U.S. President Barack Obama said this recently in an address to the American Legion in North Carolina: “The United States is and will remain the one indispensable nation in the world.”1

Is America really “the one indispensable nation” in the world? Will it remain as influential as it is today… as it has been in the past?

These are heavily debated questions both in secular and religious circles. Geopolitical analysts have differing opinions. Some say that the 21st century will belong to the U.S. as did the 20th century. Others are sure that the superpower of America is in decline and will eventually become an isolated and dissipated nation.

In religious circles the debates are myriad, too. Islam predicts that it will win the entire world for Allah. That implies, of course, that America must fall to become subservient to Dar Islam. Humanists (most certainly, a religion), on the other hand, see the matter as a human competition for technology, resources and dominance. To them, the outlook is “bullish” for America as far as the eye can see.

In Christian-influenced circles, the perspectives are more diverse and nuanced. They range from the uniquely American idea that it is a kind of new Israel with manifest destiny. Some (such as the offshoots from Armstrongism) believe that America is indeed one of the so-called 10 lost tribes of Israel (that were vanquished and deported by the Assyrians). Therefore, America will be punished by God and will then ultimately rise in power when all Israel (12 tribes) is unified and back in their ancestral country.

Some are sure that America is mentioned or pictured in the Bible (though not specifically by name); others, that it may be in a form of a Covenant with God (somewhat similar to Israel). Still others are sure that America is not mentioned in the Bible. There are many more differences in the finer points. In these views, America may be prominent or facing judgment.

What view do we espouse? This, obviously, is a potentially treacherous question as there are so many vested viewpoints. Nevertheless, we must seek to base our perspective on the literal words of the Bible and to avoid any speculation.

America as a nation is not in a covenant relationship with God. This is unique to Israel and it is this latter nation that ultimately will prove to be the “indispensable country,” contrary to President Obama’s statement. Nor do we see America itself specifically pictured or mentioned in the Bible. America may certainly be numbered among the nations of the last days that the Bible addresses in prophecy. We cannot be entirely sure of this in every mention of the Biblical phrase “the nations,” as we do not know the future exactly.

However, the Bible does most certainly confirm that “all the nations” will arise against Israel in the last days. For example: “On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her […]” (Zechariah 12:3). The Lord says that He “[…] will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it […]” (14:2). Therefore, America (most certainly Canada, too, which at the moment has a staunchly pro-Israel Prime Minister) will be among “all the nations” that arise against Israel.

When the Bible uses the word “nations,” this refers expressly only to peoples other than Israel. The word used for “nations” in both the Old and New Testaments means “Gentiles.” When the phrase “among the nations” appears in the Bible (over 70 times in the NIV), it is customarily referring to the world outside of Israel—the Gentiles living in the world at large.

The Bible also refers to the nations of the world as the “islands” (i.e. Isaiah 41:1) or the “islands of the seas” (Isaiah 11:11). This definition also does not include Israel (or any of its tribes, for that matter). Revelation 6:14 and 16:20 speak of “every island” being judged (in this context again excluding Israel). That proves that all the “islands of the seas” are Gentile, as Israel is not mentioned to number among these countries. Therefore, most certainly, the U.S. would be included in this number.

There is only one country not said to be counted among the nations, and this is not the USA or any country other than Israel. Balaam prophesied: “From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations” (Numbers 23:9, NIV). The King James translates this verse somewhat differently, saying that Israel “shall not be reckoned among the nations.”

Someday Israel will stand alone, says the Bible. The Israel meant here is the unified 12 tribes of the patriarch Israel, the father of Jacob and Esau.

Did God Plan the Rise of America?

In conclusion, the United States of America is not specifically mentioned in the Bible. However, we would argue that it is certainly counted among “the nations” and is one of the “islands of the seas” that are mentioned in prophecy (assuming it continues to exist).

In past articles (See “10: The Magic Number of Endtime Post-Globalism,” MCM December 2009; and “ Endtime Shoes: Fitting the World for 10 Toes,” MCM January and February 2009), we have argued that it is mostly likely that America must first decline, in order for all prophecy to unfold.

However, that does not mean that God has not used America in bringing about His purposes in the world. Nor does the fact that America is not expressly referenced in the Bible mean that God did not have America in His eye (though not as the “apple of His eye” as in Zechariah 2:8) from the beginning of time.

God does foreknow all things and mostly certainly foreknows the geopolitical outcomes of the world’s competing nations. But even more than this, God has created the earth as the theater in which mankind lives through His various dispensations. The physical geography of the world itself has played a role in determining a portion of mankind’s history and destiny.

That leads us to this question: Could the continent of North America itself have been created outside of God’s purposes? Of course not. We will consider just how unique this continent really is.

America the Bountiful

The country of America is truly one of a kind—like no other. It is extraordinary in so many ways. From an earthly perspective today, it is by far the most prosperous nation, the most powerful and the most influential. We all know this. For example, for some time, its defense expenditures have been greater than the combined outlay of the entire rest-of-the-world. Its economy, popularly measured, is still the largest of all nations by far. We could outline a long list of superlatives.

But, how did it get to this position? Surely, the pivotal factors that have shaped America were not accidental.

Though this writer is a Canadian, I have traveled to almost every U.S. state from Alaska to Hawaii, exploring its wide open and remote areas as well as visiting most of its major metropolises. My wife and I have explored the many corners and cultures of the U.S. over the years, having traveled there hundreds of times. Earlier this year, we toured through the states of Wyoming and South Dakota. Once again, we were awestruck. What an expanse … what varied and beautiful landscapes … the immensity of resources … like no other nation!

Canada is beautiful, too, and in fact, is even slightly bigger than the U.S. geographically. However, much of its area sits atop the Canadian Shield or the northern muskeg and tundra. These have little use other than for canoeing and portaging trips (of which I have also done a number beyond count).

Over 90% of Canada’s population lives within 200 miles of the U.S. border. Vast as it is, Canada for the most part, lives within a narrow ribbon of land some 5,000 miles long.

Despite its size and grand wildernesses, Canada does not have the natural physical blessings of the U.S. On the other hand, God has greatly blessed America with many physical advantages.

The Middle East Blessed from Long Ago

Just how blessed is America? What benefits and geographic advantages have been given to this country? The answers are most interesting.

But first, allow us to take a bit of a detour—briefly turning aside from the question of America’s origins and destiny—to better prepare for this discussion. We pose this question: Have world developments that align with long-term Bible prophecy been entirely circumstantial? Could some prophesied events have been shaped from the time of Creation?

Did God shape the pattern of our modern world from the beginning? For example, why was the Middle East the cradle of mankind and its dominant cultures?

It is one thing to say that world history navigates around the timeline of the Jew, because God has pre-planned it that way. But why did civilized man also find his roots in this arid, Middle Eastern region as we see it today? Could not mankind have originated from another region on earth?

Of course, out of faithfulness to what the Bible says, we conclude that God created the world and therefore also ordered the earth’s regions and features that would shape mankind’s efforts to, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28).

Nevertheless, it is interesting to reflect on the means that God used to influence the movements of mankind and the development of its societies and civilizations down through history. It is wondrous to consider these facts.

Jared Diamond, an anthropologist and Pulitzer-prize-winning author, provides some insightful perspectives on the question of how God shaped such a destiny in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. Mr. Diamond shows how natural geography early on concentrated human development in the Middle East and then spread outward from there.

He documents that the availability of key types of plants and animals that could be easily domesticated was clustered in the Middle Eastern region. Of all the large mammals living upon earth that were candidates for domestication—either for food or burden—almost half are found in this Eurasian region.2 Furthermore, 13 of the 14 animals that were successfully domesticated worldwide found their start in this area. The only large animal productively tamed outside of this region was the llama (and the related alpaca) in South America.

Why was domestication not possible in other parts of the world? Why could horses from Asia be tamed and not zebras in Africa? In form, these two animals look similar. Yet, God created it such that only the horse could be domesticated. It is for these types of causes that farming and commerce first thrived in the Middle East, specifically the well watered area of the two rivers (Mesopotamia).

That is the area where man was first placed and where his progeny first prospered. Therefore, the early societies of the Middle East stood to have the most influence upon successive human culture and societies around the world. We can see that the Creator formed the cradle of civilized man with the necessary geographical features and sources of food to prosper in his commission on earth.

We may be a few steps closer to learning why Abraham was born in the Middle East and why human history and its dominating kingdoms would later be anchored to the timeline of the Jew; and the land of Israel; and the Middle East.

Similarly, the Creator has had His hand in the birthing of a superpower called the United States of America. Again we ask: How so?

Advantage America

No other nation has been given the natural advantages of America. Let us count the ways. We borrow heavily from Stratfor’s popular monograph The Geopolitics of the United States,3 and editorialize a bit to expand the focus to the entirety of North America.

• No other nation in the world has as much arable land as the U.S. The American Midwest is the world’s largest contiguous piece of farmland. In addition, there are other major agricultural areas, namely in South-Central Canada, the Atlantic Coastal Plain, California’s Central Valley and others. These are significant compared to agricultural capacity in the rest of the world.

• The Atlantic Coast possesses more major ports than the rest of the Western Hemisphere combined.

• The Greater Mississippi Basin, together with the Intercoastal Waterways, has more miles of navigable internal waterways than the rest of the world combined. In addition, the river systems of the Missouri, Arkansas, Red, Ohio and Tennessee are significant. Why are rivers so important? Navigable rivers have two banks, coasts only one.

• Adding to the power of America is the fact that it has a wealth of sheltered bays and extreme indentations allowing for ports—St, Lawrence Seaway, the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay and a number of others.

• A most important feature of North America is the river network in the middle third of the continent. Unlike major rivers in the rest of the world, vast tracts of America’s rivers are navigable because few of their tributaries originate in high elevations. That has meant that America has had the cheapest and most efficient transportation system in the world for its products.

• The vast bulk of America’s prime agricultural lands are within 200 kilometers of a stretch of navigable rivers.

• American has two coasts—the Atlantic and the Pacific. Moreover, it allows America to trade with these two major regions of the world—both Asia and Europe.

• From a national security perspective, America is naturally insulated from any enemy. The two major oceans of its coastline are a natural barrier to any enemies. To the south there is desert; to the north timberland, mountains or lakes. Its geographic layout today makes America very secure like no other its size.

• The United States is the least densely populated of the major global economies in terms of population per unit of usable land. (Russia, Canada and Australia may be less densely populated but vast tracts of their land are economically useless … i.e. Siberia, the Canadian North and the Outback, respectively.)

• The U.S. has no fewer than 20 metropolitan areas with more than 2.5 million people. In contrast, most major countries have a single, primary political and economic center such as Paris or London.

We could list many other factors. All the above translates into a low requirement for capital, cheap transportation, and low defense costs in its earlier days. These were major factors that enabled the rapid rise of America in world trade and influence. Canada, on the other hand (to illustrate this contrast), needed to spend massively to develop the St. Lawrence Seaway and the required canals in the Great Lakes.

Just what other nation has been endowed with such wealth, resources and geographical features?

Reading all the above, this crucial question begs: Viewed over the last several centuries, is the success of America alone attributable to its people and leaders? Could it be correct to believe that the rise of America over the last 200 to 150 years was not significant in the prophetic timeline of the world?

The correct answer, we think, would be “no.” The rise of America on the world scene was not accidental. God has had His purposes for America. Nevertheless, this nation is free to make its choices. It is free to choose whom it will serve and to bear the corresponding judgments in the last days.

In Part II, we further examine America and its possible prophetic role in the world.

NOTES:

1 http://www.outlookindia.com/news/article/US-Will-Stay-the-One-Indispensable-Nation-in-the-World-Obama/857234

Accessed August 26, 2014.

2 Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. 1999, New York. Pg. 162, Table 9.2. The definition used to categorize large animals is 100 pounds or greater.

3 Stratfor. The Geopolitics of the United States, Part I: The Inevitable Empire; Part II: American Identity and the Threats of the Future. August

A big disappointment occurred earlier this year. It was the report that the U.S economy suffered a huge negative setback in the first quarter of 2014. Economic growth (as measured by the concept of Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, for short) purportedly shrank at the rate of minus 2.8% during that period.

Economists were shocked. They had held an optimistic view for 2014. They thought the year had begun auspiciously. Nevertheless, they were proven embarrassingly wrong. But by whom? Just who makes such determinations? What does GDP really measure, and why would anyone care?

Financial observers, investors, the business media and others slave over every twitch and tweet of economic statistics. In the case of GDP, any sign of a pick-up in the pace of growth is usually exuberantly celebrated. A difference of a few tenths of one percent in an estimated growth rate can cause stock and bond markets to soar or fall. The slightest wiggle is treated with great significance. Quoting one commentator, “The quarterly release of GDP statistics is more akin to a religious service than anything resembling a scientific study.”1

Given this hyper-sensitivity to GDP statistics, you may be surprised to learn that the GDP estimates (and also other economic statistics) are highly unreliable and subjective.

Did you know that Gross Domestic Product is a very modern invention, finding its roots as recently as the 1920s or so? How was it possible that humanity was able to survive without such a concept before that time?

Furthermore, did you know that National Accounting made possible the idolatrous macroeconomics and financial wealth worship that has possessed our last-day world today? It makes for an eye-opening story.

GDP: What Is It?

Allow us to explain the significance of GDP.

To be sure, economic statistics have existed for generations, most certainly in the form of business and transactional details. These types of records go back to ancient Babylonian times, often making up the bulk of documents that have been unearthed.

However, never before was there invented a systematic approach to measuring the total value of human activity and output (whatever the definition) in terms of a “money value.” Perhaps a silver trade guild may have attempted to record the sales volume of figurines of Artemis (see Acts 19:4-29). But, no one thought to try to estimate the “value added” of this production and to equate its overall contribution to the total money value of Asia Minor’s output.

GDP is a concept born out of the invention of national accounting. Going back to its roots, Russia, a communist country, developed national output tables in the 1920s. However, its primary goal was to measure economic efficiency rather than its value in financial terms. There was no concept of “moneyness” of human activity.

Later, beginning in the 1930s, the National Accounts System was first developed in the United States. Simon Kuznets—he the reputed discoverer of the Kuznets Cycle—was one of its influential contributors during that early period.

Crucially, national accounting was then rapidly adopted in other countries. Many countries saw the benefit of such a calculation. It was an era where it was increasingly recognized that economic size (in terms of money GDP) was a form of power and might. By 1952, the United Nations had published a guideline called A System of National Accounts and Supporting Tables, thus introducing this standardized system to the entire world. This first guide was 50 pages long. The latest edition has 722.

Today, every country in the world has its economic output measured (even if not by its own statistical agency). Not all nations follow the same exact rules, some of these proving to be quite arbitrary, as we will show shortly. However, transnational organizations such as the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development), the International Monetary Fund, United Nations, World Bank and many other global organizations, work to harmonize their presentation of international statistics.

Today, the value of the economic output of the entire world is estimated. For example, according to the World Bank’s “current nominal value” definition of Gross National Product, total world economic output in 2013 was estimated at $74.3 trillion expressed in U.S. dollars. This statistic would have very little meaning to most people. Nevertheless, it provides an anchor to the sense of value … the extent of wealth … the possibilities of even greater and unlimited wealth in the world.

Just why was it seen as desirable to measure the output and activity levels of all humanity in terms of money? And, why was this national accounting convention so readily adopted in the first place? This seems to be such an unruly and unscientific concept, given that the value of money itself down through history has been such a volatile and unreliable specie. It is one thing to record human activity; it is another to value it in money terms.

At the beginning, a main purpose of national accounting was to better manage employment levels (responding to the high unemployment levels in the U.S. during the 1930s Great Economic Depression). This would seem to be a worthy motive.
And, of course, all governments are eager to find tools to help them better assess their taxation base. This motivation, too, seemed innocuous and transparent, though perhaps not necessarily eagerly welcomed by the citizenry.

As we will show, the world has since traveled a long way down the slippery slope.

Metaphysical Money & Idols

National accounting over time gave rise to an apparition of Money. (We capitalize this word, as we are wanting to reference an entity with spiritual dimensions and human affections. We do the same for Mammon.)

The GDP figure became a comparative measure between nations and provided the infrastructure that supported new concepts of financial wealth and the shaman arts of macroeconomics. Eventually, the GDP statistic took on the mantle of Mammon … a source and giver of prosperity … the foundation upon which mankind translated its world into smug wealth. Humanity came to see itself as a self-determinant creator of wealth. “The Economy” took on a life of its own.

Today, virtually everyone depends on the concept of “The Economy.” For example, a person may say: “If the economy picks up, I might buy a car.” In a sense, the concept of “money” GDP has becomes a type of prosperity god.

Viewed technically, national accounting has served as a launch pad to a highly sophisticated, debt-based system of ownership and capital valuation, giving rise and foundation to a massive edifice of wealth, riches and splendor. Seen in the aggregate, this great big measurable pile of wealth—the ups and downs of which are reported in minute-by-minute detail—has become an idol.

Taking a literal, Biblical worldview, we would venture further to say that humanists, intent upon creating an earthly security and self-determination without God, would see national accounting as a necessary and ideal anchor for the materialist agendas mounted against God.

Their perspective is diametrically opposite to that of the Bible. Said King David: “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things” (1 Chronicles 29:11-12).

Idol Identification

The Bible has a rather humorous definition of an idol. Essentially, it is anything in which mankind places its hope and faith, which proves itself unreliable and subject to “totter” and “topple.” There are numerous Bible verses that reflect this perspective, and we have quoted them often.

Says the Bible, 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).

Isaiah tells us further: “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).

We may well ask, why worship something that we ourselves must prevent from toppling with our own hands? That surely is the case with financial markets. Our society worships soaring financial wealth (as false as most of it may be), but these markets repeatedly “totter” and “topple.” We then want policymakers to prop them back up.

Policymakers are working hard to fasten and nail down systemic financial risks. Organizations such as the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the Financial Stability Board (G20) and the central banks of many countries are rigging and reforming guidelines in the hopes that this will prevent their idols from tottering and toppling over again. On what kind of foundation are these idols perched?

Tottering GDP

At the outset, we stated that national accounting statistics are “highly unreliable.” It is a most arbitrary of concepts; constantly being changed and adjusted. Gross Domestic Product is grossly inaccurate and highly subjective.

Consider these following examples of “reliable” national accounting:

Nine years ago, China decided to update a number of assumptions in its national accounting methodology. As a result, it reported that the money equivalent of the Chinese economy was actually 16.8% larger than they thought. Virtually overnight, the Chinese economy was recognized to be much bigger on the world scene, becoming the 4th largest economy in the world in 2006. A stroke of a pen … and voila … China’s GDP was worth hundreds of billions more! Many changes have been made since, another new draft of its accounting methodology being introduced only a few months ago.

While China’s 1998 revision counts as one of the more radical examples, the fact is that all countries change their national accounting rules very frequently (including advanced nations). Almost always, these changes serve to amplify the reported growth rate.

In the late 1990s, Japan decided to adopt “hedonistic” accounting principles, similar to the U.S. practice. (Loosely defined, this a technical term that refers to estimates of changes in consumer preference and benefit.) This change substantially boosted the level of reported GDP for Japan. After having experiencing depression-like conditions for a decade or so, this stroke of a pen made comparative economic growth look better for a time. Its politicians will surely have preferred these “rosy-looking” numbers.

Prostitutes Add to GDP

Other examples of changes in the definition of GDP (of which, there seem to be no end), show how politically and morally influenced is this statistic. Recently Sweden decided to count gambling and prostitution as an activity that is added to the national output. The net result was to modestly pump up the size of this country’s GDP.

As of September 2014, all European Union countries are required to provide accounting estimates for trade in sex, drugs and other underground activities. This is part of an overhaul of economic measurements by Eurostat, the European statistics agency. These changes will boost reported GDP. Spain, for example, estimates that including prostitution will add some $20 billion to the size of its economy. (The “Mother of All Prostitutes,” clothed in finery and emblematic of wealth, shown in Revelation 17 seemingly finds kinship here.)

Were Italy to include all black market activities and the valued-added of the Mafia, would it then be the second largest European economy behind Germany? This would be one way of improving Italy’s high debt-to-GDP ratio! On a serious note, readers will acknowledge the gamesmanship that can apply to national accounting. The rules of its computation are highly confusing.

For example, quoting from a recent book by Diane Coyle, 2 “If you pay someone to mow your lawn and report wages paid, that adds to GDP. If you pay that person under the table, it doesn’t. If you pay your maid to clean your house, it adds to GDP. Except if you marry her, then it doesn’t. Unless of course she gets access to the credit card, in which case spending probably increases GDP dramatically. In England, sex with your wife does not add to GDP, but sex with a prostitute does—even if it is unreported.”

Surely the U.S. is above such fickleness. No, the same banality applies.

Rewriting Economic History

Consider next how unreliable are reported GDP statistics even in the largest economy in the world! To illustrate, let us track the GDP report for the third quarter of 1990. The original report claimed SAAR (seasonally adjusted annual rate) growth of 1.8%. That pace would seem reasonably positive, though slow by the standards of that era.

But wait. Extensive revisions followed.

Two years later, the estimate for growth in this quarter was changed to a negative 1.6%. What was first thought to be a positive growth, and was surely received as such by financial markets and voters, had actually been negative by the light of future opinion. In effect, history had been rewritten. But that is not the end of this statistic. It continued to be revised repeatedly. Finally, some ten years later, the growth estimate for this period settled in at a near-zero rate.

Analysts who relied on these “tottering” statistics, would not have been able to draw any reliable conclusions. In fact, they would have been misled. We repeatedly find GDP statistics of 30, 40 or more years ago that are revised. It makes a mockery of economic analysis.

The banality of the statistical games that nations play with their national accounting is plain to see.

Economists have long agreed that GDP is an imperfect measure of well-being. Few people are actually happier or more content though reported GDP may continue to grow briskly. This calculation is therefore of a very narrow dimension, and takes no consideration of social costs (i.e. the cost of pollution, for example), the impact on human relationships, or various non-market transactions.

GDP is clearly a Money number, nothing much more. It is rickety, wobbly and misleading.

Nevertheless, Mammon must be supplicated. Financial market participants today continue to treat newly-reported GDP statistics as from the mouth of an oracle.

Points to Ponder

Most certainly, the National Accounts System has its useful applications. Yet, it has served as a launch point for a humanist world that is intent upon globalism; the further capture of all mankind’s activities in a financial net; and to fabricate an enticing boom in worldwide financial wealth.

We conclude that the common denominator of all human activity and philosophies is increasingly the metaphysical entity of Money … an idol that is held in great reverence. Unfortunately, much of this “money image” of so-called progress is delusion.

In ancient times, kings and nations did not measure the value of economic output. Rather, they took a census to determine the size of the population and the number of foreigners. The strength of a nation was determined by the number of its people and the size of its army (and its technology)—not economic output.

This is the convention shown in the Old Testament. For example, when God chose Israel it was not because they were many (meaning, strong). “The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7).

What does the Bible say of mankind’s self-pride in its powers, economic or otherwise? One situation in King David’s life indicates God’s disapproval of mankind’s confidence in self-reliance. In effect, this is what the idolatry of GDP has become. (Its chief shamans, today’s macroeconomists, are thought to conjure up ever greater GDP.) In 1 Chronicles 21 (this account also mentioned in 2 Samuel 24), King David decided to order a census. For no obvious reason, he had wanted to know the strength of Israel. God had not commanded him to do so. Israel was severely punished, 70,000 people succumbing to a plague.

The most intensive Biblical report of transactional statistics for a nation, is likely the account of Solomon’s trade dealings found in 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles. Reading of the riches and splendor of Solomon’s reign, it almost conjures up the fanciful idolatry of our modern-day financial systems that is intertwined with national accounting.

Could that be the reason why the number 666 surfaces in these accounts? (See 1 Kings 10:14 and 2 Chronicles 9:13—“The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents.”) We can only speculate, even though some parallels may be obvious.

In conclusion, it seems doubtful that God has much use for the concept of Gross Domestic Product. He looks to the individual hearts of mankind … the numbers of souls. He cares not for the might, riches and large economies of nations. A poor person is just as valuable to him (if not more so, as Christ came “to proclaim the good news to the poor”—Luke 4:18) as are one or more persons from a nation with a high GDP per capita. He is much more drawn to contrite souls who do not depend nor place their hope upon wealth.

The Psalmist said “[…] though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (Psalm 62:10). This admonishment applies to both individuals and nations.

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17).

These two verses provide important instructions for Christians. We must not be caught up in the affections of a world smitten with metaphysical and idolatrous Money.

Notes:
1 John Mauldin, Thoughts from the Frontline, July 20, 2014
2 Diane Coyle, GDP: A Brief But Affectionate History