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Year: 2024

When Will The Global Financial Collapse Happen ? (Update)

After my book was published in Nov 2014 and the global stock markets crashed in Sep 2015,  the global financial collapse according to Rev 18:17-19 did not happen.  I prayed to know the time of the collapse and I was prompted to read the parable of the wicked tenants then in 2016.  

I read the passage Luke 20:9-19 only,, though there were 2 more passages in Matt 21:33-41 and Mark 12:1-12 which I did not refer then.  I have read this Luke 20:9-19 passage numerous times and yet my mind could only register all these years that there were 2 attempts by 2 servants to collect the proceeds from the tenants of the vineyard before the vineyard owner sent his only son giving a total of 3 attempts, and after which the vineyard owner destroyed all these tenants.   You can see from the passage that Luke 20:12 clearly stated a THIRD servant was sent.  So the actual number of attempts is four and not three.  The other 2 passages in Matt 21 and Mark 12 state also mention 3 attempts by the first batch of 3 servants before more servants were sent.   

Luke 20:9-13

He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 HE SENT STILL A THIRD, and they wounded him and threw him out. 13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’

Though the markets crashed in Sep 2022 after the earlier bigger crash in Feb / March 2020, it seemed the global economy fare nothing adverse so far. Yet surprisingly in the past year, several obstacles dissipated and enabled me to start coming out of Babylon as though things would unravel very quickly. Then out of the blue upon re-reading the Luke 20:9-19 again 4 weeks ago, I finally saw that a third servant was sent. It was indeed baffling for me for I read this passage numerous times.

Because of this baffling mistake of 3 attempts,  I thought all along the collapse would happen by Sep 2022 with Sep 2001, Sep 2008 and Sep 2015 being the 3 attempts of “recovering the proceeds” and after which came the destruction of the tenants.   If there are four attempts instead of three,  I should expect the collapse to happen by Sep 2029.   (In any case, the Lord is sovereign and He may still give more time for the faithful to prepare.  The other passages in Matt 21 and Mark 12 indicate more attempts by further batches of servants sent.)

The current economic situation has never more dire than now. The sovereign debt of the US now stands at over USD 34 trillion and the other major economics are faring no better. Due to the current interest rates, the interest payment on this USD 34 trillion will reach USD 1.6 trillion this year and that is the largest component of the US budget. The commercial real estate may not recover till 2040 because of low occupancy rate and high interest rates and may cause hundreds of US regional banks to fail meanwhile. The US budget deficit is chronic and growing fast. China is having a housing collapse. Inflation in most countries has never been that worse than now. When all wealth is destroyed in the Rev 18:17-19 judgment, Babylon is describing as burning. Can a mega earthquake, a nuclear terror attack or civil unrest cause Babylon to burn and in turn cause the global financial system to collapse ?

Postscript :  The global financial collapse is a morally neutral event just like the global famine predicted in Acts 11:27-30 or the AD 70 massacre foretold by our Lord.  The famine prediction was heeded and there was preparation to help the distressed churches, while the AD 70 massacre warning by our Lord was mostly not heeded.  There is no prohibition in the Scripture that one cannot receive warning of such calamities from the Lord.  

The Birthday Of Our Lord

Gen 1:14

And God said,”Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years…”

The Hebrew word for signs is “avah” which means to mark.  Scripture has frequent mention of the star constellations and from the above verse, they can be used to mark the seasons and years.  Thus when Scripture mentions certain events by marking the position of the constellations, stars and planets, we can know the date of the events by studying astronomy.  We must not confuse astronomy with astrology which is forbidden by God.   Astrology is the occultic belief that interprets the influence of the stars and planets on the lives of people.  Scripture mentions that Magi from the east came to look for Jesus our Lord, the King of the Jews, when they saw His star.  Matt 2:1-2.  This substantiated that certain unique astronomical signs in the heavens could reveal certain significant events.

In Gen 59:9-10, Jacob on his deathbed prophesized “Judah is a lion’s cub, from the prey, my son, you have gone up.  He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares arouse him ?  The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples…”  The Hebrew word for foot is “regal” and this is significant for it may refer to the star Regulus, the brightest star in the Leo constellation, known as the King Star since ancient times. The sign for Leo is the lion.  We know from other scripture references that Jesus our Lord is often referred to as the Lion of Judah and the King of Jews. Jupiter (the largest planet in our solar system) in Hebrew means “righteousness” and Venus, the second planet from the sun, is known for its brightness in the dawn sky.  Our Lord Jesus is called “the bright and morning star”.  Rev 22:16.  Jupiter was often referred as the King planet by ancient astronomers.  Jupiter came into conjunction with Venus in Leo at 5 am, 12 August, 3 BC.  On 14 September, 3 BC,  Jupiter came into conjunction with the Star Regulus.  Could the Magi see these particular events or other similar conjunction of Jupiter with other celestial bodies around the time of the birth of our Lord Jesus and started planning to set off to visit and worship our Lord ?

Then between the dates of the above two astronomical events, a “great wonder” event happened that fitted the description in Rev 12:1-5.

Rev 12:1-5

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 

The description of the great sign started by saying a woman was clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet. The woman referred to the Virgo constellation. And there was only one day – 11 September – that the moon was at her feet and the sun was at the upper torso. This configuration could be seen in Palestine between sunset at 6.18 pm and moonset at 7.39 pm on Wednesday 11 September, 3 BC. The Hebrew calendar month begins on the evening that the new moon appears, so the evening of 11 September was the first day of a new lunar month – the seventh month of Tishri. Tishri 1, Rosh Hashanah, is the New Year’s Day of modern Judaism.

There are other conclusive evidences in the gospels that point to the birth of our Lord in the month of September. Listen to David Pawson’s explanation on how he arrived at the conclusion that Jesus our Lord was born in September. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx50Pbf842E)

Postscript:

(I took the liberty to write a short summary of the information from the following articles and the book by Anthony Ray.

https://www.askelm.com/star/star004.htm

https://goodnessofgodministries.international/2011/12/22/when-was-jesus-christ-born-the-bible-says-september-11-3bc-the-day-of-the-feast-of-trumpets/

I was given the vision of 911 a few days before the actual attack and I was actually staying next to the World Trade Center then. And I was born on 11 September thus increasing the incredible odds of this string of events exponentially. I have been praying to know why the given Rev 18:17-19 central message has not happened yet and this recent knowledge that our Lord Jesus might be born on this same day may well be the Lord’s way of encouraging me to persist in preparing and waiting for it. Hab 2:3)

Disorderly Worship Service

1 Cor 14

“If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space. There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning. But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me.And the same is true for you. Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church. So anyone who speaks in tongues should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said…If unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy.

Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you…No more than two or three should speak in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they say. 28 But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately…Or do you think God’s word originated with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones to whom it was given?If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself. But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will not be recognized.[So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues. But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.”

The context of the whole passage of 1 Cor 14 is about orderly worship.  It clearly stated that at most 3 can speak in tongues and with interpretation, otherwise none should speak.  It does not edify anyone who may not understand, much less the unbelievers who turn up and may think everyone has gone crazy. 

It is clear from 1 Cor 14:37 that orderly worship is a command from the Lord.  Yet we see the blatant disobedience in some charismatic worship services when many just blabbered away in unintelligible tongues and laugh uncontrollably. 

Cain offered an unacceptable sacrifice as compared to Abel. Heb 11:4. That is the way of Cain who worship God to his own whim and fancy. 

Solar Lamp Project

In the past, I used to partner local pastors serving in non-grid areas and disaster hit areas in giving such lamps as a bridge to help the poor people and victims respectively, and reach them for Christ.   But unfortunately the early design of these lamps were found wanting.  The batteries used in these lamps then were custom made and not readily available.  The cost was also inhibitive then.  

After the pandemic restrictions were mostly lifted this year, the Lord led me to re-visit the use of such solar lamps.  I went to Guangzhou in October 2023 in the hope to discuss with the manufacturer on a particular design that can allow standardized batteries to be replaced easily.  

To my pleasant surprise, there was a lighting exhibition which was ending the very day I visited the city Zhongsan.  And at the very first cubicle stall,  I saw the very design I wanted.   The rechargeable batteries are manufactured by independent factories and so they are not customized but standard products.  The cost of the solar lamp has gone down by half !   

It is now affordable for the poor users in non grid area to buy such lamp and they can also replace the batteries easily when the lifespan of the batteries is up.  

Considering the odds of the various events coinciding together, I am sure it was another instance that the Lord had led me by His sovereign grace.

Hallelujah !   All thanks and glory to our Lord for His provision.  We are now able to reach many more poor people in the third world countries without the need for big funding.