abundantly, but over
the past 235 years we have squandered those
blessings and now live in complete rebellion
to God and His Word. Just the fact we have
abandoned God and have turned to the false
gods and idols of this world, is enough for
God to pronounce His judgment on this
nation!
Sadly, in addition to worshipping the
false gods of the world, we are living in
utter rebellion to the Truth of God's Word.
Sexual sin is rampant. Men treat other men
in the most inhumane ways imaginable. People
worldwide turn to drugs and alcohol for
strength. Human life that can only come from
God is no longer respected or valued. The
greatest example of that is the fact that we
legally slaughter over 4,000 innocent babies
in this nation every 24 hours. That fact
alone demands God's judgment on our nation!
As you read through the Old Testament, we
see the children of Israel turn from God to
the false gods of the world. We see them
living in rebellion to God in every way
imaginable. At some point, God says enough
is enough and pours out His wrath and
judgment on Israel. That judgment came in
many forms, but usually it was allowing the
enemies of Israel to take their land and the
children of Israel into captivity. Sadly, it
was only AFTER the judgment of God fell that
the people would repent and turn back to the
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
PLEASE HEAR ME CLEARLY. IF GOD SPARED NOT
HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE FROM HIS JUDGMENT, WHY
WOULD ANYONE EXPECT THAT HE WILL SPARE THIS
WICKED AND APOSTATE NATION HIS JUDGMENT?
My personal belief is that God's judgment
on this nation will come through the
economy. I remember distinctly back in he
mid 80s when I was running from God and very
heavily involved in trading some stocks, but
mostly commodities and futures, how
precarious the whole economic system really
was. Now you have to remember, this was back
in the mid 80s when the United States was
clearly the dominant economic power in the
world and the US dollar was the gold
standard all currency was judged by.
Fast forward just 25 years later and the
world's economic landscape has dramatically
changed. China is clearly the dominant
financial power today, the booming economies
of the UK, Japan, Europe, and the United
States have been replaced by China, India,
and many Middle Eastern nations, and the
floundering US dollar is no longer the
monetary standard the world looks to. The
weak dollar, sagging US economy, and what is
now clearly a global economy in 2011, has
all made the possibility of God using the
economy to judge this nation even more
likely.
This is not complicated to understand. I
know economics can be intimidating, but this
is actually very simple. Anyone who drives
understands the pressure of gas at nearly $4
a gallon. With China, India, and other
nations using so much of the world's energy
resources, it wouldn't be a stretch to see
gas at $10 a gallon. With the population of
the world growing at the current rate, most
people have no idea how precarious the food
supply is becoming. We walk through our
grocery stores with shelves stocked full of
food, but it wouldn't take much for you to
see many of those shelves empty.
The US financial markets have always been
more tenuous than most people understand.
For the most part, they are one big ponzi
scheme, lots of hype with very little of
substance to back-up any of the numbers you
see. We have already seen the effects of
this with the Internet bubble bursting in
2000 (another Internet bubble is right
around the corner), the failure of giants
like Enron and WorldCom, and the current
nightmare the housing market is going
through. If foreign money ever pulled out of
the US markets, it would cause stocks to
tank, sending a ripple effect that would be
felt throughout the brokerage and banking
industries as hundreds of trillions of
dollars could be wiped out in days.
The point I am trying to make today is
that it would not take much, a few tweaks
here and there for our economy to unwind and
this nation to experience a time far worse
than even the great depression of the 1920s.
God would not have to do much to use the
economy as a form of His judgment on this
nation and it would affect every man, woman,
and child alive. Most people would be
reduced to living like some people in other
parts of the world, simply living from day
to day trying to acquire the basic needs of
life to survive.
I am not trying to scare you today, but
to prepare you. Prepare you that life as we
know it at this moment could change very
easily and very suddenly. Now is the time to
get serious about your faith and become bold
in sharing that faith with others. I know
God's judgment is coming, I know we are
living in the last days, and I know Jesus is
coming at any moment. That is why I have
worked so tirelessly, especially these past
12 years since Liveprayer began, since I
know that God has raised up this ministry
for this moment in human history.
A great revival is about to be unleashed
on this nation and the world. It won't be a
revival of people chasing miracles, but a
revival of souls as the lost come to
repentance and turn to Jesus. They won't
need signs and wonders to excite them, they
will already be moved as they see the world
around them crumbling and realize that they
need something bigger than themselves to
hold on to. There will always be those with
the hard hearts who will curse God with
their last breath, but hundreds of millions
of souls will bow their knee and confess
Christ as their Lord and Savior by faith!
Never fear. If you are a child of God, no
matter what form God's wrath and judgment on
this nation takes, we have nothing to worry
about since our citizenship is not of this
world. We have a Heavenly home awaiting us.
Our only job during these few years is to do
all we can to bring as many people to Heaven
with us. This is the time, now is the
moment, our opportunity to make our lives
count for Christ is at hand. May we be found
faithful as we take our stand for Him in
these last days.
Practically, I will be praying for you
and your family as God meets your every
need. Never forget, HE, and HE alone is our
supplier. If you have lost your job, God
will open the doors for a new and better
job. If you are struggling in your business,
know that the Lord can give you wisdom and
favor to see your business prosper, perhaps
in a different form than it currently is in.
Even in these times of economic trouble, the
Lord can still open doors to provide for His
children.
My word to you if you are struggling, be
open to God guiding you down new paths, new
opportunities, new ways to provide for you
and your family. Keep an open mind!
Also, I know from our daily emails for
prayer that many people have already been
feeling the effects from the economic
slowdown we are experiencing. Many have been
hurt by the problems in the housing sector.
Many hurt by the increased cost of food and
gasoline. Many simply struggling to meet
their monthly needs. Please know that I will
be praying for you today and for the Lord to
not only meet your every need, but bless
your finances and give you FAVOR as you are
faithful and obedient in that area of your
life. Amen!
If I can help you in any way you can
contact me through my personal email at:
bkeller@liveprayer.com