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“I know that there is only the smallest measure of inspiration that can be taken from this devastation. But there is a passage in the Bible from Isaiah that I think speaks to us all at times like this. ‘The bricks have fallen down but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the fig trees have been felled but we will replace them with cedars.’ That is what we will do. We will rebuild and we will recover…” So spoke United States Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, on September 12, 2001, in response to the shocking terrorist attacks the day before.

Before the world-changing events of 9/11/2001, Americans’ exposure to terrorism was mostly secondhand—perhaps watching video images of a bombed-out Oklahoma City building in April 1995, or reading newspaper stories of a botched World Trade Center bombing in February 1993. Millions, however, on that momentous Tuesday morning of September 11, were watching live television coverage of one burning skyscraper, when another jet suddenly appeared—and then crashed into the second WTC tower!

Fears of a “double-dip” recession, or an economic depression are growing.  Some financial experts now urge: “Buy gold. Buy silver. Get as far away as you can from U.S. currency and the U.S. economy” (YahooFinance.com, August 4, 2011).  Considering recent stock-market trauma, and recent record gold highs approaching $1,850/oz., many are turning to gold.  So, what is a Christian’s best investment strategy?

As the United States sees its debt continue to soar out of control, it would be prudent to take time to examine the results of such reckless spending.  Just like any credit card, national debt carries with it the obligation for the debtor to pay interest.  $14 trillion is an immense amount of debt, and it carries with it the burden of substantial interest payments.  Last year alone the U.S. spent just under $413 billion paying off the interest on its loans.

Jesus famously warned that prior to His Second Coming, “nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:1–7).  Centuries earlier, God warned through Isaiah that at the end of the age, “As for My people, children are their oppressors…” (Isaiah 3:12).  These two prophecies are profoundly related.  Furthermore, there is a sobering connection between these two warnings and the “flash mob” violence that has raged from London to Philadelphia!