Economic Dilemmas

The United States Dollar is not the only world currency that is having problems. Robert J. Samuelson described in a Newsweek article the dilemma the European Union is facing with the debt problem in Greece...

A Greek default could undermine market confidence in the Euro's ability to deal with debts spawning a series of defaults that would hurt the global economic recovery. At the same time, a bailout is controversial since other countries would then demand to be rescued. Samuelson goes on to point out that this situation pretty much represents the unpleasant choices almost every advanced country is facing today... "some combination of huge budget deficits, high debts, aging populations, and political paralysis. It's an unstable mix."

I have felt for some time like we are living on borrowed time, that we are on the cusp of some dramatic changes. All we need is some major disruption to set off a series of events from which there is no turning back from. And there are so many things going on in the world today that could easily light that fuse.

Everyone is lamenting the political paralysis. With the divisions between the Conservative and Liberal perspectives in the United States today it looks like the change that people wanted by voting Obama into the presidency just are not going to happen. I think this environment makes things ripe for a grand political wizard to emerge that people can agree on to break the political paralysis.

The Bible tells us that a world leader is coming whom will be generally loved by most people in the world. Revelation 13:8 says, "all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (NKJ). The Antichrist will rise to power after the followers of Jesus Christ are removed from the planet. With all evil restraint removed from earth, Satan and his minions will be quick to foll the void with their proxies.

This will not be a pleasant time to be on earth. Sure the seven-year Tribulation will start out hopeful enough with eager followers of the Antichrist looking forward to the change that he promises. But it will not be long before they realize that they are losing what freedoms they had and that the peace their leader promises requires them to go to war on many fronts. And by the mid-point of the Tribulation most of the Antichrist's followers will have this nagging feeling that they have bet on the wrong horse. This is about the point some will begin to realize that their decision has committed them to follow their leader all the way to hell; but most will be in denial.

There will be others during the Tribulation who resist the Antichrist to seek the truth and follow Jesus. Most of these will be killed by the Antichrist during the second half of the Tribulation per Daniel 7:27. And God will preserve some of these who will see the glorious return of Jesus Christ to earth. Followers of Jesus who survive the Tribulation will repopulate the earth during Jesus' Millennial reign.

I'm glad I will not be here to witness the reign of the Antichrist. Seeing the spirit of the Antichrist grow stronger which foreshadows his coming to power is certainly enough for me.