The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has warned that the world teeters on the brink of economic meltdown, as fear continues to grip the financial markets. His comments come just days after half a dozen central banks reduced their interest rates by half a percent in an effort to stave off the prospect of a global recession. Panic selling on the international stock exchanges has continued despite a record $700 billion bail-out for US financial institutions and a £500 billion bailout promised for eight major UK banks and building societies. The crisis began earlier in the year after several major US loans companies, which had been encouraged to lend to people with poor credit ratings, collapsed due to bad debt. This was compounded by property prices in my own country, which had escalated to the point to where first-time buyers could no longer afford to get on the property ladder. Property investors were making millions of pounds, while many ordinary people were struggling just to survive. We were told that this housing 'bubble' would never burst, that this was the way it was going to be from now on. It did burst however. Now house prices aren't half what they were this time twelve months ago, and even builders are finding themselves out of work. This financial crisis has since spread throughout the world, and shows no sign of abating any time soon.

Quote: "Speaking in the US capital on Saturday, Mr Strauss-Kahn said: "Intensifying solvency concerns about a number of the largest US-based and European financial institutions have pushed the global financial system to the brink of systemic meltdown."

I remember hearing the late Barry Smith talk about the coming global economic collapse, and how he once overheard two City investors on a train talking about trying to 'bring down the system'. At the beginning of this year, just as the US financial crisis was getting underway, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was already calling for a complete overhaul of global economic institutions such as the World Bank and IMF.

Quote: "In a wide-ranging speech, he said the international institutions formed after World War Two, such as the United Nations, World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), had to be radically reformed to fit the new, globalised world. "I see a world that harnesses for the common good the growing inter-dependence of nations, cultures and peoples -- a new global society," he said in a speech to business groups in New Delhi. 

Did Gordon Brown foresee the current economic crisis arising? Or has the crisis been manufactured in order to bring about the desired reforms? There is no doubt that world leaders are now talking about this very prospect. But I would still err on the side that Gordon Brown did not foresee this present crisis arising, and that it is not specifically manufactured in order to bring about a global monetary system. Personally I feel that this crisis is greater than man is capable of dealing with by himself. I don't know whether or not this financial meltdown is the one the Bible prophesies will occur during the last days or not. But the judgement prophesied against the "rich men" in James does bear remarkable similarity to what is happening on the international stock exchanges today.

James 5:1-3
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

If this is the economic collapse that is predicted in the Scriptures, we can expect things to continue to get worse. If it is not, then prospects will improve again. But in any case, the Lord will look after His own. This is why the Lord said for us not to lay up for ourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust can corrupt, and thieves can break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and rust cannot corrupt, and thieves cannot break through and steal (Matthew 6:19-21). There are no economic meltdowns in heaven! My inheritance is 'laid up'. What about yours? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation? Have you had your sins forgiven? If you have trusted in Christ then you have no reason to fear what you may or may not lose on this earth. Because the earth and all its works will be burned up, but we seek a new heaven and a new earth which are eternal (2nd Peter 3:12-13). Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

1st Peter 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Source BBC, Telegraph, Telegraph, IMF

Quartet Special Envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair addressed Yale students on the issues of faith and globalization today, as part of a new initiative organized by Yale's School of Divinity and Blair's own Faith Foundation project. The first class was chaired by the former British Prime Minister and the Yale President Richard Levin, and marks the launch of the three year 'Faith and Globalization Initiative', which aims to promote understanding between world religions and aid the process of globalization. Blair, who recently converted from Protestantism to his wife's religion of Catholicism, remarked that religion was a double-edged sword which could be used to cause either harm or healing. He said that proper spiritual faith could enhance the process of globalization, but religious division could equally tear it apart.  

Quote: "Blair, 55, who recently became a Catholic, told the students that those without faith are not lesser people in his eyes. Many great leaders have led without faith, he said. But it is important to realize that religion matters to people in this world, Blair said. And understanding people's faith can make globalization work — and help bring about peace and end such long-standing clashes as those between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Blair is currently working in the Middle East as a representative of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia, helping the Palestinians prepare for statehood as part of the world's efforts to secure peace in that region. "I am convinced that the majority of Israelis and the majority of Palestinians want a two-state solution," Blair said. "It's just that they've given up hope of getting it. But they want it and that's important, so it means that there is a desire there for peace."

As I have commented before, there are three things that stand in the way of the process of globalization. Politics, economics and religion. As we have seen this past week, the world is largely unified when it comes to the issue of economics. With our global stock markets, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other such organizations, it is easy to see how we are quickly becoming interdependent. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently called for a complete shake-up of the world economic order, which would help prevent a repeat of the financial crises we have witnessed this past number of weeks. Many regional blocs, such as the ASEAN and GCC, are also considering adopting a single currency similar to that of the European Union. When it comes to politics, it is also easy to see how the world is becoming more unified in this regard. This past year we have witnessed the birth of the Union for the Mediterranean. Other regional blocs, such as the European Union, the North American Union, the African Union, the Asia Pacific Union, the ASEAN Economic Community, the Gulf Cooperation Council, are still in the process of increasing their powers. The world is becoming more and more politically unified. That leaves just one main obstacle to the globalization process - religion. And the world could not be more religiously divided. There is only one force that can unify people of different languages, cultures and traditions and that is religion. Throughout the history of the world, politicians have tried to unify people through religion. Whether it was the Roman Emperors, who demanded that their citizens worship them as God, the Catholic Church, which murdered believers throughout the centuries, the Church of England, which once imprisoned those who preached the gospel, or the Communists, who set themselves above every god. Religion is unifying force, and Tony Blair's Faith Foundation is the realization of this.

The Bible states that these three points which I have mentioned, obstacles to the process of globalization, will be removed sooner or later. In Revelation 13:16-18 we have a one world monetary system called the Mark of the Beast, and those who refuse to take the Mark in their right hand or forehead will be unable to buy or sell. In Revelation 13:2-4 we have a one world government, headed by a man to whom Satan will give great power and authority. And in Revelation 13:11-15 we have a one world false religious system, headed by a man that Satan will enable to perform all manner of lying wonders to deceive the people of earth into worshipping a false Christ. As you can see, there is time of great deception ahead. Christians are called to be subject to governments, for their power is ordained of God (Romans 13). And it's not that we are against the process of globalization either. As in the days of the Roman Empire, globalization can be used for the proclamation of the gospel. But we are against the one who is behind this whole world system, which is Satan himself (2nd Corinthians 4:4).

Will you end up becoming part of this one world religious system? Though it appears to have a morality about it, it has been condemned by God. For the Bible states that all our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), and that the only way to God is through faith in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6). Will you end up becoming part of this one world economic system? Jesus Christ said, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also", Matthew 6:20-21. Will you end up becoming part of this one world political system? The Bible states, "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end", Isaiah 9:7. True peace can only come through the Prince of Peace, which is Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for your sins, so you might know peace with God (Colossians 1:20). Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Source Courant

This link from my friend Tony. Sources from within the secretive Bilderberg gathering, which was held on the 6th of June in Washington D.C., have revealed details of what was discussed by world leaders at the event. Bilderberg attendees includes prominent world leaders, media moguls, international bankers, pop stars and people of general influence in this world. Previous guests include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Defence Secretary George Robertson, former NATO Secretary General Javier Solana, and former Conservative leader Kenneth Clarke. It was rumoured that US presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama both attended this year's conference. Despite the impressive guest list, the event usually goes entirely unreported in the news media. No minutes are ever recorded of the meeting and there are no formal written agreements at their conclusion. Attendees claim that when they enter the Bilderberg meetings, they do so as citizens of earth and not as representatives of their respective countries. In this way they remain totally unaccountable to their own governments and people. But the Bilderberg gatherings do shape global foreign policy, and world leaders leave with a set agenda to fulfill in their home countries. Several of the topics up for discussion at this year's conference included the rising price of oil, the nuclear threat from Iran and a global identification system.

Quote: "Ominously, Tucker's source also told him that Bilderberg were discussing the microchipping of humans on a mass scale, which would be introduced under the pretext of fighting terrorism whereby the "good guys" would be allowed to travel freely from airports so long as their microchip could be scanned and the information stored in a database. Tucker said the idea was also sold on the basis that it would help hospital staff treat a patient in an emergency situation because a scan of the chip would provide instantaneous access to health details. Tucker underscored that Bilderberg were talking about subdermally implanted chips and not merely RFID chips contained in clothing. The discussion took place in a main conference hall and was part of the agenda, not an off-hand remark in the hotel bar.

While the Bilderberg gatherings certainly seem to have a sinister air about them, I'm not sure that I would be inclined to credit them with the power that some do. For example, according to Prison Planet, Henry Kissinger predicted at a Bilderberg meeting in 2005 that the oil prices were to double over the next few years. The question is, did this happen because Kissinger said it would, or was he simply predicting what was already destined to come to pass through events beyond his control? We can say the same for this global identification system. Is the global terrorist phenomenon purposely designed to bring about the mass chipping of the human race, or are the Bilderberg simply reacting in the best way they know how to events beyond their control? That is the problem when it comes to conspiracy theories. They cannot be proven. The conspiracy theorist lives in a world in which even the apparent lack of evidence for their theory can be justified as a counter-conspiracy against it. The UFO conspiracies are a classic example of this. Some say world governments are covering up the existence of extra-terrestrial life in order to exercise control over the human race. In actual fact the governments know very little about the UFO phenomenon. Despite over 50 years of research, not one shred of evidence has ever proven that there is life beyond this planet, and the Bible declares that there are no such things as aliens. That's why I try to stay clear of conspiracy theories. There is also another reason why I try to stay clear of them. Conspiracy theories engender fear. The Bible declares that "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind", 2nd Timothy 1:7. It's not so much a case of the conspiracy theory being true or not. It is a question of examining the theory and asking yourself, where is Jesus Christ in all of this? Does this cause me to trust in God, or does it cause me to fear for the future? Christians are not to fear for the future, for our future is secure in God's hands (Revelation 1:8).

There is only one source that is 100% reliable. It is not tainted by bias, but comes from a True and Faithful Witness. It does not engender fear, but brings peace of mind (Philippians 4:6-7). It has a proven track record of over 6000 years, and has predicted mankind's future for over a millennia to come (Revelation 21). It is the eternal Word of God. Read it. Trust it with your soul. God has said in His Word, "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away", Luke 21:33. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Source Prison Planet, WND

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has proposed the establishment of an Asia Pacific Union, which would pave the way for further economic and political integration in the region. He made the comments during a speech at the Asia Society Australasia Centre in Sydney last night. Rudd believes that existing organizations such as the APEC and ASEAN are not designed to promote co-operation across the entire region, and that it would take an institution with similar powers to that of the European Union to bring peace and prosperity to Southeast Asia. Rudd hopes that this Asia Pacific Union will be in place by the year 2020, and has appointed a special envoy to lobby regional leaders to support the project. 

Quote: ""We need to have a vision for an Asia-Pacific community, a vision that embraces a regional institution, which spans the entire Asia-Pacific region - including the United States, Japan, China, India, Indonesia and the other states of the region," said the Prime Minister. The body would be "able to engage in the full spectrum of dialogue, co-operation and action in economic and political matters and future challenges related to security". "The purpose is to encourage the development of a genuine and comprehensive sense of community whose habitual operating principle is co-operation," Mr Rudd said. "The danger of not acting is that we run the risk of succumbing to the perception that future conflict within our region may somehow be inevitable."

This news comes just weeks before the expected announcement of the creation of a Mediterranean Union, comprising of the twenty seven members of European Union and the sixteen Mediterranean states participating in the Barcelona Process. It also follows a recent statement made by the Gulf Co-operation Council announcing the formation of a common market, similar to the one that eventually brought about the creation of the European Union. And like the EU, the GCC is also planning to launch a single regional currency by the year 2010. And of course efforts are still underway to bring about the establishment of a North American Union. The architects of this New World Order are planning to meet in Washington D.C. tomorrow to discuss ways of accelerating the globalization process. No doubt Kevin Rudd will be getting a great big pat on the back for services rendered. The question is, why are so many political unions being set up now? We have the EU, the AU, the ASEAN, the GCC, the NAU, the MU and now the APU. There are two main obstacles preventing the establishment of global government. They are religion and nationalism. The concept of nationalism is slowly being eradicated through the setting up of these diverse political unions. One of the goals of the European Union was to bring an end to war on the continent through the creation of a new 'European identity', to which people of all countries could subscribe to. Other groups such as the ASEAN union are also seeking to do the same. Last year we had the establishment of the Alliance of Civilizations, which seeks to bridge the cultural gulf between east and west. Efforts are also being made to erode the divisions between world religions and to bring them under one central authority. This year we have witnessed the establishment of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Faith Foundation, a forum aimed at promoting dialogue between the major world religions. So where is all of this heading? It seems that the world is heading towards the establishment of a single economic, political and religious authority. The Bible states that during the tribulation period, a single religious authority will be established. This religious authority will be headed by one man, whom John describes as having the appearance of a lamb but he speaks as a dragon (Revelation 13:11). In other words, he will be a wolf in sheep's clothing (Acts 20:29). He may even have a semblance of Christianity. He will perform great miracles in an effort to persuade people that he has been sent from God, even going so far as calling down fire from heaven in the sight of men (Revelation 13:13-14). As we have seen this past week, there are people who are already fulfilling this Scripture in a spiritual sense. This spiritual leader will command all people to worship another man, a political leader, who will attempt to bring about world peace through the establishment of a single political authority (Daniel 7:20, Revelation 17:12).

But there will be no peace. What the world doesn't realize is, you can't have peace without first coming to know the Prince of Peace - Jesus Christ (Isaiah 9:6). The Lord Jesus Christ said, "Without me ye can do nothing", John 15:5. Jesus Christ is the Stone that is still rejected by this world's Bilderberg (Matthew 21:42). Only when Christ has been given His rightful place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, will it be said, "Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end", Isaiah 9:7. What about you? Do you have peace in your heart? Without Christ you can do nothing. Trust in Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Isaiah 28:16
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner [stone], a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Source The Australian, Bilderberg