We continue with our theme of 12 endtime fuses. Crucially, each of these “fuses” identifies a shift in mankind’s beliefs of endtime significance. This segment of the series discusses the 6th of these—a willing conversion to the immorality underlying a global economic/monetary system.
Money—assuredly one of the key factors that makes humans different from animals—is the commandeered medium of Mammon. Its strategic significance in the cosmology of mankind is more than it just being the chief temptation that qualifies “the love of money” as being “the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Crucially, “money systems” also play a strategic eschatological role as can no other form of earthly rule. Why is this the case?
There is no more effective earthly way of controlling the entire world than through a worldwide money system. This offers an essential and strategic possibility to Satan and his hierarchy of fallen angels. They do not have omnipresence as does God, so they must use other means to achieve their objective of leading the entire world astray, the Bible tells us: “[…] that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray” (Revelation 12:9). And, as is usually the case, “the way of Balaam” (2 Peter 2:15) lures many to complicity with this system that is also energized by the “love of money.”
That there will be such a controlling money system can be deduced from Bible prophecy. Revelation 13:17 tells us that it will be possible someday to control buying and selling worldwide. How is that achieved? With a closed, global financial system, outside of which no commerce can be possible, as is already the case for the most part today.
But how does such a system come about? It requires cooperation in the beliefs and confidence of most all mankind. If this were not so, there could be no global integrated system of money and commerce. These required beliefs of humanity have contributed to the proliferation of just such a system relatively recently … these being the acceptance of the theories of modern macroeconomics and monetarism.
Readers may be surprised to learn that this system is really dependent upon “beliefs.” As such, this trend qualifies as one of our 12 endtime “burning” fuses. We will explain why, as well as the potential for its rather sudden impact.
Recent Unorthodox Trends in Central Banking
As has been happening in recent years, central banks have created a lot of money … literally out of thin air. Consider the scale of these central bank interventions. Globally, we note that the 8 largest central banks of the world have expanded their balance sheets (an indication of how much printed money they are pushing into the commercial banking system as well as non-bank sectors) from $5 trillion to $15 trillion since 2007. These figures are shockingly large, yet few are warning about the disastrous consequences for the world.
Today, these central banks have swelled in size to the equivalent of nearly 25% of world GDP (gross domestic product)! This is incredible, as no one would have thought this possible even a few years ago. Yet, recently, the Bank of Japan has upped the recklessness even more, in relative terms virtually tripling the money creation of even the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Such central bankers as Dr. Ben Bernanke (head of the U.S. Central Bank), Mario Draghi (head of the European Central Bank), and Haruhiko Kuroda (the new head of the Bank of Japan) are the most powerful men in the world. They are celebrated today for their actions of massive illicit money printing and contributing to increasing government indebtedness. In this they are considered to be acting lawfully, and moreover, are considered geniuses for having supposedly forestalled deeper economic recessions.
But, the kudos are much too early. The final and most terrible consequences have yet to come. Observers and commentators confuse the pleasures of sin with the wages of sin. Short-term deferrals only lead to greater consequences over the long-term. The Bible outlines the folly of denying these truths. The world is assured that it will reap what it sows. “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction” (Galatians 6:8). Yet, for the time being, the world chooses to believe what it wants to believe.
No Escape of Consequences
Once on the path of infinite money, there is no easy road back. The ability to “create” unlimited money (whether technically, temporarily, or permanently) is a most powerful policy tool. Yet, the fact remains that governments alone cannot create wealth or growth. They may be able to delay the consequences of bad policies. But they cannot prevent the inevitable and consequential damages. Ultimately, all destruction of productive capital and illicit wealth transfers will come to roost, though its results may be diverted for a time.
God did not give mankind the ability to create wealth through money falsehoods, but only through labor and savings. Nevertheless, the human race has always been prone to believe “get rich” schemes. In this sense, modern-day central bankers and macroeconomists delude themselves, as well as all people who put their hope in them.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. Similarly, there is no such thing as costless, fabricated money or effortless prosperity. Ultimately, all money is owned by someone or some entity. When money is created fictitiously by the stroke of a pen, it may seem effortless, but it is not free. Over time it causes painful societal distortions, economic dysfunctions and uneven wealth distribution. It all leads to (or is symptomatic of) increasing distrust and lawlessness at many levels.
How did this state of false money come about?
The History of Fractional Reserve Banking
Central banking is a relatively new concept in human history. Only as recently as the year 1900, there were just 18 such institutions in the world. At the time, all of these were in Europe, with the single exception of the Bank of Japan. The system of central banking then spread widely between the two World Wars. By 1980, over 100 or so were in operation. Following the rapid spread of globalization, there are now over 170. Even former and presently Communist countries followed suit. Consider that China’s central bank is today the second largest in the world. Readers will understand just how recent this global system of central banks has emerged.
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. And, incidentally, central bankers are not elected officials.
Economic Beliefs Proven to be Immoral
Are macroeconomics and fractional reserve monetary systems immoral? Using the Bible as our reference point, the answer must be in the affirmative. Let’s next cite a few simple examples as proof.
It is a virtual consensus today that countries need to have their own currencies if they are to weather the unwanted consequences of their unwise fiscal or monetary policies. Why? So they can better shove the burden of their economic misalignments upon the rest of the world through currency debasement. In a number of ways, this is the same as stealing. It forces losses on foreign creditors and also has the stealthy impact of illicitly transferring wealth. But that would be considered inconsequential. To do so is considered “wise policy,” endorsed by highly revered economists. The morality of such “science” is never questioned.
Consider this question facing economists today: How to rescue a country’s economy without raising debt levels further. Why, you must print new money…literally creating money with a stroke of the pen. As we have already documented, this is indeed occurring around the globe. In short, what this means again is that illicit wealth transfers between different members of society and theft must be officially endorsed. The victims may be the retired, the elderly, or the defenseless. Those in the know or in advantageous positions become wealthier; the unwitting ever poorer. These effects are known by economists, but shockingly, these policies are endorsed nonetheless.
There are plenty of shaman policy economists today who counsel the wisdom of debt default to individual countries. What they fail to recognize is that were all the nations of the world to do so, we would have an utter collapse of global financial systems.
We will highlight one last accepted immoral foundation of today’s economic policymakers: It is validly acknowledged that over-indebtedness has been a major contributor to financial and economic ailments facing the world today. Yet, well-known economists seriously recommend that much higher government debt levels are required to boost economies back into recovery mode and long-term health.
Only a senseless person without reference to Biblical morality, would make the argument that what made the patient sick should also be prescribed to again make them better. Such medicine would be considered flimflammery. Yet, the political economics establishment experiences no shame or loss of credibility believing such things.
There are other delusions that are being prescribed by political economists today that we could outline. Nevertheless, policymakers still search out their advice. Suffice it to make the observation that the attitude of the nations is pretty much as it was in the time of Isaiah, “They say to the seers, ‘Don’t see visions,’ and to the prophets, ‘Don’t give us visions of what is right! Instead, tell us welcome things, prophesy illusions’” (Isaiah 30:10).
The only difference today is that this condition applies globally, not to just one or two countries, such as was the case during the times of ancient Israel. Though we may think that our era deserves greater awe due to its apparently advanced knowledge and “science,” it is no different than any other in this one respect: Its shamans were always given great respect and credibility, though they were exactly that—shamans and false prophets.
The Biblical Standard of Moral Money
The Bible frequently talks of scales (“balances” in the KJV). Honest scales were a command to the Hebrews: “Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin” (Leviticus 19:36). The prophet Ezekiel warned Israel and Judah: “You are to use accurate scales, an accurate ephah and an accurate bath” (Ezekiel 45:10). Also, spoke the Prophet Micah, “Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?” (Micah 6:11). There are many other Scriptures that we could quote.
Crucially, it is these “known” weights that were tampered with. In so doing, they were tampering with God’s truths. It is He who provides the measuring line…the ancient boundary stones. For, “Honest scales and balances belong to the LORD; all the weights in the bag are of his making” (Proverbs 16:11).
The OT prophets indicate to us how corrupt Israel had become economically. A culture of deceit and fraud was imbedded in society. “‘When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?’—skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales […]” (Amos 8:5). Skimping, boosting, and cheating were standard practices. In our day, an interconnected global money system has been built on exactly such a foundation.
In this writer’s opinion, conditions today are similar, yet much, much worse. Of note is the fact that the words “scales” and “balances” are in the plural form.
Thoughts to Ponder
Without a doubt, we are now witnessing an era where economic policymakers and the major central banks of the world are desperate. They have chosen to break all the rules and have abandoned any semblance of probity and integrity. They are manipulating monetary systems and are creating “infinite” money as never before, openly and brazenly corrupting the “scales.” They have gone past the point of no return, knowingly and willing choosing to brazenly “steal and thieve.” It is awe-striking to witness.
But, what about the potential for explosiveness of this endtime “burning fuse”? More than anything, financial systems are highly prone to sudden changes. This is for two reasons. First, the workings of this system are dependent upon confidence. Human confidence can disappear in an instant. Second, financial systems are based on debt and fractional reserve banking. That produces a condition of acute instability … a very low margin for error.
Observers of financial systems have noted that while it may take a long, long time for crises to finally break out, when they do so they unfold extremely quickly. As such, the collapse of the financial belief systems can indeed be sudden and explosive. Bible prophecy appears to forewarn of the “suddenness” of key events.
For example, “While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Though our Lord may be tarrying, when the time of judgment arrives it will unfold with lightning speed. We also note the suddenness of the final world power regime that will rule the world. Prior to the appearance of the Antichrist, it will come to form very quickly and will be on the stage for only “one hour” (Revelation 17:12). As well, the Antichrist, who is also identified as the 8th king who belongs to the prior 7 world hegemonic kingdoms, will exist but a “little while” (Revelation 17:10).