Is a Global Economic Crisis Brewing in Greece?

The Erosion Continues
          Marc Nuttle may be the single person who is the most knowledgeable of the world economic situation. His predictions in his 2007 book, Moment of Truth, have proven accurate. He amazingly forecast the beginning of QE3 as July of 2012, which was accurate to the week. He also said that it would be like cocaine to our economic system—a habit that we could not break. QE3 (Quantitative Easing—pumping more money into the system) is now pumping over $80 billion a month into the system by just “printing money” (it is not literally printed, but entered on computer ledgers). This may be temporarily propping up our deeply wounded economy, but it is accelerating the judgment day when the world wakes up to how worthless the dollar is.
          As far as Marc’s prediction of our addiction to QE, when it is hinted that the Fed may just cut back on QE, the markets begin tumbling. The people who know what is happening in the economy know how artificially it is being kept on life support with this, and if we pull this plug, the collapse will happen fast. So how are we going to get out of this? As entangled and confused as the mess has become, we can get out of it, but first we must be ready for what will surely come.

A Dress Rehearsal
          What happened in the 1930’s was a dress rehearsal for what we are facing now. Not all of the factors are the same, and not all of the causes of our present problems are exactly like what led to the world crisis in the 1930’s. However, the conditions that we have been brought to now are a remarkable parallel to them. It has been proven to be a true proverb that “those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.”  If we take a little time to study that history, we can avoid repeating the worst of it.
          In the 1930’s Germany faced a similar situation trying to pay back war reparations imposed on it by the Allies in the Armistice after World War I. These reparations exceeded their GDP and were not possible for Germany to pay. So they allowed inflation to automatically devalue their currency so they could pay back the reparations in increasingly worthless currency. The inflation got out of control so that the German mark did not just become worth-less, but became worth-nothing. This led to near anarchy and chaos that opened the door for the worst and most destructive evil the world has ever faced. This can happen again, and with the technology and destructive power available, it can happen on an unprecedented level if we are not prepared and proactive in stopping it.
          When the dollar begins to collapse, it will happen fast. It is in such a tenuous place that it could go from where it is now to virtually worth nothing in a week. I am not saying it will be that fast, but it will be quick, and it will be so quick that it will lead to chaos. Many will try to fill that vacuum.
          In Germany in the 1930’s, an overreaction to the leftist and communists who were trying to seize power in the crisis caused her to swing to the far right and embrace the Nazi fascists. This too is a very real danger for America. Tyranny can come from the extreme left or the extreme right. The most vocal, activist, and, in many cases, organized forces in America are found in the extremes on either side. Either extreme can lead to tyranny.
          The path of life has a ditch on either side. An overreaction to a ditch on one side can cause us to fall into the ditch on the other. Under extreme situations, like we are going to be facing with the collapse of our currency, the extremes on either side are going to become much more dangerous. It will take almost unprecedented wise and decisive leadership to navigate us through this time.

What Can We Do?
          Prayer is not our last resort, but should be our first resort. Psalm 32:6 exhorts: “Let everyone that is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found, for surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.” We could interpret this as “don’t wait until the crisis to pray because it will be too late then.” We must begin to seek the Lord now for both personal and national guidance. Then, as the next verse of this Psalm declares, “You are my hiding place; You will preserve me from trouble” (see Psalm 32:7).
          Ultimately, every human problem is the result of mankind thinking we can run this world without God. Ultimately, the answer to every human problem is turning back to God. He does not just have the answers—He is the answer. For most of our history, America was a land that loved God and sought Him probably more than any other nation on the earth. It is when we began turning away from Him that the gates of hell were opened into our nation. This will be our ultimate demise if we do not turn back to Him.
          In Revelation 3:20 we see in this most remarkable of all Scriptures that Jesus will stand outside the doors of His own church and will not enter unless someone opens for Him. In this age, He will not go anywhere that He is not wanted. When America basically said that we do not want Him anymore and will even remove the mention of Him from our history and our public places, He left. We have now been left to our own devices, and we are about to find out how foolish this was.
     There were many Christians who did not want this, but they did not do anything about it. As God has been removed from our culture, there has hardly been even a protest. Where was the salt? Where were those who are called to be His light? His grace, His favor, and His blessings have been leaving America too. He will only return if we open the door for Him.
          Just temporarily fixing the monetary crisis will not stop our demise. Perils are coming at us from many other directions. We are a nation that was dedicated to the Lord, and we cannot get away with what other countries may get away with. If we do not return to the Lord, we will soon cease to exist as the Republic that once gave hope to the whole world.
     It was not American ingenuity or exceptionalism that prospered America—it was God’s favor. Ingenuity and the true definition of American exceptionalism have their place and should be recognized and honored, but even those were the result of God’s grace. We have been blessed as we did the things that are promised in Scripture that will bring God’s blessing to a nation that seeks Him. Only God’s favor can save us now.
          One of the greatest blessings of God on nations that He blesses is wise leadership. We are commanded to pray for our leaders, and this is one of the most important prayers we can pray at this time. We are not told to pray for the great leaders, or even the good ones, or ones we agree with, but the ones we have. We can also pray for those who are being raised up or who would end up with authority in the coming crisis. We should also pray for them to be given Josephs and Daniels—prophets from God with the wisdom to help them navigate through what is coming.
          Psalm 32 continues with an important exhortation in verses 8 & 9: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you will go. I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near you.”
          After turning to God, we must be instructed by Him. Then we must willingly, not forcibly like with a bit and bridle, choose to obey Him.
     Between one third and one half of the teachings in Scripture on righteousness have to do with stewardship. If we had obeyed His simple principles of stewardship, we would not have any of the problems we are now facing. These basic principles are the only compass that will get us through the storms and treacherous seas in which we now find ourselves.
          In Romans 14:17 we are told that the kingdom of God is “righteousness, peace and joy.” The only way that we will have peace and joy is by doing what is right in the sight of the Lord. The further we have departed from doing what is right in His sight, the less peace and joy we have had. Just turning back to the Lord by resolving that we will obey Him and seek to walk in His ways, we will start to know peace and joy again.
         There are other practical things that we can and must do in order to navigate through what is coming. We will address those, but they will be useless if we do not turn in our hearts back to the Lord.