THEME: DIVINE ACCOUNTABILITY VS. THE ANTI-CHRIST SYSTEM OF GLOBAL CONTROL 

“And that no man might buy or sell, save he that hath the mark, or the name of the beast, or number of his name.” (Rev. 13: 17) 

Capitalism is an economic system founded, engendered, and embedded in trade. It began with merchants in pre-industrial Europe who took the seas to buy and sell goods.  From promoting trade and industry, capitalism strode into controlling the market; and soon, with the support of banks, it tore deep into politics and governance, leading subsequently to a market-oriented political philosophy and ideology. Capitalism became a system for ordering and establishing spiritual, political, and social order and governance. Governments, nations, and people have been caught in its grips. It has now become the reigning and ruling system of the world political economy and world order in general. 

Unfortunately, instead of this one-world spiritual, political, economic, and social system harmonizing trade and investment for harnessing the wealth of nations—and with it, global political, economic, and social order so there be peace, tranquility, progress, and prosperity for all—it failed. Instead of harmonizing and transmuting needs and supplies to ensure peace, happiness, stability, advancement, welfare, and good of all peoples, all nations, and the world, capitalism has rather created a world order, not so much of haves and have nots, as a political, economic and social order of exploitation, oppression, unrighteous, unjust, and wicked manipulation and concentration of wealth in few places and still in fewer hands.  It has gone forth to promote oppressor class of peoples, oppressor governments, and oppressor nations, standing against oppressed nations and peoples. In short, it has created a world order of exploitation, oppression, and wickedness—indeed, man’s inhumanity to man.  And all that is placed at the door of “The Market,” an otherwise innocent and neutral agent in supply and demand.  

In the end, the political, economic, and social order set in place and the world order generated through capitalism has become a bane of discomfort and discontent. It has generated instability, insecurity, unstable economic and political conditions, and a social order of wars and woes, suffering and pain throughout nations and the world.  The market has been transformed into an institution and arena of unrighteous, unjust, and wicked works of spirits and men, corporate wars, financial ruins, destruction, and death. 

In the meantime, capitalism has created ghostly beings, demons, and phantoms behind the global economy and world order of discontent, dismay, instability, wars and woes, pain, and suffering.  Adam Smith’s ‘Invisible Hand” has become a phantom of darkness and death—a tool for satanic oppression of the human race. 

In this article, Capitalism: A Vision of Discontent, Social Disorder, and World Instability, we suggest that the capitalist system requires a fresh visitation and review. This must be done in the light of peace and harmony in the world, happiness, joy, progress, and prosperity for all peoples, all nations, and the human race as a whole. There must be a fresh visitation of investment, wealth creation, and distribution to ensure global peace and progress and enhance harmonious relations of the human race. 

In doing this, there must first be an examination and review of the spiritual basis of capitalism; second, the market mechanism which it has created; and third, the grotesque concentration of wealth in very few hands in the world; and fourth the politico-economic arrangements within the nations and the world. Such a review of capitalism may well lead to a new look at the political and social order in the nations and the world political economy in general. We open the discussion with the spiritual base of capitalism. We will in the process consider the impact of capitalism on politics, governance, and social order in nations and the global political economy.  

THE SPIRITUAL BASE OF CAPITALISM 

The book of Revelation of the Christian Bible reveals that capitalism—as a system of merchants, trade, buyers, and sellers—has its roots and spiritual connection with the Beast from the Sea. Its power, mind, and agenda are set by the Dragon, who is at war with the human race, the ‘seed of the woman’ set in place in the Eve-Adam serpent encounter (Rev. 12: 1-10; Gen. 3: 14-15; Rev. 13: 1-8). The war agenda and mechanism of Satan/serpent/dragon, control of commerce, industry, politics, governance and human order is the consequence of the Eve-Adam serpent encounter and curse thereof set in motion by God the Creator. 

The Dragon is set against Christ, because Christ born of woman, has come to reconcile the world with God as well as save man from sin and deliver him from death and the abiding wrath of God. Christ has also come to fight and overcome the devil in the standing Satan-man war, dismantle the war machine, and set man free from the power of Satan. That apart, Christ has come to redeem man from man’s own fallen nature, renew, and restore him in power and glory. (John 3: 16; Matt. 1: 21; 2nd Cor. 5: 17-18; 1st Cor. 15: 57; John 10: 10; 5: 24-27)   

From this perspective, it evident that capitalism has no connection—spiritual, religious, or philosophical—with Christ, the Christian Faith, and thus the Church. Indeed, capitalism simply stated is an Anti-Christ System, as depicted in the ‘Dragon Drama’ in Revelation Chapter 12. 

It must be stated here that the market, as a social institution, is neutral and indeed is indifferent to religion and faith—save faith in the market system as of itself of course. Buyers and sellers in the marketplace are supposed to be free. They must be seen to be, indeed, free so to allow their well-being and good as impacted upon by their faith, religious, philosophical, or other beliefs guide their practice and conduct in the market. 

Our wish here is that Christians will have this understanding, stand deep in conviction, faith, courage, and boldness to allow the Christian virtues of love, peace, righteousness, justice, honesty, fair play, and good neighborliness direct their participation and conduct in the marketplace.   

This is precisely what the Dragon—and thus the proponents of the capitalist-controlled market—will not allow. This is an ere long standing battlefield for the simple-minded, and particularly for faithful Christians and true worshippers of God. Christians are being persuaded to abandon their faith values in business, politics, and governance. Many a saint has fallen in this battle but blessed are the pure in heart and faithful who seek after peace, righteousness, honesty, and justice in the world (Matt. 5: 8-10). 

The truth is that faith in the market system has been entrapped and taken over by capitalism, such that many can be said to have been persuaded, or better still misguided to equate Adam Smith’s ‘Invisible Hand’ with that of God the Creator. If Smith’s invisible hand were God’s, how come the market has been subjected to such depth of manipulation, extortion, exploitation, and oppression?  Of course, rebellious-disobedient fallen man has his own baggage of wickedness. 

We will comment on this later.  But for now, Revelation Chapter 13 reveals that there is a Beast from the Dragon which has led the marketplace to be overtaken by the Spirit of Blasphemy. The capitalist market which has overtime prompted successes in human creativity, technology, and endeavors, looks on with pride, disdain, and blasphemy—making mockery and fun against trust, faith, worship, obedience, and hope in GOD as a basis of conduct and life. The profit, money, and power motives in capitalism stand in conflict as it were with Christian truth, light, love, honesty, and other virtues for peace and goodwill in the world. 

Through its inherent influence in promoting human creative power, ingenuity, craftsmanship, and industry, the capitalist-driven market has shifted trust, obedience, and hope in God to trust in human ingenuity and dependence on market and money for life. To Capitalism, the free ‘autonomous’ ingenious man has no need of God for help and life.  Hope in that wise is transferred from God to man, and from the market to money holdings and power. 

Capitalism has led therefore to open blasphemy against God, the worship of Him, and thus Godly Faith, and the Temple, and Worship of God, both on earth and in heaven. Indeed, the end of the Cold War has driven capitalism to unprecedented heights both as a political-philosophy and economic system for social engineering and life. But this is a False and Wicked Social System, dangerous for the human soul, peace, and hope for righteous living here on earth and life thereafter.  It is certainly not reliable for the promotion of peace, progress, happiness, and the common good of all peoples. It tilts the market in favor of holdings and concentration of wealth and power. 

The second issue we will need to emphasize here is that the market is not a creation of capitalism; the market pre-dated the capitalist system. The market has operated and can operate to meet and satisfy demand and supply under other systems and regimes, political, economic, and social.  All that the market does is the mutation, permutation, and synchronization of needs, goods, services, labor, capital, buyers, and sellers in short. 

The place of money in the market is to facilitate exchange. In fact, money and market are not needed where it matters most, for example with the need for air, winds, rain, sunshine, moon, light, and stars for the seasons as well as spirit, soul, and blood for human existence. What history and recent developments have shown us is that spirits, powers, and men can infiltrate, manipulate, convert, dominate, and control the market to further their designs, interests, and purposes. The Church of God is even suffering from infiltration of darkness and falsehood. 

It is this openness and pliability of the market that has made it possible for capitalism—which is but a trade system—to develop octopus-type branches, hands, and wings to take over and dominate the market, politics, and governance world-wide. 

In this connection, the sad reality is that capitalism has generated a global system not alone of controlling the global market of goods and services, human movement, and thus monetary transactions, but also and very important at that, the economic and social well-being of peoples and the political stability, economic production and performance, progress, and prosperity of peoples and nations.  

According to the Scripture, the spiritual significance of this development is that the Dragon, via the Beast, has succeeded in getting nations and peoples to submit to its authority, power, and worship. No one can buy or sell in the ‘Global Village’ except by the global capitalist market structure masterminded by merchants, bankers, and political villains.  Therein the ‘Mark of the Beast’ on all, high and low, rich, and poor. 

That is to say, through the capitalist market system, the whole of the human race has become victims to the Satan-dragon war machine, been subjected to the worship of the Dragon and thus, the rejection of God the Creator, the worship, knowledge, obedience, and honor of Him in the nations and human affairs in general. 

As the scriptures reveal further, only those whose names are written in the Book of Life of the Lamb Slain (Jesus Christ) are free from the mark of the Beast, and the worship of the devil.  However, those who are guilty of the manipulation, domination, and control of the market in its diverse forms of wicked works and evil consequences thereof cannot be free from the judgement of God in the end (Rev. 13: 9-10). 

April 13, 2012