The Prophecy Update Newsletter - 11/14/24

News & Information for the End Times

Nov 14, 2024

ISRAEL AT WAR!!! Day 405 - PRAY!!!

Pray For Israel — Psalm 122:6-8, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee."

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In Today’s Newsletter…

The Most Persistent Lie Leveled Against the Rapture
Emergent 10 Kings: End Time Election Escapades, Part 2
Prophecy Update Videos
Recommended Reading
David Wilkerson Warned That the Economy of Germany Will Collapse. Is That Starting to Happen?
Consumers Are Drowning in Debt as Hordes of Businesses Fail All Over the U.S.
Daily Jot: Anger, accountability and the Word of God
Daily Devotion: What Are You Doing with Your Life?
Prophecy Update News Headlines

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The Most Persistent Lie Leveled Against the Rapture

By Jonathan Brentner - https://harbingersdaily.com/the-most-persistent-lie-leveled-against-the-rapture/

It’s the most persistent lie concerning the Rapture. I have either read or heard it more times than I can count.

Though it’s been debunked countless times, a great many saints remain convinced that the doctrine of the pre-Tribulation Rapture originated with John Darby. Although they insist that no one believed in such a thing before him, it’s simply not true.

Let me be clear: If anyone tells you that this teaching originated with John Darby, they are either purposely misleading you or have themselves been the victim of someone deceiving them about the origin of our “blessed hope.”

If The Bible Is True, There Must Be a Rapture

Regardless of the timing of the Rapture, the teaching that Jesus will someday appear and catch-up both dead and living saints to meet Him in the air is biblically-based.

Scripture provides several details regarding the sequence of events that we now refer to as the “Rapture.” The late Dr. Ed Hindson, former professor at Liberty University, beloved Bible scholar, and author, put it this way:

If you disagree on the timing of the rapture, please don’t tell people, “There’s never going to be a rapture.” No, there must be a rapture or the Bible is not true. There must be a time when the archangel shouts, when the trumpet sounds, and the dead in Christ are raised and the living are caught up (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). We may differ on the timing of the rapture but not the fact of the rapture.

We find references to the “Rapture” in John 14:2–3; 1 Corinthians 15:50–55; Philippians 3:20–21; Romans 8:23–25; Titus 2:11–14; and Colossians 3:4. Putting these passages together, we arrive at a series of events that comprise our “blessed hope.”

If the Bible is true, there must be a still future time when Jesus appears, raises the dead in Christ, and catches living believers up to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 1 Corinthians 15:47-55). Since the words of these texts have never reached fulfillment anytime in the past, they point to a yet future reality, which we call the Rapture. It’s the time the Lord gives us our immortal and glorified bodies, the essence of our future experience of eternal life.

Because the Bible is true, the event we now designate as the Rapture awaits a future and certain fulfillment.

The Origin of The Word

Many people object to our hope of meeting Jesus in the air because the word “Rapture” doesn’t appear on the pages of Scripture. However, that’s not true; it appears in a previous version of the Bible. Long ago, it appeared in a Latin translation from about AD 400 called the Vulgate. The Vulgate used the Latin word rapturo to translate the Greek word harpazo in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

The words “caught up” in our English translations capture the essence of the Greek harpazo in the text just as the Latin rapturo, the origin of our word “Rapture,” did when Jerome and others translated the Bible into Latin.

In his book Dispensationalism Before Darby, Dr. William C. Watson lists ten instances of Bible scholars using the word the word “Rapture” beginning with Joseph Mede in 1627 through the time of Thomas Broughton, an English pastor, in 1768. In the centuries after the Reformation, the usage of the word “Rapture” to describe the event depicted below in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 became commonplace in many protestant churches. In a letter that he wrote about these verses, Joseph Mede used the word “Rapture” six times when referring to this verse.

Even though Joseph Mede didn’t place Jesus’ appearing before the start of the Tribulation period, his usage of the word “Rapture” establishes a four-hundred-year history of Bible students using the word “Rapture” to refer the event that the Apostle Paul wrote about in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

Two centuries before John Darby was born, the word “Rapture” was already commonly use in Bible-believing churches.

Early Beliefs in a Rapture Before a Time of Tribulation

The belief that Jesus would take His saints out of the earth before a time of Tribulation on the earth dates back to the first centuries of the church.

In AD 180, Irenaeus wrote Against Heresies to refute the errors of Gnosticism, which posed a great threat to the church at the time. In Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 29, he wrote:

And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, “There shall be Tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be.”

In the above quote, Irenaeus used the same Greek word for “caught up,” harpazo, that Paul used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 for the Lord catching up living believers to meet Him in the air. Irenaeus specifically placed the fulfillment of this verse ahead of the time of “Tribulation” that Jesus referred to in Matthew 24:21 and thus before the Second Coming, which the Lord said would happen after this time of judgment on the earth (Matthew 247:29).

This highly respected theologian of the early church envisioned a fulfillment of the harpazo followed by a time of extended Tribulation on the earth. He regarded the Rapture and Second Coming as two distinct occurrences separated by at least the second half of the seven-year Tribulation.

Cyprian (AD 210-258), a bishop in the city of Carthage, guided his church through a period of intense persecution and suffering during which time he also became a martyr.

In his book, Treatises of Cyprian, he wrote:

We who see that terrible things have begun, and know that still more terrible things are imminent, may regard it as the greatest advantage to depart from it as quickly as possible. Do you not give God thanks, do you not congratulate yourself, that by an early departure you are taken away, and delivered from the shipwrecks and disasters that are imminent? Let us greet the day which assigns each of us to his own home, which snatches us hence, and sets us free from the snares of the world and restores us to paradise and the kingdom.

Cyprian believed in “an early departure” of the Church before further disasters occurred on the earth. He believed the time of additional trouble was “imminent” and thus also a “departure.” He believed that the Lord would take believers out of the world so they wouldn’t experience the troubling times ahead for those left behind. His reference to “snatches us” sounds just like the catching up of the Church in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Cyprian’s beliefs signify a third century AD belief in a pre-Tribulation Rapture .

Another unmistakable reference to the pre-Tribulation Rapture comes from Ephraim of Edessa (AD 306–373), who was a poet, a writer of hymns, and a preacher.

The quote below comes from Ephraem’s sermon entitled “On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World.” Some historians believe someone else wrote it in AD 622 and ascribed it to Ephraem in order to lend credibility to it. Dr. Grant Jeffrey, who did extensive research on this sermon and obtained a translation of it on his own from a Greek scholar, believes it’s more likely that Ephraem himself preached the sermon sometime around AD 323, just a couple years before the Nicene church council.

Believe you me, dearest brother, because the coming (advent) of the Lord is nigh, believe you me, because the end of the world is at hand, believe me, because it is the very last time. Or do you not believe unless you see with your eyes? See to it that this sentence be not fulfilled among you of the prophet who declares: “Woe to those who desire to see the day of the Lord!” For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.

The above quote dates back to the early fourth century AD. Even if we concede that someone wrote this sermon in AD 622, as some maintain, we still have a definitive adherence to it a pre-Tribulation Rapture 1,200 years before the birth of John Darby!

The above sampling of quotes are valid and accepted translations that clearly establish early beliefs within the church of Jesus taking His church out of the world before a time of great tribulation on the earth and returning to the earth with His saints after this time of trouble.

Back To the Bible

This attempt to discredit the Rapture by making it seem as though it’s a relatively new and thus an unfounded belief is an effort to divert our focus from what the Bible teaches us about our “blessed hope” (Titus 2:11-14). The witness of church history confirms that the scripturally-sound doctrine of the pre-Tribulation Rapture existed in the earliest centuries of the church.

More importantly than that, however, is what the Bible says. The Rapture is a clearly defined occurrence in such passages as 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, John 14:2–3, 1 Corinthians 15:50–55, Philippians 3:20–21, Romans 8:23–25, Titus 2:11–14, and Colossians 3:4.

The majority of Bible-believing churches during the twentieth century not only adhered to a pre-Tribulation Rapture, but its pastors also unashamedly proclaimed it to their parishioners. The widespread popularity of this belief resulted from the biblically-sound teaching of a great many devout men of God during the late 1800s and early 1900s. John Darby was one of many who taught and wrote about our “blessed hope.”

Emergent 10 Kings: End Time Election Escapades, Part 2

By Wilfred Hahn - https://www.raptureready.com/2024/11/13/emergent-10-kings-endtime-election-escapades-part-2-by-wilfred-hahn/

Over half of the world’s population is slated to hold national elections in 2024. Is this significant? As we see it, this contributes to the growing fluidity of geopolitical change in our times. Prophecy students know that the “10 kings” will emerge rapidly and suddenly. Revelation 17:12 says, “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.” We would say that this requires fluidity. Democratic nations can contribute to this condition.

Malleable and Fluid Democracy

Democracy … whether weak, strong, or flawed … is practiced by some 60% of the world’s population (less than 10% is fully democratic). Democracy is hailed and defended by most as the best political system on earth. Supposedly, people’s rights are upheld, and checks and balances of the rule of the majority prevail. Is this system virtuous? No. Democracy, assuredly a human system with many good facilities, still harbors the fatal flaw that will enable a spiritually blind world to willingly allow the Antichrist to come to power.

What many may not realize is that democracy itself is only a system. Its benefits and good are entirely reliant upon the hearts of its people and not the system. If most people are godless or larcenous, for example, democracy will be corrupt and godless. It will be shifty … vulnerable to major changes.

Already, year-to-date in 2024, there have been some surprising upsets and shifts among larger nations. Narendra Modi, President of India—with the largest population in the world—surprised the consensus with a very weak showing in India’s election in June. Financial markets shuddered and sold off deeply in the ensuing panic. French President Emmanuel Macron suffered a rebuke at the polls, triggering major changes in its fiscal policies. Elsewhere there have been a number of “hard right” shifts … as well as others swinging to the left.

Crucially, these shifts also contribute to an environment of geopolitical fragmentation. Many countries are becoming more concerned with their own affairs rather than global cooperation. This is fertile ground for the emergence of the 10 kings. While elections in 2025 may not be as numerous as in 2024, it would not be surprising to see fluidity of change continuing to increase. After all, many endtime developments are marked by sudden and rapid change.

Women in Political Roles

What role will women play as heads of state in the future? Indeed, there have been some very well-known and respected female presidents since the interwar period (1918–1939). Consider Indira Gandhi (India), Golda Meir (Israel), Margaret Thatcher (Britain), Eva Peron (Argentina), and others.

At no time, however, could it be said that there were many heads of state that were women. In recent decades, however, this has somewhat changed. According to the UN, as of mid-2024, there were 24 female heads of state in the world. Over the years, less than one-third of United Nations member states have ever had a woman leader.

Very recently, another woman moved onto this list. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo was elected to become President of Mexico. She is the first female head of state for Mexico.

Could this also happen north of its border, now that Kamala Harris has been confirmed as the presidential nominee of the Democratic party? If so, this could be of great significance from a Biblical perspective. America has never before had a female president.

Where do we find the Biblical link to this question?

The Bible says that 10 kings will converge in the last days, just before or near the appearance of the Antichrist. We must make an obvious statement: These ten kings must all be males. Of the 2,481 mentions of the word “king” (singular) in the Bible, all refer to males.

The clear takeaway here is that any country with a female head of state cannot, therefore, be one of the last-day 10 kings. The equivalent in our time is heads of state. As such, any country with a head of state that is female will not be a member of the 10-king coalition. Why will this restriction of women be the case? We do not know.

Were Kamala Harris to become the next president, the US could not be a candidate for membership in the 10K group on these grounds alone. Is this good or bad? It depends. In one sense, it would be better for a country not to be a member of the 10 kings. They would, therefore, not be required to support the Antichrist.

Globalism on the Ropes

As mentioned, the long-running trend of globalism is beginning to fade in our time. For the time being, the US is still the most powerful nation in the world. It represents a very big toe … so big, in fact, that it can still render any other coalition of 10 kings ineffective. As such, we recognize that a resizing of the relative powers of 10 major nations must yet happen before the prophesied time of the 10 kings will occur.

Will America fit into the shoe, or not at all? Are we now seeing these necessary changes beginning to unfold … the big toe stubbed?

Since Bible prophecy clearly outlines that there will be a 10-nation power coalition, not a foot with one big toe, we can conclude that this big toe must then become comparatively smaller. While the British Empire has been removed from the pinnacle of power for more than half a century, its younger cousin (the US) now undoubtedly also faces a relative decline. By whatever means—the Rapture, self-inflicted, deserved or divinely willed—this has to happen if the Bible is to be proved correct. In fact, viewed against the pace of human history, it must be said that this shift with respect to America is happening quickly (even so without a Rapture).

For the last three centuries, there has only been one big toe in existence at any given time. But this cannot continue if prophecy is to be fulfilled. This change is very likely already underfoot. The rise of other nations such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, and others could be seen as part of this rebalancing process.

Surely, the facts outlined to this point will not be regarded as being very hopeful. But that could be a wrong perception. It is never too late for a nation to repent. God said to Israel, “[…] if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Repentance is an option … provided that it is not past the point of return, where God refuses to listen. But we must not make the mistake of Jonah. He was upset with God when the citizens of Nineveh chose to heed his message of judgment. As a result, Nineveh’s demise was delayed for another 150 years or so.

Our Lord, for the most part, allows us the freedom to choose to follow His precepts and ways voluntarily. Yes, God foreknows what our choices will be, but that is not the same as predestinating our willful actions.

Yet, according to Bible prophecy, America must decline relative to the 10 kings in one way or another. But that is not to say that it is prophetically necessary for America to rush to accelerate the fulfillment of prophecy by collapsing into a toothless tiger. Prophecy, in this case, can be fulfilled in a number of ways. Ten other kings could become powerful enough to supersede the geopolitical position of the US, or at the other extreme, America be disastrously downsized … either becoming one of the 10 kings or not at all. Which will it be?

The jury is out. It is up to the nations’ leaders and citizens. However, to date, the signs are not hopeful. In recent times, Christian candidates have been openly ridiculed, and topics such as the “end of days” are fodder for public scoffing. Greater shifts to immorality and rebelliousness may now lie ahead.

Any person who can deliver such policies will be thankfully accepted as a type of savior. Morality and godliness can wait.

Religion and Politics

Personal religion is a topic that rarely surfaces on Wall Street. Very few economists discuss the impact of religion upon GDP … or political economy. This is quite an oversight. Why? Because every human being harbors metaphysical ideas and impulses of some type … at some level or other. Religion matters. A middle-aged Hindu, for example, will have a different demand or hierarchy preference than, say, a Millennial living in Manhattan.

There are quite a number of countries, political parties, and terrorist groups that are, in fact, organizationally or constitutionally religious (consider Pakistan or India’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party). This drives human behavior. Most certainly, religion frames agendas and policies and can have enormous impact and influence on politics.

India’s President Modi is seeking to impose the Hindutva ideology of supremacist Hinduism on India’s estimated 204 million Muslims. This is an attempt to mix oil with water, it seems. Suffice it to say that religion has a big impact on geopolitics.

Though Wall Street remains largely silent on such developments, ignoring religious activism would not be wise. Actions born of religious beliefs are ongoing.

Consider this year’s elections in Turkey. President Erdogan continues his slow and steady re-Islamization of Turkey. (Atatürk would not have been pleased.) Erdogan says he wants to create pious Turks with the Koran in one hand and a laptop in the other. Efforts to achieve this are in process with the Imam Hatip schooling system (now making up 11 percent of the total upper school population). The funding is double the amount spent per pupil at mainstream schools.

Otherwise, all over the world, right-wing politicians are turning to religion to boost their appeal. There is no end to further examples of political cohabitation with religion that could be listed.

Thoughts to Ponder

Religion will play a heightened role in volatile geopolitical times. Extreme election swings may soon be commonplace. Democracy must remain dominant to facilitate political changes. “Minilateralism” is spreading quickly. All of these factors contribute to a high state of geopolitical fluidity. This lays the foundation for the rapid events that will usher in the 10 kings. Crucially, this, in turn, alerts “those with eyes to see” that the Rapture and our redemption are nigh.

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PROPHECY UPDATE VIDEOS

David Wilkerson Warned That the Economy of Germany Will Collapse. Is That Starting to Happen?

by Michael Snyder - https://endoftheamericandream.com/david-wilkerson-warned-that-the-economy-of-germany-will-collapse-is-that-starting-to-happen/

An obsession with green energy has the German economy on the brink of collapse. Germany has foolishly been chasing a dream of achieving net greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045, and this has taken a very heavy toll on the German economy. German GDP contracted in 2023, and it appears that it will contract again in 2024. The manufacturing sector is dealing with the greatest crisis that it has faced since the 1940s, the big banks are struggling, and the coalition that was running the government has collapsed. Did David Wilkerson see what was going to happen all the way back in the 1970s?

Something that Steve Quayle posted the other day got me thinking, and so I decided to look into it. In Wilkerson’s book entitled “The Vision”, he stated that he was shown “economic confusion striking Europe first” during a period of great economic turmoil for the whole world. In a subsequent sermon, he was even more specific. In fact, in that sermon he specifically stated that the collapse that he saw would “start in Germany”…

To give some background, first, in his book, “The Vision,” at the beginning of chapter 1, Wilkerson states, “I see total economic confusion striking Europe first, and then affecting Japan, the United States, Canada, and all other nations shortly thereafter.”

So, the economic collapse begins in Europe. There is a slightly different version of this which is circulating on various sites on the internet, usually titled “David Wilkerson’s Economic Vision.” This is the one you quoted, where he narrates how the collapse starts in Europe, spreads to South America, then Mexico, then the U.S. Notice he again mentions Europe first, and then later, “the first country (that) goes bankrupt,” but doesn’t identify the country. Well, I did some more digging and found this audio sermon by Wilkerson:

AT EXACTLY 2:03 (see audio below) HE STATES: “It’s going to start in GERMANY!!!” After that he says it will “spread to Japan, and finally to the U.S.”

You can actually listen to David Wilkerson say these things with your own ears in this YouTube video…

Could it be possible that what Wilkerson warned us about so many years ago is starting to happen right in front of our eyes?

For the past few years, Germany’s economic performance has been absolutely horrible…

The world’s third-largest economy has lagged the European Union average since 2021 and is expected to shrink for the second year running in 2024, making it the worst performer among the Group of Seven major economies.

According to an article that was posted on ABC News, there are several reasons why the German economy has been struggling so deeply…

German industry still has not fully recovered from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then came Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which led Germany and other Western countries to cut themselves off from Russian gas and oil. Competition from China, including its electric vehicles, has meanwhile forced German and other and European carmakers to lower production and lay off workers.

Of course that article did not even mention the radical green agenda that Germany has implemented, but many are convinced that it is the primary factor for the economic decline that we have been witnessing.

At one time, Volkswagen was an unstoppable economic powerhouse, but now it is talking about closing factories and laying off workers…

Nothing better encapsulates the negativity gripping Germany than what’s happening at Volkswagen, the biggest employer in Europe’s largest economy. The spillover effect of the crisis at Volkswagen, which is looking to shut down as many as three factories in Germany — the first ever shuttering of units in its 87-year history — is showing up in the fractures in Germany’s politics now widening to a chasm.

BASF is another German industrial giant that is facing major problems that would have been unthinkable just a few short years ago…

BASF, for instance, a flagship of Germany’s industrial sector since 1865, symbolizes the nation’s manufacturing strength. With nearly 400 production sites across 80 countries, its heart remains in Ludwigshafen, Germany, where it operates a vast complex with 200 plants and employs around 39,000 people. However, this hub has recently become a focal point for BASF’s challenges.

Over the past two years, the company has shut down one of its two ammonia units and idled several others at this location due to their lack of competitiveness, resulting in the loss of 2,500 jobs, explains Chemical and Engineering News. BASF also experienced a significant decline in 2023, with sales dropping by 21.1% and adjusted earnings plunging by 60.1%. Adding to these woes, BASF recently announced plans to cut costs by an additional $1.1 billion in Ludwigshafen, foreshadowing further job cuts.

In my entire lifetime, we have never seen anything like this happen to Germany.

The politicians are desperate to turn things around, and a conflict about how to do that has resulted in the collapse of Germany’s ruling coalition…

Germany’s governing coalition has collapsed after disagreements over the country’s weak economy led Chancellor Olaf Scholz to sack his finance minister.

Christian Lindner’s dismissal prompted him to withdraw his Free Democrats Party (FDP) from a coalition with Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), leaving Scholz in a minority government with the Green Party.

Scholz said he would now call a confidence vote for January 15, which, if he lost, could allow elections to be held by the end of March next year – six months earlier than the elections planned for September 2025.

We shall see whether there is an election in March or not.

But meanwhile, there is fear that the collapse of the government will “deal another blow to consumption and investment in coming months”…

The coalition collapse is likely to deal another blow to consumption and investment in coming months, already poised to decline, with a third of German companies indicating in a recent survey plans to scale it back.

“In combination with the Trump win, economic confidence is likely to drop significantly and makes a contraction of the economy in the fourth quarter more likely,” said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macroeconomics at ING.

I do believe that governmental instability will accelerate the economic problems that the Germans have been experiencing.

And as more German businesses fail, I would watch the big banks very carefully. They have been on shaky ground for years, and it won’t take much to start pushing them over the edge.

Germany possesses the largest and most important economy in the entire European Union, and so once the German economy implodes the rest of the EU will feel an immense amount of pain too.

Wilkerson warned that the crisis would spread from Europe to Japan and then to the United States. And as I have warned for many years, it won’t be too long before the entire world is gripped by unprecedented economic turmoil.

So let’s keep a close eye on Germany.

I think that something is up.

Consumers Are Drowning in Debt as Hordes of Businesses Fail All Over the U.S.

by Michael Snyder - https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/consumers-are-drowning-in-debt-as-hordes-of-businesses-fail-all-over-the-u-s/

U.S. consumers have piled up the largest mountain of household debt in the history of the world. If the federal government was not almost 36 trillion dollars in debt, the fact that U.S. households are nearly 18 trillion dollars in debt would be making a lot more headlines. Sadly, our entire society is absolutely saturated with debt at this point. Government debt on all levels is spiraling out of control, corporate debt has ballooned to absurd levels, and consumers have been gorging on debt as if there will never be any consequences. Unfortunately, a time of reckoning has arrived, and it is going to be incredibly painful.

On Wednesday, we learned that total credit card debt has surged to a brand new record high of 1.17 trillion dollars…

Collectively, Americans now owe a record $1.17 trillion on their credit cards, according to a new report on household debt from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Credit card balances rose by $24 billion in the third quarter of 2024 and are 8.1% higher than a year ago.

Needless to say, incomes have not increased by 8.1 percent over the past year.

So our credit card balances are growing faster than our paychecks are, and that is a problem.

Meanwhile, total student loan debt has reached a brand new record high of 1.61 trillion dollars. If you can believe it, a whopping 30 percent of all student loan borrowers have “gone without food or medicine due to their monthly bills”…

Thirty percent of federal student loan borrowers say they’ve gone without food or medicine due to their monthly bills, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finds.
In addition to skipping necessities, 38% of people with federal student loans said they carried credit card debt that they wouldn’t have otherwise, the bureau found.
Around 44% of borrowers said their education debt delayed when they could by a home, and 26% said the debt pushed back when they’d start a family.

If you are a young person that is considering going to college, please try to avoid piling up student loan debt.

It can haunt you for decades.

Overall, total household debt in the United States has skyrocketed to a brand new record high of 17.94 trillion dollars…

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data today issued its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. The report shows total household debt increased by $147 billion (0.8%) in Q3 2024, to $17.94 trillion.

What a nightmare.

How did we ever allow ourselves to pile up nearly 18 trillion dollars in household debt?

That is insane!

Our wild spending fueled solid economic growth for a long time, but now most consumers are just barely scraping by from month to month and businesses all over the country are deeply struggling as a result.

For example, U.S. retailers have announced the closing of 6,481 stores so far in 2024…

U.S. retail closures have reached the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to recent estimates.

As of Nov. 8, retailers have announced 6,481 store closures, an increase of 336 closures in just the past week, according to the latest data from Coresight Research. The majority of these closures were driven by American Freight, which is shutting all 329 of its locations as part of its parent company’s bankruptcy proceedings.

Meanwhile, the auto industry is having a very tough time adjusting to lower consumer demand.

Last week, we learned that Nissan will be eliminating “9,000 jobs and a fifth of its manufacturing capacity”…

Nissan Motor shares slumped 6% in Tokyo trade Friday, a day after the Japanese automaker said it would cut 9,000 jobs and a fifth of its manufacturing capacity as it struggles with sales in China and the United States.

On Thursday, Japan’s third-biggest automaker slashed its forecast for full-year operating profit by 70%. It said restructuring would cut costs by 400 billion yen ($2.61 billion) in the financial year to the end of March.

Ouch.

Stellantis is another automaker that has decided it is time to reduce production and lay off workers…

Stellantis is indefinitely laying off more than 1,000 employees at its Jeep assembly plant in Ohio as the automaker significantly reduces its inventory levels to match demand.

Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram, issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices to the respective state and local governments as well as the United Auto Workers union.

The 1,100 layoffs at the Toledo South Assembly Plant will be effective as early as Jan. 5.

Sadly, I think that this is just the beginning of very tough times for the auto industry.

The tech industry is facing enormous challenges too. In fact, chipmaker AMD just announced that it will be reducing the number of workers that it employs globally by about 4 percent…

″As a part of aligning our resources with our largest growth opportunities, we are taking a number of targeted steps that will unfortunately result in reducing our global workforce by approximately 4%,” an AMD representative said in a statement. “We are committed to treating impacted employees with respect and helping them through this transition.”

At least AMD is still treading water.

There are countless other firms that are falling apart right in front of our eyes.

Spirit Airlines is one of the latest victims. Spirit’s share price suddenly crashed when it announced that it will be filing for bankruptcy…

Spirit Airlines is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection, it emerged last night – sparking fears among flyers about mass cancelations.

After news broke about the bankruptcy emerged on Tuesday evening, Spirit’s share price plummeted 45 percent in just seconds – erasing hundreds of millions in market value from the carrier. By Wednesday morning, it was down by 70 percent.

The Florida-based low-cost airline is in final negotiations with bondholders on a restructuring plan to secure the support of key creditors, the Wall Street Journal reported this evening. It owes more than $3 billion.

This is what happens when a debt bubble bursts.

At this stage, things are so bad that even CNN is getting ready to conduct some very harsh layoffs…

CNN is planning to wield the axe on some of its high-paid staff after dismal election ratings that cap off a disastrous period for the cable news network.

According to an explosive new report from Puck, network executives will unleash sweeping lay-offs in a bid to save the network’s flailing reputation.

It comes after the departure of stalwart Chris Wallace, and amid reports senior stars like Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper have both been denied raises.

Of course the carnage is not just limited to large businesses.

The percentage of small businesses that cannot pay their rent has reached the highest level since the peak of the pandemic, and that should deeply alarm all of us…

Close to half of small business owners couldn’t pay their rent in September, marking a new three-year high.

According to business networking platform Alignable’s September Revenue & Rent Report, 48% of small business renters could not make their rent payments. That was up from 41% in July and August. And it was the highest it has been since the Covid recovery era in March 2021, when 49% of small business owners were delinquent.

So what is the bottom line?

For years, we were able to enjoy a ridiculously inflated standard of living by piling up staggering amounts of debt.

But now that debt bubble has started to implode, and a tremendous amount of pain is on the horizon.

Going into massive amounts of debt may be enjoyable for a while, but it always catches up with you in the end.

Those that are telling you that there is an easy way out of this mess are not being honest, and we only have ourselves to blame for what is about to happen.

Daily Jot: Anger, accountability and the Word of God

Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com

Celebrities, politicians, news media and many people in American society are having a serious meltdown after Donald Trump’s presidential win. They are boiling over with fear and anger and are telling those who voted for Trump they are racists, bigots, fascists and worse. Some are threatening to leave the country. Others are encouraging women to withhold sex if their men voted Trump. Still others are demanding that family members isolate themselves from loved ones who voted for Trump. Even many who call themselves Christians have distanced themselves from family members who voted for Trump. This is the result of over a decade of media bombardment fomenting hate toward anything Trump. What gives?

The 24/7 news and entertainment cycle filled with extreme leftist talking heads has become a superhighway for fomenting anger. Many have written and said they have family members who are ballistic over the election. Herein, we as followers of Christ have a responsibility to respond appropriately. Christ has called us to overcome evil with good; to be the light of the world. We cannot do this if we return anger for anger. These poor undiscerning people have allowed the voices of disinformation and hate to skew their understanding and comprehension of the world, even their own loved ones. Maybe they were fearful or angry to begin with over something that they perceived were injustices that occurred to them. The negativity has fed their fear and anger. It’s not an excuse for their behavior, but perhaps, an explanation.

The constant barrage of negativity, gaslighting and fear mongering they have repeatedly heard has provided them what they think is an appropriate vehicle to express their anger. Their personal insecurities and fear have led to anger, and in many cases, hate. Even though they are family members and close friends, they feel justified with a moral high ground to attack those who disagree with them. Reasoning with this type of mental condition can be frustrating and difficult. Over the years, their inner anger has been attached to the vehicle that has normalized feminism, sexual liberation, hedonism, homosexuality, abortion as women’s health and so on. They have been programmed to think and react to these stimuli, creating an angry victimization. This ideological subversion has robbed them of their common sense.

They have been convinced that the projected anger and danger they feel is real. To reverse this process, there must be a concerted effort to educate and explain the real danger. This cannot be done by returning hate for hate. Standing in love with the foundation of Christ is the answer. Christ is the only one who can resolve this inner personal fear turned anger that has been trained and aimed against those who disagree with them. Those who follow Christ must be intentional not to preach but to convince with the Word of God against this satanic deception. Demonstrate 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” It is a delicate balance between educating and holding accountability. It starts with our own inner circle.

Daily Devotion: What Are You Doing with Your Life?

by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. —James 4:13–14

https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/what-are-you-doing-with-your-life/ - Listen

Life passes quickly, although it doesn’t always seem that way. When you’re young, life seems to move at a snail’s pace. I vividly remember being in elementary school, bored beyond comprehension. I was just waiting for the clock to strike the right number so that I could get up for recess or go home. It seemed like I was in elementary school for thirty years. Every day seemed to take forever.

Now weeks fly by in an instant. Another month comes and goes. And before you know it, a new year has arrived. Billy Graham was once asked what the greatest surprise of his life was. He replied, “The brevity of it.”

Researchers tell us that the reason life seems to go faster when you’re older is that you’re not having as many new experiences. You get into routines. You go to the same restaurant, you sit at the same table, you order the same thing off the menu. Apparently, variety is not just the spice of life; it’s also the slow-er of time.

James compared life on this earth to a morning fog: “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here for a little while, then it’s gone” (James 4:14 NLT). But he didn’t mourn life’s shortness. Instead, he urged believers to embrace the challenge of living a meaningful, fulfilling, godly life—a life that matters—all the while realizing that that life could end at any moment. He continued, “What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil” (verses 15–16 NLT).

He was talking about living with a sense of urgency. That’s not the same as rushing into things. There’s certainly nothing wrong with methodical thinking or long-range planning. The mistake comes in taking for granted that we have the time to do what needs to be done. The mistake comes in assuming that we know how things will play out.

God has surrounded us with opportunities. To unlock the power of prayer in our lives. To take deep dives into His Word and come away with a greater understanding of Him and His will. To share the amazing truth of Christ with people who don’t know Him. To use the gifts He’s given us. To make a difference in the lives of people in need.

No matter how many years God allows us to live, we don’t have enough time to become complacent about seizing those opportunities. We don’t have enough time to procrastinate.

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