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Prophetic Brief
Insight and Analysis for the 21st Century Anatomy of a Nation in Decline - Part 4 Reference Point Crisis is Global 3
Let them eat cake. Uttered in response to a report that people had no bread to eat, the phrase is widely attributed to Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution in the 18th century. Out of touch and unaware, the royal family lived in a false world of privilege that came crashing down as the revolution rippled across the social and political structures of France resulting in the queen being guillotined in 1793. Even though the whole earth is lurching towards crisis, Americans have a longer way to fall in the decline and are generally less prepared to understand how God could deal with the earth through crisis. It is abundantly clear that crisis and destabilization is occurring in every nation; in just the last few days we have seen:
We are living in an unmatched time in the earth; a time when crisis is erupting through natural disasters, political destabilization, and economic meltdown. Politicians and religious leaders are all weighing in on these events, but they dont seem to have the answers to a world in intense distress, and are rightly wondering:
A deranged gunman in Norway shooting down 77 young people in cold blood and blew up the Prime Ministers office in Oslo At least 80 were killed in Syria as the government cracked down on protestors who continue in the Arab spring series of uprisings The worst drought and famine in Somalia in 60 years is driving millions into refugee camps, where incidents of assault and rape are very high Yet I am writing this series of articles especially to an American audience regarding the decline in this nation. I have previously shared two reasons for doing so: a) I have a calling and a burden from the Lord for the nation b) crisis is happening as the American empire is devolving. And now this article deals with the third key reason: because of the prosperous and generally safe history of the nation, most Americans have a longer way to fall in the crises which are rippling across the nations and they will have a more difficult time understanding what is happening.
Dognapping
An experience I had a few years ago illustrates this principle. I was in England where I read a story about dogs being kidnapped (I guess the term should be dognapped). The dogs were held for ransom, notes were sent to owners and because English people love their dogs, they paid handsomely to get Rover back. I stuck the paper in my briefcase to finish it later and then flew from Heathrow to Lagos, Nigeria a city of 17+ million with upwards of 70% unemployment. In a seminar I told the story of the dognappings and the people thought I was telling some type of joke. There was no room in their mental framework to understand why a family would pay for the return of a dog I had to get the paper out and show them the story because they just didnt believe it.
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Jeremiah 1:15 (NIV) I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD. "eir kings will come and set up their thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem; they will come against all her surrounding walls and against all the towns of Judah
And its not just the English America spent $55 billion last year on its pets, from gourmet dog food to designer sweaters for Fido. Look at that figure again - $55 billion! That is roughly equivalent to the GDP of Belarus. Americans have taken self-indulgence far beyond the Marie Antoinettes salvo about cake and the British penchants for dogs America is so self-indulgent they are saying let Fido eat cake!! The sense of entitlement which is embedded in American culture is plainly obvious in the economic meltdown and the fight over raising the debt ceiling. Dont be fooled by the recent political events taking place in Washington the debt ceiling is a historic issue that transcends party politics and individual leaders. Since 1960 the Congress has voted to raise or extend the debt ceiling 78 times; 49 times under Republican presidents and 29 under Democratic ones.
Owners Stop Paying Mortgages, and Stop Fretting, NY Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/ business/01nopay.html?th&emc=th, retrieved June 1, 2010
American decline is inevitable; it has been occurring for some time and it will continue across the administrations of both Republicans and Democrats and regardless of what decisions are made about the debt ceiling. Using the word inevitable indicates that there is Divine purpose behind the decline. There will be many spiritual leaders who insist that through prayer and revival the nation can be restored to its place of ascendancy, but despite their best efforts, this will not occur. Their prayers will not be answered because the issue is not restoration of a s u p e r p ow e r n o r i s i t heavens aim to stabilize Americas economy.
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The second example comes from an interview in a German magazine, Spiegel, with an American political leader regarding the debt ceiling debacle. Other nations are warning the U.S. to put its financial house in order, yet when asked how the negotiations over the U.S. debt ceiling hurt Americas standing in the world, one political leader declared: Saying that these debates have hurt our image is absurd. What you currently see in Washington is one of the most responsible debates ever about the size and scope of government. The world should look at what is going on in the United States as a model for what should happen in all countries. 2 The couple refuses to accept any sense of responsibility for their overreach, while the politician declares the craziness in Washington DC as responsible debate. American leaders and its citizens alike fit nicely into the Marie Antoinette category of self-delusion.
2 http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,777705,00.html#ref=nlint Page 3 of 5
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d)There will be a reduction in real wages for American workers, further eroding the tax base and stressing state and national budgets e)Eventually that will require a reduction in military spending by the nation A polarized and dysfunctional political process will prove unable to mend the divisions of the nation. These events will lead to intense domestic disputes, and additionally to a loss of American prestige and power in the world. In the rising political tide of disillusionment and despair there will be two unattractive choices as we approach the presidential elections of 2012:
1) The first option involves a presidential candidate that demands respect and regard for American authority and the return of the nation to its place on top as an economic power which can use its military to intervene in various regions. There is a large constituency in the nation that believes American power must be ramped back up and they will demand that their political leaders get tough with the world, but calls for international respect will fall on deaf ears by nations which are no longer as intimidated by the aging empire. 2) The second possibility will be an administration that tries to lead the nation in pulling back from its imperial commitments and staunch the flow of economic overreach and self-indulgence. Such a ruler will be branded as selling the country out and accused of pandering to foreign interests, leading to lack of support and ineffective leadership which may lead to threats of impeachment or worse. Both options involve political polarization and economic decline, and both lead to a diminished nation.
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2011 Scott Webster Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
2011 Copyright by SWM, copy and duplication without permission is prohibited.
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Reference Points
In order to correctly understand this prophetic analysis we must first deal with the context of our knowledge about key principles and platforms. I am calling these Reference Points, and to benefit from this prophetic word they must be understood, accepted and referred back to while reading.
A series of crises has been released upon the earth and all nations will be impacted. There are three key reasons we are focusing on the U.S. specifically
1. Crisis is Global
2. God is Sovereign
He is superintending the events of the earth, and will use both light and darkness events to accomplish His purposes
The dealings of God in the earth (and the U.S.) are part of end time 3. We are Living in movements and realities. No man knows the day or the hour, but we are the End Times intended to understand times and seasons
4. Behind Nations is source. It manifests as political, economic and social but the source of it is a Spiritual Reality unseen. What is pushing the earth is not natural and it cannot be perceived
by earths intelligence
Therefore behind the natural decline that we can see there is a spiritual
Gods judgments are redemptive, and the heart of Anatomy of a Nation in 5. Gods Heart is Decline is not anger or an anti-American stance, it is a redemptive Redemptive bringing of awareness and correctness
This is not a call to repentance so that God will change the course of a nation, it is a call for us to be spiritually aware so that we can prepare and move into heightened levels of partnership with Gods end time purposes
Releasing The New Prophetic Dimension Activating The Capacity To Build Obeying The Command To Finish 2011 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES. Page 5 of 5