The “luck” of the Irish is running out.

Ireland is among the top third of European nations in per capita income. They have a debt ratio lower than that of France, Germany and the UK, but the Celtic Tiger sees major financial issues ahead. Ireland’s banking sector is now at a point where the government cannot bail it out.

“‘Ireland is in the midst of a real estate bust that could trump even the ruinous downturns that transformed parts of southern California and Nevada into suburban ghost towns—with home-grown banks stoking it all. Now, those banks are trying to manage catastrophic losses… If the Irish banks go down, the Irish government also goes down,’ says economist Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics.” The European Central Bank could bail out Ireland; however, Ireland does not want this because of the austerity measures that would be enforced, likely ending its business-friendly environment and high standard of living (USNews.com, November 16, 2010).

Ireland is an Israelite nation that is experiencing the “pride of its power” being broken (Leviticus 26:19).  Because of its Israelite heritage, Ireland is also going to reap the “curses” of disobedience that God outlined in Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26.

As Europe buys the debt of nations like Greece, and likely Ireland, and possibly Portugal, Spain and Italy, more fiscal power will be centered in a federal Europe. All this bears watching in the light of Bible prophecies.