PEACE IN THE MIDST OF THE FINANCIAL STORM
By Carlos A. Cedillo

* Introduction to the financial meltdown
* The Subprime Mortgage Crisis and its effect on US & global economy
* Comfort and hope for those who are feeling anxiety & stress
* New global financial infrastructure
* Preparing for the future by being thrifty & frugal
* Common sense principals for times of financial crisis


US ECONOMY ON THE BRINK

In July of 2007 an ominous economic report surfaced in the news media headlines… it was called the Subprime Mortgage Crisis. Most of us didn’t know what this was at the time… but soon this economic phenomenon began to spread and in 2008 took on astronomical dimensions, adversely affecting US and world economies. By mid September the economic condition of the US had turned critical and America watched in shock as its financial foundations began to crumble.



The Subprime Mortgage Crisis and its effect on US & Global economy

In its beginnings the subprime mortgage crisis swept across the United States causing mortgage foreclosure on over a million houses. Nearly 1.3 million in 2007 and in May 2007 it jumped to 90% more than the previous year. (CNBC-May 2007).
WASHINGTON, July 8, 2008- Faced with record-high foreclosure rates, the Bush administration has been scrambling to keep people from losing their homes, but many are beyond help, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Tuesday. Later he stated that 1.5 million home foreclosures started in 2007, and some economists estimate there will be about 2.5 million foreclosures begun this year.

What caused the foreclosures?

Simply put, the subprime mortgage crisis started because of the home loans given to borrowers with poor or sub-standard credit ratings. These people’s economies were delicately balanced and when the first personal crisis emerged, losing a job, a divorce or an accident, they went into a financial tailspin. This coupled to a few hard moves by the Fed on interest rates and other factors made it difficult to meet their house payments and foreclosure was the inevitable result.

Cause and effect

Why would banks encourage people to buy homes they can't afford, taking out loans they can't repay? And why would this sort of behavior have international repercussions? Journalist David Leonhardt explains in a New York Times article:

Extracts from the article:
How is it that a mess concentrated in one part of the mortgage business—subprime loans—has frozen the credit markets, sent stock markets gyrating, caused the collapse of [the fifth largest investment bank] Bear Stearns, left the economy on the brink of the worst recession in a generation, and forced the Federal Reserve to take its boldest action since the Depression?

Let's go back to the beginning. It really started in 1998, when large numbers of people decided that real estate had become a bargain. At the same time, Wall Street was making it easier for buyers to get loans. It was transforming the mortgage business from a local one to a global one, in which investors from almost anywhere could pool money to lend.

Those same global investors demanded good returns. Wall Street had an answer: subprime mortgages.

Because these loans go to people stretching to afford a house, they come with higher interest rates—even if they're disguised by low initial rates—and thus higher returns. The mortgages were then sliced into pieces and bundled into investments, often known as collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs. Once bundled, different types of mortgages could be sold to different groups of investors.

Investors then increased their returns through leverage. They made $100 million bets with only $1 million of their own money and $99 million in debt. If the value of the investment rose to just $101 million, the investors would double their money.

(Wikipidia- In finance, leverage is using given resources in such a way that the potential positive or negative outcome is magnified. It generally refers to using borrowed funds, or debt, so as to attempt to increase the returns to equity.)

All these investments, of course, were highly risky. Higher returns on investments almost always come with greater risk. But people—by "people," I'm referring here to Mr. Greenspan, Mr. Bernanke, the top executives of almost every Wall Street firm and a majority of American homeowners—decided that the usual rules didn't apply because home prices nationwide had never fallen before.

The American home seemed like such a sure bet that a huge portion of the global financial system ended up owning a piece of it. That left them on the hook when homeowners who had taken out a wishful-thinking mortgage could no longer get out of it by flipping their house for a profit.

Many of these bets [by banks and other investors] were not huge, but were so highly leveraged that any losses became magnified. If that $100 million investment I described above were to lose just $1 million of its value, the investor who put up only $1 million would lose everything.
(end of article)

Economic crisis don’t just happen

It’s important to know that the economic markets don’t just go up and down of their own accord—it’s not as if the stock market has a life of its own. Through manipulation of the world’s money—cleverly orchestrated financial crashes are perpetuated. The subprime mortgage woes would not have resulted had the financial chiefs not made the economic moves that brought it about. Through manipulation of the financial system, huge amounts of money are falling into the hands of a few, while stock holders, corporations and financial institutions have gone bankrupt. Even thought huge amounts have been spent in extravagant bail-out rescue programs—it’s just adding more debt to the problem and tax payers are left with the broken dishes.


The Subprime loans—a goldmine for lenders

Subprime lenders didn’t sit on their loans—they began to sell them to investment banks and other big financial national and international investors who saw a goldmine in the business of high-interest rate subprime loans. Eventually this business of subprime loans and debt became a $1.5 trillion market for US and global market investors who were lured with the high returns the subprime offered.

The Subprime Crisis Ripple Effect

The Subprime game worked as long as the borrowers were keeping up their payments, but as soon as they failed to make the payments— what looked like a goldmine for all those who had invested in these high interest rate loans—resulted in a wave of foreclosure crisis around the nation, provoking an international credit crisis.
After the first initial Subprime shock wave that left almost a million homeless because of foreclosure, there followed financial aftershocks which came on stronger than the first. In an unprecedented manner, mortgage lending corporations and banks that that were holding millions in subprime debt began to lose financial stability and declared bankruptcy.


*New Century Financial Corporation- April 4th, 2007- New Century Goes Bankrupt; The company rode the U.S. housing boom to become the largest independent mortgage lender to subprime borrowers, only to collapse as interest rates rose and home prices fell.



*Country Wide – Jan. 11, 2008; CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bank of America said Friday it will buy Countrywide Financial for $4.1 billion in stock, a deal that rescues the country’s biggest mortgage lender after it went bankrupt.



*Bear Stearns- March 17, 2008; Bear Stearns was bought out by JP Morgan for $2/share. Just on Friday, they were trading at $30/share and had a 50% drop in share price that day. I am predicting that there is going to be a massive meltdown in the financial sector tomorrow as a market reaction, which will cause a ripple effect and panicked investors, which will result in the stock market crashing by about 300 to 500 points by the end of the day.



*Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae - September 9, 2008; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a $5.2 Trillion Bankruptcy. Allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to collapse would have been akin to letting Japan or the United Kingdom go bankrupt. Global economic leaders say even those unimaginable scenarios would have paled beside the fallout from a Fannie/Freddie implosion.



*Lehman Brothers – September 15, 2008; Stocks dropped dramatically -- with the Dow closing down 504.48 points -- after 158-year-old brokerage firm Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy this morning and the other Wall Street stalwart, Merrill Lynch, was sold to Bank of America for $50 billion.



*AIG – September 16, 2008; There isn’t really a precedent for this strange tale… but tonight, apparently, the Federal Reserve has taken ownership of 80% of AIG (the 3rd largest institution in America) in exchange for an $80 billion bridge loan. The reason, according to various sources, is that AIG is “too big to fail” and would cause systemic failure to the international banking system if it were allowed to fail (it has more than $1 trillion in assets, worldwide).



*Washington Mutual – September 25, 2008; NEW YORK – JPMorgan Chase & Co. Inc. came to the rescue of Washington Mutual Inc. Thursday, buying the thrift's banking assets after WaMu was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in the largest failure ever of a U.S. bank. This is the second time in six months that JPMorgan Chase has taken over a major financial institution crippled by bad bets in the mortgage market.



Mother of all Bailouts

On September 19 of this year, the world was shocked by the announcement made by US Secretary of Treasury, Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke, Chief of the Federal Reserve Board—they proposed an unprecedented bail-out plan of $700 billion dollars to avoid an imminent meltdown of the entire US financial system!


Dow plunges 777 points after bailout fails

When this first bailout plan was rejected by congress, the Dow Jones had a dramatic plunge of 777 points, the most it had ever fallen in its history. Later when the Senate passed the second bailout plan, to everyone’s dismay-- the stock market took another fall with the Dow Jones having its worst week since July of 2002 and to top it off, unemployment showed an increase. Some economic experts are saying the cash injections by the Fed and central banks were too little and too late and even the mega bailout program may not be enough to stop the downward momentum of the ailing US economy.

US & European banking bail-out rescue plan fails

October 15, 2008- The optimism that followed the various US and European banking rescue plans evaporated as investors digested the impact of slowing economic growth. The Dow Jones fell a whopping 733 points, heightening fears of a deep recession in the world’s largest economy.


WORDS OF COMFORT & HOPE

We’re living in a time of great change and transformation in our society and personal way of living-- and for some it’s not going to be easy. Many have lived their lives establishing certain routines and have become accustomed to easy access to almost anything they need or want. People’s life styles give them security, their house and jobs give them stability. Being able to drive your own car whenever and wherever you want is a privilege taken for granted. So if any of these foundation pieces are weakened or removed—if there is any abrupt change in your daily lives, work or supply of needs—and you’re beginning to feel disorientated, worried or even fearful… then the following message is for you.

There’s light at the end of the tunnel! All is not lost, and even if you have to make changes and modifications in your economy, your work and home, you can not only survive this ordeal, but you can get yourself back on your feet. However, you may need to let the God Factor be one of those changes-- in case you haven’t already given Him room to work in your situation. If you haven’t seen God as a major force that can bring needed answers, solutions and supply into your life—then now is an ideal time to let Him show you what He can do for you and in the process discover He’s got the best bail-out program for your personal situation.

We can take these changes because we have an Anchor that holds us steadfast and sure! We have a Rock that is always solid that we can always trust! … We have that Rock, we have that Anchor that keeps us safe and secure all the time, no matter what the waves are like, the constantly changing sea and constantly changing life we live.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and through the mountains thereof be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” --Psalms 46: 1-3

We have Someone in Whom we can rest reassured, eternally secure, knowing that we don't have anything to even worry about! He's going to solve every problem and always meet the need, whatever it is, and keep us safely wherever we are, whatever we're doing!

We have that Anchor! We have that Rock to hold on to!-- Our faith!--The Lord! So it hardly matters what happens around us on the constantly changing sea of life, it doesn't bother us that much. We can survive it and surmount it and we can live on! We know we've lived through past changes and we can live through these, because the Lord is without change!

So hold on to the Lord! "I am the Lord, I change not! Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever!"--Mal.3:6; Heb.13:8. He remains the same--faithful, always trustworthy, always there, always solving every problem, answering every need! Sometimes it doesn't matter how secure a life you appear to lead, nothing is secure and frequently it all blows up!— However, it’s in God’s power to change that, we can have that feeling of constant security that surmounts anything else in life! So the most important step to take now is to believe in Jesus, accept Him as your Rock and Savior-- he can stabilize your life, no matter what storms assail you.

“Surely he shall deliver you from the snare of the enemy… he shall cover you with his feathers and under his wings shall you trust… You will not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrows shot at you… nor for the destruction that that comes in the heat of the day… A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand on your right, but you shall remain safe… Because you have made the Lord your refuge… there shall no evil come to you… for he shall give you angels to protect you wherever you go.” --Psalm 91

For those that call on God, no matter what happens or where they go or where they live or what the conditions may be, the Lord's still there and He'll always keep them no matter what! That's the wonderful thing about trusting the Lord!--When you don't know what's going to happen, you just know the Lord's going to somehow work everything out just the way He wants it. He always does! He never fails! He’s the solid rock foundation and if you’re holding on to Him, you can’t be moved!



New global financial infrastructure

Things have gotten to a bad state in the world’s economy. The US and financially crippled countries are seeing the need for a new international monetary order to replace the present monetary system. They’re desperately grasping for anything or anyone who can save the globe from a general chain-reaction collapse of the entire international financial-monetary and economic system.

In the World Economic Forum on the Middle East from May of this year, one of the hot topics was the Subprime mortgage crisis and the question was raised; Are we indeed witnessing a transition to a new global financial system?

On October 29, Ibero-American presidents united for a top-level Summit in El Salvador. At the top of their agenda was: To express the need for stronger international cooperation and for a new global financial order.

By November 15, 2008, most of the World’s leaders will be uniting in the US to seek a solution to the global financial emergency and seek ideas for a new economic arrangement for the world.



What leader has the ability & genius to design a new economic system?

Question: So far all the attempts to rescue the world’s economies have faltered. All the bail-out plans have failed—is there really anyone amongst today’s world leaders who has the ability and genius to design a new economic system to replace the old one that’s become obsolete? Not just another system that will benefit big finance or Wall Street, but one that will also benefit the Main Street working classes and businesses?



Answer: Yes, there will come on the scene a brilliant Statesman who will possess the ability, wisdom, knowledge and boldness to put forth a new financial infrastructure, and with perfect eloquence, convince the world to adopt his new plan. This new global leader will see the need to make a total overhaul of the present mechanisms of global finance, doing away with paper currencies and credit cards, both of which have proven inadequate and obsolete for the needs of a fast moving computerized global society.



With the help of advanced electronic and computer technology he will put forth a new system to facilitate financial transactions using a micro chip implant for humans. This means that a person could take care of all his purchases at the supermarket with one wave of his micro chipped hand over the scanner and do the same to pay his phone and utility bills. With this same unique electronic process, he would be able to both buy and sell a house or car. He would have quick entry through airport security checks, as scanners at the entrance would trace the minute chip implant in his forehead, giving him immediate clearance. The security features would be outstanding as there would be no cash to steal, no credit cards to clone or on line banking accounts for con artists to target. The new global monetary format would have the capacity to chip every human on the planet and link them to a single computer system— a monitored controlled grid.

This amazing piece of information comes from bible prophecy. The bible calls this political figure, “the Antichrist.” This of course is not a very flattering name for someone who portends to bring about economic salvation to the planet, but it’s the name God has given him, a name that’s the antithesis of the real Christ. One can then conclude that if he’s the Antichrist, he must be getting his signals from a different source than Jesus did. Obviously this Antichrist is not the Hollywood version depicted with nothing but horror and ghastly beings from the nether world and frightening everyone to death. When he comes on the scene, he’ll be seen as winsome, influential and with flatteries win the masses. However, as Jesus was God in human flesh, so, in parody, the Antichrist will be the Devil in the flesh, minus the horns, tail and pitchfork.

The bottom line is that there’s a catch to all the goody goody stuff the Antichrist will be bringing about during the first years of his reign. On one hand he does manage to resolve the economic, social and political problems of the world, but on the other hand he eventually clamps down on all freedoms and establishes himself as supreme ruler over the world. He sets himself up as God, and even his superb economic plan comes laden with more toxic content than the subprime mortgage CDOs. —2 Thessalonians 2:4. The bible warns that those who receive the Antichrist’s micro-chip in their forehead or hand-- Revelation 13: 16,17 (mark of the beast), will be subject to the horrendous plagues and wrath of God that will ravish the earth in the future.-- Revelation 14:8-11. So the safest route is to not take the chip (mark of the beast), and to trust that God will continue to protect you and supply all your needs. —Philippians 4:19

Society at large will not be aware of the dark identity of this “brilliant statesman” when he arrives with the all-solution package to man’s ills. Therefore it would behoove all the readers of this article to take heed and not be deceived when this infamous personage makes his appearance on the world scene. Another clue to his appearance will be that he’ll sign some kind of peace treaty between countries, and possibly give recognition to the religious leaders of those countries; as it’s referred to in the book of Daniel as the “Holy Covenant.” –- Daniel 11:30b

According to bible prophecy he will sign this Holy Pact to put him in power and this will last for a period of 7 years. During his first 3&1/2 years he’ll be consolidating his power. –Daniel 9:27b (Week=7yrs) Then in the midst of the 7 years, he suddenly breaks the pact and declares himself as the maximum world authority-- as God-- demanding worship of himself.—2 Thessalonians 2:4 The good news is that at the end of the 7 years, Jesus returns and overthrows the Antichrist in the future battle of Armageddon. Jesus then sets Himself up as the world President or King, with His own government to rule the world for 1,000 years in peace with no more crime, wars or hate, killing or pollution.—Dan. 2:44 & Rev. 20:4

Does this sound incredible?
Some may view the preceding account as some incredible fantasy—someone’s imagination gone wild with apocalyptic madness—but this is no madness… this is for real. Perhaps it won't happen right away… we may at first see a few of these new global economic plans set up-- and fail… but we’re seeing the beginning stages of important prophetic events and ultimately the Antichrist’s economic plan will fall into place.

Consider another prophecy and its fulfillment hundreds of years into the future:
In 603 bc, the king of Babylon thought his empire was indestructible until he had a dream. The prophet Daniel came forth to explain the dream which involved an image with a head of gold, then shoulders and arms, belly, legs and feet. Daniel’s understanding of the dream was an incredible prophetic interpretation, predicting the future kingdom which was to overthrow Babylon-- Medo-Persia—but he didn’t stop there. He went on to show the King the next empires in line that would come to power—Greece, Rome, and yet another. A quick glance at the history books confirms the veracity of these prophecies as we see the names of the above empires, coming into world dominion, one right after the other. Now that was an astounding feat… to predict what kingdoms would be governing the civilized part of the future world, hundreds of years before becoming reality and taking their place in the annals of world history. –Daniel 2: 31-43- In the following chapters of the book of Daniel, many details are given, revealing which empires were to come after Babylon. It even goes as far as revealing the names of some and gives descriptions of their kings.
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Preparing for the future by being thrifty & frugal

*For the time being, the name of the game is; wind-down. Find ways to cut expenses, turn off lights you don’t use, remove light bulbs that are not essential or reduce the wattage.

*If you don’t already have your expenses budgeted, make a monthly budget now and stick to it.

*When you go to the supermarket, work with a shopping list of only your needed items and don’t buy extras or enticing stuff that yells out, “Buy me, buy me!”

*Look for bargains. Right now both food and commodity stores are having problems with too much stock and are offering very low sell-out prices.

*Monitor your usage of water; don’t just leave the shower running continuously or wash clothes unless needed. And it’s ok to let the grass be greener on the other side of the fence—if it helps reduce your water bill.

*Limit your vehicle trips. Line up your shopping and outings with other needed trips to save on gas. Join car pools.

*Avoid buying new electronic gadgets or appliances--- fix the ones you have and keep using them.

*Remember the golden rule of good finances; “If you don’t have the money, don’ buy it.” Avoid further debt like the plague. Don’t go out buying things and expecting to get the money further up ahead— don’t bank on the future. Learn to live within your income.
* * * *

Other common sense principals for times of financial crisis

* The wise thing to do now financially is to spread out your bets as much as possible on various currencies‚ having some good hard currencies, as well as some local currency, as well as some gold, as well as the real tangible assets that you need in time of trouble.

* Remember, the basic necessities of man are food, clothing, and shelter. These are things of real value to human life. Even though the value of real estate in the United States has gone down drastically, it doesn't mean that real estate doesn't have value, because even if it has devalued on the market, it has an intrinsic value of giving you a place to stay—as long as you own it and its not mortgaged.

* The dollar is climbing now, but it will eventually lose most of its value against other currencies. When that begins to happen, if you're in a place where you have to use dollars or keep some of your funds in dollars, then it makes sense to keep a certain amount of those dollars to make your purchases. But if you have funds above your current or near-term financial needs, it would be wise to put them into another currency‚ or into gold, or even into silver. Or, invest in things of real value, such as equipment you'll need, food that you could store up, water that you could store. There are important things, things of real value that will come to the fore even more as time goes on and the economic system collapses—whether those stores are goods, food, gasoline, property, gold, silver, or other currencies.

* The dollar is going to be greatly downsized. However, it will take a while, so you don't necessarily want to dump all of your dollars right now. Just be sure they're not all you're depending on, and get ready to make the transition into a new worldwide financial and economic system.

* So as far as your currency goes, have local currency, have some hard currency—that which is strong‚ relatively stable‚ and retains its value well where you are—and have some gold if you can afford it. Have a couple of hard currencies. Spread your funds between different banks, and between different investments if necessary. Make your financial foundation as diversified and strong as possible.

* The euro is based on national economies that will be more steady, stable, and enduring than that of the U.S. in the future. The dollar, on the other hand, has a shaky foundation, one which is based on debt and is eaten through with problems, but it enjoys a great measure of faith from investors. So for now the dollar is climbing in value and the euro is declining relative to it.
This condition will not last, however. The roles will be reversed again, as they were in the months leading up to this economic upheaval, and the dollar will begin to decline and the euro will begin to rise. When this happens‚ and it begins to take on momentum, then it would be a good and appropriate time for those who hold an abundance of dollars or who have invested in dollars to begin switching over to the euro—although much depends on the person and their situation…

* Stocks and financial markets are dangerous places to keep your money right now, because there is no intrinsic value in stocks and shares. I'm not saying to pull all of your money out of investments, stocks, and bonds, because some are going to make it. But you need to stick to the companies that have a solid basis of value—not necessarily a solid price on the stock market, but rather a solid basis as a company.

* Look at the food companies, the energy companies, the alternative energy companies. Look at the oil companies. Look at the water companies. Look at companies or organizations that are based on things of real value and that have real assets. Don't necessarily look at the stock price; look at the fundamentals on which the company is organized and place your bets in that direction.

From Jesus

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INTERVIEW WITH GOD

Angels and Spirits
Interview two from God on God
By Scott McGregor
God on God Copyright © 2002, Aurora Production AG, Switzerland.
All Rights Reserved



Interview Two

Interviewer: In the last interview we touched on a variety of subjects. I hope You don't mind if we try to cover some of these more in depth?
God: Not at all!
Interviewer: One subject that has received a tremendous amount of press and attention in recent years is the subject of angels. It seems every bookstore has walls lined with an endless number of books about them, not to mention the TV shows and even movies. I think this plethora of material about them just leaves most people a bit overwhelmed and unsure of what's truth and what's fiction.
God: I agree.
Interviewer: It would be wonderful if You, being the one who really is the expert on the subject, could set the record straight.
God: I would be happy to. What would you like to know?
Interviewer: For starters, what do they look like?
God: They come in a variety of … I started to say shapes and sizes, but that hardly does them justice.
Interviewer: So there is a variety. They are not all just the same plain vanilla angels.
God: My goodness, no. Plain vanilla?
Interviewer: I'm sorry! By that I was asking if they are all more or less the same, like if you've seen one you've seen them all. … Oh, I apologize again.
God: You may have offended a few talking like that. Although they're of the same basic essence, there is an infinite variety of angels, with some having more specialized tasks. Thus their looks and powers vary.
Interviewer: You say powers?
God: Yes, they all have powers, but their powers differ depending on the tasks they fulfill.
Interviewer: And what would be these tasks?
God: For instance, each person on earth is assigned a personal angel to be his or her spiritual guardian.
Interviewer: I can see the good guys having one, but You are saying that even bad people have one?
God: Yes.
Interviewer: Why?
God: I love each and every person, so I assign angels to try to help him or her. Some people don't appreciate it, though, and because of their choices in life, their angels are hard pressed to achieve much good in their lives.
Interviewer: So why have them stick around?
God: To try to help as much as they can. Each person has moments of goodness-even the worst person-and the angels capitalize on that.
Interviewer: So You are saying that things could be much worse if these angels weren't helping?
God: Yes.
Interviewer: It would seem a pretty thankless task in many instances.
God: Indeed, but that is what they are needed to do, so they are content to try to achieve as much good as they can, even when the odds are long.
Interviewer: You use the term “guardian.” That would indicate that they have some sort of protective function?
God: Yes. They try as much as possible to protect their charges, but they have to operate within certain boundaries. It helps immensely if they get the cooperation of their charges.
Interviewer: How exactly would that be?
God: If the person they are responsible for operates within the bounds of common sense, that's a start. But much more than that, it helps if their charges make an effort to listen to their guidance.
Interviewer: So the angels are communicating with us?
God: They are most certainly trying to. They do all they can to get through, but it's like calling someone on the phone. It does no good unless the other party answers.
Interviewer: So how does one answer?
God: By stopping to listen. That voice within that you hear is often your angel trying to get through to you. Another word for it is your conscience.
Interviewer: You are saying that the voice of conscience is actually angels?
God: More often than not, yes; or others of My agents. Their voices are not the only ones rattling around in people's heads, but they are certainly some of them and their voices are distinctive.
Interviewer: In what way?
God: They are the ones trying to get you to do the right thing.
Interviewer: In the previous interview, You said this was You speaking to us.
God: It is. Sometimes I speak directly; other times I go through one of My agents, which I explained are angels or spirits that I send.
Interviewer: I would like to ask more about spirits later if I may, but for now let's finish up with angels. Besides guardian angels, what other types of angels are there?
God: Some have more power than others and their types of ministry also vary. Some are known by various names on earth, such as seraphim and cherubim.
Interviewer: Oh, cherubs-the little baby cupid-like angels.
God: That is a complete misconception. In reality, My cherubim are huge, mighty, and carry much responsibility. They are not little babies.
Interviewer: Could You explain more about angels' ministries and how their power varies?
God: Some are the equivalent of soldiers. They are in combat with the forces of evil. There is a war of the worlds going on, with the good angels and good spirits on one side (My side, you might say), and the fallen angels (which are also called demons) and bad spirits on the other side. This is a war unseen by you, but you see its effects. It is a conflict that takes place in the realm of the spirit, which coexists with your material world. Those in the spirit world can see what is going on in the material, but they are limited in how they can interact with it.
Interviewer: And who's winning the war?
God: The angels! But-and here is a little-understood secret-their ability to overcome depends on the prayers of mankind.
Interviewer: You are saying that we control their powers?
God: Control is not the right word. You supplement and magnify their abilities. They do derive a great deal of power from the material world via your prayers. When you pray for a certain situation, then their ability to intervene in that situation is increased dramatically. And the more effort that you exert in your prayers, the more they can do.
Interviewer: So we should pray to the angels to…
God: No, not to the angels. The prayer is to be directed to Me. The prayers that are prayed are then transformed into spiritual energy and transferred to those angels or spirits involved in helping that situation.
Interviewer: But I think all of us have experienced times when we have prayed-sometimes intensely-for a situation, but it didn't seem to improve.
God: Well, there are many factors involved, and thus things can get rather intricate. However, I think you would have to admit that there are times when you have prayed and there were results. You can't always try to grade Me or the effect of your prayers by their seeming success or failure. All your prayers are effective. Even if the situation doesn't turn out as expected, the prayers were used to affect the outcome in some positive way, whether that is apparent or not. Just think of how badly things could have turned out if you hadn't prayed at all.
Interviewer: Indeed, that is a positive way to look at it. But since good does not always triumph, so to speak, even when there are lots of prayers involved, it does give the impression that You and Your forces are far from omnipotent.
God: That can sometimes be the impression, but I assure you it is not so.
Interviewer: Then it doesn't seem fair to me that bad things happen to innocent people when You could make everything right, supposedly with the tip of Your finger.
God: Why do you assume that the “bad” is indeed bad?
Interviewer: Because it is obvious, or at least it seems obvious, that when innocent people are hurt, maimed, killed, made homeless, or see those close to them receive similar treatment, that it is bad. There seems no good to it at all.
God: That is caused largely by man's inhumanity to man. That is not My doing.
Interviewer: Granted, but You could intervene and stop it.
God: But I have given man free choice. It wouldn't be free if I intervened.
Interviewer: Perhaps this free choice wasn't such a good idea, if because of it there is suffering.
God: Do you think it would be better if I had created man as an automaton, programmed to do exactly what I command?
Interviewer: Well, no, I guess not. You have a point there.
God: I wanted a free being who could choose to love Me and love his fellow man. It was important that man had total freedom to make his own choices, in order to have the ability to love Me and those I put in his path, to do good wholeheartedly and not as a machine. However, many misuse this freedom. They make the wrong choices, and much hurt results.
Interviewer: Are You saying You never interfere when You see people hurting other people?
God: In many cases I have stepped in, particularly in answer to prayers, and prevented more damage being done than would have been done otherwise. This is primarily done through My agents trying to get through to the hearts of the people involved, in order to persuade them to make the right choices that will undo the wrong or prevent it from happening in the first place. But if people refuse to listen, there's not that much we up here can do. I don't force people to do good, or again, it wouldn't be free choice anymore.
Interviewer: Well, I still don't understand why You can't interfere more when You see extreme suffering. It seems that people would appreciate it.
God: I sympathize entirely with those who hold this misconception. I know it is very hard to understand. It has been the thing that people have cursed Me for from the beginning of time: “Why, God, why? If You are great and powerful, You could have done something.” But they feel this way because they are shortsighted.
I do try to influence people to do good-as I just explained-or things would be much worse than they are. But in other cases, people don't understand that often by allowing difficulties and hardships I am working in their lives and the lives of all the others involved to bring about a greater good. Difficulties can shape your character for good in ways that nothing else can. Sometimes the good manifests itself right away; other times it's something that may never be evident in your current life.
Interviewer: Current life? What do You mean by that?
God: This life is not the end. It is a very transient phase in your existence, but it is in this phase and only in this phase that certain things can be experienced and the benefits derived from them. If you look at the overall scheme of things, the big picture, including eternity, there is a long life after the one you are now in, and many accounts will be balanced later. The good will be rewarded. The unjust will be punished. All will be made right; all will be settled. It is a matter of trust. I ask you to trust Me that I know what I am doing and that the end result is worth it.
Interviewer: I can tell that this is an emotional issue with You as well.
God: A very emotional issue. I do have emotions and I am not beyond being hurt. Part of love is being vulnerable, and because I am love I am vulnerable to hurt. But the fact that I can be hurt does not mean I can be conquered. I remain invincible, and in the end, all that I have planned will come to pass. True justice and love will triumph; you will see.
Interviewer: So why? Why the hurt and suffering?
God: I just tried to explain but I see that you didn't understand. Pain and suffering are indeed “bad” things and they will eventually be done away with. But at the same time there are certain aspects of the character of mankind that can only be shaped by seemingly negative things like this. Those who have known these things are “greater” than those that have not-not because they are necessarily better people but because they know what it is like to be on the receiving end of these things. I know I am making a sweeping statement here that might not seem to hold true in all cases, but nevertheless it does hold true. However, there are always many other factors involved that can affect what could be considered the desired outcome.
Interviewer: So You are saying that at the end of the day we have to trust You, even if it doesn't seem that what is happening is right and good?
God: Yes, it comes down to that. Even when it is very hard to understand, please trust Me. Remember that life is not always so hard to bear. Sometimes things go well for you, don't they?
Interviewer: Yes. But those are not the times that we feel we need Your help or an explanation.
God: So I get blamed for the bad, but not thanked for the good?
Interviewer: Unfortunately that seems to be the case, and I concede that is very unfair. I admire Your patience with us all.
God: Contrary to popular opinion, being God isn't easy! Shall we get back to angels?
Interviewer: Yes, that would be nice. Are there different levels of authority? A command structure, so to speak?
God: Yes, there are angels and over them are archangels. Then there are other angels who have specialized tasks, that have charge over My throne or over certain places.
Interviewer: Do these look different than the others?
God: Yes, but these are spiritual entities, so to describe them by describing physical characteristics is a bit futile. They can assume physical characteristics, but that is not their normal form.
Interviewer: We picture them as having wings and halos, but otherwise bodies similar to ours.
God: They do appear as having those things and they have been described accurately, for that is one form they manifest themselves in, to mankind. But they are not limited to those manifestations.
Interviewer: So why the wings? Do they signify anything?
God: Angels do not always appear with wings. When they do, some have two, some four, and some even six. The wings are manifestations of their powers, the abilities that they have to do things that man cannot. Man has always wanted to fly, and so to see these wonderful creatures that are not bound to the earth has inspired awe and wonder. I even inspired and instructed craftsmen and artists in the past to represent My angels as having wings.
Interviewer: Was that for a more primitive time?
God: “Primitive” is a misnomer. Less advanced in some fields of science and technology maybe, but I would say the horrors that man perpetrates today are more primitive and extreme in their barbarity than much that occurred during man's earlier tenure on earth. But that is another subject.
Interviewer: Do angels have names?
God: Yes. Some of them you know from biblical and other accounts, such as Gabriel and Michael.
Interviewer: Are there other names we could be told?
God: Yes, but I would like to keep that for a little later if I may.
Interviewer: Of course, if You wish. I hope You don't mind but there is one… Well, to be honest I feel a bit silly asking this question, but it is one of those questions that has come up about angels. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
God: You are right, silly question. But since you asked, the answer is none.
Interviewer: None?
God: Yes. None of them are silly enough to try dancing on pinheads.
Interviewer: Oh. I should have expected that. So tell me now about spirits. How does a departed human end up with the job of being a spirit?
God: All departed humans are spirits. The grave is not the end of a person's life. Each person's spirit continues to live after the body dies; it's just that different ones live in different places. How they end up with various jobs in their spirit stage depends on a lot of things. First, it all depends on where you decide you want to end up-Heaven or Hell. In Hell there are not many openings for jobs-at least not if you want to work for Me.
Interviewer: I don't think many of us would want a job there.
God: Yes, I assure you most people would rather not. As far as those in Heaven, their desires in the matter are a big determining factor.
Interviewer: I suppose some would look at Heaven as the ultimate vacation destination and wouldn't be too interested in getting a “job,” but would rather just relax and kick up their heels.
God: (Chuckles.) Yes, most true! Some of them really don't want to get down to any work for quite a while, and I can hardly blame them for that. But all play can be unfulfilling after a while, and then they want to get into doing something. Work is a lot more pleasurable in the heavenly realm and for most it is infinitely more rewarding than the drudgery many put up with on earth. Whatever they work at has eternal meaning and benefits. It is not as on earth, where much that you do one day has to be repeated the next to little avail.
Interviewer: So what kind of job openings would one find in the heavenly classifieds?
God: What kind of job would you like?
Interviewer: Something in an advisory capacity perhaps.
God: Perhaps we could find something for you in the “bad jokes” department. (Chuckles.) But seriously, there are innumerable opportunities. If you want to go into something advisory, how about working as a spirit helper to someone still on earth? That is a function of many spirits.
Interviewer: But I thought that each person had a guardian angel. Why would they need help from spirits too?
God: The spirits have more of a specialist instructor role. They are usually sent for some specific purpose, and that purpose can be long or shortterm. The guardian angel, though, is a permanent assignment.
Interviewer: Can You elaborate on what the “specialist instructor” does?
God: Well, say there is a specific task that someone has. Writing a book might be one. The assigned spirit would normally bring some expertise to the subject-perhaps an intimate knowledge of the subject of the book, or perhaps a talent for writing.
Interviewer: Would anybody who sat down to write a book get one of these helpers?
God: No, not necessarily. There would have to be a compelling reason for sending a spirit to help, and usually it would in some way be to serve My overall purpose for mankind.
Interviewer: Which is?
God: My goodness, didn't we cover that? Why, to get as many people as possible to eventually come live in Heaven.
Interviewer: So in the case of the writer, these helping spirits would be trying in some way to get the writer to say something in his book like, “Want to go to Heaven?”
God: Not exactly, but they would at least be trying to help the writer say something that might get his readers thinking in some way about the reality of the spirit world, or of Me. Or even trying to get them at least to want to do some good in the world, help their fellow man, be a bit more-or a lot more-altruistic or kind or just or show more consideration to others. Things along these lines. These are all manifestations of love, which are manifestations of Me.
Interviewer: But knowing how difficult it seems for us here to stay attuned to the spiritual, it must be a very frustrating assignment to be a spiritual companion to someone on earth.
God: It can be, but when the person is in tune and everything goes as it should, it is one of the most rewarding experiences there can be. Oftentimes the spirits ask to be assigned to someone they have an affinity with-a descendant or relative, a friend, someone who has similar interests, even one's spouse or children. Aside from deriving pleasure out of just plain helping someone they like and love, they in a sense also get to live their lives over and help that person succeed at something they didn't or accomplish something that they had always wanted to.
Sometimes they can get a little too eager and some of their thoughts and memories of their lives on earth are transferred to their charge. It can seem to the one on the receiving end that he or she is getting a flashback of a former life.
Interviewer: Does this explain the theory of reincarnation then?
God: Yes, it does. Those people getting thoughts of another life are actually experiencing the memories of a previous lifetime as though they themselves have lived before. In reality, they are usually the memories of the spirit helping them.
Interviewer: Are the spirit guides out of line in projecting their thoughts like this?
God: Once in awhile, yes, but mostly it happens accidentally. The trouble is, once those thoughts are in the mind of the one on earth, they are there permanently. Although not in conscious mind all the time, these memories can be activated by things like hypnotism or some sort of trauma, or even by something positive emotionally. This can lead to some rather complicated situations.
Interviewer: And some rather mixed-up people through no fault of their own.
God: Well, you can't draw such sweeping conclusions. Although there is some fault on the spirit's side, a lot of people make the wrong assumption. A little more caution and level-headedness might cause them to consider the evidence more thoughtfully and not jump to conclusions.
Interviewer: Any last word about angels and spirits?
God: Are we drawing to a close already? Time flies. We who live in eternity are not constrained by time, but that is another subject too. Hopefully that will whet your appetite for more.
To close on angels and spirits, I would like to say that all the forces of Heaven are fighting for the right. Although it may at times look as though the other side is winning, My angels are much stronger and more numerous than the fallen ones, and My plan will not fail to come to pass. Good will triumph and the victory of My heavenly forces is assured. So you may in full confidence put your money on My side as being the one to win eventually. In fact, you can bet your life on it.
Interviewer: I am sure the readers will appreciate that hot tip. Thank You for coming again. Can we look forward to more of these tête-à-têtes?
God: Most assuredly.

This manuscript is property of Aurora Production AG, Switzerland.

GOD on GOD
What On Earth Was He Thinking?

Scott McGregor

ISBN: 3-03730-016-7

By Scott McGregor
Design by Giselle LeFavre

God on God Copyright © 2002, Aurora Production AG, Switzerland.
All Rights Reserved.
www.auroraproduction.com

PEACE IN THE MIDST OF THE FINANCIAL, FUEL, DEBT, CRISIS STORM

By Carlos A. Cedillo
No one expected a financial problem in the sub-prime mortgage sector last year to flare up and cause major repercussions for the U.S. economy and global markets. No one really understood what Peak Oil was and that it meant the world’s oil supplies are on the down curb and with U.S. reserves running dangerously low. The fallout on this is that the barrel of oil went from $60 dollars in early 2007, to today’s current $147-- more than doubled in price in one year… and predictions of it rising to $170 later this summer. At the gas pump this translates into an average of $4.00 a gallon for gas and heading for the $5.00 mark. The effect of the price hikes have also been seen in the failing sales and layoff of workers for some of the biggest auto manufacturers such as Ford, Chrysler and GM. This has led some people to abandon their big pickups and SUV’s for the small economy models that don’t guzzle gas like it’s going out of style. In Utah, thousands of state employees are going on a four day work week to save energy.

Some folks who foresaw the fuel crisis ingeniously found the means to convert corn, sugar cane and other farm foods into ethanol fuel as a desperate measure to counter-act the acute oil shortages… only to find out it’s too little, too late and too costly. Then another malady surfaced … due to the high percentage of corn (1/3 of US corn) that is going into making the fuel substitute, the price of food has gone up incredibly. Add this to the faltering wages that can’t keep up with these rising prices, the high unemployment rate, big banks and businesses going broke and General Motors on the verge of bankruptcy… well you’ve got a pretty shaky scenario… the U.S. is changing as we know it… right before our eyes on CNN every night.

All of the above is enough to make anyone nervous about their job and how they’re going to pay the bills, how they’re going to keep up with the price of gas and food and clothes, etc. Apprehension about the future is widespread. Even business men in Mexico and abroad are concerned about the current U.S. recession as many are holding dollars and their economies are tied in to the states and what is affecting things here, is affecting things there. It’s a time to reflect about where all this is going and how we’re going to survive it all.

The God Factor

Some folks may not be used to looking to God for help-- usually there’s enough cash in the bank or enough property or nice housing to give us a feeling of “security” and well being. If all else fails, there’s nothing like eating out at Luby’s or a shopping spree at Wal-Mart to make us feel all better. But when all these physical things begin to evaporate before our eyes, when you find that your corporate $250 stocks dwindled to $2.00—then we realize there’s none of the regular stand-by crutches to hold on to anymore-- then it’s time to hold on to God.

God can take any problem you want to give him, He can handle any load you want to give him… and he can deliver you out of all your calamities and troubles. Jesus can give you peace of mind so that you can make it through the storm.

Question: I haven’t thought about God in a long time… I don’t know if He’ll want to help me… I’m not in good shape, spiritually… I don’t read the bible, don’t go to church. Why would He want to help me now?

Answer: God still loves you… even if you left Him, He’s never left you… He’s been there for you all along…just waiting for the time when you’d need Him and call out to Him. He’s not asking that you go to church or read the bible… He’s only asking that you believe in Him… believe that He can help you now… and to include Him in your life…to lean on Him in times of trouble.

INFLATION OR DEFLATION?

What is inflation and what causes it?
Written in 1974 by David Brandt Berg





IN THE GREAT ECONOMIC DEPRESSION OF THE LATE 20'S AND 30'S THE POST WORLD WAR I DEPRESSION, THEY HAD NO ECONOMIC GUARANTEES on wages, no price supports, nothing to keep wages and prices up. So when the economic crash came, the war boom burst immediately, because of the production slowdown caused by the end of the war. (See also "War, Boom, Bust!" No. H.) They weren't making any more guns and munitions, etc. The boom had been caused by the war and when they stopped making munitions for the war, this threw a lot of people out of work and so the war boom burst!

A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE OUT OF JOBS and there was no social security, no guarantees of wages, nothing for the poor man except starvation. They either cut his wages way down or threw him out of work entirely. When people didn't have jobs and had very little money, the prices also fell, because the people didn't have enough money to buy anything.


THEY COULDN'T EVEN BUY NECESSITIES, MUCH LESS LUXURIES. Many other industries virtually went out of business, not only the war businesses, but the appliance businesses, etc., went broke too! The auto business was one of the first places where people cut their spending, because it's a luxury to buy a new car, and if everybody does that, then the auto business can go broke the first year because nobody buys a new car. They keep the old car, the old refrigerators, and the old houses as well!

THEY JUST KEPT THE OLD ONES AND PATCHED THEM UP because they didn't have any money to buy new ones, which is what they should have been doing in the first place. If it happens now with so many people tied up with time and mortgage payments, they'll all go bankrupt. So the car industry nearly went broke, and some of them did, or at least went way down. I can tell you half a dozen to a dozen car manes that exist no longer because they went broke in the Great Depression. Only the big money boys survived, like General Motors, Ford, etc., and they bought up many other makes of cars.

THE MORE INDUSTRIES THAT WENT BROKE, THE MORE PEOPLE THERE WERE OUT OF WORK, and therefore, the more people there were that didn't have money to spend! It was a vicious cycle, a downward spiral that just couldn't stop, and industry kept cutting prices to where people could afford to still buy. This meant that both wages and prices spiraled downward, prices following wages so the people could buy something.--This was the deflation. Now when both wages and prices are lowered, then your money actually buys more, so its value is actually higher. Believe it or not, this is called deflation. In a deflation (or depression) the money's value grows because it buys more to pay more wages and pay more prices, etc. So the monetary system actually increases in value, not numerically but in buying power.

THE END OF THAT DOWNWARD SPIRAL WAS THAT ALL THE POOR WOUND UP WITH ALMOST NOTHING AND NEAR STARVATION, except for the public works programs that FDR put on where they were working for one dollar a day on a "make-work" project. He just declared or decreed that certain dams be built and certain places be reforested and bridges and roads built, all kinds of big "works project" where they sent thousands of people out to do these jobs. The government just took a lot of money and spent it! A lot of it was from borrowed securities and bonds. This was when one dollar a day could keep you alive, and it was called the WPA: Works Projects Administration.

THIS RESULTED IN THE POORMAN AND LITTLE BUSINESSMAN LOSING EVERYTHING. They were gobbled up by big business, the big corporations and big banks who had enough money to buy them up. Whatever cash they had was worth more now because they could buy them up at these low prices and pay low wages.

THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO BENEFITTED FROM THE DEPRESSION WERE THE ONES WHO HAD LOTS OF MONEY, cash. The depression really favoured big business--The guys who had lots of money to survive because their money was worth even more. This was not inflation, this was deflation which benefitted big business.

SO THE BIG POWERFUL LABOUR UNIONS, THE POLITICIANS, THE MIDDLE CLASS AND THE LITTLE BUSINESSMEN WHO HAD BEEN WIPED OUT DETERMINED THEY'D NEVER LET IT HAPPEN TO THE COMMON MAN AGAIN! He was never again going to be totally thrown out of work with no money and where his buying power would fall so low that the prices crashed along with the wage collapse. From that time on there were going to be guaranteed wages and guaranteed unemployment insurance with the government footing the bill, along with big business having to pay part of the bill. Big business then, of course, insisted that they also have guaranteed prices. So they put so many safeguards on the wages and prices that they'd never collapse again like they did in the Depression.

BUT WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DID WAS TO VIRTUALLY GUARANTEE PERPETUAL INFLATION, THAT WAGES AND PRICES WOULD CONTINUE TO RISE AND NEVER GO DOWN AGAIN! Every time big business hiked their prices, labor would hike its wages, and then business would say it had another excuse to hike its prices because wages went up. It became a vicious cycle, an inflationary spiral. It was impossible for prices and wages to decline because they were guaranteed by governments who never wanted to see another depression.

SO WHAT RESULTED WAS A PERMANENT INFLATIONARY SPIRAL of prices and wages, and a permanent constant continual inflation of money so that the money continues to buy less and less and less, and its value goes down and down and down. The higher the wages and prices go up, the less your money can buy. The higher the prices go, the higher the wages go, but the rich make sure the wages are never able to catch up with the prices. So they just keep going up and up and up and the money buys less and less, until finally the money is worth almost nothing compared to what its value used to be.

NOW THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HURTING ARE THE BIG MONEY BOYS, because now their money is inflating and exploding in an inflation explosion. Now it's the big investors, big business, big money and big governments whose money is dwindling down to nothing so it can't even buy much any more. In spite of the fact that industry is slowing down and therefore unemployment is increasing, there are so many safety guarantees to keep wages up and to give unemployment insurance and to keep prices up that there is still inflation in spite of a recession or depression right now this minute picking up speed!

THE STRANGE THING THAT'S HAPPENING IS THAT THE INFLATION IS PICKING UP SPEED RIGHT ALONG WITH THE DEPRESSION, just the opposite of what happened in the Great Depression. This time they're not only going to have a big depression, or economic collapse, which in days past benefitted the big money boys, but it is also going to bring about the collapse of big investors, governments, everybody! It's going to take the money down with it!--And Capitalism!

THAT'S WHAT THE LORD SHOWED US! We'll be paying three pounds or the old equivalent of seven dollars for a can of soup before long, and they won't even sell you a round trip ticket because the price of a ticket will increase faster than you can use it!

SO WHAT IS IT GOING TO DO TO THE SMALL LANDOWNER, small home owner, small business owner and the payments makers? Well, the actual value of the payments is declining so it'll actually make it easier for them to make their payments.--If they have anything to make them with! The people that own property are going to be better off than the people renting, because unless the governments control the rents, the rents are going to rise right along with the prices. Whereas, the people who are buying or leasing on a long term contract are actually going to be paying less and less for their property because of the decreasing value of the money.

THE BUYING PRICES OF PROPERTY WILL SKYROCKET, but the people who've already bought or who are already on contracts are going to benefit if they have any money at all to keep up the payments. For example: During the Depression we bought a house for 25 dollars down and 25 dollars a month. Well, that 25 dollars would be the equivalent of 250 dollars down and 250 dollars a month now, for as wages and prices go up the actual value of those 25 dollars a month payments has gone up. If the people are getting any money at all guaranteed by governments, they'll be able to meet the payments even more easily because of the inflation. It was always our policy before, because of the experience of the previous Depression when prices crashed along with the Depression and the value of everything went down, that it didn't pay to buy but rather it paid to rent, because rents were down in deflation.

BUT THIS TIME THE PRICES ARE NOT GOING TO CRASH BUT THEY'RE GOING TO EXPLODE AND CAUSE THE MONETARY SYSTEM TO CRASH INSTEAD. That's the difference between the inflation of today and the deflation of yesterday's Depression. The fellow who has bought or is buying on a contract is going to benefit because he'll already have it, and its value will skyrocket. If he has any income at all to keep up his payments, or especially if he's already got it paid for, then this is a totally different situation from the last Depression. This time they've guaranteed wages and prices are going to go up as the value of money goes down, just as the Lord has shown us.

SO IF YOU'RE GOING TO BUY ANYTHING, THE TIME IS NOW and the sooner the better. That's one reason there is a boom of land and property buying right now. Smart investors know that's where they can put their money and it'll be fairly safe and they'll have something to show for it. Whereas, the value of everything else which has a monetary price on it, like stocks, bonds, cash, etc. will actually decline, just like they're going down now. Their real value is shrinking because of the inflationary explosion.

THE "GREEN PAPER PIG" (Writing by Berg on the dollar) IS EXPANDING just like when you blow up a balloon. There's actually no more balloon there than when you started. It's just getting thinner and thinner and filled with more and more hot air and stretching further and further till it bursts. This is what the Lord showed us about the "Paper Pig", until finally it can't stretch any further and it explodes! That's why the Lord showed us even as far back as several years ago to buy gold then. The same is true of real estate or houses, buildings and lands.

IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO USE THE LAND FOR SOMETHING TO LIVE IN OR ON, ITS VALUE IS GOING TO INCREASE along with its price. So it is better to buy now because both prices and rents are going to go up. The only safe thing to do is have it already bought. At the end of our present contracts what are they going to be worth? If you're a farmer and know how to grow food, then a farm is the best place to buy so you have food along with your place to live. That's even better than gold because you can't eat gold!

THAT'S WHY THE BIG INVESTORS ARE NOW BUYING FOOD COMMODITIES ALONG WITH GOLD. They're now not only buying this year's crops, which haven't even been harvested yet, but they're also buying next year's crops and crops as far as four years ahead because they want to make sure they're going to get them at this year's prices. But that's probably going to cause a collapse too because by that time, or maybe even before, the growers won't even be able to afford to grow them. The price that was paid one, two, three, four years ago won't even pay for the cost of the crop, so they'll collapse--if it even lasts that long! But, of course, along with the collapse of big business, big money and big banks will come the collapse of big governments.

HOWEVER, BEFORE THE GOVERNMENTS WILL COLLAPSE OR ALLOW THEIR BIG BANKS OR BIG BUSINESS OR BIG MONEY BOYS TO COLLAPSE, THEY'LL START A WAR. They're going to blame it all on the oil, like they're doing right now, that the inflation is all because of the oil prices.--Which isn't true! But at least it's a good excuse to take the people's minds off their domestic problems…
BUY PROPERTIES ON LONG TERMS with low payments, and I believe they'll be protected for the next year or two because I think rents will skyrocket along with all other costs and prices and wages. Of course, many things are going to become scarce and almost impossible to buy soon, so the same is true of any other major purchases. If you can afford to buy it outright right now, or better yet on very long term payments so you don't have to put out all that cash right now, then I'd advise you to buy it now.




D.B. Berg

SUB-PRIME MORTGAGE CRISIS



Part 1

What’s the story on the Sub-prime Mortgage Crisis?
People want to know what happened... "What caused sub-prime mortgage mess and how did it spread to the point of impacting the worlds markets and how and how will this affect me?"

This economic Tsunami began early in 2006 and by 2007 was affecting the entire US economic system and its waves causing upheavals in nations around the world. Now in 2008 eyes are still widening with the evidence of ongoing economic repercussions not likely to fade away in the near future.
* * * *

(Compiled from Family International publications)

Mortgages

World Book encyclopedia describes mortgages as follows:
A mortgage is a loan agreement that enables a person to borrow money to buy a house or other property. The property is used as security for the loan. The lender may take possession of the property if the loan is not repaid on time. A person can obtain a mortgage from a bank, insurance company, mortgage company, savings and loan association, or other financial institutions. Most mortgage agreements require the mortgager to repay the loan in monthly installments over a period of 20 years or more. Part of each payment goes toward the unpaid balance of the loan, called the principal, and part toward the interest. If the borrower misses a number of payments, the lender may foreclose the mortgage. Foreclosure is a legal procedure by which the lender takes over the mortgaged property. The lender then may sell the property, keep the amount owed, and give the borrower the rest [if any]. [Editor: Or, to put it very simply, a mortgage is when someone lends you money to buy a house, with the understanding that if you can't repay the loan, they'll repossess the house.]

A form of mortgage that's much in the news lately is what's called a subprime mortgage—a housing loan to those with poor or shaky credit. Author Bill Bonner describes one such case in his book Empire of Debt (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2006):
"My daughter is only twenty-five," wrote a friend, "but she just bought a house in Northern Virginia. Of course, she mortgaged most of it. But can you believe that they lent her $275,000? Is that crazy, or what? She works as a bartender, part time. She's very responsible, but I can't believe they would lend her that much money. How do they think she will pay it back?"

Cause and effect
Why would banks encourage people to buy homes they can't afford, taking out loans they can't repay? And why would this sort of behavior have international repercussions? Journalist David Leonhardt explains in a New York Times article:
How is it that a mess concentrated in one part of the mortgage business—subprime loans—has frozen the credit markets, sent stock markets gyrating, caused the collapse of [the fifth largest investment bank] Bear Stearns, left the economy on the brink of the worst recession in a generation, and forced the Federal Reserve to take its boldest action since the Depression?

Let's go back to the beginning. It really started in 1998, when large numbers of people decided that real estate had become a bargain. At the same time, Wall Street was making it easier for buyers to get loans. It was transforming the mortgage business from a local one to a global one, in which investors from almost anywhere could pool money to lend.

Those same global investors demanded good returns. Wall Street had an answer: subprime mortgages.

Because these loans go to people stretching to afford a house, they come with higher interest rates—even if they're disguised by low initial rates—and thus higher returns. The mortgages were then sliced into pieces and bundled into investments, often known as collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs. Once bundled, different types of mortgages could be sold to different groups of investors.
Investors then increased their returns through leverage. They made $100 million bets with only $1 million of their own money and $99 million in debt. If the value of the investment rose to just $101 million, the investors would double their money.

(Wikipidia- In finance, leverage (or gearing) is using given resources in such a way that the potential positive or negative outcome is magnified. It generally refers to using borrowed funds, or debt, so as to attempt to increase the returns to equity.)
Home buyers did the same thing, by putting little money down on new houses, notes Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com. The Fed under Alan Greenspan helped make it all possible, sharply reducing interest rates, to prevent a recession after the technology bust of 2000, and then keeping them low for several years.

All these investments, of course, were highly risky. Higher returns on investments almost always come with greater risk. But people—by "people," I'm referring here to Mr. Greenspan, Mr. Bernanke, the top executives of almost every Wall Street firm and a majority of American homeowners—decided that the usual rules didn't apply because home prices nationwide had never fallen before.

The American home seemed like such a sure bet that a huge portion of the global financial system ended up owning a piece of it. That left them on the hook when homeowners who had taken out a wishful-thinking mortgage could no longer get out of it by flipping their house for a profit.

Many of these bets [by banks and other investors] were not huge, but were so highly leveraged that any losses became magnified. If that $100 million investment I described above were to lose just $1 million of its value, the investor who put up only $1 million would lose everything.

"If anything goes awry, these dominoes fall very fast," said Charles R. Morris, a former banker who tells the story of the crisis in a new book, The Trillion Dollar Meltdown.

This toxic combination of bad investments and their potential to mushroom has shocked Wall Street into a state of deep conservatism. The soundness of any investment firm depends largely on other firms having confidence that it has real assets standing behind its bets. So firms are now hoarding cash instead of lending it, until they understand how bad the housing crash will become and how exposed to it they are. Any institution that seems to have a high-risk portfolio [set of investments], regardless of whether it has enough assets to support the portfolio, faces the double whammy of investors demanding their money back and lenders shutting the door in their face. Goodbye, Bear Stearns.

The conservatism has gone so far that it's affecting many solid would-be borrowers, which, in turn, is hurting the broader economy and aggravating Wall Street's fears.

Bubbles lead to busts. Busts lead to panics. And panics can lead to long, deep economic downturns.

How could subprime mortgage loans take out the whole global financial system? That's how. ("Can't grasp credit crisis? Join the club," David Leonhardt, NY Times, March 19, 2008.)

Sub- Prime Mortgage Crisis
Part 2

Flipping, and later flopping

The problem wasn't confined to the subprime mortgage market, either. Housing prices went up so rapidly that many people, even those with good credit and decent incomes, decided that investing in it was a sure thing. Empire of Debt describes the process of flipping which was mentioned earlier—buying a house on credit and holding on to it for a little while, as its value inflated, and then selling it for a profit:

The cost of housing, in many areas of the country, was not just inflating—it was blowing up like a front-seat air bag. … Buyers were not looking for a place to live; they were speculating—betting that [they'd make] enough money to make them rich.

One genius buys a condo before it is built. He flips it to another investor, who holds it until it is completed, making a bundle when he sells it to a professional couple who intend to stay for two years and then sell (at a huge profit) to other buyers. All of them are making the smart moves—buying with little money down and making minimum monthly payments on adjustable rate mortgages. And all of them are getting richer—or so they believe—as long as prices continue to rise.

The problem, of course, was that housing prices didn't continue to rise. An AP article describes the downward spiral that resulted:
When [housing prices] began to crumble, so did financial stability.
The same people who made a financial stretch to buy their homes are now defaulting on the loans at alarming rates. Many are "upside down" on their loans, meaning they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.

[Editor: For example, perhaps someone took out a $250,000 mortgage on a new house, figuring that they'd sell it when its value reached $300,000 and make a tidy profit. They could put a few thousand dollars down, get a mortgage that had low interest rates for the first year, and make a $50,000 profit in no time. But suddenly housing prices fell and no one was interested in buying their house for $300,000, or $250,000, for that matter. The value of their house had been inflated in the first place, and they're having trouble selling it for any amount of money now. But they have a $250,000 mortgage loan they owe, and suddenly interest rates are rising inexorably. Flipping has turned into floundering, and flopping.]
Nearly 9 million households now have upside-down mortgages, and for the first time ever, mortgage debt is bigger than the total value of homeowner equity [cash invested]—bigger by $836 billion, according to research by Merrill Lynch.

The housing problem set off the dominoes: Surging defaults meant the mortgage-backed securities plunged in value. Bear Stearns found itself in the cross hairs. Rumors began to swirl [as people wondered] whether it had ample reserves to cover potential losses. Clients and investors began to demand their money back.

"I think the current financial crisis looks to me like the worst one since we got into the Depression," says Richard Sylla, who teaches the history of financial institutions at New York University's Stern School of Business.

Economists and market historians seem to agree that this is more than a typical, cyclical slump. And the X-factor that sets it apart—determining how deep the wounds from the mortgage mess really are—also makes it impossible to map the path of the downturn. ("US Ponders: How Deep Is Economic Abyss?" Rachel Beck and Erin McClam, Associated Press, March 23, 2008.)

"They didn't really know…"
The mortgages which were sold to banks, pension funds, and investors around the world were packaged in such a complex way that they practically defied understanding. As a result, many financial firms aren't even sure how much money they've lost yet—or how much the remainder of their mortgage-backed assets are worth.

Bill Bonner, writing in his Daily Reckoning newsletter, reports on his conversation with a source who is very close to the Bear Stearns situation:

"What went wrong?" we wanted to know. "How could this group of very smart accountants, lawyers, and investment pros have been so wrong about what they had in their own portfolios?"

"Well, they didn't really know. And they still don't really know," said our source. "They have no reliable way of knowing what their 'assets' are worth. They're … marked to whatever fantasy they have in their heads at the moment. When the fantasy was positive, the assets were worth something. When the fantasy turned into a nightmare, they panicked and wanted to get rid of them in the worst possible way.

"And the really scary thing is that the other financial institutions are in much the same situation. They don't really know what they have … or what it is worth. There are almost certainly some more horror stories that will be coming out." (The Daily Reckoning, March 20, 2008.)

Banks, financial firms and companies around the world are apprehensive about what will happen next, as are economists.
"It's going to go from bad to worse. … This is certainly the worst financial crisis in the last 50 or 60 years," says Kenneth Rogoff, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund and now an economics professor at Harvard.

Today's financial problems could likely be seen as "the most wrenching since the end of the second world war," Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan wrote in the Financial Times (March 17, 2008).

The root of the problem
(Jesus:) The root of the problem is the same as it has been for centuries: credit, which leads to debt that spirals into ever greater debt. Then those who are lenders gamble that they can make even more money by devising new and more lucrative ways for people to go more deeply into debt, while the people themselves gamble on what they consider a sure thing, just what they need to pay off their debts, or set themselves up for retirement, or finance their lifestyles, etc.

Credit has become the drug of choice of the modern world, far more widespread than any other. Individuals, companies and governments must have their fix of it, for they are addicted to it, and the withdrawal symptoms are too painful to endure. Life without credit means no future debt is possible, and often their present debt is so large and overwhelming that they cannot go on without another credit fix.

Like many drug users, however, they do not see that they have a problem. They're surrounded by other users who are in similar situations. "Credit and debt are just the way of the world, a necessity, and nothing to worry about. Everyone does it and no one's especially concerned about it. Besides, it feels good and helps make life more enjoyable. I need it. I've got to have it."

Occasionally the "users," the debtors, feel the pain of their addiction and regret what they've gotten themselves into; but a fresh infusion of credit brings relief and temporary surcease from the pain. (End of message.)

(C.A.C.) What is the economic condition in the US? Everyone’s in debt. They’re in debt on a personal level, corporate and government level. Everyone is spending dollars they don’t have, living above their means. And how can they get so much money to buy big fancy cars and TVs and furniture and whatnot? How can they afford it?—well they can’t—It’s all bought on credit.
* * * *

(David Brandt Berg) Rich people have borrowed themselves into debts that they can never repay! Poor people the same. Middle class people the same. So if the slightest little thing gets out of balance or goes off in any way, the whole thing crashes like a bunch of dominoes! And who do you suppose can jerk the rug out and make it happen so that everybody loses everything, including the government, and can't pay? Everybody loses but the ones who loaned the money and now own everything! They loaned the money on the house, now they own the house. They loaned the money on the car, now they own the car. They loaned the money on the property, now they own the property! They loaned the money on the business, now they own the business. They loaned the money on the industry, now they own the industry! Those are the facts; that's how it works!

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April 13, 2008




RETURN OF THE KING

Is The Lord of the Rings a prophetic vision of our present tumultuous times when war, violence, greed, hatred and destruction threaten to envelop us in darkness?


The world is changing: I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, I smell it in the air. —J.R.R. Tolkien

In his epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien transports us to Middle Earth where the evil forces of Sauron, Lord of Mordor, have brought great darkness throughout the land. Although the parallels with today's war-filled world are obvious, there has been much debate about whether The Lord of the Rings was written as an allegory. Tolkien himself stated that he "dislikes allegory in all its manifestations." Later, however, Tolkien wrote, "Of course, Allegory and Story converge, meeting somewhere in Truth." What is the "Truth" that Tolkien's stories impart?

Prophets and seers throughout the ages have foretold a cataclysmic end of the world. Nostradamus wrote in his quatrains of a final "antichrist" and a fiery, bloody great war: "By fire he will destroy their city. A cold and cruel heart. Blood will pour. Mercy to none." The Hebrew prophets Isaiah and Daniel predicted that in the time of the end "there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time;" and "darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people." Jesus also warned His disciples that in these last days, "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Many prophecy scholars agree that the world stage is rapidly being set for the final great showdown between the forces of good and evil. In the book of Revelation the prophet John envisioned an unearthly creature rising from the depths, a monster that derives his power from a dragon representative of the powers of darkness: "I saw a beast rise up out of the sea…and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority." According to numerous Biblical prophecies, this beast is personified in a powerful political figure who will unite the globe into a one-world government and demand the allegiance of all nations. "And all the world marveled and followed the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?' ... And power was given him [the beast] over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

Although The Lord of the Rings describes an unthinkable evil, the underlying message is that there is always hope in the face of great darkness. When asked about Frodo's efforts to struggle on and destroy the ring, Tolkien said, "That seems more like an allegory of the human race. I've always been impressed that we're here surviving because of the indomitable courage of quite small people against impossible odds. ... They struggle on, almost blindly in a way." With so much darkness we can be tempted to wonder what's the use of a little light, a little good, a little love.

"Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."

This message of hope for the meek, the weak, the powerless, and the downtrodden that is central to The Lord of the Rings was proclaimed by Jesus when He said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." Jesus was not born in power, but in meekness. His life began in a humble stable, His father was a simple carpenter, and His disciples were unlearned fishermen. He was a "companion of harlots," and was called a demon-possessed bastard by the self-righteous religious leaders of His day who finally crucified Him to stop the spread of His doctrine that threatened to overthrow their powerful religious establishment.

"This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields, to shake the towers and counsels of the Great. Who of all the Wise could have foreseen it?"

Jesus' radical message that brought such fear to the hearts of the ruling powers of His time was a message of love—true love, the love of God and the love of fellowman—the greatest force in the universe that will ultimately vanquish all evil. It is man's rejection of the love of God and His loving laws that causes him to be selfish, unloving, vicious, and cruel—man's inhumanity to man, which is so apparent in today's weary world with its enslavement by oppression, tyranny, exploitation and the tortures of war. All of these evils are caused by man's lack of love for God and each other and defiance of His laws of love and faith and peace and harmony with Him, each other, and His whole creation.

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater. Some there are among us who sing that the Shadow will draw back and peace shall come again."

When Jesus was cruelly crucified, it seemed that the lights had gone out in the world and that His message of love had been quenched. But He had promised His disciples that His Spirit would live on in them as they spread the light of His love to others. He also said that He would one day return to conquer evil, hatred and all the wicked works of the Dark Lord and establish God's kingdom of love on Earth. That day is coming soon! You can have Jesus' spirit of love within your heart by praying this simple prayer: "Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and that You died for me. Forgive all the things I've done wrong and give me Your gift of eternal life.




(All italicized text is taken from The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R.Tolkien.)

Truth
or Fabrication?

The DA VINCI CODE

Fiction, Fact or History?

Pt-1

By Carlos A. Cedillo

Will it change western religion as we know it?—or will it strengthen Christian faith?

Dan Brown has caused a Tsunami in religious and secular society with his best seller and Hollywood production, The Da Vinci Code. The novel is a blend of suspense, mystery, drama and history—it touches on polemical events from Christian history and combines with code breaking in a complex scheme at the Louvre in France. Thus the story develops—immersed in obscurity and controversy.

What makes the book controversial?—Brown gives the reader a surreal flashback into history, searching out key religious events such as the Council of Nicaea of 325 AD, and a secret society-- the Priory of Sion. But there are other baffling theological aspects presented in the book-- provokingly designed to make the reader question what is truth concerning Jesus and the bible. His array of information – some factual as Brown claims in the introduction -- presents religious issues in an unexpected manner….affirming that almost everything taught by Christianity on Christ is false—that His divinity was the result of a voting process at the Council of Nicaea. Before the reader can digest the assault on Christ's divinity, the book jumps into an astounding diatribe that envisions Mary Magdalene as the figure to the right of Jesus in the famous Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci—not just envisions her as participating in Jesus’ Last Supper… but in his life as a pair-- as married.

At this point the reader will probably feel the need to double check Dan’s introduction…”Did he say it was fiction-- fact—or what?” --because unlike a novel or fiction, this writing presents certain historical events in such fashion as to cast doubt on the basic tenets of Christian belief and faith. The story subtly comes across as a true rendering of information and knowledge-- weaving back and forth between segments of real history and distorted history. In the first chapters it zeros in on a secret association whose historical origin lies amidst a twilight zone of partial truths, reality and non truths. Those who read the book may conclude that what they are reading is factual and true. Nevertheless, that uncertainty is shattered by the resulting evidence of thourough research and the simple truth, revealing key portions of this book to be cunningly crafted fabrication.

Now let’s examine some important aspects of the historical and religious pieces of this intricate mystery and the theological implications surrounding the Da Vinci Code.

Divinity of Jesus

The real purpose for the 300 bishops convening at the first Council of Nicaea (325 AD) was to oppose the Arius hypothesis on Jesus-

Arius had been in opposition to the fundamental aspects of Christian faith since early in the 3^rd century. His claim was that Jesus was a creature, a mere mortal, liable to fall, etc. It’s interesting to note that Arius came from Egypt where pagan religions were flourishing—the cult of Sol Invictus being the main one. This latter one worshiped the sun… considered as the Lord of the Roman Empire. It’s very likely there was religious jealousy and intolerance of the new religious movement of the early Christians. This was made evident by the extreme religious persecution that was leveled on Christians residing in Egypt.

The religious turmoil and division within the Roman Empire brought on by the Arius anti-divinity of Christ doctrines—made imperative the need of a formalized document that would encase the present Christian beliefs in God.— Beliefs and faith practiced as far back as AD 60 with the book of Mark (1) – and particularly the need for clarification of Jesus as the Son of God, as consubstantial or of the same substance as the Father. A vote was taken by the 300 bishops at the Council of Nicaea in favor of the new statement of faith, termed the Nicene Creed. But as such, there was no instance where the bishops were suddenly inspired to vote in Jesus as a divine entity-- as if it had just dawned on them who he was. As already mentioned, Jesus as the Son of God was at that time an established belief, as well as the resurrection. Even though Christian belief in the resurrection was not yet formulated in writing, it can be traced to within two years of that very event (2).

Concerning Arius, the Council voted unanimously against him and had his doctrine condemned-- and he was promptly sent into exile at Constantine’s command. This was the second time Arius was sent into exile—the first time was in 319 A.D. when Alexander condemned and exiled him for trying to prop up doctrine against the divinity of Jesus.

The Priory of Sion—proof of Jesus Christ’s royal bloodline through Mary Magdalene— or fabrication?

In the DVC introduction, Brown inserts a page of information on the secret society mentioned in his book--The Priory of Sion and the Dossiers Secrets—referring to these as fact. This alleged Priory is supposed to have been a secret society set up in the 11^th century. According to the narrative, its purpose was to preserve a secret having to do with the bloodline of Jesus Christ. The story claims that in 1975, certain documents or parchments were discovered at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, known as the Dossiers Secrets (3). The DVC lists the dignified members who purportedly belonged to the association…. Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo and Leonardo da Vinci.

The documents found at the Paris library seemed to support the original story that took place in Rennes-le-Chateau, Paris—this story [Later shown to be a fabrication of Plantard, as well as the Dossiers Secrets (4)] was published in a book by Pierre Plantard, titled L’Or de Rennes (“Rennes’ Gold”) in 1967. However—in real life-- it was later discovered that it was not the librarians (as narrated in the DVC) but the associates of Plantard who found the documents in the library-- the same ones who planted the forged documents to begin with. Plantard’s book is about a buried treasure that was uncovered by Father Berenger Sauntiere at the village of Rennes-le-Chateau in 1885 (5). The treasure was to Sauntiere more valuable than gold…. for according to the story, he had found antique documents that sustained an old southern France legend assuming that Jesus Christ did not rise to heaven --- but that he had escaped to France with his wife, Mary Magdalene. (Although after the Roman torture and excruciating crucifixion and death—seems it would have been quite difficult to drag around with a woman all the way to France [6]). The author explains that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had children and had initiated a dynasty called the Merovingian Kings of France. Here Plantard gives his supposed meaning of the Grail Legends, the Holy Grail—that it’s the holy blood of Jesus Christ running through the veins of Merovingians (7). In the end Plantard expanded his story saying that he was the designer of the mystery Priory, as well as the last descendant of the Merovingians and that the blood of Christ was now in his veins. All seems quite astonishing and factual….however; it’s now been established that the Priory of Sion is a fabrication of Plantards imagination.

Massimo Introvigne, director for the Center of Studies of New Religions for Cesnur, considers the Priory is a forgery. He states the following: No reference to the Priory of Sion as an organization (led during the course of its existence by many famous people, including Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519) protecting the Merovingians and their legitimate claims to the throne of France against the Carolingians and further usurpers is recorded in history before the fabrication of the 1967 documents. The Priory of Sion itself was founded in 1956 by the key architect of the 1967 forgery, Pierre Plantard (1920-2000), but with different aims and by-laws. And no reference that the Merovigians protected by the Priory of Sion and mentioned in the 1967 documents are the physical descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene ever appeared in print before the 1982 book Holy Blood, Holy Grail. (CESNUR - Centro Studi sulle Nuove Religioni diretto da Massimo Introvigne www.cesnur.org--Dan Brown and the London Court Case: After Many Bogus Conspiracies, A Real One Finally Surfaces)

Dan Brown eventually had to face a court case in London to defend himself against authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of the Holy Blood and Holy Grail, for plagiarism. Brown won the case but in the final ruling, the judge declared the Priory of Sion a hoax (8).

(1)- Case for Christ—by Lee Strobel—pg. 10

(2)- Case for Christ—by Lee Strobel—pg. 12

(3)- The Da Vinci Code FAQ, or Will the Real Priory of Sion please stand up? By Massimo Introvigne-- Cesnur-- www.cesnur.org

(4)- The Da Vinci Code FAQ, or Will the Real Priory of Sion please stand up? By Massimo Introvigne-- Cesnur-- www.cesnur.org

(5)- Priory of Sion…. Forged documents—Wikipedia

(6)- Case for Christ—Lee Strobel—pg. 62-70

(7)- The Da Vinci Code FAQ or Will the real Priory of Sion please stand up? Cesnur—www.cesnur.org

(8)- Cesnur- Centro Studi sulle Nuove Religioni diretto da Massimo Introvigne—ww.cesnur.org—Dan Brown and the London Court Case-

Judge Confirms that the Priory of Sion is a Hoax

Carlos A. Cedillo is a full time member of the Family International

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