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Normalcy Bias

Prov 27:12 NLT

A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
    The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

Our Lord had mentioned several times in Scripture that many will still be caught unawares despite the fact that He had given the signs and warnings concerning the end times.  It is really predictably irrational that even when the signs and mathematical certainty are there for any event, many will still be caught unawares.  It is a psychological state known as normalcy bias.  This state causes people to under-estimate the possibility of an impending disaster and the severity of its consequences.  They assume the event will not happen as it has never happened before.  People in this state tend to downplay the signs and infer a less severe outcome.

Of course, there are also people who over-react.  They will cry wolf every time some signs are evident.  Both are extremes to be avoided.

In the article “The Normalcy Bias and Bible Prophecy” by Todd Strandberg,  he writes, “One of the most tragic examples of the normalcy bias is the experience of the Jews in Nazi Germany.  Barton Biggs, in his book, Wealth, War and Wisdom, gave a very good description of what happened :

By the end of 1935, 100,000 Jews had left Germany, but 450,000 remained.  Wealthy Jewish families…kept thinking and hoping that the worst was over.  Many of the German Jews, brilliant, cultured, and cosmopolitan as they were, were too complacent.  They had been in Germany so long and were so well established, they simply couldn’t believe there was going to be a crisis and that would endanger them.  They were too comfortable.  They believed the Nazis’ anti-Semitism was an episodic event and that Hitler’s bark was worse than his bite.  They reacted sluggishly to the rise of Hitler for completely understandable but tragically erroneous reasons. Events moved much faster than they could imagine.”   (The above message is extracted from my book, The Coming Economic Flood.)

With the bleak economic results for the first 2 quarters of this year and negative growth forecast for the rest of the year and the ongoing pandemic second wave causing the reopening of the economies around the world to be delayed,  it will be foolhardy for anyone to believe in a soon and quick V shaped economy, and does nothing to prepare for a longer recession.

A few steps are necessary to overcome such a normalcy bias :

  1. Accept such times are in God’s end time timeline.
  2. Pray to God for wisdom.
  3. Assess the threat one will face.
  4. Sit down to plan and act right away to tide over.

It is better late than never to act to overcome one’s normalcy bias right away.

 

My “Cornelius” Encounter

In the early days of my missionary foray into the neighboring countries,  I was led by the Spirit of God to a place which was hostile to our faith.  Just as I had a “Damascus” moment like St Paul,  I had this “Cornelius” encounter like St Peter also.

A local missionary, who eventually acted as my translator, informed me that there was this patriarch who was very keen to know the meaning of the parable of the sower.  I jumped at the chance and went to his home.  His family was already seated down waiting for my arrival.  Given the hostility towards the gospel in this place,  the incident convinced me that God would draw these people who sought Him to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus, despite the definite persecution if their eventual new faith come to light in their community.

This was my first mission to share the gospel in this nation.  Subsequently I went to a few villages to share the gospel with his friends.  In one particular village, one religious leader warned me about “stirring the water and making it muddy”.    I understood his warning.  Later, he believed in Christ and because of his intellect, he was able to share the gospel effectively in these villages.  And soon,  there was 105 baptized members in the fellowship led by these patriarchs of their families.   I took upon myself to teach these leaders regularly in the city near their villages.  All thanks and praise to the Lord for this phase of training in my faith journey.

Admonishment Using Ironic Words

1 Cor 4:8-14

You are already full!  You are already rich!  You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!  For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.  We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong!  You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!  To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless.  And we labor, working with our own hands.  Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure,  being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.  I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.

Paul had used ironic or sarcastic words to admonish the Corinthian church. They prided themselves on the abundance of everything – spiritual gifts, luxury, comfort and ease.  They had no sense of need. They acted as though they were reigning already. Paul had stated clearly that his purpose was not to shame but to warn (1 Cor 4:14) and he did it in the spirit and zealousness of love for he called them his beloved children.

But sadly today, many have wandered from the truth and such admonishment will come across as judgmental.  Pastors who voice such admonishment,  like Paul, today will be construed as “ranting” against the respectable Christendom for leaving them out of their fellowship.

“It is positive disloyalty to seek our crown before the King gets His. Yet this is what some of the Christians at Corinth were doing. The apostles were bearing the reproach of Christ. But the Corinthian Christians were “rich” and “honorable”. They were seeking a good time where their Lord and Master had such a hard time.” – H P Barker. (Believer’s Bible Commentary)

 

 

 

Come, Bless The Lord

Psalms 134:1-2

Am                                               G

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord

F                                              E

Who stand by night in the house of the Lord

F                     G                   Em                Am

Lift up your (holy) hands to the holy place

F    G                 Am

And bless the Lord.

 

The Coming Economic Flood (Update II)

Rev 18:1-10

After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.” Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back as she herself has paid back others, and repay her double for her deeds; mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.  As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’  For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.” And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

In my book, The Coming Economic Flood, I recounted that God gave me some visions and the very first vision, the 911 terrorist attack on World Trade Center, was the judgment on the symbol of the Babylonian system.  That financial system is unmistakably the present capitalism in which all the global economies are engaged in globalized trade led by the United States with her reserve currency. Just as heaven is sometimes depicted as a city – the New Jerusalem – or sometimes as the new heaven descending on the new earth, likewise Babylon can be depicted as the leading financial city or the whole globalised system of governments, global businesses and major seaports cum financial centers.

It is no coincidence then that New York City was selected among several cities to site the Statue of Liberty eventually. (Watch the videos for the amazing history of this statue.) All the excesses of sins of pleasure-seeking (sex, pornography, sexual perversion and other indulgences) and money-making originate from this city and proliferate throughout the whole world. Presently the city has the highest coronavirus infection of all cities in the US and also faces one of the worst riots in history.  It is no coincidence again that the newspapers described the city as burning. The United Nations and World Bank are also headquartered in this city. New York City perfectly fits the description of the city mentioned in Rev 18:1-10. (Watch the following videos for the amazing “coincidences”.)

Due to the Fed Reserve still being able to get away with printing much money to prop up the financial system at this moment, we will continue to watch whether she will eventually go up in smoke and make every government and merchant weep.

Considering all the above evidence and current events, is New York City the Babylon of the end times ?

https://www.youtubetrimmer.com/view/?v=JX6S0ZSbtQ0&start=536&end=1191

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QevlCDr-0Y

Postscript (17 July 2024) :

Here is another explanation of Mystery Babylon from the Youtube channel .

 

 

 

 

 

Commendation For Contending Against False Teachers

Rev 2:1-6 NLT

 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands: I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first ! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

What were the works of the Ephesus church that our Lord Jesus had commended (though there was also rebuke) ?

  1. They did not tolerate evil people.
  2. They had examined the claims of the false apostles and found them to be liars.
  3. They had suffered patiently without quitting.  (Contending against popular megachurch false pastors today will surely bring much backlash not only from these cults but also from the postmodern tolerant Christendom.)
  4. They hated the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans who were false teachers at that time.

Better to suffer and be commended by our Lord Jesus for doing what pleases Him than to gain the praise and favor from postmodern tolerant Christendom today.

Dangerous Blasphemy

2 Pet 2: 10-12

Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant…

Jude 1:8-10

Yet in like manner these people also…reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

Acts 23:4-5

Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

The above verses are clear that we do not blaspheme the rulers both in the physical and spiritual realms.

Even though the devil had no jurisdiction over Michael, yet Michael would not revile him for he recognized the devil to be in a position of authority. (2 Cor 4:4).

It is one thing to criticize unjust policies of government but quite another to speak evil of the rulers. (Acts 23:5). It will be foolish for naive pastors to join the false teachers (being described above as irrational animals) in reviling the devil or the government leaders (such as President Trump of USA and President Xi of China) and attributing the blame to them for the current hard times.

We must accept nothing happen outside God’s sovereign will. It is judgment and training for the wicked and the faithful respectively. God has warned repeatedly in Scripture of coming hard times and of course, ONLY the faithful listen, stay watchful, prepare and endure.

Postscript :

This is worth noting from the above Scriptural references that the false teachers, though they are agents of the devil, can even blaspheme the devil.  This shows that as long as deception works in its favor, evil can go to that extent of self inflicting blasphemy.

All Calamities Are Decreed By The Lord

Isaiah 45:6-7

That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me.  I am the Lord, and there is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’

Amos 3:6-7

If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?  Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

Job 2:9-10

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

The above verses are self explanatory.  The faithful are expected to listen to the warning of the coming end time birth pains, stay watchful, prepare and endure when they come.  They should not be caught unawares.  In Rev 18 when God judges Babylon and destroys all wealth, He expects the faithful to come out of her before plagues of mourning, famine and death visit.

Scripture makes it clear that calamitous judgments from God are true and just.  It is wrong to believe that calamities are evil works and try to “absolve” God of His sovereign will to decree calamitous judgments.

Rev 16:5-9

And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments.  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink.  It is what they deserve!”  And I heard the altar saying,

“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
    true and just are your judgments!”

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

What Response Does God Expect When He Sends Calamitous Judgment ?

2 Chron 7:13-14

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

1 Kings 8:35-40

“When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance. When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands toward this temple—then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart), so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors.”

How Majestic Is Your Name

Psalms 8:3

G                   Em

When I look at Your heavens,

C                          D

The works of Your fingers, O Lord, our Lord,

G                              Em                                               C                  D

The moon and the stars, which You have set in place, O Lord.

C           G         Bm             Em

How majestic are Your works,

Am              D      G

Bless Your holy name.