Do They Know?

“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your calamities that are coming upon you.  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.  Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.  Indeed the wages of the laborers who reaped your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.  You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.  You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.  Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.  You also be patient. Make your hearts firm, for the coming of the Lord draws near.  Do not grumble against one another, brethren, that you not be condemned. Behold, the Judge stands at the door.”  Jacob (James) 5:1-9

 

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door having been opened in Heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after these things.”  Revelation 4:1

 

Things are quite strange, they have been and it appears that they will continue that way.  Originally when a pandemic was first declared the grocery store shelves emptied out across much of the world.  Logically one would conclude with that sort of panic, the fallout of millions of jobs in the United States disappearing, businesses permanently closing their doors, as well as a fall out of massive economic consequences and uncertainty, that retail business would have suffered greatly…then came the RV sales.

 

There was some logic to RV sales, people were fleeing major areas, the big cities which were hardest hit, heading somewhere that they presumed was better.  Now in February 2021, RV sales once again hit a record sales number.  Though at the same time as the RV sales were ramping up, the bike industry got hit with a huge influx of sales…record high.

 

This one I got caught up with.  I had read about the record bike sales and shortages, but I had a daughter who was eventually having a birthday and the plan was for her to get her first bike.  Though her birthday wasn’t until February, I placed an order for a bike in July with a down payment of $100.  The bike was due to be delivered in September.

 

September came and I got a phone call, it would be October.  A repeat of the same thing and then came November, December & January.  Finally February came and still no bike, nor date for the bike to be delivered.  The owner of the store pulled some strings and had the corporate office search for a bike elsewhere in the state, they managed to get one from a different store downstate and brought it up the day before her birthday…now that is a shortage.

 

So perhaps people wanted to go bicycling, after all the amusement parks, theatres and other entertainment venues were shuttered across much of the United States, so why not enjoy those tax dollar paid bike trails, etc.  Yet amongst this, it still didn’t stop, then came the housing prices.

 

In many markets the cost of purchasing a home has soared, as in times past, but let me focus more on the rental market.  The rental market has been getting scarce for years, but during the pandemic it took a turn for the worse, where there is simply not enough housing for the demand in many places across the country.  While certainly some of this is due to a demographic shift of people, oftentimes the real root of the problem is in many markets the cost to build new apartment buildings and profitably rent them out exceeds the construction cost.  In other words, it costs more to build the units than one can rent them out for in many places.

 

In amongst all of this the stock market took a bit of a nosedive when the pandemic first started, but as of recent has been hitting record highs again.  Gold, silver, EFT’s, many things are near record or are at record pricing.  Why?  Is our economy on fire?  Is the shape of the world in that good of order?  Is the outlook that positive?  Did we just not have a crisis of untold proportions globally around the world?  So why are we hitting record stock market levels?

 

I will tell you why.  This is the same reason that people are still building new homes, despite the fact that the labor costs much more and the lumber is an average of nearly $35k more for a single family home, than it was a year ago.  This is the same reason that boat sales have hit a record high.  This is the same reason that our government has handed out trillions of dollars, most to governments and large corporations.  This is the same reason that people have bought out furniture stores, lawn and garden departments, new clothing, televisions, computers, gaming systems and numerous other things.

 

They are going broke, they are partying like it is the end of the world and you know what…it just may be.  Their eyes are focused on luxuries, pleasures, not on Christ.  Many people are afraid to go to church, but they are not afraid to be sitting in a car dealership getting financing on a new overpriced vehicle.  They will wait in line to get a new television, but they will not spend five minutes on their knees on prayer. 

 

“And in that day Jehovah of Hosts called for weeping and mourning, and for baldness, and for girding with sackcloth.  But behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine, saying, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”  Isaiah 22:12-13

 

There are many reasons for shortages nowadays.  Some is due to factories being shut down, a lack of workers, COVID-19, natural disasters, things like the Suez canal or the hacked pipeline, but another main reason is that people are spending like there is no tomorrow.

 

One day there will be a shortage coming, one that you might not think. 

 

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord Jehovah, that I will send a famine into the land, not a famine for bread, nor a thirst for water, but rather a famine for hearing the Words of Jehovah.”  Amos 8:11

 

As we see these forces of darkness slowly erode away our freedoms, close our churches, promote agendas and appear to be taking total control, should we not be looking up (Titus 2:13)?

 

“Woe to those who desire the day of Jehovah! Of what good is this to you? The day of Jehovah is darkness, and not light.  It is as if a man fled before a lion, and a bear met him. Or he goes into the house and leans his hand against the wall, and a snake bites him.  Is not the day of Jehovah darkness, and not light; even very dark, and not any brightness in it?”  Amos 5:18-20

 

Do they know what is coming?  Do they think it is good and all will be well?  Do they desire the day of Jehovah?  Shall we as a society party like there is no tomorrow?  Shall we continue on gathering riches in the last days?  Where are our riches towards Christ?

 

“Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have nowhere to gather my fruits?  So he said, I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger, and there I will gather all my fruits and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.  But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have prepared?  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”  Luke 12:16-21

 

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing; and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked;  I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”  Revelation 3:14-21

 

Consider that it does not make sense to have a record stock market.  Does it make sense to have record boat sales?  Does it make sense to have record rent prices?  Does it make sense that despite the huge economic losses for millions of small businesses that hardly anyone seems to care about the future job losses?  Then again, consider this:

 

“After these things I saw another angel coming down from Heaven, having great power, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.  And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every unclean spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!  For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual perversities, the kings of the earth have prostituted themselves with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the power of her luxury.  And I heard another voice from Heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, so that you not share in her sins, and so that you not receive of her plagues.  For her sins have reached to Heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.  Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.  By however much she has glorified herself and lived luxuriously, by the same amount give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.  Therefore her plagues will come in one day; death and mourning and famine. And she will be consumed with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.  The kings of the earth who prostituted themselves and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the terror of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.  And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of thyine wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, ointment and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, beasts and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.  And the fruit that your soul lusted for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all.  The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance because of the terror of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!  For in one hour such great riches is come to nothing. Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance  and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What is like this great city?  And they threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.”  Revelation 18:1-19

 

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to shame.”  Jacob (James) 4:8-9

 

Amen!