What's Ahead for the Economy

Well, greetings friends! This is John Ogwyn with commentary for the Living Church of God. What's ahead for the economy in the United States and, for that matter, the rest of the world? A front page article in the Wall Street Journal recently proclaimed that an economic slowdown was spreading worldwide. Surging oil prices, falling stocks and weak technology spending is all feeding into this economic slowdown. In fact, the Asian economies are particularly exposed to the risk of a slump because many are more oil dependent than the United States. In fact, the American trade gap has widened to a record almost 56 billion dollars in June of 2004. Exports slid, imports jumped and a much higher bill for foreign oil. In fact, crude oil futures have now topped $46 for the first time and they are continuing about the increase shortages.

My friends, where are all these things leading? Where is it headed? Where is it going? Where are these things leading? We need to understand that because frankly it is going to impact you, it's going to impact your family, it's going to impact your nation, it's going to impact nations all around the world. One of the things that really set the stage for the events that produced WWII were the economic conditions that gripped the world in the aftermath of WWI. In the 1920s and particularly in the early 1930s there were growing economic problems. It created a crisis worldwide. It was this economic crisis that set the stage for certain individuals coming to power—men like Mussolini, men like Hitler and others who came to power with a promise that they would fix the problems that existed in their nations—that they would fix the economic crisis. People were frightened, prices were going out the roof, inflation, was running rampant and people became desperate. They wanted a strong man, they wanted someone who could somehow fix the problem.

My friends, amide the complacency that has resulted from the prosperity we've enjoyed in the United Sates and the nations around the world have enjoyed, we are heading for some serious problems. There is a serious economic dislocation, disruption on the world scene immediately ahead of us. And, frankly, these conditions are going to create a crisis that will in turn set the stage for the arrival on the scene of some strong individuals who will claim to fix the problem.

In the prophecies of your Bible, Ezekiel 27 outlines a great worldwide trading bloc that is geared to producing prosperity. Many of these sections of Ezekiel 27 are actually paraphrased back in Revelation 18 and applied to the final end-time system called Babylon the Great. We read in Revelation 18:2 of a time when Babylon the Great will fall. Now, how is Babylon the Great described? Well, in Revelation 18 the emphasis is on the economic aspect. We are told in Revelation 18:15 that the merchants have been made rich by her. And these same merchants, these individuals are going to stand afar off as they see that destruction and they are going to lament because they are going to say as it says in Revelation 18:17, "For in one hour so great riches is come to nought."

My friends, as a prelude to the events that are described in Revelation 18, there is going to arise on the world scene a great economic trading bloc, a great system headquartered in Europe called Babylon the Great that is going to purport to hold out a solution, an answer for the crisis that is going to grip the world's economy.

These things are coming and you need to watch for them in the years immediately ahead of us.

This has been John Ogwyn with commentary for the Living Church of God.