This from Wilfred Hahn’s Eternal Value Revue Issue I, Vol. 16, Feb. 2013
Financial Signs Update—Part II
W e have begun a series on the “financial signs of
the endtimes.” Last issue, we published the first
of these, referencing James 5:3: “You have
hoarded wealth in the last days.”
There are two aspects of wealth trends that must be
distinguished. One is the overall trend, and whether it is
increasing or decreasing in absolute terms. The second is
regarding its distribution, and whether wealth is held
broadly or by a relative few. This latter question was our
emphasis in the last issue. Wealth in the world is today
being hoarded, even exceeding the extremes of ancient
Roman times.
But, is an overall increase in wealth also prophesied in
the Bible? We believe the answer is yes. James further
prophesies: “You have lived on the earth in luxury and selfindulgence.
You have fattened yourselves in the day of
slaughter.” There are several other references in the New
Testament that all point out that wealth will prove to be a
significant distraction to the Church and people overall.
There are various proxies for wealth, very few of which
really provide an accurate assessment of total real wealth.
That being said, consider that total financial wealth in the
world in financial terms has multiplied by at least 40 times
this past century. Never before in the entire history of
mankind has wealth accumulated so quickly and to such a
high level.
A significant portion of this increase in value is not real
wealth. This could not be the case as it is hardly founded in
a commensurate increase in the underlying savings or
income of the world’s wage earners. Much of this
explosion in financial and monetary values that the world
has experienced in recent decades is based upon bubble
economics and mad idolatries. All the same, it is wealth as
far as the world is concerned.
Rapid population growth throughout the last century has
been a large driver of overall wealth increase. All the same,
per capita wealth (the average wealth for each person in the
world) has multiplied by at least 10 times over this same
period. This “apparition of wealth” — as is demonstrated in
a boom in financial wealth — has occurred in a very short
space of time when viewed in the context of human history.
The last of the seven churches addressed by Jesus Christ
is one that has become fat, wealthy and contented. Its
attitude is complacent and smug, saying “[…] I am rich; I
have acquired wealth and do not need a thing” (Revelations
3:17). If this church is intended to be a picture of the
church in the endtimes, it fits into the explosion of wealth
foretold of the last days. In conclusion, we can certainly say
that wealth has boomed in the world over the last century.
As such, it definitely marks a condition of the endtimes.
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“There are two ways to
conquer and enslave a
nation. One is by the
sword. The other is by
debt.”
— John Adams
******************************
“There is no means of
avoiding a final collapse of
a boom brought about by
credit expansion. The
alternative is only whether
the crisis should come
sooner as a result of a
voluntary abandonment of
further credit expansion, or
later as a final and total
catastrophe of the currency
system involved.”
—
Ludwig von Mises
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Quote from another article in this issue:
By and large, all central banks have adopted the same
basic operating policies. They claim that they can regulate
the ebb and flow of inflation as well as debt growth in the
commercial banking system. They do so through various
means (the details of which we will spare the reader). Some
central banks may be more constrained than others due to
different country statutes and laws.
All the same, all central banks have one most powerful
ability. Technically, they can “create” money out of thin air.
Think about this for a moment: You the reader, and this
writer, can only accumulate money through earnings and
investment gains. We cannot lawfully create money; perhaps
adding zeros to our bank account, or printing counterfeit
notes. However, a central bank can effectively redistribute
the existing savings of the entire country (and, we should
add, the whole world) by creating more money.
The redistribution of wealth is a core tenet of Socialism !
Many people are “for” this redistribution because they expect to be a beneficiary of it. But the truth is, it is being funneled into the hands of a very small number of elite individuals, while a greater number of the world population slides toward poverty.
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Some sobering numbers:
The cost of obtaining a university education
in the U.S. has soared 10 fold over the past
three decades, a sign the educational system
is in need of reform, according to
lawmakers in both parties. The Chart of the
Day shows college tuition and fees have
surged 1,120 % since records began in
1978, four times faster than the increase in
the consumer price index. Medical
expenses have climbed 601%, while the
price of food has increased 144% over the
same period.
— Bloomberg,
*******************************
The actual liabilities of the federal
government – including Social security,
Medicare, and federal employees’ future
retirement benefits – already exceed $86.8
trillion, or 550% of GDP. For the year
ending Dec. 31, 2011, the annual accrued
expense of Medicare and Social Security
was $7 trillion. —
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The Eternal Value Review newsletter is a good resource for understanding money and economic trends in light of scripture. You can sign up for it here:
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