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#1 Story: The Other Shoe Drops on President Bush

Yesterday, at a press conference in Baghdad, President Bush received an extra pair of shoes--a gift from an Iraqi news reporter. Both shoes were delivered in an unusual manner, of course, since they were thrown at him. In America, such an action would have been categorized as a simple act of violence; but in Iraq it is more of an insult than a violent act.

What came to mind immediately was Psalm 60:8, "Over Edom will I cast out My shoe." That verse is a reference to Edom's claim as the Bride of Christ, according to the law in Deut. 25:5-10. In biblical days, if a man died childless, the dead man's brother was to take his brother's wife and raise up a son to inherit his brother's property. If he refused to do so, he was to remove his shoe in front of the judges. (See the example in Ruth 4:8.)

This law applies prophetically to the fact that Jesus died childless, and we--His brethren--are called to raise up children for our elder Brother. This is the basis of the Sonship message, bringing forth the sons who will inherit the earth, so that Jesus does not lose His inheritance (Deut. 25:6).

In the prophecy of Psalm 60:8, we see an interesting application of the law, where Christ is the One casting out His shoe over Edom. It indicates that Edom is a woman trying to become the Bride of Christ. Christ responds by throwing His shoe at her, saying in effect, "I would rather lose My shoe than marry you!"

On a more even keel, it indicates that Edom is NOT going to bring forth the Manchild and is NOT called to bring forth the sons of God. Edom was absorbed into Jewry back in 126 B.C., and so Edom's end-time prophecies are being fulfilled within Judaism itself. In the past century, the Edomites in Jewry have attempted established their nation which they call "Israel," and have presented themselves as the Bride through whom the sons of God should be born. Christ's prophetic response in Psalm 60:8 is to cast His shoe over Edom.

Because the evangelical movement in America has backed the Israeli state as the chosen Bride, America itself has tailored its foreign policy accordingly. President Bush today represents America as its president. So the Iraqi news reporter was acting out a prophecy that God is not going to bring forth the sons of God through America either. America is not the Bride of Christ any more than is the Israeli state.

That calling is reserved for the Overcomers alone. They are the only ones who qualify as the Bride of Christ in their character, as I have written many times. See my book, Old and New Covenant Marriage.

#2 Story: Follow-up on the Nov. 18 Blog

Back on Nov. 18, in a blog entitled, "Are Gold and Silver in Short Supply?", I said to watch Nov. 28, since that was to be the date when the futures contracts were due. We would see then, or shortly after that date, how many people were going to demand physical gold and silver, and how many would simply stay in "paper."

I wrote this:

There are some who say that physical silver and gold are in short supply, and that it is quite possible that those who have bought futures will ask for delivery when their contracts come due on November 28.

http://www.marketskeptics.com/2008/11/mother-of-all-short-squeezes-for-gold.html

So mark November 28 on your economic calendars and see what might happen. If these people are right, the entire economy would get another earthquake.

Well, we have seen "backwardation" take place, as I reported last week. 5% of the people demanded physical gold, rather than the usual 1/2% to 1%. Most are still speculating, but even so, there was a huge increase in the demand for physical gold.

#3 Story: Follow-up on the Dec. 1 Blog about Ecuador's Default

On Dec. 1st, I referenced Jack Crook's article,

http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/why-this-mouse-is-about-to-roar-28416

He spoke of Ecuador's default, or rather a deferral of interest payments. Instead of paying the interest bill on Nov. 13, the president, Rafael Correa, deferred it until Dec. 15. Jack said to watch Ecuador to see if it really does pay out on Dec. 15 or if it simply defaults permanently.

Well, we are now past December 15. Ecuador defaulted. You can read about it at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/globalbusiness/3759173/Ecuador-default-Fears-grow-that-others-will-follow.html

Ecuador itself is not that big a deal; it's only $3.9 billion. But the fear is that other countries such as Venezuela, Argentina, and Bolivia will follow their example. To say nothing of Austria and Ukraine and perhaps others. A few small nations add up rather quickly when they all default.

"Argentina has already seized control of its private pension system, and has been accused of engineering a 'soft default' on inflation-linked bonds by rigging price data."

Rigging price data? They must have learned that from the U.S. government.

Ecuador has some oil exports, which have been helpful in funding their debts. But now that the price of oil has dropped to $50 a barrel and lower, they are in trouble. And they have a lot of company. There will no doubt be many more such defaults in the future, and each one will be another body blow to Babylon.