“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.

 

[1] Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
[2] Economic Axioms. San Francisco School of Economics. <http://www.sfschoolofeconomics.com> Accessed January 30, 2009.

Huge developments are sweeping the entire world in recent times like tidal waves. First, a “globalization bubble” unfolded over the past several decades—one that was popularly thought would never end—then followed by the biggest and most rapid bust of world financial and real estate wealth since the 1930s (in fact, even worse). Next, the most invasive and coordinated intervention of governments has occurred around the world as they attempt to resuscitate plunging economies and bail out failing companies.  In tandem, a desperate bout of money manipulation has unfolded.

Crucially, none of these developments were expected by the world’s policymakers or societies at large even a year ago. It all happened rapidly … like a sudden trap. No doubt, these are treacherous times where the unsuspecting are being herded from one disaster to another. Just how can the average household either anticipate or navigate through such see-saw conditions? It can be seen as an early sign of the times … the global period of trouble and anxiety where faith runs cold (Matthew 24:12).  What next? As grim as it might seem in some parts of the world, it is not yet the end for the world, nor has the apocalypse begun.

Signs of the Times

No doubt, we are witnessing important signs of various endtime trends.  Consider that  never before in history—even than during the two world wars of the past century—has global opinion been so galvanized and unified to a common view. From Iceland to Vietnam, from rural China to downtown Zürich, whether business people or consumers, all are battening down the hatches in response to the global “financial heart attack” that has crippled the world recently.

The recent shakings of the false gods of global prosperity have struck fear into the remotest parts of the globe. Filipino guest workers in the Arab Emirates are flocking home, running away from debts and obligations. Possibly as many as 20 million Chinese have lost their jobs in recent times. The evidence is everywhere.  In international policymaking circles, harried meetings are being held to find solutions to economic and financial ail.  What we see is something very remarkable: Never before has the entire world behaved so much as one monolithic culture.

To illustrate, according to a first-ever worldwide poll[1] on the current financial crisis, 49% of the respondents believed that the economic situation would worsen in the next three months. In Canada and the United States, 61% and 46%, respectively, felt that it would get worse. Only 8% of citizens in G8 countries thought that things might get better. Such a one-sided consensus opinion is a significant. It shows that the entire world has been affected as one. The unified responses of world policymakers, consumers and businesses (at least to this point) is unprecedented.

Crucially, we now recognize that the economic and financial conditions of the world have come to the point where man-made events can impact the sentiment of the entire world almost instantaneously. This is new. It would be one thing if the mood of the entirety of mankind were to suddenly change in response to a nuclear winter or the blotting out of the sun. However, a mass global response to an economically-related impulse is of a different order in several ways. For one, it is generated by the non-physical actions of humanity itself (an emotional event). Secondly, it reveals a common set of affections … a universal reliance upon the prosperity of mankind’s global commercial systems.

This alone is a realization of one of the expected “signs of the times” of the last days. From Scripture, we know that certain economic conditions—from food inflations (Revelation 6:6), to systemic collapses (Chapter 18), to commercial controls (13:17) and other phenomena—will be able to affect the entire world. This is what we already see today. The entire world, from peasant to king, is under the influence of common commercial developments.

Unified for Global Judgment

In Isaiah’s Apocalypse (Isaiah 24-27), we read of the “globality” of God’s final judgments and punishments. Though much of these chapters refers directly to Israel and the Jews, many of the judgments mentioned apply to the entire world. For example, “The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered” (Isaiah 24:3). Also, “The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again” (verse 20). In fact, emphasizing the global span of these events, the word “earth” is mentioned 17 times in chapter 24 alone.

Of course, it only follows that a global judgment must and will apply to a “globalized” mankind, one that is characterized by a unified rebellion against God. If that were not so, why would the entire world be judged and no nations spared? God, who is compassionate but just, was even willing to spare Sodom if only 10 godly people could be found. Therefore, as revealed prophetically, mankind will choose to move to an ever more global, monolithic culture of godlessness.

In that vein, we must note the current longing expressed by many leaders and policymakers to build and pursue global organization and solutions. It is a natural extension of “[…] the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does” (1 John 2:16). One doesn’t need to spin great conspiracy theories involving cabals of demon-possessed people to bring about this result. We see this innate human impulse to pursue greatness and power at work everywhere. In the corporate world, firms conglomerate into ever larger entities seeking a broader global footprint in their respective industries (executives aspiring to be big fish in an ever smaller global pond).

The same hegemonic impulse is shared by politicians, churchmen and global policymakers. There is a natural, fleshly appeal to greater celebrity; to ruling over ever larger domains … even the entire world. Interestingly, all of these corporate captains, policymakers and Christian reconstructionists see times of world crisis as signaling great global opportunity. To them, it is an opportune moment to satisfy the “lust of the eyes.” Documenting this yearning, here are several excerpts from comments by selected global policymakers.

“What is needed is a large worldwide fiscal stimulus to counteract falling private demand. […] the world must also build the institutions for the twenty-first century economy. Any crisis is an opportunity. This crisis has demonstrated that the destinies of countries around the world are linked. Policy coordination and a global strategy that instills confidence and creates hope will bring a quicker and stronger recovery to us all.”[2]  (Kemal Dervi & Juan Somavia of the United Nations Development Program)

“What I am saying is that a crisis is an event which can force democratic governments to make difficult decision like those that will be required to create a North American Community. It’s not that I want another 9/11 crisis, but having a crisis would force decisions that otherwise might not get made.”[3] (Dr. Robert A. Pastor)

“2009 will be a year of learning the lessons of the financial crisis; a year where its reach in terms of time and scope becomes more evident; a year that calls for a new financial architecture to be shaped. At the same time, it will be a year that will test the resolve and willingness of world leaders to collaborate and take action to move beyond this crisis. 2008 has proven the extent to which the world is subject to global risks; let 2009 be the year where the world finds a common agenda to begin mitigating their impact.”[4]  (Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum)

[…] the very unsettled nature of the international system generates a unique opportunity for creative diplomacy. The nadir of the existing international financial system coincides with simultaneous political crises around the globe. Never have so many transformations occurred at the same time in so many different parts of the world and been made globally accessible via instantaneous communication. The alternative to a new international order is chaos. An international order can be permanent only if its participants have a share not only in building but also in securing it. In this manner, America and its potential partners have a unique opportunity to transform a moment of crisis into a vision of hope.[5] (Henry Kissinger)

Countless more such comments could be quoted.  Times of crisis are seen as an ideal environment to hasten the resolve to build a global ark of man.

Global Arrogance Revealed

Despite the apparent chaos and fears of the current times, we then see an additional condition on clear display: It is the pride and self-determination of mankind. This is evident at both national and global levels. Despite the clear and painful repercussions of past follies—including materialism, unbridled greed, economic oppression, poor stewardship, and consumption excesses—one does not discern even a hint of  contrition being reported in the popular media. Actually, quite the opposite is true. While overpaid bankers are the object of much blame these days, the general idea still prevails that there need not be any consequence for past sins.

Also, consider that macro-economists and policymakers have yet to offer any apologies for the massive failure of their theories (these really not any different from sorceries). With very few exceptions, none foresaw or warned that the world’s enormous financial imbalances would lead to a systemic “heart attack.”  They were all blind guides, more greedy for gain than honest and forthright. Yet, they are not shy to offer new solutions today.  It reveals that macroeconomics is not a science, but rather a fraudulent religion. It is not capable of dealing with the heart of man.  On that topic, the Bible is clear: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Yet, the world is resolute in healing its problems without recognizing the underlying spiritual diseases. The Bible gives us clear evidence as to the outcome of such human arrogance. Not only are the experiences of Israel and other nations documented in the Old Testament for our benefit, the consequences of the future choices of “global man” are also foretold. A willful rebellion against God is revealed … a stiff-necked independence and spirit of humanist self-determination. To illustrate, let’s briefly review a few prophecies from the Old Testament. But first, we should be reminded of the indictments against Israel.

Many Economic Sins

About Israel, Scripture tells us: “[…] Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant” (Isaiah 30:12-13). A point often overlooked is that “economic sins” feature prominently in the list of allegations against Israel. There are seemingly countless references to these in the Scriptures. But, what was Israel’s response? It was similar to what we observe today.

“[…] Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—who say with pride and arrogance of heart, ‘The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars’” (Isaiah 9:9-10). Edom also betrayed a similar humanist defiance: “‘Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.’ But this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘They may build, but I will demolish’” (Malachi 1:4). A similar attitude prevails today: “Hah! We will not be reprimanded nor reproved. We will rebuild bigger and better!”

Says Thomas Friedman, the high-profile opinion columnist, “America still has the right stuff to thrive. We still have the most creative, diverse, innovative culture and open society—in a world where the ability to imagine and generate new ideas with speed and to implement them through global collaborations is the most important competitive advantage. […] the 21stcentury is still up for grabs.”[6]

This is surely a hopeful thought. But it is human hubris.

Paul Volcker, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve from 1979-1987, in an article entitled “We Have the Tools to Manage the Crisis” (Oct 10, 2008, Wall Street Journal) claims that the world has the tools to overcome the financial excesses of the past. He says: “Fortunately, there is also good reason to believe that the means are now available to turn the tide. Financial authorities, in the US and elsewhere, are now in a position to take needed and convincing action to stabilize markets and to restore trust. […] the needed tools to restore and maintain functioning markets are there. Now is the time to use them.” Lately, Mr. Volcker is not so confident. Yet, though a respected central banker, his ideas reflect humanist self-determination. These “propping up” policies may indeed prove to hold up financial systems for a time—even leading to what will seem to be global solutions—yet in the end they will not solve the problem of the corrupt human heart.

Indeed, mankind is in a position today where global solutions will seem possible. Rather than stopping to consider the ways and counsels of the Lord, the “global arm of man” is invoked. “We will rise above God … we will make our own future,” reflects the sentiment of our times. A similar spirit appeared evident in speeches given by the previous president, George Bush, following 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. After the New Orleans flood, he is quoted as saying: “Every time, the people of this land have come back from fire, flood, and storm to build anew—and to build better than what we had before. Americans have never left our destiny to the whims of nature, and we will not start now.”[7] President Obama affirmed the same spirit, declaring, “We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.”[8]

What does God think of such an attitude? To Israel He said: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD (Jeremiah 17:5).

Though God has made man in His image and given him the power of creativity, we are still counseled to put our trust in God, not in armies or the “arm of man.” There is no lack of guidance as to where our real confidence should lie. “Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies” (Psalms 40:4, KJV). “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help” (Psalms 146:3).

Thoughts to Ponder

Are people just to lay back, totally listless and without work and discipline, and just rely upon God to do everything for us?  Of course not.  When it rains, we are not faithless in having the good sense to use an umbrella. Isaiah provides us with God’s view as to where the separation lies between our achievement and the glory that is attributable to Him:

“Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say. When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing the soil? When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cummin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field? His God instructs him and teaches him the right way. Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a stick. Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. Though he drives the wheels of his threshing cart over it, his horses do not grind it. All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom” (Isaiah 28:23-29).

Here we see that the creator of all “technological possibility” was He who created all things. This is true whether it concerns the necessary technique of “breaking up the soil” to plant seeds, or building $1-billion “clean rooms” to manufacture microprocessor chips. Humanists, however, refuse to recognize the existence of a Creator, arrogating to themselves the ability of self-determination and authorship of knowledge and technology. They doggedly cling to a belief in godless human progress, despite the setbacks of recurring world wars, natural disasters, repeated human atrocities and the toppling idols of monetary and economic systems.

All of man’s achievements: his technology—techniques of production, increases in productivity—and his heaping of wealth, are not of his own making and determination alone. God is the author of all creation, its cycles, its natural properties, both what is in the world and under the earth, and all the possibilities of technology. Technology and financial systems have their good uses. Rather, it is the heart of man that is the problem — the idolatrous attitude of self determination and independence from God.

Ultimately, mankind’s choices will be judged.  A period of tribulation lies ahead.  After that comes restoration.  Isaiah confirms some of the conditions after that time.  For example, the Babylonian-based money system will be destroyed and “will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations” (Isaiah 13:20); the rule of elites and the wicked will be finished (Isaiah 14:5); peaceful conditions will prevail (verse 7); and, no rapacious industry will raze the earth in its quest for profits (Isaiah 14:8).

Those who believe in the God of Israel and accept the gift of salvation through His Son, in loud voices will sing: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12).
[1] The Globe and Mail/Worldwide Independent Network of Market Research Survey. This is made up of an international group of pollsters who have created the WIN Crisis Index to monitor citizens’ perceptions in their country, which surveyed 14,555 people in 17 countries during the fall of 2008.
[2] “One Crisis, One World” by Kemal Dervi & Juan Somavia of the United Nations Development Program and the International Labor Organization respectively. <http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/include/print.asp?newsIdx=38298> Accessed January 22, 2009.
[3] Dr. Robert A. Pastor, December 15, 2006. <http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53378>
[4] Klaus Schwab, Foreword to Global Risks Report 2009, World Economic Forum.
[5] Henry Kissinger, “The chance for a new world order.” Herald Tribune, January 12, 2009, <http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=19281915> Accessed January 16, 2009.
[6] Thomas Friedman, New York Times Op Ed, December 24, 2008.
[7] George W. Bush, September 15, 2005, <http://www.cnn.com>
[8] Barrack Obama, February 24, 2009, Associated Press.