Lux Lucet

A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.

Proverbs 22:3

When I began writing this series back in early August, I did so as a response to a hard selloff in the stock market that followed the Fed’s decision at the end of July to lower interest rates.  As I noted in that first post in this series, I decided on the title “The Ongoing Financial Crisis of 2008” because it is my view that the market melt down that began in earnest in the fall of that year has never really gone away.

What occurred was that central banks took money printing into hyper-drive in late 2008 and early 2009 and managed to reflate the stock market bubble that had popped earlier in 2008.  I likened their actions to what the prophet Ezekiel called plastering walls with untempered mortar.  In other words, the Fed addressed the symptoms of the financial crisis, but not the cause of the crisis itself.

Eleven years later, this is still the case.  Nothing has been fixed.  Nothing has improved.  In fact, not only have things not improved, they have gotten far worse.

The 2008 crisis, what is sometimes called the Global Financial Crisis or the GFC, was a debt crisis.  There was simply more debt in the financial system than could be repaid.  So what was the response of the Fed and the federal government?  They conspired to create even more debt to solve a crisis caused by too much debt, as if somehow more of the same thing that caused the problem in the first place was also the solution!

To borrow an English proverb, this was the financial equivalent of bringing coals to Newcastle.

If a man is an alcoholic, you don’t cure hm by giving him another bottle of whiskey.  While another bottle may make him feel better for the moment, in the long run it will kill him.  Yet this is not so very different from what governments and central banks all over the world did in 2008.  They went on a spending and money printing spree, which managed to kick the can down the road but did nothing to solve the underlying problem.

As a result, while the economies of the United States and other Western nations have appeared to recover their health, the underlying fundamentals of those economies have grown steadily worse.  Just in America, our national debt has more than doubled since 2008 and now sits at $23 trillion.

Just to give you as sense of how fast debt is now piling up, it took the federal government from the founding of our country until 1982 to compile $1 trillion in debt.  Now, even mainstream sources are predicting that the annual deficit for fiscal year 2020 – this is the federal government’s fiscal year which began on October 1, 2019 and ends on September 30, 2020 – will be in excess of $1 trillion.  In other words, the federal government is adding the same nominal amount of debt in a single year that it previously took about 200 years to accrue.

Oddly, no one in Washington seems the least bit concerned about this.  Not the Democrats.  Not the Republicans.  No one except an odd fellow here and there such as Senator Rand Paul.

The Bible teaches us that debt is a burden.  At best, it is something that is to be used prudently and paid off timely.

Yet we all live with a debt-based financial system that, not only encourages debt, but actually requires debt to increase at a faster and faster pace just to keep the system from imploding.  This debt-based system of financial perdition was put in place in the United States with the passing of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.  The Fed has been destroying not only the financial fabric of the nation, but its moral fabric as well, for over 100 years.

What is true of America is also the case with all other Western nations.

We have become enslaved by debt, and all the more with each passing year.

But just as untempered mortar quickly shows itself when exposed to a little rain, so too are the phony fixes put in place in 2008 beginning to come unglued.  In fact, this author has been amazed by how badly the financial system has deteriorated in the past three months he has been writing this series.

In just that short time, the Fed has, apparently on a permanent basis, started baling out the overnight repo market, twice cut interest rates and resumed Quantitative Easing (QE).  These are all various forms of money printing, which have the long-run effect of weakening the dollar resulting in higher prices and a lower standard of living.

And these are just the activities they openly acknowledge.  In the opinion of this author, the Fed rigs all financial markets 24/7 to provide the appearance of normalcy.  Stocks, bonds, real estate and oil are propped up, while precious metals – gold and silver – and crypto currencies are suppressed.

Bet even as the Fed rigs all markets and the government statisticians put out phony economic numbers designed to understate unemployment and inflation while overstating economic growth, there are some stats that cannot be rigged.

If one looks closely at the economic numbers that are put out, he will see that, all the economic cheer leading from the administration aside, there is almost no good economic news to be found.  Here is just a sample of recent headlines showing just how serious things are getting:

• “U.S. leading indicators fall for third straight month, adding more evidence of slowing economy”
• “U.S. labor market slowing; manufacturing mired in weakness”
• “Recession Warning: Freight Volumes Negative YoY For 11^th Straight Month”
• “Trump Promises Farmers More Aid Amid Plunging Incomes”
• “Americans now have a record $14 trillion in debt”
• “US Industrial Production Plunges Most Since March 2009”
• “US retail sales unexpectedly decline in a sign that the consumer economy could be cracking”

 

I could easily produce many more such headlines, but I trust the reader gets the point that, economically speaking, things aren’t all that great out there.  What’s even more remarkable is that these headlines are showing up at a time when the Fed has put the money printing pedal to the metal, intervening more aggressively in the market than at any time since the height of the 2008 crisis.

But while all that money printing has, apparently, not turned around the economy, the stock market is hitting new record highs.

So which is it?  Are we to believe, the stock market, the politicians and the Wall Street cheer leaders, who tell us everything is awesome, or the economic statistics which point to an oncoming recession?

For my part, I’ll trust the economic statistics.  Not, mind you, because I think economic statistics furnish us with knowledge.  Only the 66 books of the Bible do that.  No, it’s not that economic statistics are true that causes me to trust them.  Rather, it is that the monetary and fiscal policies pursued by central banks and Western governments – that is to say, money printing and deficit spending – are morally bankrupt and will, in the long-run, inevitably lead to financial bankruptcy as well.

All this naturally leads to the question, when will the next economic crisis hit?  My answer:  I don’t know.

In my opinion, the entire world economic system should have collapsed in 2008, but extraordinary action by the world’s central banks managed to resuscitate the system.  The financial system could easily have collapsed any time since then, but for the ongoing interventions – both public and secret – of central banks and governments ever since.

In short, we’ve all been living on borrowed time.

So how much more time are the masters of the universe able, or even willing, to buy?  I don’t know.

In my opinion, the apparent quickening pace of the slide into recession seems to indicate that the time before the next major financial crisis is relatively short.  That said, this author has been amazed at the ability of the establishment to maintain order as long as they have, so I would caution against any predictions that the wheels are definitely going to come off in the short-term.  Quite obviously, the Trump administration is doing everything in its power to maintain normalcy until after the November 2020 elections, which are just under a year away.  Can they hold things together until then?  We’ll see.

But regardless of the timing, it is my thesis that a major financial crisis is coming.  This will not be a garden variety recession.  It will be like the 2008 crisis, only worse, for the simple reason that the debt crisis has gotten worse.  Instead of dealing honestly with things in 2008, all we did was double down on the debt and kicked the can down the road.

But the point is coming when the can is no longer kickable.

That’s when things will get interesting.

And that’s the reason I’ve written this series on prepping.  The bill for our debts is coming due, and I have a great burden to alert my fellow Christians to this, so that they may, as the prudent man in Proverbs 22:3, foresee trouble coming and hide themselves.

Biblical Prepping:  A Summary   

This being the fifteenth and final post in this series on prepping, it seemed good to me to summarize my previous posts on Biblical prepping.

As a Scripturalist, my approach to prepping is based on the idea that the Bible has a systematic monopoly on truth.  As the Apostle Paul tells us, we are to bring every thought, including our thoughts on prepping, into captivity to Christ.

Posts three through nine in this series were aimed at developing a Biblical theory of prepping.  In Part 3, I asked the question, what are Christian to do?  There, I made the point that not only does the Bible support the activity that has come to be known as “prepping,” but that it actually requires it.  As Proverbs 22:3 says, “The prudent man foresees trouble coming and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.”

As Christians, we have the whole counsel of God available to us, which enables us to realistically evaluate the world around us.  Of all people, it is the Christian who should realize that America, and the West in general, is in deep moral and economic decline and that God will judge these once Christian nations.  The signs are everywhere.  Indeed, it would take willful blindness to miss them.

As Christians, we are to witness to the grace of Christ in our lives by making wise use of his Word.  If, when judgment falls, we are just as surprised and panicked as unbelievers, what kind of witness is that?  In my view, a poor one to say the least.

Now some may doubt that prepping is Biblical.  “Let go and let God” they will say.  But this is a mistake.  It may come as a surprise to some Christians, but the Bible is filled with examples of God’s people taking action to prepare for oncoming disasters.

To prove this point, Parts 4-7 of this series were case studies in Biblical prepping.  In Part 4, we looked at Noah, whom I have elsewhere called history’s preeminent prepper.  Here was a man who was faced, quite literally, with an end of the world as he knew it scenario.  While there have been many major disasters in history, never before or since has a man faced a trial of the magnitude of Noah.  Just think about it.  What if God told you that he was going to destroy the entire world, including all other people, except for you and your family?  I don’t know about you, but I would be terrified at the thought.  Maybe Noah was too.  We don’t know what went through his mind as he heard God’s pronouncement of judgment or in the years that followed.

What we do know, however, is that Noah was faithful to carry out the task God laid before him.  As the Scriptures tell us, “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” Noah understood what God told him to do and accepted it as true.  That is to say, Noah believed God.  He exercised faith, and his faith is commended in Hebrews 11, the great chapter on faith.

The result of Noah’s faith was that he took action.  As the Author of Hebrews tells us, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”

Noah didn’t panic when he received the bad news from God.  Moved with godly fear, he got to work.  In this, he is a model for us all.

Part 5 was a look at Lot’s experience with the destruction of the city of Sodom, the place he called home.  In the case of Lot, we talked about how normalcy bias almost cost him his life.  Normalcy bias is the tendency of people to suppose that, as things have always been, so they will always be.  Generally, this is true.  But there are times when the future is not going to be like the past.  As I have argued extensively in this series, it is my opinion that America will look very different in the future from what it currently does.  We are facing a financial reset of historic proportions, but many people, even Christians who should know better, appear to be in denial of this.  As with Lot, we are hesitant to face the fact that our civilization is in an advanced state of decay and ready to fall at any moment.  Instead of making preparations for this, we linger, as did Lot, hoping that it really won’t be all that bad.

In Part 6, we studied the case of Joseph, Prime Minister of Egypt.  Among the takeaways from this case study is that prepping is not just for ourselves, but also for our families, our fellow believers, and even for our unbelieving neighbors.  Just as Joseph’s work benefitted not only him, but his family and even the unbelieving Egyptians, so too does Christian prepping consider the good of our family, our fellow Christians and even those outside the faith.

Prepping in the teachings of Christ was the focus of Part 7.  Examples of prepping are found not just in the Old Testament, but in the New as well.  In his Olivet Discourse, Jesus told his hearers that when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies, they should “flee to the mountains.” Those who listened to him preserved their lives when, in A.D. 70, the Roman army surrounded Jerusalem and laid it waste.  Likewise, it’s important for Christians today to be able to read the signs of the times.  Our civilization is in serious trouble.  This should be obvious to everyone with Biblical discernment.  Therefore, let us listen to what the Scriptures have to tell us so we can avoid playing the victims of circumstance.

In Part 8 and Part 9, my aim was to boil down what we had learned in the prepping case studies in Parts 4-7 and come up with a definition of Christian Prepping.  My definition of the term is:  The application of the Bible’s teachings to our personal circumstances both to foresee potential dangers and to take prudent actions to avoid them, and this to the glory of God and to the preserving of our own life and the lives of others.

Parts 10-14 were the practical application of the lessons learned from the case studies in Parts 4-7 and the definition of Christian Prepping established in Parts 8 and 9.

Part 10 was focused on spiritual prepping.  Building on the Westminster Confession’s definition of the Decrees of God, I emphasized that as Christians we must never lose sight of the fact that the difficulties we face in life, even major economic and political upheavals, are from the hand of God.  They are not random events.  They are not a surprise to the Lord.  Rather, they are actually brought about by him.  But more than that, they are for our own good.  It may be that we don’t understand how difficult times are a blessing, at least when we’re going through them.  But God had said in his Word that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.

In addition to the points about the Decrees of God and that they work together for the good of those who love God, I also brought up a third point, that being that prepping is an opportunity for Christians to be salt and light in a dark world.  Prepping is a type of witness.  If as Christians, we are just as panicked during a financial collapse as our unbelieving neighbors, that is hardly a good witness for Christ.  But if we are prepared, not only can we remain calm in the face of great trial, but we can be a comfort to our neighbors who may be in need.  This is an opportunity to witness to the grace and wisdom to be found in Christ Jesus.

The remainder of the series, Parts 11-14, were focused on the practical aspects of prepping.

Part 11 and Part 12 dealt with financial prepping. Part 11 was focused on getting out of debt.  As is the case with the federal government, many individuals, even those who are Christians, find themselves seriously indebted.  Because we all live and work in a debt-based economic system, getting out of debt may sound like a fantasy to some, but it is possible to do.  As I mentioned throughout this series, a great deal of practical prepping is just doing the things we should be doing anyway.  Limiting, or better, eliminating personal debt is one of the most important goals of a Christian prepper.

Part 12 addressed the problem facing Christians who want to save money.  The central bank issued, debt-based fiat dollar is constantly losing value.  It was designed to do so from the very start of the Federal Reserve System when it first opened its doors in 1914.  The debasement of the dollar by the Fed is not a bug, but rather a feature, of the debt-based, fiat dollar.  From the very beginning it was set up as a wealth transfer mechanism whereby those who run the system are able to systematically, little by little, every year, steal from the public their savings through inflation and transfer the stolen property to those who run the system.  Very few people understand this.

As Christians, however, we’re faced with a dilemma.  We want to save money for ourselves, our children and our children’s children, but our dishonest monetary system makes this impossible if we save in terms of depreciating dollars.  The key is to save, but to do so in a different form.  My suggesting was to purchase gold and silver for long-term savings and store these holdings outside the banking system.

Part 13 was about career prepping.  Some Christians may be tempted to think that Christian prepping is all about buying gold, silver, food and water and then waiting for the end of the world to come.  But this is a mistake.  Martin Luther once said, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”  Applying this language to our own situation, I recommended that Christians take advantage of the opportunities available to them to advance their careers.  We must be good and faithful servants in our current positions, whatever they are, while at the same time looking to find ways to improve our skills.  Who knows how God may use them?

In Part 14, I discussed the importance of stockpiling necessities, items such as food and water.  This is perhaps the most common thing people think of when they imagine prepping.  There are lots of places you can find lists of prepping items to buy.  In fact, some of these lists are so daunting that I wouldn’t be surprised if reading them causes many to quit prepping before they even begin.  My suggestion here:  do what you can, even if it’s just buying a few cans of food and bottled water, enough to get you through a few days or a week.  By doing this, you’ll be ahead of most.

In this post, I also emphasized the importance of Christian Social Capital.  Many people think of preppers as rugged individualists seeking to triumph over the hostile forces of anarchy in a Mad Max-type world.  But as Christians, we have a built-in network of brothers and sisters in Christ that can serve as a powerful mutual aid network in times of economic and political chaos.  This is one reason membership in a local church is important.

Deacons can greatly benefit their congregations in times of emergency.  One of the clear functions deacons have in the New Testament is the distribution of bread to those who are in need.  Helping out church members in an economic crisis seems to be a natural role for the office of deacon. The coming crisis will be a great opportunity for men called to this office to serve their fellow believers.

Along this same line of thought, it would be a good idea if deacons started planning for a general economic crisis today.  Prepping now will help things go much smoother when times get tough.

 

Closing Thoughts

As I bring this series on Christian prepping to a close, I’d like to emphasize once again my primary reason for writing what I have.  That reason, that purpose, is to warn my fellow believers of the great economic and political dangers we face in 2019 and to exhort them to take effective action while they have the opportunity.

The Lord has been very gracious to us Christians in that he has not given his Word to us by measure, but has gifted his church with 66 books filled with knowledge and wisdom.  The Psalmist said that he loved God’s Word, for by studying it, he gained more understanding that all his teachers.  The Apostle Paul told Timothy that Scripture made the man of God complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

This includes the good work of prepping.

In this series, it has been my goal to show my fellow believers that not only do the Scriptures have something to say about prepping, they have a remarkable amount to say on the subject.

But while the Scriptures provide, not only the Christian theory of prepping, but example after example of men who put that theory into practice, too often Christians fail to look to the Scriptures for guidance on this matter.  As proof of this, ask yourself how many studies in Biblical prepping have you seen.  Probably not many.

This series has been my attempt to begin to fill that gap.  This is not to say that everything that can be written on the subject of Christian prepping has now been written.  Far from it.  But I have aimed to set forth some of the major ideas on prepping found in the Bible.  Ideas which can be further developed in the future.