WOE! WOE! WOE!

THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

“Men’s hearts will faint from terror, being apprehensive of what is coming upon the world.” (Luke 21:26)

“Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Master … Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Master is near.” (James 5:7-8)

Last June, the Royal Bank of Scotland warned of “a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets over the next three months as inflation paralyses the major central banks.”

It was not wrong! The writing was on the wall!

Within weeks Indymac Bank which had $32 billion in assets, collapsed. This was followed by a string of troubled banking companies.

In early September, former Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, warned:

“THIS IS A ONCE-IN-A-CENTURY CRISIS.”

The Bible warns:

“Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come. And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their merchandise any more.” (Revelation 18:10-11)

“Babylon” here is symbolic of the corrupt world economic system. The prophecy is concerning the ultimate crash of the global system which will take place in the endtimes – the Tribulation - before the millennial Kingdom of God is established on earth.

No matter which way the world is viewed today – socially, politically, economically, militarily, scientifically, environmentally, religiously – it all in-dicates we are in the endtimes, or very close to them.

To the traders of the world, God says:

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, and spend a year there, and do our business, and make a profit. You do not know what’s ahead, or what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like a puff of smoke that appears for a moment and then disappears.” (James 4:13-14)

“He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its outcome. This too is futility.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

Over the past few weeks we have seen the stock markets of the world shaking; and not only the stock markets - the confidence of traders, banks, and people everywhere is being severely shaken.  The current crisis is as much about confidence as it is about systemic problems.

It is “confidence” that is the key to the survival of the present cashless society. When confidence diminishes, stocks, and a robust economy, evaporates.

BUSH WARNS: “ENTIRE ECONOMY IS IN DANGER”

SEPT 25, 08. President Bush said that lawmakers risk a cascade of wiped-out retirement savings, rising home foreclosures, lost jobs and closed businesses if they fail to act on a massive financial rescue plan. “Our entire economy is in danger,” he said. “Without immediate action by Congress, America could slip into a financial panic and a distressing scenario would unfold. Ultimately, our country could experience a long and painful recession … We must not let this happen!”

More banks could fail, he said. The stock market could plummet and erase retirement accounts; businesses could find it hard to get credit and be forced to close, wiping out jobs for millions of Americans. He ended on a positive note, predicting lawmakers would “rise to the occasion” and that the nation’s economy will overcome “a moment of great challenge.”

Was this the real situation or a threat? Was it a government attempt to take over the economy? Or was it the ploy – the machinations of money-mongers pursuing their insatiable goal of consolidating control over the financial systems of the world?

Well, we do know there is a satanic conspiracy that has been at work in the world for a long time. The apostle Paul warned of this evil agenda:

“For the mystery of iniquity and lawlessness is already at work; but He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the glory of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with great power and with all kinds of signs and counterfeit miracles, and with all the deception of wickedness among those who are perishing, because they would not receive the love of the truth which could have saved them.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7-10)

This prophecy sheds light on many of the evils that we are witnessing in the world today. And now we’re told, it’s the …

WORST CRISIS SINCE THE ’30s - NO END IN SIGHT

The financial crisis that began 13 months ago has entered a new, far more serious phase. Lingering hopes that the damage could be contained to a handful of financial institutions that made bad bets on mortgages, have evaporated.

                            BEN BERNANKE

“This has been the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. There is no question about it,” said Mark Gertler, a New York University economist who worked with fellow academic Ben Bernanke, now the Federal Reserve chairman.

“But at the same time we have the policy mechanisms in place fighting it, which is something we didn’t have during the Great Depression,” he said.

Expectations for a quick end to the crisis, however, are fading fast!

In September, major banks began to go under. In one turbulent week, the crisis wiped out 3.4 trillion dollars from the value of global stocks.

The Scripture, in James 5:1-3, warns of the collapse of our money system:

“Come now, you rich, weep and wail because of the miseries that are coming upon you. Your wealth has become rotten, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will testify against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the Last Days!”

THE BAILOUT OPTION

With the US facing the biggest financial meltdown in decades, President Bush took the unusual step of asking both Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, (one of whom will inherit the financial mess in January), and key congressional leaders of both parties, to a White House meeting to work on a compromise solution to the economic crisis plaguing the nation.

The White House and administration officials have warned repeatedly in recent days of a coming “financial calamity,” and have asked Congress for an unprecedented $US700 billion bailout of the ailing finance system.

                   BARACK OBAMA  &  JOHN McCAIN

Obama and McCain issued a joint statement using their own dire language to urge lawmakers to act. The two candidates, while bitterly fighting each other for the White House, came together on this issue, to say:

“The plan that has been submitted to Congress by the Bush administration is flawed, but the effort to protect the American economy must not fail. This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe.”

Senior lawmakers had announced the outlines of the deal to rescue Wall Street, but some Republican congressmen opposed it. Democrats called for limits on pay for executives whose companies get rescued under the government deal. And they said that any deal must include strict oversight by federal regulators.

The American people were overwhelmingly against the bailout. Some senators and congressmen stated that calls coming into their offices were anywhere from 100 to 1, to 300 to 1, against the $700 billion bailout.

Although there was general agreement that something must be done to address the spiraling economic problems, there was deep skepticism to the bailout, especially from conservatives in the Republican Party who revolted at the high price tag and the massive private-sector intervention by government.

Bush had stressed he was reluctant to put taxpayer money on the line to help businesses that had made bad decisions, and that the rescue is not aimed at saving individual companies. He tried to address some of the major complaints from Democrats by promising that CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) of failed companies would not be rewarded (by golden handshakes), while warning he would draw the line at any regulations he determined would hamper economic growth.

“With the situation becoming more precarious by the day, I faced a choice: to step in with dramatic government action or to stand back and allow the irresponsible actions by some to undermine the financial security of all,” he said.

After several days of trying to reach a mutual agreement, the US House of Representatives dramatically rejected the Wall Street bail out, and this sent stocks crashing to their worst single-day loss ever, and deepening the financial crisis.

(“Wall St” is the street in New York City that is the heart of the financial district and stock exchange.)

  THE SEPT 30 MELTDOWN

 “In one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!”

(Revelation 18:17)

Today (Sept 26) – the day it was announced that the $US700 billion bailout legislation had failed, the Dow Jones industrial average responded with its biggest single-day fall ever – a loss of 777 points. The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index recorded a paper loss of $1 trillion for the day. This also was a first.

Australian Stocks, following the US meltdown, lost $60 billion in value. Asian stocks had already seen big declines.

In Russia, trading was temporarily suspended on the country’s two main stock markets.

Fear gripped Washington as President Bush said he was “disappointed” that the bailout foundered, and Democrats accused Republican conservatives of killing the bill for ideological reasons.

Washington reporter-analyst, Bill Koenig says: “The Bush bailout of the mortgage crisis is at the top of the news. The bailout plan as it stands gives absolute power to the White House in administering property and money … absolute power.

Section 2 of the legislation proposed to Congress by Bush calls on the Treasury Secretary to designate “financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to the Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them.”

Section 8 gives absolute power to the Treasury Secretary in bone-chilling communistic language: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of the Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” This one line alone shows the intent of the entire plan: government takeover of the economy.

- WorldWatchDaily/Sept 26, 08

OCT 1  –  STOCKS RECOVER

The day after the meltdown, the stock markets began to recover, after it was announced that a revised bailout bill would be brought before the American Senate within two days.

OCT 2  -  SENATE PASSES THE BAILOUT

The US Senate resoundingly passed the sweetened US$700 billion Wall Street bailout package, spurring hopes that the House of Representatives would follow suit by the weekend.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ADOPTS BILL

Oct 6. The House of Representatives adopted the new version of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act after the Senate added about $100bn (£57bn) in new tax breaks to win Republican votes. The bill passed by 263 votes to 171. Within two hours, President Bush signed it into law.

Some of the Congressmen who had earlier voted “No” said they switched because of the improvements to the bill, but many of them still expressed serious reservations. Others continued their opposition, saying the bill was still a bail-out benefiting mainly Wall Street, and not the people.

Republican candidate John McCain said the deal “isn’t perfect and it’s an outrage that it is even necessary.” But he said the US had to stop damage to its economy caused by “corrupt and incompetent practices on Wall Street and in Washington.”

Democratic candidate Barack Obama said it was important that the Bush administration used the new powers granted by the deal wisely.  “The fundamentals of the economy aren’t sound and we’re going to have to do a lot of work moving forward.”

“The focus now shifts back to the US Treasury, which is tasked with using the billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money to try to unclog the financial system. It will be several months before anyone can tell whether the plan is working.” – BBC

The Wall Street Journal said: “The bill is far from perfect, but its passage is most significant as a statement of purpose that the US Government is not going to let the financial system melt down.”

A senior analyst says: “The financial crisis and the bailout is likely to cost every man, woman and child in America, over $3,000.”

FEARS OF RECESSION IN SPITE OF THE BAIL OUT

Despite the adoption of the bill, the US stock market fell and global financial markets remained fearful that the bailout package would fail, and that recession was ahead – not only in the US, but worldwide. 

US government figures showed job losses at a five-year high; 159,000 jobs were lost (in the US) in September alone.

 

 

 

HOW THE AMERICAN MELTDOWN BEGAN

“The wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.” (Daniel 12:10)

TIME magazine’s cover story (Sept 29, 08), says the US meltdown was THE PRICE OF GREED. 

Another commentator has put it more strongly. “Western Finance is fundamentally based on FRAUD.  The fraud of the system is that you can create money from nothing and everybody can get rich by selling each other fictitious financial instruments that have no connection to reality. Financial fraud is committed by high-brow academics who contrive complicated derivative financial instruments (loans) that are then presented to the investment community as things of real value (which they are not).” 

Bill Koenig, a Christian reporter at the White House says, “We are moving into uncharted waters in the US financial system. The outcome, as well as the best approach, is unpredictable. The situation is enormously complicated.

“I have been warning of a major financial implosion due to financial derivatives since 1998. (Derivatives mean bad loans). The Federal Reserve’s lending policies have kept the inevitable from happening; but this year they began to implode due to home mortgage excesses and the rapid acceleration of the price of crude oil and other commodities.

“A 1994 law gave the Federal Reserve authority to regulate mortgage lenders. But the Fed didn’t implement the rules until June 2007, after foreclosures and defaults on sub-prime loans began to rise.”

Another financial expert says: “A method of hedging (protecting) against bad loans called derivatives — totalling some $62 trillion in credit-default swaps — helped fuel the recent meltdown in the financial system … Bad loans, including those in the mortgage sector, were sold in an unregulated market without proper backing, and the system collapsed like a house of cards when the market imploded.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said, “trading in these hedge funds ought to be regulated so companies are not susceptible to manipulation. The bottom line, however, is that banks and other lending institutions were playing so fast and loose with the margins that they did not take into account that the market could fold. Now the American taxpayer will foot the bill for unrepentant and unregulated greed gone awry.”

In 2003, Warren Buffett, a very successful American investor, called derivatives, “weapons of financial mass destruction.”

For years now the world has been awash in cheap money. Easy credit has been extended for property purchases, and there was little fear in selling houses without any deposits, because it was believed housing prices would only go up.

In 2006, IndyMac was the largest provider of mortgages that didn’t require borrowers to provide proof of their incomes.

In mid 2007, housing values began to fall, and then a worldwide credit crisis burst on the stock markets,  wiping out $3.3 trillion in the first half of the year.

In January 2008, there was the sub-prime market crash with a host of ongoing problems.

In mid-2008 there was run on the IndyMac bank which had about $32 billion in assets. Depositors withdrew $1.3 billion in eleven days. The bank collapsed – it was the third largest bank failure in US history.

Customers, who were given big mortgages with little documentation and sometimes no deposit, began to default on their loans.

This “sub-prime crisis” began to seriously impact the finance industry, “spreading its toxins to the very lenders who first extended that easy-rate, no-document mortgages to homeowners.”

Bear Stearns, another large bank, collapsed, and the government orchestrated a take over of the company by the JPMorgan Chase bank.

In July, two enormous home lending institutes – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – which between them guaranteed $5 trillion of mortgages (more than 40% of all US home-mortgage debt) was bailed out by the government to the tune of $200 billion– to keep the financial system whole.

The government next stepped in with $85 billion to save AIG (American International Group) - America’s largest insurer — which was nearing bankruptcy. This was a very scary situation as AIG had assets of $1 trillion, and more than 70 million customers.

On Sept 15th, Lehman Brothers, one of America’s oldest and most prestigious banking firms, filed for  bankruptcy. This represented the largest financial failure in US history and will produce enormous ripple effects. It will impact the US economy and markets more than any of the other negative financial developments of the past year. Why? Lehman owed its creditors a staggering $613 billion. Those creditors will now be unable to regain their funds, nor spend or invest them elsewhere in the economy. The money has evaporated!

The government balked at rescuing this financial giant. They didn’t have such funds available.

In mid-September, the century-old Merrill Lynch & Co. was bought by the Bank of America for $50 billion, to prevent its total crash.

Next, the Washington Mutual Inc. which had assets of $310 billion, collapsed and was taken over by JPMorgan Chase for 1.9 billion US dollars. It was the biggest US bank failure. All of these banks were felled by bad mortgage investments.

On Sept. 18, in yet another stunning turn of events, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson proposed a plan that would cost the government, if not necessarily the FDIC, hundreds of billions of dollars more. The Treasury Secretary says the government will purchase toxic mortgage debt from banks in an effort to cleanse the financial system. In an unprecedented move, the Treasury pledged $50 billion to insure non-bank money market funds.  Paulson’s plan, however, won’t reduce the number of banks on the FDIC’s watch list.

WORLD MARKETS FALL

Sept 26, 08. Deadlocked talks on a bailout of the US financial system and the collapse of the Washington Mutual bank sparked a new fall on global markets despite the injection of tens of billions of US dollars by central banks.

On top of that collapse, the financial world was also hit by news that banking giant HSBC is to cut 1,100 jobs worldwide. Around half of those losing their jobs would be in HSBC’s British operations, according to Hong Kong-based spokesman, Gareth Hewett.

“The steps we have taken today are in the light of the current global business and economic environment and our cautious outlook for 2009,” he said.

Key stock markets around the world fell also because of doubts about the US rescue package. Share markets in Tokyo, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Asia were all down. -  AFP 2008  

Sept 30. Citigroup Inc. acquired Wachovia Corp. in a deal   

brokered by the government,

while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group invested $9 billion in Morgan Stanley for a 21% stake in the company.

The massive scale of the problem, which escalated as mortgage holders began to default on so-called sub-prime loans, showed that the international community had learned nothing from previous episodes, such as the Asian financial crisis.

The question now is: Which banks are next, and how many? The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) lists more than 117 banks in trouble in the second quarter, and the number has probably grown since then. How many could be bailed out?

Writer David Evans, on Sept 25, 08, quoted Christopher Whalen, managing director of Institutional Risk Analytics, a California-based firm that sells its analysis of FDIC data to investors, who said, “By the end of 2009, about 100 U.S. banks will fail.”

Evans says: “The FDIC knows which banks are at risk; it has a watch list with 117 institutions. The agency won’t disclose their names because doing so could cause depositors to panic and pull out all of their funds.

“It won’t take many more failures before the FDIC itself runs out of money. The agency had $45.2 billion in its coffers as of June 30, far short of the $200 billion Whalen says it will need to pay claims by the end of next year. The US Treasury will come to the rescue, as no politician is likely to vote in favor of leaving federally insured depositors out in the cold.”

The fact is the US government is almost as broke as the institutions it is trying to assist. It is in no position to help. The obvious next question is, “Who will bail out the US Government when it goes broke?”

The government only has three options. (1) It could raise taxes in order to pay for the bailouts, which would extract money from the economy at a time when it needs more. (2) It could print more currency, which would lead to hyper-inflation and an eventual collapse. Or, (3) it could borrow even more from foreign entities — if they are still willing to loan money. This last option would further increase the colossal government debt (currently over $11 trillion) and lead the country to eventual bankruptcy. It all looks bleak.

FDIC MAY ALSO NEED TO BE BAILED OUT

The American FDIC, which was created in 1934, insures all accounts up to $100,000 at its member banks, and until now it has never failed to honor a claim.

So far in 2008, twelve banks, with total assets of $42 billion, have fallen.

IndyMac, which had $32 billion in assets when it went into receivership, is the most expensive bank failure the FDIC has ever covered. The IndyMac debacle is taking a large bite out of FDIC reserves, and if scores of other banks fail in the year ahead, the fund will be soon depleted.

PLAN TO BUY UP MASSIVE DEBTS

Oct 8. The US Treasury Department is reportedly working with the Federal Reserve, in weighing up a bold plan to buy massive amounts of unsecured short-term debts in a dramatic effort to break through a credit clog that is imperiling the economy.  – AP

EUROPEAN BANKS ALSO IN CRISIS 

The mortgage crisis is ripping through Europe, where there are many large banks whose failures could also rock the global financial system.

The global banking crisis, born across the Atlantic, again sent waves crashing into Europe as the Belgian, Dutch and Luxemburg governments partly nationalised Belgium-Dutch banking, and the insurance giant, Fortis in an €11.2 billion ($US6.4 billion) bailout.

29 Sept 08.  At the end of September, the British government had to nationalize the troubled mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley.

European bank Dexia has received a state bail-out, costing the Belgian, French and Luxembourg governments a combined 6.4bn euros ($9.2bn / £5bn)

The government of Ireland announced that all bank deposits would be guaranteed for the next two years.

EUROPE’S WARNING TO THE U.S.

The crisis has sparked mounting international political concern. Germany’s Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck warned that “the United States will lose its superpower status in the global financial system” as a result of the crisis that has humbled some of the greatest names in US finance.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned that the global financial crisis would hit French growth and jobs.

“The crisis is not over, it will have lasting consequences. France is too involved in the world economy for us to think for one second it could be sheltered from the events currently rocking the world.” He called for an overhaul of the world’s financial system.

BILLIONS PUMPED INTO THE MONEY MARKETS

The US Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia pumped tens of billions more US dollars into money markets which analysts say, are under extreme tension, to shore up general market sentiment.

The European Central Bank and the British and Swiss central banks used reciprocal currency arrangements to inject $US13 billion.

The Bank of Japan pumped a total of 1.5 trillion yen (14 billion US dollars) into the Tokyo money market.

South Korea also announced plans to pump at least $US10 billion into the foreign exchange swapmarket to ease dollar shortages.

Hundreds of billions of US dollars have been used to stabilise markets since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the forced takeovers of American Insurance Group and Merrill Lynch in the deepening sub-prime crisis.

FINANCIAL GLOOM DEEPENS OVER UK

Britain is fast heading into recession according to economic forecasters. Economists warn that Britain faces a long and deep recession, with unemployment rising by up to one million.

The recession will play havoc with public finances, but the Treasury still predicts the economy will recover next year. – Sunday Times

Oct 2, 08. UK house prices fell for an 11th consecutive month, dropping by 1.7% in September, according to the Nationwide.

EUROPEAN LIQUIDITY INJECTIONS NOT WORKING

Oct 2, 08.  The billions of euros the European Central Bank has been injecting into money markets since the start of the crisis, in an attempt to get banks to start loaning money to each other and other businesses, is not working. Instead, banks are re-depositing some of the monies back with the ECB itself - over €100 billion overnight - as they are worried that the central bank is the last safe place left to stash their cash.

FOUR EUROPEAN LEADERS MEET IN RESCUE BID

Oct  6. 08. The heads of Europe’s largest economies, France, Germany, Britain and Italy, met in Paris and vowed to prevent the US financial crisis from destabilizing their banking systems. 

They announced a multi-billion euro fund to support small businesses, while calling for a summit of the G8 industrial nations to respond to the crisis, and to redefine the world’s financial order.  The four leaders, however, failed to agree on a solution for the EU as a whole. 

Oct 8. The financial crunch is now threatening the biggest institutions in Europe, and governments across Europe were battling to prevent more financial collapses.

Giant British banks, Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland were the latest troubled institutions needing multi-billion pounds of assistance. Shares in British banks collapsed – the Scottish bank by 35%.

GERMANY BAILS OUT MAJOR BANK

Oct 7, 08. Germany sealed a public-private rescue plan for the country’s 4th largest bank by extending a blanket guarantee for all personal bank deposits – to avert a panic run on the bank. 50 billion euros was injected as a lifeline to the stricken Hypo Real Estate.

The move was aimed at shoring up confidence in a country which still has bitter memories of failing banks in the Great Depression which brought Hitler to power.

ICELAND IN ECONOMIC MELTDOWN

Iceland is situated in the North-West Atlantic (between Greenland and Norway) – a small island nation of 300,000 people.

Oct 7. Trading in all Icelandic banks has been suspended as PM Geir Haarde warned the heavy exposure of Iceland’s banks was raising the spectre of national bankruptcy. Iceland’s banks had lent out more than ten times the value of the small nation’s economy.

After a strategic blunder in which the EU leaders refused to provide a four billion euro bailout to Iceland, Russia came forward to give the bailout. This was undoubtedly a payback to Europe for their interference in Russia’s backyard. The move will give Russia a foothold in the North Atlantic.

“BE CALM” SAYS EURO-ZONE CHIEF

European Central Bank president, Jean-Claude Trichets, said the jittery markets are overestimated risks. He called for markets to be calm, saying the euro-zone central bank stood ready to provide money markets with all the liquidity they needed for as long as they need.  - AP

BRIC MARKETS CRUMBLE

OCT 6. The four BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) crumbled, suffering their worst one-day losses in history.  “BRIC” banks were seized by the fear of being swamped by the global credit crunch.

Brazilian and Russian markets were hit by low metal and fuel prices. Russia’s stock index fell by 18%, and Brazil’s by 10%. India’s sensex index lost 6%, and China’s 5%.

“The Indian slump has been driven by the exodus of nearly $US10 billion in overseas money this year, as investors seek sanctuary in US Treasury bonds. A broker in Mumbai said, “Foreign funds are panicking.” – The Times

India has been hit as many of its IT (Information Technology) companies are connected to American financial institutions. The collapse of Lehmans in the US has led to the loss of many IT jobs in India.

India’s property market is also feeling the squeeze.

FINANCIAL TURMOIL COULD PUSH

POOR NATIONS OVER EDGE

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the crisis now threatened the world’s most vulnerable populations as well. “The current financial crisis threatens the well-being of billions of people, none more so than the poorest of the poor,” he said.

25 Sept 08. World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned of the economic damage that developing countries, already reeling from high food and fuel prices, could suffer from the global financial crisis.

Addressing a business forum on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Zoellick said many developing countries were already facing balance of payments pressure as rising prices push import bills higher.

             ROBERT ZOELLICK, World Bank President

 “The question now is whether the turmoil coming out of the financial crisis pushes them over the edge?” he said.  Developing countries could be hurt if demand for their export products dropped, investment declined, and terms of trade were affected, Zoellick said.  - Source: Reuters 

COUNTRIES FROM PAKISTAN TO BALTICS

AT RISK OF BANKRUPTCY

Oct 10. A string of countries face the risk of “going bust” as financial panic sweeps Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, raising the spectre of a strategic crisis in some of the world’s most dangerous spots.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan is bleeding foreign reserves. The Pakistani rupee has fallen to an all-time low, and the central bank’s foreign reserves have fallen to $4.7bn (£2.73billion).

There are mounting fears that Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Argentina could all now slide into a downward spiral towards bankruptcy.

   RUDD’S  FIX FOR  WORLD  FINANCIAL  CRISIS

Sept 26. The Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, delivered a stern message to world leaders in his first speech to the UN General Assembly. He told them to get their financial systems in order to prevent a repeat of the global credit crisis sending the world economy into a tailspin.

Mr Rudd said the massive scale of the problem showed the international community had learned nothing from previous episodes, such as the Asian financial crisis. “And now we face a financial crisis of truly global proportions,” he said.

Mr Rudd set out his vision on how the international community needed to respond to the financial turmoil which is threatening global economic growth. In the short-term, he believes the most useful response from the global community is to support Washington’s $US700 billion ($A839.53 billion) rescue package designed to stabilise financial markets. But over time, he says there needs to be a major overhaul of regulation, blaming the current troubles on a lack of internal governance and external oversight.

“The immediate task,” Mr Rudd said, “is to rebuild confidence in the financial system, by ensuring that central banks provide adequate liquidity, and by enabling steps to recapitalise critical financial institutions; and by ensuring the continued solvency of these institutions. Over the longer term, the challenge is to reform financial markets and regulatory systems to reduce the chances of these events repeating themselves.”

Rudd’s strategy involves licensing the operation of financial institutions to make them more transparent, putting rules in place to ensure they are adequately capitalised and developing “internal incentives within institutions to promote responsible behaviour rather than unrestrained greed.”

“Unless as a community of nations we rise to this new challenge our future is bleak indeed,” he said.

Mr Rudd would like a strengthened prudential oversight for the International Monetary Fund.  – Source,  AP report

Ya, that should fix it

AUSTRALIA IS “BETTER POSITIONED”      

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said: “We are dealing with extraordinary economic times …  when some 25 banks around the world have either failed or have had to be bailed out.”

Rudd and others have assured the nation that Australia, because of its booming resources and mining industry, is better positioned to withstand the affects of the US financial crisis.

The stock markets, however, have largely followed Wall St, and have been very volatile.

Oct 7. The Reserve Bank of Australia signaled it will do whatever it takes to keep the Australian economy from sliding into a global credit-crunch recession. Then in a bold move to tackle the economics woes, it announced a big, unexpected, 1% reduction of official interest rates.

This cut was double the expected 0.5% reduction, and was intended “to, give the banks enough room to pass on a significant reduction in interest rates to homeowners.” 

This should benefit home buyers saddled with mortgages. But in recessions many people lose their jobs, and if they don’t have a job, they will struggle to pay their mortgages, no matter how low the interest rates go.

The Australian dollar, which has been falling over the past few weeks from its peak  of 98.7 (against the US dollar) in July, to a 16-year low of 65 cents. It has lost 33% of its value within a couple of months.

Some see the low dollar as a good thing, as it will make Australian products cheaper, and thus increase exports. But the Reserve Bank warned that global financial turmoil would damage the Australian economy, as there was evidence that major Asian trading partners would be buying less from Australia in the coming year as their economies also weakened.

The interest rate cut calmed the panicking domestic stock markets which immediately rebounded. But the next day the stock index nosedived, loosing 5% of its value, following a huge fall of 900 points on the Wall Street exchange.  Experts believe long-term stability depends on global recovery.

As one commentator noted, the rate cut was good news, but it did not take long to realize that the bold move meant that the RBA board are extremely apprehensive about how the credit and banking crisis continued to sweep through the US and Europe. -  Source: The Australian

IMF WARNS AGAINST TAKEOVERS.

SAYS $US 675 BILLION MORE IS NEEDED 

The International Monetary Fund said the financial crisis was rapidly getting worse, and that an additional $US675 billion needed to be injected into struggling institutions. It urged governments to take equity stakes in such institutions.

“But this should only occur,” the IMF said, “where institutions were both viable and important to the financial system. And such government investments should not be complete takeovers. Banks that were not viable should be closed in an orderly fashion.”

The IMF also said that “only a coordinated intervention in financial markets by leading governments could restore confidence.”

Australia is facing a wave of banking consolidations; Westpac is taking over St George bank; the Commonwealth Bank is set to purchase BankWest in a $2 billion deal; and Suncorp-Metway are engaged in takeover talks.

HENRY PAULSON: “OUR SYSTEM IS GLOBAL”

Explaining the US Treasury’s planned buy-out of bad debt held by American financial institutions, the US treasury secretary Henry Paulson suggested that European taxpayers would also have to take part in bankrolling the biggest bail-out of private firms in world history:

“Our system’s a global one, and I also am going to be pressing colleagues around the world to design similar systems for their banks. We are talking very aggressively with other countries around the world, and encouraging them to do similar things, and I believe a number of them will,” Mr Paulson said.

GLOBALISM HAS RECEIVED A SHOT IN THE ARM

In a long article entitled, The Golden Calf Revealed, Wilfred Hahn, analyses the evil of the money markets, and concludes with this quote from an ‘intrepid writer who writes anonymously as “London Banker” on RGE Monitor’:

“Once again in the name of crisis and expediency, the laws are ignored, decisions are taken in secret, extra-judicial reapportionment of property and contract is mandated by executive fiat, and legislative review and judicial intervention are impossible.

“Over the past year every financial crisis has been met with lawless and Enron-esque innovation by the Federal Reserve and Treasury, and this week was arguably more extreme. In the name of exigency, they have all been sprung as fait accompli on a shocked financial community, and have since been treated as un-questionable and unreviewable.

“Every initiative introduced as a temporary measure has become a permanent fixture. Not all catastrophic events were willful or anticipated, but all were used to force through an agenda that was pre-agreed by a powerful elite that stood to profit from a preferred course of policies that could only be pursued in the undemocratic atmosphere of crisis. Crisis prevents objective determination of the public interest. Crisis undermines both markets and democracy.

“And that will also be true globally. Shrill voices again are calling for global laws and structures that will protect mankind from the financial lawlessness that has led to recent financial tremors. Said a columnist in the Financial Times, “That means more global governance: credible international rules.”       - www.eternalvalue.com

A NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC SYSTEM

As the current financial system becomes undone, a new international economic order is being proposed as the solution. Global planners have long understood there can’t be a new one-world system until the old order has failed.

Ultimately the New World Order will mean a global economic system, a world government, a composite world religion, a one world army and police force, and international conformity to standards and principles.

To a “rational mind” this may seem to be the desirable solution to world chaos.

The main trouble, however, is that the final “president” of the global system will be the man the Bible describes as the Beast, the Man of Sin, the Antichrist.

GERMANY AND UK WANT A GLOBAL FINANCIAL REGULATOR

Sept 22, 08. The UK and Germany believe that a new international system regulating the financial sector must be constructed to prevent a repeat of global banking crisis in the future.

Peter Steinbrueck, Germany’s finance minister, raised the idea of “an international authority that will make the traffic rules for financial markets.”

In a speech to the UN, the British PM, Gordon Brown, called for an end to “the age of irresponsibility” in the global financial sector.  In a speech to the Labour Party, he outlined his proposals for an international body that should be run under the authority of the International Monetary Fund. He also introduced domestic plans to crack down on “irresponsible” bonuses handed out in London’s financial quarter.

“I think what people haven’t appreciated is we’ve now got global financial systems but we’ve only got national regulators to cover them,” Mr Brown told the BBC ahead of the speech, adding that he had been trying to convince his international counterparts for years of the need for “a global system of financial regulation.”

British finance minister, Alistair Darling, according to the country’s Guardian newspaper, is also set to tell his fellow Labour Party members: “Just as one government alone cannot combat global terrorism; just as one government alone cannot combat climate change, so one government alone cannot deal with the consequences of globalisation.”

CHINA URGES NEW CURRENCY ORDER

AFTER “FINANCIAL TSUNAMI”

Sept 24. Threatened by a “financial tsunami,” the world must consider building a fair and just financial order that is no longer dependent on the US, says The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party.

The commentary suggested China must brace for grave economic fallout and look to alternatives, saying the current financial crisis brings to mind the Great Depression of the 1930s.

China is a major buyer of US Treasury bonds, and it has stakes in large US financial institutions. The Chinese currency, and China’s trade, remains tightly linked to the fortunes of the US dollar. – Reuters and ABC

It seems we are indeed getting very close to the one world global control that is foretold in the Bible.

FOREIGN ECONOMISTS URGE ‘GLOBAL PLAN’

Oct 1, 08. Leaders and economists from Western Europe to East Asia have urged the United States to go beyond reviving a failed domestic bailout and start working on a new global financial system.

“The Americans don’t have a choice — they must absolutely have a global plan,” Christian Noyer, head of the French Central Bank.

David Smick, a global strategist and author of “The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers of the Global Economy,” says the next US president should immediately call for a second “Bretton Woods” conference to devise a new doctrine of international finance.

The tiny New Hampshire town hosted a conference shortly after World War II that established rules for economic interchange among the world’s industrial powers and created the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

“I am convinced that the sickness runs deep and that we need to rethink the entire financial and monetary system, as we did in Bretton Woods ... to create the tools for worldwide regulation made necessary by the globalization of trade,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in the French city of Toulon.

He said that officials from France, Britain, Germany and Italy will meet next week in Paris with the Continent’s top financial officials to prepare for a proposed global summit on the economic crisis. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet will participate.

The 27-nation European Union said that the crisis “has become a global problem” and Washington has a “special responsibility” to resolve it.

Until a few weeks ago, foreign governments were blase and even gloated about US financial woes, Mr. Smick said. “The decoupled theory has taken a crash landing; demand is plummeting worldwide and foreign financial institutions have been forced to come to terms with their own toxic waste,” he said.  - Washington Times

MIDEAST GRAPPLES WITH OIL PRICE SLUMP

Vast, oil-fueled budget surpluses may cushion some of the Middle East’s major oil-producing countries now that crude prices have plummeted. But Iran, Iraq and a handful of other nations face daunting challenges to make up the money in coming months because of the price drop and the global financial crisis.

The differences are stark: developers in the UAE - whose economy is more diversified - are still announcing $multibillion building projects. But merchants in Iran went on strike in the past few days over tax increases imposed to bolster the country’s budget.

“The Gulf countries have enough reserves to get through rougher periods, and have based their budgets on oil prices lower than what we see today. But poorer countries like Egypt don’t have those kinds of reserves.” -  Yahoo news

ISRAEL-PA PEACE DEAL SHELVED

Oct 13. The financial crisis in the US has destroyed the last chance for President Bush to establish a Palestinian Authority State and his place in Middle East history before the end of his term.

Hanna Siniora, co-president of the Israel-Palestinian Center for Research and Information told the Washington Times that the Middle East has been put on the back burner for now. “We are being shelved for the moment,” said the analyst. “And if the crisis deepens, it’s bad news for all of the Middle East. There won’t be any interest, in the government of the US to do anything.” – Arutz Sheva

WILL “THE JEWS” BE THE SCAPEGOAT AGAIN?

 

Prophecy commentator, Gary Kah, writes of the financial crisis: “As people increasingly feel the pinch in their pocketbooks, they will look for someone to blame for their hard times.

“So far, the federal government is getting the most heat. The Federal Reserve, which is responsible for many of our economic policy decisions, is especially feeling the pressure. The last two Federal Reserve Chairmen have been Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke — both Jews. And some of the individuals overseeing our largest remaining banks are also Jewish.

“One can see the “handwriting on the wall.”

“I fear that with 8 million Muslims now in America, outnumbering the 5.7 million Jews, and with anti-Semitism on the rise among the general public, the Jewish people could once again become the scapegoat. History has a way of repeating itself. What is happening in America today is very reminiscent of what happened in Germany preceding the rise of Hitler. I believe it may be just a matter of time before Jews are persecuted and forced to return to Israel. The persecution of true Christians could follow.

From a spiritual standpoint, we need to draw near to Christ and get on His agenda. Being in step with Jesus and serving Him faithfully is all that will ultimately matter. Love Him wholeheartedly and serve Him with integrity — living blamelessly among those around you.

Remember that God is still in control and is aware of all your needs. Pursue Him, work hard, plan wisely — leave the rest in His hands. Expect Him to do great things, even under difficult circumstances.

Another writer, Jimmy DeYoung – www.bible-prophecy-today.blogspot.com  says:

“Israeli leaders say the present economic crisis in the US, which is affecting the world economic system, could be setting the stage for another Jewish Holocaust since the Wall Street meltdown has thrown the future of the American economy into uncertainty.”

He quoted the late Jewish activist Rabbi Meir Kahane who said, “In bad times, Jew haters hate Jews loudly and when times are economically terrible, they hate Jews violently.” Some Israeli officials say the current economic crisis is a template for a Holocaust. One official stated that people think a Holocaust starts with concentration camps, but the truth is a Holocaust starts when people perceive this economic crisis is the result of the Jewish leadership in the financial markets.

 

WALL STREET TURNS TO PRAYER   

FINANCIAL MELTDOWN TRIGGERS PRAYER SESSIONS CITYWIDE

Sept 25, 08.  The turmoil in New York’s financial markets triggered a spiritual response among Christian leaders reminiscent of the response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Cell phone text messages quickly spread calls to prayer. “Barclay has pulled out of Lehman deal,” one announced. Wall Street giant Lehman Brothers was finalizing bankruptcy papers; Merrill Lynch was clinching its deal to sell itself to Bank of America.

Many Wall Streeters realized that the crisis could be earthshaking. A. J. Rice, the well-respected CEO of the hedge-fund firm Pomeroy Capital, says, “Most people think this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. In 1987 we had a dramatic shock, but the other shoe didn’t drop.” This year, a whole lot of shoes have dropped. Wall Streeters have lived with a constant sense of foreboding.

Rice received a lot of calls, several from friends at Lehman who were distressed by the devastation of their colleagues. One told him, “I have never seen grown men cry like that.” A consultant to several financial companies relates that one friend called to say, “I need to see you to talk me off the ledge.”

On Monday, Christians on Wall Street set up special prayer meetings for the week. First came the special prayer conference calls on Monday and Tuesday nights. Then, starting Wednesday, extraordinary prayer meetings were scheduled at Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, and elsewhere. Pastors began planning to gather for a sidewalk prayer meeting outside of the stock exchange.

Some Christians in New York city hope that God can use the crisis for good. One says, “God can use this situation as he did in the 1857 Layman’s Prayer Revival that started on Wall Street to draw people to a fresh recognition of our absolute dependence on His grace and love.”

The pastor of New Horizon Church, says, “Honestly, I am praying God will bring healing and revival.” He recalls how during the 1930s Wall Street crash, Central Baptist Church on Manhattan housed people who had lost their homes. “The church should be available in every way for people on Wall Street who maybe didn’t think much about God before.”  - From Christian Today 

CONFIDENCE AND TRUST HAVE DRIED UP

International credit markets have seized up and the key global middle-men – American and banks - have lost everyone’s trust.

The Weekend Australian (Oct. 11-12, 08) said …

IRRATIONAL INSTITUTIONS’ LACK OF TRUST

IS THE CAUSE OF CHAOS IN THE MARKETS

Fear and panic are powerful emotions. Unfortunately, at the moment the two have combined to make the financial markets irrational. Each night Wall Street appears closer to all-out collapse as panic stricken traders dump stocks.

The Australian economy will not be protected from the worsening crisis. Forecasts warn of 300,000 job losses over the next year as the economy plunges into recession.

About 800,000 Australian households, and up to two million small and medium-size enterprises, are living on a knife-edge and could go under in the face of high costs of debt, says a report of JPMorgan and Fujitsu.

What began as an issue among over-stretched US homeowners has developed into the greatest financial crisis the world has faced since the 1930s.

In the US, home loans are known as “sub-prime” loans. They can also be called “low-doc” (loans with low documentation).  In an era of easy credit, these loans were made available to millions of households that could not afford the repayments.

The sub-prime crisis early this year developed into a fully-fledged credit crunch, as banks and investors fled from any high-risk debt.

There are now concerns that China is slowing down, and that Chinese steel mills are reportedly shutting down production. This will affect Australia’s exports.

IMF WARNS OF GLOBAL FINANCIAL MELTDOWN

OCT 11. The head of the International Monetary Fund said the world is on the brink of systemic, financial meltdown. His bleak warning came as finance ministers tried to calm the frenzy in markets that saw share prices crash by more than 20% last week.

The IMF’s chief economist added to the gloom by predicting that shares could slump by another 20% before stabilizing. “At the worst, the governments will need another few weeks to make the right assessment and the stock exchanges could fall by another 20%; then there will be a turnaround,” he said.  -  The Times

The IMF said it is mobilising a “rapid-fire” fund worth several hundred billion dollars to stop a domino collapse across the developing world.

WORLD MARKET REJECT RESCUES

Oct 9, 08. Global equities markets are in meltdown as emergency efforts to rescue the world economy show no signs of working and the British government was forced to launch a massive bailout of major banks …

UK’S £600 BILLION BAILOUT ($A 1.23 TRILLION)

Oct 8, 08. Britain rushed a massive package through to partly nationalize its eight biggest banks. This move was to shore up confidence in the international banking system. But even this bold move failed to stop another sharp fall on world stock markets.

STOCKS STILL TUMBLE

Oct 10.  Emerging market stocks have been tumbling. Earlier expectations that rising stars such as the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) were now strong enough to shake off a US crisis, have been shattered.

The Japanese Prime Minister said the plunge on the Tokyo stock market (down 10%) was “beyond our imagination.”

The Australian stock market had one of its worst days on record (5% down), and the dollar dropped to 67.5cents against the US dollar.

Singapore announced falling growth in the last two quarters, which means the city is in recession.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average was down another 679 points (7.33%), closing at 8579, in the worst seven-session performance since 1987. It was down from its 2007 peak of above 14,000.

14 BANKS LOWER INTEREST RATES

Oct 11, 08. In an attempt to help stem the financial crisis, fourteen central banks around the world, followed Australia and the US in lowering official interest rates, including China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and a number of European nations.

The Bank of Japan did not cut rates, as already their official rate was only 0.5%. But the bank continued to release huge funds into the Tokyo money market – some Y39 trillion ($US 620 billion) in 18 days. Yesterday, the first Japanese financial institution, Yamato Life Insurance, failed as a result of sub-prime exposure.

CRISIS MEETINGS TO SAVE THE WORLD

Oct 11-12, 08. The finance chiefs of the powerful Group of Seven (US, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Italy and Canada) met in Washington and pledged to take all necessary steps to support the banking system and stave off an economic slump.

We are “united in our commitment to fulfill our shared responsibility to resolve the current crisis,” they said as they unveiled a 5-point plan to fight the global firestorm and restore confidence in the financial system by shoring up struggling banks.

US Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson said Washington would start moving “as soon as we can” to inject capital into troubled banks. At the same time the US government is planning to invest directly in US banks to prevent them from failing.

Under the G7 plan, the economic powers would seek to ensure that banks can raise capital from public as well as private sources, in sufficient amounts to re-establish confidence and permit them to continue lending to households and businesses.

The seven banks also committed to taking decisive measures to stop further bank collapses and unfreeze credit lines to pump more liquidity into the market.

The G7 meeting was followed by a G20 meeting – a larger grouping of important nations including India, China and Australia. 

The editorial in The Weekend Australian (11-12 Oct) declared: “G20s leaders must lift confidence … Recent turmoil proves there are no guarantees of success in plunging markets devoid of investor confidence.”

It quoted Franklin D Roosevelt who said in 1933: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyses needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

The G20, following the G7 lead, pledged to use “all the economic and financial tools to assure the stability and well functioning of financial markets.”

          EUROZONE SUMMIT GIVES NOD TO   

HARMONISED BANK RESCUES

Oct 13. An “unprecedented” extraordinary meeting of eurozone leaders gave a green light to a set of harmonised moves by member states to boost confidence in the financial sector and save failing banks.

The UK says it would inject up to £37 billion of taxpayer money into the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds TSB and HBOS.

MARKETS SURGE AFTER CRISIS TALKS

After an emergency Paris summit of the 15 eurozone leaders, major central banks said they would offer financial institutions an unlimited amount of short-term dollar loans to help stem the crisis. EU leaders said no big bank would be allowed to fail.

The US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of England unveiled further measures to thaw frozen credit markets. They said they would provide unlimited dollar funds to financial institutions via money market auctions.

Reports said that Germany’s financial rescue plan would total about 400 billion euros.

Under a European plan, members pledged to guarantee loans between banks until the end of 2009, and said they would put money into them by buying preference shares.

“Central banks will continue to work together and are prepared to take whatever measures are necessary to provide sufficient liquidity,” the European Central Bank said in its statement.

AUSTRALIA PACKAGE TO STIMULATE ECONOMY

Oct 14. The Rudd government has gone on a massive $10.4 billion spending spree in a bid to spare Australia the worst effects of the global economic crisis.

Pensioners, families and first home buyers are the big winners under the government’s strategy that aims to prevent a deep and prolonged economic slowdown.

Almost half of the government’s $21.7 billion budget surplus will be pumped back into the economy, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warning the global crisis had entered a “new, dangerous, and damaging phase” that demanded action.

He suggested the government might loosen the budget purse strings further, saying the government was determined to take “whatever action is necessary in the future” to maintain stability of the Australian financial system and underpin economic growth. – Yahoo

SHARES RESPONSE TO RUDD’S GUARANTEE

Australia’s PM Kevin Rudd said his government would guarantee all bank deposits, however large, for the next three years. The move raised confidence as markets opened, and Australia’s central bank on Monday pumped $2 billion into the banking system to facilitate improve lending between banks. Australia’s index ended 5.6% higher.

SHARES RISE AS CONFIDENCE RETURNS

OCT. 13. Stock markets in Asia, Europe and the US began to recover as investors welcome world leaders’ efforts to shore up banks, and to end the recent financial turmoil.   But two days later …

FEARS OF WORLD RECESSION CONTINUE

Oct 15. Growing fears that the financial crisis will develop into a worldwide recession prompted a new bloodbath on stock markets.

Stock markets fell in many countries; in the US by 733.08 points (7.87%); London’s index by 7.16%; in Paris 6.82%, Germany 6.49%, Russia 9%, Australia 5%, and Hong Kong by 5%.

Stocks across Latin America also tumbled badly, giving up most of the gains recorded in spectacular rallies earlier in the week. Brazil’s share market finished down 11.39%, while Argentine’s slumped 12.14%.

On Tuesday (14th ), the San Francisco Federal Reserve president Janet Yellen became the first US central bank official to acknowledge a recession is probably underway. She said she expected essentially no growth at all in the third quarter and “an outright contraction” in the fourth quarter.

“The world economy is still headed into a recession despite the global financial market rescue effort,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. “The decline will be deep and protracted. It has already started. Nowhere is the economic house in greater disorder than Euroland, although some may argue that Japan is a bigger mess.”

European governments announced more measures to overhaul global finance.

OCT 16  -  STOCKS REBOUND BUT “IT’S NOT OVER YET!”

There has been no magic quick-fix of the world’s threatened economy – but a renewal of confidence will help its survival for some time.

According to the International Monetary Fund, there is a better than even chance the global economy will be in recession by Christmas; and the world faces its most serious financial shock since the Great Depression of 1929, because the recession will coincide with the bursting of housing bubbles in many advanced economies.

Recession means a slowing down and tightening up of the economy which will bring higher unemployment and widespread difficulties.

 

ANXIOUS TIMES ARE AHEAD,

BUT THERE ARE PROMISES FOR THOSE WHO REVERENCE

 THE ONE TRUE GOD, AND TRUST IN HIM

In times of financial distress, the words of the Messiah and the prophets are extremely pertinent for people who have spent their time and energies in devotion to becoming rich; and indeed, for all of us.

King Solomon, a very wealthy man wrote:

“How much better it is to get wisdom than gold!  And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.” (Proverbs 16:16)

The apostle Paul who left the “good life” and counted the wealth he could have earned as rubbish, warns of the love of money and its trap:

“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and some, by hankering for it, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

“But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, perseverance, meekness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:9-12)

But it is the Messiah who gives the comfort to us in difficult times - times of recession, and depression.

“Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body as to what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow, or reap, or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

“Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his life’s span? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin, yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

“Do not be anxious then, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.

“Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)    

So this is the Master’s word to all who look to Him.  Again He said:

“Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s House are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you, for I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)

The believer knows that ...

      This world is not our home;  We’re just passing through.

And that’s one main reason why Y’shua the Messiah said:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

The Master is not saying that we should not own a home, a car, or a business, and make provision for ourselves and our families.

But Y’shua warns about making riches your priority.

The psalmist, David, who went through very difficult times both before and after he became king, offers these words of comfort, that were born out of his own experiences:

“In You, O YHWH, I have trusted; let me never be ashamed.

Deliver me in Your righteousness.

Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly.

Be a Rock of strength to me, a strong Fortress to save me;

for You are my Rock and my Stronghold;

therefore, for Your Name’s sake lead me and guide me.

Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me;

for You are my Strength.

Into Your hand I commit My spirit.

You have redeemed me, O YHWH, God of truth ….

Oh, how great is Your goodness

which You have stored up for those who stand in awe of You;

and which You have prepared for those who trust in You,

in the sight of the sons of men!

You hide them in the secrecy of Your Presence

from the conspiracies of men.” (Psalm 31:1-5, 19-20)

FOR ANY TROUBLED READER

WHO DOES NOT KNOW GOD

AS HIS SAVIOUR AND STRONGHOLD

Let me say kindly:

            In times likes these, you need a Saviour

            In times like these, you need an Anchor,

            Be very sure, your anchor holds,

            And grasps the solid Rock.

That Rock is Jesus, Y’shua the Messiah.

My friend, if you have been worshipping the god of money, the god of business, the god of pleasure, the god of sport, or any other god instead of the Almighty One, it is no wonder that you will crack up in anxious times.

You have broken the “first” and “second” commandments of God.

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

A lawyer ask the Messiah:

“‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’

“And Y’shua said to him, ‘You shall love YHWH your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great command. And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commands hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

Now, keeping commandments will not save you, but the commands of God certainly show us our lost and condemned condition. Sin separates us from the absolutely Holy One.

“Your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear you.” (Isaiah 59:2)

“And more than that, the Word of God says: “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)     

You do need a Saviour, for without a Saviour, it is not merely an economic disaster that could wipe you out; you’re in for an eternity without God, without peace and without hope. Without a Saviour, that is certain!

But praise God, there is salvation available for you.  Read the rest of Romans 6:23:

“The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in the Messiah, Y’shua our Master.” (Romans 6:23)

And it is available in and through the redemptive work of the Messiah – the Christ – God’s Anointed One.

“There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Why is He the only Saviour? Because He is the One appointed by the Heavenly Father, and because He alone gave His life to pay the penalty of the sins of the world.

“But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, the Messiah died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

“The next day John saw Y’shua coming to him, and said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29)

“He was wounded - pierced through - for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance, that the Messiah died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

My unsaved reader, will you receive Y’shua, Jesus, as your Saviour today?  The following prayer will help you to express faith in the Saviour, and to settle the matter of your eternal destiny.

DECISION PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I come before You today, in the Name of the Lord Jesus, Y’shua. I come just as I am, a sinner needing salvation. I have read this message, and I have come to understand that Y’shua is the Anointed One, who came from Heaven to save sinners like me.

Lord Jesus, feeling my own unworthiness, I thank You for the great sacrifice You made, when You endured the cross, and paid the penalty of my sins.

I believe You are indeed the Messiah, the Saviour, and that You rose from the dead, ascended to Heaven, and are seated on the Throne of Eternity.

I believe in You, Master, and I trust You for salvation. I receive You as the Way, my Saviour and Master, and by Your grace and strength, I want to live for You from this day on.

Heavenly Father, thank You for hearing my prayer, and for answering. Thank You for Your forgiveness, and for Your gift of eternal life. Thank You for your love. Father, please keep me in these anxious times, and make me like Your holy, beloved Son.

Thank You Father, for Your salvation. Thank You, in the Name of Y’shua, Jesus the Messiah, I pray.  Amen.

 

                Signed ………………………   date ………

 

If this is your decision prayer today, please keep a record of this transaction. We would be glad to hear from you, at any one of our branch offices (see addresses or phones inside front cover).

And now I encourage you to trust your Heavenly Father for the difficult times ahead. Study the Bible regularly, develop your prayer life (talking to your Heavenly Master.) Seek fellowship with other believers who know the Saviour, and tell others about your Saviour. 

And may God bless you and keep you in the days ahead, and until the Master returns.

                     Your brother in the Messiah, 

                                                                         Don Stanton