As the day began in Australia, it was still September 30th, Rosh Hashanah 5769, New Year's Day in Israel. The previous year had been a seventh or sabbath year for all devout Jews.
2007-2008 AD was in fact the 496th seventh year, counting 1459-1458 BC as the 1st — after Joshua in 1465 BC led them into the land of Israel.
Click here for this timeline.
It was a day on which the Lord had spoken of debts being cancelled between brothers and neighbours, no more debtors, no more creditors. Those who during the seven years had sold themselves into slavery/service to pay off their debts were now to be allowed to go free, and be richly endowed with gifts for their service. See
Note that the 50th year, the first year following the 7th Sabbath, was always to be a Jubilee year when the trumpet would be especially blown (see
Interestingly according to Acts 13:20-21, David's ascent to the throne came in the 10th Jubilee year that followed 490 years (70 times seven) years of forgiveness from the Lord.
And very interestingly using the timeline above, the six day war in June 1967, when Israel reclaimed all of Jerusalem, it came in the 70th Jubilee year that followed 3430 years (70 times seven times seven years) of forgiveness from the Lord.
1465BC to 1AD = 1465 years. 1AD to 1966AD = 1965 years. 1465+1965 = 3430 years (or 490 sabbaths).
In the first instance, we see in 975-974 BC God's chosen king, David revealed.
In the second instance, we see in 1966-1967 AD God's chosen city, Jerusalem revealed.
As a side note, it came 49 years after the freeing of Beersheba (and Jerusalem) from the Ottoman Empire, the 69th Jubilee year of 1917-1918,
In the first instance, we see after 40 years in 935-934 BC, his precious son Solomon acknowledged in the nation.
In the second instance, we see after 40 years in 2006-2007 AD, his precious people Israel acknowledged in the United Nations click here.
In the first instance, we see in the 4th year of his reign in 932-931 BC, the commencement of God's temple on earth.
In the second instance, will we see in the coming year, 2009-2010 AD, the revelation of God's temple from heaven.
Certainly the meeting in Copenhagen in Dec 2009 speaks of the fear, worldwide, of what people see coming upon the earth. click here.
Now, here's the email sent 1st October 2008
Hi all
Yep, really
enjoying the sense of the Lord's hand over all that's happening at the moment.
I was
sharing this morning about meditating on the following scripture. Matthew
24:42-51. Particularly Matthew 24:43
Note - the
"underlined" words link to the original Greek - the "others"
are just fill in words to flesh out the meaning in King James's era
:-).
Thus the
word "good man" is not in the original Greek - the underlined word "house" refers
to the "house master" -
i.e. "rulers of the darkness of this world" in Ephesians 6.
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Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord does come |
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But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come he would have watched and would not have permitted his house to be broken up |
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Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes |
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Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season ? |
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Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing |
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Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods |
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But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delays his coming |
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And shall begin to beat his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunk ones |
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The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of |
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And shall cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and grating of teeth. |
Silver is the word in Scripture that is translated as money - it had been generally used for thousands of years because of its inbuilt value.
Interestingly - I think the first in depth mention of a buying / selling transaction using silver in scripture was Abraham spending 400 shekels (about 4kg) to obtain an appropriate burial place for his Sarah: Genesis 23:4 http://www.htmlbible.com/kjv30/B01C023.htm#v4
Anyway, this was the section I found really well put about the meeting of the Allied nations at Bretton Woods in 1944 in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretton_Woods_system#Informal
In the 19th and early 20th centuries gold played a key role in international monetary transactions. The gold standard was used to back currencies; the international value of currency was determined by its fixed relationship to gold; gold was used to settle international accounts. The gold standard maintained fixed exchange rates that were seen as desirable because they reduced the risk of trading with other countries.
Imbalances in international trade were theoretically rectified automatically by the gold standard. A country with a deficit (i.e. the country spending more in imports than it was selling in exports) would have depleted gold reserves and would thus have to reduce its money supply (the paper it was authorizing the banks to trade with). The resulting fall in demand would reduce imports and the lowering of prices (for individuals to stay in business) would boost exports; thus the deficit would be rectified.
Any country experiencing inflation would lose gold (people would change their paper money back to gold to protect themselves from the reducing value of the paper) and therefore would have a decrease in the amount of money (paper) available to spend. This decrease in the amount of money would act to reduce the inflationary pressure.
Supplementing the use of gold in this period was the British pound. Based on the dominant British economy, the pound became a reserve, transaction, and intervention currency. But the pound was not up to the challenge of serving as the primary world currency, given the weakness of the British economy after the Second World War.
The architects of Bretton Woods had conceived of a system wherein exchange rate stability was a prime goal. Yet, in an era of more activist economic policy, governments did not seriously consider permanently fixed rates on the model of the classical gold standard of the nineteenth century. Gold production was not even sufficient to meet the demands of growing international trade and investment. And a sizeable share of the world's known gold reserves were located in the Soviet Union, which would later emerge as a Cold War rival to the United States and Western Europe.
The exponential growth in world population was also playing a major role here. In 1800, following 5,800 years of human history according to Scripture, it is estimated that the world population had still only just reached 1 billion people. However, this number had grown to 2 billion in 1927, and, despite the Second World War, accelerated to 2.4 billion at the time of Bretton Woods. Since then, the number went to 3 billion in 1959, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1986, and 6 billion in 1999. In fact in 2008, the world is rapidly approaching a population of 7 billion people (click here)
The only currency strong enough to meet the rising demands for international liquidity was the U.S. dollar. The strength of the U.S. economy, the fixed relationship of the dollar to gold ($35 an ounce), and the commitment of the U.S. government to convert dollars into gold at that price made the dollar as good as gold. In fact (just as the British pound had done previously), the dollar was even better than gold: it earned interest and it was more flexible than gold.
There is a lot more in the article, but that's the section I particularly enjoyed because of how well it summarized the issues.
Of course, the 1944 agreement which brought in the IMF and the World Bank, then the U.S. grants through the
Marshall Plan, led to a sense of real competitive anger at America - being seen to be at the top - and
then Israel coming in to being. And it is certainly natural for everyone to be
And so by 1971, Fort Knox was empty, or rapidly moving that way — relatively speaking :-), with this growing shortage of gold America had to devalue the dollar (also rapidly), and thus came off a fixed gold standard - and since then the standard backing of currencies is simply by "fiat" - i.e. - what governments/business markets in groups, and individually decree - based on their forecast of future incomes. Frequently driven by fear.
Click here for each country's gross external debt - with investment in America - click here - currently almost $14 trillion.
Click here for each country's foreign exchange reserves - America currently showing $83 billion.
And click here for each country's official gold reserves - America currently valued at $240 billion.
Comment from a friend "Note: The US not only holds the most gold but it represents 78 % of their reserves. This means that whilst their dollar may not be backed by gold, they still understand its role as a potential storage of wealth in tough times. So, the US financial system is being hammered but as a country, any run on the gold price will help them (i.e. the federal reserve) to buy out the toxic debt and restabilise things. Look at the UK. Backs to a wall and no gold to play with...ouch."
Further thoughts: Page 34 of Weekend Australian Oct 11-12, 2008 "China will continue to buy massive amounts of foreign - especially US - treasury bills. This will underline the growing dependence of the world on Chinese - and to an extent also Indian - commitments to resolving any global challenge."
Yes, I suppose their investment in those treasury bills makes them a major player - if not the major player. Small extract: Wall Street Journal, January 12, 2010
Click here re an article in The Australian on February 11th, 2010.
Luke 14:12-35
Note that in Ephesians 5:28-29, husbands are commanded to love their wives as their own bodies.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church:
There is no contradiction — what we are looking at here is a contrast of preferences — to receive the power "dunamis" to be a disciple / learner, Christ must come first, because Christ first loved / valued us.
Back to Luke 14:27
And
whosoever
does
not
bear
his
cross,
and
come
after
me,
can
not
be
my
disciple.
For
which
of
you,
intending
to build
a tower,
sits
not
down
first,
and counts
the cost,
whether
he have
sufficient to
finish
it? Lest
haply,
after he
has laid
the foundation,
and
is
not
able
to finish
it, all
that behold
it begin
to mock
him,
Or
what
king,
going
to make
war
against
another
king,
sits
not
down
first,
and consults
whether
he be
able
with
ten
thousand
to meet
him that comes
against
him
with
twenty
thousand
? Or
else,
while the other
is
yet
a great way off,
he sends
an embassy,
and desires
conditions
of peace.
So
likewise,
whosoever
he be of
you
that
forsakes
not
all
that he has
,
he
can
not
be
my
disciple.
Salt
is good:
but
if
the salt
has lost its savour
wherewith
shall
it be seasoned
It
is
neither
fit
for
the land,
nor yet
for
the manure;
but men cast
it
out.
He that has
ears
to hear
let him hear
Luke 17:26-37
See Job 39:30
II Thessalonians 2:1-8
Except for where the Lord sovereignly plays a hand. :-) Massive game of poker going on at present. Click here for some background on over-the-counter derivatives, published in Weekend Australian - October 18, 2008.
The US Federal Reserve has purchased more than $1.7 trillion in Treasury and mortgage debt, taking these complex derivatives as collateral for the loans, partnering with the government to rescue companies such as American International Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc.
The Bank of England essentially printed money when it bought swaths of government bonds. The European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and others took similar steps.