by haRold Smith
from Jerusalem, Israel
There is going to be plenty of money.
Make no mistake - the financial interests of this world are not going to allow everything they have worked so hard to acquire to fold. They are working overtime to make sure that there will be enough paper printed to be able to overwhelm the crisis' that face them today and for the future as well. Man is extremely creative and inventive. The problem with man's inventiveness, however, are the consequences that come with it.
The real problem facing the world (and the one nobody can seem to grasp), is that the forces loosed upon this earthly realm in this time are too wide, too deep and too complex for any one person, any one mandate, any one edict or any one government to contain, let alone comprehend the underlying cause of the catastrophe overwhelming them. The cause of it all is that the stage is being set for the return of HaMashiach ben Dovid (the Messiah of the house of David). Yeshua said that all these things "must need be" before He can come in His Glory (Mark 13:7-8 - click on highlighted references to view scripture). So, while the presses are running, while the governments of the world are colluding to form a more perfect establishment, while everybody is lining up to access an unlimited supply of currency, there is one important caveat being formulated into the acquisition of that money - you will have to sell part of your soul to get it. You will have to compromise what you know to be the Truth somewhere along the way to obtain it.
Shortly before he died, the popular Baptist televangelist Jerry Falwell gave an interview in which he was complaining of the interference he was receiving from government regulators concerning what he preached on the airwaves. He explained that he had to prepare two sermons every week, one for broadcast in America and one for broadcast in Canada because in Canada, to speak openly against the homosexual lifestyle is against that government's law - it is considered a 'hate crime'. If Mr. Falwell were to stand and speak for what he believed to be the truth, there was a very real possibility he would be arrested and jailed. Now, there happens to be a clause in his 501c3 non-profit charter with the government in America and also with his Canadian mirror that says if any member of the board of directors (of which he was the President) is arrested for breaking any law of the government, the charter he collects tax-exempt donations under can be immediately revoked. The Jerry Falwell organization took in a lot of money in donations from Canada. So, in order to continue to be able to "buy and sell" in that country, he negated what he knew to be Truth to be able to continue to operate as he was accustomed to doing. He didn't like it, but rather than suffer the consequences of that persecution, he became silent - he compromised the Truth.
There are lines are being drawn all around us that, for the moment, seem innocuous and not so harmful but will have far reaching applications the farther down this road we travel. What we are being asked to give up in the name of security and peace is a capitulation of what we know to be Truth.
Recently, here in Israel, there was a rumor floating about that to thwart terrorists attempting to enter this country in disguise, the government was soon to institute a simple medical procedure where a magnetic chip would be placed under the skin of the right hand of all citizens that would contain all the information held in their files. There was a flurry of alarm that here it finally was, the "666" spoken of in the book of Revelation - the mark of the beast
(Revelation 13:16-18).
Of course, that rumor was soon found to be just what it was - a rumor. What was the basis for the rumor was that the Israeli government wants to institute a chip to be implanted in passports that when issued will contain all of a person's information. Well, guess what? If you carry a recently issued American passport - you already have one of those
(see article).
It is the prototype the Israelis are seeking to replicate. Not only that, but if you carry a credit card - you already have one in your wallet on that magnetic strip across the back of the card.
In scripture, '666' simply means 'the number of man' and is defined as: a human being, whether male or female a) generically, to include all human individuals b) to distinguish man from beings of a different order and c) with the added notion of weakness, by which man is led into a mistake or prompted to sin. Notice that this scriptural definition is not speaking of a specific man, but, rather, the makeup of men in general. Consider that number not to be an actual tattoo but, instead (in the same spirit as the number not being an actual person), a belief in an implementation of a particular mindset that motivates the actions of an individual - a state of mind. A mindset that seeks to authenticate itself to the degree that it causes one to believe they can not live without the benefits and ease they have now been allowed to partake of because of participation in that way of thinking. When Mr. Falwell capitulated to the beast, he 'bought into' the system that was making it easy for him to remain rich - by his acquiescence he obtained 'the mark'. In like manner, the mark on the hand would not necessarily be something that is seen, but a result of believing the authenticity of that mindset to the extent one becomes actively engaged in the grasping and wielding of the mechanizations of making the system work, thus involving themselves in the furthering of man's designs, institutions, inventions, bureaucracies and the like. This is the spirit of antichrist - self will and determination (Isaiah 14:12-14).
I met a man over thirty years ago who was instrumental in the development of the bar-code system you see on just about everything that can be purchased nowadays. At the time, having recently embraced the Lord, he had quit the company with which he had helped to pioneer that bar-code system. He told me that they had all the bugs worked out and could have everything in place for that system to begin working nationwide within just a couple of months. I asked him why, then, didn't they go ahead and implement it? His response was one I found to be very revealing. He said the public wasn't ready to accept it yet - that they first needed to be 'softened up'.
For those of you who are old enough, if you remember, the bar-code system was introduced as an 'experimental' check-out lane at certain targeted grocery stores. Usually they were located the farthest away from the front door with a sign above that indicated it to be a 'trial' lane to examine the feasibility of the system. It played on the curiosity of those who used it - watching the laser light flicker and scan the products along with the ease and quickness of checkout it displayed. Slowly, as people became accustomed to seeing them, they would be introduced in a few more lanes with the signs taken down but, comparatively, the lanes were still fewer in number than the regular checkout registers - and all voluntarily used. It was a slow but calculatedly effective way of 'softening' - getting people used to having their purchases tracked until, today, you can not buy or sell almost any product in virtually any country in the world without it being part of that system. Now, thirty years later, we are seeing as a build upon that foundation, another development in which your payment becomes scanned automatically and your private information becomes part of the system. Now, not only are the products you purchase tracked and monitored, so are you - the selling of a part of your soul to have access to the traffic of this system. It is soon coming that you will not be able to 'buy or sell' unless you have become instrumentally involved in this global network.
The buzz word being floated in the face of economic upheaval today is 'confidence'. You can hear it in almost any discussion about the state of the economy. It is a 'lack of confidence' in the institutions of man that is causing the chaos. The global financial structures we see failing all have plenty of assets. What causes their stock to plunge overnight is a 'lack of confidence' in their ability to perform in spite of how much money they have. It is the beginning of the demeaning of currency as a bridge to eliminating currency altogether. As currencies become worthless from over-proliferation, the justification to involve everyone in 'the system' will become more intense. The pressures then placed upon individuals to conform will become immense. We are being 'softened up' to accept that system.
Will there be a man, a single individual, who will embody all of the attributes of antichrist whose number is the culmination of all of man's designs and purposes ('666')? I believe scripture speaks plainly of such an individual - but, the stage he will step out upon, the circumstance that will allow him to be embraced and elevated to a position of pre-eminence, the foundation that will hold him up is being fashioned and secured among us today. We are being 'softened' to accept his arrival. Already there is a clamor from around the world for and an acknowledgement of the need of a single individual to 'fix' the problems now plaguing the world - from the economy to the melting of the polar icecaps.
Don't think it could happen? You only have to go back to 1932 when it did happen. Back then, it took a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a single loaf of bread (if you could find a loaf). This is what happens when you just print more money to solve problems - after a while, that paper becomes worthless. It is called inflation - too many dollars chasing too few goods. Because of this policy, a government was swept into power with promises to solve the woes of the age - and they did (for a time). But the cost of capitulation to that spirit of man to ease the suffering of the moment was ultimately far greater in the human misery that was to follow than ever imagined in that moment of decision. Back then, as with today, there were people who thought they were secure in their homes, their jobs and their finances only to see it all evaporate overnight as the circumstance of that spirit of antichrist intruded into their lives.
A woman sent me an email in which she described the difficulties facing her family. They were and had been all of their adult lives, God fearing believers. Believing God's admonition to multiply, they have seven children. She and her husband had recently both lost their jobs because of the downturn in the economy and haven't been able to find another. Since they now had no income, they had been forced to cash in their 401k retirement savings just to buy groceries, but, with the stock market devaluation and subsequent high withdrawal penalties, found it to be not worth much. They are not that old, so they had not been able to put that much into it to begin with. They had given their vehicles up for repossession and were a month away from foreclosure on their home because they could not make the payments. Her question to me was very sincere - "Why is God allowing this to happen to us? What do we do?"
I told tell her that she was in an excellent place to trust the Lord for her very life and that of her family. Before Yeshua told the rich, young ruler to go sell everything he had, give it to the poor and follow Him - the scripture says He looked upon this young fellow and "loved Him" (Mark 10:21). Do we trust that the Lord cares for our lives - really cares? Not only for our lives, but can we also trust that He cares for the lives of those in our sphere of responsibility? No matter what happens? Folks, when you see 'stuff' start to go - let it go. Don't try to figure out ways to hang onto it or you will wind up like that young ruler - losing the very Life He was seeking to gain. God knows your circumstance - seek to enter at the narrow gate, the one contracted by pressure (Matthew 7:14). This is the Way that will lead you into Life - where you will find Him. But it will not just fall on you out of the sky - the way we learn The Way is to become exercised daily in The Way of Yeshua.
We are not guaranteed peace and prosperity in the externalities of this earthly realm. Those who put their trust in silver and gold, in the ways and means of this world, will find themselves at a loss to cope with or comprehend what is happening to them in this hour (Romans 12:2). If ever there was a time to depend wholly on the Lord for our very being - this is it. In the world you will have tribulation - you can count on it. But, be of good cheer for He has overcome the world (John 16:33). There is a way out of the debris falling all around us. That way is to recognize that our Kingdom, the place where we live and dwell is not of this world - literally (John 18:36). Even though we exist in this world, we are not to be a part of it. With food and clothing be content (shelter is a blessing, not a guarantee - the Son of Man had no place to lay His Head (Matthew 8:19-20). Take no thought for tomorrow Resist not evil. Give and it shall be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together and running over will men give unto your bosom. There is nothing in these verses about accumulating wealth to "do the Lord's work" or to make our way one of ease.
When Yeshua fed the multitude, He did not do so out of a storehouse of prosperity He had amassed to Himself. Rather, He utilized what He found to be at hand - a few loaves and some fish. Giving thanks just for what He had, He acknowledged the Father's Presence in their midst and as the baskets were passed through the crowd, the hands reaching into those baskets never found a bottom until they all had been fed
(Matthew 14:14-21).
This is the reality of where we need to live today that will become contrasted more starkly as the day progresses and the hour approaches. This is the Kingdom of which He spoke and showed us how to live in. This is the daily walk we need to find if we are to be used of Him to do exploits in the midst of the darkness we find around us.
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"…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." Daniel 11:32 |