As I shared briefly last week, in 1987 I was shown the nations that were then under the yoke of communism would enjoy increasing liberty, and the nations that had known freedom and democracy would be brought into increasing bondage. I was shown this and many other things that I recorded in my book, The Harvest, which have taken place or are now unfolding. Virtually all of the nations that were then under communism have been experiencing increasing liberty, even if it has been coming in fits and starts. We have also been losing our liberty at an alarming pace.

          At the same time, those who are growing in Christ will become freer than ever. It is impossible to enslave those who are free in the Spirit. This is why Christianity has thrived in some of the most oppressed nations. The demarcation between those who are slaves and those who are free will become more striking as this trend continues. As stated last week, one of the major demarcation points is between those who are putting more of their trust in government and those who are growing in faith in the Lord. This must become a major focus for every believer.

          As we examine this divergence between the governments of this world and the coming kingdom of God, let us consider as Christians that if we did not have our hope in Christ, then we too would put all of our hope in government. There is just nowhere else to go. We must not condemn those who see the governments of this world as the answer to all of the problems, but we must help them see the greater Hope—the One that will never leave us or disappoint us. This is why another Great Awakening is necessary for America to get back on the right track of putting our trust in God, not men, and returning the government to a servant of the people rather than making the people into servants of the government.

         We must see where we are and know where we’re going in order to set the right course. Consider this: America is now approaching the point where over 50 percent of all Americans receive their income from some level of government. If you include employees of companies whose business is mostly government contracts, such as the defense industry, this number is even higher. If the Health Care Bill is implemented, this will approach 60 percent. Becoming the source of meeting the basic needs of people has been the strategy of gaining power by every totalitarian government. This has been creeping into the fabric of America for nearly a century, but recently it has been able to get a stranglehold on America.

         We are not far from the place where it will not be possible to reverse this trend, and to keep moving in this direction has been proven over and over to be unsustainable. So what happens? The meltdown, just as we are seeing the first signs in the European Union, which is just a little ahead of us in this plight. Never has a government been able to sustain an economy when even 40 percent of the population receives their income from the government.  

         Before these governments that try to be all things to all people collapse under the weight of such presumption, they impoverish the nation where they tried this. A good present example is Zimbabwe. At one time, it was as strong and prosperous as South Africa and a jewel of Africa. Now its economy has completely collapsed as has its basic civilization. This beautiful, prosperous nation has become an African Haiti.

         Even Tony Blair, the recent Prime Minister of Great Britain, has been warning that Europe cannot survive if it does not reign in its “entitlement mentality.” This is remarkable coming from the leader of the liberal, Labor Party, which is the big government party in that country. He is right, and now virtually every European leader knows it, but they don’t know how to reverse course. 

          This is all leading to the manifestation of “the beast” in the Book of Revelation. This beast is the result of earthly mindedness, which is humanism, as opposed to heavenly mindedness and the worship and seeking of God. This beast is more than just Marxism, but this evil philosophy is one of the main roots of it. It is basically the ultimate pride of man manifesting what he thinks he knows is best for everyone else and seeks to control them, as opposed to looking to God for guidance and help.

          As the Lord explained in Matthew 24, the tares will be bundled together, or gathered together first, so that they can be cast into the fire. All of the evil philosophies and religious beliefs that manifest this evil will join in the end, and there will be a time when you will have to submit to this beast in order to buy, sell, or trade. However, true Christians will not need to buy, sell, or trade in the system of the beast because they will have another Source and will have built another economy on the coming kingdom. The ultimate clash between these two basic faiths, faith in man or faith in God, will only last a short time before the nations see the difference and come to the light just as we are promised in Isaiah 60:1-5.