Debt Slavery 4
Saturday,
October 5, 2013
Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Here is where we left this topic, just about a year
ago:
The bottom line is, we are in trouble as a nation. This debt-slavery is no joke. Please take it seriously. I still trust the solution recommended by
Moses and dozens of other prophets, and guaranteed by Jesus Christ, the Son of
God.
Jesus, I trust. Moses, I trust. Any other opinions, I don’t trust. The specifics change day-by-day, but the long-term
principles never change.
· Get out of debt and stay out of debt.
· Show mercy, hate cruelty, help others in trouble;
love your neighbor as yourself.
· Never forget where all blessings came from, love
God with all your heart. You have a job
because He gave it to you. Become a more
thankful person.
· Enjoy sunrises, sunsets, and the simple
pleasures of life and remember that your Creator gave them all to you.
· Go to Church on Sunday, and remember that the
most powerful person in the universe is still in charge of this mess.
Debt
Slavery, an Update
I
believe that debt slavery is a wicked and cruel social malignancy.
I
believe that Moses specifies the only acceptable and possible working model in
Exodus, where he requires zero interest,[1] very
restricted debt on a 7 year cycle, and total debt absolution on a 7 x 7, 50
year cycle.
Our
Prayer
We
regularly pray, “forgive us our debts,” where the Greek word, ὀφειλήματα,
refers specifically to duties, fiscal debt, and other obligations at law in exact
conformity to the law of Moses. Yet we
consistently ignore this requirement. We
are nothing but a bunch of unrighteous hyocrites.
The
Law of the Kingdom
Jesus
says, I have come to fulfill the law . and the prophets, that is the entire Old
Testament.[2] Hence, this is the unmovable law of God's
kingdom. All Christians are bound to
submit to it.
I, as
a Christian, have no choice. My King
outranks my earthly nation. I must hate and
war against interest, and long term or predatory debt wherever I find any of
them. I must hate and war against any
group that supports them. Hence, the
Federal Government of the United States and The Federal Reserve Banking system
are in defiance of God’s unmovable Kingdom Law insofar as they promote and
tolerate either any interest or any debt outside of the strict limits imposed
by Moses. Yet, at the same time I must
find a place in my heart to love those involved in this sordid work. Specifically, I must love them enough to tell
them the truth about their sin, and faithfully pray for their repentance, so
that they may escape the wrath of God brought down upon them for their own
cruelty. No one is allowed by God to be
involved in this sordid mess in any way.
It is forbidden.
Nothing
short of Moses’ full plan is acceptable to me. To rub salt in my own wounds, Moses just makes
good sense. All this would fall to the
ground had not Christ Himself made such a point of it in the Gospels.
What
Matthew Says
For
instance, the Gospel of Matthew divides itself into five main Sections. Two of these Sections end with an exhortation
on debt: Matthew 18 and 25. Elsewhere, I
have written extensively on Matthew 18,[3] but have
not yet had time to pursue Matthew 25, or all of Matthew in detail. The evidence is overwhelming. Jesus is most certainly preaching the fiscal
law of Moses. It is the law of the
kingdom. It is not a suggestion. Those who persist to live in defiance of it are asking to be
thrown into the Lake of Fire. In Matthew
6:15 a new Greek word, παραπτῶματα, is used. This word means misstep or stumbling. It is one thing to stumble at the law as we
all must. It is another thing to openly
defy the law: this is not of faith and is unforgivable.
The
Result is Freedom
The
direct result of the Mosaic code is to obliterate slavery and the cruelty of it. The only way to truly escape slavery is to
enter God's kingdom by faith in Jesus Christ, the King of that Kingdom. It appears that this Kingdom proclaims the
final application of the Mosaic code in an eternal form, because Jesus fulfills
it, and His blood is eternal.[4]
What
Luke Says
Mary
foresees all these things and sings of its future reality.[5] Finally, Jesus Himself proclaims this teaching
openly and clearly in Luke 4:14-21. His
words cannot be misunderstood, but they are certainly denied.
The
Impact on our Nation
Shakespeare
understood this when he wrote, “Neither borrower nor lender be....” Merchant of
Venice. We know it too, but by our open
refusal to obey, we bring down well deserve fire upon our own heads. Debt and usury are both cruel forms of
slavery. A slavery which God forbids,
but we flaunt openly. If we don't get
this right, our nation will surely be destroyed. At that point, I say, “good riddance.” “Give me Liberty or give me death.” We heard the alarm and did nothing about it. Our house is on fire, and it will surely burn
to the ground. It's just a matter of
time.
The
Purpose is Love for God
The
purpose of this strong law is plainly stated.
God wants people to love Him freely.
To this end, He openly displays His goodness everywhere. “Everything we are and have, stems from His
relationship with us.” The Federal Government
supplies nothing: it is simply a conduit.
As
the necessary and obvious byproduct of loving God freely, God wants people to
love each other freely. Why? Because, all are created in His image, Christ
became man to die for all, and all may receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It’s that simple. It’s that complicated. Debt Slavery is simply incompatible with this
world and life view. Debt Slavery is incompatible with God's Kingdom.
Yours
in Christ,
Herb
Swanson, aka Augie
[1] The
Bible defines usury as any interest rate greater than zero. Moses only applied this within Nation
Israel-Judah. Christ extends this law to
the whole human race without exception.
[2] This
figure of speech is a form of hendiadys, where two words, frequently the first
and the last, are used to describe the whole: Alpha and Omega, first and last,
hot and cold. The Old Testament is often
referred to as the Law and the Prophets, or as the Law, Prophets, and Writings,
which are the three common Jewish divisions of the Old Testament, the TANAKH,
which is an acronym for Torah (Hebrew
for Teaching: namely, the Five Books of Moses; Nevi’im (Hebrew for Prophets)
and Ketuvim (Hebrew for Writings).
[3] http://swantec.blogspot.com/2013/10/matthew-18.html
[4] Hebrews
13:20-21
[5] Luke
1:46-55
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