The other day I received an email regarding the coming economic crash to the US. This is interesting to me for a few reason. First I am a citizen of the United States, but what was of more interest was the fact that the person was a Seventh-Day Adventist who tried to emphasize that there were prophetic implications to this crash. He quoted a popular evangelical author that predicted this downturn and connected it to his prophetic time-line that ushers in the secret rapture.
Where is the Connection?
The question I have is where is the necessary connection between an American economic collapse and the end time? Why is there a desire to hook an American financial collapse to the onset of the end times? To put it more clearly, Is the economic crash before or after the onset of the final issues?
While I do agree that a financial collapse that brings on the end time is certainly possible, but why is it preached as a necessary condition for the onset of the final crisis and our end time scenario. I mean there is nothing that says that our end time scenario could begin by some other crisis.
Is this a Necessary Component of Our End-Time Scenario?
The Great Controversy scenario sees a powerful United States and an apostate Christianity at the center of the end time crisis. The Adventist end-time scenario sees that many of these issues will converge on the issue of obedience symbolically presented in the Sabbath issue.
Finally, the Adventist scenario, as traditionally understood, sees great importance in the state of the dead which is a way to unify disparate groups. But where is the NECESSARY connection between an American Financial collapse and the ushering in of the end time crisis.
The Economy May Collapse, But What are the Prophetic Implications
One could argue that the economy will collapse before the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, the scripture points to that, but is that a necessary component of the “onset” of the crisis?
Now I am not arguing that the US Economy might not collapse. It may very well. Neither am I arguing that if it did collapse that it will not help usher in the end time. Certainly it COULD be a factor in bringing in the end. If the economy collapsed then one could easily see the onset of the things that Adventists have predicted for years, however note I said “could” be a factor. But there are other things that COULD be factors that we don’t’ emphasize. Perhaps we don’t emphasize some of these possibilities because there are no popular evangelical authors promoting it as helping their own end time scenario which many evangelicals don’t’ even accept. What that means is that we are promoting ideas simply because a popular author is using it to promote his scenario.
What are the Factors?
So what are some factors that are in line with the scenario that the Great Controversy predicts? Well the continued progress of the Gospel to all the world is one. Another factor is increased religious intolerance. America is showing this with recent laws such as the patriot act where they are holding American citizens in jail for months and months without any recourse. Could the hatred of Muslims that we saw a couple of years ago be a precursor to the hatred of other religious minorities?
The increased power of the United States. Not long ago their power was shown in the beat down of both Afghanistan and Iraq (which was one of the strongest military powers in the world) very quickly. How about the increased spiritualism that you see on television including such things as Sci-Fi where life after death is assumed true and supposed proof of is given on such shows as “Ghost Hunters?”
Finally, Ellen White argues that Christ could have come around 1888. The congress had passed some Sunday legislation called the Blair Bill. The loud cry, according to White, had begun in the work of Jones and Waggoner. And there was no American economic collapse for another 40 years at least.
Conclusion
In short, I don” deny that the end could be ushered in with an economic collapse of the United States of America, but that is only one scenario. However there are real fulfillments happening today, but we are not going to find it in the prophetic speculations of those who are attempting to teach the secret rapture.
To repeat, Where is the Required financial crisis to usher in the end time?