Cyprus: Restoring Medieval Economics
By Pastor Hal Mayer
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Dear Friends,
Thank you for joining me again today as we examine a powerful prophetic trend in our times. We are truly living in the last days, and though there are prophetic events that still have to happen before Jesus comes again, they could unfold very quickly. After all, the final movements will be rapid ones.
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I really don’t think most people have any idea how quickly things that seem stable and consistent can change dramatically, and with lightning speed. Today, we are going to look at the tiny nation of Cyprus and the shocking events that have suddenly befallen that hapless nation. Also, I want to show you something about the global economy that most people cannot see, but because of prophecy and history, we can see what even the merchants of the earth and the kings of the earth, as the Bible describes the central bankers and rulers of the world, can’t understand unless someone clues them in. It all has to do with the way in which the economy is being re-organized. I want to show you that we are living in very uncertain times. What may look good today, could be rubbish tomorrow.
You cannot rely on your bank accounts. You cannot rely on bankers or central bankers to protect your wealth. You cannot rely on the banking insurance companies like the FDIC to protect depositor’s accounts. You cannot depend on politicians to protect your assets. They tell you what you want to hear, but they often mean the exact opposite. You can’t depend on business to give you what you need. People who have put a lot of money into retirement accounts for many years have seen it all go up in smoke and steam when their employer goes bankrupt or when the underlying investments of their retirement accounts go sour.
But before we go any further, let us bow our heads in prayer and ask for our loving Lord to send us His Holy Spirit to show us prophetic things today. Our Father in heaven, thank You for Your interest in our wellbeing. We know that You ordain all things that happen to us. We know that even the bad things are for our good. We pray that You will send Your precious Holy Spirit to us today that we many understand more clearly the forces leading the world to its prophetic destiny. Please show us how to live, so that we may have the presence of Christ in our lives and His character infused into our souls that we may live for Him today and every day. In Jesus name, amen.
Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Psalms. The Bible teaches us a foundational principle by which to guide our lives. We’ll read from Psalm 146:3. This verse puts a very large concept in just a few pithy words. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.”
So, there is no one on the earth that can help you in any real crisis. You cannot trust politicians. You cannot trust the central bankers. You cannot trust church leaders either, particularly those that are teaching false doctrine and offering you messages of peace and safety.
Now look at Psalm 118:9. In whom are we to put our trust and confidence? “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes,” it says.
Global rulers cannot and will not help you my friends during an economic crisis. They are only protecting their own interests or taking more control over your life (which is their underlying aim). They talk like they want to help, but they are making it worse. When a banking crisis arises, they rush to solutions to protect the banks that have created the crisis in the first place, and from whom they benefit greatly. They protect their friends and cronies. They help those that help them. To trust them is very dangerous.
The Bible is even more forceful. Listen to this from Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.”
World leaders cannot protect you because they are working against the Lord. They are fighting righteousness and equity in the name of justice. But they are grasping more power and centralizing it under a few people at the top.
Listen to this from the book Education, page 228. “At the same time anarchy is seeking to sweep away all law, not only divine, but human. The centralizing of wealth and power; the vast combinations for the enriching of the few at the expense of the many; the combinations of the poorer classes for the defense of their interests and claims; the spirit of unrest, of riot and bloodshed; the world-wide dissemination of the same teachings that led to the French Revolution—all are tending to involve the whole world in a struggle similar to that which convulsed France.”
The problem is that when you trust your financial security, or any other type of security, for that matter to a human being, you will be disappointed because they will fail you. They have their own interests to protect. Besides, politicians, rulers and other global elites have their own agendas, which do not include your wellbeing.
Some people think that they can trust the pope for security – especially their spiritual security. But that is perhaps the biggest and most dangerous false hope there is. And many people trust their pastor or priest to tell them how to find salvation. But the way of salvation is found in God’s word. It is through Jesus Christ, not through the church. The church is meant to help you find the way of salvation and associate with other like-minded souls who are also seeking the way of salvation.
Some people even trust the pope to solve global problems like poverty. And they will be terribly disappointed because he doesn’t mean what it sounds like when he talks about helping the poor. By helping the poor he really means that money should be taken from the rich, or rather rich nations and given to poor nations to help their poor through social or welfare programs. But all the money put into social programs does not really help the poor. It just makes them dependent on the government and less capable and motivated to get themselves off government benefits. Yes, it is true that there are some who are ill, aged or injured that cannot work or earn a living. But God has a plan outlined in scripture for helping these people.
A government welfare system puts the focus on the government instead of the church and individuals as the benefactor of the truly poor. Therefore, individuals don’t need to sacrifice. Individuals whom God calls to help the poor often think that since there is a government welfare system in place, that the poor should get help from the government. And they think they have no further responsibility.
The Catholic Church thinks this way too on a global scale. That’s why she can urge governments to redistribute wealth and not have to give up much of her own enormous wealth. If Rome was really serious about redistributing wealth to the poor she would sell her rare art, her palaces, and her gold and start helping the poor herself. And incidentally, by pressuring governments to give money to her charities to help the poor, she is really strengthening herself and gaining more influence over people and governments in the process.
So, governments add costly social programs, and increase benefits to the poor. This bloats their budgets and the government gets into so much debt that it cannot even service the interest payments. Then government leaders say that they need to increase taxes so that they can pay for their debt. They also increase the amount of cash in circulation, which devalues the existing currency making it easier for them to pay government debt, and increase more social programs. Meanwhile, everyone is taxed through the devaluation of the currency. Both rich and poor cannot buy as much with the same amount of money as before. So, deflation of the currency hurts everybody including and perhaps especially the poor. Most people have no idea that this is what is really happening to them. They are gradually being made into serfs. Governments cannot solve the problems; they create more problems and use those problems to take more control over their citizens.
But what happens to the people when a nation goes bankrupt? That’s pretty serious, my friends, particularly when there are a lot of people dependent on the government? The global economy is so inter-connected these days that if one nation gets into extreme difficulties, no matter how small and insignificant it may be, it can threaten to undo the whole global economy.
The Republic of Cyprus is a small island country with just under 1.1 million people and less than 3700 square miles (9500 square km). It is located in the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. Not far from Greece, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria. Though it is an independent state, Cyprus is primarily associated historically with Greece and Britain. It has a lot of Turkish Cypriots living in the northern part of the island because of invasions and conflicts over the centuries. However, the main island religion is Cypriot Orthodox, which is very similar to the Greek Orthodox religion. Until the economic crisis of the Euro zone, it was a very wealthy country with a very high level of education and very high incomes. A few years ago, nothing would have given any idea that an economic catastrophe would sweep over the tiny nation like a tsunami.
Cyprus was a tax-protected banking haven, as many island nations are. Many foreigners, especially Russian titans and oligarchs, but also many others, would have bank accounts there to avoid taxes in their home countries. This brought huge amounts of money to Cyprus and the economy soared for many years. It became a popular tourist playground as well. Cyprus was the perfect island. The weather was beautiful year round. There was low un-employment, very good social programs and the banks seemed as though they were the most stable banks in the world. How could anything bad happen to this idyllic nation?
Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004 with nine other countries, and in 2008 as the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis was just getting underway it joined the Euro. By joining the Euro zone, Cyprus lost its currency, a powerful tool in regulating the economy in an economic downturn and which protected its sovereignty. The only way that a sovereign nation can be made a vassal of another nation is to remove its sovereignty in one way or another. Historically, this often happened thorough military conquest. But in modern times it is happening in another more powerful way.
Cyprus could no longer manipulate its currency to buffer economic challenges and its sovereignty was now aligned with the European Union’s supranational requirements.
Bear in mind, that the European Union was founded on the notion that it would provide free movement of people, goods, services and capital. But the European economic crisis has undermined all these freedoms. For instance, many nations of the union are trying to figure out ways to limit or restrict immigration, or the freedom of people to live and work anywhere within the union, particularly from poor countries like Romania and Bulgaria.
The European Union has also undermined the free movement of goods and services because it created significant trade imbalances between less developed Catholic and orthodox countries of the periphery nations of the Eurozone and Germany, Europe’s largest and most productive country, and other northern nations.
But the economic crisis has most powerfully focused European leaders on the economic consequences of the free movement of capital, or money. Before the crisis, there was a huge amount of cheap credit available in the periphery nations, giving them, for a time, the ability to boost their economies significantly. But that eventually backfired like a rubber band. As the global economy began to diminish, the national debt of the periphery nations in the south soared in an effort to keep their economy stable. Eventually, profligate government spending always has to be paid for sooner or later. And for the nations of the Eurozone and their banks, it has been sooner than later. They have now had to be rescued or bailed out, one right after the other.
The European Union is trying to use the crisis to create a banking union, which would bring supervision of all of its large member banks under the control of one single entity. The popes have been calling for that to be a supranational entity with moral and ethical oversight, not just for stability, and not just for the Eurozone, but for the whole world. Such an entity in Europe would certainly help centralize the control of the so-called “free flow of capital.”
You see, my friends, be careful of politicians. They tell you something that sounds like they are trying to solve the problem, but they are actually using the crisis to reach their own goals. When they talk of freedom, they are really talking about control. They know that in the name of freedom they can get their ideas to pass political muster, while at the same time, they undermine those very principles by manipulation of the economy. And for the most part, the masses have no clue.
The free flow of capital creates an economic problem for those nations in the Eurozone because there are no barriers to capital fleeing to stronger banking regions. When economic stress arises in one country, such as Cyprus, money can be moved quickly to stronger banking regions like Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, etc. Places like Cyprus have to offer cheap credit to businesses, tax havens and other mechanisms to keep the capital in their country. When times are tough, these peripheral nations and their banks have serious struggles. Many of them go bankrupt and have to be rescued or merged into large banks.
Before we go any further, let me show you how the nations of the world have been gradually changing global economic principles so that they reflect and practice the way in which Rome has done for centuries.
Let us go back to the nation of Israel. The economy that God created for Israel was a true capitalist economy in which individuals were free to develop their business and personal economies without interference from the state or the church. Literacy was critical to this capability, and since they needed to be able to read the Torah and the Bible, Jewish people, and later Christian communities were generally well educated. That meant that they were able to use economic capitalism to strengthen themselves. The Jewish and Christian economies provided for the poor through individual charity and church generosity, not through state welfare programs. In fact, you may recall, that the Jewish nation was not permitted to tax their people. Also, during the year of jubilee, all debts were cancelled, and all Israelite indentured servants were freed.
When Israel demanded a king to rule over them so they could be like the nations around them, they were also demanding the economic principles of the nations around them. And God reminded them of this when He protested their demand. Listen to these words from 1 Samuel 8:11-13. Listen to what Samuel said to the people about their economy.
“And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.”
In other words, a king will require government service of young people. Let me read further starting with verse 14.
“And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.”
This is talking about direct confiscation of assets, a tax on the productivity of the people. And this was not voluntary. It would be a forced confiscation.
Reading on from verse 16, “And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.”
That’s slavery.
Verse 17, “He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.”
That’s more tax and confiscation of assets and more slavery.
If someone’s business went bankrupt, there was no bailout or rescue mechanism from the state to save them. This caused the Jewish people to develop a business savvy that would avoid such circumstances to a large extent. Jewish economic prowess is still recognized today.
Jewish and later Christian communities lived as economic enclaves amid the pagan nations around them whose principles revolved around an elite class of rulers and the masses of serfs or peasants. The rulers provided state charity to those who were indigent. Greed, abuse of power and cronyism distorted the economy by limiting wealth to the few and denying it to the masses. There are many schemes and mechanisms by which this is accomplished, one of which is state taxation, which is a form of forced wealth redistribution. All pagan governments used the welfare state, to control their economies. Paganism invented the state welfare system that would rescue individuals or entities that would get into too much economic difficulty, if it was politically necessary, leading to dependency on the state for everything. This is the way pagan nations and their rulers could control their populations.
When Constantine became a nominal Christian in the fourth century, he brought the pagan economic principles with him into the church. And gradually, as Rome gained more and more power over the economy, she adopted and supported the principles of the pagan feudal system of a few ruling elites and masses of peasant serfs instead of the capitalist economy God had intended for His people, and which would raise up a large middle class in society. Perhaps I should explain that in the feudal welfare economy, the masses would work to support the state, which in turn made sure that they had enough money, just enough money, goods and services, to eke out the basic necessities of life. It was a welfare state in which the people were dependent on the ruling lords and nobles. The lords and nobles only gave the wealth that they had to in order to keep the system going. The rest they invested in themselves.
Today, as one nation after another is sinking into bankruptcy, they are forced to impose “austerity” on their citizens. This means that they cannot provide them all those social welfare benefits they once showered on them. This causes enormous social disruption and pain. But the effect is to bring the people back to poverty and rather quickly at that. There are no jobs. Businesses and shops are being shuttered. And the people are just as dependent on the government as were the peasants in the Middle Ages. But the government can no longer provide them with even the basic necessities.
And their fall from wealth to poverty was very rapid in these peripheral countries. One day the citizens were living very high. The next day, it seemed, they are in destitution as one new austerity measure followed quickly on the heels of another. Their wealth was destroyed and they are now fending to survive.
The welfare state became an instrument of Rome during the Middle Ages to control the people through the economy. The fact is that because of the nature of a welfare state, which continually increases public support in various ways and for various reasons, it can only get worse until it finally collapses as it has done in the peripheral countries of Europe. That, by the way, is also what happened in France leading up to the French Revolution.
The only way a welfare state can avoid collapse is by confiscating the wealth of those of its people who have money, such as when King John of England demanded more and more money from his nobles to support his war with France. His nobles finally rebelled and marched on London and forced him to sign the Magna Carta in 1215, which gave them more independence in exchange for their money. But in modern times, confiscation of wealth is usually done indirectly through currency manipulation, taxation, or war, at least until the crisis in Cyprus.
Wikipedia Article on John, King of England
When Jesus predicted wars and rumors of wars, he understood that at the end of time there would be wars that would arise because of economic crises. Take World War II, for instance. Hitler rose to power on the claim that he could restore the economy and the greatness of the Fatherland of Germany.
Wikipedia Article on Adolf Hitler section on Economy and Culture
Jesus knew that greed and avarice would lead nations to war to shore up their insolvent economies. But that is getting ahead of ourselves.
Protestantism in the 16th century was God’s way of overthrowing the spiritual and economic tyranny of Rome. With a renewed focus on literacy in order to read the Bible, which the reformers had placed in the hands of the people, the national intellect in Protestant countries improved to the point that it reversed the economic dullness and restored the capitalist system to a considerable extent. The Protestant work ethic led to new inventions which made life easier, more efficient and more productive. This increased individual wealth and expanded the national economies of Protestant nations. A middle class arose, which had more money than what they needed for basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter. Interest in the Bible had improved the economy of the Protestant nations.
The Catholic Church lost her control of Protestant countries because they freed themselves from her spiritual AND economic control. I’m not saying that there weren’t economic problems that still affected those countries, but their circumstances greatly improved when they threw off the economic miasma imposed by Rome through the feudal welfare system.
After 1798, when Rome’s power was crushed, there was a large increase in political and economic freedoms that arose and this trickled down to everyone, including the lowest economic strata of society. At the same time, there was a huge expansion of wealth in developed nations. It created significant opportunities for individuals as well as nations to become economic powers without interference from Rome’s economic principles, which had dominated the 1260 years of papal supremacy. Now they were free. Economic freedom strengthened other freedoms as well and led to the industrial era.
Wikipedia Article on Industrial Revolution
Wikipedia Article on Protestant work ethic
However, after World War II, there was a big change in the Protestant nations of both the old and the new worlds. Governments broke away from the capitalist system and replaced it with a mix of welfare state and capitalism. They did this by linking currencies through fixed exchange rates and disconnecting them from the gold standard, except for the U.S. dollar, which became the world’s reserve currency. The agreement between the nations was known as the Bretton Woods agreement. This was a step backwards toward a welfare system.
Wikipedia Article on Bretton Woods system
Bretton Woods agreement didn’t work all that well for a number of reasons and by the 1970s it was essentially finished. In 1971 U.S. President Richard Nixon unilaterally removed the United States from the gold standard without consulting Britain or any of the other nations of the Bretton Woods agreement, or even his own state department. When this happened, the Bretton Woods agreement collapsed.
Wikipedia Article on Nixon Shock
For some years the United States effectively did its own thing economically and it resulted in a lot of chaos and uncertainty in the currency exchange markets. But the old Bretton Woods system has now been replaced by another, which was really another step back toward a welfare system.
Since 2007, the new system is largely based on the thinking of John Maynard Keynes, a banker and private investor and one of the founders of the International Monetary Fund. He was one of the leading voices against what emerged out of the meetings at Bretton Woods. He argued during those negotiations for a system that would give the nations more flexibility to go into debt to boost their economies. Keynes believed that nations could underwrite their debt by printing more money. This is known today as Keynesian economics.
This meant however that the nations could take on unsustainable costs and debt, and pay for it by manipulating currencies, through taxation and through other monetary tools. Nations could now increase social welfare costs, for instance, and not have to worry that they would run out of gold, since they no longer had to have enough gold to support all the money in circulation.
Wikipedia Article on John Maynard Keynes
This is the underlying principle in the welfare state, which Rome hopes to restore to the whole world. The true principles of capitalism do not include a way to solve public or national bankruptcy because the very definition of capitalism means that it is free of government intervention. A welfare state, on the other hand, is a state that intervenes and manipulates the national economy to benefit some at the expense of others. But this also means that a welfare state must also take on debt, because welfare always expands within a political system.
The next question is, if a nation takes on too much debt so that it cannot repay it, who then will rescue it? Only a higher entity such as a supranational organization can do that. Now days, businesses and individuals argue that the best and highest use of money is to go into debt. But this means that when they go bankrupt, their creditors are the ones who take the majority of the loss.
Under Jewish and early Christian economies, this was not possible since they were not able to incur gross national debt. This was important so that the Israelite nation would remain sovereign and free of outside control. National sovereignty and economic vitality are inseparable. If a nation does not have economic viability it cannot be fully sovereign because to whom it’s owes a debt controls it to whatever extent of debt may be.
The only real solution to national insolvency is financial and economic collapse. But nations can extend their economic life by creating more currency and manipulating the markets. If a nation does not have control over its currency, it cannot do anything but go bankrupt, or become a vassal of another state. That is what is happening today to the nations of Europe. One by one, the peripheral nations are collapsing. Their banking systems are collapsing. Their economies are collapsing. Their governments are collapsing. And in order to get out of their problems, they are accepting money from supranational entities like the European Central Bank and the IMF. But that comes with severe consequences, which are very painful. They are also becoming vassals of the European Union, which has a stranglehold on them.
The reasons for this are very interesting. After the Second World War, the new global financial system, which was agreed to at a set of meetings in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, placed control of the global economy in the hands of the United States by making the U.S. dollar the global reserve currency. All but one nation went off the gold standard, which means that their currencies were no longer tied to gold and therefore would float on the exchange markets. This opened the door to limited manipulation of national economies. It was limited by the fact that all other currencies were now linked to the U.S. dollar. They could not devalue their currency too much without serious consequences. This was further buttressed by the fact that the United States dollar was the only remaining currency still backed by gold.
The Bretton Woods agreement, however, was a big step backwards toward a state welfare system, which Rome could manipulate through the “merchants of the earth,” or the central bankers. Some nations were more manipulated than others.
Over the last 50 plus years, too many unproductive hands have increasingly grasped more and more of the public purse in America, Europe, and other social welfare nations. And since most people live in cities, and cannot provide food for themselves on their own farms or garden plots, they are utterly dependent on the government to provide at least the infrastructure, such as roads, utilities, communications, zoned shopping districts, etc., so that they can get what they need. And when they cannot earn enough money to buy what they need, the government provides them with social benefits to help them survive.
Is it any wonder God instructed His people to live in the country and get out of the city? God’s design was to free His people from the economic dependency on the government as much as possible. To do so, means a complete change of thinking and practice. The fact is however, that many people like to be dependent on the government. They like government handouts. They like not being productive. This provides a lot of political support for those who provide or facilitate these things.
But the welfare system underwrites Rome’s prophetic destiny to become the ruler of the world again. Rome’s continual mantra is to increase supranational governing bodies to control the economy, all in the name of helping the poor through government intervention. This is the great principle of the new world order. It is the great principle of globalism. It is what the Bible means when it speaks of the merchants of the earth being in league with Rome to restore Rome’s economic principles and ultimately restore its temporal mastery of the world.
Most people cannot see this for two reasons. They don’t understand the economic principles that operate in the geopolitical arena, nor do they understand the hidden hand of Rome behind the welfare nation or society. The Papacy is seeking to re-establish the feudal system over the developed nations (specifically Protestant nations), by redistributing wealth at multiple levels of society through the welfare system. This is gradually removing the middle class, and making more and more people dependent on the government.
For instance, one out of every six people in the United States is now living in poverty. That’s over 50 million people. And it’s going to get worse as national belt tightening kicks in. In addition almost another 100 million people are “low income.” That means that almost half of the U.S. population is either dependent on direct government support, or nearly so. More people in the U.S. are on food stamps, a form of welfare provided by the state, than the entire population of Spain. There has been a huge increase in this during and since the economic crisis. The government is responsible for the financial support of more people than ever in its history. The government talks about helping the poor, but its policies are actually creating more poorer than ever, as it rescues banks, mortgage companies and large corporations, and especially as it creates billions of new dollars out of thin air each month to stave off collapse. This in turn makes everybody poorer and poorer. It is removing the middle class out of American society for the most part. When people finally figure this out, they will be very angry at their government. That is probably one of the reasons why the U.S. government has been preparing for domestic unrest.
U.S. Poverty: Census Finds Nearly Half Of Americans Are Poor Or Low-Income
Food Stamp Rolls in America Now Surpass the Population of Spain
And it’s not going to get any better. National austerity will increase this trend. We have come to a time when more people than ever are dependent on welfare provided by the state. And not just in the United States. Similar statistics would probably show the same or worse in other developed countries.
There is another factor that will prevent the economy from getting better. Central banks throughout the western world have been printing money like there is no tomorrow, no day of reckoning. The world is awash in cheap money. But cheap money will not solve the national debt problem. In fact, creating more money is actually creating worse problems and delaying the inevitable collapse. At some point in time, probably sooner than later, all this volume of money will stop delaying the crash.
Here is how the crash will happen. When investors and others lose confidence in one government’s ability to pay its debts, they normally shift their funds to another government that they view as a safer place. But eventually, the last “safe haven” will be exploited. There will be no more safe places for their money, they will stop investing and the whole system will come crashing down.
When the economy collapses, it will be next to impossible to buy food, fuel, clothing, etc. You won’t be able to pay your rent or your mortgage, or for your other basic needs. Cities especially would be in very big trouble. People would find it very difficult to survive.
Now, let us return and consider what happened in Cyprus. The crisis in Cyprus had its embryonic stage at the end 2007 and during 2008 when the sub-prime mortgage crisis erupted in the United States and upset the global economy. Because the big banks in Europe were participating in the lucrative sub-prime mortgage business, they were exposed to the crisis as well a little later. The common currency of Europe, the Euro, which had been hailed as the best way to boost the economic common good of all of the nations in the Euro zone was soon going to create havoc on the poor Catholic and Orthodox nations of the South and periphery, and plenty of stress for the formerly Protestant nations of the North who would have to bail them out. In 2009 the Cypriot economy began to contract as tourism declined.
Leading up to the crisis, the leaders of the European Union and the European Central Bank kept everything going smoothly by providing cheap credit to the fundamentally weaker nations that they knew would never be able to contain their spending. They did this until after the final signatures were added to the Lisbon Treaty making membership in the European Union irreversible, or at least very difficult to exit.
Whole nations went bankrupt. First, Greece fell into the hands of European Union regulators known as the “Troika,” as investors lost confidence in the government’s ability to control spending, particularly for social programs. The term troika, which means triumvirate, is often used in reference to socialist or communist nations to refer to a group of three leaders or three entities that have virtually dictatorial control. How fitting then, for the term to be used in Europe. The EU troika includes representatives of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The troika implemented stringent austerity measures and demanded choking reforms on the nation of Greece. Then Ireland lost its economic footing, and it too had to face the troika. Then it was Portugal followed by Spain that also fell into the hands of the troika. Then the troika began claiming that they needed the authority and power to control the budgets of the nations of the EU so that their debt load would not exceed preset limits.
It should be understood that behind the troika is Germany, whose political power and economic strength place it in position to demand strong measures. Germany, formally a Protestant nation, and very wealthy, is now the undisputed leader or dictator of the European Union. Nothing happens without Germany’s consent or participation. After all it has the largest population and geographic area. It has the largest economy and by far the largest industrial base and the most exports.
Germany’s wealth is essential to any rescue plan for a nation facing bankruptcy. Germany will pay the lion’s share of any financial rescue. Without Germany’s approval the other nations cannot solve the crisis. So Germany can essentially dictate the terms of any rescue package.
During the U.S. crisis, the Cypriot economy began to contract because the tourism business and shipping began to dry up. As businesses were shuttered, jobs were lost and unemployment climbed. As a result, the cost of supporting the unemployed with social programs also soared and Cypriot debt greatly increased.
Cypriot banks were a very important part of the economy. Without them, the economy would be nothing. Keep in mind that the banking industry in Cyprus was eight times the size of all the rest of the economy in Cyprus. It was huge in comparison to the rest of the nation. Because of these banks, and the favorable tax laws relating to foreign deposits, the economy became bloated with too much cheap money, which would one day implode on the whole nation.
Wikipedia Article on 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis
Cyprus has become a vassal of the larger powers of Europe, namely, the European Union and more specifically Germany.
Keep in mind that this was the way it was in the Middle Ages under the papal system of feudal economy. Nations were kept subservient by the lack of the middle class and by the manipulation of the elite class.
The new European Union is a planned attempt to resurrect the ancient Holy Roman Empire under the same spiritual and political configuration of medieval Europe that means then that there must also be a return to the same economic principles that undergirded Rome’s ancient regime, or the welfare state. Many European nations have already been back on the welfare state system for a long time. But it is now at the point where these nations are in such dire straits that they can be brought under the papal power without too much resistance.
And this is exactly where Rome is headed with all of this. The popes continue to press publically and behind the scenes for these same welfare principles to be re-established today. John XXIII, John Paul II and Benedict XVI all explained their view of the way in which the economy should function through encyclicals, proclamations and speeches. And their plans are not at all along the lines of the Hebrew or biblical and truly Christian model.
Benedict XVI Caritas In Veritates
Their plan is to bring the global economy back to the economic system before the time of Luther and the other reformers, in which the Roman church had control of the state and especially its economy. They are planning to return the vast majority of the people on the planet to servility just as it was in medieval times, though in the context of modern technology.
The reformers attacked the papal system at all levels with one key principle. They restored the Bible to the people, and this changed the spiritual, political AND the economic order. Now Rome wants to reverse it all in our modern, high-tech, and enlightened age. Papal boldness is astonishing.
This is not some abstract theory that is not based on fact. The popes themselves have spoken, revealing their true agenda. Let us remember the purpose of the Jesuit order for a moment. It was to undo all that Protestantism had done, and re-capture Protestants and use them in the service of Rome. And the evidence of their success is everywhere.
Listen to this statement from the book The Great Controversy, page 234. Speaking of the Jesuits, the author says, “it was their studied aim to secure wealth and power, to be devoted to the overthrow of Protestantism, and the re-establishment of the papal supremacy.” What was there in Protestantism that needed to be over thrown? It was their spiritual freedom, their political freedom and their economic freedom.
Here is another, more general statement from the same book, pages 565 and 566.
“The Roman Church is far-reaching in her plans and modes of operation. She is employing every device to extend her influence and increase her power in preparation for a fierce and determined conflict to regain control of the world, to re-establish persecution, and to undo all that Protestantism has done.”
What had Protestantism done? Protestantism had created spiritual, political and economic freedom for the masses. Rome hates this, and is determined to do what she can to restore her principles and bring these things back under the control of Rome.
One by one, the welfare nations of the European Union are coming under the shadow of Rome. They are coming under the control of the European Union, as dictated by Germany. But Germany as we have said many times before on our monthly CDs, is working to restore the Holy Roman Empire in Europe, which will put the Papacy and the pope back in control of the nations of Europe. Germany herself is a welfare state, but a much stronger one because of her protestant heritage.
So what happened with Cyprus? As the global economy began to slow down Cyprus was effected by both a downturn in her own economy and her bank’s exposure to the debt of Greece in which they had heavily invested. As a creditor of Greece, their banks were required to take huge losses under the terms of the rescue plan for Greece, which placed them in great difficulty. Cyprus had a two-fold problem then. The down turn in the economy meant that many people would lose their jobs and there would be an increase in unemployment, which means that the government would have to pay more benefits. This may have pushed Cyprus over the economic edge.
In September of 2011 all the major credit rating agencies downgraded Cyprus’ credit rating, which increased the cost of borrowing. It eventually went up to more than 12%. This shook the banking industry to its foundations, and the country was unable to stabilize its banks.
Then in March of 2012, Moody’s slashed Cyprus’ credit rating to junk status and Fitch downgraded Cypriot bonds too, increasing borrowing costs even further. This forced Cyprus to ask for a rescue package from the European Union.
Negotiations with the EU ended with Cyprus agreeing to austerity measures including cuts in salaries for government workers, social benefits, allowances, pensions, increases in taxes of all sorts, and higher charges for health care. Cyprus also agreed to close one of its two banks and segregate bad loans from valuable assets.
But the most shocking and devastating part of the agreement is related to depositors in the Cypriot banks. The troika demanded that the Cypriot banks come up with some of the money to pay for the rescue from their own depositors. The banks are required to confiscate a percentage of the deposits of individuals and companies to help pay for the rescue. Those accounts under €100,000 are insured and would not be touched. However, all accounts over €100,000 would be hit with nearly a 40% tax depending on the final amount needed to stabilize the banks.
The whole thing was justified on the basis that many of the account holders are Russian oligarchs and wealthy European tycoons who are hiding their money in this tax safe haven. But that is only part of the picture. The confiscation also includes a lot of other legitimate businesses and people, including retirees, who live in Cyprus and who are doing business there.
Direct confiscation of wealth is a globalist principle and also a papal principle. The idea is that the rich should pay for the needs of the poor in the interests of the “common good.” So in order to help solve the debt crisis in Cyprus, and by extension any other nation that gets into deep financial trouble, those who trusted the banks are going to get some of their savings and deposits taken from them.
Uninsured depositors will get 37.5 percent of their money taken to save the nation. In exchange they will be given bank shares in these bankrupt banks. Imagine that! Instead of money they get worthless paper. Another twenty two percent of their deposits over €100,000 will not get any interest, and the remaining 40% will only get interest if the bank does well. So, for the first time in modern history, regular depositors are partly responsible for how a bank operates and all the investment risks involved. And they learned about this after their money was already deposited and after the banks had frozen their accounts.
In addition, Cyprus imposed strict capital controls to prevent a run on the remaining bank, the Bank of Cyprus.
Cyprus’ banking industry which was its largest industry employing the most workers, will never be trusted again. Many more people will lose their jobs and have to be on government welfare. This could make the economy in Cyprus much worse. We are only at the beginning of the decline.
What they have essentially done is tie depositor’s money to the fortunes of the banks they use. This has never been done before in modern history. A depositor puts his money in a bank so that the bank will protect it and have it there for him when he needs it. In Cyprus that isn’t happening. Suddenly, the money in the depositor’s accounts is worth a lot less than it was the day before. Those with less than €100,000 should not rest peacefully either. They almost lost ten percent of their assets. And who knows what will happen in the future. If the Cypriot parliament had not refused to go along with the demands of the troika, that is what would have happened to those who were saving what little they had.
Wikipedia Article on 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis
But there is a bigger problem. One day after the deal was made, the Dutch chair of the euro zone’s finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said that the plunder of individual deposit accounts in Cyprus could “serve as a model for future crises,” sending after shocks through the European Union. Then shortly after that, European Central Bank Governing Council member Klaas Knot, a fellow Dutchman, said there was “little wrong” with Dijsselbloem’s assessment. In other words, it is what they are planning for future national rescues. In fact, Knot was quoted in a Dutch paper saying “This approach will be part of the European liquidation policy.”
Then the CEO, Frederico Ghizzoni of Italy’s biggest lender, UniCredit SpA said “Uninsured deposits could be used in future bank failures provided global rulemakers agree on a common approach.” Note the emphasis on globalization through the global rulemakers.
So, there are people who are now calling for the global implementation of direct asset confiscation of large accounts on a global scale.
Other leaders scrambled to deny the suggestion that the plundering of deposit accounts could spread to other distressed banks in other nations. But the fact is that the dam has been breached. And often those who deny are the next to participate. One of the strongest denials came from Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister of Spain.
Let me remind you of the prophetic destiny in this economic crisis. The world is being returned to the economic principles of the Middle Ages when the papacy ruled the world. The Vatican has made it clear that she is seeking to control the world economy on those same principles and the global leaders are cooperating with her in establishing the old world welfare system in new world context. If you are a follower of Jesus, you will not be able to use the corrupt systems of this world the way you do now. It will be taken away from you. Remember that you will not be able to buy or sell if you do not go along with the coming global worship laws. You can read that in Revelation 13. So, there is an underlying economic connection between the coming worship laws and the global rulership of Rome. This is the time to be very careful what you do with your money.
Europe’s Disturbing Precedent in the Cyprus Bailout
The Cyprus Template: The Case of Spain: A Case Study for Why We Need Glass-Steagall Now
UniCredit Says Global Rule Needed to Bail In Big Deposits
Friends, do you think your money is safe in a bank? Do you think you money is safe under your mattress? The people of Cyprus thought their money was safe, even if they had a lot of it deposited there. Now it is gone and they have no access to it except that they get a little bit every day to keep life and limb together.
You now know that if the financial collapse is severe enough and governments have to take drastic measures, they will try to take your hard earned money to bail out the profligate bank managers who made huge risky bets with your money. Just imagine what they will do with the money in your bank account. Cypriot citizens are permitted to take €300 a day out of their bank accounts. Imagine that! Only €300. That’s enough to pay a few bills and buy a few groceries, but not much more. And if they want to leave the country, they can only take €1000 in cash.
Big depositors in Cyprus to lose far more than feared
Friends, our world is becoming increasingly unstable. When an economic earthquake shakes the foundations of the financial system, what do you think will happen to your assets? Is it any wonder that we are counseled not to hoard money, but to use it wisely in the Lord’s work?
Also, what would happen if Cyprus left the euro zone to avoid the troika and go back to its previous currency? It would be impossible. Who would invest in its discredited currency and its discredited government? Cyprus is stuck. They either have to take the terms of the rescue package from the troika or they will have a catastrophic collapse of their economy. Like the nation of Greece, it is a literal impossibility to get out of the euro zone.
Friends, we are living in perilous times. What should you do with your money? What should you do with the resources God has entrusted to you? Should you not heed the counsel to invest in the bank of heaven?
Listen to the instruction in Matthew 6:19, 20. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But 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.”
Listen to this from a little book called Counsels on Stewardship. “Those who rejoice in the precious light of truth should feel a burning desire to have it sent everywhere. There are a few faithful standard-bearers who never flinch from duty or shirk responsibilities. Their hearts and purses are always open to every call for means to advance the cause of God. Indeed, some seem ready to exceed their duty, as though fearful that they will lose an opportunity of investing their portion in the bank of heaven.” Counsels on Stewardship, page 42
My friend, I hope that your heart is earnestly trying to find a way to advance the kingdom of heaven and that you are placing your treasure in the bank of heaven.
You cannot protect your wealth on this earth. It is dangerous to put it to speculation. It is dangerous even to keep it in a bank. I’m not saying that you should not have bank accounts and enough reserve for a crisis in your family or in your life. But you should not hoard money, for it will be a snare unto you. Make sure that you invest in God’s cause so that you will be able to have the smile of Jesus when He awards you a crown of life. That is the treasure that is worth the sacrifice of everything you’ve ever had here on earth.
Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, we are so thankful for Your counsel that helps us avoid the pitfalls of investing in earthly treasure. I pray that You will teach us how to use our money in God’s cause, and keep ourselves from the snares of earthly wealth. So often, wealth is deceiving, and we think that if we get enough, we’ll help the cause of God. In the end, we never get enough, and we never invest in the bank of heaven. Please, Holy Father, in Jesus name, help us to let go of anything that You ask us to. Help us to live to bless others with our time, our talents and our means. As we watch the earthly crises unfold and as people all around us lose their wealth to worldly bankers and politicians. We pray that our hearts will be molded after Christ’s heart, and that we will learn to sacrifice for the cause of God. In Jesus precious and holy name I pray, amen.