Investing, Student Loans and the End of the World

For some reason I had always thought of investing as not Christian.

I suppose because it seems very much like gambling; you don't know if your investment will turn our negative or positive for you. 

I am thinking of investing some in Apple.

I do believe Apple is a great company.  The thing I love more then anything in the world is probably my Itunes. 

I love how it it is set up and organized.  I love creating new play lists.  And I love syncing my Ipod to my Itunes :) 

I love how Apple's products are mostly white.  lol  Which is the color for angels and purity of course.

The second thing I love most in the world is my Ipod.....

So if I love Apple products so much, I am sure everyone else does too yes?

Therefore, why not invest in Apple? 

Another topic to ponder is loans.  There are scriptures regarding loans and God seems to warn us against taking out loans.  But how is that possible in our modern day world?  There is a loan for everything! 

I went to part of the Peace of Mind money class taught by Dave Ramsey at my church.

He says with our credit cards we need to do a little plastic surgery.  Which did inspire me to get angry at the debt of my credit card and I cut my card up!  And then.... I had to move across country and have not been able to find a job and wish I had that wonderful credit card lol :)  Funny how that works.

Loans are taken out for every single thing we see; obviously for our cars, our houses, our clothes via credit card, our food at restaurants, our education, our children's education....the list goes on. 

Loans are like America's middle name.  So how can one avoid them? 

I am pondering all this because I am planning to go back to grad school and am just wondering how much more in debt do I want to be lol :) 

Also I worked at Nelnet for 9 months, which is like Sallie Mae, and learned how messed up the student loan industry really can be. 

I placed forbearances for people all day on their student loans, and every time it just felt wrong in my heart. 

The interest capitalizes when you do a forbearance, meaning you are pretty much screwing yourself when you post pone payments on your loan because that increases the debt and the amount of interest that accrues daily on your loans.

Most people do not know that even with a deferment, which sounds so much nicer, it ends in the interest being capitalized also.  Any interest that accrues is added to the principle.  So loans are very tricky.  And the banks are just getting richer and richer. 

I remember looking at the figures of how much every single country in the world is millions of dollars in debt.  I asked my mom, "If we are all in debt, who on earth has the money."  She said, "The banks, of course."  lol why didn't I think of that.  Of course. 

It would seem logical that if we are trillions of dollars in debt to China then they would come out positive and we would be negative, right?  At least someone would come out on top?  Alex Jones actually has a lot of insight into the secrets of banking.  Some of his discussion are interesting and enlightening.  Google him :) 

Where is our world headed I wonder?  What does the future hold?  All I can say is I hope Jesus doesn't plan on waiting to much longer to come back lol, cause the future isn't looking too pretty :)

I will say regarding debt that the next step before the end of the world is worldwide famine.  This is prophesied in Revelations 6.

"When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

I had always comfortably thought this just applied to Africa, not America, and it was already happening.  Everyone knows about the extreme famine in Africa.  It is possible that that is what this verse applies to, no one knows absolutely for sure if this will mean the entire world. 

What this passage means is that we will have to spend a whole day's wages on a loaf of bread.  Which doesn't seem that crazy since in the 80's we started printing more money then we had gold to back up, with Jimmy Carter I believe?

Thus inflation.  Thus gas prices being crazy, well that's kind of the reason.  Thus movies used to cost $1 and now they are $12.  So now everything is 12 times what it used to be 25 years ago.  What will prices be like in another 25 years? 

Maybe that is why Revelations says, "How horrible it will be for pregnant and nursing mothers in that day," because how is anyone going to provide for a family in such extreme circumstances? lol God help us. 

Here is what I believe the progression of the end of the world will be according to Revelation.  I do think it is chronological or else why would John have written it in the order he did.  There are first 6 seals, then 7 trumpets and then 7 bowls. 

The bowls are by far the worst.  That is when hail of 100 pounds will fall from the sky.  Not cool lol.  But I think the church will be raptured by then. 

I know the popular and much wished for belief is that the rapture will happen before the tribulation, but on the contrary I believe it will happen two thirds of the way in, at the sound of the last trumpet. 

Jesus directly says when he will come for the church in Mt. 24....“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

So he mentions a trumpet.  Which trumpet is it?  Thanks to Paul's letters we have the next piece of the puzzle.

1 Cor. 15 "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."

"We will not all sleep" means we will not all die.  Perhaps that is why I have never feared death, because I don't think I myself am ever going to die.  I think Jesus will come back before I die.  My best friend says the same thing.  She believes Jesus will come back in our life time.  Amen! I hope so! :)

Jesus says after the gospel is preached in the whole world, then the end will come.  I contributed to the preaching of the gospel in all nations cause I went to Inida at 14, Mexico at 16 and 17, and Taiwan at 17 and 22.  I shared my story in these countries and I hope I sped up that process!  Time will tell :)

So what does the verse say in 1 Cor.?  "At the last trumpet."  When is the last trumpet again?  John gives us the final piece of the puzzle.  Thank you John!  The disciple whom Jesus loved!  lol. 

Rev. 6 says, "And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! ⁷ But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

Amen, may there be no more delay!  I'm ready! lol  But he is waiting for the gospel to be preached in the whole world and for everyone to come to believe, because, "he does not wish that anyone would perish."  Contrary to what most people think about God, he really would ideally like ALL of us to be in heaven with him.  But there is free will and he gives us the choice to make for ourselves.  So choose life, if you have not already. :)  That you may live!  For the end is near. 

Rev. 11 says, "The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will reign for ever and ever.”

¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God."

 

Such a powerful verse!  If I just saw a vision of Jesus descending on the clouds and magically gathering up 5% of the earth I would fall on my face too! 

I think it will be about 5% at the rapture because the bible says "narrow is the road that leads to life and few are they that find it." 

But let us continue to witness so that number might be bigger! 

So that is when the rapture will happen.  I am sorry to disappoint all of you who were hoping to be spared the craziness that will ensue lol, but God will give us peace as he always does despite our storms. 

I hope I have inspired you all to go read Revelations for yourself!  And pray that God will give you eyes to see and ears to hear as you seek to understand what he, God, has written, for ALL scripture is God-breathed.   

Yes no one knows the day or the hour but Jesus gave us a lot of warning about how we can tell when the end is near.  I think it is very near.  Perhaps in the next 10 to 50 years.  So pray and be ready.  Tell the good news to as many people as you can!  People get ready, Jesus is coming!  lol

Come Lord Jesus Come! :)