Do you have Spiritual Guts?

One of the things I love about reading the accounts of the ministry of Jesus was the fact He never lost sight of what He had come to do. He came to preach the Good News to the lost and hurting of the world. His ministry was NOT in the church of His day, but was to those outside of the church. Jesus took His message of hope into the streets to those who were living without God in their life, telling them that there was a better way to live. JESUS HAD SPIRITUAL GUTS!

Today, more than ever, we need men and women of God with those same spiritual guts. The church has become institutionalized and satisfied with the status quo. Forty years ago, it was simply a matter of opening the front door and the people would come. That is not true in 2009. We have a large percentage of 2 full generations now that do not attend church. Children that grew up in homes void of God are now having their own children, which of course, will also grow up in homes void of God. The world that we live in continues each day to boldly present a message that is in direct opposition to the Truth of God's Word.
Sadly, rather than going out and challenging that ungodly message, the church has decided to withdraw from the world and isolate itself. Rather than being the salt and light God has called us to be, we have found it more "comfortable" to simply withdraw and stay to ourselves. We feel safe in our churches since we are with "our own kind." We have our OWN TV stations. We have our OWN radio stations.

We have our OWN books and magazines. We have our OWN music. We have our OWN schools. Rather than using these great resources to reach the lost, we have found it is much easier (and more profitable) to simply "preach to the choir" and isolate ourselves from the rest of the world.

This message today is a wake up call to men and women who love the Lord. God did not call us to isolate ourselves from this world, but to go out into the world and share the hope and love of Jesus Christ. I have never seen so many people that are afraid of the world that we live in. Did you not read in the Bible in 1 John 4:4 that tells you, "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world?" Did you not read in the Bible that we are "more than conquerors?" Did you not read in the Bible that we are called to go out into the "highways" and invite the lost to know Christ?

God did not call us to hide our light under a bushel, but to share that light with this dark world we live in! God is looking for men and women with "spiritual guts" to take His message to the lost and hurting of this world.

There is a world outside of the four walls of the church that is lost, hurting, and looking for answers. They won't come to church, watch Christian TV, listen to Christian radio and music, read Christian books and magazines, or go to Christian schools. To reach these people, we have to do what Jesus did and GO TO THEM.

Understand that when you take Christ into the world, they will not always be nice. They have lived their life rejecting God so most likely will not be open to your message. But never forget that your labor for the Lord is not in vain.

Even those who reject what you are saying have at least had a seed planted in their life. God will allow you to minister to people that are at a place in their life where they realize there has to be a better way. They WILL be open to accepting Christ as their Savior and changing their life. Jesus told us that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. The church has forgotten the most important part of being a Christian, and that is we are here to serve, NOT be served. We are like Eli, sitting in our grand palaces, getting so fat that we can't even move. God has called us to rise up and take His message of Christ's love to the lost and hurting of this world we live in. That my friend, takes spiritual guts.

Breaking The Israel Turkey Alliance

The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time.(The Bible's definition of diplomacy, from Daniel 11:27)

Today we're returning to an area of special interest to me. I think watching prophecy being fulfilled in current events really brings the Bible to life. It energizes our faith and demonstrates the nearness of End Times events. Few if any recent generations could sit with a Bible in one hand and their newspapers in the other and see the fulfillment of prophecy, but for us it's almost routine.

Beginning the day after I posted part 1 of this commentary, several developing stories revealed there's much more to the story. First the world learned of joint training exercises Turkey has agreed to hold with Syria. On Monday April 27, Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak commented that Turkey's decision to hold three days of military maneuvers with Syria is "disturbing." Never before has an important NATO power staged a joint exercise with any Arab army.

And that's not all. Turkish defense minister Vecdi Gonul and his Syrian counterpart Hassan Turkmani have agreed to sign a letter of intent for cooperation between their defense industries as well. According to DEBKAfile's military sources, the signing and the exercise are major signposts on the shrinking road of military and commercial ties between Turkey and Israel.

Furthermore Ankara has begun defaulting on payments for military purchases and other contracts with Israel, and is currently several million dollars behind on defense contracts worth a total of $5 billion. For its part, Israel has halted construction on a new tank factory in Turkey and is working to quickly shut down other exchanges to prevent the leakage of military secrets to an avowed Arab enemy.

Conventional wisdom has long held that Turkey's west-leaning secular army was the real power behind the government and only tolerated the installation of Islamic leaders as long as they didn't try to rock the boat. In the past they've shut down political parties whose goals were perceived to be at odds with their political strategy. (Turkey is a NATO member and has undertaken extreme measures to be seen as a European Country, trying for years to qualify for membership in the EU.) Therefore Israel's defense and foreign ministries have maintained the view that the presence of a pro-Islamic government in Ankara would not detract from the long-held ties of cooperation and trust between Turkey and Israel.

DEBKAfile's intelligence sources report they've misread the signals. The Turkish military is no longer the body it once was. The generals of today are in harmony with Prime Minister Erdogan's decision to turn Turkey's back on Israel and its face toward the Moslem world.

Washington's approval of all this underscores its new policy of building a strong a military coalition between Syria, Turkey and Lebanon. In part 1 I mentioned President Obama's OK for Turkey to provide arms and training for the Lebanese army, a force which is already largely subservient to Hizbullah and may come under its complete control in the upcoming Lebanese elections.

According to Syrian sources, Turkey has tightened its relations with Syria partly as a result of Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip. They claim that Turkey changed its attitude toward Israel following the three-week war and thus decided to strengthen its military cooperation with Syria.

And now, Russian state arms export firm Rosoboronexport has revealed that Russia is in talks with Turkey about selling Ankara state-of-the-art S-400 air defense systems. Turkey is a traditional rival of Russia, and has long bought many of its weapons from the United States. One more sign of change.

Also, an article in the Jewish World Review claims that having been buoyed by President Obama's warm embrace of Turkey, PM Erdogan has moved to consolidate his place as a central pillar in a new regional axis spearheaded by Iran, which also includes Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority.

To that end, Turkey recently signed a trade agreement with Iran aimed at doubling trade between the two countries within five years and, again with US approval, agreed to allow Iranian gas exports into Europe through the Nabucco gas pipeline which runs from Turkey to Austria. Iran's access to the pipeline will earn it billions of dollars in annual income and increase its political power as Europe becomes more dependent on Iranian gas. (And less dependent on Russia.)

A report by the Washington Institute indicates that Turkey is expected to break with NATO on such issues as Iran's nuclear weapons program as well as its proxies Hamas and Hizbullah. It said Ankara has moved steadily away from its NATO allies and toward Iran, Russia and Syria, and that Turkey's new foreign policy has come at the expense of Ankara's relations with Israel, the European Union and the United States. "Ankara will likely opt out of a NATO consensus on Iran, clash with the United States on how to handle Hamas and Hizbullah, and disagree with the EU and the U.S. on Russia," the report concluded.

For the most part, this all fits very well with Ezekiel's prophecy of a sneak attack on an unsuspecting Israel by Russia and a coalition of Moslem countries. Most commentators agree that Turkey has to be with the Moslem attackers against Israel and not on the sidelines (like NATO for example). Therefore it's been said that strategically, Turkey is the most important country in the Middle East.

It Isn't Over Till It's Over
Baseball great Yogi Berra's popular saying certainly is applicable here. Preparations for Ezekiel 38 are still a long way from being complete. As an example of how complicated these things are becoming, less than a week after announcing their big break through in Turkey-Syria relations, Syria left its new found friend to team up with Saudi Arabia and Egypt against the ongoing Turkish effort to hammer out a peace agreement between Syria and Israel.

Iranian President Ahmadinejad abruptly canceled a scheduled trip to South America, hurrying to Damascus instead. According to DEBKAfile's intelligence sources, one reason for his urgent visit was to thwart the Saudi-Egyptian move to snatch the Syrian-Israeli peace talks backed by Washington away from Turkey and relocate it in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

But he was too late. Syrian president Assad had already appointed one of his most trusted intelligence officers, Gen. Bahjat Suleiman (the Syrian ambassador in Amman) to the position of heading his government's side in prospective peace talks there.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia are solidly backed by the Persian Gulf emirates as well as Jordan in the move to cut Turkish PM Erdogan out and "Arabize" Middle East peacemaking. So Erdogan was left holding an empty bag after he turned against Israel and lined up with Syria and Iran.

(The combined Arab step also dealt a reverse to President Obama's Middle East plans. Observers say he planned to use a substantially more forceful approach toward Israel as a bargaining chip in his Middle East strategy. Strengthening Syria, Turkey and Lebanon was part of the plan to force Israel's compliance. He also hoped he could entice Iran into helping with the mess in Pakistan and Afghanistan by showing he was being tough on Israel while opening a dialog with Tehran. At the same time he warned Israel that unless they get back in line behind the 2 state solution with the Palestinians, they couldn't expect any help curtailing Iran's nuclear aspirations.)

You see, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the Persian Gulf Emirates and Jordan are all members of the Arab League. Turkey and Iran, although Moslem, are not members and are not considered Arabic countries. The Arabic countries of the Middle East are deathly afraid of Iran. They also suspect that Turkey's Erdogan has visions of re-creating the Ottoman Empire (of which several of their countries were once part) with him at its head.

President Obama's recently begun dialog with these two non-Arab countries has left them feeling very insecure, so much so that two high ranking US diplomatic missions, the first headed by Asst. Sec'y of State Dennis Ross and the second by Sec'y of Defense Robert Gates, were hastily dispatched to the region to reassure them. Apparently they weren't successful because Arab leaders were still upset when a 3rd US delegation showed up unannounced to suggest that they should invest several hundred billion dollars in the US economic recovery plan. The delegation came away empty handed and the Arabs are still angry, warning that any further US gestures towards those two radical regimes would place US ties with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Gulf in grave jeopardy.

In response to all this Pres. Obama, in a sharp reversal, has decided to punish Syria for abandoning Turkey by asking the Congress to re-impose sanctions. He's also backed away from his flirtation with Tehran and Damascus, and has scheduled a second major speech to the Arab/Moslem world, this time from Cairo. (This may be due in part to the fact that he really needs the Arab money. The delegation was instructed to tell the Arabs that Fed chairman Bernanke's recent optimistic report on the US economy's impending recovery was “premature”.)

In summary, anyone who thinks he or she sees a straight line from here to Ezekiel 38 simply doesn't understand the dynamics. Since the 1970's otherwise competent observers have been saying that Ezekiel 38 is right around the corner and indeed the world has come close several times. But always at the last moment someone or something has intervened to cause a delay because all the pieces are not yet in place. For example, the disposition of Israel's next door neighbors, Syria, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the PLO must still be determined, because all are missing from Ezekiel's list of attackers. And Israel has to come up with the treasure sufficient to motivate Russia's participation while being lulled by a perception of peace into thinking they're safe from attack. (Ezek 38:11)

Even so, breaking the Israel-Turkey alliance is a major step in bring the moslem coalition of Ezekiel 38 together. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

The Bible Haters

The battle between supporters of Israel, and Israel’s enemies within the Church is escalating.

Guess who’s doing the escalating?

In a new book by Hank Hanegraaff (radio’s “Bible Answer Man”), we find the following endorsements:

•"the eschatology they are foisting on the world is simply embarrassing to the church"

•"demonstrates the tenuousness of their views on the rapture, tribulation, Israel, even Armageddon"

•"cogent refutation of the bizarre system of end-times speculation that has become the benchmark of orthodoxy in the minds of many evangelicals"

They are speaking, of course, of pro Israel, Rapture-believing, Bible-believing Christians. There is a highly developed campaign to marginalize “our kind.” If you didn’t already know that, prepare yourself.

Further, there is an extraordinary article on this subject at Lighthouse Trails. You can read the article for yourself at www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/

The wonderful folks at Lighthouse Trails said it better than I can; the article is informative and critical in understanding this campaign to demonize lovers of Israel.

As I’ve written before, Brian McLaren, a leading Emergent voice (one of the Emergent leaders recently told me they no longer like to be called “Emergent.” I’m reminded of Charles Spurgeon’s comment that darkness hates the light), is feeling his oats in condemning Christian Zionists. I have one thing to say to that:

Bring it on.

I’ve tried to get McLaren to confirm me as a “friend” on Facebook, to no avail. I’ll say it again — and if any reader happens to have any influence in this area — I challenge McLaren to a debate on Bible prophecy/Christian Zionism anytime, anywhere. Name the place, time, and format.

Guys like that love to write their books and network and spout off in comfortable settings (such as in Jim Wallis’s Sojourners magazine), but they are gutless when confronted. And there are plenty of capable people who can confront them.

Here is a nauseating portion of McLaren’s interview in Sojourners:

“These doctrinal formulations often use a bogus end-of-the-world scenario to create a kind of death-wish for World War III, which--unless it is confronted more robustly by the rest of us--could too easily create a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

First of all, “death-wish” Bible prophecy advocates is a bogus charge. Are there fringe cases? Yes, just like there are fringe cases among the Left. McLaren knows exactly what he’s doing. It’s Goebbels-like to demonize citizens who are minding their own business. He knows that. It’s a tactic.

Now, let’s turn out attention for a moment to the Emergents’ counterparts in the Middle East. Two weeks ago, Syrian dictator Bashar Assad said there will be no peace with Israel until the Israelis give up the Golan Heights. Barack Obama’s administration and state department are telling anyone and everyone that the only resolution to the Iran crisis is the solving of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The UN has just criticized Israel for its response in the Gaza crisis.

These three declarations are lies. They are peddled by liars.

We live in the days that Isaiah spoke of, when evil will be called good and good evil.

Every rational person understands Israel is not the problem in the Middle East. But you’ve heard of someone being thrown under the bus? Israel is thrown under a really, really big bus on a daily basis.

Think about this: Israel has been fighting a war for survival for 61 years — wars come and go, but terrorism never sleeps. In the midst of that, they are dealing with the usual concerns: the economy, worker strikes, class struggles, political infighting, education. The list goes on. What other country could keep its sanity? Yet Israel not only survives, but thrives.

This in the face of enemies wearing different uniforms. Some wear military uniforms, some wear journalist garb, some wrap themselves in clerical collars, still others look reasonable, loving, and peaceful as they flit from campus speech to campus speech.

It is repulsive for professing Christians to marginalize Christians who have done nothing to invite such criticism. It seems very logical to understand that terrorists murder people, while those who oppose them really do value life. But there is nothing logical or rational coming from the leftwing camp. Partly, they demonize Israel and her supporters because they know this will not invited physical violence from said groups. On the other hand, to actually have the guts to confront the real offenders would invite violent threats from those offenders. In other words, it’s easier to be gutless.

Although some will accuse me of doing the same thing McLaren is doing, the charge doesn’t stick. I repeat: demonizing people who have done nothing to invite such wrath is evil.

We live in an age of real persecution of believers.

And so we must remember to confront the haters “robustly” and with boldness.

Calling yourself a Christian doesn't make you a Christian!

Last Monday night, I spoke at the local chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. This is the group whose national leader is Barry Lynn, a true tool of satan who is a former ACLU operative that spends his life trying to stop those true men and women of God who share His Truth in the marketplace. He has gone after many high-profile Christian leaders over the years, including me, using the IRS to try and remove the tax exemption from Godly ministries he disagrees with.

I have debated Lynn many times, so it was strange that the local group would ask me to speak, but I readily agreed. I arrived at the church where they were meeting, and walked into the foyer to find rainbow flags promoting gay pride. A gentleman greeted me and his first words upon seeing me were, "Is that a Bible?" I knew this was going to be an interesting evening when upon walking into a church, my first interaction with someone was asking me if the book I was carrying was a Bible!

The fact was, the 30 people or so who attended were all middle age to older. I have no doubt they were all respectable members of the community. They seemed to be very decent, kind people. They were a great representation of the vast majority of the people who make up our communities. Despite a belief in God, calling themselves Christians, they all believed there was nothing wrong with the sin of homosexuality, that a woman should be able to do whatever she wants "with her body," and that the Bible is NOT God's Word, but a book written by men.

THE POINT I WANT YOU TO HEAR LOUD AND CLEAR TODAY IS THAT THIS GROUP IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE IN THIS NATION THAT ARE IN THE PEWS OF CHURCHES EVERY SUNDAY!!! I AM NOT EVEN TALKING TODAY ABOUT THOSE OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH, BUT INSIDE THE CHURCH!!!

In case you have been sleeping, there is a new group of people in our nation who call themselves the "religious left." This is a relatively new term so you may not be familiar with it. That is why I felt it was so critical to take the time today to ensure you not only understood what it means, but who actually makes up this new group of people. Forty years ago, this group didn't even exist. They have actually evolved and grown tremendously over the past decade.

The "religious left" is made up of people who identify themselves as Christians and hold strong religious beliefs as well as sharing left-wing ideals. Obviously, this group has risen up in opposition to those who have been tagged the "religious right" or the "Christian right." The "Christian right" is that group of Bible-believing Christians who are politically active and seek to elect to office those candidates who hold to Biblical values on the key spiritual issues of our day that are also political issues.

These would be issues like abortion and life-related matters, gay marriage, family issues, the proliferation of the pornography industry, and the drive to remove God from the public square. Those in the "religious left" actually take an anti-Biblical position on these issues and are also heavily involved in the ecumenical movement, environmental issues, opposing war for any reason, world hunger, and social issues like healthcare, welfare, and education.

There is nothing wrong with pursing these noble social issues.Believers should be more involved on those fronts. The problem with this group is their anti-Biblical position on the key spiritual issues of our day and their involvement in these ecumenical movements that require you to set aside the Absolute Truths of the Bible.

I refuse to try and judge their heart, that is something only God can and will do. However, I have every right to judge them on their actions in accordance with God's Word. How can you say you are a person of faith, yet vote to support the legalized slaughter of over 4,000 innocent babies every day? How can you say you are a person of faith, yet vote to redefine God's Holy Institution of Marriage? How can you say you are a person of faith, yet support special rights for people who have chosen to engage in perverted sex acts God calls an abomination, including their ability to adopt children into their deviant lifestyle?

I guess the real question becomes, what is their faith really in? It is inconsistent to say you are person of faith yet continually take a stand in complete opposition to God's Word. Jesus said that if you love Me, you will obey Me. That means His Word. Of course, those in the "religious left" has been born out of the liberal "churches" of our day who make a mockery of Christ as they operate in open rebellion to the Truth of the Bible while claiming to be followers of Christ.

They support the legalized slaughter of babies, redefining marriage to include men with men and women with women, perverting the family by bringing children into homes with homosexual parents, and embrace ecumenical fellowships with all of the cults and false religions of the world. They deny the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, have rejected God's Word for the Absolute Truth it represents, and have bought into the lie of the world that there are "many roads that lead to God." These are the people who make up the "religious left!"

It is beyond me how a person can consider themselves a Christian, which means they are a follower of Christ and automatically a follower of His Word, yet take a public position in complete opposition to that Word. You better wake up, since this is the largest growing segment of Christendom, this apostate group who calls themselves Christians but go to churches who operate in complete rebellion to Christ and the Bible.

This is the group that is Biblically illiterate since they don't even believe the Bible to be true. They are the politically-correct crowd who has bought the lie a woman has the right to kill her baby. They are the group who lambasts those who speak out against the sin of homosexuality, calling them names like "intolerant" and "hateful." They call themselves Christians, but support the things Christ and the Bible condemn. Pray for these people since you can't call yourself a follower of Christ, yet stand on the opposite side of Christ on so many issues. Truth is not what we want it to be, it is what God says it is. We don't have the luxury of giving our heart and life to Christ and then live any way we want. A true follower of Christ is a follower of His Word. Jesus said, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"

Modern Rediscovery: Idols That Topple & Totter

“Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 26:1). Right from the beginning the Israelites were admonished not to worship idols. During their wanderings through various nations after coming out of Egypt, Moses warned: “You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and of stone, of silver and gold.” Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God […]” (Deuteronomy 29:17-28).

Prophet after prophet, priests and kings warned about the dangers and futility of following the idols of the nations made of wood, stone, gold and other materials … idols that cannot see or hear. Even the pagans were reprimanded and punished for praising idols. For example, Belshazzar, the last Babylonian ruler, was judged and found wanting for celebrating his idols of “[…] gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone” (Daniel 5:4, 23). Yet, the Israelites persisted: "’We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone’" (Ezekiel 20:32).

That was a long time ago. Reading these accounts today, it all sounds so primitive … so irrelevant to our time. Modern civilized people do not worship idols made of wood and stone.

So we may think. We read this in the book of Revelation: “The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk” (Revelation 9:20). Here a shocking fact is revealed to the sensibilities of modern man. We see a pagan civilization worshiping material idols in the future. Yes, in the future—from our day and throughout the Tribulation period. Actually, pagan idolatry today is as rampant as perhaps never before. Do we recognize it for what it is?

Tottering Idols Require Propping Up

What is an idol? Consulting a dictionary, we will read descriptions such as this: “[…] a representation or symbol of an object of worship […] a false conception […]”[1] and so on. The Bible, however, provides an easy, useful definition: An idol is any object of human reliance that is vulnerable to toppling. For example: “A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple” (Isaiah 40:20). This is a most humorous depiction. After all, why worship something that we ourselves must prevent from toppling with our own hands?

Again, Isaiah tells us: “The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer spurs on him who strikes the anvil. He says of the welding, ‘It is good.’ He nails down the idol so it will not topple” (Isaiah 41:7). Jeremiah, too, made the same observation: “[…] they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter” (Jeremiah 10:3-4). God must surely laugh at mankind’s attempts to build and set up their own gods. He chuckles that mankind does not see the futility of their idols if they indeed must be nailed down and defended. Said Gideon's father, Joash, when coming to his senses after Gideon smashed his idols: "If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar" (Judges 6:31). Anything that mankind allows to become an idol will be sure to disappoint and come up empty.

This is one of the key lessons of the recent storm of economic and financial tremors that has radiated across the world. Idols topple and totter. Many things held to be venerable emblems of mankind’s achievements and hopes have been toppling of late. Comically, they must therefore be propped up by man. Consider that some of the world’s biggest and most swaggering companies, once revered as unstoppable global juggernauts, have needed propping up.

The largest US bank failure occurred—Washington Mutual Inc., with $307 billion in assets. The largest insurance company needed to be rescued—American International Group. The world’s one-time largest car company, General Motors, was technically bankrupt, requiring bailout financing from governments. The biggest investment banks (Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley) all needed government help. One of the largest and most trusted investment funds ended up utterly worthless, due to the Ponzi scheme swindle of Bernie Madoff. $50 billion disappeared into thin air. (All of these entities were headquartered in the United States.) They could no longer stand on their own.

Not to be overlooked, of course, are the phenomenal crashes of various financial markets themselves. At one point in 2008, the entire world stock market had fallen by over 50% (measured in US dollars) from the previous year. Just what creature is so fickle about the value of its wealth? Surely, the widespread belief that modern-day financial markets—the supposed source of prosperity and wealth of mankind—would continue to rise to ever higher extremes qualifies them as idols.

Certain popular beliefs, which have been regarded as doctrinal truths to the humanist mind, have also been tottering. Consider that 2009 will likely record the largest decline in global trade since World War II. Trade has been the central pillar of globalization and the long-promoted condition that will knit mankind into a common mutual dependency. It is believed by humanists that once mankind’s prosperity is tightly interdependent globally, the required incentive for world peace will have been established. But now, many fret that the means to achieving this ideal is under threat. Indeed, globalization may take a step backward during the present worldwide economic downturn.

However, in the end it is likely that most nations will recognize that it is much too late to disengage from world intercourse. As it is, given the experience of the Great Depression of the 1930s, policymakers are today extremely wary of protectionist trade policies. There are no longer any easy exits from the road to globalism. The Bible allows us to foreknow that the nations will eventually huddle together to prop up their three favorite idols of the endtimes—the “unknown god, the “foreign god” and the “god of fortresses” (Daniel 11:38-39). (See also the article series on the “Three False Gods of the Endtimes,” Midnight Call magazine, November 2000 – February 2001.)

Other long-held notions are also under threat. The case for “free-market based” economics is threatened. Just what is meant by the term “free market”? It is the simple, liberal idea that people, if left to act freely in their own concepts of morality and self-interest—without much government or regulatory intervention in markets—will together achieve progress and greater prosperity for the world. This is the sure path to a world without poverty, it is thought. To no surprise, policymakers have again discovered that too many people have been acting too freely in pursuing their own selfish interests. Uncontrolled greed eventually devours its own house, weakening its very timbers and stones. That is an aspect of the curse to which Zechariah’s vision of the great flying scroll points (Zechariah 5), the result of a global commercial system built upon the cornerstones of “stealing” and “lying.” This curse “[…] will remain in his house and destroy it, both its timbers and its stones’” (Zechariah 5:4).

We are not being overly harsh in our views. Why? Consider these three widely held economic maxims: “1. Man seeks to gratify his desires with the least amount of exertion. 2. Man’s desires are unlimited. 3. Man hoards consciously and systematically.” [2] These are not our own definitions. These maxims of “self interest” are in fact enthroned and institutionalized as advanced, sophisticated theories today. It all represents a grisly, competitive world in which mankind celebrates the satisfaction of self. It is the worldly parallel to the terrible times that Paul sees invading the Church in the last days: “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God […]”(2 Timothy 3:2-4).

Propping Up the Golden Financial Idol

We live in a day where mankind has reached the highest zenith of self-determination ever in history. Today, man is in the position to seek global solutions. God, He that chose to reveal Himself through his Son Jesus Christ, is not allowed into the public square of debate for the answers to mankind’s problems. The boards and committees of cities, states, countries and transnational organizations do not think to consult Him nor observe His statutes. They choose to make their own way. They think: “He will not see us” (Ezekiel 8:12), and, “’What does God know? […] Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens’” (Job 22:13-14).

Nowhere is this attitude more brazen than in the field of economics. Why is this so? We can best understand its revolutionary “endtime” impact upon mankind’s rebellion if we see it for what it is—a religion … a global religion. It is one of those disciplines that is not a science, but rather closer to sorcery in its recent globalist applications. That is not to say that certain economic principles do not have their uses. Yet, most economic macro-policy theories—ideas that are applied by governments to manage economies and societies—remain just that, theories. None can be marshaled to create a certain outcome in the future.

Yet today, the entire world awaits the wizardry of the economic guru, the modern-day seat of the false prophet. For example, the new economic advisors of the US Obama administration: Timothy Geithner, Paul Volcker, Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, and Laura Tyson—all of them very smart people—have been called in to steady the tottering economic edifice. It is expected that their recommendations of various policies of economic tinkering will overcome America’s deep troubles. They are likely to be no better than the advisors of Nebuchadnezzar’s day.

Other advisors are sought to solve challenges on a global scale. They devise ways to get the world back on the road to peace and prosperity. Most of these efforts are underpinned by the notion that future prosperity can be manufactured at will … conjured out of mid air … and that past sins and excesses have no consequences. No. God says He “cannot be not mocked” (Galatians 6:7). He says that whatever you sow, you will reap. It is a spiritual law as well as one that applies to the physical world. To the extent that the world’s policymakers and economists ignore this admonition, they are “pillow prophets” … the whole lot of them. Against their high imaginations, God says: “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7).

Change Expected in the Millennium

In the present dispensation, the Prince of the Air continues to rule the earth. Though God is on His Throne and Jesus Christ remains seated at his right side, Satan still is allowed great influence in the world of man. While God clearly has the uppermost power, declaring that it is He who sets up and deposes rulers (meaning also under His allowance), Satan is still able to entice key people with “the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (Matthew 4:8).

Nebuchadnezzar—the most illustrious of all the Gentile potentates that the Bible informs us about—pictured as the head of gold, finally bowed down to the God of the Bible. After being deposed from his throne and punished for seven years, he came to his senses, acknowledging, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything He does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:37). His experience serves as a foreshadowing of that future seven-year Tribulation. At the end of it, mankind will finally acknowledge, “everything He does is right and all his ways are just.”

In the Millennium age, a new economic system will prevail, which will be based on completely different doctrines. Yet, they are doctrines of old, long counseled by the Scriptures. They are based on the one surefire strategy that will never fail. One little, three-word verse unlocks this key, and is found in 1 Corinthians 13:8: “Love never fails.” Both Royal Laws are extensions of this doctrine: one directed toward God and the other to our neighbors without favoritism (James 2:9). When the Lord returns and restores all things (Acts 3:21, Matthew 17:11), surely the world under his rule will be based on these Royal Laws, not today’s worldly economic maxims that focus on self. Regrettably, various teachers who identify themselves as Christian today endorse this veneration of self.

Thoughts to Ponder

Do we recognize the idols of wood and stone today? They may be robed in the supposedly sophisticated concepts of our time; therefore, they are much more deceptive. At the same time, these idols are as arrogant and deadly as ever.

You can either choose to serve God or Mammon—the spiritual entity incentivized by money and the harbor of all idolatry. This is a Bible verse that we have all often heard (Matthew 6:24). But do we really understand what it implies for the world in which we live? It speaks of a polarity that gives rise to a great struggle and the ultimate curse. We can choose to serve the One; yet the other is always seeking our affections. Our eyes wander between them all too easily. No matter our best intentions and devotion, idolatry is always only a hairbreadth away … perhaps a brief flicker of wandering affection. Yet, in repentance, we are saved from our sins.

Eventually mankind will come to the point where their idols of gold and silver will be thrown into the streets. “In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship. They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the Lord […]” (Isaiah 2:20-21). This prophecy aligns with the very same event that John saw, as written in Revelation 6:15: “Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.”

Referring again to the polarity between God and Mammon, the disciples were gravely puzzled by this apparently irreconcilable chasm. Jesus said: “’I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:23-26). We therefore trust in the God of the Impossible, accepting His salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.


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[1] Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

[2] Economic Axioms. San Francisco School of Economics. Accessed January 30, 2009.