Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Then and Now



thenandnowIt is interesting, a lot of things are taking place.
Just this past week I have been watching the political arena. I am really concerned at where the United States is currently.
Here is something that people need to think about.
History is not linear, history is circular.
If anyone ever was qualified to speak of things pertaining to wisdom or knowledge, I would have to say that Solomon, the ancient king of Israel, would be a likely candidate.
Scriptures tell us that God appeared unto Solomon in a dream and gave him this promise:
1 Kings 3:12  Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
In this we see that Solomon was promised to be the wisest of all men past, present and future. No one would be as wise as him.
With that said, here is what Solomon said in regards to man and his existence.
Ecclesiastes 1:5-11  The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6  The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7  All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8  All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9  The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10  Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11  There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
There is nothing new under the sun and man's history is destined to repeat itself. Man will forget from where he came and as well as those who come after him, will also forget what he did.
no-mustacheThese past few weeks I have felt a burden. Today it is almost like a pit in my stomach. Knowing what God's Word states, I am deeply concerned where this nation is headed and I dread that we are beginning to repeat history.
Primarily Pre-WWII history and what came out of it.
As many of you know I tend to look at history to show what our future may be. I am not some prophet or son of a prophet. Just a simple watchman on the wall sounding the alarm.
The FIAT Currency Model
In studying history I have looked into empires who introduced a FIAT currency system and then looked at the outcome.
What I discovered is that from 650 BC to present, the FIAT currency model ALWAYS follows the same path.
In a FIAT money system, money is not backed by a physical commodity (i.e. gold, silver or some commodity). Instead, the only thing that gives the money value is its relative scarcity and the faith placed in it by the people that use it.
In a FIAT monetary system, there is no restraint on the amount of money that can be printed. This allows for the creation of unlimited credit. Initially, a rapid growth in the availability of credit is often mistaken for economic growth, we saw this in the Clinton followed by the Bush W era as spending and business profits grow and frequently there is a rapid growth in equity/stock prices.
In most cases, a FIAT monetary system comes into existence as a result of excessive public debt. When the government is unable to repay all its debt in gold or silver, the temptation to remove physical backing rather than to default becomes irresistible.
This took place in the 1970's when Richard Nixon took the US off of the gold standard and made it a FIAT currency.
The United States so far has been able to avoid hyperinflation by moving from a FIAT model then over to a gold standard for almost 200 years.
  • 1785-1861 - FIXED Gold standard 76 years
  • 1862-1879 - FLOATING fiat currency 7 years
  • 1880-1914 - FIXED Gold standard 34 years
  • 1915-1925 - FLOATING Fiat currency 10 years
  • 1926-1931 - FIXED Gold standard, 5 years
  • 1931-1945 - FLOATING Fiat currency, 14 years
  • 1945-1968 - FIXED - Gold standard, 26 years
  • 1971 - FLOATING - Fiat currency, 5 months
  • 1971-1973 - FIXED - Dollar standard, 2 years
  • 1973-? - FLOATING - Fiat currency, 30 years (1)
There are several "empires" I have looked into, the fall of Argentina in 2001 , Zimbabwe in 2005 which amazingly it seems that America has been following almost step by step.  But the one "empire" that resembles most our current social, economic, and political environment today is The Weimar Republic in the early 1900s.
Similarities Between America and Nazi Germany

hitler-with-without

Brannon House wrote a great article titled "26 Similarities Between America and Nazi Germany - Three Forces Destroying the America We Know." (2)

In this article Brannon made some great observations between Hitler's  Germany and the US today.
Here are just a few…
- In 1935, under Hitler's rule, prayers ceased to be obligatory in schools. In 1962, The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed school prayer.
- Hitler eliminated Christian holidays in the schools first by calling Christmas "Yuletide." Most American public schools now call Christmas vacation a "winter break."
- Hitler controlled the church using intimidation and threats. A half-century ago, U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Baines Johnson, promoted a bill that included an amendment to use the Internal Revenue Service to remove the non-profit status of a church that speaks against the election of any specific political candidate.
- Hitler killed 270,000 handicapped people through active euthanasia.  America and the courts are rushing toward the same with the murder of individuals such as Terri Schiavo. Oregon voters passed their Death with Dignity Act in 1994 and re-affirmed it in 1997. Washington state voters legalized doctor-assisted suicide on November 4, 2008. In December 2008, a Montana judge ruled terminally ill residents of that state have the right to physician-assisted suicide, and "death with dignity" is gaining acceptance in other states as well.
- Hitler enticed thousands of pastors to promote paganism in their congregations. Neopaganism is one of the fastest growing religions in America, doubling every 18 months according to a June 2008 article in The Denver Post.  Many American church-goers practice paganism such as "Christian" yoga, contemplative prayer, and walking a labyrinth. As evidence that church doors continue to open further to aberrant beliefs, a 2008 survey found that 57% of evangelicals do not believe Jesus Christ is the only way to God.
- Hitler prevented dissenters from using radio to challenge his worldview. Many powerful liberals in America have made clear their intent to reintroduce the "Fairness Doctrine" that would require conservative and religious radio stations to offer equal time to anti-Christian, anti-conservative worldviews.
- Pastors who spoke against Hitler's worldview and his murderous regime found themselves on trial and frequently imprisoned for "Abuse of Pulpit." In America, hate-crime legislation has the potential to criminalize Christians and pastors who speak out against the homosexual agenda.
- Many Christians in Germany justified their allegiance to Hitler through a belief that "Their duty to God was spiritual; their duty to the state was political." Many American Christians now have bought the lie that their worldview can be divided between the secular and the sacred-the politician has one area of responsibility, the pastor another, and never shall the two meet. Yet the Bible teaches that all issues are fundamentally spiritual.
- Hitler exploited the economic collapse of Germany to take over as dictator and usher in his brand of socialism. America's financial crisis has given liberals in both political parties the opportunity to grow the size of government and implement freedom-robbing socialism at lightning speed.
It is amazing at the similarities between the empire today that we live in and the empire of yesterday.
But I show all of this to point out the most troubling fact.
The one thing that ALWAYS takes place as an outcome of hyperinflation is the people always give some person absolute power to "fix" the country. In other words they put in a very strong and charismatic person who in the beginning does wonderful things for the empire. But soon ultimate power corrupts ultimately and the person becomes a despot and a dictator.
It is out of this that tyranny always gains a foothold. In fact in every hyperinflated economy we see the building blocks form that allows tyranny a foothold.
There are seven major principals that always bring about tyranny.
  • Humanism
  • Social Justice and Economic Equality
  • Environmentalism
  • Socialism
  • Fascism
  • Misguided Pursuit of Personal Value
  • Economic Central Planning
Our nation, like it or not suffers from all of these major principals.
A Look At The Past


gernan-coins

What the coins say…

AM 1. NOV. 1923 KOSTETE 1 PFUND BROT 3 MILLIARDEN / 1 PFUND FLEISCH 36 MILLIARDEN / 1 GLAS BIER 4 MILLIARDEN:

Translation : On November 1, 1923, 1 pound of bread cost 3 billion / 1 pound of meat 36 billion / 1 glass of beer 4 billion.

The two medals shown above commemorate the height of the Weimar Republic's hyperinflation period, in November 1923. They are a rather disturbing reminder of what the average German citizen had to contend with in their daily lives, at that time.
The medal at the left states that on November 1, 1923, a pound of bread cost Three Billion marks, a pound of meat cost 36 Billion Marks, and a glass of beer cost Four Billion Marks!
Two weeks later, on November 15, 1923, the medal at the right states that a pound of bread cost 80 Billion Marks, a pound of meat cost 900 Billion Marks, and a glass of beer cost 52 Billion Marks.
This is an amazing example of how fast hyperinflation moves upon an empire.
Why The Pit in My Stomach?

I know that hyperinflation is coming, but in all of this God will provide, we have been good stewards and we have been doing all we can to try to prepare our families "ark" to help weather this storm.
Why the pit in my stomach?
It isn't the knowledge of what hyperinflation will do, well there is some uncertainty due to the unknown.
Remember Solomon telling us that man is destined to repeat his own history? The FIAT currency model has been repeating itself for almost 2500 years.  Every great dictator/leader throughout history, Caesar, Napoleon, and Hitler were all born out of hyperinflation.
Once again God's Word through King Solomon stated the following…
Ecclesiastes 1:18  For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
With knowledge comes understanding. I understand that the natural laws that God put in place are at play here.
The reason for the pit… the United States as we know it will follow this same path and unless divine intervention takes place and changes our course, we will give a tyrant absolute power over this nation.
What is worse, like in pre-WWII Germany, it will be the watered down lukewarm church that will help usher that said tyrant in.
It will be this same watered down lukewarm church where persecution of both Christians, but also Jews will come from.
It  was the watered down German church that gladly accepted and in fact helped enact laws against dissidents and Jews of that time.
Many Christians in Germany justified their allegiance to Hitler through a belief that "Their duty to God was spiritual; their duty to the state was political."(3)
It is the very same environment that we are witnessing today. Hitler's holocaust killed between 8 and 11 million Jews and non-Jews during his reign.
In Germany, pastors often cited Romans 13:1-2 to encourage Christians to obey the Nazis. Today in America, many pastors have a false view of Romans 13:1-2 and have convinced millions that to disobey governing authorities is to disobey God. This poor training would facilitate Christians here doing just as the German Christians did if faced with similar challenges. (4)
So now you understand the pit in my stomach.
adolf-hitlerWho Do We Follow?

I look out at the political arena today and I see so many Christians who are falling right in line, "marching" some even "goose stepping" (how the German soldiers marched) at the sound of some sort of political & spiritual drum.
Glen Beck over in Israel, pastors gladly uniting with this Mormon in support of the Jewish state. Now mind you I am a huge supporter of Israel. But I am not willing to share the stage with someone who is using his bully platform to proselytize his religious beliefs, beliefs that in fact are going to send millions to hell. That is exactly what Glen Beck did in Israel.
It amazes me how many Christians have out and out attacked me with an extreme bias and viciousness when I dare talk about their "holy cow" Glen Beck.
I get the same viciousness when I talk and try to show why I dislike Rick Perry's use of the church and Christianity to further his political momentum.
I feel in my heart of hearts that if not this election, then the next presidential election will be the one where we as a nation gladly hand absolute power to an individual, just like the lukewarm Christian church did handing power to Hitler.
We gladly handed our nation over to a Muslim who has no regard for this land of ours. He came out of nowhere and no one worried about his background.
God's Word does not lie and it is a fact that we are repeating our history. So the desire for someone to be "elected" to come in and fix all our woes is there.
And we most likely will allow this person in office. But it will come with a price.
Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He stated the following…
“Plures efficimur quotiens metimur a vobis; semen est sanguis Christianorum (We multiply whenever we are mown down by you; the blood of Christians is seed),” Apology, trans. T. R. Glover, pp. 226–27 (1931).
Thomas Jefferson stated the following…
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.  - THOMAS JEFFERSON, letter to William Stephens Smith, November 13, 1787.—The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Julian P. Boyd, vol. 12, p. 356 (1955)
So What Will Be The Outcome?

Bible believing Christians will go underground, just like they did in Rome, France (1500-1600) and in Hitler's Germany.

In fact the primary driving force of the German Underground were hardcore Christians who loved the Lord and realized that for tyranny to succeed, Judeo-Christian principals had to die along with Jews and Christians.

Will we see a repeat of history?
I pray that we will not. But in light of what God said through Solomon, we most likely will.
We are on a path that has long been traveled and our wheels are locked within the ruts. It will only be by divine intervention that we will be able to turn this vehicle off the path of destruction and return to the path of freedom.
But know this, we as a nation have been down this path before. But we have always paid a price in blood.
- Hyperinflation -1700 - Revolutionary War
- Hyperinflation - 1800 - Civil War
- Depression - 1900 - WWII / Great Depression
- Hyperinflation - 2010 - ????
What Is The First Step In Possibly Changing The Path This Nation Is On?

2 Chronicles 7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Thing is that there is always hope and we must always remember that. This world is not our home and we have our Father in Heaven who loves us and His Grace will be sufficient for us no matter our need.
But we as Christians have allowed a lot of water to go under the bridge that has damaged this nation. What we need to do is ask ourselves how we can prepare so that we can weather this coming storm?
Sitting on our hands and doing nothing, then crying out to God is a sin. In fact what people are doing when they do this is called "tempting God." They are putting themselves in undue danger when they have the means and ability to not be there.
I believe that if we prepare an ark for our families, we will be able to make a difference. How that difference will come about I do not know.
Maybe more small bible believing churches start preaching the convicting Word of God again.
Maybe through the creation of biblical home churches and missionary work within our own nation.
And if tyranny does come, maybe through the formation of an "underground" of sorts. Much like there is today in China, Vietnam and the Middle East where already the blood of the saints is being spilt for the Gospel of Christ.
But no matter what, I believe we need to be prepared to weather and Survive The Coming Storm. We still have time. This is why I was driven to write my book by the same title - "Survive The Coming Strom."
If you do not have the book, now is a good time to get it.
For US Orders ($20.00) - http://tinyurl.com/STCS-US-ORDER

For International Orders ($25.00) -
http://tinyurl.com/STCS-NON-US-ORDERS
I pray that you take solace in what I have written and not live in fear. It is our God who is in control and it is our lives that He holds in our hands.
I believe that we have a chance to make a difference. But we need to build our ark and Survive The Coming Storm.
 
ray-gano


By Ray Gano










Endnotes -

1 -  http://kwaves.com/fiat.htm
2 - http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=4881
3 - Dr. Irwin Lutzer, Hitler's Cross, (Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1995) p. 111.