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There is a prophetic nature to the current global financial storm that
points to an even greater crisis ahead. We can be assured of God's
sovereignty over global events because there is:
"one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all"
(Eph 4:6).
We need to learn from this storm in order to prepare wisely for the future.
As in ther time of Noah many people will miss God's warnings and suffer the
gravest consequences.
To interpret the signs of the times we need some understanding of the
biblical revelation of God in the following dimensions:
|
Nature of God |
Old Testament |
New Testament |
|
Dispensation |
The Law |
Grace (unmerited favour) |
|
Creating |
Genesis 1-3 |
John 1 |
|
Edifying |
History of Israel |
Through Word and Spirit |
|
Loving |
Father of Israel |
Mankind (John 3:16) |
|
Rescuing |
Foretold by the Prophets |
Jesus on the Cross |
|
Suffering |
Rejected by Israel |
Rejected by the world |
|
Judging |
Exile to Babylon |
Destruction of Babylon |
God's nature is not a spiritual smorgasbord for self selection. You cannot
have parts of God and leave the rest. The above chart is a window to help
us peak into a holistic knowledge of God. In this chart the current global
financial storm is bottom line!
Today the media continuously recount stories of societal deconstruction:
corruption in the Church, Police, hospitals, sport, politics, judiciary,
education and so on. Nothing is exempt and now we are experiencing melt
down of the financial markets with greed and corruption as major causes.
The global financial system, apart from governmental intervention, has just
failed:
A quarter of Australia's TOP 200 companies are now selling for less that $2
a share. Some of them are valued at as little as 30c per share. Alumina,
CSR, Fairfax and Ten Network have rapidly sunk below $2 a share. Babcock &
Brown have gone from $27 to 63.5 cents. Other large companies like ABC
Learning are going into liquidation. The stock market is down 50% in just
months.
While governments have intervened to avert the risk of total collapse of
the markets, government capacity is not deep enough to avert the final
disaster prophetically described in Revelation 18. Why?... because law
cannot resolve the root cause of the problem which is man's rejection of
God's grace (see table above). God is the only final solution
because only God can change the heart for the good.
From this we can see that human systems and theology are inextricably
inter-dependent. Anyone who denies this is a false prophet.
We will now look at the prophetic description of the final fall of world
commerce - which the Bible calls Babylon. This is a biblical code
for the commercial world operating independantly of God.
Today we call this disconnection 'secular humanism'. This is a modern way
of expressing what the Bible calls 'fallen man' from garden of Eden. In
other words every man and woman is by type an Adam or an Eve
facing the same choice: do we define life as man centered or God
centered?
In Genesis 2 the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil
represents a self-centered choice with a dire warning: its fruit is
death. In contrast the Tree of Life represents a God
centered choice with a blessing: good fruit.
We are all guilty of this self-centered choice which produces the suffering
and death of this world. It is to this suffering that God comes as rescuer.
We are all lost, however there is one and only one rescue plan... Jesus
substitute on the Cross of suffering and death in our place. Accordingly
our great task as the church is to make known the knowledge of God's rescue
plan for a suffering world, a plan which also avoids an even greater
suffering - eternal death separated from God.
The coming destruction of Babylon
How then do we interpret the prophetic edge to this current global
financial storm?
To answer this we need to look into Revelation 18. Here we learn that God
himself instigates the destruction of Babylon. Here we read that the cause
of God's wrath is arrogance, pursuit of luxury, corruption, evil, greed and
grief. All of this has become common talk in this financial collapse of
2008. In Rev 18 it is stated three times that the final collapse will
come in one hour and that this is the direct outworking of the
righteous judgment of God (vv 8, 20, 21).
Similarities today
Global commerce in our day has similarly been judged by the world's media
as corrupt and greedy. With remarkable similarity some commentators put the
tipping point for the current financial crisis as having occurred
in one hour!
Straight after terrorists attacked the twin towers on 911 the US Federal
Reserve feared a run on the banks so they responded by pumping massive
liquidity into the financial markets. The markets then flush with cash gave
massive unsecured loans to the sub-prime market. There was more cash to
give than safe investments to receive it and this resulted in reckless
corporate behaviour in the financial sector. The hedge funds packaged these
unsafe loans and on-sold them to the world's banks, making huge debt
fuelled gains that were covered in the short term by rising markets.
Ref:
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2007/s2035637.htm
As a result of a single event the system became unstable as greedy and
corrupt financial markets were fuelled by government pump priming. Seven
years later (God's perfect number signifying completion) the full
ramifications hit the world's markets with explosive force as dependence on
debt based growth failed.
How then should we respond to this current financial storm?
-
don't trust
Babylon
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put your
faith in God alone.
We must be vigilant to turn our hearts from the failed currency of the
world (what's in it for me) to the currency of the Kingdom
(good fruit):
"You did not choose me. I chose you and
sent you
out to produce fruit, the kind of fruit that will last.
Then my Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. So I command
you to love each other" (John 15:16-17 CEV).
It's time to respond to God with a whole heart.
There is also no greater gift than to lead a friend to the salvation of the
Lord.
For those under duress here is great comfort from
Psalm 94:
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Rising above the Storm |
On the Wings of Eagles |
|
Who is part of God's answer to the suffering of the world? God needs his
people to be salt and light where they are: |
16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for
me against evildoers? |
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Are you at the end of your tether? |
17 Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the
silence of death. |
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We learn more about God in the valleys than we do on the mountain tops: |
18 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me. |
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Are you sweating at 3:30 in the morning? |
19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my
soul. |
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When systems fail God's people are secure in God's unshakable kingdom: |
22 But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I
take refuge. |
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