A Moment Of Charity: 2008

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Prophecy, Fear, & Freedom

When I was a student at the University of Georgia, I was involved in student government. Just exactly what is it that student government does? Basically one thing: distribute money collected from student activity fees to various student groups. Very quickly, I learned the real reason some get involved in government: Power. Control of money is power. The one who controls the money is the one who has the power. Multiply this by billions of dollars and you have incredible power.

Revelation 13:16-17 describe this kind of power. These verses describe a person who has the power to control all aspects of buying and selling (i.e. the entire economy). Many have read these verses and, for 2,000 years, have wondered how someone would obtain this kind of power. Answer: FEAR. Just look at the fear today. People angry and scared about their money, jobs, and homes. Over the last few weeks, this fear has motivated people to give government extensive power over the economy. One thing I learned in history is that government often uses a crisis to obtain more power and gives this power back only when it is forced to do so. Pre-WW2 Germany would be a good example.

Just in the last few days, European leaders haved asked for more “global coordination” of the world's financial system. Until our own time, the technology did not exist for this kind of control. Now that debit cards, electronic transfers, and online banking are common, it is now easier than ever for a few people to control the world's financial system. And with more people depending on government programs for much of their life, the government can “persuade” people to accept its policies or risk losing benefits. For example, if Americans depend on government for health care and prescriptions, then you accept the government's policies or lose your medication. I suspect most people will choose to stay alive. As the American population ages, more people than ever before will depend on social security checks. Accept the government's policies or starve. I suspect most people would rather live with growling government than growling stomachs.

Although the book of Revelation is notoriously difficult to interpret due to the symbolic language, these verses in Revelation 13 seem straightforward. In a world governed by a few, power and money are a dangerous combination. Socialism is the tool that will be used to bring America, the last bastion of freedom, into the political and economic structure for the fulfillment of prophecy. My wife and I will be out of town on Election Day, so we are voting early. I hope we all choose wisely.