Negative Interest Rates Are Connected to Bible Prophecy

As long as money has been in existence, there have been people willing to loan it out to others for a fee. Our records for interest rates go back 5000 years. The highest recorded interest rates occurred during the Persian Empire 539 B.C., when a brutal taxation system forced people to borrow money at 40 percent. The historic average for interest rates is 4 percent.

We currently live at a time when interest rates have never been so low. When historians reflect back on 2016, a remarkable statistic likely to be noticed with amazement is how people were willing to accept a negative return on their money.

Not until 2014, were negative interest rates implemented by a major central bank. The European Central Bank forced rates below the negative milestone by lowering the deposit rate to 0.2 percent in September, 2014. With that being the top rate for money, a number of other European nations turned to negative interest rates. Today, we have over $7 trillion in government-issued debt with negative yields.

The standard argument for negative rates is the need to fight deflation. Central bankers claim that lower prices cause people to hoard cash. By placing a tax on money, people are be motivated to go shopping. So far, negative rates have failed to increase spending.

The real reason for negative interest rates is to underwrite support for the massive debt loads of the world’s debtor nations. If rates were to rise to their historic average, the U.S., Japan and most European nations would be unable to fund their federal budgets.

Japan is in the worst shape. Last year it spent just under 100 trillion yen, but took in hardly 50 trillion yen of revenue. The reality of a nation with a mountain of public debt having reached 300 percent of GDP—means that it cannot afford to pay even a half a percent on money. With Japan hopelessly addicted to deficit spending, soon, negative rates will not be enough to keep them afloat.

Negative interest rates create a ticking time bomb by increasing the value of existing bonds. As rates go down, the value of the bonds go up. Bonds issued a few years back with a 30-year maturity and a 2 percent coupon rate responded this way: When interest rates dropped to zero, the bond rose in value by 34.7 percent. A bond selling at a face value of $1,000 before the interest rate drop, would have risen to $1,347, for a gain of $347.

If interest rates where to suddenly normalize, there would be a catastrophic loss for existing government bonds. Japan just had its 30 year bond—hit .47 percent. If rates where to soar to 4 percent, a freshly minted bond with a face value of $1,000, would decline to $300. If rates rose 8 percent, the same bond would only be worth $92.

Japan is in demographic nightmare; with its working age population set to plummet from 78 million to about 52 million over the next 30 years. It already has 31 million retirees, and that number is projected to hit 36 million by 2060. Bondholders in Japan should be demanding Persian Empire type rates to cover their risks.

The United States is not far behind Japan. We face the same problem with an aging population, which will cause our debt levels to soar in the coming years. However, unlike Japan, our debt is not self-funded. Our strategy involves the rest of the world buying our Treasury notes. When we get to the point of needed negative interest rates, the world will probably balk at such a deal.

It is truly amazing to watch the world’s financial system hold together. A meltdown has not occurred because Jesus said the time of His return to rapture His Church would take place at a time of peace and safety. For interest rates to have drifted into negative territory in order to maintain this period of stability—demonstrates how much we are on borrowed time.

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).

–Todd

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Presidential Political Purulence

An infection is spreading among the American populace. It isn’t of the bacteriological or viral sort in the biological sense. But, it is an epidemic in some ways more virulent, more septic. It seems to have contaminated society at every level–even Christian pastors I would have thought would have been biblically vaccinated against the anti-God strain.

Unrestrained by apparently any prophylactic inhibitor, such as media censorship or even Moral Majority-type protective shielding, the salacious show goes on. And, it is made manifest before the nation and the world in an observably, unabashedly shameless display.

It shouldn’t surprise, one must suppose. We’ve had hints of such lasciviousness within the White House, particularly since JFK’s passing–that is, since enough time has passed that historical spelunkers have exposed the sexual trysts in the White House of Camelot’s leader way back there fifty-plus years ago. A president was later deemed a “crook” by the Watergate inquisitionist. But, other than often-expletive, deleted language discovered on the infamous recordings of the Nixon White House, there was nothing even remotely approaching the sexual goings-on like during the Kennedy White House years.

Many accounts of LBJ and his rather raw and rowdy approach to the presidency have since produced accounts of sexual debauchery in the White House. But, until Bill Clinton, all was kept in the Oval Office closet. That closet was opened for all to know when that president’s activities with the young intern within the small study just off the oval room was uncovered.

That down-and-dirty activity–a paraphrase of how Obama’s preacher, Jeremiah Wright, put it–opened the once-high office of the presidency to the cesspool humor and conversation once reserved for the porn magazines and shops where only the most derelict would openly venture.

Now, on the presidential election debate stages where once the all-important issues and events of our time were heard, we are subjected regularly to debased topics once only discussed in those forbidden books such as in Xaviera Hollander’s The Happy Hooker.

Talk of male and female genitalia are in today’s political discourse thrown about in vulgar, slang invectives as readily as Richard Nixon might have once thrown accusations that John F. Kennedy was too young and inexperienced for the presidency.

It is an astonishing thing to consider–the Nixon-Kennedy debates (or any other) as against what we are seeing now.

I remember the kind of gutter talk we are hearing by presidential candidates today thrown about by teenage boys during junior high and high school when I was in the ninth grade or so. Back then, those lunkheads–of which I was much too often one–would never deign to bring that sort of conversation out into the light of adult society.

Now, we have presidential wannabees talking about such things–right out in front of the bright lights and cameras, proudly airing their braggadocios salaciousness for the world to hear.

There is, obviously, according to the polls, a vast, reality show-type audience that is entertained by all of this new “populist” political trash-mouth talk. Those who aren’t necessarily amused or entertained by it sit in silence for the most part, overlooking the degree to which the once most- respected office in the land is being debased and degraded.

Some of this silent sort, as I say, are recognized names within evangelical Christianity. It is most distressing to have to acknowledge that this is the case.

This is not to put down any one presidential candidate, or to build up another. My only exhortation to the reader is that you use much discretion and pray for godly discernment during this crucial election season. We are in prophetic times, of this I have no doubt. America is subjected to this presidential political purulence at a time when powers and principalities in high places intend to assert their wickedness upon a generation ripe for the coming Antichrist rise to power.

The Scripture that comes to mind should serve as a mirror into which we, the voters, should look, while doing our best to move in a direction other than moved the once-condemned people the Scripture depicts.

Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.

I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them. (Jeremiah 8:12-13)

–Terry

The Pitfalls of a Two-Party System

For over 160 years, the United States has had just two major political parties. Most democratic nations have a multi-party system; with it being rare for any one party to represent more than 25 percent of the population. The only way to reach a governing majority is for several parties to form a coalition.

All that horse trading often leads to turmoil when one group doesn’t get what it wants.

If the split is large enough, the entire government may collapse. Nations with a high-level of political division, have leadership that is in constant rotation.

The pitfall of Two-Party System is that you only have two choices when it comes time to vote. If you don’t support the Republican candidate, the Democratic candidate has a much greater chance of winning and taking us closer to losing our liberties even more.

We ran into this problem back in 2012 with Mitt Romney. There were a number of Christians who were saying we can’t vote for a Mormon. We ended-up with four more years of a Muslim friendly president.

This simple truth of only having two choices on election day doesn’t seem to be understood that well at the Republican party. Now that Donald Trump has achieved a huge lead over his remaining contenders, several party officials are stepping forward to express their opposition. Republican Sen. Ben Sasse said he won’t vote for Donald Trump if the billionaire becomes his party’s nominee. Sasse wrote on twitter “I’ll look for some 3rd candidate-a conservative option, a Constitutionalist.”

At this point, a new third party candidate would have to be a write-in. In most states, the ability to get a new name on the ballot has already expired. There was talk of former Mayor of New York, Michel Bloomberg jumping into the race, to run against Trump, but the support for that option quickly faded when it became clear that Bloomberg would steal more votes from Democrats than Republicans.

I think Hilary Clinton is one the worst candidates to ever run for president. When you see her at campaign rallies, a sense of awkwardness is evidenced in her persona. She is winning the race because the Democratic party has predetermined her victory. Bernie Sanders could get 60 percent in every state and still lose to Clinton because unelected superdelegates have been selected to side with her.

The odds do favor Clinton in a matchup with Trump. Because of mostly financial reasons, a large segment of the population will automatically vote for the Democratic party. With Trump having the highest negatives in the history of political polling, he needs to start uniting people if he is to have any chance of winning the big prize.

Something needs to be done about these news outlets that act as agents of the Democratic party. The New York Times is said to be sitting on a video clip of Trump saying something that will hurt his chances. The paper is obviously waiting for him to gain the nomination before dropping this so-called bombshell. This type of journalism is what you would expect from a one-party state like North Korea or People’s Republic of China.

The presidential race may not be the only disaster on election night. The current U.S. Senate has 54 Republicans and 45 Democrats (including one independent). There are 34 seats up in 2016, of which 24 are held by Republicans. Democrats will only need to gain 4 or 5 seats to take control.

What I’m hoping will take place in these last few days is that Republican party insiders and big money donors will rush to Ted Cruz. In my opinion, he would be our best shot at defeating Clinton and reversing some of the damage inflicted by her former boss. After the Washington Establishment has spent all this time trying to smother Cruz’s candidacy, it may be expecting too much for them to now see Cruz as their last hope.

On election day, Conservatives may have no choice but to vote for Trump. Our only option may be down to choosing the lesser of two evils. If that is the case, my hope is that God allows us to bypass such a dreadful decision.

“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Rev. 3:10).

–Todd

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Rapture Delayed

We have looked a number of times in this column at those who mock the end-times message and the Rapture in particular. Because those who scoff have been of the abrasive, unbelieving variety for the most part, there is a standard Bible verse reply I’ve usually employed in response.

The scriptural reply has most often been intended to let those mocking know that they are, in actuality, fulfilling Bible prophecy.

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (2 Peter 3:3-4)

As of late, however, such a reply doesn’t quite fit that which should compose an appropriate response. That is because the questions are coming weekly from genuine believers in the Pre-Trib Rapture of the Church. These Christians are worried–some very worried.

These look around them and on every side they see and feel the satanic pressures from this fallen sphere closing in. Issues and events –the very ambience in which they find their lives engulfed–generate thoughts that their circumstance is beginning to look much like the Bible’s description of the Tribulation itself.

To illustrate the growing angst, I’ve chosen the email of one such Christian brother who wrote this past week. His words pretty much get right to the point of the many other emails expressing like emotion. Here it is in its entirety:

Why is the Lord delaying the rapture? It should have happened years ago. We would be in the millennium now enjoying true peace and prosperity without the suffering. I don’t get it. It’s God call of course but 58 million aborted babies in the US since 1973, Christians tortured and murdered worldwide, people who believe in Jesus longing for his return suffering immensely. I don’t get it where is our Lord and Savior?

The emailer didn’t use any soft nuances of greetings or any other niceties. He just laid his spirit-distressed emotions right out there.

You don’t answer such gut-wrenching concern with the apostle Peter’s prophecy as given above. This child of God is worried. He is puzzled; he is perplexed. It’s the kind of questioning I’ve heard in my own kid’s anxieties when they were young and felt disappointed for one of my failures or the other to keep a promise. “Dad should never let me down like that” is the tone.

Only, this perceived unkept promise isn’t from an imperfect, human father. I say “perceived unkept promise” because the promise isn’t unbroken whatsoever. The error is in the question of the imperfect child asking it. His Perfect Father will, as always, be one hundred percent faithful to keep every promise made.

The Lord Jesus, Himself, in His ascended position, said the following to John the Revelator:

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Revelation 3:10)

Jesus said it, and that means the Heavenly Father said it–promised it! Jesus said that He and the Father are One. They are inseparable–one and the same–the first and second Persons of the Godhead–the Trinity.

God cannot lie, the Scripture tells us. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. God keeps His promises. So, this brother in Christ, like all the other believers who look to the “blessed hope” of Titus 2: 13, who are in fear and worry while watching this fallen world closing in, need an answer from the Word of God.

The Heavenly Father gave the answer to Peter to pass along to us, just a bit farther on in Scripture. The answer to why the Rapture hasn’t occurred as soon as almost all of us wish it would occur is, at least in part, wrapped up in the following:

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

The Tribulation that will follow this Age of Grace will be filled with horrors that even John, under divine inspiration, had trouble describing. The Lord wants to provide every moment possible during this present dispensation for those lost in their sin to come safely into the shelter who is His beloved Son Jesus Christ. God wants this for the lost, because, following the Rapture, making the decision to accept Christ for salvation will be more difficult by a multiple of factors. Facing beheading is but one of those factors!

That is the reason–or at least a primary reason–the Rapture hasn’t yet occurred in this generation, according to God’s Word.

That said, I must take notable exception with the emailer’s contention that God is “delaying” the Rapture. You can take this to the bank–well, to the banks the way they used to be–God is not delaying the Rapture. It will happen precisely in the twinkling of the eye at the moment the Father has determined.

Jesus said: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Matthew 24:36)

God knows exactly the instant He will send His Son to get His Bride, make no mistake. There is no delay.

On that note, issues and events closing in on us show that we are almost certainly very near that exhilarating moment of instantaneously finding ourselves face to face with the Lord Jesus. Just how near we are to the Rapture–if we could indeed know–would likely allay all fears.

I’m excited to tell you that my new book, Rapture Ready … Or Not: 15 Reasons This Is the Generation That Will Be Left Behind, is at present being prepared within the publishing process. Because of the lateness of the prophetic hour, I sense to a degree never experienced before that this is a book I’ve been commissioned to write. We will be able to tell you more soon, Lord willing.

–Terry