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A Short Review
of the
so-called Recession
By John S. Torell
Time is rolling on and we have now
finished the third month of 2008. The drumbeat concerning the economies in
the world, which started as a faint whisper back in 2007, is getting
louder and louder. The news comes at us daily about the meltdown of the
housing market, rising oil prices, the world’s stock markets pummeling
with staggering job losses. We can sense fear coming over the American
people as they have lived in luxury and now are facing the reality of not
only a recession but a possible deep depression. I want to share with you
what I believe is happening and what God wants us believers in Christ to
do in times like this.
ARE WE AS A NATION BEING JUDGED BY
GOD?
In my mind there is no doubt that God has
punctured the roll of “good days and plenty of luxuries.” During the last
five years, God has allowed disaster after disaster to strike our nation
and instead of pastors, evangelists and political leaders calling for
prayer, fasting and repentance, the cry has been “we are strong, we will
rebuild” and the president has declared time and time again that areas hit
with storms, fires, earthquakes, floods etc. be declared “disaster areas”
and eligible for federal aid.
This human drive, that we can do anything
if we work hard enough is not new, we find this in the time right after
the great flood. The descendants of Noah and his three sons knew why God
had judged the human race so harshly. Instead of being thankful that God
had given them grace and allowed them to live and multiply and do the work
of God on the earth, they decided to make sure that they would build a
legacy. Look at these Bible verses and understand the mindset of the
people and the response from God. The behavior at that time of people is
no difference from what is happening today. And the Bible tells us that
God never changes, he is the same yesterday, today and forever.
And the whole earth was of one
language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from
the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt
there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn
them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for
morter.
And they said, Go to, let us build us a
city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a
name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And
the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of
men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have
all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be
restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go
down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one
another’s speech.
So the LORD scattered them abroad from
thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the
city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there
confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD
scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Genesis 11:1-9
THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
To have a global economy there must be a
global language. At the beginning of the 20th century, there
were four global languages: English, German, French and Spanish. These
were the languages used by the nations which were the major players in the
economic and industrial development. World War II brought the world into
an era that has been named “The American Century.” The industrial
complexes and the economies of the great European nations lay in ruins,
including Japan, Russia and China.
God had used the United States to destroy
the evil of Nazism and the empirical dream of the Japanese warlords. The
American people had suffered greatly from 1929 through 1940 with a deep
economic depression, and WW II blew the depression away. By 1945 the
American economy was robust, factories had been built, and everyone had a
job while the rest of the world had been devastated.
The political leaders in America at that
time undertook a program called “The Marshall Plan” in which American
finances and equipment were given to former enemies as well as friends to
rebuild the economies of England, France, Germany, and western European
nations. Japan was occupied by the United States, but instead of enslaving
its people, the United States worked with the Japanese people and rebuilt
the nation.
From 1945 through the mid 1960’s, American
factories were humming and churning out goods, which were sold worldwide.
Oil was cheap (gasoline was 19 cents per gallon), the dollar was the top
currency, and if people around the world wanted to do global business,
they had to do it in English and in U.S. dollars.
The standard of living rose dramatically
in America and the people became hungry consumers, buying luxury items
their parents could never have afforded. Americans became investors and
demanded a high yield on their investments. The financial climate was
changing fast; quality was no longer the goal for goods produced; instead,
there was a competition to produce as much as possible at the lowest
possible price. The quality of American automobiles and all other products
was diminishing.
By now the war torn nations in the world
had been rebuilt and re-tooled. With brand new factories and steel plants,
they were able to compete with the older factories in the United States.
Suddenly, the American business leaders became greedier as the American
investors demanded better profits from the stocks they held. The American
auto makers who pretty much drove the American economy, along with the
housing industry, steel and manufacturing plants, found themselves in
fierce competition with the new players in Germany, Japan, and Korea.
Since labor costs were cheaper in Mexico,
India and other third world nations, American corporations outsourced
their production into newly built factories in these nations, with the
reasoning that they could produce cheaper products and then export them
back to the American consumer market. It was cheaper for American
corporations to abandon their old facilities in the U.S. and move the
production overseas. What the corporation leaders did not think about was
that people out of work do not buy a lot of products.
The result was that the great production
centers in the Midwest became known as “the rust belt” as jobs moved
“south of the border.” In the short run, American investors made lots of
money on their investments, but no one thought of the future. The American
consumer is the biggest market in the world, driving the global economy,
but if American consumers lose their jobs, they can no longer buy.
THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS (FRB)
The Federal Reserve is a private banking
corporation of 12 banks. Since its beginning in 1913, its chairman has
most of the time been Jewish. This is America’s central banking system,
which controls the amount of cash allowed in the nation and also sets the
prime interest rate. The president and the Congress have no power over the
FRB. Furthermore, it is the FRB that is in charge of printing currency for
the United States, and the currency is then “lent” to the U.S. Treasury
Department, which in turn must pay interest to this private banking
corporation.
In short, the United States of America
gave away the right to print its own money to a private institution and
then was forced to borrow money from the FRB and pay interest on it. The
fight to chain the United States down was led by the Jewish banker Jacob
Schiff, who together with other Jewish American bankers bribed or strong
armed members of Congress to give away America’s right to print and
control its own money. The current chairman of the FRB, Ben S. Bernanke,
is an American Jew.
It is noteworthy to point out that two
American presidents were assassinated over the issue of printing money,
first Abraham Lincoln (Greenbacks) and secondly John F. Kennedy (silver
certificates). I have in my possession a few dollar bills, which are
labeled silver certificates and on the dollar bills it reads “The United
States of America.”
It is the FRB that over the years
increased the money supply in the United States in order for regular banks
to issue credit cards so that the American consumer could be enticed to
purchase more products and at the same time get in debt to the
International Bankers. In order for the United States government to
continue its reckless spending spree, it is continually issuing treasury
bonds, which are sold to foreign governments, private citizens around the
world and wealthy foreign corporations. Interest must be paid for this,
and this is paid for by borrowing money from the FRB, with more interest.
Thus the national debt is owed to people who are not necessarily “in love
with America” but are milking her dry of her resources.
Holders of American cash and loans are
China, Japan, Korea, and a number of Middle East oil producing nations.
The value of the dollar has fallen 27.65 % since 2004. At some point these
nations will make a decision to sell off their dollar holdings before the
American dollar sinks further. When that day comes, the American dollar
will lose its value and America will face a hyper-inflation worse than
what happened to Germany in the early 1930’s.
The real reason for the spike in oil
prices is that the international oil market is tied to the dollar; oil can
only be purchased in dollars. With a falling dollar, the oil producing
nations are going to up the price for crude oil so they will be able to
maintain the same profit level.
THE STANDARD OF LIVING WILL BE LOWER
When American corporations began to shut
down their production in the United States in the early 1970’s, many high
paid workers and white collar workers had to accept low paying jobs and
change their lifestyles.
The Cold War with Russia kept the military
industrial complex going and thus jobs were created in this sector. NASA
and the space development produced hundreds of thousands of jobs across
the United States and the emerging computer and software industry rescued
the nation.
But with the Cold War over in the 1990’s
came the painful military base closings in the United States; tens of
thousands of people lost their jobs and whole communities went into a deep
financial slump. The fight against terrorism and the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan have given some relief since wars always produce jobs. With
high unemployment, recruiting in the Armed Forces will go up.
The bitter pill of losing jobs that
American workers had to face is now confronting workers in Mexico and in
other countries as they are now losing jobs to even poorer countries. As
manufacturing jobs from the United States and Europe moved to third world
nations, the standard of living went up there and with it wages. The
greedy American corporations have now pulled out of Mexico, Korea,
Vietnam, India, etc. since wages there have risen. The manufacturing is
now being moved to Bangladesh, Thailand, East European nations coming out
of communism, Micronesia, etc., where the labor rate is still cheap, and
the corporations do not have to pay health insurance, overtime, pensions,
etc., which are dirty words to investors.
THE HOUSING MARKET
The Jewish international bankers were not
happy with the American consumers. They wanted them to spend more in order
for these bankers and corporation leaders to make more money. The next
target to bankrupt the American people was to “steal” their homes.
Therefore, “creative financing” was invented and advertised. Since the
World Government controls the FRB, interest rates were lowered and the
drum beat began, refinance your home, get access to your equity and buy
a new automobile, take a vacation, spend, spend, spend.
Home appraisals were inflated; people were
enticed to buy homes beyond what their income could support. Loans were
given; low rates to begin with, interest payments only, no down payment
and no payment on principal. People in the mortgage industry worked
overtime and could not process all the loans demanded.
People got into their dream homes,
purchased new cars, trucks and boats, went on vacations, gambled at the
casinos, purchased all kinds of home furnishings and times were good.
Loans were bundled and sold to investment companies, promising their
investors a great profit.
Then the bubble burst, low interest loans
converted automatically to higher interest and principal payments, and the
borrowers could not pay. A domino effect began and now thousands of people
are losing their homes every month, mortgage companies are closing down,
and the sub prime lenders had to write off billions of dollars in losses.
More people are out of work, which means less consumer spending. General
Motors, Ford and Chrysler cannot sell as many cars, so they are cutting
back, thus, more layoffs and fewer consumers to keep the economy going.
This will affect the steel industry and all the small factories producing
parts for automobiles and trucks. There is a glut of houses on the market,
thus the construction industry has stopped building – more workers laid
off.
This is the naked truth: the American
people became fools and now the whole nation is called into an economical
judgment. The standard of living is going to be lowered and the focus will
now be on having a place to live, food to eat and how to survive on less
and less.
WHAT GOD SAID SOME 3000 YEARS AGO
“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion,
and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the
nations, to whom the house of Israel came! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see;
and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the
Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater
than your border? Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of
violence to come near; That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves
upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out
of the midst of the stall; That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent
to themselves instruments of musick, like David; That drink wine in bowls,
and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved
for the affliction of Joseph.
Therefore now shall they go captive
with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched
themselves shall be removed. The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the
LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his
palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they
shall die. And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him,
to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by
the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No.
Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the
name of the LORD. For, behold, the LORD commandeth, and he will smite the
great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts. Shall horses
run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen? For ye have turned
judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: Ye which
rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by
our own strength?
But, behold, I will raise up against
you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they
shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the
wilderness.” Amos 6:1-14
WHAT CAN WE DO AS CHRISTIANS?
This is the time for faith in God. Some of
you were children during the Great Depression, others like me were born
just prior to WWII, many of you are baby boomers that are used to the
“good times” and then we have the generations born after 1980 who have
grown up in a time of prosperity. Now our Christian faith is going to be
tested, but whatever is going to happen now cannot be compared to what it
will be like during the great tribulation. Here is what God tells us:
Seek you the kingdom of God first. If you
have been serving God, walked with Him and are trusting Him as your Lord
and Saviour, He will take care of you. Matthew 6:33-34
If you have been a tithing Christian, God
has a covenant with you and is obligated by His own Word to take care of
you. Malachi 3:6-12
This financial judgment from God is not
the end of the world. There will still be jobs, even if the wages are
going to be lower. As Christians, we need to tighten our finances and use
discernment in how we spend our money. We should not live like people in
the world, who are wasting their resources on things, which they do not
need. Read the beautiful words that God spoke 2,700 years ago through His
prophet. Isaiah 55:1-13
God will continue to use His businessmen,
contractors and manufacturers, even in a deep depression. The money is not
gone from the world; it has been squandered by unsaved people and horded
by the people working for the World Government. These people are going to
have things done and will pay for it. Look how God sent Joseph to Egypt to
take care of his family in a time of famine. Genesis 45:1-8
The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is not
going bankrupt. The Gospel is still going to be preached, and I believe in
more power. The big flashy televangelists are not going to weather this
storm. I believe they will lose their networks, the multiple luxury homes
they have purchased, the airplanes they own, their fancy cars and the
lavish lifestyle. The churches belonging to the Purpose Driven movement,
the contemporary and emerging churches, the seeker friendly churches are
going to lose the people because they will not have the spiritual food to
serve to people who have desperate financial needs. People are going to
cry out to God in their pain and desperation and the Lord will be there to
meet them through the small faithful remnant churches which God has
preserved and kept hidden until now. This is a time to repent and return
to our first love. Revelation 3:14-22
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?
Back in 1999, the Lord spoke to me that we
were to separate our church ministry from our production department. We do
not own a church building but rent space where Resurrection Life of Jesus
Church meets.
Our production center is located on
private property and a very low rent is paid for the buildings used. All
equipment used by the ministry is paid for. God has taught us to be frugal
and very careful with the money He gives the ministry. The people in this
ministry who are on a salary, are modest and most of us drive cars which
have been paid for.
It is now clearer than ever that the
vision God gave me last year about web casting is from Him. For around
$600 per month ($20 per day) we can broadcast not only our Sunday morning
services live to any place in the world, but also have the capacity to
send teaching seminars and all kinds of programs 24 hours per day if we so
wish.
The initial cost of setting this up was
first calculated at around $10,000. Then, as we began to research it and
make plans, the cost was increased to around $30,000. The good news is
that God’s people have sent in money for this project but we are still
short $12,000 as I write this letter. Therefore, all of the equipment will
be paid in full when we start our broadcasting, we will only have to raise
a monthly fee for services like web space and bandwidth.
I believe that our ministry will be used
by God together with other small ministries to be a beacon and a refuge
for the people caught up in the financial crisis now coming our way. You
who have been with us, some for many years, others just joining us, will
be sustained by God. God will give you enough to live on and extra for you
to continue to be part of us and support us with your tithes or gifts. Let
us start to rejoice in the Lord, magnify His name and begin to proclaim
that we are going to be part of the biggest harvest of souls at this time
in the history of the earth.
If you feel that you do not have a
historical background of what I have written in this letter, we have put
together a package which will give you the knowledge you need to
understand what is happening now. It will consist of back issues of The
Dove magazine and The Flaming Sword newsletter. Just ask for
“The End Time’s INFO Package,” and
please include a love offering to cover our cost to produce it and ship it
to you.
Volume 4, 2008 |
