I have been amazed at the television interviews of top economic gurus who say that they simply didn’t see this crash coming. In just a matter of weeks, millions of people all over the world lost a huge chunk of their savings and investments. Where did that money go?

At the beginning of the unexpected crisis, major unknown investors harvested huge profits from the stock market. Do you think it was just a coincidence that so many of the super-rich decided to cash out at the same time? I don’t!

By the way, have you heard how close we came to complete financial ruin in September of last year? Let me quote a few lines from an article posted on February 8th on a financial site called Zero Hedge. The article was entitled, “How the World Almost Came to an End at 2 p.m. on September 18.”

Democratic Representative [Paul] Kanjorski explains how the Federal Reserve told Congress members about a "tremendous draw-down of money market accounts in the United States, to the tune of $550 billion dollars." According to Kanjorski, this electronic transfer occurred over the period of an hour or two. And it gets worse. Kanjorski paraphrases the following disclosure by Bernanke and Paulson:

On Thursday (Sept 18), at 11am the Federal Reserve noticed a tremendous draw-down of money market accounts in the U.S., to the tune of $550 billion was being drawn out in the matter of an hour or two. The Treasury opened up its window to help and pumped $105 billion in the system and quickly realized that they could not stem the tide. We were having an electronic run on the banks. They decided to close the operation, close down the money accounts and announce a guarantee of $250,000 per account so there wouldn't be further panic out there.

If they had not done that, their estimation is that by 2pm that afternoon, $5.5 trillion would have been drawn out of the money market system of the U.S., would have collapsed the entire economy of the U.S., and within 24 hours the world economy would have collapsed. It would have been the end of our economic system and our political system as we know it.

Where did all that money that was taken out go? Think about it. The super-rich who started this run on the stock market have the funds that the rest of us lost! And when the time is right, they will buy back the properties and the stocks that have plummeted in value. The very rich will be richer still, and the majority of middle class people will be reduced to lower income status.

The worst thing about this economic turmoil is not that we are in a recession, or even headed for a depression. The shocking truth is that the government is now spending unbelievable amounts of money on programs that will bring about a socialistic government.

When Nikita Khrushchev was the leader of the Soviet Union in the 50’s and ‘60’s, he predicted that various countries would fall into the lap of socialism like “ripe apples.” It was implied that even the United States would someday succumb to this inevitable destiny. At the time it seemed absurd to nearly every American. But did you see last week’s Newsweek’s cover story? It proclaimed: “We Are All Socialists Now.”

Recently on the Fox News Channel, Sean Hannity called the new administration’s massive “Stimulus” bill “The European Socialist Act of 2009." Back to the super-rich who will now be richer still, Socialism is not a true “share the wealth” program. It has an extremely wealthy “elite” at the top that controls the government and the economy.

Whether or not America will resist this “fall” remains to be seen. But political analysts have warned that democracies are in danger once the majority of the people realize that they can use their vote to provide government benefits to themselves.

Europe has, for the most part, already adopted a form of socialism. Russia and China are socialist, and the global economic crisis is the perfect opportunity for greater government intervention to institute socialism everywhere.

The end result of this slide toward socialism could be the One-World economic system that is foretold by the Bible. It once was difficult to imagine what could bring the whole planet to the point that an economic dictator (Antichrist) could literally control all the buying and selling around the world. In Revelation 13:15-17 we read:

He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Today it doesn't take much imagination to see how this prophecy could be fulfilled. Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum in Davos, is one of the many voices that are calling for the emergence of a global economic system. According to Schwab, the current situation is a "transformational crisis" useful in reshaping a "new world."

Another voice calling for a new world order was British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He warned the nation not to retreat from globalism in the face of the crisis. He said

“We could view the threats and challenges we face today as the difficult birth-pangs of a new global order -- and our task now as nothing less than making the transition through a new internationalism to the benefits of an expanding global society."

In a recent commentary, Hal Lindsey reminds us that the last time this sort of thing happened was the Great Depression. And the Depression gave opportunity to the American president to push through whatever socialist legislation he deemed necessary. Even worse, the Depression gave rise to Hitler's dictatorship. After more than a decade of economic depression, as long as Hitler's policies were keeping factories busy and the economy humming along, he was free to do whatever else he pleased.

We are surely living in the last days. But those who trust in Jesus Christ should not be afraid. In Luke 21:28, Jesus said this about those who will see the prophecies fulfilled:

“When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

For more information visit Prophecy Central at www.Bible-prophecy.com.